There\’ll be an interview on the state of pop punk with Matt R. in tomorrow\’s (Thursday\’s) issue of Quick, the Dallas Morning News\’ free weekday newspaper.
Q: Do you think pop punk gets a bad rap? Why or why not?
A: Pop punk is a term that can excite one person while making another person shudder like they\’ve just seen their grandma without a shirt on. Maybe it\’s because it has become known as the genre you play when you don\’t know how to play very well. There is certainly evidence to back that up, but I base my opinion of pop punk on the great bands that have been tagged with that label because they play music that sounds simple to the ear. That\’s the key in my book: the good stuff sounds simpler than it really is. Just look at the Descendents or even the Ramones. There\’s a lot going on there that you don\’t pick up on right away. It\’s only when you sit down and really listen that you realize how much thought goes into it. That is especially true for lyrics.
However, we all know that for every Descendents and Ramones in the world, there are plenty of bands (national and local) who give \”pop punk\” the bad rap it deserves at times. But, to answer the question, I guess it all depends on what side of the \”shirtless grandma theory\” you find yourself on.
Q: For less literate readers, can you explain the band\’s name and its significance?
A: One day, when I was 15, I complained to my dad about being bored. He threw a copy of The Catcher in the Rye at me, and, as the cliché goes, my life was never the same. Our name was taken from the second sentence of Chapter 13 and signifies nothing other than the fact that I\’m an obsessive weirdo who made reading that book a prerequisite for being in the band. I even gave Matt a written pop quiz. Which he passed. Luckily. For me.
Q: After five releases, how has the band evolved musically?
A: The songwriting has had its highs and lows, but has always remained what it is: our attempt to recreate the specific things we love about our favorite bands. We\’ve actually become quite obsessed with the little nuances in our songs and often spend, or waste, hours working out a single drum fill or guitar strumming pattern.
Also, our producer (and ex-guitarist) Deedle LaCour, really helps, not only musically, but production-wise. His goal is to never record the next album the same way as the previous one – even when things seem to have worked. We\’re always using different drum setups, guitar tones, microphones, etc. I think his reasoning is that if you just remain in your comfort zone, you\’ll never reach what could be possible, and by consciously doing things differently, you not only avoid repeated mistakes, but also stumble upon new standards and rules of thumb. Either that or he just likes to try things out on us before messing up a paying band\’s recording.
Q: If you guys weren\’t playing music together, how would you spend your free time?
A: Matt, our drummer, would be rescuing and adopting any animal he laid eyes on; Tanner would be pin striping a friend\’s car or repairing his; and I would be sitting Indian-style in my living room with a blanket over my head, wondering where I went wrong. Oh wait, we do that stuff now…
Q: What can someone who has never heard of you expect from a live show?
A: Walk straight into the big, empty room – we\’ll be the three guys over in the corner making all the racket. And smiling.
