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.
No comments:
Post a Comment