BANDS ARE KIND OF BORING

TWENTY-ONE INTERVIEWS IN TWO DAYS WHILE RECUPERATING FROM A BURST APPENDIX

Videos by VICE

QUINTRON
Too Thirsty 4 Love
Goner

How long did it take to shoot the cover photo?

Quintron: Obviously a snake is not going to pose. I’m sure that being fed helps. It eats larger meals than you or I do, whole chickens and rabbits. But they’re smaller snakes, right? DEERHOOF
Offend Maggie
Kill Rock Stars What is “Basketball Got Its Groove Back” about?

Ed Rodriguez [guitar]: Deerhoof’s “Who Let the Dogs Out?” CIVET
Hell Hath No Fury
Hellcat Forgive my ignorance, but what does the name of the band mean?

Liza Graves [lead vocals, guitar]: Did you choose it because it correlates to the band’s sound… because it’s an aggressive animal? CATFISH HAVEN
Devastator
Secretly Canadian Why is it called Devastator?

George Hunter [vocals, guitar]: I hear a lot of 70s work-all-week-and-let-loose-on-the-weekend rock on the record. What is the band named after? A restaurant or rural fishing lodge? AIDS WOLF
Cities of Glass
Skin Graft Is the album named after the Paul Auster novel?

Chloe Lum [vocals]: City of Glass That’s the graphic novelization of the Paul Auster novel. It’s a great, famously left-field crime-fiction novel. Anyway, I’m detecting a Black Flag influence.

Get in the Van Captain Beefheart RTX
JJ Got Live RaTX
Drag City I didn’t know you went by “JJ,” like in the title.

Jennifer Herrema [singer, songwriter]: Yeah, I like it… I said yes, I like it. I like the record. mimicking me Jennifer, do you know how many records I DON’T like? It’s not right! You know what else is not right? Hash. DUNGEN
4
Kemado How’d you come up with that title?

Gustav Ejstes [main dude]: Do you think this album is going to open you up to a bigger audience?
PARTS AND LABOR
Receivers
Jagjaguar J Warshaw [vocals, bass, electronics]: Vice Oh, err, hey, I hear some Alan Parsons Project on this record, which I like. Ever gotten that one? It’s not a bad thing. My promo copy came with a blurb sticker that said you guys combined Hüsker Dü and the Minutemen with the noise of Wolf Eyes. How do you feel about that? Personally, it sounds sort of ridiculous to me. It was from Wire magazine. Vice CRYSTAL STILTS
S/T
Woodsist You were just at soundcheck? Who are you playing with tonight?

Andy Adler [bass]: Pootie Tang? A band called Pootie Tang? Not only is it dated, but there’s something else wrong with that.
Oh. Describe the Crystal Stilts audience. Like, Flying Nun fanatics? EAGLES OF DEATH METAL
Heart On
Downtown Are you worried how this record is going to be received? It is different from the other two.

Jesse “Boots Electric” Hughes [vocals, guitar, percussion]: There’s a pretty serious Stones thing going here. You can’t deny that. And “Now I’m a Fool,” the ballad… EARLY MAN
Beware the Circling Fin
The End Are you totally happy with Jack Endino’s production work on this record?

Mike Conte [vocals, guitar, bass]:

LIGHT YOURSELF ON FIRE
Intimacy
Seventh Rule

Since you’re from Tampa, which was at one time the American death-metal capital of the world, has your band gotten a reaction from any of the old-school death-metal guys who still live there?

Matt Coplon [vocals, lyrics]: affects a deep voice THE SECRET MACHINES
S/T
TSM Recordings Being a drummer, especially one with a particular style, do you get sick of people asking, “How do you get that drum sound?”

Josh Garza [drums]: WHORE’S MASCARA
Like This but Sexy
Self-released Chaz Kourday [vocals]: Sweet Georgia [vocals]: Yes, please.

Chaz: Wow. How randy do your live shows get?

Georgia: Chaz: So you’re like the Fugazi of post-electroclash. You charge a nice low rate.

Chaz: WETNURSE
Invisible City
Seventh Rule Aside from the hardcore/metal combination, something else I hear on your album is an updating of the late-80s and early-90s aggro scene, but it’s not like Clockcleaner or Pissed Jeans, who pull from the looser Cows or Jesus Lizard side of that, it’s the more technical examples like Today Is the Day and Hammerhead.

Curran Reynolds [drums]: Willpower GANG GANG DANCE
Saint Dymphna
Social Registry Hello?

Josh Diamond [guitar]: Sampled robotic voice answers with a hardly intelligible “Hello” Hello? More robot voice Oh, OK, I get it.. Look, this is loose. We can talk about anything. I mean, I don’t really care what the fuck we talk about. Why is that? Do you have people actually bemoan the introduction of more structure into your music? WINDY AND CARL
Songs for the Broken Hearted
Kranky Your last album came out three years ago. To some people in the music industry that’s a lifetime. When you recorded this, did it seem like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes or did it seem like putting on a hair shirt?

Windy Weber [vocals, bass]: NINJASONIK
Tight Pants EP
Chief You’re nasty, but in a lovable way.

Telli Gramz [vocals, lyrics]: So what’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened at a Ninjasonik show? ENSLAVED
Vertebrae
Indie Recordings So how is this record different from Ruun?

Grutle Kjellson [vocals, bass]: It’s eight in the morning over here and late afternoon over there in Norway, so I must ask, what is the future like? Yes, you’re nine hours ahead of me. What happens in the future? RISE AGAINST
Appeal to Reason
Geffen Have people ever come to you and asked, “How can you guys be on a major? Isn’t that hypocritical or something?” Because you write songs that criticize capitalist culture and whatnot?

Tim McIlrath [vocals, guitar]: MARGOT AND THE NUCLEAR SO AND SO’S:
Animal/Not Animal
Epic Why the double album?

Richard Edwards [vocals, guitar]: Why so much material at once? Animal Not Animal I didn’t get a full-art promo, what’s the cover art going to be? Animal Not Animal Well, there you go.