Interviews

July 30th, 2011 by Foxopoly

Juliana Hatfield: 20 Questions

Twenty silly questions with an all-time favorite, Juliana Hatfield. Her new album ‘There’s Always Another Girl‘ is out August 30th on Ye Olde Records.

1. You seem to have really put yourself out there with the Pledge Music program. The response seems amazing. How are you feeling with it all?

I feel great about it. I wasn’t expecting such a large or enthusiastic response so it was a pleasant surprise. Humbling. Exciting. It has been a lot of work, though. Sort of a full-time job.

2. You have a great personality and wit for Twitter- do you think you’ll stick with it for a little while?

I don’t want to do it forever. At some point I want to stop and be free of all that and go back to simpler times.

3. Do you miss your guitars that you recently auctioned off? I always associate you with that old SG Firebrand.

No, I don’t miss them. I only got rid of them because I didn’t want them anymore. It was like falling out of love with a spouse after a long marriage. I got tired of them, grew out of them, moved on. And I had too much stuff. Now i feel the weight of some of that is gone, and it feels good.

4. The “Pricetag” cover was sweet. Can you recommend some music (or even just a song) that you have discovered lately?

I really like the song “Selfmachine” by I Blame Coco. Very British and well-written. Also I want to check out Peter Wolf’s last album. I’ve heard good things about it from people who know what they are talking about.

5. Current guilty pleasure?

Starsky and Hutch

6. What is a hobby that you enjoy or want to take up that most might not know about?

Text Twist!

7. Can you recommend a book that changed your life?

drawing on the right side of the brain

8. What’s with great musicians and the age 27?

maybe just a coincidence?

9. How many states have you NOT visited, but would like to?

i’ve probable at least driven or traveled through every state–no, i just thought of one—i’ve never been in or through alaska. i wouldn’t mind going up there and having a look around, seeing some bears and stuff.

10. Does touring for so long make you not want to travel or travel less?

YES! it totally burned me out on traveling, on moving around. mostly these days i just want to stay home, barely even go out in my town. it wore me out, all the travel and waiting and messed-up sleep and noise and hauling luggage and gear through the different time zones.

11. What is your next book going to be about?

i might not write another one. i’m not sure. it’s too hard. i can’t do it right now. it takes a lot out of me. i do want to try fiction later in my life.

12. A musician that you would like to meet or work with right now?

there’s not really anyone i can think of, really. i like to work alone. i sometimes wish i could do everything myself–engineering everything, playing every instrument, etc. but i can’t. it’s like i work with other people because i have to, not necessarily because i want to. not that they aren’t really good at what they do; i just enjoy being alone. and working alone. alone, i can be really free in a way that i cannot when there are others around.

13. Do you have a favorite candy or chocolate?

good and plenty

14. Any chance of another Some Girls album?

doubtful very highly extremely doubtful but never say never

15. You recently parted with your prized Volvo. Did you get another car yet?

it was a VW, actually. not exactly prized, either. i mean, it was just a car that got me places. i did sort of grow to love it over the years or rather i became attached to it, because i spent a lot of time in that car and serious things happen in cars, know what i mean? i did get another car, yes.

16. Why was “How To Walk Away” so criminally underrated??

was it underrated? i don’t know what people think. i can’t care what people think. i would go crazy if i cared.

17. Do you dance?

only alone. but yes. alone.

18. A question that no one ever asks, but you secretly hope for…???

to win the lottery

19. You really seem to have done it all. Further aspirations might include??

get arrested

20. Happy early birthday! Aren’t July birthdays the best?

thank you! and thanks for helping out with this pledge thing. your questions were good, too.

Tags: another girl, juliana hatfield
Posted in: Information, Interviews, Music | Posted by: Foxopoly

March 5th, 2010 by Goblins

We Were Promised Jetpacks Share Details on New EP & Tour

This young Scottish band combines noisy soundscapes, driving melody and heartfelt lyrics into an intense live show, and possibly the best LP of last year. On March 30th, FatCat Records will release WWPJ’s new EP, The Last Place You’ll Look. As they start a US tour, we caught up with Mike from the band to chat about what they’re up to.

IP: Tell us about the new EP, and when album #2 will be released?
WWPJ: We did the new EP with our man Anders in December. We recorded most of it in his lovely flat in Glasgow, and a little of it in a nearby studio. It has three new songs and two reworkings of old songs. We were pretty set on what we wanted it to be and we’re very excited with how it’s turned out. We’ve slowly started writing things for album two, and are hoping to get it recorded before the end of the year, fingers crossed.

IP: How much new material will we hear on the upcoming spring tour?
WWPJ: We’ve been playing one brand new one, and one from the EP. The other ones from the EP are pretty hard to play live, as it has a bit more layers and other instruments and all that. We have a couple of other new songs that are just not quite ready yet.

IP: What was a favorite place you visited over the last tour?
WWPJ: The Bowery Ballroom in New York is our favorite. We don’t get to see many places, just venues in places, but in New York we’ve had a chance to properly hang out so it’s been great.

IP: Tell us about your best show you can remember playing?
WWPJ: There’s a few candidates: in Washington, DC in September/October when there was loads of people there cheering and singing when we totally didn’t expect it, the small room in the Paradiso in Amsterdam in September for the same reasons and our sell out headline show at the Bowery Ballroom. We still can’t believe that actually happened.

IP: How have your influences changed since the first album?
WWPJ: We very much want to make a record in a studio. We wrote songs on the first album so that we liked them when we played them in a rehearsal room. We want to make a record so we like it when we sit down and listen to it. We won’t really know what that means until we try it, I think.

IP: Where did you record the new album?
WWPJ: The old one was somewhere outside London in England in an old hop kiln, the new EP we did in our sound man’s flat, and the new one we’ve not decided yet!

Spring US Tour Dates:
Mar 5 8:00P Kilby Court (CHANGE OF VENUE) Salt Lake City, UT
Mar 6 8:00P Hi Dive (+16) Denver, CO
Mar 7 8:00P Jackpot Saloon (+18) Lawrence, KS
Mar 8 8:00P The Waiting Room Omaha, NE
Mar 9 8:00P Varsity Theatre (+18) Minneapolis, MN
Mar 11 8:00P Lincoln Hall (+18) Chicago, IL
Mar 12 8:00P Grog Shop Cleveland, OH
Mar 13 8:00P The Summit (+18) Columbus, OH
Mar 14 8:00P Radio Radio (+21) Indianapolis
Mar 15 8:00P The Old Rock House St. Louis, MO
Mar 17 3:45P SXSW – Fader Fort Austin, TX
Mar 17 11:00P SXSW – Parish Austin, TX
Mar 18 3:30P SXSW – Galaxy Room Austin, TX
Mar 18 5:00P SXSW – Yard Dog Gallery Austin, TX
Mar 19 1:00P SXSW – Mohawk Austin, TX
Mar 19 5:00P SXSW – Emo’s East Austin, TX

Posted in: Interviews, Music | Posted by: Goblins

February 26th, 2010 by Goblins

Interview with Tobacco from Black Moth Super Rainbow

Tobacco uses analog synths, tape machines and twisted vocals to create a sound that mixes Air with Boards of Canada. He has been busy since Black Moth Super Rainbow— his day job— wrapped up touring and promoting one of my top 10 albums of last year, ‘Eating Us’. In 2008 he released the excellent solo record ‘Fucked Up Friends’, which took the Black Moth sound in a more hip-hop direction.

I caught up with him on the eve of his spring tour (dates listed below) and new solo record ‘Maniac Meat’, which features a collaboration with Beck and will be released by Anticon May 25th:

IP: Tell us about your two new releases coming out, ‘Fucked Up Friends 2′ and ‘Maniac Meat’.
T: ‘Maniac Meat’ is my new record I’ve been working on for a couple years. It feels really good because I made it like I used to make them back in the day – just songs for the sake of entertaining myself with songs. There wasn’t any album in mind or anything. The idea of making a record for the sake of making a record really isn’t the healthiest way for me to work I’ve learned. ‘Fucked Up Friends 2′ is a blu-ray/dvd set of my live visuals that weren’t on the original FUF dvd. Those will only be available on tour.

IP: What can we expect to see and hear on the upcoming spring tour?
T: I’ll be doing a little bit of the new album with a lot of ‘Fucked Up Friends 2’s visuals worked in. We’ll have a third member on stage with special performances at a lot of the shows.

IP: How did the Beck collaboration come about on ‘Maniac Meat?’
T: It was stars aligning – I had Beck in mind the whole time, but didn’t think it was ever possible. Shaun (who runs Anticon) was taking a class with Beck’s music director, Brian, and they knew the first ‘Tobacco’ album. so it just came together from there.

IP: Do you have any other mixes or collaborations coming out?
T: Yeah. I don’t know if I’m allowed to mention them all, but I did a few remixes that aren’t out yet, like one for The Go! Team, and I’ll have a shitload of collaborations coming later in the year.

IP: Is anything on the horizon for Black Moth Super Rainbow?
T: No plans for BMSR.

IP: What have you been listening to lately?
T: My friend Laura has this new band The Mynabirds, and you wouldn’t think it, but it’s good treadmill music, at least for me.

Tour Dates:
03-12 Toledo, OH – Mickey Finn’s Pub
03-13 Cincinnati, OH – Northside Tavern
03-14 Nashville, TN – Exit In *
03-17-20 Austin, TX – SXSW
03-24 San Diego, CA – Casbah &^
03-25 Los Angeles, CA – The Echo &
03-26 Costa Mesa, CA – Detroit Bar &
03-27 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill &
03-28 Eugene, OR – WOW Hall &
03-29 Portland, OR – Holocene &%
03-30 Seattle, WA – Chop Suey &
04-02 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club &!
04-03 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle &
04-23 Annandale, NY – Bard College
04-24 Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory

* with DJ Kidsmeal, Blastoids
& with the Hood Internet
^ with Nice Nice
% with Small Black
! with High Places

Posted in: Interviews | Posted by: Goblins