Release of the Day: Broken Prayer - Misanthopocentric aka Droid's Blood

Broken Prayer isn't satisfied with humanity. On the opening track "Kid," from their blistering synth-dripping, hard-hitting record Misanthropocentric aka Droid's Blood (stream in the link) on Sorry State Records, Scott Plant, the vocalist, laments "It wasn't supposed to be born this way/it wasn't supposed to be born this way/so ugly/so dumb." What's so disfigured? What's so broken? A lot of things. And a lot of things that are way-the-fuck-out-of-line. Scott took a moment before playing "White Children" when I saw Broken Prayer in August of last year. The Ferguson shooting was still fresh and as a St. Louis native, Scott took a moment to talk about what it and the subsequent unrest meant for him. But Scott also touched upon the idea that we're so used to seeing people of color as the victims of police violence. What happens when the radius of violence trickles into other neighborhoods? What do you do when the perimeter of your circle of (what was actually fragile) idealism is breached?

Mark Plant, Scott's brother and lead guitarist of Broken Prayer, and I actually talked for over an hour at the Mousetrap, a DIY spot in Chicago, about what had been going on in Ferguson. He knew a lot more than me about what had happened and what this meant for St. Louis and furthermore what this meant for people like us who weren't in authoritarian roles. And it scares the shit out of me. And I'm a dude who passes for White without a second glance. I can only imagine what sort of fear a Black American or any person of color feels on a daily basis. Another way to think of Scott's lyric "How could God let this happen to White children" is "How could God let white children end up becoming the monster cops we see on TV strangling minorities and shooting kids?"

That's what's so ugly and so dumb. This cyclic violence. The creation of self-conscious authority ready to attack "the other." The idea that only some should feel safe. And beyond all that, this fucking stay-at-home-and-watch-people-get-hurt apathy.

This record stays with you, especially in light of recent (and recurring) events. It's catchy enough for the lyrics to get lodged in your head, and thought-provoking enough to make you want to do something about it.

Interview with Sickoids

I don't know how many times I have listened to 2012's Sickoids' LP off of Residue Records. I first heard about it in Maximum Rock n Roll about the time that I was moving back to Chicago from Durham. I didn't really know what all was going on in terms of music there, but I did want to keep my interest in hardcore alive and so I would read Maximum Rock n Roll and pick up fliers whenever I saw them, which eventually got me into my first DIY spaces. Needless to say, I missed the Sickoids playing here, but eventually I hope to see them again.

One of the major things I noticed when listening to the Sickoids record along with the lyrics sheet was the maturity and intelligence in their lyrics. I was really blown away actually. There's a lot going on in that record when listening to it - people coming and going in, death, war, and a general unease with life. That and the uncanny ability to throw really great hooks and anthemic choruses on top of a violent amalgamation of irritated guitars and panic-attack drums made the record really stick out to me. I was totally hooked.

They just put out a brand new record released by Sorry State Records and Grave Mistake Records (two of my all-time favorite record labels). It's a six-song twelve inch that can be streamed on the SORRY STATE BANDCAMP and purchased as well from either label. In addition, you can check out the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE or follow the band on their BLOGSPOT

Jordan: Who all is in sickoids? How long have you guys been playing together? How did the band start?

Sickoids: SICKOIDS is Rob (guitar), Vince (drums), and Eric (bass).  Rob and I were in another band together (Witch Hunt), and when it became inactive, we wanted to keep something going.  We began writing songs in 2010, and we acquired Eric towards the end of that year.  We played our first show in March, 2011. 

      

J: What's the name sickoids from?

S: The name was pulled directly from the SUBHUMANS (Canada) song 'Death to the Sickoids.'  We were looking through some of our favorite records - for band name inspiration, of course.  After going through 100s of potential names (even considering some of the hilarious results on the band name generator website), SICKOIDS just made perfect sense.

J: What all have you guys released? What's the history of releases you've done?

S: We released a demo in March 2011, a full length in March 2012, and our next 12" titled 'No Home' is coming out this month (April 2013).

J: What have been some of the bands you've enjoyed playing with?

S: We've been lucky to play with a lot of great bands: NIGHT FEVER, BUKKAKE BOYS, MANIPULATION, CULO, BLOODKROW BUTCHER, RATFACE, NIGHT BIRDS, MUTANT GENES, NEGATIVE DEGREE, PERDITION, BOSTON STRANGLER, TRAUMA, DOUBLE NEGATIVE, STRIPMINES, among many others.

J: Do you have any bands from your home that you particularly like?

S: Philly was our home, but we all recently moved to other cities.  Bands worth checking out from there include: BAD ENERGY, BAD SIDE, THE BROOD, BACKSLIDER.  Apparently the best current Philly bands have names that start with 'B.'

J: On your self titled record on residue, you talk a lot about war and social issues and alienation. How did those come to be so important?

S: The lyrics stem from things going on inside our heads.  So, they're not really limited to one approach or agenda.  Though, they tend to focus more on personal matters, rather than broad political new items.

J: Similarly, how does a song get written? What roles do you have in terms of the songs getting made?

S: One of us will bring a riff or two to the table and the others will add their own parts as they see fit.  Sometimes someone will have the entire song more or less mapped out.  We all have ideas or suggestions for all the instruments, and we're all pretty good about adapting to what works best for the song.  We've developed a really chemistry playing together, so things tend to fall into place quickly and naturally.

J: Your logos on your shirts are really intense from someone hanging to a man with a gun to a child to frank booth. I was surprised by the frank booth since it was so different being separated from things in real life. Where do the designs come from?

S: Even though some of the things going on in the shirt designs might seem random or separated from actual lyrical content, they do convey a mood.  That's something that's crucial to our artwork.  Rather than spell something out blatantly, we prefer to make it a bit more abstract.  When we look for new things to use in the art, we tend to levitate toward that kind of content - whether it be from a magazine or movie or AP photo from the library archives.  In the end, usually some sort of overall (dark) mood comes across.  

J: What is a live show like? How different is that from practicing? Do you have certain things that become staples of a performance?

S: One thing that has always stayed the same with our live sets is not stopping between songs and basically bursting all of our energy into that 15-20 minute block of time.  In that way, we try to make the music speak for the band, and playing as hard as we can is the best thing we know how to do.  

J: What was the process of putting out a 12 inch on residue?

S: We set out on a week-long tour just weeks after playing our first couple shows.  That's not always a good idea, but we felt that there was no point in waiting around.  We all agreed it just had to be done.  We played an awesome show in Chicago (it was probably the best set we had played as a band up to that point), and after the show we were hanging out with Jordan (Residue) and some other friends.  He liked our set and told us he'd be down to do a record for us when the time came.  We were obviously really stoked to hear that and glad that we were dumb enough go on tour after less than a month of being an active band.  As soon as we had enough songs, we recorded them with our friend, Steve Roche (Permanent Hearing Damage, Philly), and Jordan did a great job of making it a tangible thing!  We were all really happy with how it came out.

J: How was that record different than the new one on grave mistake/sorry state? Was the recording process the same? How was it working with those dudes?

S: The process was more or less the same for 'No Home.'  We knew that those guys were down to put it out for us (after talking to Daniel when we were on tour with the first LP - Alex got on board a bit later), and we knew we HAD to record the songs before we all moved out of Philly.  We knocked it out in basically one weekend, just weeks before we packed it up for Oakland, LA, and Richmond.  Again, Steve made it sound great, and the last six months has been getting all the artwork together and ready to print.  Alex and Daniel have really solid taste, and they know their shit when it comes to putting out quality records!  With all of our heads together (and all being in different cities), it took a little bit longer to produce, but we definitely came away with a better package in the end.  We're actually incredibly excited to see the finished product!

J: Do you guys have any other plans in the future?

S: Our only plan after the record coming out is to tour Europe for a little over 3 weeks in June.  The tour is being booked by Flo from Trapdoor Tours, and Chris from Hardware Records has been cool enough to press both of our LPs in Germany for European distribution.  

J: Anything else you'd like to say?

S: Thanks a lot for the interview!!

Interview with Libyans

The Libyans album A Common Place was the first record I bought from Sorry State Records. I remember that the song "Paralyzed," one of my top 25 songs of all time floored me. It was seriously a transcendental experience. I went back into the store and bought all the Sorry State Records I could find - Double Negative's Daydreamnation, the Shitty Limits' Speculate/Accumulate, the Whatever Brains LP, and a bunch of other stuff. If you don't get it at this point, Sorry State Records is my favorite label. I buy everything that comes out of that camp and have never been let down. A really incredible label run by the best dude, Daniel Lupton, and host of a bunch of rad bands that have always been nice to me, which goes a long way for me at least.

The Libyans record didn't leave my turntable for days. It still vacations on my turntable for extended periods and we're talking about having bought it two years ago. Libyans, The Clash, and The Descendents basically got me into punk music. And those are three bands demonstrate completely different ways of playing punk, which showed me that punk was an entirely dynamic and varied genre. I was hooked. I'm still on that punk-ass fishing line (HA!).

Libyans are a band originally from Boston, though they are pretty split up now, having their vocalist Liz live in Chicago and the rest scattered about. I've never seen them live but a boy can dream. Hearing their plans for tours after their new album comes out has me giddy as a schoolgirl. Hopefully through this interview, you will also become giddy. If not, you can get the hell out!

You can check out their release on Sorry State HERE or check out their FACEBOOK PAGE

Jordan: So for those who are maybe unfamiliar with Libyans, tell us a little bit about your band. Who’s in the band and how did you all start?

Aaron: I think we started in 2007. It was me, Aaron, playing bass and my roommate Dan at the time was playing drums. Liz came along and we had a friend named Marcus who was the guitarist. Basically, Dan wanted to be in a band with me cause we were living together. If I remember correctly, we got drunk and had access to a practice space and weren’t playing Libyans stuff but making noise. Liz had just moved Boston and Marcus, who’s in the band Brainkiller, had moved from Albany. We just kind of met and started playing music. At the time there was another band with Dan and Liz that was a garage-rock outlet. We were just supposed to do a tour with them but the band broke up right before the tour, so Libyans toured.

A: Fast-forward two years and Marcus is moving to Texas. Kevin who had recorded our original stuff - the Demo and the Welcome to Neighborhood 7” said he’d be in the band so that’s the short history.

J: Had you guys played together before? How did you meet?

A: I was working as an intern with one of Dan’s best friends from High School and I met Dan through him. I had never been in a band before and we just hit it off one night geeking out about the Minutemen. Liz had been in bands before and Kevin had been in bands - he was from Western Mass. Liz knew bands from around the place. I had played drums before, not in other bands. Bass was new to me. It was definitely a learning experience and continues to be.

J: Was there a big punk scene in Boston when you all were meeting up?

A: Yeah, it was pretty healthy around then. Seemed like there were a ton of bands. There was a tattoo place “Regeneration” in Alston and they used to have shows there. It seemed like every week there was a show and that was a good meeting spot. There were always a ton of basements and houses doing shows at the time. It waxes and wains especially in Boston. Just recently, it seems like every basement or punk house got shut down. We were supposed to play in Boston two days ago but the venue we were supposed to play fell through and the other places were already booked. We ended up playing Western Mass, which was a good place to play. That was our first show of the year.

J: How often do you guys play shows?

A: It varies. Liz moved to Chicago about a year ago because she had finished grad school and we were working on the newest album for a while. Last summer we did a full U.S. tour from Seattle to Kentucky. Most of us have full-time jobs so we try to do ten or twelve day tours once or twice a year because of vacation time. Last year we did a small U.S. tour and went to Japan to play shows.

J: What was Japan like?

A: It was pretty cool. We didn’t know what to expect. We had toured Europe a year before and just figured we ought to go to Japan. It’s pretty nice over there because the venues have a backline of drums and bass and everything so you pretty much just need to show up with guitars, cymbals, and sticks. It’s pretty amazing in those respects. People seemed pretty receptive to us. The bands there can fucking play, too. It was like “holy shit!” Everyone basically had the story where they had been playing for fifteen years and only recently felt confident enough to play in a band. In the U.S. it was more like pick up an instrument and we’ll figure it out along the way. Everybody seemed pretty adept at their instruments there.

J: What were some of the good bands you all played with?

A: Most of the shows had around five bands. We played with this band Fightback. They were super noisy and I remember thinking “Holy shit, that’s the best band I’ve seen in years.” I think they were members of the Japanese band Forward. But a lot of the bands we played with were famous Japanese bands. Right now I can’t remember many band names but Fightback was incredible.

J: Who have you guys played with in the United States that you really enjoy playing with?

A: Frankly, I like playing with a lot of the Sorry State bands. I think it’s a like-minded set of people. I’m not really the best guy to ask about who we like playing with - it’s usually like I have friends at the show and haven’t seen people in a long time. When those people have bands seeing them and getting back together is great.

A: But we just played with Broken Prayer in Chicago, which is Liz’s other band, and they’re on Sorry State and just released an LP. They’re a pretty cool group. There’s a bunch of people from the Raleigh area that moved to Chicago.

J: Yeah, we have an awesome punk scene here. A lot of punk houses and basements and even some venues and restaurants are hip to having punk shows, which is great.

A: Yeah, I was out there last fall, but there were a lot of cool shows. I saw a Huey Lewis cover band at a place in Logan Square. It was a Mexican restaurant, but I mean, it was a Huey Lewis cover band so it was amazing. Guys from Canadian Rifle were doing Bruce Springsteen covers. It was pretty cool. Chicago’s a pretty cool city.

J: Boston actually reminds me a lot of Chicago. I haven’t been there in a few years, but when I was, I thought it kind of had the big vibe of having stuff to do but you didn’t feel isolated since it was impersonal.

A: In June I moved to Providence, so I probably go to Boston once a week, but anymore none of Libyans are in Boston.

J: How’s Providence?

A: I like it a lot. It’s cheaper down here and you get way more for what you pay for. I have a backyard and get to live alone. I had four roommates in Boston and I lived there for seven years. There were a ton of people going in and out and it got to be a lot.

A: But there’s a lot of Music and art in Providence. Not all hardcore. And I appreciate it. A lot of times there will be an electronic band playing with a punk band and then a dude with an acoustic guitar. It makes the shows more interesting. I imagine Raleigh is sometimes like that. In Boston there will be a super aggressive hardcore show where the bands are similar. I prefer shows where the bands are all different but the people are like-minded.

J: So how’s the recording process for the new LP been?

A: We mapped out most of it the week between Christmas and New Years. Liz flew out and we recorded at Kevin’s house in Western Mass. He basically has a recording studio out of his house. We haven’t mixed it but everything’s pretty much done. I think it came out pretty well. I’m really excited to let other people hear it. Some of these songs are more than a year old at this point. We played a bunch of them on tour for years and it’s good to have a document of it instead of hearing a song in your head.

J: When do you think the record will be out?

A: Hopefully by summer. I know we’ve talked about doing a tour this summer because Dan is in grad school right now so his time off is based on school cycles. We’re going to do it on Sorry State again for sure. Daniel Lupton has been really supportive of us and been psyched about what we do.

J: What are the songs like?

A: I think, if anything, it’s still moving forward. I’ve become a better bass player and that shows on the album. I think we can really play as a band now whereas in the past, even before A Common Place, we were trying to figure out how to play. I think it’s pretty cohesive as far as playing together goes. Also, the songs are really good. It’s our best album to come out this year.

J: Nice! I can dig that.

A: Yeah. (laughs)

J: So how does a song get done by you guys? Do you each do your own parts or are there full ideas?

A: It’s never really full ideas. A lot of times I’ll record something at home with an acoustic guitar. I’ll come in with a part and then people will flesh it out and things get changed around so someone will come in with a riff or two or an idea and we go back and forth until we’re happy with it. That’s been the songwriting process all the way through. A lot of times someone will bring something in and we’re pretty harsh on each other. At this point we’ll be like “Oh, that sucks.” (Jordan laughs) And it’ll be like, “Oh, I’ve been working on this for like three weeks!” So you have to go back to the drawing board, at the least. But the stuff that’s good that makes it through the process has to be pretty good.

J: Well, that’s cool that you guys are okay with that. I guess?

A: Yeah, it just makes things better, I suppose. That idea of nothing being sacred. It’s a good way to work through things. If someone says something sucks, maybe the person will try to work through the song and come back with the good things.

J: What’s the longest song you guys have written?

A: I don’t know. That “Crash Course” song is close to three minutes, but it’s kind of slower. There’s a two and a half minute song on the new album, maybe. It might be like 2:16. Maybe we all have really short attention spans, but when we’re playing a two and a half minute song we’ll think “whoa, that song is really long.” I guess some of the older songs are longer.

J: Have you thought of making music that isn’t punk-oriented?

A: I’m not sure. We all play in different bands. I’m playing in a group that’s more slowed down and less punk but with punk aesthetics. I think Libyans works well when everyone is playing as fast as we can. We’ve tried slower stuff in practice, but it seems to just fall apart for some reason. We haven’t really pushed away from the punk stuff, though what everyone listens to for the most part isn’t punk.

J: So what do you guys listen to, if you had to categorize it, or is it just a huge variety?

A: Well, I can speak for myself. I’ve been pretty into darker country music from the 50s right now. This guy Jody Reynolds. He’s got a lot of bullshit, but he also has five or six songs that are amazing. He wrote this “Fire of Love” song that The Gun Club covered. There’s a song “The Girl with the Long Black Raven Hair” that’s just amazing. But they’re categorized as the original death-rockers since it’s gloomy.

A: I’ll listen to stuff like that and other stuff. I really like Mission of Burma. I just saw them a couple weeks ago and I still think they’re incredible. But when we’re driving we just play whatever anyone is into at the moment. It’s a pretty big range of rock spectrum. Rock and country. Not a whole lot of hip hop.

J: I have to check out Jody Reynolds.

A: Definitely check out Jody Reynolds. There’s another song called “Endless Sleep.” Some of his stuff is total bullshit like “Tight Capris” [Jordan: Yikes] where it’s total bubblegum but four or five songs are really amazing. I like a lot of that. I think Liz is more into powerpop stuff and anything from New Zealand or Australia. Stuff like the Clean and the Bats. Dan’s been into Grateful Dead for a while now too.

J: That is not what I would have expected.

A: It’s just stuff that’s just sonically different than distorted guitars all the time. Your ears need a break if you always go to those shows. It’s always good to not be too into one genre of music all the time. There’s a lot out there.

J: That’s what I have. Anything else?

A: I don’t think so. Kind of weird doing a phone interview. But, I think it went well. You’re gonna edit the fuck out of this, right? Make it really good?

J: Never when you swear.

A: All right. Cool.

Interview with Broken Prayer

The Cover of the New LP

Moving back to Chicago was awesome. Moving downtown was even better. There are more shows than I know what to do with, especially cheap shows that emphasize fun and DIY ethos, which are two things very near and dear to my heart. I found a lot of cool stuff going on almost every day through the site DIY CHICAGO. A week from moving back I had my first experience with The Mousetrap, an awesome punk house with a lot of space and a courtyard. Double Negative was playing with Cold Lovers, Sea of Shit, and Broken Prayer. I came in alone, with a Fat Tire bomber and an Ishiguro paperback.

Before the house opened up, I was leaning against a concrete wall reading when Daniel Lupton and Double Negative walked by. I was pretty psyched since I had just moved from Durham and one of my favorite bands from the area was in my neck of the woods. We talked a bunch and I got to see a bunch of sweet music. Broken Prayer, however, really blew me away. A spitfire vocalist, dirty guitar riffs and more energy than comes out of a split atom. I was totally hooked, though I wouldn't hear any of their music recorded until their newest release came out on Sorry State Records, which can be heard for free HERE.

A lot of the musicians in this band have other really incredible projects too, which are demonstrated in the interview below. These guys just returned from tour and are playing a show fairly soon at Alderaan on February 23 with a bunch of other incredible bands, so it should be a good time. It's also an early show at 2 PM, so I'm really excited to be able to see it during the day. I really dig daytime shows to be honest. It also means I can catch TENEMENT later that day at Swerp Mansion. Needless to say, it's going to be a good day to be a punk.

Anyway, without further ado, here's the interview:

Jordan: Who all is in Broken Prayer? How did the band start? I know that Liz moved from Boston to Chicago recently but did you guys know each other beforehand?

Scott: It's me, Joey Crappel, Dick Nonahue, Liz and Mark Plant. The band started when I bought a micro-Korg with my 2011 tax return. I recorded a demo by myself, that got the ball rolling, and then I got everybody else. I'd been in a band called The Breaks with Nick (Dick) before, and he's the best drummer I know, Joey needed a zillionth band to be in and offered to play bass, Liz moved back from Boston and Mark is my brother. So this band is also about Family Togetherness.

J: What's the discography of Broken Prayer?

S: A demo that I made about 20 of on mini-CDs, the LP on Sorry State, the accompanying single on Not Normal, and now the Welcome to 2013 compilation LP on Not Normal.

J: How has it been working with Sorry State Records? I saw you guys with Double Negative earlier in June at the Mousetrap - is that when you guys met Daniel Lupton?

S: I'd known Daniel for a while and let me say, working with Sorry State is the B E S T. He responds to e-mails, actually does things he says he'll do, has incredible distribution and a great reputation. Sorry State was the first label I contacted and I could  not be happier that he wanted to do it. Thanks to Sorry State we're doing exactly the record we want to do. 

S: I actually met Daniel years ago. Our first interaction that I can remember is trading my Ill Repute - What Happens Next? LP for his Cold Sweat 1st LP. Manipulation, my other band, did our second 7" with him and Liz's band Libyans has been doing stuff with Sorry State too, so it seemed like a natural fit. But it's still very flattering that he'd wanna put out Broken Prayer stuff. The only label I sent the demo to was Sorry State.

Liz: I met Daniel when his old band Logic Problem played with Libyans in Boston. It was a terrible show- poorly attended and at a shitty bar with a cranky owner who seemed to hate doing punk shows but always did them anyway. (Side note: I once saw jay reatard scream at that guy and it made my day). Luckily Daniel wasn't put off by that experience and we've been good friends ever since. He laughs at my stupid jokes which is the best way to win my friendship. Once, we were talking about how stupid it is that Will Smith named his daughter Willow and i said "that's not that weird, since my dad's name is Bliz." Daniel took what I said at face value until about five minutes later he started laughing hysterically and couldn't stop. I will never forget that. I think he's a Chicagoan separated from his city at birth and adopted by some Virginians, because he fits in so well with us. Best dude. Best label. We collectively spent about $400 in the sorry state "store" at his house on this tour. 

J: Do you guys have specific roles in terms of songwriting and recording? How long does it take to write a song? Where and when does songwriting happen?

S: That's pretty much all my department. Writing a song takes about 6 months - about a week of finding the riffs and then about 5 and 3/4 months of incubation and tweaking. The songwriting happens in my house when I'm playing around with a keyboard or guitar, or in the shower when I think of something I like, or really anywhere. I try to find stuff I like versus create something I think would be cool. That’s a big difference and the biggest part of the process - finding vs. forcing. I'll always be trying to get better at that. Tom Waits compared songwriting to bird watching - you might be looking right at the bird but it takes a long time before you can see it for what it is. I remember that because I like bird watching. So I sort of play around, usually in a vague general direction, and see what I can take from it.

L: dude, being in broken prayer RULES because I don't have to do anything. I come to practice and Scott tells me what to do and then I do it. However, I do like to think that I somehow took part in the tweaking process. 

J: What is the recording process like? What gear do you use? Do you use a studio at all or is it all DIY?

S: This recording process was done in various practice spaces, sort of whenever it worked out, with my friend Niko, who records a lot of hardcore bands around here. He brings his laptop, his mics, his interface, etc. and we do as much as we can with the time we can afford. I would love to be able to spend a ton of time in the studio, try out a bunch of different stuff and really nail it. I will someday, when the millions of dollars start rolling in for playing hardcore. But for this LP, especially on the vocals, it was the first time we'd tried a lot of it, and it was a lot more like "Yeah that's fine" rather  than "That's it!". With the way technology's moving, I'm sure it won't be long before I can spend as much time as I want recording stuff and noodling with it. Actually I guess that day is already here, I'm just not caught up to it.

J: How has the tour been going? Have there been many memorable events (hopefully the good kind) so far this tour? Contrarily, what's the craziest thing that has happened?

S: Tour was great! Great great great! The most memorable thing was being really cozy and napping comfortably in the van. Do you know how rare that is? Very! It was awesome! The van we were in allowed for bed-quality sleep because you could store stuff under the seats. That may sound boring. So be it. That was my favorite aspect of it. Being half-awake all the time usually characterizes touring. Not this time.

S: We had a lot of fun playing shows and being shown great hospitality, especially in by Chris Moore in DC, Will and Jim in Philly and of course, Sorry State Daniel in Raleigh. And we're all record hounds who hounded some great records too. I got 2 Screamin' Meemees LPs and a Typhus boot, among other things.

S: Craziest thing that happened? Well, sort of the whole thing is something you can’t relate to coworkers very easily. It’s all kind of crazy and idiosyncratic that way - playing in kitchens and basements, having skinheads and crusties around, screaming my face off into a bad PA and having people like it... I guess to me, the craziest thing was that we got 24 beers as part of the deal at the bar we played in Raleigh, and I think we took 2 of them, total, as a band. We're no Dead Boys. So that's crazy because of how tame it is. 

S: We played the same spot as the final Born Against show in Richmond. Actually, at that spot, I misheard the sound guy - I thought he said he wanted me to get hurt, so I told him that wasn't going to happen and besides, "you can't". He actually wanted me to get heard. So I’m a macho dufus. Liz also mouthed off to him over a misunderstanding. So that was the closest to a crazy thing - two of us were rude and later apologized to an old drunk southern guy.

L: I didn't mouth off to him! I was yelling at your brother. He totally deserved it. 

L: The best part about tour was obsessing over analyzing personality types. I think our types should go on record, don't you Scott? Joey and I are ENFJ. Dick is ENFP. Mark is ENTP. and Scott is INFP, as is our roadie extraordinaire Mark Masters. 

L: I think the funniest thing that happened on tour was Nick getting harassed by the NYPD for sitting In our van watching the bulls on his phone. They searched the van and found a paint bullet, then arrested him. No, I'm kidding. But he kinda yelled at them and it ruled. I like it when jerks get yelled at, see jay reatard story. 

J: What kinds of music do you guys listen to when you're in the van during the tour? What bands have you guys been into lately?

S: In the van I remember listening to Girls at Our Best, Totalitar, Household, Destino Final and others. Liz loves Elvis Costello. All of us are major collectors/music heads. Right now I'm listening to the Iron Lung Mixtape. We all agree on hardcore punk ruling. We all wanted to buy the D-Clone LP but couldn't find it, and I think we were all at the Crazy Spirit show the night before we left. We're all in other bands too - I'm in Manipulation (shameless promo - we also have an LP coming out on Sorry State soon), Joey's in Boilerman and Strangers, Nick's in Violent End, Mark just started a new thing without a name yet, and Liz is in Slag and Libyans and Siamese Twins.

S: Speaking for myself, some perennial favorites are Devo, Gauze, The Crucifucks (especially their 2nd LP), Nervous Gender, Discharge,  the Killed by Death comps, Crossed Out, Rudimentary Peni and No Trend. Some of my favorite bands of the last few years have been Framtid, Kriegshog, No Balls (especially Come Clean), Household, ADULT., Iron Lung, Needles, Totalitar, Rusted Shut... I like other kinds of stuff too. I love Leonard Cohen and Magnetic Fields, Mobb Deep, Dr. Octagon,  Iron Curtain, LOVE Neil Young, Kraftwerk and Neu!, the soundtrack to Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril. You know, I could actually send you a scan of a doodle with my top 50 records.

L: I am also in Siamese Twins, and a new project with Joey that's a continuation of our old band Embarrassed Teens who played one show. We're gonna call it Siamese Tweens. 

L: As far as what music I like, jeez. Where to start? I think the best band to come out in a while is royal headache. I'm always on a quest to find "the perfect pop record," and that LP comes close. Other candidates include everything marked men has ever done, here come the warm jets by Brian Eno, alien lanes by GBV, so what's left now by the observers, too much guitar by reigning sound, guitar romantic by the exploding hearts, both carbonas self titled LPS...as you can see I loosely define what is pop. I guess I'm just obsessed with songwriting. Some review of the Siamese Twins 7" said that we had well written songs but needed something else to stand out from the pack. But even though it was actually a mediocre review I was so psyched that they said we were solid songwriters! 

L: I do also actually like hardcore too though! Currently kind of obsessed with dawn of humans. Definitely my favorite toxic state band...

L: Sorry for babbling. It's interesting to me that when I got into punk in the 90s, reading an interview like this where a band listed their influences was one of the top ways I found out about bands. Now kids don't have to do that, they can find out about anything on the Internet. I'm not saying one way is better than the other, but it's interesting to observe how this changes the dynamics of the punk scene.

J: What do you think of the Chicago punk scene? What bands stick out to you that you like playing with?

S: It's awesome! I came from Saint Louis, where there's great great stuff but everybody's always struggling, and it's about 40 people playing to each other. The Chicago scene is huge and there are tons of great bands and places to play. I'm really excited about the Strangers demo and Gasrag's demo. I love Distract, Ooze, Slag, Violent End, Culo, Kontaminat, Tensions, Haka, and I'm probably forgetting stuff. Daylight Robbery is my favorite local band, one of my favorites in the country. Their latest LP is one of my top 3 for last year. Not Normal and Residue Records are great. It's great! 

L: I am really freaking biased when it comes to Chicago. I love it so much. I left for five years and coming home was the best decision I ever made. I agree with everything Scott said. I'd also like to add Moral Void and Angry Gods to that list. Heavier bands that that are really tight and awesome. Population and Torture Love are two good local bands doing kind of joy division/goth/whatever style. And autonomy fucking rules too, even though they're actually from southern Illinois so it doesn't count. Their new LP on dirt cult is SO GOOD. 

J: What is the design on the cover of the new LP? It's really awesome.

S: The design is by my friend Jeff Robtoy, who I was in Cardiac Arrest with. It's from a book that he did. He's a great artist. He does the art for his band, Pillow Talk, and his aesthetic is pretty spot-on what we're going for. He and I are very similar, which probably explains why his aesthetic makes so much sense to me, and why I like his bands so much. Everyone, check out Jeff Robtoy!

J: What else is in your future? Any new song ideas you've thrown around or places you plan on going?

S: We'll be recording another LP, probably around the end of the year. We have leftover songs from the last one, and 5 or 6 new ones we're working on. Then we'd love to tour again. I don't know. I'm bad at planning. All I can say for sure is Yes.

J: Do you guys have any other artistic means of expression or is music the major outlet?

S: I do improv and sketch around Chicago and drawings and stuff. Everybody else does gobs and gobs of music. Especially Liz and Joey just do tons of bands. 

J: Anything else you'd like to say?

S: Thanks for much for the interview! This is crazy! I write guitar riffs in my room and now somebody wants to blog about it!

Interview with Brain F≠

Sleep Rough LP Cover

Brain F≠ are awesome.  They're a punk band from Charlotte, NC on Sorry State Records and they rock.  They have great lyrics combined with a huge amount of energy and an awesome trade-off between Nick and Elise. The members in the band are from North Carolina and New York pretty much divided in half.  They've been in other bands for a long time, but this new album "Sleep Rough" that came out in 2011 has become a North Carolina favorite and one of my favorite Sorry State releases of that year (what the hell am I saying, they're all my favorite). Here is their tumblr

They begin their album with a quote from Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, an awesome book about World War 2/The Cold War/Drugs/A lot of other things.  Pynchon's awesome.  But the first line in that book is incredible.  "A Screaming Comes Across The Sky."  It notes the sound of a V-2 rocket, which travels faster than the speed of sound.  The scary rush and bang comes after the city catches on fire.  I don't know how applicable it is to Brain F≠, since they're a band and not a bomb, though they have a great loud sound and a lot of fun.  I've never been able to see them live, but I wish I had.  This is them live


They're working on a new album currently, which should be coming out on Sorry State/Grave Mistake and is going to be awesome.


I decided to interview them because I like them a lot.  Here's what they said.

Jordan:  When did you guys start the band Brain f≠?  

Brain F≠:We started in late 2009, september or so. Our first show was in November at the Milestone (best venue in the state) with Double Negative, Grids, & Moenda.

Jordan:  Who are the members of the band?  

Brain F≠:  Elise sings, NIck sings and plays guitar, Eddie plays bass, and Bob plays drums.

No Caption Needed But This

Jordan:  What did the name Brain Flannel come from? 

Brain F≠:  Divine intervention after weeks of thinking and a dissertation's worth of hand-scrawled pages of band names. Agle and the Squale Bagels was a close second.

Jordan:  What's up with the logo? 

Brain F≠:  It's shorthand for "lannel". 

Jordan:  Did you guys play in bands before? 

Brain F≠:  Nick was/is in Logic Problem and Joint Damage, Bob was in Grids (and is now in Infección and Double Negative), Ed was in Yardwork, Elise wasn't.

Jordan:  What's the scene in Charlotte like? 

Brain F≠:  It's very enjoyable and very diverse - Paint Fumes are probably the busiest right now, Nö Pöwer are the rawest, Andy the Doorbum is the realest, and all their crowds intermingle. Great Architect is one of the craziest assemblages of brilliance you could ever wish for. We all go to each others' shows - there isn't much segregation between genres or whatever, you know? Lots of good folks. 

Jordan:  What is a typical Brain f≠ show like? 

Brain F≠:  "Let's have a shambles."

Jordan:  How did you get in touch and work with Sorry State records? 

Brain F≠:  Heavy amounts of blackmail. You'd be surprised what kind of trouble a fixation on the live-action Tick series can get someone into. 

Jordan:  How's the new album coming along?

Brain F≠:  We are waiting for the final mixes. And we have to name it. But it's pretty close to being a final product. Unless the above comment blew our agreement, it's gonna be a joint release between Sorry State and Grave Mistake again.

Jordan:  What separates the new album from the 1st one? 

Brain F≠:  This one is completely in English.

Jordan:  How do you go about recording?   

Brain F≠:  Do you have a certain studio or do you prefer home recording? Our tape was recorded (mostly live) by Charlotte luminary Henry Thibodaux White at Yauhaus. "So Dim" and half of "Restraining Order" were recorded (not live) by Rick Contes at Birthwave (at the time was our practice space/his house). Our version of "Jesus & Tequila" on the Rich Ivey-curated Dick's Picks 4006 tape was recorded by our very own Edwin Jamal Schneider in our practice space. Both albums were recorded by William Evans (of Whatever Brains) - Sleep Rough in Elise's garage, The Real New Brain F≠ LP in the Whatever Brains secret underground volcano lair. Lots of cigarettes.

Jordan:  Which bands helped influence your sound?   

Brain F≠:  Double Negative

Jordan:  Do you have any plans to tour in the near future? 

Brain F≠:  We plan to visit both the west coast and our European motherlands after the new record comes out. We'll play NYC and NC (where we're evenly distributed between) sporadically until then.

Jordan:  Have you played shows with any bands in particular that were really fun? 

Brain F≠:  White Lung/Nü Sensae at Sewercide Mansion (RIP) was one of the best shows we've ever played, the Hopscotch show and aftershow (with Rich Ivey as a human set list) was the most affectionate and probably most fun, and the best out of town was probably with GG King & Cops at 529 in Atlanta. That GG King set was one of the best things we'd ever seen. New Year's at yauhaus this year was really great, too.

Jordan:  What are some of the band's favorite albums of 2011? 

Brain F≠:  TV Ghost, GG King, Total Control, Escroto de Rata, Shitty Limits final outing,.. Whatever Brains (and the new one is even better)

Jordan:  When can we expect those sick t-shirts on your facebook page to come out? 

Brain F≠:  they are available now, but I think we're almost out. Write us at brainflannel at gee male

Double Negative Plays 2201 W Huron in Chicago

Hey SportsFans,


Double Negative, Triangle Area Royalty, and Hardcore Punk Royalty, are playing a sweet house show tonight with Sea of Shit, and a couple other rad bands.  It's gonna be an amazing time.  Dig crowd-surfing, beer drinking and punk rock?  This is right up your alley.


Sorry State Records just put out their newest 7" called "Hits Volume 3" and I haven't had an opportunity to pick it up, but you can listen to the Sorry State Bandcamp found HERE.  It's probably gonna be available at the show tonight for ultra cheap, in comparison to ordering online through the website with shipping.  I know Daniel Lupton, the mind behind SSR is going to be touring with these guys so it's going to be a great show.


Double Negative is incredibly interesting.  It's like hardcore confusion as they say, meaning that their vocalist played in an indie band signed to Merge Records before he joined the hardcore scene, and that band was around in the 90's.  The band has some amazing guitar lines and the instrumentation is all on point.  I've seen them three times, opening for the likes of Ty Segall and Off! and Trash Talk and they were great each time.  Definitely a well-recommended group to check out.

They're playing a DIY house show at 2201 W Huron in Chicago today and it's going to be awesome.  Not sure of the price, but I imagine somewhere in the realm of $5.  it's going to be great.  You should go if you consider yourself a good or even mediocre person.

Interview with Whatever Brains

Whatever Brains singing and stuff

The first Seven-Inch Record I ever bought was a Whatever Brains record.  I got it from Bull City Records and I dug it hard.  I've been a fan since, and have become an even bigger fan since they released a full-length record on Sorry State.  The Raleigh band has a totally unique sound unlike anything you have ever heard (I promise) and it's hard for me to define, but I can tell you that it's definitely rooted in Psychedelia, Rock, and Punk.  From there on, it's anyone's guess.  Fantastic band, though.  I barely got to see them one time at Troika last year, which unfortunately didn't happen this year.  I heard them blast through their last song of the night, which was "Goldwood" on their first full-length record.  "Bada badada badada" was stuck in my head for weeks after, and still often can be found there.

They released a fantastic Record Store Day 7" which has an outtake and a demo, as well as a Double Negative Cover and a Wall of Voodoo cover.  It definitely shows the Whatever Brains' diversity in their songwriting and performance capabilities.  I was really happy to get my hands on one.  You can stream it for free HERE and it's definitely worth a listen.  They are currently about to release their 2nd full-length which will once again be on Sorry State Records.  You out-of-staters can get it HERE if you don't have a local record shop which sells them.

They talk about an upcoming tour for 16 days that will even cover the Midwest and I'll be moving back to the CHI by then, so I'll be at whichever one is closest.  Also, this is their WEBSITE.

I basically wanted a t-shirt by them, but figured I should push my luck and ask for an interview, and luckily Rich and Will from the band were kind enough to give me some info, which is great.  They talk a lot about the band, where it came from, and what makes it tick.  I dig it like a spigot.

But they're better people than I am, so I'll let them speak.

Jordan:  When Did Whatever Brains form?  How did the process happen?

Rich:  The band started in Spring 2008. I was working on a batch of songs that didn't seem to fit the other band I was in at the time, Crossed Eyes. That band had a specific sound with similar chord structures in

each song, and I was ready to write songs outside of washy, minor-chord pop punk. Evan Williams and I had played as a two piece not too long before this, and I knew he was the only person who could help me realize what was in my head at the time. I brought the first group of songs to him, and we spent a lot of late nights at the practice space. Most of the time was spent drinking and talking about YouTube. Evan recorded three or four songs on his four track (some of which are on the Soft Dick City cassette). We liked how they sounded and decided to expand the band from there.

Will:  I think Evan and Rich had gotten together to start a metal band called Tight Dogs From The Future that eventually morphed into Whatever Brains somewhere in the Summer of 2008.  I was looking to move back to NC from Pittsburgh, PA  and asked all my friends on MySpace(whack) where I should move in NC.  Rich told me I should move to Raleigh and join his band Whatever Brains.  I hadn't really hung out with him in forever, but it was my only offer, and we'd played before in an improv doom/noise/Lightning-Bolt-ripoff band called XABBAX which was a good time, so I went for it.

Jordan:  You guys have been on a bunch of labels from Bull City Records to Sorry State Records.  What has it been like working with so many different people?

Whatever Brains LP 1 Cover

Rich: Bull City was an extremely natural way to start. Chaz Martenstein and I made quick friends when he opened his store in Durham in 2005. We talked about music extensively. Both being record store clerks and from Virginia, we had a good deal in common, and we also had a lot to share. Over the years, he's gotten me into so many awesome bands. I bought my first Oblivians and Spits records from him. Anyway, I think Chaz had been wanting to start a record label for a while, and it made sense for Whatever Brains to be his first release. I believe now, more than three years after its release, the first 7" has finally sold out. He probably still has a good deal of the second one. By the time we were ready to release a third 7", Chaz was still sitting on a many/most of our previous records, and it didn't seem fair to ask him to release another, so we roped some of my Virginia buddies into the mix. Funny / Not Funny was started by my friends Matt, Harper and Bengine in Harrisonburg. We were their second release, and they had no idea what they were getting in to. They still have hundreds of copies of the "Nesting" 7". Sorry, guys. They were also gracious enough to attempt a fourth 7" with us, but money fell short when it came time to send the record to the plant. That's where Daniel Lupton at Sorry State came into play. He'd released the Crossed Eyes 7" (of which he mistakenly took to a second pressing and is now selling for $1 in his distro) and had been a Whatever Brains fan from the start. I wasn't sure how he'd feel about the proposition to help with the "Rapper's Delight II" 7" since Sorry State had mostly released hardcore bands, but he was totally enthusiastic. He's been losing money on us ever since.

Will: It's all been pretty straight forward.  I think we have a big advantage because we never need/get a recording budget.  I went to school for audio engineering so I do that work and make the band buy me snacks/beers/microphones, etc.  Then all the labels have been cool about paying for mastering and giving us some free records.  Everybody at Bull City, Funny/Not Funny, Diggup Tapes, and Sorry State Records are all great dudes and we are eternally grateful that they have been kind/naive enough to sink money in our records.  

Sorry State Records LOGO

Jordan:  Do you find that there’s a big advantage of being part of such a diverse music scene as the triangle area?  How has that impacted your music?

Rich:  Sure. Instead of being the wussy band on the punk show, we can also be the dumb punk band on the indie rock show. But, it's been great. We all have history dabbling in different scenes, and the Triangle is a great place to do that. I can't think of a specific instance when it's impacted the music, though. It is what it is.

Jordan:  Have you always had the same line-up?  Have things moved around at all?

Rich:  The band started with me playing guitar singing and Evan playing drums and singing. Not long after that, we added William Evans to second guitar. I'd seen him play bass and keyboard in bands before, but never guitar. He's infinitely better than me. After that, we asked Vince Carmody to play bass. That lineup recorded the first two 7"s. Then we replaced Vince with my roommate and former bandmate Matt Watson, who had never played bass in a band before. We recorded the next two 7"s. We wanted to expand the sound around that time and had talked of adding a keyboard player/auxiliary musician. Young gun Hank Shore had been to a bunch of Brains shows and even messaged me for lyrics and tracklists and such. He was a bass clarinet player by trade, but we got him to play standup bass (along with clarinet) on the fourth 7". Then he joined full-time on keyboards. Since he'd never played keyboards in a band before, he used Evan's microKORG, which he still uses today. Matt uses Evan's bass. Will uses my guitar amp. Matt supplies the bass and keyboard amps. Recently, when Hank went to college, we decided to add Josh Lawson to another keyboard/auxiliary position. He is a pro musician and pro dude. We play as a five-piece most of the time now, but the band has six members.

Will: Rich and Evan started as a two piece in the summer of 2008.  I moved to Raleigh and joined in July/August '08 on guitar.  We quickly realized we need some low end so we asked Vince Carmody (of Strange, Legend of the Overfiend) to play bass.  April of 2009 Vince left and we got Matt Watson (of Street Sharks) to take his place.  At some point maybe in like Spring of 2010 we got (Enloe High School Senior and Eagle mascot) Hank Shore to come play bass clarinet and upright bass for our 4th 7" (Rapper's Delight Pt. II on F/NF, SSR) then he became our keyboard player.  When he left to go to college in Chicago this January we got our friend Josh Lawson (of ORDER) to start playing synth.  At Phuzzfest in Winston-Salem Hank was back in NC for spring break and joined us on bass clarinet.  I think he's moving back this summer and Josh is staying in so we'll be a 6-piece moving forward.  

Jordan:  Do you all have other side-projects at all?  What are your backgrounds in music like?

Rich: Will currently plays in Heads on Sticks, Evan plays in Black Zinfandel, I play in Infección and Josh and I play in Order. I'm probably forgetting something. We've all been in too many bands before now

Will:  I play guitar and keyboards in (Birds of Avalon bassist David Mueller's solo project) Heads on Sticks when we do live shows.  It works out because he'll do all the writing and recording himself then the live band just gets together to practice before shows.  That's been cool.  Also Evan, Matt and I (along with new Double Negative frontman/Atrophix drummer Cameron Craig) were in that band SHARDS.  As far as my background I've been playing music of some kind since 5th grade and have been playing shows since I was 14.  I played tuba in the high school band and have taken like a decade of music theory courses.  Also got my Bachelor's of Science in Music Technology from UNCA.

Frog Fractal Non-GIF

Jordan:  What sort of events and bands and ideologies influence your music?

Rich:  Punk and not punk

Jordan:  Is there a cohesive idea that makes Whatever Brains, politically, artistically or mentally?

Rich:  Don't be a dick. It sounds like an awful t-shirt slogan, but it's the most succinct way I can put it.

Will:  <insert animated Peace-Frog fractal .gif>

Jordan:  How do you think your lyrics impact your music?  A lot of them seem to be surreal portrait-stories.  How does that happen?

Rich:  A good chunk of the songs are about how people treat other people. You see such a depressing amount of religious and ignorance-based hatred growing up and living in the south that it would impossible for me to not touch on it heavily. There are definitely other subjects, though, but they are more of a case-by-case scenario. The new record has a song about how my girlfriend and I have a tough time keeping Betta fish alive and how we wanted a poodle named Frankie. Both LPs have had some sort of explanation for each song in the lyric sheet. And while there has been a lot of satire in past Brains lyrics, I'm trying to move away from that a bit. We'll see how it goes on the third LP.

The Brains Again

Jordan:  When did you decide to record a full-length album?

Rich:  When Whatever Brains started, we planned to record four three-song 7"s in a year and then work on an LP. It took much longer than that. But by the time the last 7" was finally released (September 2010, two years after our first show), we had a ton of material ready for a longer format. We recorded most of them, used some demos and pieced together the 17 tracks that make up the fist LP.

Will:  I think from the beginning we had always wanted to do 4 7"s before we put out a full record.  That Jay Reatard 7" singles series had come out and then was released all together.  It seemed like a good way to put out some music without committing to/having to write 12+ songs or having to wait that long.  After the 4th seven inch we planned to make a full length and so just gathered up all the new songs we had plus whatever old songs we wanted to do again and recorded those.  I think now we're planning on putting out four 12"s (our second one just dropped on SSR) then, I dunno, lazer discs?  4x4x12"s? Hypercubes?

Jordan:  How did you guys end up working with Sorry State Records?

Rich:  I think I first met Daniel when Direct Control (Sorry State's first release?) played the house Matt and I used to rent. Daniel later released a Crossed Eyes 7", which was Matt, myself and our other roommate, Dennis Duffy. Daniel was an absolute gentleman and scholar then, and he still is today.

Will: Daniel rules and has the best taste in weird/hardcore/punk music, runs an incredible label, is the pride of the triangle punk scene, a stand up dude and despite that likes our band.

Jordan:  What was it like putting something out for Record Store Day?  Seems like a big move for both SSR and the Whatever Brains.  How did you decide on the covers you did?  The Wall of Voodoo one is awesome!

Rich:  Daniel asked us if we wanted to do a Record Store Day record, and we said, "Yes." The tracks were gathered and/or recorded and mixed in a few days. It wasn't actually affiliated with THE Record Store Day, so nobody had to pay any money or jump through any hoops to get an official RSD seal of approval. The Double Negative cover was recorded at the same time we did the "Rapper's Delight II" 7". We learned that song because we thought it would be funny to play when we opened for them. Evan got me into Wall of Voodoo not too long ago. "Can't Make Love" sounded the most like Whatever Brains, and therefore the easiest one to learn. The "Shelves" demo samples a long and really intense drum track that Josh programmed for another, never finished, Double Negative cover years before he joined the band. The last track was a remix done by Waumiss for a pretty ridiculous remix download we put on Mediafire when the first LP was released. There are some cool rap and electronic remixes on that download, too.

Will:  Daniel decided he wanted to do a local (NC only + RVA) Record Store Day release and we've usually got a few odds and ends floating around, so he knew we could get it ready to send to the plant in a matter of days.

LP 2 Cover

Jordan:  What has the evolution of the band been like from when you put out your first 7” to the upcoming 2^nd LP?

Rich:  It's always been very gradual. We've practiced twice a week since we became a four-piece in 2008, so we're constantly playing old songs while we're learning new ones. Will has recorded almost evertthing we've done from the first 7" to the second LP. Our friend Reverdy Francis Nicholson III tracked two songs on the "Saddle Up" 7", also. As for the music, whether it's fast or slow or good or terrible, it always ends up sounding like Whatever Brains.

Jordan:  How would you differentiate the 2^nd LP from what you’ve done before?  Anything new to the table?

Rich:  The second LP is a little bit more "rock" sounding. The drums are bigger and better.

Will:  The second one was more focused from the start.  We knew we wanted to do full band versions of all the songs and kind of do a "rock" record, whereas the first LP was more of a collection of all the different sounds we'd tried out (regular full recordings/Rich's demos/this weird new wave electronic drum pad thing) plus songs that had been written farther apart and without a specific release in mind.  I think Rich wrote most of the 2nd one all in a row and with the idea of the next batch of songs being contenders for a full-length. 

Jordan:  What makes a good live show for the Whatever Brains?

Rich:  It seems obvious, but we're always better when we're having fun.

Will:  Free beer.  No serious injuries.

Jordan:  How do you decide when to tour?

Rich:  Matt, Will and Hank are/were in school. Summer is our best option for anything longer than a few days.

Will:  When school's out

Jordan:  Can we expect a US tour coming up at all?

Rich:  We're planning a 16-day tour starting in late July. We'll be playing some places we've played before, but we're trying to focus on places in the Midwest that we haven't been.

Will:  Yes.  July 27th-August 11th.  As far away as Minneapolis then back down the East Coast from Boston

Jordan:  Where does the band see itself going in the future?  Is there going to be a continuation of Whatever Brains?

Rich:  Writing, recording and playing as many shows as we can, which isn't nearly as many as most bands with the amount of records we have.

Will:  Jamming on stage at the Grammy's with Dave Grohl and Lil' Wayne.  I think as long as we don't lose too many members at once and Rich still can't stop writing songs we'll keep going.