Features / One Question Interviews

John Peck (American Steel)

SPB: With the band spread out geographically, how did you approach writing the new material? How was it different than songwriting in the past?

Peck: As we started preparing for our recent shows, we added one new song each from Ryan and Rory to our rehearsals. With me living overseas, practicing these songs (and …

Ryan Knowles (Coarse)

SPB: A goal with this band was to be distinct from previous projects. To follow-through on this, did you change your overall approach or mostly just the musical style elements? 

Ryan: We did change our entire approach to this project, in all aspects really. We quite literally forced ourselves into this small room that felt …

Zache (Maniac)

SPB: The title track on the new album is a bit of a departure in sound from the rest of the album. What’s the story behind this song? 

Zache: My Dad died of cancer on October 29, 2013, two days after Lou Reed. Pretty quickly after I had the lyrics, “And we all join the dead dad’s …

Del (Delmar & the Dedications)

SPB: What musician do you think had the greatest influence on Delmar’s sound today?  

Del: I've always been a huge fan of ‘60s girl-group pop bands, and at first, Delmar started as a cover band doing garage punk renditions of b-sides from The Chiffons, The Supremes, Lesley Gore, etc. I eventually realized that …

Larry Livermore

SPB: How do you generally find out about new music?

Livermore: Sometimes from friends, but increasingly, for the most part, nowhere.

Al (Geld – vocals)

SPB: Given that records get distributed on the internet with a global reach, and influences come in with a global reach, do you find it difficult to establish an “Australian” sound, or is it not a factor in your music? 

Al: While we do have some civic pride for Australian music (one of the …

Kevin White (Squarecrow – bass)

SPB: To you, what is the best thing about the San Diego scene right now?

White: It’s hard to identify. It’s just a group of musicians exhausting through a subsidiary fragmented universe of ego and alienation, entitlement and reproach, where diuretics and laxatives are employed to produce on a sidewalk; a San Diego …

Solveig Matthildur (Kælan Mikla)

SPB: How do fine arts, besides music, influence your approach to making music?

Matthildur: Art for me is like taking something from everyday life, a landscape, a situation, a thought, a dream or whatever you want to take, process it and put it out in another form. And I see it like all art and creations …

Mattia (Abstracter)

SPB: In my opinion Abstracter has adopted a more and more bleak sound over time. Do you perceive the development of Abstracter in the same way? What influences this development? 

Mattia: It is undeniable that the sound has gotten bleaker. This was the band's fate all along in some way. We just needed the right people …

Avola

SPB: What stood out to you the most the first time you performed as a solo musician?

Avola: My first solo performance was in 2009. It was a Sunday afternoon. I remember a lot of anxiety. I no longer had a band of hairy folks and too many amps to distract people with. Just me hunching over …

Ruby Boots

SPB: How does a musician’s politics affect your appreciation of them? Does it factor in, or can you separate the two ideas?

Ruby: I feel like using the word 'politics' as opposed to morals and values adds to the great divide that we are currently living in, I want to know where a musician stands on …

Eric Martinez (Dezorah)

SPB: What kind of guitar do you use (and why did you make this choice)? 

Eric: I play a Mexican made Fender Duo Sonic (Surf Green). I chose this guitar because I wanted something tonally versatile that would not leave me completely broke. So far it has given me everything I want in a guitar …

Tony Gonzalez (Barren Womb)

SPB: There was very little time between the first couple of Barren Womb releases. We have had to wait a bit for Old Money/New Lows. What caused the wait?

Tony: There are a couple of reasons for the gap between "Nique Everything" and "Old Money / New Lows". First of all, we were touring …

Redmer (Sun-0-Bathers)

SPB: Sun-0-Bathers sounds very true to one particular scene or sound (and mocks a couple of others just by naming the band as you did). The more truly a band presents itself, the more it makes me wonder: what guilty pleasures are hidden? So: what are your guilty pleasures outside of your general style?

Redmer: Our …

Frank Meriwether (Dark Oz)

SPB: What is the weirdest description you’ve heard of your music? Could you see where the commenter was coming from? 

Frank: I really can't think of any weird descriptions, unfortunately, but the weirdest comparison I got was comparing our music to Genesis. I started listening to music (in a way so as to form …

Sarah Shook & the Disarmers

SPB: Which venue has the best food for touring artists? 

Sarah Shook & the Disarmers: The Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC, those cats make dope tacos and have vegan options.

Travis (The Penske File)

SPB: Has your band ever been robbed on the road? (Did you recover any of your losses?) 

Travis: I would love to answer no to this question and be done with it, but that wouldn't be truthful. Last winter we were on tour in Europe. A few shows in, we stopped off in Milan, …

Barrence Whitfield & the Savages

SPB: What is your favorite restaurant to visit on tour?

Barrence Whitfield & the Savages: BBQ anywhere southern U.S.A

Sean Bohrman (Burger Records)

SPB: What is the most touching or memorable thing a fan has told you about the label?

Sean: It's happened a few times, but inspiring people to start their own labels is really gratifying. I feel inspirational in a "if these guys can do it why can't I?" type of way. Like when the …

Ojo Por Ojo

SPB: How likely are you to pick up a record based off its cover with no knowledge of the band or music? 

Ojo Por Ojo: I have done it several times with good and bad results but it's always entertaining and fun. As a kid and before the world paid so much attention to old Mexican …