This is my interview with comedian Greg Hahn at Jrs. Last Laugh in Erie, PA on May 11th, 2012. Greg is a very nice man and is in my mind one of the funniest comedians out there today. It was a pleasure to talk with him and here is a link to a group of clips from some of his many appearances on The Bob & Tom Show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bWumVaESUU.

CHECK OUT THIS INTERVIEW ON OUR NEW SITE: http://www.jbrinlinginterviews.com/

How are you?

Good. I just finished the first show and I’m “carbing” up for the second show.

 

I like the fact that they have to bust out a mop and towel in between your shows.

Well they have to clean up my act. Hey hey hey!

 

When did you decide to go into comedy?

I started really late. When I was a kid, I could always make my parents laugh and I’d try to make the hot girl in class laugh but I was never a class clown. Then after college, I went into the military then I got another real job and then I watched a guy bomb on stage and thought ‘man I could bomb like that.’ I started and my attitude was just let the bombing begin. I started doing comedy and that was it. I just went on stage a million times. I just kind of decided when I was 29.

 

Now that you have been spending a few days in Erie, do you plan to see any of the sights?

What I do during the day is put my air conditioner on frostbite and hold perfectly still so that I have energy for the people at night. I haven’t really seen anything though. There was a TV station and radio thing I did to promo the show but that was it.

 

Where does all of your energy come from on stage?

It’s really just my no patience style. If it’s a good crowd, like tonight was, it’s a lot easier. It’s just natural for me.

 

You were in both the military and in a corporate job before this, why the transition?

Well I always planned to go into the military and go crazy, which I did. Then I went and got a corporate job because I needed to make money which was great, they are a great company. But they laid me off and the transition was really because I got fired.

 

If you could give yourself advice 10 years ago, what would you say?

I’m tempted to say write more, write like crazy. It would be more business stuff, along the lines of maybe getting a manager or an agent, something like that. But it’s worked out pretty good. I’m not too far off the track. I’m not that out of it. Even at 110, I’m still delusional enough to think I could maybe weasel in.

 

Who are your comedy heroes?

I used to like Rodney Dangerfield, The Unknown Comic, Steve Martin.

 

What would say is your greatest fear?

There’s this roller coaster near my house at Six Flags. I think that’s my greatest fear.

 

Do you have a favorite joke or bit of your own?

I like the first five minutes the most because I do that again and again because if I have another late night show appearance, I’ll do the first five minutes and that’s newer material. I always like the newer material the most.

 

Have you ever told a joke that the audience didn’t comprehend?

Yes, it was called the first ten years of my career. Not a joke, every joke.

 

What’s your greatest memory doing stand-up so far?

Hanging out with all the Bob & Tom guys before theater shows, they’re a lot of fun.

 

How was that theater tour?

It was just great. It’s coming back a little bit. It’s so much fun because everyone is the headliner and with radio, you normally don’t see them. On a theater tour like that, all the headliners are together so it’s a lot of funny people in one room. I would love even just to sit and watch them because they are so funny.

 

What are your plans for the future?

Make millions of dollars, TV, movies, and more stand up. Then I’m going to marry a hot chick, get a house on a lake, get a dog, sip iced tea, the girl will be half my age, we’ll just sit on the patio overlooking the water, and we’ll talk about the results from my latest liver test.

This is my interview with Erik Chandler, bassist, from Bowling For Soup at their show on April 28th, 2012 in Cleveland, OH. BFS is seriously one of my favorite bands ever since I was young so to finally meet and see them was truly an honor. Here are links to the band’s songs “Almost:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNbOr0ylYZk and their cover of “London Bridge:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXbgSMT-0j4 that is mentioned in this interview.

CHECK OUT THIS INTERVIEW ON OUR NEW SITE: http://www.jbrinlinginterviews.com/.

Are you enjoying this tour?

It has been a blast.

 

When you prepare to go on tour, what is the one none instrument item that you can’t leave without?

Well, I’m going to get this one off of a technicality. I can’t leave without my backpack because I can fit my entire life in there. I’ve got my computer, all my chargers, all electronics, and all of that stuff but then I have this huge stock of emergency medicines in case you get sick on tour because as soon as somebody has signs of something, you have to nip that s**t in the bud. There can be no illness being passed around on a tour and that’s the way that it would normally happen. Sleeping on a bus and having everyone breathe recycled air, everyone will get it.

 

I heard you guys played a show actually this morning, how?

(Laughs) Yes, that was not my favorite thing that happened today. The show ended up being really cool, it’s just…

Me: Two shows in day.

Yeah that and for some reason I decided to stay up drinking until 5:30 a.m. and then have to wake up and play a show at noon. As soon as we got off stage, our crew packed up our gear super fast and drove here (Cleveland) from West Virginia.

 

What’s your must have food on tour?

Anything that is homemade. That is the good stuff. We eat what we can but most of the time on tour, you’re eating for survival rather than the enjoyment of what you are having. There are a lot of sandwiches and a lot of truck stop food, A LOT of pizza, but all of it is just for convenience. We were in Philly the other day and Gary and I did a cooking show which was really awesome because we got to eat all the food that we cooked (laughs). It was s good because that was the first, really cooked meal we had had in weeks.

 

So how did you get involved with a cooking show?

It’s a show called Rock Star Kitchen and basically you play a couple of songs with the host and then you do a cooking segment. They actually shoot it backwards but yeah, they approached our manager. They got us in there because Gary and I are amateur chefs.

 

So being a chef and enjoying the home cooked meals on tour, if you could have one meal that you made every day on tour, what would it be?

If I had a kitchen set up, I can make these braised scallops that are ridiculously good. If I could just have those right now…

Me: Not to toot my own horn, but they are fantastic!

(Laughs) They are really good. I just moved in with a new roommate and we were talking about splitting bills and groceries and I told him that he would have to let me get the groceries and I’ll cook. He jut went with it and then the first night I made pan seared tuna and he just looked at me and said ‘dude, you’re actually cooking like real food.’ ‘I told you I can cook man.’

 

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Current guilty pleasure is a band called Naked & Famous. That kind of electronic pop stuff is everything that I don’t like about that kind of music but they are just so good between their songs and the way they arrange their vocals, everything sounds like a gang vocal and it’s just well done.

 

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

Play with people that you like. Play with people that you love. If you don’t and something happens to your band that would propel you onto bigger and better things, you will be miserable. I, unfortunately, know too many bands that are huge but have band members that don’t like each other. It’s tough to understand then why they would even do this still. We always said from the beginning, we were going to do it until it wasn’t fun anymore.

Me: And here you are, 18 years later.

Exactly. These are my brothers and I’m closer to all of these guys, band and crew, than my own family. Which is kind of screwed up (laughs) a little bit but…

Me: Well you’ve been with them the majority of the time.

Right and we’ve been to hell and back together. I would compare it to the kind of relationships you build in some sort of military unit at war time. I’m not trying to say it’s the same thing at all but the hardship and the adversity that you have to overcome every day will solidify you as this unit and once you get to the point where everybody has worked out their role and knows where they fit in the group and it starts rolling like a machine, it’s really cool.

 

If you could give yourself advice 5-10 years ago, what would you say?

Ten years ago, I would say to just stick with it, just a little while longer, you’re almost there. Ten years ago was about the point…

Me: I think that was the Drunk Enough to Dance period.

Yeah you’re right, we just put out Drunk Enough to Dance and so “Girl All The Bad Guys Want” just hit rock radio and it had tanked. Yeah, on rock radio it had just done nothing and it had left us feeling just so defeated. Little did we know, later on in December that year, a pop radio station in Indianapolis, a guy who was just a fan of the band, locked “Girl All The Bad Guys Want” into power rotation over the Christmas break. Around Christmas, the entire industry shuts down and so the playlists that they make before break from like December 15^th to January 10^th would be locked in. In that time period, it would spin about 93 times a week which made other stations listen to it and go look at their playlists wondering why they were missing this song that was playing so frequently at this station. On January 7^th of 2003, we got a phone call and we had been nominated for a Grammy for that song and all of us were just so confused by what had happened. Things were going really s**ty then in the period of three weeks, we somehow get a Grammy nomination and we were all like ‘what the hell!?!’

 

You recently finished your acoustic tour over seas, how much different is a full band tour from an acoustic tour?

It’s just way easier. Logistically, there are no logistics. Load in takes literally five minutes. Sound check, if we do one, is only five minutes. There’s room in the dressing rooms. In the U.K., when we are on a full band tour let’s say with two support acts, between bands and crew, we normally travel with a semi with p.a. and everything and then another bus for that crew. You end up with 60-65 people on the tour. The acoustic tour had three bands and there were twelve people on that tour. Jaret and I had our side projects open up for ourselves and so there were three acts comprised of three people, tour manager, front of house guy, a couple of British crew folks that we had document and do photography for us, production manager, bus driver, and that’s it.

 

Having your side projects open for yourselves, was that strange for you at all?

Not so much. Honestly, it was a logistics decision, again. You know, we end up making more money because we don’t have to pay opening bands and so that’s where that decision came from. Also, it gave both, Jaret and I, an outlet to expose Bowling For Soup fans to what else we were doing musically. There were positives from doing both sides of that.

 

I know some bands will include one song in their set because they just really enjoy playing it, do you have one?

I really do enjoy all of them but that changes from time to time. Normally, my favorite song will end up being…every tour we try to work in a new cover but it would have to be a song that most would think we wouldn’t necessarily do. A couple of years ago when “Hot N’ Cold” by Katy Perry was at it’s peak, we jumped on it and it was crazy, we just made it this heavy rock version of that song but she was just everywhere at that point so when we start people aren’t quite getting what we are playing until we hit the chorus and then this just explosion on every crowd member’s face happens and they just lose it.

Me: You guys did that with “London Bridge” too right?

(Laughs) We never really did that live, that song was really just the one off. The day we did that was one hell of a day. Back in the day, you know the band Steel Panther?

Me: Absolutely!

Back when they were Metal Shop, they had a weekly show at the Key Club in L.A. and so we went to see them and managed to get ourselves really, really intoxicated, to the point that Jaret and Chris scared the s**t out of Brian Posehn and he would not leave them alone because he was so freaked out. So we showed up there the next day and we were just hung over, they gave us a choice of three songs and we hadn’t decided yet until we decided on “London Bridge.” We downloaded it on iTunes there in the room and sat around Jared’s computer and learned it. Literally, we walked in the room and played through it only twice until we told the studio people to roll camera because it was as good as it was going to get. The video that everyone can see is our third attempt at playing that song after learning it 45 minutes beforehand. We were so hung over and I knew, I was like ‘you know what this is Yahoo, there is somebody around here that has a refrigerator in their office with a couple of beers in there. Can somebody please find us that?’ Within ten minutes, one of our really, really good friends worked there and comes back with a six pack of Moosehead. It was not good hangover beer but we needed it so we sat there and just chugged these beers and let I start sinking in and then we played the song.

 

How has Phineas & Ferb impacted your career?

Well it’s a nice paycheck, I’ll say that. (Laughs) No it’s really, really cool. Dan and “Swampy,” the creators, were big fans of Bowling For Soup and started working together on The Simpsons, evidently back then in the writers’ room at The Simpsons, they would listen to us quite a bit. Dan went on to be one of the original dudes on Family Guy and “Swampy” did another cartoon called Rocko’s Modern Life and then they came back together to do Phineas and Ferb and they luckily thought of us to do the theme song. The song was already written when they approached us with it and we all loved to do it. Now it’s nice, a few times a year, very unexpectedly, a check from Disney will come in the mail and we’re like ‘okay, we’ll take that, thank you.’

Me: That must have exposed you guys to a younger crowd too.

You know it does but it also (laughs)… you’d be surprised how many older people are into that show.

Me: So you are hitting the kids and the stoner crowd (laughs).

(Laughs) It is a smartly written show so that the adult stuff goes way above the kids’ heads so it’s great. I love cartoons as well…so like you said it’s a stoner thing (laughs). A lot of Powderpuff Girls and Johnny Bravo going on at my house.

 

When was the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio and what was that feeling like?

You know it was kind of an unfair thing for us. When we did our first album, we recorded it three months after getting together. We spent about six months forming this base in the small town we were from, Wichita Falls, Texas. Within six months, we had already made a huge splash on the music scene. We kind of became the “it” band and people saw something different in us compared to other bands. The local radio station put on one of our songs in rotation so we knew at 9:30 on a Thursday night that it would be there. I was literally sitting in my living room with my family just awaiting it anxiously.

What bands or artists have influenced you most?

For me, personally, The Replacements, Elvis Costello, The Lemonheads, rock n’ roll songwriters. For the band, The Descendants are probably the most influential on us doing what we do right now. Jaret in college was in this death metal band and when I was 16 years old I went to one of his shows and saw him play and it scared the s**t out of me and I left., that’s how heavy they were. A guy he was taking archery class with in college played him The Descendants and he realized you could make this heavy and fast music and still be able to sing too and be funny about stuff. He wanted to do that so he started a band called Cool Fork and I started a band with Chris at the same time and we were big fans of each other’s bands and we’d go to see each other play. When both bands broke up, we came together…all because of The Descendants.

 

If you could co-write with anyone, who would it be and why?

Man…I would personally love to write with Jeff Tweedy someday but I don’t know how well it’d go. Watch the Wilco documentary I’m Trying to Break Your Heart and you’ll know what I’m talking about. I love them as a band and he’s an amazing songwriter. I bet we could eventually get along very well but after seeing that I don’t really know.

 

Who is your favorite band or artist that you’ve toured or played with?

Patent Pending. Everybody on this tour is remarkable.

  

What’s one of your greatest memories as a band so far?

The first time we played the main stage at the Download Festival in the U.K. was pretty remarkable. You walk out on stage and you see 100,000 people there but you can’t soak it all in. There are people as far as you can see in every direction. The town we’re from has 100,000 people so imagining that the entire town was there and a photographer friend of ours took a really great picture of me from my back out onto the crowd. That was when I got my first real scope at what just happened.

 

What are your plans for future?

We’re going to finish this tour and we’ll be taking it easy until September and then we’ll be touring the States and the U.K. Then we’ll take our yearly break, we normally get home on Halloween and that’s the last thing we do for the year and just enjoy November and December off. Beginning next year, we’ll start TALKING about a new album.

This is my interview with Eric Hutchinson on April 28th, 2012 in Cleveland, OH. Eric is an incredibly nice man with an extreme amount of talent. If you haven’t yet, go out a buy his newest album Moving Up, Living Down. Here are links to his newest single “Watching You Watch Him”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ce6IdWCBPY and “Rock and Roll”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm5TZX5hz3g

CHECK OUT THIS INTERVIEW ON OUR NEW SITE: http://jbrinlinginterviews.com

First off, how are you?

Good man, how are you?

Me: Doing great.

 

Are you enjoying this tour?

Yeah, we’re having a blast.

 

When you prepare to go on tour, what is the one none instrument item that you can’t leave without?

I’ve sort of turned into a luggage geek. So I have a lot of luggage stuff but I have this one toiletries kit that can zip up but can be hung up once you get to a hotel room. It’s like bringing your medicine cabinet with you. It’s the little things that make me feel right at home in a way. I sort of turn into a loser with that kind of stuff.

 

What’s your must have food on tour?

Well backstage we get lots of fruits and vegetables, some stuff that is sometimes difficult to get while traveling but I don’t know. Usually, I’ll just eat a whole bunch of raw almonds and protein bars, things like that. Stuff that can keep the energy going. I love, love, LOVE eating but it’s difficult because I can’t eat too close to show times. So usually I’ll just eat almonds before a show or something.

 

What’s your guilty pleasure?

I’ve got a lot, probably Saved By The Bell. They just started showing it on MTV2 now so that’s been good.

 

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

Yeah, some somewhat quick advice, depending on what level you’re at, is to play as much as you can, learn an instrument, and start writing songs immediately. For me at least in my career, writing songs keeps you in the driver’s seat, you can generate material and that’s a big part of it and there has definitely been some challenges. People don’t always want to hear new songs so there definitely have been some fights for that stuff but in the end I think that is what’s most satisfying for me.

 

If you could give yourself advice 5 years ago, what would you say?

Probably to not take it so seriously and just have fun with it a little more. It took me a while, there were just a lot of ups and downs and for a while I just took it all very seriously you know and it wasn’t that fun but now it is.

 

Your newest full-length was just released a few weeks ago, have you been getting a good response from that?

Yeah really good reception and when people write mean things I just block them on Twitter.

Me: That works too.

(Laughs) Yeah, but it’s been really good. We kicked off the tour the same day as the album came out so it’s been fun to just see the songs coming to life with the people and seeing them learn the songs but yeah, I’m really proud of the album and people have seemed really excited about it.

 

This full-length is the first album you’ve released in a few years, what was different with this record and what caused the four year wait?

I really was just touring a lot of the time. There were a couple different levels as to how this album was going to be released and then we toured America at least six times and then went over seas to play Australia, Norway, Dubai, and all kinds of crazy places and after all of that I got to come home to New York City and really process everything and work on the new album. I’ve been busy the whole time but it’s been good. What was different in the studio was that most of the first time I made an album with a label so it was actually the opposite of what I thought would happen and I actually felt like I could concentrate a lot more on the music while they dealed with all the scheduling and that stuff. I got to work with some awesome producers, got to live in London for a month, live in L.A. for a month, and I just felt like I got to spend more time concentrating on the songwriting and singing which is what I love to do.

 

You were on Jay Leno not to long ago, how was that?

Awesome! He’s very nice, it was actually the third time that we had done The Tonight Show, which is crazy to think. It was very nice and the TV shows are always super fun because it always feels like what I thought being a rock star would be like as a kid.

 

When was the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio and what was that feeling like?

For whatever reason, I’m anti-magnetic to my music. Whenever I’m in a room, leave, and then come back in, they’re always like ‘you just missed it!’ Happens to me all the time. So I’ve never had that moment where I’ll be listening to the radio and it’s just blaring and I can dance around like in That Thing You Do. There have been sometimes though where I’ll be shopping at like a Crate & Barrel when it comes on. Those are best for me because nobody is paying attention. The worst for me is listening to music when my stuff comes on and everybody looks at me wondering what I’m going to think of it while hearing it which is not very fun unless I’m playing it live or something.

 

Your songs have been featured all over TV, is it still strange to hear yourself?

Yeah, it’s still weird. I always describe it as when you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and it takes a second to recognize that it’s you. It’s this moment where there’s a very weird feeling but yet very familiar and that’s usually what happens when I hear my music somewhere. It’s a weird feeling but it’s really cool that my songs have been in movies and TV and stuff like that.

 

Now you wrote the theme song on for the ESPN Podcast “Fantasy Focus,” are you a big sports fan? Who are your teams?

Yeah, I’m from D.C. originally so I’m a Nationals, Redskins, Wizards guy.

Me: Alright you’re in fair territory with me as a Colts fan. We aren’t doing so hot but…

Well you have Andrew Luck now so we’ll have to see.

Me: We need all the “luck” we can get.

 

What bands or artists have influenced you most?

The Beatles were probably the biggest. They were like paramount in my family. I always have these phases of theirs in my life, I think I’m going to go into another one now…actually we’re going to Vegas at the end of this tour and I got tickets to see LOVE, which I have heard is amazing. So, The Beatles were really big, Michael Jackson was one of my favorite singers from early on, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, and stuff like that.

 

If you could co-write with anyone, who would it be and why?

This is a weird one out of left field, I probably shouldn’t say this, but the Indigo Girls are really underrated songwriters, I think. I think it’d just be fun to do interesting harmonies together. I think it’d be interesting to work with Kanye West or someone like that just to see how someone like that works and makes music. So there it is, it’s going to be a power group of the Indigo Girls, Kanye West, and me.

 

What concert have you been to that changed your life?

I think when I saw Prince. I’ve seen him twice but when I saw him in 2003 he had finally come back and was mainly playing all of his hits and it was just such a high energy show. It was so inspiring and exciting and that’s what we want to bring to every show every night of just this high energy to set the tone right off the bat so the audience picks up on it and gives it back. I really believe that the audience is half the show. That show was just unbelieveable, fun, and he’s such a great guitar player.

 

Do you have a favorite song to play live?

I am enjoying all of them. It’s fun like I said to learn the new songs with the audience because it’s interesting to see which ones they respond to well and what they want to sing along with and what they find catchy. I mean I love the new single, “Watching You Watch Him.” I never get tired of playing that one. When we did Leno we had a bunch of cameras and sound rehearsals and sound checks. We played the song six times in a row and I could have kept going. I just like it and that’s how I felt when I was working on it in the studio. I kept wanting to hear it on the big speakers and it always reminds me of just being on a road trip in the desert somewhere in Arizona and just turning it up loud with the wind coming through the windows. I don’t know, I’m just proud of that one.

 

Favorite place to play?

I like anywhere that has an excited audience. On the last tour especially, I played everywhere from literally a garage that was turned into a venue with maybe 80 people then to a 25,000 capacity arena in Canada. As long as the audience is interested, the show can be fun. I’m just looking for that spark and that’s what gets me going at shows.

 

Who is your favorite band or artist that you’ve toured or played with?

I had a really good time with O.A.R., we opened for them a bunch and they’re really nice guys. They’re actually from the same part of Maryland; we grew up close to each other. All of them are just so down to earth and our fans got along really well. Also, G. Love & Special Sauce was cool, I had grown up loving them so meeting them and become friends with them was a dream come true. We also toured with Kelly Clarkson for six months and she was really nice and she had one of my songs on her new album so that was really cool.

 

What’s your greatest memory in music so far?

I got really excited when VH1 named me a “You Oughta Know” Artist. I remember sitting in the San Diego airport and I was getting ready to get on a flight when my manager called and told me and I was just jumping up and down and yelling. That was closer to the radio moment we were talking about before. It just felt like some stamp of approval and something official and VH1 continues to be really supportive. So that’s been cool.

 

What was it like on Live From Daryl’s House?

That was fun. Daryl is a really nice guy. I mean I got to sing “Private Eyes” with Daryl Hall. It doesn’t get much better than that.

What are your plans for future?

Well this tour goes until the end of June and then I’m not really sure. I guess we’ll see where we are at that point. For now, the album just came out so I’m jut excited to be playing the new songs and sharing them with the fans and I mean it’s a really satisfying feeling to have written the songs, recorded them, and to have them on the album, to then singing them at the shows with the audience, it’s the whole reason I got into this thing.

This is my interview with Jamie Scott of Graffiti6 at his show on April 28th, 2012 in Cleveland, OH. Jamie is an incredibly nice man and has created one of my favorite albums of the year, Colours, which is available now. He is also about to embark on a headling leg of his tour across the U.S. this summer. I highly reccomend him if he is headed to a city near you! Here are links to his videos for “Free”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FObmcZnoKM and “Stare Into the Sun”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLlQ5YunTD0.

CHECK OUT THIS INTERVIEW ON OUR NEW SITE: http://www.jbrinlinginterviews.com/

First off, how are you?

Doing good man.

 

Are you enjoying this tour?

Yeah, it’s f**king great man. The crowds have been so good.

 

When you prepare to go on tour, what is the one none instrument item that you can’t leave without?

Oh s**t. I’ve got this big jacket. I’m not a big fan of coats but I have this one that I love the fit of so it comes everywhere with me.

 

What’s your must have food on tour?

Sushi. I love sushi.

 

What’s your guilty pleasure?

The USA Channel.

Me: So Monk and NCIS?

All of that man.

Me: Do you have a favorite on the channel?

Probably Law & Order.

Me: The original, SVU, or Criminal Intent?

The regular…actually no I love SVU.

 

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

I guess my advice would be to just keep going. I was first signed about ten years ago and this is really my third label and this is really the label that feels most right and I never felt like I could say that on any other label. Even in the period before you get a deal, just keep going especially if you believe in what you do. Keep doing it and stay true to yourself. Never let anyone change you and just do what you want.

 

If you could give yourself advice 5 years ago, what would you say?

Exactly the same (laughs). I really would have told myself to not take as many influences and opinions on because everyone will have a different one. At the end of the day, it comes back to you.

 

How does it feel to be a VH1 “You Outta Know” Artist?

I love it man. It’s great. They’ve been amazing to us and a lot of people have been great to us. It’s just been awesome.

 

Your songs have been featured all over TV, is it still strange to hear yourself?

Yeah, it’s crazy in the just the way we’ve been received over here, it’s just amazing. It’s just been such an amazing ride between coming to America to play music for the first time and no having fans from coast to coast coming to see us, it’s just phenomenal. I love it.

 

You are also quite the accomplished writer and you’ve written for several artists, are there any in particular that you really enjoyed or any that really tried to collaborate with you?

Most recently, I did a lot of the One Direction stuff and that was really enjoyable because the guys are just so funny and very energetic. I think when I worked with them on this record, they were 16 or 17 and I’m 28 now so it just reminded me of being young again. They’re very funny and just great to be around. I’ve done all sorts of things but that was recently one of my favorite things I’ve been doing.

 

Do you think you played a good part in their success?

Well there weren’t many writers on the record and the record was done pretty well so I’d like to think so (laughs).

 

What was relocating from London to L.A. like for you?

It was really cool. I had been looking to move to America for a long time and it was something that I’ve always wanted to do. So to come over with my music just feels great, weather’s nice and it puts you in a great mood. It was just an inspiring thing really surrounding the move and now being here, to have Graffiti6 received well. All of it has just made me feel really good and I think to be in that state of mind helps someone make great music, feeling positive at least.

 

When was the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio and what was that feeling like?

It was incredible. I remember when I was working with some songwriters when I was 19 and hadn’t had any songs come out yet. Then the song I wrote was being played on radio and then in cars and I just remember answering so many questions like ‘so what does it feel like?’ I was just so mesmerized by it, the feeling of what that must be like and then the first time you have it, it’s like ‘oh…okay.’ (Laughs) It’s really weird how you get in the car and hear yourself, it’s not anti-climactic, it’s an amazing feeling but it’s just this weird thing like ‘wow, alright wicked,’ and then you just move on. It’s funny.

 

What bands and artists have influenced you most?

Personally, bands like Free, modern day people would have to be Bon Iver, bands like Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, Alabama Shakes’ stuff is great, love bands like The Black Keys, but I listen to a lot of old folk music like Joni Mitchell, Carole King, James Taylor, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Neil Young. That’s the music I grew up on.

 

If you could co-write with anyone, who would it be and why?

Bob Dylan, he’s my ultimate hero in writing.

 

What concert have you been to that changed your life?

Well the first real concert I went to really instilled a love for melody and harmonies and that was The Everly Brothers.

 

Do you have a favorite song to play live?

“Free,” it just has this great feel to it and I love it man.

 

Favorite place to play?

I don’t really have one. America. Anywhere. It’s just been so crazy and we can’t really explain it and every where has been the same, in a good way. This place as a whole has just been so good to us.

 

Who is your favorite band or artist that you’ve toured or played with?

Alicia Keys probably.

 

What’s your greatest memory as a band so far?

Standing in front of 50,000 people at Pink Pop Festival in Holland on the main stage, that was incredible.

 

What are your plans for future?

Just keep going, keep touring, promoting the record.

This is my interview with Issac Stryker (left, keys) and Shane Lawlor (right, vocals/guitar) of the band Electric Touch at their show in Cleveland, OH on April 18th, 2012. Pictured as well is guitarist Christopher Leigh (2nd from right). They are a wonderful and friendly group of guys and it was great to be able to meet them. Here are links to their videos for “Don’t Stop”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-z3GZaF9kE and “Magnetic”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxEyCQtmBQo.

CHECK THIS INTERVIEW OUT ON OUR NEW SITE: http://www.jbrinlinginterviews.com/

First off, how are you?

Shane Lawlor: Fantastic and wonderful! It’s great to be in Cleveland. I love it here. We’ve been here a few times before and it’s a great and beautiful city. I was actually able to walk around earlier and see how pretty it is. There are lovely people as well, very friendly people. So it’s nice to be back.

Are you guys enjoying this tour?

SL: I love it. It’s brilliant. Every day is like a dream come true really because we’re playing sold out shows and everyone else on the tour, Hot Chelle Rae are lovely fellas and they are so talented, so it’s great for us to be inspired by them. Plus, being able to travel the country in bus and playing our music, on our album which just came out a few weeks ago, it’s been a great year.

You mention your album, what has the response been like from that?

SL: It’s been really, really positive and we’re really pleased because we’ve worked really hard on it and really put our heart and soul into it and it’s our major label debut so it’s a really important one. So to have people really digging it and coming out to the shows and showing their appreciation on Facebook and what not, I think we did good. But we’re not satisfied (laughs) we’re going to work just as hard for our next one and we’re definitely really happy with the reception.

Along with the new album, Reba McEntire and Kenny Chesney posted a link to your album when it came out. Was it strange to hear that artists like that from an entirely different genre loved your stuff?

SL: It’s wonderful. It’s just so strange and surreal because both of them are huge stars but it’s wonderful because we wanted to make music that connects with people, not a certain demographic or genre, just people that enjoy music, and we want to play shows to those people that like to have fun and see rock n’ roll. So it’s great when people are so talented like them say they love it. It’s lovely and even the average person on the street saying they love it is lovely too. It’s great to have support like that from legends really.

When you prepare to go on tour, what is the one none instrument item that you can’t leave without?

SL: There’s a few. Lots of socks (laughs). I won’t go anywhere without my iPad and laptop to keep in touch with home and fans. Some good books. We’ve been doing it for awhile now, a few years, so we think we’re prepared for everything that comes but there’s always something. There’s lots of things to keep you busy for the hours on the road when you’re not playing.

So you are from the U.K. and the rest of the band is from Austin, TX. They’ve have all played shows now where they’ve been to high school. Do you plan to do the same?

SL: Well they tore my high school down actually, says a lot about my high school (laughs). But no we have not been back at all as Electric Touch but I’d love to. I think later on in the year we’re going to go back, at least we’re hoping to because I think the music is very universal because it talks about real things that people go through no matter where they live. It’s the human condition and love that we talk about but there’s certainly an English vibe in there because I’m the singer or that I write the words. I’d love to see how it would go over there, I really would.

What’s your must have food on tour?

SL: You know I really like to eat what’s local, like the special cuisine to that place. Around this area, I’ve seen there are lots of corn beef sandwiches and gyros. But really I don’t bring anything special with me other than whatever is on the road that’s local, we like to try. Really when we’re at home, we eat the same thing and do the same thing so it’s nice when you’re on the road to experience new things.

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

(Issac Stryker joins the interview)

SL: Yes, practice, practice, practice. Never give up and never look back. Always be positive and surround yourself with positive people that inspire you. Follow your heart and follow your dreams because dreams do come true if you believe in them hard enough.

Issac Stryker: That’s perfect advice bud.

If you could give yourself advice 5 years ago, what would you say?

IS: I’d say ‘you don’t know s**t.’

SL: I’d probably give the same advice for aspiring musicians because even when you do it, sometimes you’ll get down. So I’d tell myself ‘follow your heart’ and ‘you’re on the right path.’ Just even somehow working harder or trying harder. I’d probably tell myself the winning sports teams for the past three or four years as well, get a few dollars on that (laughs).

When and where was the first time you heard one of your own songs on radio and what was that experience like?

SL: It’s an amazing experience. I was in the car in Austin, TX when it came on. It was about four years ago and it’s mind blowing really and you have to pat yourself on the back because it’s always something you’ve been trying to do and when it does happen, it’s very surreal. But it just makes you hungry for more really.

The band’s mission statement is “Tales of Ordinary Life in Glorious Technicolor,” why did you choose that?

SL: Because we like to write songs about things that are real and we don’t like to just make up a bunch of nonsense singing about what we don’t know. Ultimately, we want people to connect with it. We all live in the real life so that’s what we focus on and there is no better drama than that really. We’re a rock n’ roll band and it’s a lot of fun with big sounding drums and guitars and solos along with just jumping around on stage. The ordinary made us special and the mundane is really exceptional and extraordinary so that’s why we chose the statement because we want to talk with people and connect so that’s what we write about.

What bands or artists have influenced you most?

SL: Beatles, Stones, and The Kinks. We like a lot of modern stuff like The Strokes and that stuff too but certainly the vibe of the band comes from the classics and just trying to regenerate it for the 21st century.

If you could co-write with anyone, who would it be and why?

SL: John Lennon. It seemed to be so effortless for him and I love that. I spent many, many years just mimicking him and so it’d be nice to actually write with him.

IS: I always talk about wanting to work with Ric Ocasek. I just think that’d be really great between all the work he did with The Cars was amazing but I also recently found out he produced Weezer’s first record which is amazing. I just think everything he touches is really special.

What concert have you been to that changed your life?

IS: For me, seeing Muse live, I’ve seen them three times now but the first time I saw them, I just could not believe what I was seeing between the amount of musicianship, what they were able to do on stage, and the sound coming out. The first time was also less than 2,000 people in an auditorium and you literally could not believe what was happening. It was just incredible. Then I saw them at a festival and with the light show and music, it’s incredible.

SL: I saw Chuck Berry when I was really, really young and that was weird because I was so close to a hero and that was the first record I ever bought, by Chuck Berry. It was really the reason I started playing music and picked up a guitar. When I saw him, he was completely out of it, he really was. He was messy but being that close to a legend just showed that it is attainable and that he puts his shoes on the same way as everybody else. He’s not perfect or god-like, he’s just a regular guy with an amazing gift that spoke to me and at a young age, that made me want to pick up a guitar and play. I was definitely hopping around my bedroom impersonating him before I even learned a chord (laughs).

What was the festival circuit like for you guys last year? At the time, your album wasn’t even out yet.

SL: It was wild and crazy. I mean it’s extremely fortunate for us to be doing it, I don’t forget that for a minute. To us though, it’s just like every show, whether it’s 10 people or 10,000 people, we go through the same emotions when we play the songs but just on a grander scale. It’s just a little different because there’s no time to settle and treat it like a normal show but it’s really important with the thousands of people there. So you just revel in it and the moment your foot touches the stage, you just have to forget everything else and go for it. It’s also a great way to meet people from all over.

IS: It attracts so many people from so many different places, just the environment surrounding it of not knowing who you’ll run in to, and seeing all of these bands that have inspired you, it’s really fantastic.

Do you have a favorite song to play live?

SL: All of them really, for me. I love them all but “Dominos” holds a special place in my heart and I definitely like doing that one.

IS: That one’s great and “Do It Again” and “All the Love” are exciting for me. There are just so many ups and downs in a set so you get to experience multiple things.

Favorite place to play?

SL: Right now, it’s Cleveland. Every place is great though because growing up, you always dream of playing in front of people that want to hear you so I’m really not making it up. Every single night gives me the best feeling because we just get to do it. So right now, I’m looking forward to this show more than any other. The album is called Never Look Back and that’s what we do, we are always looking forward. Cleveland House of Blues, it’s on.

Who is your favorite band or artist that you’ve toured with?

SL: Hot Chelle Rae. They’re awesome. All the bands we’ve played with have been great. Evanescence are wonderful, The Fratellis are great, The Airborne Toxic Event were great, it was incredible to play with Bon Jovi, it’s all great. Honestly, it feels like home with the Hot Chelle Rae guys. They’re really talented and really, really friendly and we get along with them really well and it’s just nice and pleasurable.

IS: We’ve done like 30-40 dates with them now and I can tell you that I know almost every lyric to every song they play and it doesn’t get annoying. Even “Tonight, Tonight” which is on the radio all the time, it just doesn’t get old.

SL: I heard round the corner when I was just getting breakfast this morning (laughs).

IS: We love playing with them and hopefully we can continue to.

What’s your greatest memory as a band so far?

SL: Getting signed to Island Records was extremely vindicating. It just an incredible feeling. That was something that made me feel like we had really done something and we were about to hit the big leagues. That moment will stay with me forever.

IS: For me, Lollapalooza, I don’t know why but playing there the first time in Chicago, there was something really special about that.

What are your plans for future?

SL: Touring, we’ll be on the road quite a lot with promoting the album. We’ll be writing and recording the next one. We really want to be an arena band and the biggest in the world, that’s our aim and goal. We just have a lot of fun on stage and take the crowd for a roller coaster ride with us so just more of that, more of the same. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. We love what we do, we want to keep doing it, and we want to do it in front of more people. So, the future is definitely unknown and definitely unwritten but I think it’s going to be a good one and a good story.

This is my interview with Ben Rector on April 11th, 2012 in Cleveland, OH. Ben is an extremely nice guy and an absoluely incredible songwriter. It was a pleasure to meet him. Here are links to his videos for a cover of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BW_ugyj0lw and his original song “White Dress”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hfJtAe_pCY.

CHECK OUT THIS INTERVIEW ON OUR NEW SITE: http://www.jbrinlinginterviews.com/

Ben: So where are you from?

Erie, Pennsylvania.

The Wonders are from there.

Yes they are. That Thing You Do is a great movie, right?

Might be….it’s one of my favorites for sure.

Agreed, how are you doing?

Doing good. It’s the second show of the last leg of the tour so yeah, it’s been going good.

When you prepare to go on tour, what is the one none instrument item that you can’t leave without?

Earplugs.

What’s your must have food on tour?

Well I drink coffee when I’m home and on tour as well but I’d probably say, on this tour, we’ve made a habit of eating eggs benedict. Some of the guys in the band and I will wake up for breakfast in a city and just try to find a good breakfast place near there.

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

I definitely am not the authority or anything but I would say the one thing that stays true universally is to find your on way to write good songs, no matter what genre it is. No matter what you are looking to pursue, you have to find your own way to do it well.

If you could give yourself advice 5 years ago, what would you say?

I’d say just work on writing good songs. I think that’s most important and then everything else will fall into place when you start to get on that track.

With your newest record, Something Like This, I saw that you produced it as well. How much different did that make the recording process compared to your previous records?

So basically, Something Like This and Into The Morning, I made with the same guy and I really enjoy working with him because usually what happens is I’ll write the songs then come up with some sort of arrangement and parts, and then we’ll both toy with them to figure out what works. It’s definitely a unique process because for better or worse, when you help produce, there is a lot more of yourself on those tracks. Not to say…Chad has an infinite amount of great ideas so not to say it’s just me but for better or worse, a lot of that stuff it feels like it’s on my shoulders.

Do you plan to produce more records beyond your own, I saw you’ve done another with Steve Moakler?

Yeah, that’s something that I really enjoy and I think that if those opportunities continue to come up, I’d definitely be interested in that. I would also say there’s a difference in having an aptitude for something or a readily available skill set. So I’d say that I approach producing the same way as a songwriter. But a big time producer that has worked a ton will definitely have all of the right gear that they have all figured out, I’m not much of an engineer but I feel okay with coming up with parts and arranging stuff. But I feel that if it’s something I really want to do, I need to dive into it a little harder.

You have a song on your last record called “When A Heart Breaks” that talks about learning of a terrible illness, is their someone in particular that inspired that song?

Not really, I think it was just the general feeling and I know a lot of people of been there and fortunately some haven’t. But it was a song just describing how it feels to be truly broken and that’s the point when you know that you need something bigger than yourself. It’s about the point when people say they need Jesus all the time, which I think can be accurate but it’s different when you are really in that position.

Your songs have been featured all over TV, is it still strange to hear yourself?

It is a little bit. When it actually comes on, it’s like ‘wow, that’s a little strange’ (laughs) but yeah, it’s exciting and I’m very thankful for that to have happened a little bit.

What bands or artists have influenced you most?

I would say a lot of older music would be the main influence like James Taylor, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Motown, a lot of the 60s and 70s era, but really like anything I hear becomes a little part of what I’m inspired by. I grew up listening to a little bit of older music and I think that’s still the music I would say is my favorite but I love all kinds of current music and am definitely influenced by a lot of current artists.

If you could co-write with anyone, who would it be and why?

Man that’s tough. I’d love to write a song with any of those people I just mentioned, just to be with them for an afternoon would be awesome. But there’s also a ton of songwriters right now that I really respect. Top 3, I’d say Paul McCartney is one of them, James Taylor is another, and…Randy Newman just because I think he’d be a hoot and I’d love to write with him and see what that’s like.

Do you have a favorite song to play live?

On this tour, there’s a new song we’re playing called “Forever Like That” where I get to play a little bit of electric guitar which I don’t normally play guitar at shows. I actually started out playing guitar which is backwards because most think I would have started on piano as most of my songs are on piano. I studied music theory on guitar so I guess I was a bit more comfortable doing that. I think that’d be my favorite on this tour just because it’s so different and fun to play.

Favorite place to play?

City-wise, I’d say anytime you are in a city that you’d visit if you weren’t playing music, it’s definitely wonderful. So like Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Austin, Kansas City. As far as venues, there are some really great places. I don’t know if I could pick one or even a couple. We got to play to Ryman on this tour in Nashville which has a ton of history there. That was fun. I think anytime you are in a city that you love, it begins to feel less like work and more like a vacation if you have some time to spend.

Who is your favorite band or artist that you’ve toured or played with?

Needtobreathe is up there. They might be one of my favorites. I’ve been really fortunate to be able to tour with people I admire and enjoy being around so a few guys that were mentors to me while I was in college were Matt Wertz and Dave Barnes. I started out when I was in high school and started listening to their music and really loved it and the way they handled their careers so I was able to become friends with them and sort of be on the road with them, I enjoyed that. I’d say if I had to pick one more, I did a tour with Five For Fighting and I loved John’s music growing up.

You’ve done a few covers already with both “Free Fallin’” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” is there a song you plan to cover next?

You know, I have been thinking about that. I know there are tons of people that do YouTube covers all the time and that is really cool. But definitely my primary focus is being an original songwriter and I don’t want to get caught up in that because it is almost its own genre now that people are making careers off of. But I will say that I enjoy doing it so much because it’s like studying a song in an entirely different way, to reconstruct and re-do it the way you would. I’m definitely thinking about that and I love doing it but we’ll have to see when it happens, I don’t know. Maybe this summer.

What’s your greatest memory in music so far?

I did a co-headlining tour with Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors and we had a show in Auburn. There aren’t a lot of venues in Auburn that are very large, not that we need one, bu they were all small enough for us to say we can’t play there. So we played in this field in the middle of the country and initially when we booked it, this person had a farm and had built a stage and it was very interesting. So it was described to us a certain distance away from campus, but it turned out it was 30 minutes from campus with no cell service in the middle of nowhere, you literally had to turn down dirt roads to get there. So we drove there and we were so depressed because we got lost trying to get there in the daytime and we thought that a) no one would find it and b) is going to want to come enough to drive 30 minutes in the dark into the country without cell service and pay money to see us. We were taking bets thinking a dozen people max. would be there. When we came out, it was down a hill, and Drew and I went up thinking that we could welcome people in to thank them for coming. We’re climbing up the hill and when we get to the top, and as far as you can see are bumper to bumper headlights waiting to get in to parking. There was actually like 6 or 700 people there, it was so awesome. It was a beautiful night in the middle of the country and it was a special moment for people and definitely a special moment for us. That’s definitely one of my favorites.

What are your plans for future?

The immediate future, once the tour is done, I’m going to go enjoy being home. We’ve been on this tour since Valentine’s Day so we’ve been out for a while but I’m sure I’ll be playing more shows in the fall and writing a lot this summer. Long term, I just want to keep making music and writing songs for people.

This is my interview with Mike Birbiglia at his show in Cleveland, OH on April 29th, 2012. Mike is one of my favorite comedians of all time so it was an absolute honor to say the least to be able to talk and meet with him. You can catch his latest hilarious show, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, which is on tour now! Here is a link to one of Mike’s Comedy Central Specials called “What I Should Have Said Was Nothing:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlaA0_z4Rgg.

CHECK OUT THIS INTERVIEW ON OUR NEW SITE: http://www.jbrinlinginterviews.com

First off, how does it feel to have another award winning show?

It feels great! And what’s exciting about touring My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend is that it’s the first time, in doing my one-man shows, that we’re taking the full show—the set, the lighting, etc—and we’re presenting it the same exact way we did off-Broadway. It’s the first time in my career where I’m actually touring a completed show. The show is done and it feels like I’m really bringing something to each town. Whereas in the past what I’m doing is always a work in progress. This show kind of feels like I’m delivering a full meal. Which I can’t really do in real life. I’m a terrible cook.

You are on tour with the show now, while you are on tour, what do you do to stay busy?

Touring is very busy’ing! I’m constantly flying, driving, doing interviews, sound checking, eating chicken wings.

What inspired you to go into comedy in the first place?

When I was 16, my brother Joe took me to my first live comedy show, which was Steven Wright at the Cape Cod Melody Tent and from the moment I saw him I decided that’s exactly what I wanted to do. Then when I was in college I was a playwriting and screenwriting major, and I tried to make a bunch of short films that just weren’t all that show-able to people—or maybe the word is “done.” By the end of college I felt really defeated by film and that it was financially prohibitive to even pursue. So stand-up comedy felt like something where I could get on stage, even if I was opening for someone for ten minutes, I could perform something that I had written and they would pay me a small amount of money to do it…sometimes. Sometimes nothing. But sometimes they would pay me to do it.

What comedians did you look up to growing up?

When I was a kid like most comics I watched Saturday Night Live and David Letterman. Growing up my favorite comedians growing up were Steven Wright, like I mentioned earlier, Mitch Hedberg, and Bill Cosby, and then the more I got into comedy the more I started getting into comedians like Richard Pryor and Woody Allen.

Do you have any advice for aspiring comics?

Aspiring comedians ask me this all the time, and it’s similar to when I was a waiter and people asked me how to wait tables. Well, the only way you can get a job waiting tables is by waiting tables. It’s this ridiculous paradox where you have to have done it to do it, and so the advice is, start doing it and keep doing it until no one notices that you didn’t have the qualifications in the first place.

If you could have given yourself advice 5 years ago, what would you say?

Oh God. I can’t think about this. My brain will explode.

What was your experience off-Broadway like?

Well I first started writing Sleepwalk With Me as a play with multiple actors. But then at a certain point I decided, why donʼ’t I try to tell this story with one actor. And so I started writing it while I was on tour at the time, performing my first Comedy Central album, Two Drink Mike, and a lot of people at the show knew the material from the album. And I didnʼt have any other material, really, but I needed to put something else on stage, so I started doing excerpts from the one-man play that I had written. And it went really well. So slowly I started telling a lot of those stories on stage as stand up. In college, I majored in and playwriting, so when I was writing Sleepwalk With Me, I called my former professor, John Glavin, and asked him what to see in New York. And he said the best one-man show that people were talking about at the moment was The Tricky Part, performed by Martin Moran and directed by Seth Barrish. So I saw it and I was completely blown away—Iʼve since seen it three times—and I got in touch with the director, Seth, and he directed Sleepwalk With Me as an off-Broadway show and we’ve
been working together ever since.

You’ve been telling some very personal stories for some time now, how do you overcome the nerves to tell these stories?

Well, the first time I tell stories it’s both scary and cathartic. But once it becomes
something that gets laughs with an audience, it’s just fun. So I guess the way I get over the nerves is to just keep doing it until it gets laughs!

How has it been balancing acting, stand-up, writing, and being a husband?

Wow. I think if I think about this too much I might fall down. I’m losing my balance!!!

Do you have a preference as far as acting, play work, writing, and stand-up?

I like them all really. Overall in my career what I’m trying to do is have a comedic voice that is unique and personal and sometimes that carries me into different formats. I’m always trying to have my comedy be as true to life as it can be, as honest as it can be regardless of the format. I guess the hyphenate thing is often confusing, but I think the way I like to describe myself, whether I’m writing a book, or play, or a movie, or whatever, is just as a comedian. Everything I make has comedy in it. So I feel like that’s a pretty accurate and wide-reaching moniker.

Have you ever had a story or comedy bit that the audience didn’t necessarily get?

So many times. You will never hear those. They don’t make it into the theater show!

Do you have a favorite bit or story to tell?

I love telling the sleepwalking story because people’s faces just light up at how insane it is. I also like telling the bladder story- both of those are on Sleepwalk With Me Live album.

Do you have a favorite place to perform?

Union Hall in Brooklyn. The DC Improv- where I started. And I just love American
theaters. I really do. So many of them are so beautiful and have such great acoustics.

In your past specials and plays, you’ve told personal stories involving other
people as well. Have they been comfortable with you telling these stories about them?

Whenever I’m writing material that’s personal, I always try to keep in mind what the perspective is of the parties involved. You know, the new show that I’m doing, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, is very much about my relationship with my now wife, and when I was developing that I really had to keep in mind to respect her privacy, and her family’s privacy, and my family’s privacy, and all of these things. Fortunately, my comedy is so self-deprecating that I’m usually the butt of the joke and I don’t have to worry too much. Though I have to admit, this has come up before!

Is there a story you’ve been frequently asked to tell, that you are getting sick of?

I’m tired of doing my “cracker please” bit on Two Drink Mike just because I wrote it 13 years ago. It’s pretty much retired. I only do it offstage in interviews if asked to explain the bit.

What’s your greatest memory working so far?

Last week I was on an episode of Girls on HBO. I’m friends with Lena Dunham and
being directed by her was a real honor. I love that show.

What are your plans for the future?

Right now I’m touring My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend around the country and around the
world- the UK, Australia…I’ll probably do about 50 cities once it’s all said and done and I’m really excited about taking it on the road- can’t wait to be in Cleveland. And then after that, I’m possibly going to start working on a new movie, a feature film adaptation of My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend.

This is my interview with Joe Boyton (left, vocals), Tim Landers (2nd from left, guitar/vocals), and Torre Cioffi (2nd from right, guitar/vocals) of the band, Transit, at their show in Cleveland, OH on March 16th, 2012. They are a wonderful band from Boston and it was very nice to meet them. You can check out their video for “Long Lost Friends” here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu_lpvuczRQ.

You can check out this interview on our NEW SITE: http://www.jbrinlinginterviews.com

First off, how are you?

All: Good. Excellent.

 

Are you enjoying this tour?

Tim Landers: Love it.

Joe Boynton: Yeah, it’s awesome.

 

When you are on tour, what do you do to stay busy?

TL: Play a lot of video games, listen to podcasts, and eat a lot of food.

Torre Cioffi: Hang out with friends and play music.

JB: Play dice, skateboard, and play guitar.

 

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

JB: Practice, practice makes perfect (laughs) no really it does.

TL: Practice as much as possible and if you want to make it a living, you’ll have to stick it out.

JB: Follow your dreams, follow your voice.

 

If you could give yourself advice 5 years ago, what would you say?

TL: Buy a sleeping pad (laughs).

JB: Don’t go to college.

TL: Don’t go to college ever. If you’re going on tour for a month, pack for two weeks.

JB: Don’t let her go.

TL: Let her go. Eat healthy, take vitamins.

 

What bands or artists have influenced you most?

JB: Third Eye Blind.

TL: A lot of local bands. Lifetime, Saves The Day, Get-Up Kids.

JB: American Football.

TL: A lot of our friend’s bands too.

 

If you could co-write with anyone, who would it be and why?

TL: Ben Gibbard.

JB: Took the words right out of my mouth.

TC: That’s a great one.

JB: Because he is a genius.

TL: And Rocky Votolato and Tim Kasher.

 

What was it like working with Patrick Stump?

JB: He’s cool, we didn’t work with him exactly. He offered to sing on a track so we sent him some lyrics and the track and he sang on it. We’ve never even met him (laughs) hopefully we will soon.

TL: Hopefully he exists.

JB: We’ve spoken via the “interwebs” and e-mails but we haven’t really chilled but he seems awesome.

 

Do you have a favorite song to play live?

JB: “Long Lost Friends”

TC: My favorite one to play is probably, “Please, Head North.”

TL: “1978.”

 

Favorite place to play?

JB: Boston and Detroit and London.

TL: El Paso, TX and Anaheim, CA and Long Island and London

TC: We like playing everywhere and London was awesome.

 

Who is your favorite band or artist that you’ve toured or played with?

TL: Saves The Day.

TC: Saves The Day.

JB: Yup (laughs).

Is there a cover you wish you performed live?

TC: We do a cover of Millencolin.

TL: We do “No Cigar” by Millencolin because we play a lot of Tony Hawk Pro Skater.

JB: If we could do a song live, we should do “Never Meant” by American Football.

TC: That dude, absolutely!

JB: We probably will some day. Just have to take the day to learn it.

TL: I’m so down to do that.

 

What’s the craziest experience you’ve had after a show?

TC: No comment (laughs).

JB: One time, I got lost in Montreal by myself for three hours and none of us had cell phones because we were out of the country and I didn’t know where our hotel was or where we were staying or where anyone was. I went to the police station to see if they could take me back to our hotel and I was kind of drunk so they just didn’t want to talk to me or even deal with me. Finally, after hours of searching, I found a cab driver who spoke English and took me back to our hotel. I was scared I was never coming back. These guys had no idea I was even gone. I came back knocking on the door expecting nobody to answer but they were up just hanging out (laughs).

 

What’s your greatest memory as a band so far?

TL: This is up there as one of the greatest but we played a barn show with Tiger’s Jaw, Balance & Composure, Title Fight, Daylight, and a band called Kingfisher. It was in PA and when Title Fight was playing, the whole place almost collapsed on everyone and I remember holding onto one of the main beams holding the place up, just preparing for the whole floor to collapse. I thought that was it, I thought that was the end of my life. It was about to collapse and I was about to die.

JB: It’s crazy because that show was three years ago and nobody knew who any of the bands playing were. It was a really small show and now and now you look at some of those bands and they’re just doing awesome things now. It was so crazy and I wish that show could be recreated so that was really cool.

TC: Wish I was there.

JB: Torre was not in the band at that time. He was there in spirit.

 

What are your plans for future?

TL: Playing in outer space.

TC: Touring and recording.

JB: We’re doing this tour then the Warped Tour this summer and then we’ll take some trips to the U.K., Europe, Australia, and Japan. Keep writing and working on new material while we do all that. Just doing what we’re doing.

TL: Keep trucking.

This is my interview with Greg Erwin (far left, drums/vocals), Dak (second from left, bass/vocals), A/J Jackson (middl, guitar/keys/vocals), and A Sharp (far right, guitar/vocals) of Saint Motel at their show in Pittsburgh, PA on March 7th, 2012. They are incredibly nice, smart, and funny guys and I highly suggest that you see them if they are anywhere near your town! Here are links to the bands videos for “Puzzle Pieces”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7bQGM14mJI and “Honest Feedback”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akCigogPNUI&feature=channel.

CHECK OUT THIS INTERVIEW ON OUR NEW SITE: http://www.jbrinlinginterviews.com

First off, how are you?

All (A Sharp, A/J Jackson, and Dak): Doing good.

 

Are you enjoying this tour?

A/J Jackson: Yeah, we are liking the warmer weather down here. This is nice.

 

When you are on tour, what do you do to stay busy?

AJ: When we’re not playing shows, there are a lot of word games and puzzles. We do a lot of reading, and quizzing each other to keep our minds strong…and we watch a lot of porno.

 

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

A Sharp: You gotta go out there and give it 130%. If you’re a good kid you’ll make it (laughs). Just persevere.

AJ: No, I guess…just be a DJ.

AS: Keep it simple, do it in the computer. You can do more gigs just flying with a laptop rather than a full set up with eight dudes and multiple hotel rooms.

 

If you could give yourself advice 5 years ago, what would you say?

AS: Watch out for Dak.

Dak: Same thing, watch out for Dak. (Laughs)

AJ: Probably, since the next greatest song is always around the corner. I would give ourselves our current cong library and have us ditch our old stuff.

 

You guys have created some very interesting videos, have you been creating them on your own?

AJ: Most of them. I think we’ve made eight so far and I’ve directed five of them, our friend Carlos did two of them, and our friend Evan did one of them…and the band directed one all together. Yeah, we do a lot of it in house and with friends.

 

You’ve been directing, so did you go to school for that?

AJ: Yeah, all of us met in film school.

 

Are you film buffs then?

AJ: I mean we’re buff… I mean we’ve watched a lot but we all have different mindsets like I don’t hold onto details for very long in my mind. Seen a lot of movies, studied a lot of movies.

 

If you could pick five films to watch for the rest of your life, what would they be?

AJ: Wow, I don’t know if any movie could hold up for the rest of your life, you might go crazy, it probably wouldn’t compare time after time. If you are too familiar with the movie, it could become torturous. Anything in life, for the rest of life in a limited amount, would be torture like five meals for the rest of your life. The only one that could be debated is the five women for the rest of your life. That might be the exception to the rule, but other than that you’d need some variety.

AS: Spice of life.

AJ: Spicy!

 

What bands or artists have influenced you most?

AJ: We’re constantly being influenced by a variety of bands but when we were first starting out, I know Sharp and I we’re talking about Imperial Teen. That was one that we thought neither one had heard about or had been particularly into. We were all into a lot of 50s pop and 60s rock and a lot of the obvious stuff that is just unquestionable. We also talked about Beethoven’s 7^th symphony and I don’t know about you Sharp but that was the first work to bring me to tears.

AS: Yeah, that’s a piece I could just listen to over and over and over again. It definitely inspired me to continue to play music. I think that just in how the idea builds on top of itself and becomes very cathartic at the end, I think that’s something we all enjoyed musically.

 

If you could co-write an album with anyone, who would it be and why?

AJ: Either Bowie or the surviving Beatles probably. Lou Reed, Neil Diamond

AS: Brian Eno. Probably Bowie.

AJ: Burt Bacharach. The list goes on and on.

 

Do you enjoy the remix Sam Sparro made for you?

AJ: Yeah, it was very fun to hear.

AS: He was in the video too.

 

Do you have a favorite song to play live?

AS: Right now, I really enjoy playing “Honest Feedback,” our most recent release. Right now, it just feels really fun to play live. I think you could have a favorite in each batch of shows but that is my favorite right now.

 

Have you been getting good feedback from “Honest Feedback?”

AS: (Laughs) Yeah. It’s doing pretty well.

AJ: It’d be really ironic if we got negative feedback. That would be suck.

AS: That WOULD BE suck.

AJ: Dammit. That would suck. There’s critique built into the last part of the song in the verse. I think it reaches so far into that concept that I don’t think you could use honest feedback in your feedback. It goes so deep into that subject that it is almost kind of ridiculous. It’s like if you didn’t see the movie My Left Foot and made some critique like ‘I’d give my left foot to see My Left Foot,’ then it’s like ‘did you actually see the movie ‘cause that’s not appropriate.’ Similar kind of vibe.

 

Favorite place to play?

AJ: That’s tough. We haven’t played Pittsburgh so we can’t say here for sure. It very well could be. I know I’m excited to play Minneapolis. That is always a great place. We just played New York which was great. Being from LA, that’s always amazing. We always like playing new places for the first time. We’ve never played Philly, Rochester, Pittsburgh. But there’s a lot of great cities.

AS: I think every city, every night, is pretty great.

AJ: Nice.

AS: I like the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland. That’s always a fun place. They have a hotel upstairs. You can leave your equipment set up and you don’t have to load out all quick. They’ll usually give us bottle of whatever we want. We get to relax instead of having to worry about all of our equipment. If every place was like that, we’d be in heaven.

AJ: They should start a chain. It’s the best concept for a venue.

AS: There’s also other bars close where you can have some fun.

Dak: I love every place as well. Every place has it’s own vibe so I love playing the new places as well. This could be my new favorite.

 

Favorite band or artist that you’ve toured with?

AJ: Oh we can’t play that game. We’ve been lucky enough to tour with some pretty awesome bands over the years and even play with some really awesome bands. You learn something from every one of them. There’s no favorite.

 

Is there a song you wished you covered live?

AJ: l bust out covers now and then. We’ll usually play whatever we’re feeling at the moment. Tonight we’re a cover, pretty I love.

AS: Pretty I love. That would be suck.

AJ: (Laughs) Our last cover was pretty fun, we did three minutes of “A Quick One While He’s Away” by The Who. Tonight is Del Shannon but we like surprising people with different songs. Always like to change it up.

Are you planning on releasing a full-length soon?

AJ: Yes we are.

What can fans expect?

AJ: Oh God.

AS: You’re asking the hard ones (laughs).

AJ: We will have an album out. We don’t have a release date now but I can expect it to be fun. We’re still working on it. We’re still writing new music for it. We just recorded a song in New York and just finished vocals for one in L.A. It’s very much still in progress.

 

You guys have played some shows with some pretty crazy themes, do you have a favorite and where do those ideas come from?

AJ: I don’t know if we have favorite. We’re always trying to do new things and keep it interesting. The ideas basically come from wanting to push the idea of what a concert can be. Along with our general restless nature and wanting to do things that takes it out of the typical concert experience to make it unique. It’s always changing and evolving. That’s something to expect from Saint Motel, you never know what will happen, it just keeps changing.

 

What’s your greatest memory as a band so far?

(Greg Erwin joins)

AJ: When we had our bar mitzvahs together, that was great.

Greg Erwin: The day Dak said ‘I love you’ to me and no one else.

Dak: From the bottom of my heart.

AS: Today.

AJ: This right now.

AS: I love this weather.

 

What are your plans for future?

AJ: The new album which means new music from us, new videos, new artwork, new ideas.

GE: More touring.

AJ: So it all kind of goes hand in hand, until it comes out, we’ll have new music coming together pretty steadily that will merge together in an explosion of entertainment.

This is my interview with Paul Meany, singer/keyboardist, of Mutemath on March 4th, 2012 in Cleveland, OH. Mutemath has been one of my favorite bands for quite some time so it was truly an honor to meet and see them. Here are links to the band’s latest singles “Blood Pressure”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv2mjAgFTaI&ob=av3e and “Allies”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYwUrEreThM.

CHECK THIS INTERVIEW OUT ON OUR NEW SITE! www.jbrinlinginterviews.com

Are you enjoying the tour so far?

Yeah, this tour has been a fun one man. We’re almost done now; we have only a couple of weeks left but yeah. They have been the longest shows we’ve been able to play so we’ve been able to play a ton of songs and it’s really a different dynamic to the show, it has a lot of ups and downs but I think it’s created a great opportunity to try a lot of visual stuff to create an “Event” with the music. So it’s been fun.

You guys are playing like 25 songs by the end of the night right?

Yeah, I think we’re up to 27 now. Yeah, we seem to just keeping adding one more (laughs).

When you are on tour, what do you do to stay busy?

(Laughs) That’s like saying when you’re eating, what do you do to not be hungry (laughs). Touring is busy so outside of it we just try to stay healthy, that’s the number one goal. Being sick on the road is just torture when you’re trying to play a show. You want to bring your best every night, so it’s awful to have to suffer through it. Otherwise, the show takes a lot and enough to do. That and laundry is the other thing.

You mentioned the visual effects on the tour, what was the process like coming up with that?

It was a lot of brainstorming. Once we finished the last tour, the Introduction to Odd Soul tour when we played these new songs for the first time to test things out, it gave us a precursor for when we would go back to playing in the bigger venues. We played mostly smaller venues on the last tour which was a lot of fun and gave us an idea of how we’d put together the next show. We decided we wanted to play the entire new record plus some older songs to create this two and half hour experience. So there has been this thing happening in the world of video projection and video mapping in the past few years, it has become relatively popular and we definitely wanted to try our own hand at that. We met with some people that knew what they were doing, because all of it was a little over our heads, and all we wanted to do was take that and bring it to a club environment which certainly had its own challenges. It was all about how we could try to pack this arena sized ambitions into small clubs and that’s been a really fun concept for this tour. We just want to put the audience more inside of the show. We want people to feel as though they have experienced something wonderful by the time the night is over. So there’s that and other things as far bringing stages out into the crowd, we have a floating stage that goes above the crowd. We just started introducing that on this tour and I guess some pictures started surfacing to some venues we were going to next and a lot of promoters started calling us very concerned because they thought we had a hovercraft that was mowing over people (laughs). ‘I don’t know what they allow in Houston, but that won’t happen in Cleveland.’ It’s actually probably one of the safest things we have going right now. But it’s really just an air mattress laced with battery powered LED lights. It’s been really fun.

But you took a nasty fall pretty recently right?

I did…you did your homework (laughs). We had one accident in San Francisco where we just got to the edge of the crowd and I don’t know, I think as we’ve been figuring out our limits, the crowd has as well whether it’s to just watch or actually help hold us up. We just ran to the edge of the crowd in San Francisco and yeah I just fell, I think one guy tried to help break my fall at the last minute. But I went straight on my ass and you don’t realize how high up you are until you’re up there, it’s like a 10-11 foot drop. I just got back up and kept singing, the adrenaline in the moment made it no big deal thankfully. I landed on my ass, which is skinny so quite dangerous but just enough to pad the fall (laughs) at least it wasn’t my neck.

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

It’s certainly a lot different now, starting off as a musician compared to when we did, even just eight years ago. With how big social media has become, when we started, Myspace was just starting and I think we had benefitted a lot from that whole thing. We supported a lot of our first tours by I guess what would now be looked at as just spamming people. We knew we were headed to a city and play at a club or bar, on the site you could see what music people were into and if they could relate to your stuff so we’d send them an e-mail, ‘hey, we are coming to your city, here is some music, if you like it then you should come check us out, we’d love to meet you.’ Everyone on our team was helping to do that while we were on tour and the rooms were mostly full of people that were just willing to give us a chance because of the cool new thing called Myspace. Now it has become so cluttered that it is hard to spread the word and separate from the pack, now more than ever. In the end, it all comes back to great songs and great shows, whatever you can do to push forward. There is never a shortage of good music and for aspiring musicians I would say to stay focused on honing your craft and how to play music. It’s tempting and easier with the software out there that can play the instruments for you but nothing can replace learning an instrument and writing a song. Do your homework, start with The Beatles and go through the whole lineage of what it has taken to write a good song and learn what you can do. You know, you have to start mimicking something and doing covers and learning other people’s music. I think once you learn what songs are supposed to feel like, you might be able to venture off and write songs of your own.

What covers did you start with?

I loved playing Jimi Hendrix a lot. That was one of the things because I was never a guitar player but one thing that pushed me for awhile because there was usually a shortage of guitar players in bands I’d join or bands didn’t want keyboardists, it was always a weird thing. I remember when I bought my first distortion pedal and wah-wah pedal and I remember trying to play like it was a guitar. I remember loving trying to figure out Hendrix tunes and Zeppelin tunes. Other than that, I always loved Stevie Wonder between Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Live, I spent so much time trying to figure out those songs and classic keyboard stuff like Ray Charles that when I first met Roy (bassist), we bonded over Herbie Hancock and the Head Hunters record, we spent a lot of time learning and playing that stuff.

Me: Playing “Rockit” nonstop.

Exactly (laughs)…and “Chameleon” was definitely a song that revolutionized what could be done and music for me. Also, we’re kids of the 90s too so growing up in the 90s was all about this introduction of a sampler into the music world. I remember as hip-hop began to take off during that time with records by A Tribe Called Quest; Beastie Boys’ Ill Communication, and the idea that when the Beasties had this instrumental jam along with a DJ and samples. It very quickly became about getting your hands on a sampler. I spent the whole summer trying to figure out how they made beats like that and then you’d get some old records and go from there. It was a great time to cycle through all of the generations of music as you’d experiment with a sampler and music to sample through. That alone was a lesson in a musician itself, just listening to all of this music, because from a sampler you’d want to learn songs on keys and what not. We all geeked out on that stuff and we still create samples to this day. I still have my original ASR-10 that I bought back in ’93. It’s just a creative mindset growing up in all of that that kind of set the motion for us. It probably helped make the sound of whatever Mutemath is.

Now in recent covers, you guys did “Fallen’” by Alicia Keys, what motivated that?

Yeah, that happened completely on the spot. We were doing a radio thing and we played a few of our songs and they asked if we’d play a cover but we hadn’t done one in years and I didn’t think we’d remember any of them that we did. I remember Todd, our guitar player, was playing something that may have even been a Beatles song and I started singing “Fallen’” on it and so it really was more of a mash-up between The Beatles and Alicia Keys. It just kind of happened and we just honed it in after a few gigs and have had a lot of fun with it.

You mentioned Todd, how has that line-up switch been?

It’s been really good. Todd’s doing a really good job. He had a lot of music to learn just between the old and new and he really had some big shoes to fill because it wasn’t about just learning guitars. Greg did a lot in the band between singing, keyboards, effects, textures, and guitars. There were really only a handful of guys that immediately came to mind when Greg left the band. Todd was one of them, we had mutual friends because he was from Springfield, where Darren (drummer) is from. Darren thought of him and we had met before, he was a nice guy. When we approached him, he went and took the initiative to watch the DVD and live footage to see what pedals Greg had and basically over a month’s time, he sent us a recording of him playing everything: singing, keyboards, guitar, everything. I remember listening to it in disbelief. It certainly took a lot of work and initiative to do that so that was it, he had the gig. We knew we had to look no further. He really made what could have been a very stressful time with getting a new member; he made it an easy transition for us. He hit the ground running and a good musician.

With this new album, you have done more video work with “Odd Soul” and “Blood Pressure,” where does the inspiration come for those?

Well Darren (drummer) is usually the guy that is leading the charge on a lot of the video stuff. He’s gotten into editing since we started doing the Armistice Video Logs. I think he just started to get a grip on editing. While we were in the studio and while Darren was making use of his time, probably while I stressed over some keyboard part or a vocal lyric, he made this Drums + Bass video which was just Roy and him and then it opened this concept with him that we did with both of the first music videos except we just kept taking it one step further. We just started calling it a toggle motion video because we’d just take little snippets of action and had it edited to the beat. It’s a really fun approach to take but Darren has thought of all of them.

If you could co-write with anyone, who would it be and why?

Assuming that I could overcome the intimidation going into this, I would pick Feist. I really love Feist and I think that’d be an awesome collaboration. If I could get over being scared (laughs) I’d really enjoy it. I might have to take a few drinks going into that one. I’d be a lot of fun.

What is your favorite song to play live?

Right now, it’s probably a song called “Tell Your Heart Heads Up.” We really opened that one up for the live arrangement and just made it this really fun song. It has this great groove and we’re traveling with an organ now. It’s fun to be able to open up with that dynamic. We’re also playing “Sun Ray,” that’s another track we started playing on this tour and for the record it was released in two parts, one with bonus material and one that is actually on the record but the live version is both parts together to make this one composition that is really fun to play. It’s a great bass song.

Favorite place to play?

Well, we always have a great time in Japan, they’ve been really kind to us over the last four years. We’ve been there two or three times each year for the past four years. It’s always a great show there. We have our favorite venues, aside from international; we always have a great time at St. Andrews in Detroit. We had forgotten about that place because we hadn’t played there since 07’ but we played a show there recently and that was a lot of fun. I’m really looking forward to The 9:30 Club in D.C., that place is a lot of fun. We’re actually glad to be back at the House of Blues here in Cleveland. Our last show at The Grog Shop on the last tour was torturous. I felt so bad for the audience because the A/C was broke and it was this jam packed room. I have never played a show that has felt that hot. There were moments when we were shaking and almost blacking out, we could barely make it through this thing. It was a good bonding moment for the crowd. When you have a good sweat with some people, sharing body fluids in a clothed way (laughs) you’ll share some bonds there. Hopefully, it’ll be a better experience for the patrons tonight, with the A/C, balcony, and seating.

Do you have a favorite band or artist that you’ve toured with?

We were just talking about how we had such a great time with The Cinematics, when they were out with us back in ’07. I don’t know what those guys are up to now but they are a great band, they are a lot of fun from Scotland. I love those guys. We’ve always toured with some great bands. Eisley is a pretty important one; Darren met his wife on that one. But this tour has been great too. Canon Blue, we’ve known their lead singer Dan for almost ten years now, when he started making demos of Canon Blue and now he has two records and the stars have finally aligned for us to tour together. Jeremy Larson, who plays keys for them, has worked with us on a few songs with us in past; he did a few tracks on Armistice with us. So, we’re having fun with those guys on this tour.

Is there a song that you wished you played live?

(Laughs) Well with 27 songs, we certainly are not saying ‘I really wish we played that’ by the end of the night. We’re already pretty spent. We try to balance between our favorites and the ones the audience really wants to hear as well. It’s a pretty complete experience, I don’t know if we’re craving anymore songs by the end of the night. At the end of a show, it’s usually us just wondering…’how is it so hard to breathe? Am I out of shape? Am I getting old?’ I am getting old. I’m 35 now. It’s taxing but we love it and we have such a great time. It’s what we live for.

What’s the craziest experience you’ve had after a show?

(Laughs) Oh man, I’m drawing blanks right now.

What’s your greatest memory in music so far?

I don’t know man. Wow, these questions are getting tough. I can tell you that the greatest sense of accomplishment we’ve had as a band was just finishing the second record. That was something that seemed so far-fetched for a while and it seemed like it’d be something we’d never do. When we look back on it, it’s amazing. We made a second record, we got through, and we finished it. We had some semblance of a band that continued on. We’re still able to do this and we’re still able to be around. We are very fortunate. But that second record…that was tough. I think because we just couldn’t make our peace with it. It all got out of control; we had two producers in the end, nobody could agree on how to finish a song…that process took longer than it should have. I’m glad it happened that way because it certainly helped focus us as we went into the third record because we knew that we really didn’t want to make a record like that. It probably helped correct how the band viewed each other, just as individuals. If there’s any opinion, you should be able to accept and react to it as an opinion as your fellow band members more-so than anyone. We had reached the point where we thought a producer would break the tide. We couldn’t resolve the differing opinions whatever it was being stubborn or stupid because we had to have a producer tell us what to do. That actually made it all worse. We realized when we made it through and got on the road, these are the guys that you will be playing these songs with every night while a producer goes onto other records and labels will work other records, but the guys that stay in the end are the guys you are on the road with. It shouldn’t be a problem when they have advice or some slight criticism for you. If anyone would know, it should be them. We found a new respect for each other’s opinions as we made this new record. It made the process far more enjoyable and quicker. Had we not done what we did with Armistice, we probably would have never been able to see that. I think that was the band’s puberty, the awkward stage that taught us a few things.

What are your plans for the future?

Hopefully another record; we are probably going to start writing this summer and get some new things going. We’ll tour again in the fall and hit all the cities we missed on this tour and we’ll do runs in Canada, Australia for the first time, Mexico City, and we’re just trying to visit new places. We’ve been a band eight years and there are still so many places we haven’t played yet. To this day, we’ve never played in Pittsburgh, Alaska which we’ll change now, El Paso…there are some places we need to go, hopefully we’ll get there soon.

This is my interview with Andrew Allen on February 14th, 2012. Andrew is an incredibly nice man and he puts on one hell of a show. If he is ever in your area, I HIGHLY suggest you get out of the house to see him! Here are links to his single “Loving You Tonight”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR_0URQKHIY and one of his latest covers of Katy Perry’s “Part of Me”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7glMBY_ZDs. CHECK THIS INTERVIEW OUT ON OUR NEW SITE: http://www.jbrinlinginterviews.com

First off, how are you?

I’m doing good. I’m doing really. Good.

Are you enjoying the tour so far?

It’s been really fun. Tours are never just tours, they’re adventures and journeys where you get the opportunity to meet great people and the whole crew with Dia Frampton is incredibly generous, kind, friendly, and fun to hang out with so it makes every show fun.

When you are on tour, what do you do to stay busy?

I try to be really healthy actually, which is its own challenge like getting up early enough to find a gym in hotels or grocery shop; so it’s always a fun challenge to try to find stuff that won’t rot in your car (laughs). It’s good man and going to new cities trying to find cool places to eat…the best thing I found, especially on this tour, is to send out a tweet and hope a fan will say ‘hey, this is something cool to do in that city.’ It’s fun. We’re also learning Spanish. We got lessons for the car; it’s some podcast from iTunes…Johnny Spanish (laughs).

With today being Valentine’s Day, are you doing anything special?

My wife and I went over to Chipotle and got a free dinner.

Me: That is awesome.

Yeah, apparently they give you a free dinner if you are a touring artist. I had no idea. (Laughs) Isn’t that crazy? That was our romantic Valentine’s Day.

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

I would say that if you want to do it, jump in with both feet forward and just go for it. If you only kind of want to it, you might want to consider not. Music is interesting in that you can make it as small or as big as you want. If you love just jamming out at home, then keep it there and if you want to see how far you can take it, then you have to but both feet forward. I think you have to jump in and it hurts less, it’s less cold (laughs).

If you could give yourself advice 5 years ago, what would you say?

I think I would tell myself to enjoy every moment. There are certain moments in the last five years that I don’t regret but I don’t really remember the experience because I was so busy thinking of the next experience instead of enjoying and embracing the one I’d done.

What was it like working on a cruise ship?

(Laughs) It was awesome. It was mostly awesome; I got sea sick like every day.

(Laughs) I don’t know why I couldn’t kick it.

Me: You didn’t get used to it?

(Laughs) No man, a whole year on cruise lines and I never got used to it.

Me: That’s the point where most people would stop if they’re just getting sick every day.

Yeah, but I really loved it (laughs). I was the social host and I got to call bingo, met with guests, had some fun, but I always had to take half a sea sick pill always because it was so bad.

What artists have influenced you most?

I would definitely say Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, and John Mayer. But then there’s other artists that I’m really inspired by as far as their determination; Dia Frampton being one of them. Kate Nash as well, she’s really legit and I love the way that she can talk through her music and say wants she wants to say, I can appreciate that. Anyone who is honest in their music.

If you could co-write with anyone, who would it be and why?

I’m a big fan of Sara Bareillis. She’s really cool and definitely really honest. I think it’d be really fun to co-write with her. I don’t know what we’d come up with. I used to say John Mayer but I don’t think he’d like me (laughs) I’m not like some hot movie star (laughs). I like Sara though, I’m going to stick with her.

Are you surprised with the success of “I Want You” and “Loving You Tonight?”

I’m always pleasantly surprised. I’m definitely an optimist but I don’t always have the confidence behind certain things. When I jumped out there, I was like ‘yeah, this’ll be awesome,’ and then as it starts to grow ‘whoa, it really is!’ (Laughs) I’d really have to convince myself. It’s definitely a pleasant surprise. Anytime something positive happens with the songs. I think the biggest surprise for me is when someone connects with them because I connect with certain songs and write certain songs that I connect with and when you see another person that you’ve never met connect with a song you’ve written, that’s really cool.

Do you have a favorite song to play live?

I have a song called “Grab Your Shoes,” it’s a lot more “amped” up than my other songs and it’s a fun, throw-stuff-through-walls-kind-of song. I can always picture the music video that doesn’t exist of just kicking down walls and pushing things over, grabbing whatever clothes you have and two people in love driving in a beat up convertible to a cliff or something (laughs).

Me: (Laughs) That took a very dark, dramatic turn.

(Laughs) To the ocean, maybe? I don’t know.

Do you have a favorite place to play?

One of my favorites venues that I’ve ever played is in Boston, the House of Blues. I really like playing outdoor venues. Club shows are great and keep everyone contained and it’s still fun but you play outdoors and you’re just breathing fresh air, there’s a bunch of people, and everyone loves being outside. I don’t have a favorite outdoor venue but I love playing outdoors.

Who’s your favorite band or artist that you’ve toured with?

Dia Frampton, of course. Actually, I’ve really enjoyed this tour but we played three shows with The Script and that was huge for me because I’m a huge fan already so when we got the call I was freaking out. They exceeded my expectations. They came down to the green room, were super friendly, wanted to hang with us and this whole time I’m thinking ‘you want to hang with us?’ That was a cool experience.

What inspired The Living Room Sessions?

I read a book by Shane Claiborne called The Irresistible Revolution, it’s kind of a Christian literature book, but he’s way on the outside, he’s just a crazy dude. He went and lived in inner-city Philly and slept on the streets and was feeding people in the park and got arrested, went to court, and his lawyer was a homeless guy (laughs), just so crazy and his big thing, now, is speaking engagements all over the world. When he goes to these places, he says ‘I don’t want to stay in a hotel.’ Instead he wanted to stay at peoples’ houses; he wanted to get to know people. I thought ‘hey, I should do that.’ That’s really awkward, but I’m into that. Let’s try it. So I just started asking, I was playing a show in my hometown when I was asked by a guy ‘when you coming to Toronto?’ I said, ‘well, I don’t have a show planned, but I could play at your house.’ He was like ‘really?’ I said, ‘yeah! I’m all for it.’ He asked what to pay me and I told he didn’t have to pay me anything, he could just charge whatever at the door. All he had to provide us with was dinner and somewhere to sleep. So I ended up doing this for almost a year. It was great because I’d play in markets I never had before. Each house had like 40 people and we’d get to know all of them on this personal level. We’d wake up eat breakfast with them and just be on our way. They’re still following on Twitter and we’ll chat now and again. Those were probably some of the best shows of my life. They were awesome so I’m glad I took the chance.

Is there a song that you wish you played live?

I wish I wrote “Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer. That’s such a friggin’ awesome song. If I had written that song, I’d play it all the time. I have a song that I wrote a long time ago called “Playground Rules,” and it was always a solid, emotional song for me. It’s like 7 minutes long though and people start to tune out halfway through. Might not be the best song for them, but for me, I really love the song. So that might be one I’d bring back if I had two hours and needed to fill some time (laughs).

What’s the craziest experience you’ve had after a show?

We are so lame. We don’t have too many crazy experiences. I wish I had crazier stories. One time this guy was super hopped up on drugs and he stole a fake baby that we got a pawn shop and he started cradling it. Most of the time, if there’s a party, I’ll just bail. I’d so much rather go to bed.

How difficult is it to be a touring husband as well?

I think it’d be almost impossible if she wasn’t with me the whole time. It’s an adventure together and we experience things together. I toured for about two and half weeks without here and it was awful, it was not what I signed up for. When we first decided to tour together, both of us quit our jobs, sold everything we had, bought a minivan, and just started touring. Part of the reason we did was because we wanted to see each other more. We didn’t want to be apart as we both did the nine to five and we’d barely see each other. We realized how stupid it was so now we see each other all the time. It’s great.

What’s your greatest memory in music so far?

The most reason for me is that I played a show in Vancouver, near my hometown. We did a morning show that morning and I realized that my throat was starting to feel funny and by the evening I had completely developed laryngitis and had absolutely no voice. It was a sold out show and I was terrified. So I went out to the crowd and said ‘look I lost my voice, I don’t want to cancel the show but I don’t have a voice.’ We ended up playing an hour and a half where I had to sing almost nothing because the crowd sung it all to me. I was honestly in tears halfway through the show. Even better, nobody had left. I thought for sure people would leave because who would want to listen to some croaking guy trying to sing. But they stayed and sung the songs and that was the most inspiring moment I’ve ever had. It beat out playing in front of 20,000 people. It was a really beautiful and special moment for me.

What are your plans for the future?

After this tour, I think we’ll head back to Canada for a bit and do some touring there. We have kind of neglected Canada over the last little while so it’s time to go back and play there. Then, I’m not sure. Everything moves so fast out here, you just have to ride the waves. We’ll see what happens.

This is my interview with Allen Stone on January 29th, 2012 in Cleveland, OH. Allen is a very nice guy and I am in love with his latest self-titled relased that you should definitely purchase! LEGALLY! IT’S THAT GOOD! You can check out Allen’s latest performance on Conan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToAecdI2SZ4 His video for “Quit Callin”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjWbpJlH5mw and his appearance on one of my favorite web shows Live From Daryl’s House: http://www.livefromdarylshouse.com/currentep.html?ep_id=66.

CHECK OUT THIS INTERVIEW ON OUR NEW SITE: http://www.jbrinlinginterviews.com

First off, how are you?

Doing good, man. How are you doing?

Doing good. Enjoying the tour so far?

Yeah, it’s been good. It’s cold as hell but it’s good.

When you are on tour what do you do to stay busy?

I’m just on tour. It keeps me very busy. I don’t really have the time for anything else.

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

Yeah, I always tell people that are aspiring to, know that you HAVE to do music. A lot of people get into music for all the wrong reasons whether they want fame or wanting to look cool in some video, they want to get laid. Music should be precious, not only to a listener but a player. It’s hard too; it’s really hard to have a career in music. It’s not like ‘oh man, it’s so easy, they make it look so easy.’ It’s really hard and you have to work you’re a** off. I HAVE to do music, it’s theraputic to me and I would probably kill myslef if I couldn’t play. If you don’t know that you NEED to do it then you’ll lose it within four years if you wanted to do it full time. In order to stick through the trials and tribulations that will come about. You have to know that this is what you HAVE to do.

If you could give yourself advice 5 years ago, what would you say?

Get a f**king real job. (Laughs) Man five years ago, I should’ve been playing with a band. I couldn’t afford a band until about a year ago, to hire guys and bring them out with me. For a long time, about two or three years, just my guitar and I, and my Buick, drove across the country playing colleges and stuff. Yeah, five years ago, I would have told myself to suck it up and either join a band or get a band. Luckily, I’ve made enough to bring a band out, it’s been incredible. Definitely one of the best bands I’ve played with. They’re great guys and cool players too.

What bands or artists have influenced you most?

Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Jamie Lidell…I could go for days. I am a student of soul music from Lauryn Hill and Erica Badu to Teddy Pendergrass and DB & CC Winans. The list goes on for days.

If you could co-write an album with anyone, who would it be and why?

Honestly, if I could co-wrte with anybody, it’d have to be either Cee-Lo Green or Danger Mouse. Probably Danger Mouse, I really love what he does. I love his production and I love his sensiblity. In my opinon, everything he touches is gold. Even someone like Beck, I like Beck a lot too.

Do you have a favorite song to perform live?

I love playing a song of mine called “What I’ve Seen.” It’s weird, I always get this hack about it too because people are like ‘oh, it’s a political song and he’s talking about all the things he’s seen, he’s only 24, he could not have seen that much.’ But the song is really just about observations, it’s not like I’ve seen the streets or been to Baghdad or anything. It’s just talking about my sense of awareness, espessically in the political climate that our country is in. So, that song is my favorite, espesscially with horns, when the horns come out, it gets a really funky sound.

Do you have a favorite place to play?

Seattle. I’m a hometown boy so…at the start of this tour we did two dates at a 1,000 seat theater, both sold-out three weeks before hand, and I got to play with a twenty piece orchestra so it was huge. The most incredible night of my life for sure.

Who’s your favorite band that you’ve toured with?

I love Jack’s Mannequin, these guys kill. Andrew (McMahon) is possibly one of the sweetest men alive and just an inspiration with everything he’s gone through, even the spirit he maintains is truly amazing. But I got to tour with Nikka Costa and she’s been an idol of mine since I was like 18 years old so that was really a dream come true.

Is there a song you wish you covered live?

I really want to start covering “Sex and Candy” by Marcy’s Playground. I really want to start covering that, we’re trying to work it out. Either that or “As” by Stevie Wonder, I love that song.

You were recently on Conan, how was that?

It was awesome and such a great experience. He said some really, really incredibly nice things to me after the set and it was like ‘dude, you’re Conan O’Brien.’ I maybe had a few thousand people watching the show that night and I was like ‘you really didn’t have to have me on tonight and you certainly don’t have to say this stuff to me.’ He said ‘Good God, you were pheonominal’ and stuff like that that was really sweet. He’s a cool guy, I didn’t get to talk to him much but he said some beautiful things to me. It was really incredible.

What’s your greatest memory in music so far?

The show a couple weeks ago in Seattle. It was with the 20 piece orchestra and they actually rearranged nine of my songs because none of them had string arrangements. So they just added their own arrangements and they were beautiful. It was the greatest night of my life. I did 25 songs that night and there thousands singing along. It was big.

What’s the craziest experience you’ve had after a show?

Actually after that show in Seattle, I was walking to the merch table after I cut around the left of the stage and this guy, must’ve been in his sixties and he was bald, cameup to me, didn’t say a word, just grabbed my face and kissed me on the mouth and then took off. (Laughs) I was just stunned. I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.

What are your plans for the future?

2012, I’m touring my a** off. We’re out like 300 dates this year. Hopefully, I’ll still have a voice at the end of them (laughs). But my passion is playing live and connecting with people in a live sense. I want to become as good as possible and I think the more you play the better you’ll get. The more comfortable you are, the better show you’ll put on. I’m just trying to tour as much possible, play as much as possible, and gain that loyal fanbase of people like Jack’s Mannequin. I’d love to tour like he does.

This is my interview with XV on January 29th, 2012 in Cleveland, OH. XV is an awesome guy and is definitely one of my favorite rappers out right now. It didn’t hurt that he shared my affection for comic books and video games. Here is a link to XV’s videos fro “Awesome”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn8XU0DcMMQ and “Fall Out The Sky”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whKseRjqfZM.

CHECK THIS INTERVIEW OUT ON OUR NEW SITE: www.jbrinlinginterviews.com.

 

First off, how are you?

I’m doing good. How are you?

 

Are you excited to be out on tour again?

Oh yeah! I haven’t been on tour since me and Casey Veggies were on tour about 7 months ago. So I’ve been planning for this, I wanted to go out on the road by myself with no supporting act because I don’t think there’s anyone in my lane right now. So I just wanted to go out on my own and it’s good to be out there after all the success I’ve been having, I’ve been connecting with the fans again. It’s a great way to start off the year.

 

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

Be ready for what you’re getting in to because this game isn’t easy and everything could come today and be gone tomorrow. You could be hot now and have nobody care about you by tomorrow. Not only be aware but if you really want to do this then be different. It’s the only thing that’ll make you stand out, successful, or anything. If you’re going to do this don’t do it just because you like to listen to Lil Wayne, Tyga, or Drake, just do it because you love the craft and take it seriously.

 

Now it’s been almost ten years since you donned the name “XV,” if you could go back and give yourself advice then, what would you say?

Don’t pick that name! (Laughs) I’m going to tell you why. When I created that name, there was no such thing as Google, iTunes, a lot of things we use now. Because of that, I remember when Limewire first came out. I could never put music on Limewire because you have to put in at least three characters for a search. So you could never search for XV and Limewire was right before iTunes and right after Napster and it was like ‘wow, this sucks, I can’t even search myself cause my name is so short.’ So I would say don’t do that. I’m not going to tell you the awesome names I created for myself but I would give myself another list saying like ‘oh, here are some other options.’ If I still picked XV, it was meant to be. Then I would also tell myself to create Google. ‘F**k your name! You need to create this thing called Google and thing called Facebook. Here are some maps.’ (Laughs) That’s what I’d tell myself.

Me: You could retire early.

Just don’t do rap! They’re going to make a movie about you (laughs).

 

How does it feel to have started your own movement with the “Squarians?”

It’s really good because I feel like I’m finally bringing people together that were just kind of lost. They had no artist to relate to and they had no movement to get behind and I feel really good about this because the movement is new but the saying is old and what I stand for came from the beginning. The “Squaria” was created in 2007 and to be here in 2012 and have this movement with the “Squarians”—and they created it, the fan base called them selves that. M manager called me and was like ‘dude, what the f**k is “Squarians?”’ and I was like, ‘dude, I don’t know, my fans call themselves that.’ It just stuck, it worked, and it was created by the fans, ran by the fans, and I do everything for the fans. It’s really dope to be able to have that kind of connection.

 

If you could co-write an album with anyone, who would it be and why?

André 3000 because I think me and him come from the same type of background and I’m jut amazed by the way he writes. If you were to co-write a comic book with someone like Stan Lee or Frank Miller, you’re going to pick them because of their crazy abilities when they write. You’d be able to use that because you might not write that way. I know without a doubt that André must have a brilliant way to writing lyrics that I could adapt to and co-write with. Then, down the line, you’d always have that knowledge to make classic after classic. But I feel we could tell a good story from two different perspectives, two different walks of life, and two different generations, he was born in the 70s and I’m in the 80s. I just think it’d be crazy. I don’t know what it’d be called though.

Me: 3015 (XV=15).

3015! 3015 sounds kind of awesome! That’ll be the André 3000 and XV album, coming soon (laughs).

 

You mentioned comic books, do you have a favorite superhero?

Favorite superhero is not exactly a hero, mine is an anti-hero named The Punisher. He’s my favorite superhero ever because the story behind him is just so good because if you think about it, he’s almost doing it for no reason. Same with Batman, Batman’s my second. I used to always say Batman because I grew up on it but I read more Punisher, as a fan of comics. I actually sit there and read Punisher every time it comes out. Same with Batman, you look at both of them and if you take away the fact they are doing good; they’re a villain. If you took away the fact that Batman is fighting bad guys, he is a bad guy. He is doing it for justice but he’s not doing it for someone, if you look at Peter Parker he’s trying to save his Aunt, Uncle, Mary Jane and others around him from just getting hurt. Punisher is so dope to me because he doesn’t have to be doing that. His whole family is gone…I always think of it like a crazy Mel Gibson movie, which is why I think he would play the Punisher so well.

Me: That’d be incredible.

He’d play the s**t out of Punisher. Have you ever seen Edge of Darkness.

Me: Yes! He’s really dark in that.

And that’s why I’m saying ‘dude, he needs to f**king play The Punisher. It’s a dude that lost everything. My favorite Punisher comic is actually called Punisher Kills from the Marvel Universe where he kills every single person ever created by Marvel.

Me: Mel Gibson right there!

If they did that…biggest movie of al time. Beating Titanic, Star Wars, Twilight, Harry Potter, everything, they wouldn’t be able to f**k with it. It’d be the most amazing comic book movie ever.

Me: You just have to pitch it to Marvel.

Exactly (laughs).

 

You’ve collaborated with a few artists, do you have a favorite?

I would say my favorite would be either Chiddy Bang or Kendrick Lamar. Both of them, I’m cool with enough to be like ‘yo, let’s do this crazy idea.’ We’re both also cool in the sense of like knowing how to compete when we do the records. So when I do a record with Chiddy, I’ll be like’ yo, I’m about to spit some crazy s**t, be ready.’ Then they would spit some crazy s**t and I’d have to go back and re-write and I like that kind of competitiveness and the fact that we are all peers. We all grew up around the same time, listened to the same albums. So I can be there and say ‘let’s do some s**t like when I heard f**king Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s album, and let’s do some s**t like this.’ They’d be like ‘oh yeah! Perfect!’ We both came from that same background so definitely those two.

 

Who’s your favorite artist that you’ve toured with?

I’d have to say…I had a great time touring with Chiddy Bang. We did two successful, consecutive tours on both an east coast and west coast run. That was amazing and the Mike Posner tour. That was the first look when I realized that touring with Chiddy Bang was just the beginning o my career because Posner and Chiddy Bang are on two different levels of the playing field. You have a guy that has a hit single out now and released an album then there’s a guy like Chiddy Bang, who’s an up and comer with an underground following and a blog following. That’s both fields and you know I want to be in both. I’m right now in the Chiddy Bang, underground following, but I realize what a hit record can do. We were performing in front of a bunch of 13 year olds and they’re yelling and they don’t even know who I am. Kids were going nuts.

Me: Which is good.

Which is very good so that is the next world.

 

You reference a few games between tracks like “Mirror’s Edge” and “Boss Level.” Do you consider yourself a gamer?

HUGE gamer. I consider myself more of a gamer than a rapper almost. Just because I’ve been gaming longer than I’ve been rapping. If you look at it that way, I was gaming since I was 7 or 8 years old and I started rapping when I was 14 or 15. So I’m more of a gamer than rapper.

 

What’s your favorite game right now?

I’m still getting some achievements on Mass Effect 2 and getting read for Mass Effect 3, that’s the only reason why I’m finishing. I love Gears of War 3 and I’m a huge Gears of War-head, so finishing it was bittersweet but I’m a huge Gears of War fan.

 

Do you consider yourself an achievement whore?

I am an achievement whore. That’s like all I do. I don’t play sport games but I’m in NBA 2K12 so I was like f**k it, I’m playing this one. But right when I started playing it, I realized now that’s it’s in my console.

Me: You have to get all the achievements. Of course. That’s the way it is.

Exactly. I have to. It’s stupid to have a game and it says 0/54 achievements. Might as well not even put it in the Xbox. So once it was in there it was like ‘alright, let’s do it.’ Now, I have like 35/54.

Me: Nice! That ain’t bad.

I’m an achievement whore. I don’t f**k around with that s**t. I played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  once and I got every achievement in that b***h. My little brother can’t put a f**king game in the Xbox with out me playing it. I’ll play G.I. Joe, I’ll play Cars, why not? An achievement is an achievement all the way (laughs).

 

What’s your greatest memory in music so far?

I would probably say hearing my music on Eye97. It is rush hour in New York City and the DJ played me right after “Death of Auto-tune” by Jay-Z. I’m in Kansas, listening to it online and I could just imagine all of the traffic in New York hearing the song come on ‘new XV, “Mirror’s Edge.”’ I was like ‘wow, this is the craziest moment of my life.’

 

What are your plans for the future?

Release The Kid with the Green Backpack, the album is coming along like crazy and we’re trying to hit HARD this year when we released this debut album this year.

 

What can fans expect?

Amazing lyrics and an amazing story. It’s a story that we all can relate to—and I don’t mean like just a fan of XV—everybody can relate to this story and I feel like it’s a story the world is going through right now because of Facebook, because of Twitter, because of Tumblr. Everything is “me.” Watch me, look at me, I’m doing this, follow me, write me, like this, favorite that. It has encompassed everything and we all kind of want to be somebody now and Everybody’s Nobody was the beginning of that story and I think The Kid with the Green Backpack is just going to pick it up because I’m telling the story of a dude that wants to be popular in high school. We all have wanted to be that kid at some point.

This is my interview wth comedian Erik Rivera at his show on January 20th, 2012. He is an incredibly nice guy and it was wonderful to talk with him. You can check out his latest apperance on The Tonight Show: http://www.erikrivera.com/videos/2011/6/9/tonight-show.html.

CHECK THIS INTERVIEW OUT ON OUR NEW SITE: www.jbrinlinginterviews.com

 

How are you?

I’m good, I’m cold. It’s crazy, I used to live in New York and I used to shovel snow and deal with snow and for some reason since living in L.A. for a year and a half, I can’t deal with it. It’s freezing (laughs).

 

When did you decide to go into comedy?

I was in school, I was putting together comedy shows, and we had comedy relief shows every week. My school campus was a couple blocks away from the World Trade Center site. So after 9/11 I came up with this idea to sort of get our minds off of it and a lot of comics would talk with me after shows after I thanked them for coming out and I would be at clubs every night, enough so that my mom thought I had a drug problem because I’d be rolling in at like 4 or 5 in the morning because I would run the shows, hang out with comics, and then come home. I would try to go to school the next day with just bloodshot eyes and everyone including my mom must have thought I had a drug problem. She would ask and I would be like ‘no, I’m just watching comedy.’ (Laughs) So little by little the bug hit me and I thought I could do it and then I’ve been doing it every day since, like 7 or 8 years now.

 

Now that you’re spending time in Erie, have you seen any of the sights?

I don’t know what there is, I went to the TV station this morning and got driven around but it looks like there is not much to see (laughs). I know there’s the baseball field, even though it’s not baseball season. There’s the basketball team, the Knicks affiliate. But I don’t what else there is to do.

 

You were somewhat recently on Leno, how was that?

It was actually really cool. Leno is a comic first and foremost so that made it a lot easier.  Like before the show, backstage, he talked to me for about 2 hours and he was just calming because you have all these different producers talking to you telling you ‘if you go over, we’ll use this light’ or ‘if this happens, we’ll hold up this card.’ So you’re getting a lot of information, then Leno comes back there and says ‘look you’re a comic, I love the set, do what you do and don’t worry about anything else. If we go over, we go over.’ So you’re like ‘thank you for being on my team with this’ (laughs).

 

Now it’s been said that you have boy-next-door good looks, do you believe this to be true?

(Laughs) That’s in my bio, I didn’t write my bio. There’s a lot of things in that bio where I’m like ‘oh, alright’ (laughs) yeah, I guess, I live next door to some people so I’m guessing. I don’t know (laughs).

 

What advice do you have for aspiring comics?

Any comics that are just starting, don’t look at what other people are doing. This is one of those industries everybody’s journey is different and you can see it from all the comics that have made it. Louis C.K.’s journey was different, Chappelle’s journey was different, George Lopez, everyone has their own different path. Just focus on you and everything will take care of itself. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hard sometimes to not look over at what somebody else is doing at the same time and wondering why they get more work, more famous, or other stuff than you are so you really have to focus on yourself, your writing, and your work ethic and then it should take care of itself.

 

If you could give yourself advice 5 years ago, what would you say?

I would tell myself to keep doing what I’m doing and to listen to your gut more. I feel like there were certain opportunities I did miss because I didn’t listen to my own gut and listened more to the advice from others. But first and foremost, yeah, I should have trusted my gut.

 

Now let’s talk about The General Auto Insurance commercials, how have those impacted your life?

Oh my god. There’s different impacts. I only get recognized by the “rougher” black community for some reason. They’re always like ‘oh son, you from The General!’ Then I’ll get the occasional crazy, ‘you met The General son?’ First off, it’s a cartoon so no. My new infatuation is to go on Twitter and look at certain key words like ‘General’ ‘commercial’ and people are genuinely angry. ‘Oh that comedian on The General, his material is wack!’ It’s a commercial! It’s scripted and not my stuff. It’s like a movie, most aren’t based on a true story and it’s made up. I will be going on Twitter looking for these people, replying to them to rattle the cage. There will be like a ‘he stinks!’ and I’ll be like ‘I agree!’ and they’ll be like ‘Oh, I’m sorry’ then why you saying it? Don’t retract what you said now.

 

Who are your heroes?

Comedy heroes when I grew up, I used to watch a lot of John Leguizamo, I loved his one man shows. I watched a lot of Eddie Murphy, Raw and Delirious are still some of my favorites when I pop that DVD in. Now it’d have to be Chappelle, Chris Rock, Seinfeld. Opposed to their specials, I love watching them now and seeing their work ethic. Chris Rock truly comes up with a path of material he’s written and he works it out, just to watch him turn over that material. Even Louis C.K., every year has new material like a new hour and then just gets rid of it, it’s an amazing work ethic.

 

What’s your greatest fear?

I don’t know. I don’t want to say I’m fearless. Heights? (Laughs) I’m not really scared of hecklers. I’ve been doing it so long that you know how to deal with them. I guess every comic is scared of bombing from time to time. No one likes to bomb, I don’t know if it’s a fear, it comes with it.

 

Do you have a favorite joke or bit of your own?

I usually like my newer stuff, I can’t stand my older material but that’s the process. You have to build your stuff, right now I’m building a new half hour, possibly an hour just based on the newer wedding stuff I went through, marriage stuff. So, I still have the old stuff I did on my first CD with the dating stuff that I’ve altered a bit. People love it and they come out and are like ‘you didn’t do that joke’ and I’m like ‘oh yeah, I don’t enjoy it anymore.’ I like my newer stuff, I feel like it’s more my voice now and it’s just more me.

 

How do you go about crafting your material?

It all comes from life, I see things and I write it down, either in my phone or on my notepad that I carry around. Then I just try to translate into joke form for on stage sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t sometimes people will find things I don’t find funny funny and vice versa but that happens.

 

Have you ever told a joke the audience didn’t get?

All the time! Every time I have a joke I think is really clever, the audience doesn’t bite and sometimes you just need to stay away from it and come back to it because you are so close to it. One joke I did on The Tonight Show, wasn’t originally getting any laughter about tuxedos and how you can’t wear one if you’re Spanish because they’ll think you are a waiter. The first time, I don’t know if it was the wording but it wasn’t translating. I remember, I ditched it and then a year later I posted it on Facebook as a status and people thought it was really funny. I retooled it and then it took off.

 

What’s your greatest memory in stand-up so far?

I’d have to say The Tonight Show, it was almost surreal to come out with millions of viewers. So right now, that marks the top.

 

What are your plans for the future?

Well I just submitted another set for The Tonight Show so hopefully in the next couple of months, I’ll be back on. I’m working on a new half hour to an hour special that hopefully Comedy Central or Showtime will be interested in. I have a sitcom in the works, in the next couple of months me and the show runner are going to pitch it to the different networks and we already have one network that’s really interested. So, knock on wood, hopefully that all comes to truth.

This is my interview with Jesse Kristin, drummer, of Jukebox the Ghost for their show on January 29th in Cleveland, OH. He is an awesome guy and we discussed their recent Letterman appearance, new album, and results of being attacked by a lemur. Here is a link to their new video for “Half Crazy”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rUe1YXhMx4 and their video for ”Hold It In”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIJTDwyQw5Y.

CHECK OUT THIS INTERVIEW AND MORE ON OUR NEW SITE: http://www.jbrinlinginterviews.com/

First off, how are you?

Good. How are you?

Me: Doing good.

Are you excited to be going back out on tour?

Absolutely! Occasionally, we get sick of touring but after about a month of being at home, it’s just what we’re used to. We’re really excited.

Are you guys fans of Jack’s Mannequin? Are you excited to tour with them?

Yes, definitely. Over the years, we have done a lot of tours with pop groups that we wouldn’t initially think we would relate to great like Barenaked Ladies or Guster on the cruise but the response we get is always remarkable. Yeah, when we got Jack’s Mannequin we were very stoked when we got them. There’s a lot crossing over and we’re both a piano based sound.

When you are on tour, what do you do to stay busy?

(Laughs) You know, it’s really the opposite. We tend to be so busy when we’re at the clubs and stuff that we really like our time not being busy. In the van, it’s typically listening to music, reading. We all like reading a lot. We try to do that but it’s amazing that even though we have a lot of bags and stuff with us, it is amazing how free time or solitary time is very limited.

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

Yeah, I guess just to stick with it, you never know. You never know if something is going to be successful or not and you know that doesn’t really matter, we’re lucky that we have a sort of sound that’s very likeable and have a lot of fans and stuff like that but we’re friends with so many bands whether it’s their music isn’t as likeable, they’re fantastic and making great music and it’s doesn’t matter how many people you draw to a show or how many copies your album sells. It’s just this very good feeling that you get at the end of the day. So my advice would be to not think about success and just think about what it means to you.

If you could give yourself advice 5 years ago, what would you say?

(Laughs) I would probably say relax before playing live because there are plenty of opportunities to play live if you put in the hard work and take it just one show at a time. Not every show is the pinnacle show where you have to impress everyone so just go in and give it your best.

What bands and artists have influenced you most?

As of late, I’ve been into this band, The Replacements. Well, they’re very different from Jukebox the Ghost. They’re sort of that pinnacle example of bands that were doing what they wanted regardless of success. They’re kind of a forgotten band and most people don’t know about them. They’ve made incredibly good pop music that has an edge, that is the reason, I suppose, why they never got huge. There is a saying that ‘they were either too stupid or too smart.’ They’ve been a big influence on my drumming as well as The Smiths, my favorite band.

If you could co-write an album with anyone, who would it be and why?

Dead or living?

Me: Either.

Okay, well dead it would have to be Harry Nilsson or Alex Chilton from Big Star.  I guess they are just two of my favorite artists. Even though I listen to a lot of stuff that’s simple and easy to get, I love The Ramones and I even love Lady Gaga nowadays (laughs). You know, sometimes, I’ll use as a gage for music I end up loving is if I can’t fathom how it was written or why. I think Alex Chilton and Harry Nilsson, both had that amazing balance of making things poppy and accessible but also completely esoteric and hard to understand, very weird and I think I like that the most.

Do you have a favorite song to play live?

My favorite song to play live is definitely “The Stars.” I guess I just love the songwriting and I love how it keeps on moving so it also happens to be a fun drum part (laughs).

Favorite place to play?

Ah, well we just, like last week, played a new venue called Union Transfer in Philadelphia and that blew us away. We’re very excited to come back to Philly and play a venue like that. That’s kind of the whole band’s favorite venue. But it’s always amazing to play in Houston, where we started, and also…I don’t know, I’m going to have to go with Chicago other than that (laughs). It’s a great place to go.

Who is your favorite band or artist that you toured with?

God, there have been so many; it’s so hard to pick. For opening up for bigger bands, I would have to say Guster. We love everyone that we’ve toured with and they’ve all been so nice but there’s something about Guster where they just inspire me. There is no boundary between us and them. Actually, their singer stayed over at my house after our last show with them. They’re awesome guys and musically I think they do something really special.

Is there a song that you wish you played live?

I don’t know; I usually make my opinion so well known (laughs). Is there a song I wish we played live more? It’s hard to say, we tend to give everything a fair shot. You know what, the one song I wish we played live more is on our upcoming album; I’m not going to say what it’s called because it’s a surprise but it’s a song that we used to play live a lot and then we kind of rearranged it a bit, it sat on the shelf. A lot of times, the songs that you write immediately after you release an album seem to be the ones that tend to get a little old by the time a year passes and you are in the studio again. That one got a bit lost in the shuffle but there’s a song on the new album that I’m very excited to play.

Along with the new album, what can fans expect?

I think as far as the recording is concerned, it’s going to be a lot more bare and simple. I think everything will be loud. We’re a trio so with all of our instruments, we tend to mix loud and in your face. Yeah, I think the recording will be simple and in your face. AS far as the songs go, it has my favorite song that Tommy has ever written as well as on drums my favorite song that Ben has ever written. We’ve been playing together for 7 years and I’m not just saying that to get people excited but because it’s true. We’ve been friends awhile and I’ve written a zillion songs with both of them and most will never see the light of day but it’s got my two favorite songs that I’ve ever written as well as the many others that are going to be great. On top of it, it’s calmer, I’d say we’ve matured a bit but it’s still going to be poppy goodness.

What’s the craziest experience you’ve had after a show?

Well this isn’t directly after but in 2008 we finished up a tour in San Francisco, where it had ended, and the next day we set out for New York City to play TMJ. We had about four days before our show at Mercury Lounge at 1 a.m. but we did have four days to do the drive which is fine for going across the country. As it turned out about 8 hours into the trip, we had some van trouble, and we pulled over on the Utah/Nevada border. We went to a hotel and the next morning we took it to a shop and they said that something needed to be fixed so we hung out there at a casino and Mexican place because we thought that we’d get the van the next day. So the parts were supposed to come to the shop but they went on the wrong truck. So long story short, we were there for almost three days on the Utah/Nevada border and this is a show that we could cancel but just didn’t want to. So, when the van was finally ready we realized we had about a 35 hour drive and it was about 37 hours until we were set to play and we ended up going for it. We did a 35 hour drive straight (laughs). We took turns driving and I somehow volunteered for the graveyard shift between the 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. part of it and in the morning when we’d be hungry we’d pull into the McDonald’s to order and people would be jumping out to pee, we had no time to spare. We made it and we played the show, we were delirious and I couldn’t even guess what kind of show we put on and one of my friends said ‘that was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen you do.’

Me: So tired works I guess was the friend’s advice.

Yeah, well he’s a punk rock guy so I guess he liked how messy and urgent we were for the show just hoping to get it over with (laughs).

Your new video for “Half Crazy” was just released, what was it like shooting that?

(Laughs) Kind of grueling. Not for all of us, just Tommy. (Ben and I) were hardly in it. With stop motion, it involves pain staking patience just shot by shot. There’s a scene where Ben and I are swapping our sunglasses and scarves and stuff and I think that scene alone took 45 minutes and it was actually for close to five seconds of the video (laughs). I mean it was great though and we were excited to do it but we were all sort of a little scared about what the outcome would be and if it’d be worth it but all in all it took three days, maybe 14 hours a day but it’s really Tommy’s say of how it went because it was basically three days of him being still and moving centimeter by centimeter.

Now the question was recently raised on your Facebook page, ‘which band or bands do you love but hate the name of?’ What is your pick?

That was actually me who posted that. I’ve never actually thought of that myself. I know it’s in my brain but I can’t think of it. I guess Big Star kind of comes to mind (laughs). I love them but maybe if they didn’t have such a big name…who knows, they could have been more accessible. When I first heard them, I mean at first it was like, ‘what does it mean? Are they saying they’re a big star? I don’t get it (laughs). ‘

Now you were recently attacked by a lemur, how are you recovering?

Yeah, (laughs) long story short I was helping my mom’s friend move and I was going to get some stuff in the deal. I knew that she had some pets; I knew she had monkeys or lemurs I guess. I was just careful looking at this thing in the window and they do look kind of scary but he was on a leash and in what was supposed to be a room with a closed door but when we walked into the kitchen to get some candles, the door was open and this thing just came at my right arm. But really the interesting part of the story is that lemurs are illegal in Massachusetts and I’m a nice guy and was trying to cover for the friend while still getting stitches and stuff if I needed them. So they asked, ‘do you know whose lemur it was?’ and I said ‘no’ and made up some story of how I was on Craiglist and somebody said they had a pet and it attacked me but I never really got their name or address. He didn’t really believe me and on top of that they said ‘you know that if you have no proof of its vaccination history, you will need a rabies shot.’ So somehow I wiggled my way out of assessing who it was because they actually wanted to know because they wanted to file some sort of complaint. I was on the phone texting my mom and she knew that the lemur had been vaccinated for rabies and stuff. So, I knew I was fine but it was either giving them the name or getting several shots because I couldn’t prove it otherwise. The funny thing is that I ended up getting about six stitches in my elbow and before that I was debating whether or not I would even need them. But I decided to go because for some reason I thought, they must get stuff like this all the time. When I went in they were like ‘…a what attacked you?’ they had never heard of a lemur attack. I had to tell them what a lemur even was (laughs).

What’s your greatest memory so far?

I think the circumstances around when we played David Letterman were so bizarre that that will probably stand out as one of my favorite days ever because we didn’t find out until the night before. I think someone dropped off or who knows why. But at the time, our piano player was living in Philadelphia, Tommy and I though were living in New York City. We got a call at about 10:30 at night when I was like making dinner and our manager said ‘you guys might have a shot at Letterman tomorrow. Do you want to do it?’ and we were like ‘well, duh.’ (Laughs) Then about a half hour later, they were like ‘yep, you’re doing it, you’re on.’ So we had to get to the studio for that because they tape early. So we packed up, drove to Philly, get Ben, get our equipment, drive back to New York, and we got four hours of sleep, woke up at 8 a.m. So, we did the thing and 24 hours later, there we were watching ourselves on national television. It was like a second birthday. You know, nowadays, if you have a birthday and a Facebook, your texts and messages will just become overwhelming (laughs). It was just like that. It was very surreal because if we had time to prepare, even two weeks, we would have spread he word and everyone would be like ‘wow!’ and we would have been a little more prepared but it was like all of a sudden, boom. It sounds almost like That Thing You Do! when they get the call and it’s like ‘you’re going to go play right now! You’re playing the big show!’ I don’t know if that stuff happens these days but that’s certainly what it felt like.

What are your plans for the future?

Tour all the time and put out our third album (laughs)!