Features / One Question Interviews

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 …

Jeffrey Tucholski (Gentle Leader XIV)

SPB: What was your favorite band in high school? Do they influence your songwriting or ethics in any measurable way today?

The three of us all went to high school in the mid to late ‘90s so, as one might guess, there was no shortage of legit terrible music to listen in that …

Cormy (Geld)

SPB: What is a hyped band, TV show, or movie that you just can’t get into?

Cormy: Not really interested in the daily churn of the hype machine. More interested in anti-hype and the macro ways in which that's influencing culture. Through my work I frequently encounter the ways (some subtle & complex, others dumb & …

Till Lemoine (Guerilla Poubelle-vocals/guitar)

SPB: What is the furthest you’ve ever traveled to see a show (and who/where was it)?

Till: I guess the furthest I traveled for a show was going to Fest 9 in Florida in 2010. It was a long trip from Paris just to see some punk shows! I remember that my family teamed up …

Gino Bambino (Gino and the Goons)

SPB: Who is your favorite lyricist?

Gino:

I walk 47 miles of barbed wire,

I use a cobra-snake for a necktie,

I got a brand new house on the roadside,

Made from rattlesnake hide,

I got a brand new chimney made on top,

Made out of …

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

Great Cynics: We think it's great! If it's a celebration of that album then more power to them. It's always strange going back to something you did in the past. You realise how much you've changed as a person and/or musician. It's a bit like dipping …

Kyle (Geometers)

SPB: What’s the most recent “grower” record you picked up that took a while to click?

Kyle: "Prey," the latest from Planes Mistaken for Stars. It's one of those records that feels so dense on the first play through but keeps rewarding over repeat listens. Sonically, the songs tend to bleed into each other (brilliantly so, …

Arthur Smilios (World Be Free, Gorilla Biscuits)

SPB: What strikes you as the biggest change in recording an album between now and your first few recordings?

Smilios: One word: technology. Analog tapes have been replaced by computer programs. When we were recording the GB 7" and Start Today at Don Fury's, we were using what was then cutting-edge …

Justin Smith (Ghostlimb)

SPB: It seems people are often surprised when they hear of musicians holding higher degrees. Why do you think that is? 

Smith: I think the common view of music and “art” culture is that it is a crew of degenerates or hippies. I would argue that at the crux of these initially DIY scenes …

Gareth Dickson (solo, Vashti Bunyan)

SPB: Is it unusual to be considered a "cult" artist or almost semi-legendary while still recording music? What kind of pressures does that produce?

Dickson: Ha, nice question, I had to check that it was actually intended for me. I never think of myself in that way, I always feel like I'm still struggling …

Jason Schmidt (Graf Orlock)

SPB: Rank these listening formats: cd, vinyl, cassette, digital, (other?)

Schmidt: I would rank these in the degree to which they are both visually and aurally pleasing. I would say vinyl would be top in that it has an expandable format and has a lot of low end that an MP3 would lack, squeezing …

Kyle Bishop (Grade)

SPB: Who is your favorite 1970s artist?

Bishop: Black Sabbath

Nathan Kearney (Gonzovillain)

SPB: Is there a particular record you’ve heard this year that surprised you? In a good or a bad way?

Kearny: I'd say that the record that's surprised me the most this year is Institute's EP Salt. They're a band from Texas who, for me, represent what I first got into when I got …

Georgia Maq

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

Maq: I'd like “Two Worlds” – Tiger’s Jaw played at my funeral. 

Austin (Grand Vapids)

SPB: Which of the Athens bands have had the most impact on the music industry as a whole and/or which have inspired you the most?

Austin: There are too many bands from Athens to reference who have had major impacts on the industry without stating the obvious round of usual suspects. I suppose if I …

Jeremy (Girl Scout)

SPB: What varieties of Girl Scout (the band) cookies would there be? 

Jeremy: We always talked about making weed versions of Girl Scout cookies and selling them as merch because there is nothing more Girl Scout than getting high, turning up the fuzz and having some fun. We just wanna put the "tree" in trefoils, …

Jesse (Gay Witch Abortion)

SPB: You’ve played shows out of your van and on a boat, among other locations. What setting has been the most fun or the most challenging to orchestrate?

Jesse: Playing 7 short sets outside 7 different bars in a van in one night was fun. The raft show was great. They just let us …

Digestor (GHOUL)

SPB: How's Creepsylvania this time of year? 

Digestor: Moist

Gypsy Eyes

SPB: What's your favorite movie sequel?

Gypsy Eyes: I'd have to say my favorite movie sequel is "2046" by Wong Kar Wai. It's the second in a trilogy of films, the first being "In The Mood For Love" and the third being "Days of Being Wild." The film is about a science fiction author struggling to …

Aaron Whitfield (Great Reversals – vocals)

SPB: If you could experiment in any one genre that's far removed from what you do now, what would it be?

Whitfield: I feel a little ashamed to say it, but other than "singing" in a hardcore band, I don't play any other instruments. I've wanted to dabble in drumming or bass-ing, …