Features / One Question Interviews

Vinnie Fiorello (Less Than Jake)

SPB: Would you license your music for use in film, sports, or ads if given the opportunity?

Fiorello: We already have been involved in all of the above. Fact for a band like LTJ or hell most bands: you want everyone and anyone to hear what you've done creatively. Licensing songs allows bands …

Brendan Kelly (Lawrence Arms)

SPB: Does your child listen to your music at all? What does s/he think (sorry, I can't remember if you have a son or daughter--or both)?

Kelly: My kids like to listen to my music in the car. They also like to listen to it on occasion in the house if it's a recording. …

Lesbian

SPB: Is your band name in reference to the sexual orientation, the Greek island, any of the three ships that bore the name SS Lesbian, or the mason rule that can be bent to measure curves with an astonishing degree of accuracy?

Lesbian: It's actually all four of those, especially the last, but also the fifth option …

Jeshua Marshall (Larry and His Flask)

SPB: What is the weirdest venue/setting you’ve ever played a show at?

Marshall: Several years ago we were asked to play the opening ceremonies for a local UFC cage match. We played inside the cage! The amps were falling over because of the bouncy platform. All the while we were locked inside …

Nick Harris (Luther)

SPB: What was the first concert you attended?

Luther: The first "concert" I ever attended was The Offspring when I was 12 years-old. The first show I ever went was in the basement of McCorristin High School in Trenton, NJ in 2000. None of the bands that played are still bands, but it was awesome: …

Alex (Lemuria)

SPB: What do you think when fans run onstage and sing into the mic while you’re on stage?

Alex: I think it's fun when people jump up on stage and sing along. It brings a great energy to the set for us. But with anybody who does this, they must know when enough is enough. There …

Monet Wong (L’Assassins, guitar)

SPB: L’Assassins definitely utilizes style as an element of the band in addition to the music. How do you feel the two are intertwined?

Assassins: It’s funny that we seem to be able to get asked this type of question a lot - even though style is intertwined almost universally with every band: even …

Lunaire

SPB: Earlier this year you posted a picture of your drum kit in a basketball hall - is that the strangest place you've ever recorded, and if not, where was that?

Lunaire: We have recorded in a lot of places. We've recorded on top of a dormant volcano in a national park, by a river, in a …

Jim (Liar in Wait)

SPB: What makes for a good host when you sleep on a stranger’s floor?

Jim: A good host gives you a floor to sleep on period. If you're lucky enough to have 4 walls for an evening, that's amazing. Anything is better than a Wal-Mart parking lot.

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 …

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 …

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. …

Matt Agrella (Look Mexico)
SPB: Who does the majority of the band’s driving?

Agrella: Driving. We try to divvy this up pretty evenly, though some of our biggest arguments will be over petty "No, you still have 15 minutes left," or "You're stopping now?" We've figured out that 3 hour shifts work for us, but a lot of bartering …

Lauren Denitzio (The Measure [SA], The Worriers)

SPB: What was your first tape (or cd or record)?

Denitzio: The first cassette I ever bought was Gin Blossoms "New Miserable Experience" in 1993. I was nine years old and ordered it from that Columbia House mailorder catalog. Hey Jealousy was my first favorite song, and I still think that …