Band
Name: Louden
SwainBandmember names/instruments: Rob - Lead Vocals, Guitar; Borja -
Bass,Vocals; Stephen - Drums, Vocals
City: Hollywood
Contact: Stephen Norton - band@LoudenSwain.com
Website: www.LoudenSwain.com
Band
Name: Louden
Swain
Bandmember names/instruments: Rob - Lead Vocals, Guitar; Borja -
Bass,Vocals; Stephen - Drums, Vocals
City: Hollywood
Contact: Stephen
Norton - band@LoudenSwain.com
Website: www.LoudenSwain.com
1. You're
in hell...what's on the radio?
Celine Dion
and a rock block of boy bands.
2. What was your first musical experience?
Abba or Kiss,
or music in church, 8 track tapes of Sinatra... It1s all a blur...
3. What is in your cd player now?
Celine Dion
& Menuedo... Just kidding. U2 Greatest Hits, Queens of the
Stone Age, the new Radiohead, Wilco, All-American Rejects
4. What is the best live performance you've ever seen? Worst?
Best: Rage
w/the Foo Fighters or U2 Joshua Tree Tour; Worst - Motley Crue
in 99.
5. Musical influences?
Cheap Trick,
The Cars, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Replacements, R.E.M.
6. What1s
the weirdest gig moment or road trip you1ve had?
We were playing
the Viper Room and these girls started throwing their panties
at Borja. We always knew he was the ladies man in the band.
7. What
is the worst job you've ever had?
I [Stephen]
worked at McDonald1s in high school, it SUCKED - on the last day
I accidentally dumped the grease trap all over the floor 5 minutes
before I was supposed to clock out. I think they1re still
trying to clean it up. Borja had a sweet gig at Marshall1s in
the women1s shoe department.
8. Do you
think people should be able to download music from the internet
for free?
If a band
decides to give people free downloads at their own site, then
that1s cool. But mass downloading needs to go into a subscription
type service. If people continue to downlaod music for free,
the real artists
will starve and we1ll be left with corporate rock. Apple1s got
a great thing going on right now with iTunes, and Roxio is trying
to launch Napster 2.0 which will be the same deal, $.99 per song,
which is a good price. The reality is that artists make a big
chunk of their living through CD sales, if that disappears, we1re
fucked. Is $.99 per song really that much to help support great
music?
9. Have
you ever been in jail, and if so, why?
Nope... Not yet anyway... Although we have all been to Alcatraz.
10. What is the performer and/or song are you most ashamed for
liking?
Justin Timberlake
- 3Cry Me A River2 - the production is great... But he1s
such a wiener. The Carpenter1s are up there too.
11. What product
would you endorse for free and why?
Quiznos -
Ya just can1t beat that toasted taste! See, we1re endorsing
them
already.
12. Major accomplishments
in your band (besides keeping it together)?
Our 3Overachiever2
EP, we recorded it on our own for less than $2K; and reaching
out to fans in places like Malaysia, China, Venezuela, and the
UK through our website.
13. Tell us a
groupie story you1ve experienced - be it yourself or someone else.
We could tell
you, but then we1d have to kill you.
14. How did you
find your bandmembers? Through friends, ads or poaching?
We met up
through mutual friends. Rob & Borja went to Northwestern
University as did a high school friend of mine [Stephen] who introduced
us. Thanks Kretz.
15. You're in
heaven...what's on the radio?
Cheap Trick,
AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Cars, The Police, Prince, Parlament...
Good God we1re getting FUNKY now! Too much to list here!
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A SLICK TRANSITION By W.C. Moriarity Former Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick was recently inducted into the Guitar Center's Rock Walk on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. But the compulsively creative sexagenarian is now making her living in the art world by bringing her psychedelic sensibilities to popular portraits of former rock contemporaries like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Bob Dylan. |
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| WC: So if
you were starting over, would you go into rock & roll again
or would you prefer to go into the art world? GS: I'm too lazy for rock & roll today, because the kids now have to change their clothes every five minutes and know how to dance and work out so their abs are okay and do all the videos and all this other stuff. They have about eight billion awards shows, and I'm too lazy for all that. So I don't know that I'd go into it. WC: So art might suit you a little better at this point? GS: Art might suit me a little better, because rock & roll's way too much trouble. The only person who just kind of does rock & roll without all the exploding chickens is Dave Matthews, who's very good. That's old-fashioned rock & roll--you just put your clothes on and do your thing! But women in particular have to deal with all this stuff about how you look, and your abs, and your outfits? WC: So you're not ready to be Britney Spears at this point, huh? GS: No! I mean, I couldn't have done that. I don't look like that anyway. I never have. A lot of us were real ugly in those days! There were no videos then, so we had pockmarks and fat guys and everything. WC: So thankfully, you weren't being run on MTV twenty times a day at that point! GS: That's right! And we started with MTV when I was about 40. And I just thought, "Oh, shit!" WC: How do you feel about all these old rock stars who are still out there strutting around? GS: That would be their problem. But it's not my problem! I'm not comfortable leaping around and having my wrinkles follow me when I jump, but some people are. And if they are, and people want to show up, go right ahead! WC: But that's not you. GS: No, I'm just not comfortable with that. I also would not have been comfortable, when I was 25, playing jacks in a schoolyard with a bunch of 8-year-olds. Just not interested. I've been there, I've done that, and I had a great time. But it's over! |
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Band
Name: Munkey
Juice
Band member names/instruments: Nelly
Heise/Git & Vox; Bub Heise/Bass Git; Vladimir Stak/Bangin'
and such
City: Was Columbus,
Ohio; now St. Paul, Minnesota
Contact: email: info@munkeyjuice.com
Website: www.munkeyjuice.com
1. You're in hell...what's
on the radio?
Nelly: I was once told
all the good bands are in hell. Anywho, Catherine Zeta-Jones singing
anything, J. Lo, Cher, and Limp Bizkit. Bub: I think if I was
in hell, Mahler's 3rd would
be perfect to keep you forever ill at ease, but I think the sad
but true answer would be Nicole Kidman and Robbie Williams singing
the soundtrack to Moulin Rouge, Mahler would be so much cooler
though. V. Stak: "Have You Forgetten?" by Darryl Worley.
2. What was your first musical
experience?
Nelly: My Mom playing
the Beatle's "White Album", and asking "Doing what
in the road?" Bub: Banging on my Mom's Baby Grand, now I
bang on a Casio that lights up and automatically plays Celine
Dion songs.
V. Stak: Goofing around on a drum set my friend had at his house.
The cymbals were so cheap I had to bend them back into shape after
playing.
3. What is in your cd player
now?
Nelly: Wilco- A.M. Bub:
A Bootleg of Jeff Tweedy at the Living Arts Theatre in Chicago.
V. Stak: Tray 1: Ween "Pure Guava" Tray 2: Ween "Chocolate
and Cheese" Tray 3: Ween "The Pod" Tray 4: Mysteriously
empty for some odd reason Tray 5: Flaming Lips "Transmissions
from the Satellite Heart" Yeah, I'm on a Ween kick.
4. What is the best live
performance you've ever seen? Worst?
Nelly: Camper Van Beethoven,
the first of the reunion shows at the Knitting Factory in NY.
The worst was Tesla, but hey I was 14 and it was my first concert
and a couple of seniors took me. Firehouse was the opening band.
Bub: A Dutch Orchestra's performance of Mahler's 3rd at the University
of Salzburg in the Autumn of 2001. It was flawless. Worst? A modern
production of Aida at the same theatre. I've never seen a director
stray so far away from such a simple theme. V. Stak: Probably
a Wilco show I went to a few months back. The worst is easily
a They Might Be Giants show I saw at Denison University about
7 years ago. The band played fine. It was the crowd that sucked.
5. Musical influences?
Velvet Underground,
Modern Lovers, Kinks, Pavement, Pixies, Stones, CVB, T. Rex, Wilco,
The Minus Five, Superchunk, My Bloody Valentine, Yo La Tengo.
6. What's the weirdest gig
moment or road trip you've had?
Nelly: Being Applauded.
Bub: Not getting booed every time we play Jesus On The Run.
V. Stak: Seeing a couple dry-hump each other in front of the stage
during a set.
7. What is the worst job
you've ever had?
Nelly: Late Night Buggy
Vendor
Bub: Server at Applebee's.
V. Stak: A letter sorter in the mailroom of a factory.
8. Do you think people should
be able to download music from the internet for free?
Nelly: Yes, with the
band's permission.
Bub: Hell yes.
V. Stak: Sure. Usually when I download a free song I end up buying
the album later on
anyway. Plus, it's great exposure for lesser-known bands.
9. Have you ever been in
jail, and if so, why?
Nelly: Yes, Public Intox,
and DUI. Now I'm in Recovery and training to be an alcohol and
drug counselor. (This is true.)
Bub: Does detained count? I was illegally detained for open container
and under age and forced to listen to the country station in the
cop car. I got off not guilty, but it was a pain.
V. Stak: I've never had the pleasure. Though twice in 1999 I came
close.
10. What is the performer
and/or song are you most ashamed for liking?
Nelly: Duran Duran and
INXS.
Bub: Norah Jones.
V. Stak: Ladytron. Mostly because of the flak I get from the other
band members for liking them.
11. What product would you
endorse for free and why?
Nelly: Cell phones that
killed people who used them, or Diet Coke since I drink a 12 pack
a day, or my dad's pizza shop: Earl's Village Pizza!
Bub: Railways, Bus Lines or electric cars- something has got to
be changed about our transportation system.
V. Stak: Nothing. No one gets a free lunch from Stak.
12. Major accomplishments
in your band (besides keeping it together)?
Nelly: Putting out 5,
soon to be 6 albums in two years.
Bub: Staying prolific and diverse in sound.
V. Stak: I guess designing and developing our web site. It was
the first major web project I took on after quitting my lame-ass
job.
13. Tell us a groupie or
gushy fan story you've experienced- be it yourself or someone
else?
Nelly: A show we played
in Zanesville, Ohio, a couple of fourteen year-old kids were worshipping
us like rock stars and begging for autographs. They continued
to email us for a while, until the recent Iraqi war started and
I stated Bush was a Nazi, er, I'm sorry that Bush is a Nazi. As
for girls, see V. Stak's answer.
Bub: N/A. V. Stak: I really wish I had a good one, but I don't.
We don't seem to attract the ladies too well.
14. How did you find your
bandmembers? Through friends, ads or poaching?
Nelly: Bub is my little
brother, and I made him play bass, and V. Stak and I where in
a band called "The Giddyup Jesus" in college.
Bub: Nel is my brother; V. Stak was in a band earlier with my
brother and went to school
with him.
V. Stak: I met Nelson through a mutual friend, and Bubba through
Nelson.
15. You're in heaven...what's
on the radio?
Nelly: Endless live
performances of the Velvet Underground with the original line-up:
Lou Reed, John Cale, Mo Tucker, and Sterling Morrison.
Bub: "She's a Jar" - Wilco, or "Heaven" -Ginger
Rogers and Fred Astaire.
V. Stak: All of the Minus Five albums
looping in order of their original release.
|
We caught up with Skinny on his cellphone in Hartford, Conn. He was on his way into Guitar Center. C - Hey Skinny? what are
you buying? |
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| C
- The music is great, so dark and yet beautiful and dramatic,
very surreal... S - and dark and creepy... C - I love creepy... S - well, that's us... C - Describe your band and it's music? S - With 8 members it keeps a wide variety happening, very aggressive, aggressive like a rollercoaster, it's up and down like real life, we are trying to represent all of the elements and emotions instead of just one. C - Is it cool being in a band with your brother? S - Yea, Gravy, we've been in a lot of bands together, we got another band, which we still do, he wasn't the original guitarist for Mushroomhead, he joined us about a year ago. C- What does the world need to know about your band? S - They need to know what they're missing, they need to know what they don't know, they need to come and see us. C- A quick band history? S - Formed in 92, played first show in 93, first cd in 95, recorded, mixed, mastered and issued independently, got picked up by Universal. C - They reissued the original "XX" (Double X) one you put out ? S - Yea, but they wanted to remix it. C - Is it a lot different from your original, better quality? S - Quality is a matter of opinion, it is different, some of the songs I like them redone, some I still like our originals better, some our guys like it and some don't, its hard to redo something after a year, you get use to it being the way it was, it was a good experience though. C - Do you feel like you are still true to yourselves? S - Yea, after 8 years and 3 albums before Universal we have a pretty fair idea what we want to do and I will always still be doing the producing. C - You have a song on the Scorpion King soundtrack, have you seen the movie? S - It's a brand new song, its not on this release, I haven't seen it, some of the guys have seen it. C - What's your opinion of the music industry? S - It's a crazy world, I don't know if I do it again if I had the choice (chuckles), its really cool, music right now is really strange to me, theres some real heavy bands out there, and then theres some other bands coming out of leftfield that I don't get at all, but that's okay, if I liked everything, it would be boring. C - What does the music industry need more or less of? S - More variety, I think people need to do more of their own thing, and stop worrying about what everyone else is doing, or how everyone else is going to feel about what they're presenting, a lot of bands to me, sound much to much alike. C - To much of the same formula? S - Same formula, as far as writing songs, same tuning of guitars, same vocal style, a lot of labels and bands think oh, it worked for those guys, lets do that again, oh, sure , it may work but it doesn't come across as genuine. C - What makes your band different (laughs), although I think I know? I love the masks, theres one guy not wearing one? S - Yea, we got two singers and they both wear makeup on stage, in the photos though one of the vocalists is wearing a mask. C - You're touring alot right now? Any memorable moments? We are, alot, Its kinda a blur as your doing it, so it's hard to think of moments, but when youre done and you stop and look back and its like wow, we just did a thousands of mles across the United States. C - Any fav town you've played? S - Where we are at right now has been great, Hartford, Conn area, and Massechussets, it has been great shows, crowd response, even radio support. |
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C- Anything cool coming
up for the band? |
HOME / PIX & NIX / INTERVIEWS / CELLULOID NEWS / WHO & WHAT / MISH MOSH
A Chat with skin pounder "Skinny"
of MUSHROOMHEAD by
Cindy Pop