Stereo Skyline will keep you heart beat b-beat beat beating!

By Caitlin and Elyssa Lehman

With their uniform blonde, side-swept hair and all clad in different combinations of vests, ties, and skinny pants, watching power-pop trio Stereo Skyline perform live is like an optical illusion. Fronting the Long Island based group is baby-faced singer/guitarist, Kevin Bard, and rounding out the group is Brian Maddox on bass and Rob Michelsen on the drums.

Their sound however is fairly straightforward. If you want to here upbeat songs sung by a boy with an electronically-altered-sugary-sweet voice, buy their four song self-titled EP off iTunes. But, if you want to hear what this band is really about, go out and pick up a ticket for the Let’s Make A Mess tour, featuring the boys, along with The Bigger Lights, The Friday Night Boys, This Providence, and Hey Monday.

The boys of Stereo Skyline not only have amazing stage presence, but great personalities. They stayed outside meeting and talking to their fans until we were kicked out of the parking lot, took silly pictures with us, and even sang a a few acoustic songs after the show.
We caught up with frontman Kevin before their show at Portland's Hawthorne Theater opening for Danger Radio.


Middle of the Plank: What’s the story behind the name Stereo Skyline?
Kevin Bard: Just messing around, I guess. We just came up with it one day and liked the way it sounded. I’m big on the whole double letters like SS

MOTP: Alliteration.
KB: Alliteration, there you go.

MOTP: What has been your biggest challenge as a band?
KB: Money…money’s always a problem. Like getting enough money to tour and getting enough money to eat on the road and stuff…it’s always fun whether you have money or not.

MOTP: And you’re not currently signed?
KB: No, we’re not.

MOTP: Do you have any interested labels that you would be interested in signing with?
KB: Yeah, I mean, we’re open to anybody that wants to talk to us.

MOTP: What sets you apart from other bands in your genre?
KB: We all have the same hair. In our band we all have blonde hair that swoops. I think that’s different from everybody else.

MOTP: What are your future plans for the band?
KB: Hopefully just keep doing what we're doing. It’s really good, it’s fun. Couldn’t ask for more.

MOTP: Next month you start a tour with Hey Monday and This Providence.
KB: Yes!
MOTP: What are the steps to landing on a bill like that?
KB: Well, we have booking agent who just helps us out with getting on tours and we’re also very good friends with Hey Monday because we have the same management so they’ve been nothing but nice to us just helping us out with anything and helping us out in any way.

MOTP: How is your life different from about a year ago?
KB: Well, I was in high school a year ago so it’s a lot different. Seeing the country is really sweet, I’ve never been to Oregon before, it’s really nice here. That’s about it

MOTP: Any last words to anyone watching?
KB: Thank you for interviewing me!

Danger Radio

Danger Radio is a high energy power-pop band whose songs will soon be playing in everyone's head. The band is made up of vocalist Andrew De Torres, keyboardist Spencer Phillips, drummer Nico Hartikainen, guitarists Andy Brookins and Elan Wright, and bassist, the newly added Robbie Cochrane replacing former member Marvin Kunkel. They are currently touring in support of "Used And Abused" their newest release from Photo Finish Records.
Their live set is a much needed breath of fresh air from the monotonous sounds of the radio bands. At a Danger Radio show, ANYTHING can happen including breaking out into a cover of Britney Spears' "Womanizer" or Oasis' "Wonderwall". Andrew bounces around the stage with the energy of a puppy and the rest of the band follows his lead. The crowd is showered with high fives, hand holding and a bountiful amount of smiles. The show ends with a crowd favorite and as the lights turn on, you get the feeling this is a band that will find their time to shine very soon.
I caught up with Andrew De Torres before the show started and asked him some questions about the challenges of being in a band, his love for Taylor Swift and the future of both Danger Radio and The Scene Aesthetic.

Middle of the Plank: What is the story behind the name Danger Radio?
Andrew De Torres: There isn’t really a story behind the name. I was a sophomore in high school and we had started to get more serious about the band and we decided that we needed a name because before the we were doing pretty much just talent shows so we got together and made just like a huge list of names and it was the one that we liked the best so we ended up just going with it and it’s been with us ever since high school.

MOTP: What has been your biggest challenge as a band?
ADT: I’d say our biggest challenge as band has been you know, staying encouraged. You’re out on the road and you get really discouraged when you’re out on the road and you’ve been doing something for so long and everything so it’s good to know, like we’re all pretty much family and we back each other up with everything. So it’s just hard to be away from home half the time.

MOTP: What’s your favorite thing about being signed with Photo Finish Records?
ADT: Honestly the staff there is just really amazing. Everyone that we’ve been like working with , everyone’s just super awesome, they’re just really supportive, they’ve become like really good friends. It’s been, like, really cool.

MOTP: What is your dream tour like?
ADT: Dream tour? I don’t know it’s kinda hard to say. I love Taking Back Sunday and a lot of the guys feel the same Way. I would just like to tour with a band that I grew up listening to like Taking Back Sunday or Brand New or New Found Glory or something like that. We’re also a huge Paramore fan. We love Parmore, we love her. That Paramore DVD makes my heart melt. So, I don’t know something along there.

MOTP: What are some of your favorite venues to play?
ADT: This is hard. There’s a venue called the marque theater in Denver that I really like and the kids are always really cool. And then obviously like home venues, like there’s a venue up in Seattle called El Corazon that, where I’ve been going to see shows at since I was like 13. It was kind of an interesting thing for me, like when we finally started playing shows there

MOTP: What was the experience like at the first Danger Radio show?
ADT: It was…interesting. Like, it was kind of weird because we’d been a band for a little just not under Danger Radio we had undergone a lot of member changes and everything so the first initial Danger Radio show was at this teen center called Ground Zero on Bellevue and it was crazy, it was so much fun. There were a lot of kids there and it was a lot of fun.

MOTP: What are the future plans for the band?
ADT: Well, we are just finishing this tour up right now. Like, tomorrow’s the last day of the tour and then we’re going to be home until like, November writing for our new record

MOTP: Your side project, The Scene Aesthetic recently covered Love Story for Rockin’ Romance. What made you choose to cover that song?
ADT: I love that song. I never really listened to Taylor Swift a whole lot but my sister likes to listen to her and I downloaded the album and it’s just crazy how many good songs are on there, it’s just crazy to me. And then I was like there’s no way she wrote these songs and then I looked them up online to see who owned all the song publishing and she had written every song by herself. I have this immense respect for her. She’s a great songwriter and just awesome. I love that song and I like that record so I kinda went with it.

MOTP: How do you plan to split your time between Danger Radio and The Scene Aesthetic?
ADT: Carefully…Like, in July Eric and I are going down to LA to record our new record and it kinda works out. He’s on tour with us, like he does merch with us, so we’re constantly writing while we’re on the road together and now we have a little bit of time off so we set aside some time for Eric and I to do a little tour and record our record so it’s like whenever one is off we’ll be doing the other or hopefully I’ll get some time to myself eventually.

MOTP: There’s such a large difference between the styles of ADT: The Scene Aesthetic and Danger Radio. How do the lives shows differ between the two of them?
It’s completely different. I think something that’s really cool about it is they’re completely two different bands. They sound nothing alike. It’s just kinda like, The Scene Aesthetic shows are more like camp sing-a-longs and Danger Radio shows are more fun and upbeat and everything.


MOTP: Thank you so much for doing this interview!
ADT: No problem.

Falling Up Takes a Bite Out of Eugene

By: Alex Roland

An upbeat crowd of various fans, friends and family expanded throughout the venue, swaying, headbanging and having a regular good time. Eugene’s WOW! Hall was alive this Mother’s Day with the sounds of the Science Heroes, Ruth, Archaeology and Falling Up on the last day of Falling Up’s Fangs Tour. The crowd was relatively laid-back throughout the show but talkative between sets. The concert started with the Eugene-based indie-electronica Science Heroes who entertained with a musical mixture of electric guitar, dancing and electronic emulations of drums, keyboards and a variety indefinable sounds. Ruth, from Washington, played alluring music; a romantic and charming slow-paced rock. Most people had arrived by the time Portland’s own Archeology graced the audience with their jubilant indie music “about the apocalypse with boyish vocals” and exotic instruments such as a glockenspiel. Falling Up forced the rest of the crowd on its feet for a captivating show dominated by a near-studio sound quality, but containing an impressively full and dynamic live effect. It was all too easy to get lost in the music and lose touch with the tangible world. But after a group of two or three songs, frontman Jessy Ribordy would reel the audience back to reality with his ridiculous jokes mixed with an aloof demeanor.

The headliner, Falling Up, is from Albany and consists of only three of its original members, including Jessy Ribordy, Jeremy Miller and Josh Shroy. The band started out with six members in 2002 and released their first album Crashings in 2004. Immediately, Falling Up found a place in the Christian hard-rock scene. After their fourth album they made a “Best of…” LP titled Discover the Trees Again, signaling the end of the first era of Falling Up. The band returned with their sixth album, Fangs, late this year. This album carries all the weight of Falling Up’s maturity. No longer teenagers making music about Broken Hearts, they’ve created an album progressive, experimental and so imaginative it takes you to another planet. According to Ribordy’s blog, the imagination aspect is related to the album’s concept, which is a story set on a different planet but includes a human culture similar to Ancient Greece.

Not surprisingly, such a dramatic change in the band’s sound resulted in the loss of some old fans and the making of some new ones. Nevertheless, new and old fans alike came to see Falling Up in Eugene. And after the show I sat down with Ribordy and guitarist/keyboardist Miller to talk about the past, present and future of their band.

Alex Roland: How has your use and expression of imagination progressed from Crashings to Fangs?

Jessy Ribordy: Well, I originally wanted to do concept records starting with Crashings but it was kind of late in the game when I started writing so I just didn’t get to finish the story, or whatever. And then going into the other records it was kind of the same story. I tried, but with the band and the different ideas between managers and the label and stuff the concept never came out. As far as like the imagination aspect, it was a lot more clear on the new record because we had a little bit more freedom… well, a lot more freedom musically and [with] what we want to do with our music. So, that was kind of the progression… just a lot of freedom that we ended up having, which is a good thing.

AR: What is the significance of the use of color in music videos such as "Escalates"and "Moonlit"?

Jeremy Miller: Well, “Escalates,” that was Derek Dale’s idea. He was the director.

JR: Yeah.

JM: That was a concept somebody else wrote for it. I forget… do you remember what the blue had to do with it?

JR: It was… actually, no. I think it was just a color they thought would be cool. And then “Moonlit,” that director didn’t even see “Escalates” before and he was like “well let’s make a video where the red stands out.”

JM: Well, that director, he drew a lot of inspiration from the movie Hero and that movie had a lot of different color themes to it. And he really had a big inspiration from that film and thought [color themes] would be cool in a music video.

AR: Will the continuation of Fangs take more forms than just your next album?

JR: Um, yes, it will. And actually, to be honest, the next album is probably going to be a little bit more, like it will still be within the concept, but it’s going to be a little bit more personal, which is something we’ve never done before. Like, a personal record about issues that are in our lives and that’s going to come up in the story. So I guess it won’t take more forms than a record; it will stay in that musical format but it’s gonna [expand beyond just the fictional story].

AR: Why did you set Fangs on a different planet but keep a[n Ancient Greek] culture from Earth? Why did you create that parallel back to this planet?

JR: Basically, it’s that idea of having something that’s familiar but a history that’s not…. Well, here’s the thing: Oregon is really neat because it’s not old, like our history doesn’t go back that far. So I like the fact that we don’t really have a history so it’s kind of this weird, new idea. It’s cool because the world is open to discover new kinds of history and that’s kind of what I wanted… a new history. An idea that’s familiar to us so we can connect to it because it’s close to us, but it adds more history and depth when it’s imagining something completely different.

AR: I know you’ve been asked about the spiritual undertones of Fangs, but is there a connection between your beliefs as a Christian band and your references to Ancient Greek polytheism in the album?

JR: Yes, there is. And back in the day, [with] the myths and stuff, other than what they teach nowadays, they make it seem separate. But really that was their searching for something spiritual, even though [they believed in a bunch of gods]. But you can tell, they’re searching for something. And that’s kind of what this record is about in regards to any spiritual connotations. It’s like, searching for answers starting with a quest. And it starts with deciding to search instead of just assuming or reading something and believing it. So, it’s really deciding to search and that’s where the spiritual connotations and parallels come in. And in everything I do and everything we [the band] do, it does bleed though. Like spiritual ideas and things like that, regardless of if it’s through things we’re interested in like books or literature or even if it’s by our own beliefs and opinions, it bleeds through.

AR: What is the Albany music scene like and how has Oregon in general shaped your music?

JR: Well, Albany was awesome and then it kind of became not awesome.

JM: And then we grew up and people left.

JR: And all the local bands. Well, there weren’t a whole lot of local bands from Albany. We were really one of the only ones that came out of Albany, so to speak, at that time. And then other ones came. It had its days. But then, of course, Oregon influence… everything from nature to, like I said, the historical stuff… that has a huge influence. But Albany…plus, we all moved away.

JM: Plus, our only good venue stopped having shows.

AR: So how often do you have shows in Albany?

JM: We actually have one coming up in June.

JR: But that one’s our first in like three years.

AR: What do you like or dislike about playing Eugene; what do you like about the city?

JR: Well I like Eugene.

JM: I’m a duck fan. [Laughing], the city’s cool [but] I don’t know much about it. There’s that college atmosphere that we missed out on growing up. So it’s good to taste that every once in a while, you know?

JR: Yeah.

JM: The excitement. There’s a lot of weirdos here too.

JR: [Laughing] they’re cool.

AR: How did you come up with the various images and stories you use for your video journals?

JR: I wanted to do video journals that kind of connected with the music and gave insights. But I don’t have the best quality of video production for my computer. So I just kind of have to make up stuff as I go. So some of them have been kind of like jokes and some of them have been [serious]. I just like to mess around and see how… we used to make more videos more often but I’ve always wanted a handheld camera. Mine broke a long time ago. So I want to get one because that would change my world as far as [video-making] goes. I try my best to do, and I have done, some original music just for those videos but I haven’t really spent a lot of time doing a whole bunch.

AR: There was one… I think it was the second video journal before Fangs came out.

JR: The Discoveratory one?

AR: Yeah.

JR: Yeah, that one I wrote the synth[esizer music] just for that video. It was kinda fun.

AR: What are your future plans beyond the release of your remix album?

JR: We are going to do some shows here and there. We don’t really have any tours planned unless stuff comes up. We love playing and our producer, Casey [Crescenzo], he’s like already pressing me to write for another record. So it might be soon. I’d like to do it soon, I mean, we have two more records on our contract and I’d like to see how free we can get in the next year or so. I wouldn’t be surprised if we popped out two in the next year and a half.

JM: I think we’re all trying to… we’ve been doing the band for seven years. We’re 25 [and] 26, so it’s time to see what a career can be like.

JR: It’s fun to be able to come back to do a band together that’s just fun to play and record music.

JM: And [each of our side-projects] are all intertwined with music too, I guess. Jessy could make a sweet music video, I could make a website and [the drummer] Josh could mix our record. So maybe one day we’ll do it all in-house and we won’t need anybody’s help.

JR: [Laughing] we don’t need anybody!

Falling Up will play a show in Portland next month with Forgive Durden, Archeology and others. Right now Fangs is available in stores, along with their five previous albums. Later this year a remix album is expecting release.

Bad Kids in Town

By: Alex Roland

Monday, April 27^th, the Black Lips came to Eugene Oregon's WOW! Hall accompanied by Flowers Forever. The “Lips” are a self-described “flower punk” band, which includes elements of punk, psychedelic, garage rock, blues, and indie, blended into a strikingly unique sound. The Atlanta, Georgian band is most commonly known for its live antics, including but not limited to: vomit, blood, urine, nudity, and brawls with bouncers, venue security, and even audience members. Recently the band was kicked out of India for such shenanigans. Nevertheless, South by Southwest has described the Black Lips as the hardest working band. Earlier this year they released their fifth album, 200 Million Thousand. Soon a collaboration project with King Kahn & BBQ Show, known as the Almighty Defenders, will be releasing an album as well.

In a cluttered office backstage before the show, Black Lips frontman Jared Swilley sat cross-legged across from me. He reclined in his swivel chair and took a swig from a red plastic cup. When I asked if he was ready to begin, he responded with a hearty nod and the recorder clicked on.

Alex Roland: First of all, I heard that you guys experienced a problem with Canadian border control recently. Do you want to talk about that?

Jared Swilley: Well it’s actually been going on for a few years. I’ve been banned for about six or seven years. The first time we were playing in Montreal, all those years ago, we didn’t have work permits going in so I had some friends from Montreal print me up some fake receipts saying we were recording there, not playing; therefore, spending money instead of making it. But we made the mistake of using our real band name on the receipts and they caught me. They Googled our name and found out why we were there. And I had another charge when I was a teenager for drinking and driving. So I’ve been banned for a long time. I’ve since snuck in about six times either by walking over or getting Canadians to drive me over. But I’ve been caught about an equal number of times and thrown out. And last time was like the last time they would just politely kick me out. But I got a lawyer and in June I’ll be able to go back legally.

AR: Really?

JS: Yeah, but it’s been a big headache the past few years, like missing shows. Well, [the bands has] always gone over but just without me and I’ve had to walk back from like Vancouver and from trying to get into Quebec before. Well, I’ve been stranded on the border trying to go into Vancouver and I’ve had to get buses back to Seattle and stuff. And I got shanghaied in Buffalo and had to go back to New York on a Greyhound. The guys would have to leave me there and I’d have to fly to another show.

AR: How’s your lawyer going to help you?

JS: I have a lot of professional friends in Quebec. I have surgeons and lawyers I’m friends with. And other lawyers write letters for me. So I have a bunch of people lobbying for my cause and I had to pay a big lawyer fee and write an apology letter to Canada and now I’m back.

AR: Great. You’ve said the purpose of your live shows is to make people happy. How does that impact you when there are shows when people start or pick fights? Like, there was a show in Portland at Dante’s in ’08….

JS: Yeah, yeah, well that kind of bums me out. Like, I don’t mind when like people go crazy and throw stuff and I don’t even mind fighting for the right reasons. But when it’s dumb and senseless and when you’re bumming other people out. Like that time… I don’t mind if someone throws like a plastic cup at me or a beer can while we’re playing. That’s just people letting loose. But I think that time [in Portland] someone threw a shot glass at [vocalist and guitarist] Cole [Alexander]’s head and it exploded and I jumped out there. I actually hit the wrong guy, but he was cool about it. But I don’t like seeing that, especially when I see like… girls just want to be up front and dance because our music isn’t super-agro, you know, like you’re supposed to dance with it and I’ve had friends that are girls come out of a show with their legs all destroyed and guys just knock ‘em over. It’s just, I don’t like that meat-head mentality because I hated jocks in high school and I hate when I see that here. And those people… I don’t feel like they have a place at my shows because some of those people, if they saw me out in the street they’d call me a faggot. The only reason they’re nice to me here is because they like the band or something like that. So I just don’t like that mentality at all.

AR: Have you ever done anything on stage that even you have been surprised by?

JS: Um, there’s been a few things. It’s just, you’re a target up there and like, you see your hands and you can’t see anything [else]. And you’re really vulnerable at that point and there have been many times where I’ve had to, you know, like get physical and fight people in the audience. Just like, standing up for myself because I don’t have dental insurance or health insurance and that microphone’s always just a hair away from knocking my teeth out. So I want to prevent that from happening. And you have so much adrenaline up there and you’ve been drinking, so like, I’ve regretted when I’ve had to attack people before. And I try not to do that anymore just because that could turn out real bad. I try to leave that to… usually I have friends in the audience like a tour manager that can look out for me. But also I don’t like bouncers pushing kids around. There’s always just a fine line, like a balance, and I like it when it’s just fun but it could turn into chaos at any moment. I like to toe the line there and just keep it there. It’s hard to do, but at much as possible.

AR: That’s rock ‘n roll.

JS: Yeah.

AR: You guys have had problems with bouncers; have you ever had problems with police?

JS: I almost got arrested in Cleveland for going after a kid- I didn’t even hurt him. The kid trumped up all the charges and I had to leave the club. But no, we’ve never had problems with police. Like, the cops didn’t even care about that because they knew the kid was lying. Oh, well we had a show one time… it had nothing to do with us, but one time we were playing a show in Green Bay with the King Kahn [&] BBQ Show we were like setting up and I went outside to the van to get something. And there was this cop standing there with his gun drawn and he was like “get back inside” and I was like “okay.” Then all of a sudden, from the back and the front, all these cops raid the whole bar and start searching everyone. Like, one guy who was working there was wanted or something. And then they started checking everyone’s IDs and they arrested [the employee] and they arrested the bartender because there were all of these under-aged kids in there drinking. And we had an illegal Canadian immigrant with us because he had just been kicked out of the country. So yeah, the cops shut down the whole bar. And then they arrested another bartender for being back on his child-support. It seemed like a really red-neck town. Or maybe it was just a real red-neck bar. But we didn’t do anything. We were just like “where are we supposed to play?” and the cops were like “I don’t know.” And then they just left. [Laughing] But it’s never been our fault.

AR: You’ve said you’re cutting down on the antics that you do onstage. Do you think you’ll ever stop completely or would that eliminate a part of the band’s personality?

JS: Well, we’ve never… I mean we’re always going to put on a good show. Like, we’re entertainers and we’re always going to give people their money’s worth. And I can’t control going crazy on and offstage, but all the other antics and stuff only really happened when we were teenagers and no one ever saw us. Mostly, it was just people, like journalists and stuff just recycling the same things from like our Wikipedia page over and over again. So I don’t think anything’s changed. I mean, Cole used to have a serious acid-reflux problem to where he couldn’t control it, especially when he sang and if he ate too close to when he sang. And he was throwing up a lot and people thought that was part of the show but it happened during the day too, but mostly when he’d over-exert himself. And it gave him polyps on his throat because, you know, there’s so much acidity going through there. So he had to take classes to learn how to breathe better and different and he has to take pills now. So that wasn’t part of the show. That was a by-product of a health problem.

AR: Wow, he still sang even though it was causing him to vomit?

JS: Yeah.

AR: How do you like performing for Eugene and what do you like or dislike about the city?

JS: Well we’ve only been here once before, like last year. And last year it was really cool, I like it because it’s like a community center, it’s non-profit, so that’s cool. And the room, it’s cool, it’s like classic American. Like this is the only WOW! Hall we’ve ever played in the states. So that’s cool and the fact that it’s all ages and young kids can come. ‘Cause I missed so many bands I liked just because I wasn’t 21. So I like that. The thing I don’t like is the rain and the crusty people outside. You know those high plains drifters and stuff?

AR: The what?

JS: All those backpack kids that are homeless, like fake-homeless.

AR: Your band has also claimed to dislike putting too much effort or thought into songwriting….

JS: No, it’s not too much effort into songwriting. It’s just when you over-think things. Like a good song is a good song. “Louie Louie” [By Chuck Berry] is one of the best songs ever written. “Tutti Frutti” [by Little Richard], they were great. You don’t have to over-think stuff. I mean, some bands do because some bands are real complex and stuff. We even have some complexities, but when you over-pick something apart then it becomes just… you can kill it real fast. You can kill a good idea. At least, the way I work, any time I’ve ever written a song it’s been more like a… it just hits you right there and then that’s it. I like simple music; I like simple things. Everything I like is plain and simple.

AR: So you’re not one to sit there and agonize over words?

JS: No, as long as they’re not completely stupid. And a lot of our words are really stupid. If it sounds good we’ll play it.

AR: What was the inspiration for some of your music videos, such as “I’ll Be with You” and “Short Fuse?”

JS: Well “I’ll Be with You” was like… I’d been seeing a lot of my family’s old real-to-real movies from the ‘60s and I like the way eight millimeter film looks way better than anything else. You can film like a car driving, and it looks great. And so I thought since it was kind of a sappy ‘50s song we’d make a video that looks like old home movies. I was just trying to be like… I don’t know… sappy. [Laughing] It looked cool. “Short Fuse,” I really love. I grew up watching “Jonny Quest” and like “Spiderman” cartoons with my dad and I kind of liked how the animation looked. That was like [drummer] Joe [Bradley]’s idea, but we all… it was the same kind of ‘60s film aesthetic or animation aesthetic. I like old animation but not any of the new stuff or Japanese stuff. I think that’s dumb.

AR: You said that based on your experience in India you’re not discouraged from touring around the world, but are there places that you’re more or less excited about visiting as a result?

JS: Well we got an offer later this year to do China and Thailand and Indonesia and Singapore and we’re definitely going to do China. The one thing we learned from India though was… we might not do Singapore just because so much is illegal there like spitting in public, smoking in public, drinking in public, I’ve heard dancing…there’s so many rules in Singapore.

AR: Dancing?!

JS: I don’t know how updated all that is but I just remember the American kid that got caned for egging a car a few years ago. It just seems a little too repressive for our taste. But we’re definitely going to do China and I’d definitely think twice about doing…. Well I would go anywhere. If we did do Singapore we might just have to follow the rules and if not I guess we’d get caned. But I want to see as much as I can. We’ll just be more careful in Muslim and Hindu countries from now on.

AR: What can fans expect from the Almighty Defenders’ LP?

JS: I’m really happy with that. I’m more happy with it than a lot of stuff we’ve done lately. It’s kind of like… it’s gospel influenced but we’re not like singing about Jesus or anything like that. So I guess it’s like evil gospel. But I don’t know, I think it’s really good. BBQ has an amazing voice and King Kahn is great and writes some good songs. It’s just super fun because those are like my two favorite people… or our two favorite people. It’s almost like we’re the same band anyway. But once we joined forces we’re the Almighty Defenders. Those are my two favorite people to work with. So it should be coming out soon and we have one show in Toronto booked in June. I want to start working on it more once this tour for [200 Million Thousand] is done we can go to Germany and start working on some new stuff.

AR: So you’re going to be doing more stuff together?

JS: Yeah, yeah, definitely. It’s going to be an ongoing project.

AR: Do you think you’re all going to tour together?

JS: Yes, for sure. ‘Cause we can fit all six of us in one van with three bands and get paid for three bands [The Black Lips, King Kahn & BBQ and the Almighty Defenders] with only six people. So economically it’s brilliant, especially in these hard times.

AR: It is… but it’s six people in one van.

JS: We have six people in our van right now.

AR: You all have room to sleep and everything?

JS: We get hotels at night. Well except tonight. Well we’ll get a hotel in the morning, once we get to Sacramento, but we drive all night. But I’m going to drink enough to where I can just sleep the whole time.

AR: Last question: what is the most surprising thing you’ve ever heard or read someone say about your band? Good or bad.

JS: Well I will say a bad thing. I got in a lot of trouble a few years ago. My father’s a preacher; every male in my family is as well. And one time our news paper had this article about us in the music section and about my dad in the religion section and they said that Cole gave me oral sex or vice-versa onstage, which never even came close to happening. I don’t even know if that was a mean joke or where the hell that came from. That never happened and my dad was really bummed about it. I had to tell him it was all lies. [Laughing] It was really awkward at dinner ‘cause I was still in high school at the time.

AR: Oh man, really?

JS: Maybe I just finished high school, but it was awkward.

AR: [Laughing] I can imagine. Well thank you.

JS: No problem.

After the interview, the show should have been close to starting. Instead pre-concert music was still playing and almost everyone was lined up against the wall or rooting through the merch tables; anywhere but the front of the stage. There was neither an age-limit nor a dress-code. Everyone from punks to cowboys was excited to see the Black Lips. The show began almost a half-hour (but still fashionably) late, with a local band from Eugene. Before long, everyone was toe-tapping, booty-shaking and swing-dancing along. We were warmed up and ready to go by the time Flowers Forever, an Omaha, Nebraska band, hit the stage. They didn’t incite the same side-ache inducing dancing, but engaged interest throughout the set with intriguing songs such as “Jealous Motherfucker.” All in all, they made an impressionable appearance and assuredly made new fans in Eugene.

Once the Black Lips arrived onstage, the crowd was packed and ready to blow. There was that bottled up energy floating around the venue, causing everyone to look restless and antsy. The result in response to the first note was an immediate surge forward. The sudden movement flowed into sections of dancers, moshers, standers and those who tried to mosh and dance at the same time. Not one person appeared unhappy.

At the opening riff to popular Lips single, “O Katrina,” the crowd reached its maximum level of excitement with an avalanche of crowd surfers and stage divers rolling overhead. The hysteria peaked again on “Bad Kids” and audience requested “Navajo.” Even I got washed away by the commotion and momentarily found myself rocking out in the pit. This probably wasn’t the smartest idea considering that I was holding a university rented camera. But hey, you’re only young and stupid once. Even the older members of the audience had no problem shedding a couple decades of wisdom and composure as they stepped into the rowdy fun.

Besides the occasional loogy, no bodily fluids were expelled onstage; nor were any inappropriate body parts exposed. No fights broke out, either. It’s true that the Black Lips don’t need any antics to make their live show interesting. What remains is good clean fun that can’t be refused. And no one in Eugene could deny that the Black Lips know how to put on a quality show.

Singing It Loud and Proud

By: Alex Roland

The venue faintly smelled of sweat, and reeked of dust kicked up from the stage in a frenzy of rocking out. The stage lights and a disco ball at the center of the room danced wildly with the audience to the music and static pumping through speakers. Not even three full rows lined the stage. However, the excitement of the audience was not hindered by its size, an almost equal amount of guys to girls; a colorful mixture of high school and college kids. The crowd was a single entity, moving together but with separable parts stirring to the pace of a pop-rock crunch fused and delivered by Sing It Loud.

Sing It Loud is a young pop and electronic inspired rock band born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are comprised of Pat Brown, Nate Flynn, Kieren Smith and Christopher “Sick Dog” Lee, the latter member having recently replaced former drummer Dane Schmidt. Pat and Kieren are step-cousins who used to be in rival Minneapolis bands. But after both bands broke up, they decided to form their own group. To date they’ve toured with acts such as Cobra Starship, This Providence, We The Kings and All Time Low. In 2008 they released a self-titled EP and a full-length album titled Come Around. Both records were produced by Josh Cain of Motion City Soundtrack and mixed by John Trombino (who has worked with the likes of Blink-182, Sugarcult and Jimmy Eat World). Come Around reached #44 on Billboard’s Heartseekers Chart in 2008.

The band spent the day in Eugene on April 8^th with The Summer Set, Artist Vs. Poet, The Morning Light and The Friday Night Boys on their first headlining tour entitled the Guys, Guys, Guys Tour. Prior to the Wednesday night show, only Artist Vs. Poet had had the pleasure of playing for Eugene. However, all four bands claimed to like what they experienced of Eugene, including guitarist John Gomez of The Summer Set, who enjoyed his 18^th birthday in the Emerald City.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with lead-singer and guitarist Pat Brown and bassist Nate Flynn of Sing It Loud after the concert. They were able to discuss the history, direction and personality of their band as well as the Eugene show. Two fans, Kari and Ary, as well as Drake, who was selling Sing It Loud’s merchandise, were present at the interview.

The Summer Set

Alex Roland: Are there any questions you guys hear a lot in interviews that you’re really sick of getting asked?

Pat Brown: I oftentimes get asked how tall I am, which is six and half feet, er [I mean] six feet and three and a half inches tall.

Nate Flynn: He’s 6’6.”

PB: That would be crazy, right? And um, is my hair naturally blonde, which it is not. It is another question I get asked pretty freaking often.

NF: My least favorite thing that I always get asked in interviews is: was I really one of the actors in Die Hard 1? And obviously it’s “no” because I wasn’t born yet. [Laughing] Actually, I don’t know.

AR: Alright. Come Around has been compared to Bleed American [by Jimmy Eat World].

PB: It has?

NF: Really?

AR: Yeah.

PB and NF: That’s awesome!

PB: That’s like… Jimmy Eat World is like one of our favorite bands.

NF: Collectively, as a band we enjoy Jimmy Eat World.

PB: Yeah, we like Jimmy….

NF: They could take us out on tour. “Tor,” sorry. [Referring to an earlier discussion on accents.]

PB: Take us out on “tor!”

AR: So I take it you’re happy with this comparison?

PB: Yeah, that’s awesome! Absolutely awesome.

NF: I’ve never even heard that before.

PB: I love Jimmy Eat World. I’m like obsessed with them.

AR: The comparison was made by Tim Sendra on allmusic.com. He wrote a review of your album.

PB: On allmusic.com? Oh damn, that’s cool. Thanks Tim.

The Summer Set

AR: So you guys are signed to Epitaph [Records].

PB: Yes.

NF: That is correct.

AR: Yeah, and why do you think that an A&R scout would even think to pay attention to your band?

PB: Well the reason why they paid any attention to us was because of a band called Motion City Soundtrack that’s from our hometown. We got like a really cool opportunity to open for them and it was our fifth show we ever played, I think.

NF: Yeah.

PB: And it was August 9^th of ’07. And their guitar-player Josh [Cain] watched us and was like “I really like what you guys are about and I think you guys have a lot of potential. I’d love to help you guys out and help steer you in the right direction and help you guys with song-writing and stuff; help you guys develop as a band.” So we started meeting with them and then he eventually pitched us to Brett [Gurewitz], the owner of Epitaph. Brett was like, “This band’s awesome.” And Josh was like, “Hey, you have to sign this band. You have to come out and see them.” So he flew out to see us and then he signed us. So we had a lot of help from them. So “thank you” if they ever hear this.

AR: And do you think Epitaph, based on their experience with you, is going to want to expand the types of bands that are on their label?

NF: Definitely.

PB: I mean, they already are. They signed New Found Glory. And they signed like, I Set My Friends on Fire, which is like electronica, like crazy kind of music. They’ve got like, Bring Me The Horizon, which is like hardcore. They’ve got so many different kinds of bands and they were like the first people who put out Atmosphere… you know Atmosphere, like the hip-hop artist?

AR: Yeah.

PB: They did stuff with him. So they’ve done a lot of really cool stuff. And just recently they’ve really started branching out and doing a lot of really cool stuff with their label, which is really cool. They’re becoming more of like a major label rather than like an independent label, which is pretty rad.

AR: Really?

PB: Yeah, but they’re still an independent label. But they… it’s cool; it’s like a major label run like and independent label, which is really sweet- for us.

AR: So yeah, do you think you’re going to get some major label benefits?

PB: I hope so. But like, they have a lot of diversity and a lot of bands and they pay equal attention to all of them and they’re really…

NF: It’s like going to high school with there being kind of like a hundred kids in each class instead of having your graduating class of like a thousand.

AR: Mhm.

N: You get paid more attention to.

Artist Vs. Poet

AR: Yeah. What are you most excited about for Warped Tour?

PB: For Warped Tour? The thing I’m most excited about is being on a tour bus for the first time. We’ve never been on one before. I think collectively it’s been one of our childhood dreams, like ever since we were involved in music. It’s picking us up in June and driving us down to LA and then we get to hang out in it all summer. Like, I can’t even imagine what it’s like to step onto a bus and have it be cool, like cold. Like after a hot summer day, I can be like “I’m really tired. I’m just gonna go to sleep and I don’t have to drive.” Like, you know?

NF: Yeah.

PB: I can’t even imagine what that’s like. I mean, we toured with Motion City [Soundtrack] and they had a bus and we toured with Cobra Starship and Forever The Sickest Kids and they had a bus. And every night they’d leave in their bus and we’d leave in our van and like “oh my god, I want to be in a bus so bad.” So I’m super stoked to see what that’s going to be like. It’s gonna be pretty cool.

NF: I’m most excited for getting a nice tan. Just kidding.

AR: Who is the weirdest band you’ve ever toured with?

PB: The weirdest band we’ve ever toured with?

NF: What kind of weird?

AR: Like personality-wise; just odd.

PB: Personality-wise, I would have to say that the weirdest but at the same time coolest band we’ve ever toured with, I’d probably say Ludo, because they’re really good friends of ours. We’ve done two tours with them, actually. We’ve toured with… it was like us, Ludo, Steel Train and The Spill Canvas. And then, just before this tour we did Ludo’s headliner with The Morning Light and This Providence. And they’re a little bit older than us and they’re really just kind of corky dudes and really funny dudes. And their singer, Andrew, is probably the funniest person I’ve ever met. Like, he is the craziest, kookiest, coolest, funniest person ever. And it’s just cool because we’re younger and like pop-kids and they’re older guys. So it’s really cool to hang out with them. It’s different. So I’d have to say Ludo.

The Morning Light singing Happy Birthday to John Gomez

AR: Did you like the city? Did you get to check it out?

PB: Um, well, I didn’t really get to check it out but we are staying at the Phoenix Inn Suites and it’s got a really bombin’ hot tub. So that’s really cool. And I was really nervous that no one was going to come tonight because we’ve never been here before. But it was really cool. I mean, the crowd was kind of small, but everyone seemed to be really stoked on what was going on and everyone stayed throughout the whole night. Everyone seemed to be really excited about all the bands so that made it all worth it. It was cool.

NF: Very good environment.

AR: Yeah.

PB: And it’s actually kind of a nice thing too, and some people might disagree, but we’re from Minnesota where it’s really cold all the time, except the summer. And today, being in kind of sweatshirt [and] pants weather; rainy weather, it kind of brought me back to what it feels like to be at home. And I enjoyed that as well.

AR: Is there a big difference you noticed today between Eugene and where you’re from, Minneapolis?

PB: Honestly, I didn’t hang around Eugene…

NF: The city is a lot smaller than Minneapolis and the roads are really narrow [in Eugene]. In Minneapolis the roads are wide.

PB: That’s a good one.

NF: That’s what I noticed.

PB: Actually, I did notice that.

NF: Yeah, ‘cause in Minneapolis in the downtown-area, the roads are really wide. But here it’s really…

AR: Spread out?

NF: Yeah.

AR: So do you guys think you’re going to come back to Eugene again or not?

PB: I hope so.

NF: Yeah.

The Friday Night Boys

PB: I know that after this we’re going to the UK and then we’re doing the Warped Tour and then I think after that we’re recording our next album. So we probably won’t be able to come back for a while but I hope that when we do another headliner we’ll be able to come back here.

NF: And more people will come then.

Ary: We’ll bring friends.

AR: So do you have any set plans of what you’re going to do after Warped [Tour]?

PB: We’re just planning on recording eventually after Warped Tour and then I know we’re going to try and do some touring in the fall as well. But that’s not really… we won’t know what we’re doing in the fall until probably like a month from now. Hopefully it will be something cool.

AR: And I was also wondering why you decided to do the Meet The Band episodes.

PB: Oh, we just noticed that a lot of band’s websites they’ll have like, on the side it will be like “band members” with their face or a picture of them with their Twitter underneath them. That’s kind of what everyone does. We thought it would be cool, instead of doing a picture of everyone, doing a whole video so you could see what the person is like rather than just one picture. I think it adds more face value. So that’s basically the concept behind it.

AR: Definitely.

PB: And I think, I feel we’re kind of like a personality band and we all have kind of crazy, unique personalities. So I think it’s fun for people to see that brought out.

Sing It Loud

AR: I just have one more question. If you could tour with any band, dead or alive, who would it be?

NF: Um, let’s see. Def Leppard or The Starting Line.

PB: Taking Back Sunday or Jimmy Eat World.

K: Oh, we’re seeing Taking Back Sunday.

PB: I just saw them the other day; so sick. You’re gonna freak out. They’re great.

K: Are they amazing live?

PB: I’ve seen them like six times. They’re badass. They’re so good. You’re gonna freak out.

K: I will.

PB: Their singer’s the shit. I wanna be him.

AR: Well, thank you for your time.

PB and NF: Thank you.

Sing It Loud

Sing It Loud will finish out their headlining tour in March and this summer you’ll be able to catch the band in Hillsboro on Warped Tour. The next time they come to Eugene promises to be just as exciting as the April show. In the meantime, you can pick up Sing It Loud’s debut album Come Around in stores now.