1-800-BAND

     There was a time in the early 1980’s when I loved MTV and the videos they played, an era when it seemed rock music was still moving in new and exciting directions. The pop and new wave bands then had the ability to echo our own wide-eyed enthusiasm for the times and of the heartbreaking losses in love we went through and put it to terrific pop tunes. Well many listened but few learned, 1-800-BAND are some of the ones that took really good notes.  They learned to channel a similar romanticism and inject it into fun and undeniably catchy songs similar to the Pretenders and The Cars. 1-800-BAND do what so many rock n’ roll bands wish they could accomplish: they make something old sound new again! 

Interview by J Castro

Ok Al, let’s start off by telling me who’s all in the band and what you all do to earn your place?

AL: Al Huckabee on guitar and vocals, Polly Watson on keyboards, Robbie Kongress on bass and Aaron Carroll on Drums – all positions formed by the cooling of molten lava, no one earned a thing.

Now a bit about your musical careers, I know you were all in other musical endeavors prior (and maybe you’re in other bands now) so can you give us a brief rock n’ roll resume? 

AL: Sure, 1-800-BAND is made up of former members of the Hong Kong, a great new-wave-y Brooklyn band, Crimson Sweet which was a scrappy art-damaged punk band which toured incessantly for about eight years and Another Saturday Night which was a raucous rock n’ roll outfit. Somehow out of the murky overlap of these progenitors emerged the clear pop stylings of 1-800-BAND.

The band is based in Brooklyn NY. Based on your experiences, what are the best and worst parts about being in a band in a HUGE city like New York?

AL: Best part – there are countless clubs, countless bands and endless opportunities.

Worst part – there are countless clubs, countless bands and endless opportunities.

You guys did a great video for the song “Diver Blue” off of your EP of the same name (Almost Ready Records).  Have you seen the comment on Youtube by the guy that said you were “careless” about the senseless violence in it?  What do you think of that comment?  Do you think any band or public figure has any kind obligation to try and steer things away from that sort of thing? 

AL: Thanks, I’m glad you like the video. It was collaboration between the band and the extremely talented David Cavallo. Dave not only made the Diver Blue video but also the video for Would You Believe It from our debut LP. He’s also the cinematographer for Jodoroski’s Dune, which is an amazing documentary I can highly recommend for anyone who enjoys movies, stories or life. I’ve not seen the comment you refer to but I suppose the idea is that violence in a work of fiction is somehow a causal link to violence in real life. I reject this idea. I think fiction, fantasy and art are the safest ways known to mankind to explore, understand and form opinions about very difficult real-life problems.

If the commenter is looking for ‘careless’ decisions that give rise to Americans shooting each other dead in the street s/he should check out District of Columbia v. Heller 554 U.S. 570 (2008) and other similar lower court decisions. You bring up a great question about the obligation of bands and public figures. I think if 1-800-BAND were writing school curricula or crafting public policy we would all be in a lot of trouble but we aren’t; we write pop songs and make rock videos. We’re artists, we make art.

What sorts of things typically inspire 1-800-BAND songs?  Can you remember the most unusual person or place that inspired you to want to write about?

AL: We’re inspired by the same things that everyone else is: romance and having a great time! One thing I love about songwriting is how small, strange, disparate ideas can all coalesce and work together to form a song. In the song “Diver Blue,” Rob came up with that idea and the rhyming line “Change for a two, Diver Blue” as in change for a two-dollar bill. I love that because everyone knows what a two-dollar bill looks like but no one has one in their wallet right now. Two-dollar bills are cool but why? Our protagonist wants the girl but she’s with another guy so he has to break them up: change for a two. So the chorus is about this specific mundane piece of currency which by itself is perhaps nothing to sing about but in the context of the song its catchy, it rhymes and you can feel the heat of the underlying desire.

Or check out Polly’s lyrics in “Many Happy Returns”

“Sky and city receding

Curs whipped and bleeding

I’ll never tell you goodbye

I’ll never tell you goodbye

So watch the city burn

And many happy returns”

This is the complete opposite, this is not about a piece of paper in your wallet, this is like the end of the word! But if you can sing along with it and you can feel passion in it then it can rock.

You guys did a tour of the East Coast/Mid West earlier this year. How did you feel that went?  If you could do it over again is there anything you would do different?

AL: The tour went really well, thanks for asking. Touring is always an adventure, it’s serendipitous and no matter what happens you know the day is going to end in a party so it’s pretty great. The shows were really well attended which helps a lot. The only things I would do differently is tour more.

What are some of the things people do at your shows that aggravate/distract you the most while you’re playing? (example: texting, or taking pictures, stuff like that)

AL: Ha, that’s a great question – yeah the taking pictures or video thing is pretty funny because it sort of postpones life right? Wouldn’t people rather enjoy hearing and seeing the show in real time instead of recording it for…for what? Do they go home and watch it? I have no idea.

If a year from now 1-800-BAND were celebrating the best year the band has ever had, what particular achievements would you be celebrating?

AL: There is a kind of diversification of roles that comes with increasing success; when you first start a band you do everything yourselves (xerox the flyers, silk screen the T-shirts, change the oil in the van) but as things progress and move forward you can hand off some of those projects to people who specialize in those fields, so your T-shirts look better and the band can concentrate more time and energy on musicianship and songwriting. That’s the achievement I’m hoping 1-800-BAND can celebrate soon.

If you could experience the feelings of hearing your favorite band for the first time, what band would it be and what about the experience changed you forever?

AL: For me I think that would be hearing the Los Angeles band X for the first time.

I’d never heard anything that was so passionate, nuanced, and hard driving at the same time. They really rock but the music works at a lot of levels, it’s hook-y like pop music but the songs are about desperation and just barely getting by it’s incredibly creative and expressive but very accessible at the same time and it also serves as a great document of the time and place it was created. It really blew my mind.

Where can one go to hear the band or to purchase some of your tunes?

AL: Your local record store or your favorite digital music source.

What lies ahead in the near future for 1-800-BAND?

AL: Mitch Easter is producing our next effort so we’re really excited to work hard to bring our best in terms of songwriting, and musicianship. With each of our records, we’re reaching wider and wider audiences and that’s a really good feeling – we just want to continue to make records that mean something to us and that people can connect with.

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The Recordettes

      Brooklyn, New York’s The Recordettes play a unique brand of loud, campy, blown out, fuzzed up bubblegum rock.  The music is played with such fun and fury; I can only imagine how amusing seeing them live would be.  Their debut 7” just came out earlier this year on the No Front Teeth recording label out of the U.K.  This label, in case you are unaware, is usually reserved for acid spewing 77-style punk rock like The Gaggers or Ricky C. Quartet.  So the fact that someone at NFT recognizes the inimitable talents of the Recordettes makes their debut record that much more fascinating.  Why do those Brits always seem to recognize good American music before America does!

Interviewed by Jay Castro

Please introduce yourselves and how do you contribute to The Recordettes Rock ‘N’ Roll machine?

TONY: I am Tony Lofi, amazing singer and guitar player for The Recordettes. Also, a huge liar.

ANNA: Anna Anabolic, “bass” and “backup vocals”.

DAVE: My name is Dave and I play drums.  I also make balloon animals at Bar and Bat Mitzvahs.

SACHA: Hi I’m Sacha. I keep the fancy beat on the organ.

Where are you all from originally?

TONY: I am the prouder owner of a French Canadian accent.

ANNA: Native New Yorker!

DAVE: Strong Island, son

SACHA: I was born in Vancouver, BC Canada and grew up in San Diego, California.

What is the bands origin story?  How did you all meet up and start playing music together?

TONY: The bass player is my wife, I was in another band that broke up with the drummer, and I ask the keyboard player to play with us when I was drunk on my first 4^th of July. I know, super glamour.

ANNA: Tony and I are married. That’s a NSFW kinda story but I’ll just leave it at that for now. Tony met Dave when he joined Big Riff; on bass. It’s  now a defunct band where Dave was a drummer. Tony and I always said we would never start a band together because we didn’t want to start hating each other. But then lo and behold, we were powerless when it came to a shared love of playing Cramps-inspired Rock ‘N’ Roll. So far, we don’t hate each other. Sacha and I know each other from way back, from various bands, and when Tony and I ran into her at a July 4th party last year we asked her to join us at our first show (later that month, opening for Shonen Knife at Asbury Lanes in NJ) to take over guitar duties on “John Waters, Can You Please Be My Father?” when singing those sad, heartfelt words rendered Tony too sad to continue playing guitar. After that, despite her best efforts we never let her go. She had to go get pregnant and have a baby before we’d let her miss any shows.

DAVE: I attended a seminar on better living through positive thinking.  Tony was there.  Also we played together in a band called Big Riff when he first moved to US of A...and so the judge decided that the most fitting punishment was playing drums for The Recordettes.

SACHA: I was a plant in the crowd who they would “randomly” select to play on John Water’s when Tony spontaneously got so depressed by his memory of rejection that he had to stop playing

So you list The Archies, and The Ronettes as influences.  What connection, if any, do you think these bands and punk rock have?

TONY: Those are all bands that real punk rockers listen to. (Please, do forward all the hate mail to me)

ANNA: Maybe the right answer is “I think punk is more about an attitude than a style of music” but honestly, I don’t think either of them were all that punk. Just awesome. I don’t think we’re that punk either. I mean, we’re pretty nice and don’t trash hotel rooms or anything. Maybe that’s just cause we’re too broke to get hotel rooms. I guess if we had one we might trash it. We won’t mess up people’s houses who put us up. We have some songs that are kinda punk, but they’re really equal parts punk, poppy, garage, girl group…we’re maybe a little more punk, musically, than The Ronettes and The Archies and we can get away on a ‘punk’ bill but we’re actually pretty poppy and generally happy. What an uncool answer that was.

DAVE: Both Veronica and Ronnie Spector have restraining orders against me.  Punk is a succinct statement.  Pop is a succinct statement. 

SACHA: Well one obvious evolutionary link is The Ramones.

Listening to your music, it seems a lot of it has to do with relationships and subjects along those lines.  I was reminded of this story I read about John Lennon asking Bob Dylan what he thought about The Beatles early on and Bob Dylan said you’re great but your lyrics aren’t saying much.  Of course Lennon was devastated and began writing more ‘serious and meaningful’ lyrics.  Do you think the Beatles would have been better off telling old Bobby Dylan to stuff it and keep writing about girls and love? 

TONY: I only liked the Beatles when they were a cover band and I hate Bob Dylan only as much as I hate John Lennon. My lyric hero is Paul Caporino of M.O.T.O. I am also too dumb to remember any songs if there are more than 10 words in it.

ANNA: What’s more serious and meaningful than love? Dylan had great political songs but I’d never say when you sing about girls/boys and love you aren’t saying much. Although Lennon telling Dylan to “stuff it” would be funny.

DAVE: Short answer: yes. Long answer: "I want to hold your hand" is really about an existential crisis of faith. 

SACHA: Dylan was talented but kind of a narcissistic jerk…just sayin’…

So The Recordettes are from NY and you’re new 7” ends up on the No Front Teeth recording label that’s out of the UK.  How did that end up happening?

TONY: Europe created the US of A so it's only normal that we try to make them lose some money by putting out our records. Also, London punks have better taste in music.

ANNA: After we recorded a couple songs, we emailed every label in the known universe and No Front Teeth was the only with the ‘foresight’ to put it out.

DAVE: We were told there would be fish and chips

SACHA: Lot’s of hard work by some industrious Order Muppets

Can you expand on the John Waters song a bit and tell us why exactly you think he’d make a good father?

TONY: He has a mustache, which is the most important thing I look in a dad.  I have a dad, but not an American one and since I live here now, I feel it is my duty to find an American daddy. John Waters were my first and only idea because anyone who directed Pink Flamingo will be allowed to babysit my kids.

ANNA: Because his last name kinda rhymes with father, if you have a French Canadian accent.

DAVE: I don't have an elektra complex, but if I did.  I think we know who it would be wink wink.

SACHA: He’s a true inspiration- Imagine having a father with such artistic vision and achievement.

I don’t like using the term “guilty pleasure” because I don’t think anyone should be made to feel ashamed of anything they like.  However with that being said, what to you listen to that you think a lot of fans may be surprised by?

TONY: I love all the music I listen to. From ''Danse Le Mia'' from France best rap group IAM to Quebec legend Mitsou with her song ''Bye Bye Mon Cowboy''

ANNA: I am obsessed with Paul Simon and Jim Croce. I could listen to “American Song” and “One Less Set Of Footsteps” all day and never get sick of them.

DAVE: I love to dance to top 40.  I love the throbbing rhythm of the club.  The erotic beat of reggaeton gives me a chubby.

SACHA: Sometimes I listen to ARE Weapons song “Don’t be scared- be cool” while jogging when I’m stressed out.

What music have you unleashed on the world and where can people go to hear it or buy it?

ANNA: Right now we just have our first 7” on No Front Teeth records, which is available through their website, our Bandcamp (www.therecordettes.bandcamp.com), this great site undergroundmedicine.com, and some awesome record stores like Black Gold, Academy Records and Co-op 87 in Brooklyn and 33 Tours in Montreal.

What does the band have in store for us in the near, or not so near, future?

TONY: World domination, obviously, a duet with John Waters, an Australian tour and hopefully, no more baby, because the official Recordettes baby is the cutest of them all.

ANNA: We’re playing Saturday Sept 28 at the Elm Bar in New Haven, CT, Thursday October 17 at the Paper Box in Brooklyn for CMJ, Saturday October 26 back in CT, at 33 Golden St in New Haven, and then, Saturday November 16 at Matchless in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. It’s a daytime show (2pm). Tonight at Bowery Electric in Manhattan and Sat Jan. 11 at Don Pedro in Brooklyn. We’ll record our album early ’14.

DAVE: I hope to continue drumming until carpal tunnel sets in.  The Recordettes is the most fun band ever, and I love my bandmates - no joke.  I would love to continue playing to audiences to 2 or 20 or 200.  Also making a double album of Yes covers.

Follow the fabulous Recordettes on all their adventures on Facebook!

www.facebook.com/therecordettes

Listen to their fabled No Front Teeth EP right here on their Bandcamp page!

www.therecordettes.bandcamp.com

Nude Beach

At this point, Nude Beach seems to be on a similar path as The Replacements. Their origins playing together in punk bands since high school is showcased in the band’s punk infused songwriting heard on their demo tape and first LP I.  A change of direction with the release of II, and their brand new single “What Can Ya Do,” Nude Beach have displayed their musical leanings toward American style power-pop and Rock ‘N’ Roll. Calling from the likes of The Replacements, mid-period Jam and early Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty, Nude Beach has created a sound that focuses more on melody and craft that would not be out of place in the mid-1970’s and is just as vital today.

Interview by Ed Stuart

Who’s answering the questions?

Jimmy

Where is the band from?

Brooklyn, NY

Who is in the band and what instrument do they play?

Chuck – guitar and vocals

Jim – bass

Ryan – drums and vocals

How did the band start?

I was living in Brooklyn for a few months and spending a lot of time on Chuck’s couch.  Ryan would come over a lot too, and we’d hang out drinking beers, listening to music, and occasionally mention playing together.  We had all played music with each other in various projects in the past, and none of us were in a band at the time, so it transformed from something we’d talk about to an actual band pretty fast and was a fairly natural process.

In an interview with The Phoenix, it was mentioned that “met in high school on Long Island while playing in punk and hardcore bands like Guadalupe, Dustheads, and Religious Knives.” There have been quite a few musicians that have started in punk and then moved to a power-pop band. For example, Gentlemen Jesse was in the Carbonas and Ben Cook, who was in Marvelous Darlings, is currently in Fucked Up. Does the band have any thoughts on this progression from punk to power-pop especially in regards to Nude Beach?

I don’t really think of it as a progression in the sense of leaving punk behind.  At least personally, I continue to listen to a lot of punk and hardcore bands and go to shows on a regular basis.  Ryan, our drummer, plays in a hardcore band called Warthog. I live in a big punk house that has done shows for years, so I consider it something that I’m still interested and involved in, rather than something I’ve moved on from.  In terms of the way our songs have progressed from album to album, I think it’s a matter of being fans of music beyond the sometimes narrow scope of punk, being into collecting records to some extent, and embracing a variety of bands, records, genres, etc.  Sure, we like power-pop and more straightforward Rock ‘N’ Roll, and our songs touch on those influences because we’re fans.  We never really identified with one genre over another in the first place, and just try to write good songs.

In the same interview, it was stated that the band’s “aesthetic change was mostly inspired after writing the song "Walkin' Down My Street."” What was about this song that “kind of bridged the gap between our first record, which was more punky, and the second record, which was more melodic, with more hooks." What was it about that song that the band realized a new direction?

We didn’t sit around and talk about a new direction for the band-- things progressed pretty organically. With our demo and our first LP, save for a few, most of the songs were fairly short, fast, and straight to the point. I don’t think any of that stuff was lacking in melody, but “Walkin’” was the first song we worked on that would eventually appear on “II” and I suppose it was kind of a test of whether it would work to really embrace some more traditional rock and roll aesthetics—the song isn’t that fast, it probably sounds more like Bruce Springsteen than The Clash, and there’s a long guitar solo. We had a lot of fun playing stuff like this and maybe “Walkin” signaled that it was fine to just go for it, but ultimately it was never much of a conscious decision. 

It seems like the original goal of the band was to play house parties in the Brooklyn, but the band has surpassed that. What are some of the new goals of Nude Beach?

We’ve toured a lot in the US—we want to start getting to Europe, Japan, and wherever else people might be interested.  Chuck writes a lot of music, so just recording more and putting music out as much as possible.

If you could choose two out of these five bands/musicians to have in your record collection which ones would you choose between Elvis Costello, The Jam, The Replacements, Tom Petty or Bruce Springsteen?

I can’t speak for everyone in the band, but I would choose The Replacements as my number one by a landslide. They’re pretty much an ideal band in my mind. Springsteen would be second, and gets the slight edge over Tom Petty just because I think more of his records are consistent from start to finish. 

Following up to the previous question do you feel any of these bands have influenced Nude Beach at all in sounds and/or songwriting?

A lot of people mention the Costello influence in reviews, and I get it on some level, but I can’t say we ever really sat around listening to “My Aim Is True” on repeat, or even talking about him much at all. Don’t get me wrong, some of those Elvis records are great, but in terms of influences or ideas kind of seeping into our heads, it’s probably coming much more from other places. We like all the bands you mentioned and think they’re great songwriters, but there’s a pretty wide range of bands and songwriters I feel just as inspired by—and you could get five different answers depending on which of us you talked to. We all like Big Star.

One of the best Nude Beach shows the band has played so far?

House show in Flagstaff, AZ.  We had no expectations going into it and had never heard anything about the music scene in Flagstaff.  We went there on a whim and played in a cavelike basement to a bunch of sweaty, booze and drug-fueled freaks who were dancing like crazy.  The show was a wild party and we were really well received.  Any time we’re out on tour and think the show could be a bust, then get surprised by something like that out of the blue, it’s pretty memorable.

How did the band link up with Tom Scharpling, who directed the “Some Kinda Love” video? Was the pop-up video idea the bands or his?

The Scharpling video came about because Other Music had let them shoot some stuff in the store a few years ago.  They already had a friendship and working relationship through that, and I think they sent Tom our record and asked him if he’d be interested.  He agreed to it and came up with the idea pretty quickly.  I’m a big Best Show fan so I was excited, and he was super fun and easy to work with.  Granted, I’m not sure what kind of video stars we are.  Probably faces best left for radio.

How did the band become associated with both Other Music Recording Company and Fat Possum?

We recorded “II” in our practice space and put it out ourselves in March of 2012.  We were mailing copies out for distribution and Ryan, who worked at Academy Records at the time, was literally walking from record store to record store trying to sell copies.  Other Music bought some, and sold them pretty fast. Then they bought some more, and they sold just as quickly. They were starting the record label around this time, and I think were looking to put something out by a NY band.  The record was doing pretty well at the store and the Other crew seemed into it, so they contacted us about doing a wider release through their new label.  It was a small operation, local, and they seemed genuinely interested in us, so that relationship developed easily.  Fat Possum is kind of their parent label and handle some of the business and distro work, but we’ve actually gotten to know those folks well too, and have had a lot of fun playing and partying with them down in Oxford, MS where their whole operation is based out of.

Jimmy was quoted in Stereogum about being interested in “DIY models for music releases, distribution, and sustainability, and think there are a lot of possibilities for bands and musicians on that side of things.” 50 years ago people used to buy music and get their water for free, now people pay for water and get their music for free. How do you think this affects music in any way?

It’s a mixed bag.  Mainly because of the internet, music is incredibly accessible today and people are exposed to a much larger variety much more easily than at any prior point in time.  It’s also much easier to record and release music than at any other point.  This democratization is interesting and has produced some really cool work, but it also seems to engender hyper-specialization and self-identification with micro genres— chillwave, witchhouse, nu-, post-, psych-, whatever—with pretty mixed results.  It also seems to encourage a lot of overinflated hype, flavor of the week bands, and I just wonder how much, if any, of this time period’s music will have lasting meaning for people.  I’m all for the collapse of the old record industry and anyone being able to get their own work out there, but maybe there was something about having to bust your ass to get your music heard in the past—be it on a big label or a DIY cassette release—that weeded out crap the way that instantly uploading a Garageband file to Bandcamp doesn’t.

Where can people hear the band?

Well…  Bandcamp, actually.  http://nudebeach.bandcamp.com

What’s next for Nude Beach?

Recording our third LP this summer, then more tour dates in September

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