Features / One Question Interviews

Gwendolyn Giles (Vocals/Guitar - Dog Party), Lucy Giles (Vocals, Drums - Dog Party)

SPB: What inspired you to start a new record label in 2024?

Sneak Dog: When Dog Party finished recording our seventh record, we sat and really thought about different ways we could release it. We were leaning towards releasing it ourselves. We knew that our friend Lizzie …

Stephen Hamm Theremin Man shows off his theremin magic.

Jeremiah Duncan (Small Steps – guitar/vocals)

SPB: How did Small Steps, the band, come to be?

Duncan: Small Steps started in late 2023 outside Lexington, Kentucky when me (Jeremiah) and Coty -- our drummer -- got together in a crammed office and started writing music. We had an idea of what style of band we were wanting to create and …

Jono Giralt (Stress Positions – drums)

SPB: Walk us through your drum kit and how you arrived at your sizes, etc.

Giralt: I play on a Tama Starrclassic. All Bubinga shells. 12”, 18”, and 24”. Charcoal grey, I guess? They look nice. I’ve been playing the Ludwig raw copper phonic snare. 6.5”x14”. Honestly the best snare I’ve ever played. Even …

Stepan (Selfist)

SPB: What do you think “hardcore” (as a scene) means in 2023, going into ’24?

Stepan: The beauty of hardcore, much like any other form of art, is that it means different things to different people. That being said, as a culture rooted in a DIY ethos, hardcore exists in localized pockets that create an interlocking web stretching …

Russell Harrison (Stress Positions)

SPB: What do you think of Record Store Day? 

Harrison: We are of two minds about Record Store Day. It's good because it drives business to independent record stores, but bad because it means the pressing plants are all clogged up with major labels doing reissues of stuff on vinyl for this day. It now takes …

Ian (Skill Issue – guitar)

SPB: Skill Issue is based in 3 cities along I-95. How many combined total miles do band members have to drive, on average, for the band to practice or play a show?

Ian: tbh, skill issue is pretty much an anarchist art collective more than a traditional band. I tried to ditch cars entirely last …

Yanni Papadopoulos (Stinking Lizaveta-guitar)

SPB: What is the secret to a successful tour (whether that means financially or for your own well-being)?

Papadopoulos: The secret to a successful tour is to have a tour manager who is selfless, even tempered and sober.  Tensions between band members can reach a breaking point when you're in a van with each other for …

Declan (Snakeland - guitar)

SPB: What was your favorite band in high school and how do they influence your songwriting/playing style today?

Declan: I'm not sure I could pick one band, but for me that era was bookended by Against Me! is Reinventing Axl Rose and Oh! Calcutta! by The Lawrence Arms. I don't think Snakeland sounds much like either …

Logan Hammon (Small Crush-vocals/guitar)

SPB: How do you choose your album art?

Hammond: I love to design my own album art to reflect the feeling of the album. Making it handmade is my favorite way to do it, so it really feels like my art coming to life. I love when it has a lot of texture and personal flair. …

Jaake Margo (Sweet Gloom – vocals/guitar)

SPB: You covered “Jaded” for the Operation Ivy tribute. Why that song (and did you have a second choice)?

Margo: "Jaded" was always my favorite Operation Ivy song, so when the opportunity came to cover it, I jumped on the chance. I grew up a little less than an hour from 924 Gilman …

Eric Urbach (States of Nature)

SPB: Which song that you wrote are you most proud of (and why)?

Urbach: States of Nature has been working on a new LP now for quite some time, and I feel most proud about the fact that we were able to put together a fantastic, cohesive body of work that I believe will resonate. …

Dick Lucas (Subhumans UK)

SPB: How involved were you in the box set project? 

Lucas: Most of my involvement was with going back through my old diaries to see if what I'd written when we were recording the albums made any sort of readable outline of what happened in the studio, and when I “tested” some entries on Daryl from …

Suzi Moon

SPB: You’ve played in bands and, somewhat recently, shifted to a solo focus. How does it feel different “from the stage” when it’s your name on the bill instead of a band name?

Moon: Well, technically I am still in a band -- the gang mentality is still there. The Suzi Moon Band wouldn’t work without my super …

Stomatopod

SPB: What song has the best use of whistling? 

Elliot: “Young Folks” by Peter Bjorn and John....the whistle is the hook....and starts the song... (although that Guns ‘N’ Roses song probably sold more records...)

Sharon: “Love Is A Battlefield” by Pat Benatar.

Her album Crimes of Passion was the first cassette I ever bought (but that song was not …

Andy Pohl (Sell The Heart Records)

SPB: Have you ever signed a band you didn’t personally know?

Pohl: Yes, I've worked with many bands that I didn't personally know beforehand.  Most have been introduced to me by other bands or musicians that I personally knew, such as Failing Up, Original Son and Heavy Seas. There have been a few that …

Davey Warsop (Suedehead, Beat Union, Sharp/Shock)

SPB: Noting that Terry Hall recently passed away, what is your favorite song by The Specials and what does it mean to you?

Warsop: It’s so hard to choose but currently I’d probably say “Do Nothing” … The lyrics and melody are just so haunting. 

But they had so many great songs that were …

Chris (School Drugs)

SPB: What model van is your go-to for touring?

Chris: Econoline E-350 with extended cab, the fifteen-passenger masterpiece. Generally bigger and more comfortable, able to haul all gear and personal effects. Out of the thirteen vans I've owned, four of them were that very model. The last van we had before our current ride, known amongst us …

Sarah Mary Chadwick

SPB: Do any of your musician friends have tinnitus?

Chadwich: Tinnitus? I barely knew him!

Shaylee

SPB: What song would you want played at your funeral?

Shaylee: Hmm, my funeral? I've never given it much thought, but the first one that comes to mind is "Motion Picture Soundtrack" by Radiohead. The organ on the track feels very reminiscent of a funeral procession, and the lyrics about how "it's not like the movies" would hit hard …