Theo (Powerplant)
SPB: Do you have a preferred color of vinyl pressing?
Theo: No! But see through ones let you see the lottery ticket you've been looking for the past two weeks beneath it. They should advance vinyl tech, I want to roll records into tubes and have …
Biznaga
SPB: What was the last live show you played and what stands out about it from your current, COVID-era perspective?
Biznaga: Our last show was in Miranda de Ebro, in the north of Spain, in a quite big and nice venue called "La fábrica de tornillos", a …
Justin Smith (Graf Orlock – guitar/vocals)
SPB: When you play live, what is your preferred guitar/amp combo? (And why that setup?)
Smith: In Graf Orlock I use a Gibson Les Paul with custom made humbuckers which are wound hotter than normal. This runs through an original model Peavey …
William Thomas Fay (Something Is Waiting)
SPB: I hear you make your own cabs. Can you tell us what the most important custom features are for your personal sound?
Fay:
Cody Wilson (Cody)
SPB: Your name is Cody but this isn’t a guy-with-an-acoustic-guitar thing. Do you identify it as a solo project or would you still call it a “traditional band”?
Wilson: We are definitely a traditional band and our name originated from our writing process. The songs …
Jarboe
SPB: What is the “go to” Jarboe keyboard (make/model) and what makes this one so essential for you?
Jarboe: M-Audio PROKEYS88
Reliable slave / interface for the Mac recording application I use.
Rash
SPB: What is your favorite protest song?
Eric (vocals): "The Dream is Dead" by Blight
Jesse (guitar): "Police State" by Dead Prez
Skyler (drums): "Draft Morning" by The Byrds
Jim (bass): "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Kaada
SPB: For Misinterpretations, you used a grand piano that was (as I understand it) modified with something called Putty Kit, which leads to a unique sound. What is your experience using this and what inspired this project?
Kaada: Putty-Kit goes under many different names : Heftemasse/Klebemasse, …
Matt Muffin (Lollygagger)
SPB: Have you ever forgotten lyrics or the music for a song while playing live? How did you recover?
Muffin: The best story I have is....
A few years ago, Mike and I played in a band called The Peekaboos, which later pretty much …
SJC (Mycelium Cloak – drums/lyrics/vocals)
SPB: Has being on a stage regularly changed how you interact with strangers? Are you more/less social because of your stage experience?
SJC: When I first started playing music, it definitely made me more social. Simply playing with other bands extended my network …
Jason Fusco (Shehehe)
SPB: What drummer (not your own band) stand out to you the most?
My faFusco: vorite drummer is Michael Gonzalez of the local Athens, GA band Deep State. I just really dig his driving style of playing. It's aggresive, but fluid, reminds me of why …
Kenny Feinstein (Water Tower)
SPB: You’ve been through a lot and your songs reflect that. Can you tell us the symbolism or how you landed on the Water Tower name?
Feinstein: Thank you for asking. Thank you for taking the time to listen to and understand my …
Ossa Humiliata (City of Industry) SPB: Who is your favorite lyricist? Humiliata: Damian Abraham and Mike Haliechuk from Fucked Up. Collectively, their word play, storytelling, and creativity are always operating at 100 in my opinion.
Derek (Old Ghosts)
SPB: What is the best TV theme song?
Derek: It would have to the Cheers theme (I know I’m showing my age). Some of the lyrics hit me & I find them quite relatable. Also, the piano is quite catchy.
Here’s some lyrics with …
Tommy Plural (The Plurals)
SPB: What do you remember about the first Plurals live show?
Tommy: The Plurals -- from the beginning, and to this day, Tommy, Nich, and Hattie -- started playing together when we were all still in high school, largely jamming on Pixies covers in …
Gene Woolfolk III (Vincas - guitar)
SPB: What type of guitar do you play for live gigs and how/why did you choose it?
Woolfolk: I have a plethora of large, heavy tube amps but none of them fit in a minivan. Chris lets me use his Musicman HD-130 …
Sean Arenas (Pinned in Place – guitar)
SPB: What guitar do you play (and how did you choose it)?
Arenas: I've only ever owned one electric guitar: my purple Fender Standard Telecaster, a Mexican model. I purchased it when I was nineteen from a sixteen-year-old kid in Temple …
Lindsay DeGroot (Fox Face - lead guitar, vocals)
SPB: How old were you when you first learned an instrument?
DeGroot: I started playing guitar when I was 25 years-old. A few years before that, I played drums for the first time for "All Messed Up." All Messed Up …
Ian MacDougall (Nice Surprise – guitar/vocals/bass)
SPB: Is Nice Surprise primarily a two-person project? What is the origin story?
MacDougall: Nice Surprise is myself, Ian MacDougall on Vocals/Guitar/Bass and Stuart Sikes doing the recording and drums. It was pretty much born out of quarantine boredom and our love …