The Matches Interview
The Matches Interview
By Samantha Landis
On May 1st, the AP Tour made its next to the last stop in Pittsburgh, PA. The tour featured All Time Low, The
Rocket Summer, The Matches, Sonny & Forever The Sickest Kids. I had the opportunity to talk to Matt and
Jon from The Matches before the show.
The Matches are:
Shawn Harris: Vox, Guitar
Justin San Souci: Bass, Vox
Jon Devoto: Guitar, Vox
& Matt Whalen: Drums
So, are you excited to be in Pittsburgh for the next to the last stop on tour?
Matt: I am. There's stuff on the street. The past few days we've been in some pretty non-descript places.
Where was your last stop?
Matt: Allentown...
Samm: Oh
Matt: Yeah, you know what I'm sayin'?
Samm: Yeah I do.
Matt: You feelin' me on that one?
Samm: Mhm.
Matt: It's nice to feel safe walking down the street for coffee without dying.
Justin: Yeah, haha.
Did you see the almost-fight outside earlier?
*There was a skirmish outside the venue where FTSK's van driver was backing up and some guy with a dog was behind it so FTSK's other guy told him to watch out and the guy flipped out. The venue almost called the poilce and it's safe to say that the man with the dog would have lost the fight had it occurred.*
Matt: Oh today?! There was a crazy guy with a dog?
Samm: Yeah.
Matt: There's crazy guys with dogs everywhere we found. Was it a homeless guy with like a Pitbull or something?
Samm: No, it was a scary dog. The guy was scary too.
Matt: Scary people usually have scary dogs.
You've been playing to many sold out crowds on this tour, how has that been?
Matt: It's been fun, fun playing to a lot of people. They're there to see All Time Low but still fun to play.
How have the fans that are here to see you specifically, treated you?
Matt: Oh great, they're awesome.
What is the strangest thing you've ever received from a fan?
Matt: I got a flipbook of...myself. Which is cool but also strange. The girl said it took her like 3 days straight, she skipped school and yeah, I felt a little bad about that. I still have it.
What's the most meaningful thing you've ever recieved from a fan?
Matt: That was pretty meaningful but this one girl made us all pillows with the Decomposer artwork on them, that was really cool. We still have those. This girl last night in Allentown made a shirt with a still from "Wake the Sun" and people do that kind of stuff all the time, it's really cool. A lot of people get tattoos, which is flattering. Crazy but flattering.
Since the release of "A Band In Hope" do you think you've kept the same type of fans or has it been more polarizing?
Matt: We don't know yet because it just came out and most people bought tickets before it.
Shawn mentioned in an earlier interview that it was ok to illegally download your new album, as long as fans made it up to you. Do you think that they have been?
Matt: I don't know yet, we don't know yet. It is yet to be determined.
Are you sharing the bus with anyone?
Matt: Actually we aren't sharing with any other bands but we're sharing with Alternative Press and Keep-A-Breast. It's very nice, it's quiet and calm.
I have 2 questions specifically for you, Matt. First, why didn't you dance in your routine to The Higher's "Insurance?" video?
Matt: I don't dance. I have a fear of dancing in public places. I hadn't had any tequila.
Justin: If you want to see Matt dance, you better bring us tequila.
Matt: I only dance in foreign countries too. Foreign countries and substances from foreign countries. Haha.
Next, why don't you wear pointy shoes like the rest of the band?
Matt: I like round ones. They fit my feet better.
*LIGHTS BLINK*
What was that?
Matt: The bus does weird things sometimes, you get used to it.
You play acoustic sets after shows on occasion, do you think you will tonight?
*This was asked by fan request*
Matt: Yes we do but I don't know. That's like trying to predict the weather. The accuracy of my predictions can only be 80 percent so we still have 20 percent but who knows?
How have the other bands been on tour, do you get along well?
Matt: Oh yeah, everyone gets along very well on this tour. We've been hanging out with Sonny's band a lot.
After this tour, what are your plans?
Matt: We're going to go to Japan at the end of May. Then in June, we have a few headlining shows in California. And then we're going to Disney World.
What are you doing in Disney World?
Matt: Well, we won the Superbowl thats why we're going. Actually, we did go to Disney World a little bit ago, we were playing nearby. There's an Aerosmith roller coaster, it's pretty sweet. They weren't actually there but it was still cool.
What do you do in your off time?
Matt: Go to Disney World, or Disney Land actually. No, I don't do much. Eat burritos, drink coffee, look for lawn elves, avoid gang related violence and catch up on Tivo but the writer's strike fucked up my Tivo schedule.
What do you normally Tivo?
Matt: Lost, The Office...Pushing Daisys, Law & Order, No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. He's badass. Ugh, Top Gear and The Wire. The Wire is the best show on television.
Have the rising gas prices affected your touring schedule at all?
Matt: Yeah, it obviously makes it more expensive and that makes the ticket prices go up. It'll just cost way more for bands to do this.
Speaking of gas prices, which presidential candidate do you support?
Matt: A democrat. Obama's been getting some shit lately. I like him more than Clinton but he needs to get his house in order. He's got a mess on his hands right now but as a band, we back Obama. He's got some work to do right now, it's not over yet.
Did you all get a chance to vote?
Matt: Yes, we were home but I always vote early anyway.
You started L3: Live, Loud and Local because your frustration with a lack of places for kids to go to all-ages shows right?
Matt: Yeah, there just wasn't much happening so we took it into our own hands.
Do you think kids have more opportunities these days?
Matt: Definitely, but we don't really know because we're touring and don't really know about these venues. We have friends who go to shows and get us some insight.
Do you get kids coming up to you, handing you demos and such?
Matt: Yeah, all the time. We always check them out.
What's the most ridiculous thing that happened on this tour so far?
Matt: Ridiculous? Hmm. The Rocket Summer's bus keeps breaking down. Their bus driver looks like a car salesman with a tie with his shirt tucked, cell phone holder, pouch thing and all that. Justin and Shawn found some like, watchtowers and were communicating like military style with flashlights. Homeland Security came because they thought we were terrorists communicating.
Jon: We are terrorists, haha.
Do you have many older fans, there are plenty of them outside?
Matt: Yeah, we're finding that. There's tons of parents or even like older people in their 20s and 30s. It's nice.
What are the other guys doing right now?
Matt: Right now? Shawn is off doing some photo project thing and Jon is probably off somewhere doing one-armed push-ups.
What music have you been listening to lately?
Matt: Wilco.
Justin: Biffy.
Matt: Biffy Clyro, Third Eye Blind, a really cool band called Battles, Kings of Leon and uhh...Muppets Christmas Carols.
If you could pick one other band from The AP Tour, to tour with again, who would it be and why?
Matt: We would make a supergroup.
Justin: A supergroup?
Matt: To go on tour with them. A supergroup of the other bands to tour with.
Justin: Oh, okay.
Matt: We would make a supergroup. We'd take the drummer of Sonny. Bryce because he can play like every instrument. We'd take Zack from ATL. We'd take the keyboard player from FTSK because he dances a lot. And we'd make them play David Bowie covers. I don't know who would sing, they can all sing.
One final question, do the rest of the band dance a lot?
Matt: Yeah, foreign countries. Uhh, once a week on average. We do cardio dance fitness. Jon has a YMCA membership we are able to use.
Justin: We do Stepaerobics.
Matt: Stepaerobics, yeah.
Justin: I have the steps under the bus.
Matt: Yeah, we have a pull out gym.
Ok, cool. Thank you very much. Have fun in Cleveland tomorrow night!
Matt/Justin: Yeah, no problem. Thanks.
Stacie Collins Interview
By C.W. Ross
Stacie Collins press material describes her music as, "...beer-and-whiskey music that blends sassy hillbilly vocals, gut-bucket blues and southern rock style while singing and wailing away on the harp." Below is a recent interview that Stacie was kind enough to do with us.
Stacie Collins Website- http://www.staciecollins.com
1. Reading over your bio. you've had a very interesting life so far. What would you say was the one big break that really got your music career moving forward?
Stacie: I THINK THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE MOVING TO NASHVILLE. NASHVILLE HAS GIVEN ME SUCH A WONDERFUL PALETTE TO PAINT WITH AND IS SO RICH WITH TALENT, ENERGY AND THE OL' "ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN" VIBE WHICH I LOVE. I HAVE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE TO WORK WITH SUCH AWESOME MUSICANS AND HAVE HAD ALOT OF GREAT THINGS HAPPEN FOR ME HERE. I'M LIVIN MY DREAMS AND NASHVILLE MADE IT POSSIBLE.
2. What artist has influenced your music the most?
Stacie: SORRY BUT THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO ANSWER. DEPENDS ON THE GENRE AND I HAVE BEEN INFLUENCED BY WAY TOO MANY ARTISTS TO PICK JUST ONE.
3. Where did you learn to play such a mean harp (harmonica)?
Stacie: I WAS TRYING TO LEARN TO PLAY HARP FOR A LONG TIME BECAUSE I FOUND OUT MY DAD USED TO PLAY SO I THOUGHT I MIGHT HAVE INHERITED HIS TALENT BUT I NEVER HAD A FIRE FOR IT UNTIL I FOUND MY MUSE. I STARTED LISTENING TO OLD CHICAGO BLUES CD'S, GOT A CUSTOM BUILT A-STATIC MIC AND AN OLD FENDER BASSMAN AMP AND THEN IT WAS ON!!! I ALSO LEARN FROM OTHER GREAT PLAYERS THAT I MEET ALONG MY TRAVELS. I'LL TRY AND GET A LESSON FROM THEM ANYTIME, ANYWHERE.
4. Which one song of yours best describes you and why?
Stacie: PROBABLY "RAMBLIN" OFF MY CD "THE LUCKY SPOT". THE OPENING LINE IS... "FROM THE SECOND I WAS BORN YOU KNOW I HIT THE GROUND RUNNIN AND I AINT GONNA STOP TIL I GET TO WHERE I'M GOING CUZ LIFES JUST TOO SHORT TO BE WAITIN AROUND!!!
('07 Press Photo credit: Staci McQueen)
5. You're a very attractive woman ( sorry guys she's married ) . Do you think that helps you or do you feel that it makes you have to work harder sometimes so people take you serious?
Stacie: I NEVER REALLY THOUGHT OF MY LOOKS IN THAT WAY TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH. I'M SURE IT HELPS THAT I'M NOT BUTT UGLY BUT I WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT ANYONE WHO'S EVER BEEN TO ONE OF MY SHOWS HAS NEVER THOUGHT THAT MY LOOKS ALONE HAVE GOTTEN ME BY. I'M NOT THE LEAST BIT INTERESTED IN GETTING CAUGHT UP IN THAT GAME. I'M MORE INTERESTED IN THE JOURNEY OF BEING THE BEST ENTERTAINER AND MUSICIAN I CAN BE WHILE ENJOYING THE RIDE.
6. I'm sure that you've probably played shows in some rowdy bars. Do you have any good stories that you could share with us?
Stacie: WE RECENTLY PLAYED AN OUTSIDE MOTORCYCLE RALLY WHICH WAS A LOT OF FUN BUT SOMETIMES THOSE KINDS OF GIGS CAN GET ALITTLE ROUGH SO YA GOTTA STAY ON YOUR TOES. ANYHOW, WE WERE IN THE MIDDDLE OF A SMOKIN' THROW DOWN WHEN I CAUGHT A GLANCE OF WHAT LOOKED LIKE A NAKED MAN RUNNING ACROSS THE STAGE. NOTHING NEW FOR THIS TYPE OF EVEN BUT...I LOOKED OVER AT "DUDE" WHO WAS BUTT ASS NAKED WITH NOTHING BUT A CAMERA HANGING AROUND HIS NECK AND HE WAS JUST STANDING THERE TAKING PICTURES. I KEPT WAITING FOR HIM TO GET HIS SHOT AND LEAVE BUT HE JUST KEPT SHOOTING. IT WAS VERY NERVE RACKING CUZ YOU DON'T WANT TO STARE OR LAUGH AND HE WAS BREAKING MY CONCENTRATION. AFTER SEVERAL MINUTES I COULD TELL MY BAND WAS NOT DIGGING THE WHOLE NAKED MAN THING, SO DURING A GUITAR SOLO I GRABBED SECURITY TO GET HIM ESCORTED OFF THE STAGE. IT TURNS OUT THAT "DUDE" WAS THE "OFFICIAL" PHOTOGRAPHER FOR THE EVENT SO THERE WAS NOTHING THE SECURTIY GUY COULD DO. AFTER OUR SET WAS DONE MY DRUMMER SIMPLY SAID... "RING TOSS ANYONE?"!
7. Your bio. mentions about touring a lot in Europe. What have you found is the biggest difference between European fans and those in the U.S.?
Stacie: THEY HAVE SUCH A BROAD RANGE OF MUSICAL TASTE AND ARE VERY THIRSTY AND APPRECIATIVE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A TOP TEN HIT AND VIDEO OUT, IF THEY LIKE YOU YOU’RE IN AND THEY'LL SUPPORT YOU FROM THERE ON OUT. THEY DON’T TAKE ACTS FOR GRANTED AND THEY LIKE TO LINE DANCE TO EVERYTHING!
8. If you could play a dream show with yourself and two other artist/bands on the bill and you got to pick them who would you choose?
Stacie: LIVING OR DEAD??? I WOULD LOVE TO DO A SHOW WITH AEROSMITH AND THE STONES.
9. Where do you hope to see your music career say five years down the road?
Stacie: ALIVE AND VERY WELL!
10. Anything I missed that you would like to tell our readers about yourself or your music?
Stacie: MY NEWEST CD "THE LUCKY SPOT" IS OUT AND AVAILABLE AT
WWW.STACIECOLLINS.COM OR YOU CAN VISIT
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/STACIECOLLINS AND DROP ME A LINE. LASTLY, IF YOU EVER GET THE CHANCE, COME ON OUT AND SHAKE YOUR ASS AT A SC SHOW. WE'D LOVE TO MEET YA & I GUARANTEE YA YOU'LL HAVE A GREAT TIME!
( Note: Stacie will be performing at this year's Johnstown AmeriServ Folkfest. For details on the festival visit their site at:
http://www.johnstownfolkfest.org )
Wreckcreation Band Interview
Wreckcreation Interview
By C.W. Ross
Below is a recent interview that we done with band member's Kirsten Evans (lyrics, vocals), Aric Armbruster (electric and acoustic guitars), and Joshua Howell (programming, synths, bass ) from the band Wreckcreation. They're based out of Charleroi, Pennsylvania.
Official Wreckcreation Site: http://www.wreckcreation.net
MySpace Site: http://www.myspace.com/wreckcreation
1. Your band mixes many different musical elements to achieve your sound. How do you describe your music?
Aric: Industrifemetal rock. does that count? (industrial female vocal metal rock music). So I guess we're abrasive, clean, and sexy all at the same time.
Kirsten: That's a fun, new word!
Josh: The three of us each have a vast pool of varying musical tastes. Between us the influences range from blues and jazz singers to rock and roll, funk, metal, industrial music and too many more to mention. Our music incorporates computer programming and synthesizers, but when you really break our songs down I believe we're a rock and roll band that happens to utilize modern technology. We're rock music for the 21st century.
2. How did the band get started? Did you know each other?
Josh: Aric and I met through mutual friends early in 2001. I had been doing electronic music since I was 16 years old and he had been playing guitar from an even earlier age. He heard some of the things I was working on and we decided to get together and work on things. For a while the sessions were just experiments in mixing his guitars with my then primitive programming. Life took its course and we both ended up on a hiatus from the project until 2005 when we had both broke free of the groups we were in during the hiatus. We both had sharpened our respective musical abilities and decided to give the project another go. We brought in Kirsten, an amazing vocalist with whom Aric had previously worked with. This new combination must have been cosmic in nature because from that point on the lot of us have seemed to explode with creativity.
Aric: Josh put it best from my end other than to add that that we had done work with another female vocalist in the past and we had thought about going with another female vocalist again. Kirsten stuck out in my mind from meeting her and working with her in a previous band. I really liked her vocals on the one song she did guest vocals for, so when Josh and I talked about a vocalist she immediately into mind. When she came to work with us I actually wasn't sure what to expect vocally other than what I already knew: she was really good. When she first started singing with some music we had been working on, I was blown away and knew we would all work great together.
Kirsten: I guess I'm the newbie in the group. Aric and Josh have been doing Wreckcreation for almost seven or eight years, now, and I've only been with them since 2005.
3. What do you hope people take away from hearing your music?
Aric: Well...everyone interprets things differently. There are emotions and messages in our music, but I would honestly hope that listeners take what they want or need from it, whether it be an emotion or message, or simply listening for entertainment. Music is food for the soul. What you get out of it all depends on what you're hungry for.
Josh: After hearing us, I hope people will realize that there are way more possibilities to music than what they've been exposed to through music video channels, that music, bands, and artists don't have to be one style. Red is boring; blue is boring, but red and blue is purple.
Kirsten: The only thing I have ever wanted to accomplish when making music is this: to make people feel the way that I feel when I hear a great song. I love that soul-swelling, excited feeling I get when a great song comes on the radio or the next track on the CD is your favorite. I want to give those good sensations to people.
4. Are you working on any recording projects?
Josh: We are currently recording our as-yet-to-be-named debut album with Rowen Poole (Persephone's Dream). Also on the album will be some songs that we previously recorded with Larry Luther at Mr. Smalls Studios in Pittsburgh. Both are great engineers and producers and you can hear the Larry Luther tracks at our Myspace page:
http://www.myspace.com/wreckcreation
5. I like good 'on the road stories' will you tell us about one of the more strange things that has happened at one of your shows?
Josh: Does opening for somewhat big, headlining band and seeing some of their members pee behind a dumpster count? For legal reasons I shall go no further...
Aric: Oh man. All I can say is, "thank God for oddly-placed, overly-expensive Radio Shacks, and the random people that know they're there." Other than that and Josh's circular directional skills, I can't think of anything good. I'm sure you have a good one, Kirsten.
Kirsten: Driving to do a show in Cleveland with Josh in the lead of the Wreckcreation caravan was quite the experience. I think it took us a good half an hour trying to figure out how to get into the hotel parking lot while driving down a one way street with a concrete barrier blocking our path. By far, though, I think the best story has been from the same Cleveland show, where we were the only people to show up on time...literally. The staff, headliners...everyone was late. We sat in our cars forever, and when they finally let us in the venue, we had to sit for several more hours because we couldn't get answers or directions from the staff, and we were starting to think we had made the long haul for nothing, that we had been forgotten. Finally, the promoter called my cell phone asking us if we were canceling because we hadn't shown up yet. I was like, "Uhh... We've been here for a few hours already. We're sitting on our equipment in front of the stage. I'm the brunette with the really long hair." Man, he was so embarrassed.
6. If you could have the chance to play with any band who would it be?
Josh: If I were to pick any group or artist, it would probably be Kanye West, the most talented man in hip-hop at the moment. I feel we share a common thread in that we're not afraid to mix and mash different styles together.
Kirsten: Nine Inch Nails. Hands down. I think Trent Reznor is a brilliant composer, producer...everything. And he puts on an awesome show. I would love to be a part of that.
Aric: Wow... Honestly there are a lot of bands that have been a huge inspiration to me as an artist that I would love to be able to share a stage with. I already had the opportunity to do that with Chemlab, one of my favorite bands. Those guys are awesome! So I guess I'll say Rob Zombie. He'd be up there on the list, but there are a lot of other bands I'd love to be able to share a stage with.
7. Have you been touring any outside of the Pittsburgh area?
Aric: I wouldn't say touring just yet, but we have been playing some shows outside the Pittsburgh area. It's been great. We're really mainly focused on the album right now but I'd love to get out to a lot more cities and play a lot more shows outside of the area.
Kirsten: We've hit Cleveland, Columbus, some other Ohio cities, and we've made it to some northern parts of Pennsylvania. We love to travel, and want to do much more of it. We're going to spread Wreckcreation as far as we can once the album is finished.
Josh: We would certainly love to do more! If you would like to see us in your area contact your local venue or promoter, if you don't know any then shoot us an e-mail at- wreckcreation@gmail.com
8. Anything we missed that you would like to get out to the readers?
Aric: I just hope people enjoy the music. I know I enjoy making it. Get out and support the local artists. Who knows? You might have a lot of fun.
Josh: Mainly, don't be afraid to listen to different types of music.
Kirsten: There is some great music our there that the public is missing because no one is taking the time to look for it, or because the artists don't fit the mold as far as appearance goes. Our radio airwaves and Mtv are highly controlled outlets, so they don't give you a good idea of actual talent and good songwriting. People that rely on them are missing out on some of the greatest music they would have ever heard. Don't take what's handed to you, and think for yourself.
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Indie Music
