Features / One Question Interviews

Young, Planetary (Trevor Villagrana)

SPB: What is your favorite 1990s artist/band?

Villagrana: If you knew me growing up, or, hell, if you met me five minutes ago, you’d probably guess my answer to this question is Blink-182.

And, honestly, most of the time, you’d be correct.

However, albeit somewhat surprisingly, the first band that came …

Devan Bleyle (Obsolete Man)

SPB: Who designs your merch? (Any stories about the inspiration of a specific piece or, alternately, how did you get involved with this artist?)

Bleyle: Initially, we've done it all ourselves. By doing it ourselves, I mean we found public domain art and free fonts that we liked and built our designs with those. …

Paul (Tor Johnson Records)

SPB: What’s the most challenging technology change in running a label right now, in 2021-22?

Paul: When I started the label 20 years ago the internet was nothing like it is now. Keeping up with streaming services, social media (I'm still horrible at twitter), websites (I update the store, but my website is kind …

Christian Dryden (The Ritualists – vocals/songwriter)

SPB: Besides the ‘80s and ‘90s references on display, are there any particular contemporary songwriters who inspire you?

Dryden: Yes! We love The Horrors, White Lies, Wand and Temples. They are all excellent, newish bands that really challenge the listener with incredible textures, grooves and soundscapes.  

Tyler Daniel Bean

SPB: After music, what arts interest you?

Bean: I’m inspired by the thought Annie Dillard put into creating a sentence, the quiet way Agnes Martin’s minimalism intentionally rejects the ease of machines, how Mark Rothko’s experimentations with the drying times of paint additives helped change the ways we experience modern art, the way Richard Siken …

Forever Unclean

SPB: Who is your favorite 1970s band?

Forever Unclean: We took it to a vote.

Apparently our collective answer is Deep Purple.

Bob Spires (Remote Control)

SPB: Who is your favorite 1980s artist/band?

Spires: This is a tough one but I'd have to say, being a Georgia boy, that the early ‘80s records by REM have to be top for me. I got a cassette of Murmur, their first full length on IRS, when I was in early high school. …

So Hideous (Brandon Cruz)

SPB: What instrument (or instrument combo) was the hardest to capture in the studio when recording None But A Pure Heart Can Sing?

Cruz: We’ve used strings on every single one of our releases but it was particularly challenging on this album as we tried a different methodology. On the last two records …

Brenton “B-Train” Aragon (Moxiebeat-bass)

SPB: What type of bass do you play and how did you choose it?

B-Train: I Play a Fender P Bass. For a long time I used a Music Man Sting Ray and loved it. I bought it used from Jorge Cassillas of Voodoo Glow Skulls for $300 (which is super cheap!) when I …

Gihwan (WinningShot)

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

Gihwan: We’re a pretty new band and have only had the chance to play normal venues here in Korea. But we’re hoping to tour in the US this summer and looking forward to playing in any bar, club, garage, basement, or living room that will …

Tomas Acosta (Moxiebeat – drums)

SPB: Tell our readers about your kit and how it’s put together?

Acosta: I’ve been playing ‘70-‘80s Ludwig kits of for the past 15 years or so. Usually they can be found pretty cheap on Craigslist/Offerup. I’ve had about 10 Ludwig kits pass thru my hands. My buying and selling has become quite …

Nicholas Pentabona (BEDTIMEMAGIC)

SPB: From when you started up ‘til now, is there any specific piece of gear or setup that’s come to define your sound?

Pentabona: The one piece of gear that has defined my sound over many years is a WOBO AB/Y pedal I bought from the maker …

Keunyoung (Full Garage/UltraLazy)

SPB: What is a city or country you would love to play in but never have?

Keunyoung: The Fest in Gainesville, Florida: Full Garage had a chance to play back in 2018, and I really wanted to join the festival, but other members’ couldn’t make it for the show because they were too busy with …

Alix (Daydream)

SPB: What do you remember of playing your first show?

Alix: My first show ever was when I was 13 years old. My two younger brothers and I formed a cover band with a friend and we called it FEENIX. We played a benefit party at a church that we all grew up going to (against …

Mike Moderski (Greylock)

SPB: What’s the most overrated guitar feature?

Moderski: Guitar strings. There’s so much hype that goes into branding when really they’re just tiny metal cables. Expensive or not, if you play hard enough and sweat your strings will rust.

Jeff (…Whatever That Means)

SPB: Your lineup features members from multiple countries. Who is an overlooked/influential punk band you’d like to shout out from each of your home countries?

Jeff: Like you said, besides the members who were born and raised here in Korea, we have members from the US, and Poland, but we’ve all lived in Korea …

Jebb Riley (There Were Wires)

SPB: You haven't played live in years. What do you think will be the hardest song to relearn/remaster?

Riley: I’d have to go with “Gasp”. It’s long, but it’s the many mood, tempo, and part changes in that song that I think will be challenging. When we wrote it, it was a period …

Iman (Iman’s League)

SPB: What do you think is the most unique thing about Singapore’s punk scene, when compared to more well-known scenes, such as the USA or UK?

Iman: The Singapore punk scene is known to be hardworking and self-reliant. We organize shows on our own and make our way to other countries to showcase ourselves. This …

Jon Pagano (Sullest, Weak Teeth, Best Practices)

SPB: What’s the secret to a successful tour?

Pagano: Preparation and communication are critical. Plan a route, then plan a secondary route, and honestly for good measure, plan a third route. With so many variables, you’ll want as much flexibility as possible in case something falls through. Make sure you get …

Yianna (Vouna)

SPB: How did you choose the guest artists for this record?

Yianna: Everyone was a very natural addition to the record:

Autumn Kassel and Caitlin Fate were both members of the live line-up at the time, before they both moved to New Orleans. Autumn had been playing the synth interlude of What Once Was live …