Features / One Question Interviews

Chris (Rational Anthem – bass/backing vocals)

SPB: How do you determine who sings in a given song?

Chris: These days Noelle sings all of the songs. Chris does harmonies and backups. We split writing duties but since Noelle has the stronger voice we let her sing all the songs these days. We used to toy with the idea …

The Cactus Blossoms

SPB: Who is your favorite currently active country musician?

Jack and Page: Willie Nelson

Roddy Bottum (Nastie Band - keyboards)

SPB: With Nastie Band, what keyboard do you play and how did you make this choice?

Bottum: I play an Oberheim reissue by Dave Smith. It's called an OB-6. I play it cause it's a reissue of the first keyboard I owned. like to keep things close to my history.

Divided Heaven

What is the strangest trend you see in modern music (music-wise or industry-wise)?

The strangest trend I see in modern music is the return of the cassette tape. Who would've thought? I know, I know...there are cassette tape purists that will claim the media format never really went away and that's true. But one cannot deny …

Ryan (fotocrime)

SPB: How do you preserve your voice while on tour?

Ryan: Years ago I used to shred my vocal chords. Then I started singing at a volume level and in a range of pitch that suits my voice. I’ve had no problems or concerns since then.

Patrick Delaney (Nastie Band)

SPB: The name Nastie Band kind of speaks for itself. Where there any runner-up names?

Delaney: Nastie Band was, iz, and will be the only name. We all surrendered to it joining the band as the name preceded us. NASTIE is the iron rod that rules us.

Jamie Stillman (EarthQuaker Devices - President/Product Designer)

SPB: EarthQuaker has a reputation for high quality, versatile builds that artists can use in the studio, live, and in experimental environments, ie writing. What did the collaboration with Sunn O))) mean to Earthquaker on a personal level, and did you approach this project with goals related to a specific aspect of …

AEF (Starless Domain)

SPB: What electronic equipment/synthesisers do you use and what led you to those in particular?

AEF: On the album EOS I went fairly simple with synthesizers and only used a Roland JP-8000. This was mostly due to my gear being in storage and, since this was our first run writing music for Starless Domain, I …

Josh Fleming (Vandoliers)

SPB: Take us through your gear setup from your last tour? 

Fleming: We roll around the country as a six-piece band, stuffing everything in to the back of a Ford Transit named Vannah Montana. I play a Gibson SJ200 and SJ100 ‘cause they are giant and I love swinging them around, Dustin our lead guitarist …

SPB: A lot of bands in this scene only exist for a short amount of time. 69 Enfermos has been active for over 20 years. What's the secret to that success? 

Dalin: Well, It's been such a long ride since we were just a bunch of kids dreaming about playing with the Fat/Epitaph bands and touring around the world…and …

Anthem Grief

SPB: The two of you recorded the album on your own. How does the band’s live setup work?

Anthem Grief: The two of us met through a previous band that was around for a short time. The two of us were the only ones who really clicked in that band. Throughout the years after that project …

Russ (Good Riddance)

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

Russ: I remember it being euphoric, the sense of watching people move and go crazy to the music my band was playing. 

We weren’t very good at our instruments then, but it didn’t seem to matter. 

Almost our entire set consisted of …

Martin Bisi

SPB: What is your preferred guitar model for personal playing, and how has your production work affected that choice?

Bisi: I started way late on guitar. I was a drummer during my teens, through my early years recording. It was drumming that helped me work with the early hip-hop I did (Afrika Bambaataa, "Rockit," etc.) And …

Chuck (Batshit Crazy – guitar)

SPB: What kind of guitar do you use, and how/why did you choose this one?  

Chuck: For the Batshit Crazy record I totally stumbled into using this DEAN guitar. The background of the guitar is I used to own a Recording & Rehearsal studio and I had bought a cheap Dean guitar (not …

Seth Babb and Chris Berry (Repeater Records)

SPB: What stood out to you most in the reissue process as you revisited Gospel’s The Moon Is a Dead World?  

Repeater: The thing that really stood out putting out the reissue of “The Moon is a Dead World” was just how well this album holds up. Everything about it, …

Rainer Fronz (Learning Curve Records)

SPB: Besides music, what other arts interest you?

Fronz: Besides releasing records with Leaning Curve Records and searching the internet/basement shows for new dirgey bands, I have some other things I like and love.

First off as far as a huge interest and effort go to my kid. She is the best …

Eric Saylor (Reunions – guitar/vocals)

SPB: Can you walk us through your guitar gear?

Saylor: I have two pretty distinct setups I like to run; both are pretty basic. Most of the time I'll run my LTD EC-1000 into a Mesa DC-10 paired with an oversized Mesa 4x12. I've spent a lot of time in bands that tune …

Fotis Tzanakis (The Contenders – guitar)

SPB: Can you walk us through your guitar gear?

Tzanakis: Here's a more detailed way of how I come to the sound for my guitar playing for Contenders: I play a Peerless solid body. I treat recordings and gigs quite differently when it comes to how my guitar will sound. 

Both …

Martin Defatte (Guerilla Ghosts)

SPB: Who is your favorite artist to see live?

Defatte: My favorite artist to see live these days would have to be Carnage the Executioner. Living in the Twin Cities, Milwaukee ends up being a tour stop for him a few times a year. I first saw him... must be 13-14 years ago now. …

Chuck (Bullet Treatment – guitar)

SPB: What kind of guitar do you use, and how/why did you choose this one?  

Chuck: My main guitar is a Gibson Epiphone Les Paul Model, it wasn't necessarily the guitar I set out to use but I like to try and buy cheaper guitars and then modify them to get a specific …