When you interview a musician named Skunk, you know the conversation will be interesting. Especially when you learn Skunk is in a band called A Good Rogering (AGR), which actually has it’s own tongue-in-cheek definition on Urban Dictionary.
Skunk Manhattan is an amazing guitarist, showman and band leader. AGR has been around - shocking and amazing audiences since 2008. They’ve laid low for the past few years, but with their new EP, This Is Death Metal, which will be released on September 5, they’ve re-emerged with a new line-up and fantastic new tunes.
Manhattan took some time to talk about the future of AGR with INsite… as he answered 10 questions.
Sean Claes: Looks like A Good Rogering (AGR) has gone through some lineup and style changes. You went from a three piece featuring yourself & Chef Bull RD to emerging from a year-long hiatus to a full four piece outfit. How did this transition occur?
Skunk Manhattan:I wasn’t looking at all; the stars just sort of aligned. Chef and I had grown tired of searching for drummers and really had just focused on writing after our last release. It’d actually been about 3 years since we’d played a show and then he ended up moving to San Francisco so that was that.
Anyway, I’d produced an EP for a band called Old World Kings in 2015 and somehow talk of us jamming together had come up. I’d already jammed with their drummer, Blake Haskins. Their bassist, Sammy Alvarado, was a fan and was all about jumping on board.
Enter Rick Lambert… He was fairly new in town and had heard of AGR and was wanting to get out and play, so I said let’s all learn 3 songs and get in a room together and see what happens. And it was killer! That’s how it all started.
Claes: Is there a new sound that goes with the new line-up?
Manhattan: The sound is finding itself, as it always has. We’ve rebranded and have started dubbing the music eclectic heavy-rock. I think it’s fitting even though we have a definite “old school” metal edge.
We’ve done everything from a mock TV theme to a classical piano piece so it’s hard to define a sound when you branch out in that way. The live show is an all out, high energy, hard rock assault. We love playing live and the energy between this group of guys has been second to none. I love it.
Claes: According to your website, your music was driven by channeling your “ancestral caveman predecessors.” Care to explain what this means?
Manhattan: I think that sentence sums up the band perfectly. We are rather brute. But yet charming. You just have to come to a show to get it.
Claes: I remember seeing you play Texas Rockfest a handful of years ago and what impressed me as much as the music (which was great) was your command over the audience. I felt like I was at rock & roll church. Where did you get such a command of stage presence?
Manhattan: Yeah that kind of ties into the last question. I think we really shine live, more now than ever actually. Back when you saw us I was doing a reverend shtick. It made sense at the time. I mean one of our members was already wearing an apron and a giant chef’s hat right?
But now it’s been stripped down. It’s just natural. We just go out there and rock the fuck out. It’s raw and honest the way rock and roll should be. Being on stage is easy. Honestly it’s one of the few things in life I feel comfortable with and in command of. It is my religion.
Claes: You released “The Snail” as a single back in November. To me, the song seems to be a tell-tale about the music industry - musicians wanting instant success without putting in the work. So… who is “The Snail?”
Manhattan: Actually that song is also on the EP but with a different drum track. It’s also the only track Chef is on bass. It features Blake on drums. We decided to release that version as a tribute to that roster that never was. It’s cool we at least got in the studio for that one song though.
It’s a typical simple but not really simple AGR type tune. There’s always little tricks that will make you feel like an asshole if you didn’t do your homework and learn the tune (laughs).
Anyway, lyrically it is about being frustrated. I’ve definitely experienced disappointment and wasted time and am no longer interested in moving at a snail’s pace or working with anyone not dedicated. This time around we’ve hit the ground running and I have no intention of letting up.
I think if can get in front of the right crowds over and over again the honesty in our music and performance will get us where we want to be. I’m a romantic like that. A caveman romantic.
Claes: One thing that makes it hard to explain AGR to people is the fact that your music is not one-note or really one-genre. Do you think the fact that you’re so genre-jumping makes it easier or harder to reach new audiences.
Manhattan: Well it doesn’t make it easy to package and that is something I’ve learned you have to do, at least to some degree. I don’t like it, but that’s part of the business. I think we’ve really found who we are, though. Things are really coming together with this lineup for sure.
There are those quirky tracks we’ve done, but live we are a high energy, take no prisoners rock and roll band. And we can get pretty damn heavy but I still don’t like to say metal. So “eclectic heavy-rock”. That’s our “package.” One thing I’ve noticed is that when we do gain fans they tend to really enjoy the diversity of the music. Which I take as a great compliment.
Claes: You’ve got an endorsement with Tregan Guitars. Why did you choose that brand?
Manhattan: Oh Tregan is fantastic. They’ve always been super cool to work with. I met Tony Guarriello (founder) at a NAMM show here in Austin ten years ago. I actually got on board with them before A Good Rogering had even been conceived. I was with the band Quartershackle and we had a nice press kit. Tony liked the band and the image so we came up with the Skunk signature guitar and the rest is history. I’ve done demos at NAMM shows and have had national advertising with them over the years. I love playing the guitars. That’s pretty much all you’ll see me playing live, and almost all the guitars on the AGR albums are Tregan.
Claes: Tell me about This Is Death Metal, your EP that is out September 5.
Manhattan: The title is from the last track and it’s exactly what it says it is. The other tracks are all different. “Never Miss” is a re-work of a track on Long Overdue. “The Snail” with Rom on drums is a totally different mix from the single. And then there’s “Five Ministries.” The total opposite of Death Metal. It’s more groove and melody based with lyrics that make you think, if you want to.
Claes: You’ve got a tour coming up this month. Where are you heading?
Manhattan: Yeah, well we’ve got some dates on the calendar. We’re doing a festival called 828 Rockfest in Asheville, North Carolina so that’s kind of been the catalyst. We’ve got a few east coast shows on the way and then a few in Louisiana on the way out. We love playing that state, the fans are awesome! We go up as far as Maryland or possibly New York and then we’ll be heading back for a few Texas shows.
Manhattan: September 23rd. I guess it’s technically in Pflugerville. And I haven’t played north Austin in years so we’re excited to play up in that area for those fans that don’t like having to deal with downtown and all that.
Gonna give a shout out to Ear Splitting Media here because they put on a lot of good shows up there.
A Good Rogering will be playing Fitzgeralds in San Antonio on September 6, then they’ll head out on tour around America before returning to play Hanover’s in Pflugerville on September 23. If you’ve seen them live before, you’ve likely already got these dates on your calendar… if you’re new to AGR, do yourself a favor and make a show. It’ll restore your faith in locally-sourced live music. Sean Claes is the owner of Austin's INsite Magazine and has been a freelance entertainment writer since 1996. This is week 34 in his "52 Weeks of Austin Musician Interview" series. See the others here: 52 Week Project
Bobby Bookout’s unconventional entry into the Austin music scene (he served in the military, used his GI Bill to get a degree in music and released his debut self-titled album, to much acclaim, in 2010) has been a road few have taken, but few have the smooth soul-infused voice and gift for the written word that he possesses.
It’s been seven years since we’ve heard from this Jason Mraz-meets-Rob Thomasesque musician on a record. The release date of his second album, titled B (after his initials as well as the second letter of the alphabet) is close, but it hasn’t been set in stone just yet.
We thought it was time to check in and see how Bookout is fairing and encourage him to take that final step to let the world hear his songs again.
Sean Claes: In 2011, “Broken Promises,” a song off your debut album, won the R&B Category of the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards. Judges included Ozzy Osbourne, Seal and Tom Waits. How did it feel to know such mega-stars listened to your track AND THEN chose it as the top song?
Bobby Bookout: I was honored and blown away to know that this panel of judges even gave my music a listen and was shocked when they nominated it as a top song.
The win I received was the popular vote. Once you were nominated into that top five list, you were given a chance to compete for the popular vote. Supposedly, more than 14,000 people voted. My people killed it won it for me!
Claes: Following you over the years, it seems music is a major passion of yours, but the recording process seems to be a bit elusive. It took about 3 years to record & release your debut album and now you’ve been working on the follow-up for the last seven. How do you keep that fire lit?
Bookout: Man, this is a rabbit hole of a question that’ll have me getting philosophical on you so I’ll try to spare you the long long answer. This is going to sound super cheesy, but in response to your metaphor, keeping the fire lit isn’t the problem at all… It’s keeping the fire contained so it doesn’t burn everything else down that gets tricky.
It’s a constant balancing act. I was single when I wrote and recorded my first record. My biggest struggle then was constantly being broke. But aside from going to work (shout out to Texas Roadhouse in South Austin!) my time was mine. I’d go to work and then go home and write or head to the studio.
When Kathryn and I got married and started making babies, everything changed. I was still financially broke, but time suddenly became the thing I had the least of. My desire to make music was as strong as ever but my efforts to juggle that and life were frustrating and exhausting.
I tried to consider… (emphasis on “tried”… I couldn’t ever get all the way to “consider”) just quitting music altogether, but having that thought even for a second immediately made me nauseous. It’s not connected to a switch. Being passionate about a thing, regardless of what that thing is, isn’t something you can just turn off.
It’s been pushed to the back burner a lot, but 7 years later, I’ve finally -sort of- got my feet under me and have figured out how to make it work.
Claes: Something I completely understand… when life becomes more important that a project (I’ve been trying to finish 52 Austin Musician interviews since 2012). What has been going on in your life since the last release?
Bookout: Well, I proposed to Kathryn in front of all of our friends and family at my CD release party for the debut at Dirty Dog on June 13th, 2010. We got married a year later.
We got pregnant with Braden, my oldest son, on February 15th, 2012. He was born 9 months later (to the day…) With my night schedule being what it was, I knew I’d never see him once he started going to school with my wife (she was a preschool teacher at the time), so I started keeping my eye open for a day gig.
In March of 2014, during SXSW, I had the pleasure of waiting on one of the coolest couples I’ve ever met, Healey and Rachel Cypher. Healey worked for Ebay and was actually speaking at SXSW. We hit it off and they at least pretended to be interested in my life story (which they got). We’d exchanged cards and that night I decided I’d follow up and see if Ebay might be looking for someone with a military/food service background and an associate’s degree in music (you never know… right?)
Two weeks later, I got a call from Sarah Romer, who would ultimately become my boss (and friend) at PayPal… I was working days and finally making decent money. We got pregnant with #2 in November. We decided we needed a bigger house for two dogs, two kids, and my gear so we signed a contract to build a new home out in Manor (NE Austin) where it was still affordable. Then, in February of 2015, almost my entire team and I were laid off.
Meanwhile, my sister-in-law, Jessica McCoy (Kennemer, at the time), was working on the marketing team for an extremely fast growing Austin based start-up called AffiniPay under a beast of a CEO named, Amy Porter. I met with Amy. She decided to take a chance on me and graciously offered me a sales position.
Brody, my second son, was born on August 10th, 2015. We moved into our new house a month later.
For years we’d talked about going into business for ourselves in some capacity. We started kicking around the idea of opening up our own preschool in Manor where there seemed to be a pretty high demand.
After a year’s worth of some pretty intense stress and a TON of work, we finally opened up The Busy Bee Preschool (www.busybeemanor.com) this last Spring.
And I’m finally, just now, cutting vocals on this record!
Claes: So, back to the music. What caught my ear when I heard you the first time was that smooth timeless equal parts rock and R&B voice that seemed to flow directly from your soul. How did you develop your voice?
Bookout: I grew up singing in the church. We were always in the choir. My Grandpa was a Methodist pastor and over the course of my childhood, was at a handful of churches throughout the Southwest Texas Methodist Conference. Those old hymns were a big part of my musical development and I feel really fortunate to have been exposed to them as much as I was growing up.
Beyond that, my influence came from a pretty awesome variety of genres. There’s a lot of soul in country music. George Strait and Merle Haggard were kings. Then at a very impressionable age for me, Garth Brooks blew up. I knew every song on his first seven records. My biggest childhood influence of all though, was Elvis Presley. My dad introduced me to him at a really early age and I was hooked. He did it all and he did it all really well.
I also vividly remember the first time I got to see Boys II Men perform live on TV. I was completely blown away and contemporary R&B became a thing for me right there in that moment. I was also constantly surrounded by Latin music, specifically Tejano and Norteno.
My sophomore year in high school, we moved to Midland and I really started paying attention to hip-hop. My friend, Savoy Smith, helped me pick out my first two rap cds - Mystikal’s “Unpredictable” and Bone Thugs & Harmony’s “East 1999.”
Their music couldn’t be more different, but Mystikal and Garth Brooks could both really tell a story in a song.
Claes: You’d mentioned that the debut album was centered around heartache and loss, and since the release you’ve gotten married and started a family. How has that influenced your songwriting?
Bookout: It actually made it a little harder. It’s so easy to bleed words when you’re hurt and alone. It’s hard to bleed when you have a toddler sitting in your lap with a huge smile on his face listening to his daddy make music. I had to evolve a little bit.
Claes: Tell me about some of the tracks on the upcoming album.
Bookout: The first song I wrote for this new record was a song called, “You.” It’s the first song I ever wrote about Kathryn. I managed to write what was ultimately a happy song but still sounded sad and dark because it focused on the black hole I’d been in before finding her.
Most of the songs on my new record are celebratory in one way or another though. Some of them are heavier and some are light and fun, but overall, they’re a lot more positive.
Claes:Musically, you’ve played out a few times in the last few years, One-2-One Bar, the 4th of July festival in Carrizo Springs, Moontower Saloon, Rattle Inn. Where can we see you next?
Bookout: I had to stop booking this year. I LOVE playing live but the live show itself is the easiest and smallest part of the gig. There’s a lot that goes into that show and at this stage in the game, I have to wear every hat. Booking, hiring, promoting, rehearsing, performing.
It’s all absolutely worth it, but not when it comes down to doing that or staying home and finally finishing this record you’ve been working on for the last 7 years.
The next show will be the CD release party sometime this fall and it will likely be down south at Moontower if they’ll still have me.
Claes: Where are you recording B?
Bookout: I split the recording of both of my records up between two studios… Studio 1916 down in Kyle, and The Amusement Park Studio in Lubbock. Both are killer studios owned and operated by great friends of mine.
Blake Atwell owns Studio 1916 and plays guitar for me quite a bit. Paul Miller is the engineer at the studio. He actually helped me rearrange and also played on a cover we’re putting on the record, The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven”.
Scott Faris is a mega talented producer and guitar player and owns The Amusement Park. He was one of my instructors when I attended South Plains College and later became a good friend. He’s been on board with me from day one.
Claes:Who are some of the musicians you’re working with on the new album?
Bookout: Chris Moore is my permanent drummer so he played drums on the entire record. Chris Maresh played most of the bass on the record but Matt Slagle came in and played some too. Derek Morris and Amy Faris played keys. Kevin Flatt laid down some amazing horn parts. Jose Galeano, from Grupo Fantasma, killed the percussion on a few songs. Blake Atwell, Cale Richardson, and Keenan LeVick, three of the best guitar players you’ve ever heard, played guitar on almost everything.
Carter Arrington (guitar) and Dane Farnsworth (keys) are two guys I'd LOVE to make more music with. They both came in and played on a song called, “Time”. Scott Faris who’s co-producing and mixing the record will have probably ended up playing guitar on something also. Paul Miller played classical guitar, keys, and vibes on “Just Like Heaven”.
Kasi Painter, Ange Kogutz, and Anna Hillburn came in and put down all of the female background vocals for me. I hope I didn’t leave anyone out. I mean, it’s been 7 years of this so there’s a strong possibility.
Claes: What are your thoughts of how the Austin music scene has changed over the last decade?
Bookout: I was fortunate to come into the live scene under the wing of MC Overlord, (Donnell Robinson), which meant being introduced to some really good people from the get go.
I found my spots in Austin pretty quick and didn’t venture far. Ben (who now owns and runs Come And Take It Live) and crew, always took care of me at Dirty Dog. I love Gregg and Destinee at One-2-One. Earlier on, I always enjoyed playing at Lucky Lounge and Beso Cantina. Saxon was great. Momos was was of the first bars I ever played at downtown. Moontower Saloon is one of my favorite newer places to play.
From my limited perspective, it’s a little sad and unfortunate that the people and venues that actually care about the music, at least as much as… if not more than the bar sales, seem to struggle the most.
Austin’s changed a lot since I got here in 2007 but I know there are folks that would say Austin already wasn’t Austin anymore when I got here. The world’s an ever-changing place. Austin’s not any different.
There’s still so much talent here and new acts popping up everyday. In that regard, I’d say the music scene’s doing just fine. And I still love this place.
from bobbybookout.com
For those who are interested in checking out some of Bookout’s new material, he will be releasing a second music video for “Broken Promises” in the very near future. Also, as he approaches finalizing B he will be releasing a couple live videos filmed at Studio 1916. Check out http://www.bobbybookout.com for updates. Sean Claes is the owner of Austin's INsite Magazine and has been a freelance entertainment writer since 1996. This is week 28 in his "52 Weeks of Austin Musician Interview" series. See the others here: 52 Week Project
OK, I have to admit something. Midgetmen have been around for a decade and before receiving their Loud Enough in the mail recently, I'd never heard them before. When I did hear the CD, their fourth which was released in 2011, I dug their stripped-down sloppy and fun rock sound. It says "Austin" to me. I can see myself siting back in a club on Red River drinking a beer while listening to them do all the work from stage.
So, I took a chance to interview them for their big 10th Anniversorry Celebration (Yes, I spelled that right) which is happening on May 18th at The Mohawk. That's when I learned that they are some pretty funny folks as well. Apparently I didn't get the memo for the last decade, but I'll be damned if I don't let the readers on INsite make the same mistake for the next one.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Midgetmen - The INsite Interview.
Sean Claes: Four friends who worked together in the software industry learn that they can play music to get free drinks. The Midgetmen were born in 2002 based on this premise. Did you think you’d still be playing together in 2012?
Marc Perlman: No, I thought I'd have moved out of Austin before then. Probably to a mansion in Malibu after our first album when 17x platinum.
Jon Loyens: Don't know if I ever thought about it like that. I love this band and I think as long as I'm living in Austin, I'll be playing with these guys because they're my friends and it's one of the things we like to do together. I mean, playing music just slows down the beer consumption so that's probably a healthy thing.
Justin Petro: No, not at all. I wasn't sure we'd make it to next practice, let alone next month or year or… decade! When you look back on it though, it was remarkably easy to put up with the other three jokers for the last ten years.
Perlman: I think Justin and I were both of the mentality of "Two years in Texas, then back to real life in the Northeast!" Oops.
Claes: OK, that’s the bio story, but how did you guys actually come together as a band?
Loyens: Really simple. I was hanging out with Marc one day (I forget if it was at work or at a show) and he said he'd like to be in a band. I said, great, how about you learn to play bass since Petro already had a kit and I played guitar. We drove up to the pawn shop (I think I may have almost got in an accident and killed us) the next day and got Marc his first bass. That next weekend we had our first little jam session. Then later that weekend we went to a J Mascis show with Alex. Alex was said "I want to be in your band too" and showed up at our next jam with a case of beer. That's about it. We were all hanging out together anyway so hanging out and playing music was a natural extension of what we were doing.
Perlman: Jon got it pretty spot on, I think. Our published bio is pretty accurate-- we did all meet at a software company called Trilogy and really did bond over a love of watery domestic beer and loud guitars. No one in the band (or outside the band, for that matter) had some epiphany of "If we put these four incredibly hot guys together and arm them with guitars, they'll get rich and famous."
Petro: Bordem. Economic collapse. War. Those are why you start bands, right? I think there was a certain degree of serendipity at play with us. We certainly had common interests in indie rock and beer, but also were afforded enough time and patience to make it more than a hobby. Patience equals putting up with my inability to play an instrument.
2012: Photography by Maurice
Claes: I like how your bio says you’re an ever devolving work in progress. How far have you devolved in the last 10 years?
Perlman: A couple years ago, it got to the point where Alex had to learn how to change a diaper.
Petro: I think most recently, especially with the return of 'real' indie and rock — that is, stripped down, guitar and drum driven growlers — we're devolving back to that. We got enamored with the Hold Steady a while back because they were making bar-rock again. They since went all sideways and have finally saw the light again, we hope. Similarly bands like the Cloud Nothings and Henry Clay People have brought back that angry fun we love listening to and playing. I think it's the right level of devolution.
Loyens: I think in indie rock it's actually good to not sound like you know what you're doing. In the last 10 years we've actually gotten alright at playing our instruments and being tight. So from that perspective, we're devolving away from the indie rock ideal. Next year we're going to prove how far we've come by covering all of 2112 and 5150 front to back. We will only cover albums with numbers as titles.
Perlman: C'mon, Alex has to regularly change diapers. On multiple boys. You can guess whose diapers.
Claes: How much farther is there to go?
Perlman: We're like Columbus. If we sail far enough West, we'll wind up East. Or, in our case, if we get low enough, we might get to headline Coachella by accident?
Loyens: I won't stop until we can play all of 2112 with note by note perfection. Therefore, we will never stop.
Petro: Miles. I hate all the fucking guitar and pomp and circumstance wankery of most music today. Let's go back to writing simple, awesome Ramones-y, big-beat pop songs.
Perlman: Can a band exist where one guy wants to play 2112 note by note and the other guy thinks the Ramones were too complex? Stay tuned for the second decade of our lives!
5/13/03 @ Emo's
Claes: Has the line-up remained consistent for the entire decade? How have you been able to pull that off?
Perlman: Same lineup, except for album #1 when Keith Shepherd (also another software guy who now has written of the topselling iPhone/iPad games!) was our singer. He was around until our first show as a four piece of July 31, 2003.
Loyens: I think we're lucky in that we're all good at doing something that makes a band stick. Petro makes posters, Marc books shows, I drive the van and Alex drinks beer.
Petro: I F*CKING SING, TOO. Mostly, we're not good enough to do anything else… mostly.
Claes: Who are some of the bands you’ve been honored/excited to play with over the years?
Perlman: The Wrens, Country Mice, The Misguided Lemming
Loyens: Titus Andronicus was great. Playing the aftershows for Pavement and Dinsosaur Jr. at Stubb's was also great because we got to watch those shows from up high. Of course, I've also loved playing with friends bands like Goes Cube and the Misguided Lemming.
Petro: I think we've met some really great people over the years. I think it's more the people than the bands themselves. Some of the stand-up folks in the industry who I like seeing because I know them through more than just their music: Henry Clay People, The Wrens, Titus Andronicus, Gay Blades, Calm Blue Sea, and Country Mice.
Claes: The Midgetmen finally got to play the outdoor stage at Emo’s last year, and then the club closed. You feel responsible at all?
Perlman: Definitely. It's a little known fact that the Black Cat burned to the ground about 6 hours after I dropped off our first ever 5 song demo CDR looking for our first ever show. We're like the black angels of club death.
Loyens: No, and I wish Emo's all the best booking metal and hip hop out East.
Petro: Clubs, bands and marriages… we've killed them all.
Perlman: Justin wins.
Claes: I’ve seen your music described as “White-collar pub rock.” How accurate is that to you? How would you describe it?
Perlman: We've all got white collar jobs and we sing about it. So, maybe? I like Bob Pollard's description of GBV as "fun rock." And, I like former Austin Chronicle writer Darcie Stevens' description of "slop punk."
Loyens: We've got white collar jobs yeah but I don't think the music is white collar at all. I think White Collar Pub rock is honestly the shit cover bands that play Lucky Lounge or even a lot of the faux-Americana stuff that all the done up Dallas girls go see at Saxon Pub. The fact that we have these white collar jobs lets us make music that we actually give a shit about.
Petro: I think we've all worked pretty hard to get where we are in life. I don't think anyone of us really came from a silver spoon situation, so we have a blue collar ethic — DIY, punk rock, call it what you will — that built it. We like being in bars and playing to 50 people as opposed to 5000. Not that we wouldn't do that latter, but to coin a Hold Steady lyric: "It's great to see you back in a bar band…"
Claes: How would you describe your writing process? Are you driven by lyrics or music first?
Perlman: Most stuff seems to come from jamming on a riff until we come up with a few parts and then piece it together. The lyrics are usually slapped on like a bad paint job. Alex and Jon used to bring fully formed songs to the band, complete with lyrics, but that stopped around 2007/2008 probably because we got comfortable screwing around until we said "that's a song!"
Loyens: Generally it's music first. Marc and Justin are definitely the best lyrics writers in the band but they tend to be a little verbose. Alex and I can't remember that many lyrics so we're good editors in that regard.
Petro: Music. I like that for the most recent stuff it's all a jam session. Someone may come with an idea, but it's usually a riff or something. We play it over and over and see what sticks. I think it's much more democratic than most bands where there is a true leader. I think that's also one reason we managed to get this far — individually, we're a bunch of assholes, but somehow in the context of the band we're able to be egoless and just roll with it.
Perlman: It's also important to note that Alex has such an ego he decided not to participate in this interview. He also is the defacto frontman, because it annoys him when we say that.
Claes: Who typically writes the lyrics? Is there ever anything that’s off limits, or you don’t think the band should be writing about so you don’t?
Perlman: We kind of rotate who "claims" an unlyric'ed song. We'll play the instrumental song 9 million times until we realize "Hey, Jon hasn't sung a new song in a while. Jon, this one is yours!" and then it's Jon's job to come up with lyrics. I don't think anything is off limits, though we've tried to limit profanity in case someone accidentally wanted to play our songs on the radio.
Loyens: Generally (but not always) the guy singing the song is the guy who wrote the lyrics, but everyone will chip in and help edit. I suppose pedophilia would be off limits but not much else.
Petro: I think we draw mostly from life's moments. Most of them have some sort of personal tinge, whether that's something deep like Goodbye, or light hearted like King Kong. We don't tend to stray too far from what we know, either in lyrics or content.
Claes: You’ve released 4 albums thus far. Do you have a favorite?
Perlman: Favorite album is definitely Loud Enough. from 2011. Favorite song is a toss up between Shitbox and King Kong. Though, Goodbye -- which we recently started playing live again -- is up there.
Loyens: Loud Enough by far. King Kong is my favorite song we've done. Front to back it's great.
Petro: For sure, I love the fast ones. I honestly have to say I still get a kick out of playing the very first song we wrote: Gone Away.
Claes: Your latest release, from May 2011, is Loud Enough. What is your favorite track to play live from this album?
Perlman: King Kong. I remember when we wrote it, I said it was the best thing we'd done in a while. And the first time we played it live, I could tell our friends and fans didn't think it sucked. Tommy from The Pons told me we'd have trouble topping King Kong after he heard it with the horn parts, which is about as complimentary as you can get!
Loyens: King Kong or the Dream.
Justin: I like Race To The Bottom. It's got this Dinosaur Jr feeling to it (at least to me), but at 2x the speed. I think it rocks. If I was 18 I would love it.
Claes: I caught an interview The Austinist did with you guys when you celebrated your 5 year anniversary and you sited The Hold Steady as your band-crush (in not so many words). Do they still stand as an inspiration to you? They are writing their 6th album right now.
Perlman: Well, album #5 was boring to me, but their live show here in Austin in April was great. So, while they're not my band-crush right now.. they could return to that if album #6 doesn't put me to sleep.
Loyens: Definitely. Just saw the Hold Steady for the first time without a keyboard player. It's a testament to that bands songs that they've gone from sounding like the E Street Band to sounding like Thin Lizzy and the songs still hold up great.
Petro: Well, yes and no. We just saw them a few weeks ago at Mohawk and they were awesome. However, I'm no longer enamored. The last two album were phoned in as far as I can tell. They lost that bar-band aesthetic that made them so unique. Band certainly need to mature, but I feel it safe to say that we want more 'Positive Jams' and less of the shite on the last album. I'm in to quirky and unique, not polished wankery.
Other than them, I'm really into the Cloud Nothings and the new Japandroids at the moment.
2009 - Photography By Maurice
Claes: You’ve been playing in the Austin scene for a decade. How has it changed in that time for you guys?
Perlman: It's become "home" as opposed to "this place that's hotter than hell where I happen to live."
Loyens: A lot of clubs and bands have come and gone but we haven't. There are fewer places to play downtown, but generally the places we play are far cooler. I actually think the scene has gotten better because of it.
Petro: I love that it's been disrupted by all the new players: Transmission, et al. I hope that continues to happen. It's good market economy. It's nicer to see shows now-a-days, better venues, better sound. It's potentially slightly less 'authentic' if you like truly shitty bars. It's all growns-up.
Claes: What is your thoughts on the current state of live music in Austin?
Perlman: I think there are some pretty good small bands, but it strikes me as very odd that Austin really has trouble producing a band that can pack a 300-500 person room that doesn't completely suck. As a city, we don't seem to produce many rock bands that get invited to tour as national openers, play early in the day at big festivals, etc who then grow up to be the next Spoon.
Petro: Eh. I think a lot of it is derivative. I like bands like the Gary who are still doing what they want to do regardless of the trends.
Claes: You’re celebrating your 10th anniversary as a band on May 18 at Mohawk. You’ve got a pretty killer line-up. Do the other bands represent friends you’ve had throughout the last decade?
Perlman: Yes, for the most part, all these bands (or individual folks in these bands) have been playing shows with us off and on for 10 years. The Misguided Lemming played with us at our first ever Emo's show in 2003, so we're ecstatic that we convinced Ben to fly in from NY, skip his grad school graduation, and come play a reunion show with Scotty and James!
Petro: Of course. That's how we like to roll. It's amazing what people will do for other bands. We love the guys in the Misguided Lemming. They're reuniting just for us! How awesome is that?!
Loyens: Yup. That's exactly the plan.
Claes: What kind of fun things are going to be pulled out of your bag of tricks for this celebration?
Perlman: I guess the Weird Al cover set is already out of the bag, eh?
Loyens: A tribute to the world's greatest songwriter. Weird Al.
Petro: We'll be sober. That'll be the best party trick we've ever accomplished. There's also zero chance it'll go off without a hitch.
Claes: You’re wrapping up the night by performing a set outdoors, then coming to the indoor stage and performing Weird Al’s Dare To Be Stupid. How did that idea come about?
Perlman: We've always covered a random song or two for the spectacle (like We Are The World in 2010) and no one wanted to cover The Wall or Sandinista, so we settled on Dare To Be Stupid.
Loyens: We wanted to play a set of covers, but it needed to be just ridiculous enough. This was clearly the answer. Alex and I both wore out Dare to be Stupid as kids and most of the covers/parodies are good party songs that people recognize.
Petro: I had for YEARS wanted to do a polka party cover. These three d-bags never got behind it. When we were debating what to do for the 10 year, I pushed them again. It's a perfect idea really, not only do we get to play covers, we get to play covers of covers. They're songs that everyone knows and can sing along with — and, they're fun!
4/3/02 - First Show Ever
Claes: June 14th is Midgetmen Day at Stubbs? Tell me about this.
Perlman: The city will recognize any band that fills out a form (see earlier question on current state of music in Austin). They assigned us June 14th and then Stubb's was willing to let us book a show there. We'll get the key to the city or something and then promptly lose it in the bar bathroom. Also, our friends in Boy + Kite and Calm Blue Sea are playing that with us… and they'll be required to pay homage to us by offering their first born and/or their drink tickets.
Loyens: The city finally came around on us. Just wait for our bronze statue.
Petro: Every dog gets its day. Right?
Claes: Anything else you’d like to add?
Perlman: Thank you! To Sean, to our friends and family and fans and the other bands and the places that have let us play there over the years. It's been pretty fun.
