Features / One Question Interviews

Hector Martinez (Spider-lead vocals)

SPB: What is the best TV theme song? 

Hector: Without a doubt, I gotta say the theme song for the HBO show John From Cincinnati is the best theme song ever.

The song used is “Johnny Appleseed” performed by the inimitable Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros.

I always loved The Clash …

David Wilson (Sarin - guitar/vocals)

SPB: How likely are you to pick up a record based off its cover with no knowledge of the band or music?

David: I generally treat cover art as indicative of what's inside, as presumably that's the imagery the band wants me to associate with their music. It's not unusual for me to …

Eric Carlson (Steppe People)

SPB: What is your primary or go-to tour food?

Carlson: Touring allows bands the opportunity to venture out into the world, see new and exotic scenes, meet fans and future friends, and of course taste far out and local delicacies. None of those bands are Steppe People. Steppe People are a delicate ecosystem. In …

Leo Ashline (Street Sects)

SPB: There is a fair amount of your new album that was written focusing on the subject of addiction, which stemmed also from personal experiences. Do you feel that Street Sects has aided you, in that it acts as an outlet for your emotions?

Ashline: Definitely. For my end, Street Sects was created specifically …

Shane Handal (Set and Setting) 

SPB: There are a lot of stereotypes about post-rock. How do you approach genre and expectation when composing?

Handal: For whatever reason, post-rock sometimes has a negative stigma attached to it. Which is weird to me, because a lot of bands are proud to proclaim certain genres. Anyway, we never really felt …

Tobias Sinclair (Soft Kill)

SPB: How did you meet the new members and how did they get on the Soft Kill ship?

Sinclair: Owen & Conrad have been with the band since the Heresy LP. I met Owen when I was nineteen and playing in grind core / noise bands. We spent our initial time together …

Luke (Somni)

SPB: What is the best movie you’ve seen this year?

Luke: I've seen a lot of great films this year, so this is tricky. I'm going to go with The Witch (dir: Robert Eggers), a great little horror film set in yee olde times featuring a goat called Black Philip. It was brilliant! I'm a big …

Eddie Gobbo (Something Is Waiting)

SPB: What is your favorite album cover of all time?

Gobbo: Bruce Springsteen - Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ

Sarah Quintero (Spotlights)

SPB:What’s the strangest trend you see in modern music (or in the industry)?

Quintero: The strangest trend I have been noticing today in music is seeing older bands (that I grew up listening to), like Failure, Shiner, and Hum, get back together and be reviewed and/or accepted into the “metal” scene. Growing up these bands …

Charlie Wagner (Slow Code)

SPB: How much space is your home is dedicated to music (instruments or records)?

Wagner: While the basement is jam-packed with guitars and amps and odds-and-ends, our physical media game is pretty weak, though 95% of the time there's a record being played through the living room stereo, and the house is almost exclusively …

Scott Wilkinson

SPB: Who's your dream interviewee?

Wilkinson: Well that's a tough question, years ago it would have been George Harrison but due to unforeseen circumstances that can't be arranged (unless you have some pull Loren). I think now it would be Peter Gabriel. My main interest in him would be centered around Genesis and his constant refusal …

Spyros Stasis

SPB: (How) Has work in sound engineering affected your music tastes and/or reviewing?

Spyros Stasis: It has not affected so much my outlook on the quality of the production, so it does not mean that when I cannot listen to the old Darkthrone albums anymore. I still consider that sometimes certain bands or artists do require …

Andy

SPB: How much does the music you listen to shape you as a person - is it difficult to separate yourself from the music, or is it who you are, etc. 

Andy: My taste in music has evolved and expanded greatly over time, and to some extent, I am not as connected personally to music today as …

Aideen

SPB: How did you get started as a music writer? And what was it that drove you to that direction?

Aideen: I don't have the musical talent to be a musician, but I love writing and I love music so pursuing music journalism seemed like a natural progression from there. I started by writing a (very small, …

Rob Fales (Southpaw Records)

SPB: Have you ever rejected album art from a band or artist? What goes into that process/decision?

Fales: Yes, we've rejected album art from bands. It's not something we do too often, only two that I can recall. There was a Sandwitches record we removed a penis from (for obvious reasons). Then there was …

Shirlette Ammons

SPB: What is the strangest trend you see in music (or in the industry vs the art)?

Ammons: Strangest trend to me is how much people are relying on pop culture, particularly pop songs, for their politicization. I do celebrate and embrace the affirmation, momentum, and empowerment provided by songs that speak to people's struggle, but …

Nicole (Swahili Blond)

SPB: (Hypothetically) If your children were to start a band what would you tell them?

Nicole: "Let your mind go, and your body will follow"

(a quote from LA Story)

Storm Ross

SPB: As a multi-instrumentalist, what is your composition process for a song and/or record?

Ross: While I don't have a set formula per se, I do seem to follow some familiar patterns when writing. Most of my compositions for the past number of years have a drone or repetitive phrase as the bed of the piece, and …

Jeff Noller (Skittish)

SPB: How has the increasing digitalization of the music industry changed how you listen to music?

Noller: I feel like I hear a lot less “deep cuts.” I used to be limited to only the CDs I brought with me on a trip, thus propelling me into the depths of an album rarely explored. Which …

Brandon Cruz (So Hideous)

SPB: What do your parents think of your music?

Cruz: We’ve been fortunate enough to have a strong support system with respect to our families and them understanding why we do this music thing. I’d say our parents “appreciate” the work we do but would probably be more apt to enjoy the music if …