Features / One Question Interviews

Aidan Baker (Nadja)

SPB: Other than music, what other art forms interest you?

Baker: I would say all other art forms interest me, but I guess that's probably a vaguer answer than you would like...So I guess I'd say literature is my second passion after music, both reading and writing. I grew up in a family that played …

Jon Lewis (Dopamines)

SPB: Do you take any precautions to stay healthy while on the road?

Lewis: Typically I'll stock up on multi vitamins or those "EmergenC" powder packets. Jon W and Michael rely on a force field of porn and chicken wings to prevent illness. Mikey Erg wears a full body latex suit between shows to block …

Rob Huddleston (Ann Beretta, solo, Foundation)

SPB: Do you still get nervous before you play a show?

Huddleston: I do, depending on the show. I think I've surprised people in the past with this answer but when it comes to playing in front of large audiences I don't get nervous at all but, when it’s a small crowd, …

Steve Brodsky (Cave In)

SPB: Can you like a musician whose politics you disagree with?

Brodsky: Well, ZZ Top did play at George W. Bush's inaugural ceremony and it hasn't stopped me from listening to "Tejas" at least once a month.

Roo Pescod (Bangers, solo)

SPB: What is the secret to a successful tour?

Pescod: If there is one golden secret to a successful tour I don't know what it is. However I have been on some excellent ones, and I'll tell you about something which has saved my sanity through some seriously bad times. My “realm” started out …

Ben Flanagan (The Trophy Fire, vocals/guitar/keys)

SPB: What is your favorite Simpsons episode (the name is a reference, right?)?

Flanagan: My favorite Simpsons episode is "Trilogy of Error" season 18, episode 12. Not only does the episode satirize Run Lola Run but has maybe my favorite Simpsons line of all time:

Lisa, to her new crush at …

Ryan Young (Off With Their Heads)

SPB: Is there a particular interview question you’d like to never answer again?

Young: Interviews can go one of 2 ways for me. Either they get me to talk about fond memories, or they are pestering. I've always been kind of a butthole, but any question that can be found using google …

Ryan K. Heise (System and Station, vocals/guitar)

SPB: What is your most common touring fast food choice?

Heise: It all depends on how long you are out and how pleasant you want the van to be. We usually stick to grocery stores and try to avoid the fast food but the longer we are out we inevitably end …

Joe Queer (The Queers)

SPB: What is the weirdest venue you've ever played a show at?

Joe: Hands down the weirdest club I've ever played was Cafe Mokka in Thun, Switzerland. It's run by the freakiest dude I've met in many a year. A guy we call Mokkaman. One of the gayest fuckers in the world. Makes my …

Jamie Coletta (SideOneDummy Records)

SPB: How did you choose the charities for the #TestPressThursdays auctions? Was it hard to find an organization that each band involved could support?

Coletta: We decided to split the proceeds from #TestPressThursdays with both MusiCares and Harmony Project. Both charities serve the greater good through the power of music, whether it’s helping struggling …

Sugar Stems

SPB: Is there a regional food you look forward to on every tour?

Betsy: I just like to try whatever the region's most popular carbohydrate is - for example New York Bagels. I also fell in love with Tim Horton's while on our recent trip to Canada. We don't have those here.

Steph: Why, Bo …

John No (Street Eaters)

SPB: How different is touring as a two-piece as compared to your previous projects?

No: Touring as a two-piece has been really liberating for Street Eaters. Both of us have been in many bands with 3-6 members, and such combos of many volatile personalities can grow very unwieldy on the road. Obviously, it is …

Wells Tipley (86'd Records)

SPB: What is the best reunion concert you ever saw?

Tipley: Punk and hardcore reunions usually feel like cover bands to me. Granted, they're cover bands that happen to have original members playing the instruments, so that's pretty cool. But I think context is a huge part of what makes a band. Even if …

Bryan W. Fleming (Lasting Impression)

SPB: What is the worst stereotype you encounter when others discover you’re in a band?

Fleming: The worst stereotypes I think we encounter as a band is that people think we are some crazy, evil people or even just that we are assholes. Our music is meaningful to us and can be dark …

Jeff Clayton (Antiseen)

SPB: What is your favorite all-time record and why?

Clayton: Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies. It was one of the first three records I ever owned in 1973 (the other two were Three Dog Night & Grand Funk) and after one play I was never the same. It shaped who/what I would become years …

Terence Hannum (Locrian)

SPB: What appeals to you most about collaborative projects as compared with working with your regular band?

Hannum: You know I don't collaborate as much as the other guys. I think it is because it appeals to me less. I really enjoy the work I get to do with Steven and André in Locrian. The …

Julian (Drunken Sailor Records)

SPB: What do you think of bands playing albums in their entirety as a tour concept?

Julian: I'm not really into it, it seems it's the thing to do when everybody is sick of seeing you and you need gigs. When I watch a band I don't even want to know the set list, …

Nato Coles (Nato Coles & the Blue Diamond Band)

SPB: What are your expectations for the Replacements reunion?

Coles: The Replacements were one of the greatest rock'n'roll bands of all-time, no exaggeration, so I'm sure they'll sound good playing those songs, and I hope Slim's doing better. I suppose anything Paul and Tommy decide is "The Replacements" is …

Brian Gorsegner (Night Birds)

SPB: Would you license your music for film, sports, or ads if given the opportunity? Are there exceptions to the rule?

Gorsegner: I would, and we have. Of course there are many exceptions. MTV used our song "Prognosis: Negative" for the intro credits to a new show they were doing with Will Ferrell as …

Steven Hess (Locrian, Pan American, Innode, Haptic)

SPB: What appeals to you most about collaborative projects as compared with working with your regular band?

Hess: The challenge of creating music outside of my comfort zone, as well as the opportunity to work with other musicians and artists that I might not normally get a chance to work with. …