Feature / One Question Interviews
The Men

Words: Loren • June 4, 2014

The Men
The Men

Ben Greenberg (The Men)

SPB: What’s a record you love that would surprise people?

Greenberg: Bill Frisell - Have A Little Faith

Bill Frisell is an amazing guitar player who has released many, many, many records that I never listen to. Have A Little Faith was the first one I heard, and continues to be my favorite. His band on the record is a quintet that includes an accordion and a clarinet, and the material ranges from 20th century American composers like Aaron Copeland (they play through all of "Billy The Kid" which is amaaaaazing if you've never heard it) and Charles Ives, to great overlooked jazz tunes like "No Moe" by Sonny Rollins, to really gorgeous renditions of pop songs by Bob Dylan and Madonna. Overall, the record has a great balance of tight arrangements and loose playing between the band members that has kept it fresh for me for years and years. Yeah, that's right, I like jazz, so what?

Loren • June 4, 2014

The Men
The Men

Related features

Jumalvauhti

One Question Interviews • March 27, 2025

Kalle (Jumalvauhti – bass) SPB: Who is your favorite band/artist from the 2000-2010 era? Kalle: It's hard to say, but Destiny's Child definitely can't go wrong.  Read more

Bronson Arm

One Question Interviews • March 26, 2025

Black Bickel (Bronson Arm) SPB: What is your favorite stretch of highway to drive in the US? Bickel: My favorite stretch of highway is that bit between Milwaukee and Minneapolis, two cities that Bronson Arm always have a great time playing. So if we are leaving Milwaukee, we are usually … Read more

Unstable Shapes

One Question Interviews • March 25, 2025

Kevin Hurley (Unstable Shapes – bass) SPB: What is your favorite Fugazi record? Hurley: While we can debate the best Fugazi record, a personal favorite of mine is The Argument. It was my entry point for the band. I was admittedly way late to the party on them and as … Read more

Retirement

Bike Shop

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • March 23, 2025

How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene Point Blank looks at how musicians split their time, and how their careers influence their music (or how their music provides escape). In this edition, we chat with … Read more

Let Me Downs

One Question Interviews • March 12, 2025

Paul Levesque (Let Me Downs - bass/vocals) SPB: Has the band ever been in a car/van accident while touring? Levesque: Fortunately, we haven’t! (Knock on wood) We have had our fair share of van issues. Blown tires, A/C going out in an hours-long traffic jam in the Arizona desert in … Read more

Related news

Buyer Beware from The Men

Posted in Records on November 30, 2024

The Menzingers Take Us to Second City for Red Scare

Posted in Records on September 2, 2024

Manchester Punk Festival 10

Posted in Shows on August 30, 2024

Related reviews

The Menzingers

After The Party
Epitaph (2017)

The Menzingers are a four-piece punk band from Scranton, PA, sharing the same hometown as band sibling Tigers Jaw. Although not musically the same, The Menzingers have a similar lyrical purpose to The Smiths: to tell detailed, emotional narratives about everyday people. Except, instead of about middle-aged well-read women and ambiguously gay recluses, it’s about 20-somethings sporting tattoos of high … Read more

The Menzingers

After The Party
Epitaph (2017)

For the past 7 or so years I have been saying that The Menzingers are the best current punk band around. Not only do they put on a hell of a live show, but their records resonate weeks, months, years after listening to them. A punk band that manages to stay relevant, it's impressive. The Menzingers are a band that … Read more

The Men

Open Your Heart
Sacred Bones (2012)

This could be the album that shoots The Men into music lovers’ hearts or it could be a slow burner that floats in the whereabouts of obscurity. The hope is for the latter. Open Your Heart is a musical mash of various genres, all neatly performed by a loose-sounding band that’s mastered the art of rocking out. There are punk … Read more

Advertisement

DCxPC 2025

More from this section

Jumalvauhti

One Question Interviews • March 27, 2025

Kalle (Jumalvauhti – bass) SPB: Who is your favorite band/artist from the 2000-2010 era? Kalle: It's hard to say, but Destiny's Child definitely can't go wrong.  Read more

Bronson Arm

One Question Interviews • March 26, 2025

Black Bickel (Bronson Arm) SPB: What is your favorite stretch of highway to drive in the US? Bickel: My favorite stretch of highway is that bit between Milwaukee and Minneapolis, two cities that Bronson Arm always have a great time playing. So if we are leaving Milwaukee, we are usually … Read more

Unstable Shapes

One Question Interviews • March 25, 2025

Kevin Hurley (Unstable Shapes – bass) SPB: What is your favorite Fugazi record? Hurley: While we can debate the best Fugazi record, a personal favorite of mine is The Argument. It was my entry point for the band. I was admittedly way late to the party on them and as … Read more