Features / One Question Interviews

Mikael Kjellman (Martyrdöd)

SPB: If you could release a split with any current band (that you haven’t met), who would it be?

Kjellman: I think it's a tough one to answer, especially says bands that we haven't met. And I had the opportunity to meet with many of my favorite bands already. There are several artists that I …

Chris Besinger (STNNNG, vocals)

SPB: What is the worst interview question you’ve been asked?

Besinger: Not sure what the worst question we've been asked is, pretty much if someone is interviewing us I think it’s ok. Sometimes, we do get questions that are thinly-veiled attempts to get a very specific answer, like recently we were asked something to …

Chris Mason (Dirt Cult Records, Low Culture)

SPB: As somebody who runs his own label, what do you get out of releasing your own records on another label? Is it easier or relieving? What is your preference?

Mason: I started Dirt Cult Records as an outlet to release my own band's music because at the time no one …

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 …

Chris Kluwe (Tripping Icarus, ex-Minnesota Vikings)

SPB: What happens to Tripping Icarus now that your job has moved you to a new city? Going into the band, did you expect this to happen at some time given the nature of your full-time job [as an NFL punter]?

Kluwe: The band is currently working on finishing up our fourth …

Quelle Chris (rapper)

SPB: Of the following gas station food options, rank the following - popcorn ball, candied peanuts, or red licorice?

Quelle Chris: I will rate them on a scale of -3 to -1 in fairness to the unmentioned but understood top contenders.

The candied peanuts are an immediate -3 and most likely wouldn't be bought …

Trevor (Mercy Ties)
SPB: What is the longest tour you’ve been on (in terms of time)? How did it go/would you do it again?

Trevor: Our longest tour was 24 days. Started in Seattle, we did the west coast, 4 days in texas, some of the midwest, and ended in Portland. The goal of our band is to put …

Stan (Iron Tongue)
SPB: What is your all-time favorite record and why?

Stan: KISS - Hotter Than Hell

It's everything you'd want in a rock record. Oh, and they had stars over the girls nipples in the cover, which was awesome when I was 10.

Ryan Raichilson (Bright & Barrow Records)

SPB: What do you think of Record Store Day?

Raichilson: I have nothing but good things to say about Record Store Day. Although Bright & Barrow hasn't actively participated by putting out a record on RSD, I've really enjoyed it as a consumer. I know there's been some reports out there talking …

Seth Gile (Arms Aloft)
SPB:Do you do anything to minimize the cost of gas while on tour?

Gile: The best way to minimize the cost of gas at this point is to book a smart route and keep yourself as busy as possible. There's no way to change the fact that it's 4000 miles from our home to the …

Grath Madden (The Steinways, House Boat)

SPB: What was the first punk show you attended?

Madden: Does Green Day with Riverdales at the Baltimore Arena count? ‘Cause probably not, but, yeah, it was that. When I was first starting to go see bands, I wasn't interested in "punk shows" as much as I was into "Mighty Mighty Bosstones …

Kaycee “Ninevolt” Tarricone (Convul, guitar)

SPB: What kind of guitar do you use? How did you choose this model?

Tarricone: I've recently been using a Fender Jazzmaster with a P90 and a zebra humbucker. The neck pickup has a sloppy ground that gives off some strange sonic alchemy when you hold it right. It's really sunk into the …

Drew (Brain Tumors, singer)

SPB: What’s the best reaction you’ve gotten from a crowd when you left the stage and started interacting with them?

Drew: I'd like to hear the other guys' responses to be honest. I'm the singer so I'm naturally a fuckwit of all sorts with self-esteem issues, so my take on things will be pretty …

Adam Goren (Atom & His Package, Armalite)

SPB: As a performer, what do you think when fans run onstage and singalong at the microphone?

Goren: Most of my performances are in the context of teaching high school science students these days. Usually I'm flanked with enormously muscular bodyguards to keep any overzealous scienteens from getting too close to …

Grant Hart (solo, Husker Du)
SPB: How do you feel about the Twin Cities music scene today? Local and national media seem stuck in a comparison mode, endlessly bringing up Replacements and Husker Du without as much mention to the local musical history over the past 20 years. How do you feel the scene has evolved, changed, or stayed the …

Aaron Turner (Isis, Old Man Gloom, House of Low Culture)
SPB: Can you like a musician whose politics you disagree with?

Turner: There's a great many artists I listen to whose personal ideology, if not directly opposed to my own, is often quite different. If I chose to listen only to music made by folks with a worldview that …

Leo (Plagues, singer)
SPB: Who is your favorite 1990s band or artist?

Leo: My favorite band from the ‘90s, hands down, is Refused.

Colin (Amenra)

SPB: What is your favorite band you’ve discovered on a recent tour?

Colin: Lento, from Roma Italy.

Joe Lally (solo artist, Fugazi)
SPB: What is your favorite Roman (food) dish?

Lally: I don't eat cheese or meat so that rules out me knowing about most dishes Romano. I don't know how they came up with such heavy dishes in a place that is hot most of the year.

I can tell you a favourite Italian …

Todd Congelliere (Toys That Kill/Underground Railroad to Candyland/Recess Records)
SPB: How many vans have you had?

Congelliere: I've had 8 vans. Two band members that I've had in the past have accounted for two more vans that we used for tours.