Exorcism Number Eight: Joseph Michael Rankin

HI! Here is YET ANOTHER exorcism. Quick side note: last night I had YET ANOTHER terrible dream about the movie "The Exorcist." What was the dream? Simply that the movie "The Exorcist" was on television. No more and certainly no less.

Anyway! Today we have an interview with another amazing person from the Wallride Records scene: Joseph Michael Rankin. He is a multi-instrumental dude but I think of him primarily as an incredibly interesting and powerful drummer. His investment in how a song should sound is super awesome. I feel like he really thinks about shaping the song and making it fun to listen to. It's super inspiring. Joe plays in the Jons, Flying Faders, Head Home, Sounding Rockets, and has recently recorded and entire solo project where he plays everything. ENJOY!

It seems like the York/Westminster/Baltimore crew has known each other forever. When did you meet these musical soulmates and what has it been like growing up with them? Feel free to name names and embarrass people.

There are people in our circle of friends who have been around forever, and others who are more recent friends, but we love them all, so long as they’re laid back and nice. 

Jesse Davis (My Sister Kate, Head Home, Sounding Rockets, Flying Faders, Whiff, etc.) and I grew up together in the same neighborhood (Walnut Ridge in Westminster).  We were friends long before music entered the picture.  He used to sit at the front of the bus on the way to middle school and do imitations of an auctioneer.  He was completely oblivious to the social stigma this garnered him.  He also wore jeans with elastic in the waistband.  Strike two.  I liked him immediately.  It wasn’t until years later that he picked up a guitar, and we borrowed a snare drum, hi-hat, and empty suitcase (bass drum) and started murdering Oasis songs in his basement.

We played our first shows when we were 17 and met some other important cats like Jason Nicholls and Mike Boesler (Active Sac, Whiff, etc.).  Darick Sater and Mike Stearns (The Spark, Active Sac, Deep Sleep, etc.) were a bit younger so I didn’t meet them until I was about 22 or so. 

The first time I saw Darick play drums I thought “Who’s this chubby kid playing drums for Active Sac?”  My next thought was “Whoa, chubby kid can play!”  This was about the time I was obsessed with the book “Dance of Days” about the D.C. underground music scene.  I was talking to some other musicians in town one night about D.C. music when one of them told me Darick had memorized dates of Bad Brains shows from before he was born.  The next time I saw Darick was at the local movie theater with a bunch of friends.  I took the opportunity to approach him and say, “So I heard you’re a fan of the Bad Brains”.  I distinctly remember his answer because it said a lot about him.  He could have had a pompous attitude but instead he took one step back, looked down at the ground, smiled, and said “Yeah yeah yeah”.  Friends since then.

How and when did you learn to play drums? What other instruments do you play? Which is your favorite to play?

When I was 15 some buddies of mine wanted to start a band.  I had my choice between learning to play bass or drums.  Around that time I had been paired up in Biology class with a guy named Pat.  Pat had played drums for several years but was a total weirdo.  During an assembly one day the Jazz band performed for the whole school.  Pat sat down at the drum set for a rendition of “Moondance” by Van Morrison.  At the end of the song he played a fill, and was starting to stand up and walk away before he had finished the last hit.  It was the coolest thing I had ever seen in my life.  The next time I saw Pat in biology I demanded that he teach me how to play drums.  So he taught me a few basics on the classroom table and we became pretty close friends. 

I took the few things Pat showed me and went to work.  I sat in my bedroom listening to my favorite songs, trying to figure them out.  It was like a new world opened up in front of me that had been there the whole time, I just couldn’t see it.  I was Harry Potter, and playing drums was “practicing magic”.  Maybe more “Neville” than “Harry”.  Anyway, I was obsessed. 

Through the years the practice space for the bands was often at my house.  Every once in a while I would pick up a bass or guitar for fun and mess around.  You do that enough, and eventually you get a handle on it, intentionally or not.  I still don’t really know what I’m doing on bass or guitar but that doesn’t stop me.  I do it all for fun anyway. 

If I had to pick a favorite I’d say drums.  There’s something extremely satisfying about moving your limbs in a specific way to yield a specific rhythm.  You can produce emotions ranging from energetic to fun to sexual to romantic to frantic to badass and everything in between. 

Tell us about the first band you were ever in?

The first real band I was ever in was called “The Retro Delicatessen”.  Essentially Jesse pulled a bunch of friends together from different areas of his life who all loved Weezer.  We wrote catchy pop rock songs and lasted a few years.  It was the evening of this band’s first show that I realized I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.

What are some of your first musical influences and do they still inspire you? What about them is inspiring?

Some of the first musical influences would be Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Weezer, and Smashing Pumpkins.  When I learned to turn off the radio a few of the first bombshells in my life were Minor Threat and Poster Children.  Hendrix, Nirvana and Weezer are still a big influnce, as well as Minor Threat and Poster Children, but Smashing Pumpkins not so much. 

Tell us about your favorite recording experience?

Darick and I were just talking about this the other day.  We HATE recording.  It’s the worst part of playing music, especially drums because you have to get it all in one take.  The fact that it’s permanent is nightmarishly stressful.  Guitar, bass, and vocals aren’t as bad because you can punch in and out, so the end result is a combination of several takes.

We record all of our own stuff these days so we have more control over the sound (plus it’s cheaper).  We own a reel-to-reel ½ inch 8-track recorder, some outboard equipment, and pro-tools for mixing down.  If I had to pick a favorite recording experience I’d have to say the recent stuff we’ve been doing because we’re getting better and better at it. 

Speaking of recording-you recently recorded a new record with the Jons and a solo record! Tell us about those and when we might expect them out.

I’ll be checking in with some labels here and there to see if I can get some help putting out my solo record, but first things first, I still need a name for the project.  Once I have a name, then I can actually move forward with trying to put it out.  In the end if no one is interested, I’ll probably just figure out a way to release a small run myself.  In the meantime, I’ve gathered some friends to help me play the songs live, so we’ll start booking shows sometime soon.

The Jons record already has a home with South Paw records (owned and operated by our friends Rob and Amanda).  Right now we are finishing the rough mixes.  Next we’ll analyze them for changes and tweaks, and then work on the final mixes.  Once that’s done, we’ll hand it over to South Paw and they’ll make it happen.  I can’t say for sure how long it’ll take, but I assume a few months.  One thing’s certain, this is the fastest recording-to-release project I’ve ever worked on.  Pretty fun stuff.

You seem to really love to play live in a very internal way. Like, you don't "perform" necessarily, but anyone watching with any sense knows that you are clearly invested in what you are doing. Describe what it's like for you play in front of people and if that has changed over the years.

I hadn’t really thought about it like that.  I love playing shows.  When I was young I would get really anxious before a show, then use that “nervous energy” as fuel for a good performance.  I still do that today; only I don’t get quite as nervous beforehand. 

If I seem invested, it’s because I’m focused on what I’m doing.  I fear fucking up and letting everyone down.  I’ve definitely messed up before pretty bad, and then got depressed about it for a while.  No one else gets pissed at me, but I just get blue about messing up after putting so much time and energy into it.  So I tend to focus on what part of the song we are on, and landing fills correctly and evenly, etc.

Where did you go to school and what was your school experience like? Do you still think about grammar school and high school?

Here are the schools I went to in order:  St. Pius X in Towson, St. John in Westminster, East Middle School in Westminster, Delone Catholic High in McSherrystown, PA, Carroll Community College in Westminster, and Towson University. 

I was cripplingly shy throughout my entire school experience.  Plus I had a learning disability so I wasn’t even the “quiet smart kid”.  I was just a waste of oxygen.  By the time High School rolled around though, some of my friends were in honors classes and it became clear that I wasn’t stupid; I just wasn’t a very good student.  Three things saved my life during High School; friends, The Simpsons, and music.

I think about those times less and less these days.  I’ll still have the occasional dream that I’m back in high school though.

I feel like being in bands forces generally shy kids to socialize. Do you feel like music has made an impact on your life in that way? How much of that has to do with the time we grew up in? (where everyone and their cousin had 50 bands each.)

Like I mentioned earlier, I was VERY shy growing up.  I’m still a pretty “shy guy” but I’ve opened up quite a bit.  I accredit that to being in bands and meeting other people outside of my small crew, yet still in my age range.  We all developed a mutual respect for each other that translated into adult life.  This may have been because when you play a show, essentially you are forcing people to pay attention to you for 20 to 30 minutes straight (instead of quietly fading into the background).  After that, you have a certain amount of social currency.  You can walk up to people and immediately have something to talk about (You’re the bassist for the last band right?  You guys ruled!  Do you have any records?  What kind of bass/head/cab is that?  Where are you playing next? Etc.)  In your everyday adult life just do the same thing; pick a topic, ask a question, listen to the answer, joke around, become friends, respect them, enjoy your time together, repeat. 

Do you have any stories regarding the paranormal? Either firsthand or otherwise.

None firsthand.  However Frank Adams (Sounding Rockets, My Sister Kate, Four Letter Theory) grew up in a haunted house.  I did a paper on it once in college.  He told us there were times when you would hear someone call your name from a nearby room, and when you walked into it, no one was there.  One day Frank came home from high school, and was milling around in the kitchen.  He heard his mom upstairs fill the bathtub.  After a while he passed out on the couch and was awakened by the phone ringing.  When he picked it up, his mom was on the other end.  He said “Mom, how are you calling me from upstairs?”  She said “What are you talking about? I’m still at work.”  Frank hung up the phone, turned on the TV, turned the volume up, and waited for her to come home.  Pretty freaky.

Thanks Joe! For info on all the great bands mentioned check out www.wallriderecords.com

Exorcism Number Seven: Joe Steinhardt

Hey everyone. It's been a few weeks! Me and Jeff moved so it has been a little crazy! 

Today we have the amazing Joe Steinhardt. Joe is the awesome weirdo who, along with Zach Gajewski, runs Don Giovanni Records. He also played in a little band called For Science, is the main musical dude behind Modern Hut, and has in general been a huge supporter of the music in our area for years. Most importantly, he used to drunk IM me with almost totally unintelligible nonsense. He has come a long way babies. Enjoy.

You are the co-founder of Don Giovanni Records with Zach. When did you met Zach?

I met Zach a few weeks after starting college at BU and seriously thought he was the biggest loser ever because he had hair that looked like Kramer from Seinfeld and a pin of a pair of sunglasses and whatever.  I kept thinking he was a loser for like 2 months until I found out he was into the Beatnik Termites and Sicko.  When I found that out I was like “dude, we should hang out every day from now on” and we pretty much did. 

What made you go into business with him?

It didn’t really feel like we were going into business together or else probably neither of us would have agreed to do it.  We were in this band called Talk Hard together and originally I was just going to release the 7” myself but then Zach wanted to help for some reason so we figured we would go 50/50 on it and then just divide up the money if it came back.  But then by the time it came back some other friends of mine had asked about us releasing their record and Zach and I figured we would just release those and then divide up the money if it comes back or forget about it if it doesn’t.  That’s still kind of our plan. 

Has the label ever affected your friendship?

I think the label has actually had an incredibly positive affect on our friendship.  I feel like Zach and I are a lot closer because we are sort of forced to keep in touch about the label, but its usually just an excuse to talk about whatever else.  I don’t think we’ve ever had a fight or anything about anything related to the label, or anything else actually unless I’m forgetting something.  Were pretty much always on the same page, and if I bring him an idea he hates, I usually know he’s gonna hate it, and vice versa.

What makes you choose bands to be on your label?

They have to either be a big part of our scene or really want to be a part of it for the most part.  Originally our scene seemed to just mean New Brunswick, NJ but it slowly started to mean Brooklyn, and now it seems like there are bands that feel like they are a big part of our scene that live all over the country.  A lot of what seems to really bring a lot of the bands on our label together is having a similar take on what aspects of playing in bands are bullshit and which are important, mostly guided by DIY values etc.

Have you and Zach ever disagreed on a band's involvement?

Yeah, but never in any serious way where its felt like its gonna be the end of the label/friendship.  Usually its just where one of us feels really strongly and the other feels lukewarm.  For me though, if Zach really likes a band, that’s usually enough of a reason to feel like its important to do, and vice versa, unless its something one of us really really hates in which case we won’t do it.   Its really rare, I feel like Zach and I seem to really be on the same page about stuff that should be on the label and shouldn’t, even though we like lots of different things than each other musically.

Where do you think the label will be in 10 years?

Probably still trying to convince you to let us put out the unreleased Hunchback EP and Ugly On The Outside on vinyl.  Predicting the future is impossible, I was just telling Jarrett yesterday that if you asked me 5 years ago to tell you what DG would be like now I would have said that Stupid Party and Bad Blood would be our flagship bands.  Or that Cheeky and Pregnant would be.  Or who knows? I think the reason the label works so well is because instead of trying to predict and conrol whats gonna happen next we just sort of let it happen and be there to help enable it. 

Do you enjoy playing in bands also?

I do when I’m not singing.

Do you get stage fright?

I get more stage fright in a basement or a small show than on an actual stage since there I can see everyone there and they know me.

If you didn't start Don Giovanni would For Science have been more of a priority for you?

I think there was room for both of them honestly, although if For Science had kept going I would probably be dead by now.

(Personal.)

What was growing up like for you?

It was really weird, but I think it probably is for everyone right? I feel like im also still doing it kinda.  I feel like I learn more about how the world actually works every day.  As a little kid I was really into baseball.  Ironically I think I got into music originally because I desperately wanted to fit in, which is weird because in the long run I don’t think anything alienated me from my peers more.  But originally I wanted to be able to talk about what was on the radio with people in school who always seemed to know more about music than me and thought I was a loser.  When I realized that they still thought I was a loser even after knew who Blind Melon was or what the new Red Hot Chili Peppers single was it didn’t matter because I actually liked the music and it was a good escape from them.

What was you high school experience?

High school was actually really fun because I moved.  There was a really small number of people who liked me in middle school, and I think even they didn’t wanna admit it to other people.  In high school no one seemed to care that I was weird and in fact seemed to think it was cool.  At the same time though, I feel like I was spending as much time as possible either taking the bus to New Brunswick or leaving school to go to Princeton record exchange, so I never really fully embraced high school.  I know its punk to really hate high school, but I honestly didn’t.  I just didn’t really care about it that much either.

What are your parents like?

They are really smart and really weird.  They are really supportive of some things but not others.  I don’t think they liked that I was into music or film or anything like that and really wanted me to be some kind of a scientist.  If I wanted a $200 calculator they would get it for me, but if I wanted a $50 guitar they wouldn’t.  If I wanted a $100 math textbook they would get it for me but if I wanted a $24.98 Mellon Collie 2xCD I had to get the money myself.  So it was weird.  I’m still not honestly sure how they feel about all the stuff I do with the label and bands, but I think they are proud of the other aspects of my life.  They have always also inspired me.  They have an incredible work ethic and both grew up in very hard financial and family situations and got out of them through their hard work and education.  Their drive is also incredibly inspiring. 

Tell us about your bar mitzvah.

Oh god.  It was at this place called Kahunaville.

Tell us about your siblings.

I have 3.  Charlie is my older brother and lives in Japan.  Will is my younger brother and lives in Boston and shares my dark sense of humor.  Cindy is my sister and just started college at Princeton.

Tell us the weirdest conspiracy theory that you actually believe is real and true.

I don’t think any of these are that weird, but for starters, there is no way OJ Simpson killed his wife and Ron Goldman, there is a ton of evidence to the contrary.  I also think Lance Armstrong was set up by big pharma.  Monti Teo’s girlfriend was real, but he had her killed and this whole thing is a cover up.  I also saw Tupac once in New Orleans a few years ago.  Oh, and there is no fucking way that there is a mars rover.  That is actually the craziest thing the government is trying to get us to believe.  Yes, there was a moon landing, but there is no way there is a robot driving around mars right now. 

Did you ever have a paranormal experience? See a ghost? Get abducted by an alien?

I’ve never been abducted but there was once an extraterrestrial in the corner of my bedroom taking notes when I was younger.  I also saw a UFO once.  I’m still waiting to see my first ghost. 

I also talked to God once.

Thanks Joe!

http://dongiovannirecords.com/

Exorcism Number Six: Caroline Rue

Welcome back. Please enjoy this interview with one of my heroes, Caroline Rue - Hole's first drummer. This is actually from 2 years ago and was published in Dragana's fanzine, "Night of the Fandom." I was really honored when Caroline got back to me and it was incredibly amazing to read about her involvement in Hole's beginnings. I will share links at the end to my favorite examples of Caroline's drumming and some video too. Thanks for reading.

You have a unique and super heavy drumming style. Who are some of your influences?

Well, thank you, Miranda. My first lesson was from a teenage girl who wore checkered slip on Van's and a ponytail, popping gum. She was classically trained and loved John Bonham. Very heavy foot. That aspect of Bonham I really like. DJ Bonebrake (X), Keith Moon, Stewart Copeland, Rat Scabies (The Damned) for his intensity and the way he would ride the crash to make a driving sizzle sound, Earl Palmer and Hal Blaine for that swinging motown feel. Budgie's (Creatures) work on the Slits album was so inspiring. Todd Barnes from TSOL. I used to watch their practices and wish I could do fills like him.

Were there any drummers before you in hole? How do you feel about the drummers that came after you?

No, I was the first one. The others were Patty and Samantha. I like Patty personally. She's got great style. She told me they made her play some things the way I did, specifically riding the crash for that driving sizzle sound. I never met Samantha but think she's really an amazing player and a great performer.

The evolution of Hole's sound is, in my opinion, extreme. What do you think contributed to the sound/style changes over the years?

Well, first off, Courtney and I were the least skilled musicians and needed time to catch up with Jill and Eric. We hung out, listened to records, and they turned me on to the Pixies, which I had only seen the MTV video for "Here Comes Your Man." We became better players, so we were starting to refine our tool to do what we were intending.

What was the songwriting process like in hole?

It varied. Usually music was written by Eric or Courtney at home, but more often than not it started as a spontaneous noise or strumming between songs or I would start with a drumbeat and Eric would follow it and choose some chords (Dicknail started that way). It allowed me to tap into some very primal experiences and exorcise them. The way we worked was someone just accidentally or intentionally find something and we all put our interpretation in and it went from there. Very organic. Courtney wrote all lyrics. For me, they were so visual and my response to them was pre-verbal, kinda caveman-ish. She was very inspiring and a very hard worker.

What makes a band powerful- both live and in the studio?

Yeah, those are different approaches. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. They both require a  deconstructing of the songs. In the studio on our first single, we started bringing in phone conversations, very lo-fi tape recordings morphing into guitar noise or bits of popular songs-- things not meant to be reproduced live. To play live you need stamina and self control, don't sit down at practice! Stand UP! Play through your set repeatedly, make notes to weaknesses. Record practices, listen back and take notes to improve it next chance, like an athlete that watches playbacks of your last game. For live shows, bring everything you've got to the table, even rage. Courtney discovered I played better when angry so she'd find new ways to piss me off before we went on. Don't apologize on stage. EVER. Umm, did I mention PRACTICE?

What bands have you been a part of in your career and what are your favorite musical collaborations?

I joined my first band in 1981 in OC. It was called Sexually Frustrated. I then joined IUD-- all female 4 piece with identical twin, dare I say, borderline midgets. They were rad. We played Camarillo State Hospital with the Omlits, who I joined later that year. We played out a lot in Hollywood and OC, and oddly mental hospitals and men's and women's prisons around L.A. We recorded on Mystic Records comp called "The Sound of Hollywood Girls", Bitchcraft with Rebecca from Frightwig, Travis John Alford, Tiffany Anders in Hot White Noon, Mocket from Olympia on K Records, Echolocate with Mary from Mars Accelerator and The Darklings.

My favorite collaboration was with Hole in the very beginning followed by the Omlits. Another collaboration I really felt a big part of was with Mary in Echolocate. It was guitar and drums. No vocals. I learned a lot about arranging and "making suggestions." My current, band, The Darklings has a violin player, bass, guitar, drums and vocals. They're really passionate about the arranging process, and they give my suggestions a lot of respect and consideration and I'm learning a lot about violins!

And lastly... who are some of your favorite current bands?

The Duke Spirit, White Rose Movement, Cat Power, Elliott Smith, Modest Mouse, Octant, Band of Horses, Beck, Ikara Colt, Sebadoh, CSS.


Thank you so much Caroline!

Here are some links.

Turpentine. (The best Hole song.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbfHrjBAuFA 
Burn Black. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9RZ5qM-Wyc
Live Dicknail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwbtn_h6TP8

Exorcism Number Five: Jarrett Dougherty

HEY. Here's another one. This interview is with Jarrett Dougherty from the Screaming Females. (He's the drummer.) And a nice guy for finding time to answer my questions! Weirdly, I know very little about the Screaming Females and their members. I had fun reading these answers.
 Hope you do too!

How long have you been playing the drums and how did you learn?

2013 is my 20th anniversary of playing drums. I started taking percussion lessons at 9 years of age. I had a fabulous teacher who was a percussionist with the NJ Symphony and now is a director over there. I took lessons with him for 9 years although we actually focused very little on drumset. I learned a whole world of percussion instruments while studying with him. He was a master of mallet instruments and frame drums.

Did you ever take up any other instrument?

I always tell people that learning percussion as opposed to just drumset is like learning a 1000 instruments. Granted, it is easier to master a cowbell than it is a violin but most people don't realize that there are about 1000 ways to play a tambourine. I played alto sax in middle school and trombone in jazz band in high school.

Who are some of your drum idols? Why are they important to you?

The drummers who most influenced me would have to be Brad Wilk of Rage Against The Machine, Billy Martin of Medeski Martin & Wood, Questlove of The Roots, Brendan Canty of Fugazi, and Dave Grohl of Nirvana/Foo Fighters. I was also very influenced by hip hop producers, especially people like RZA, DJ Shadow, and DJ Primer. The thing I have always loved most about drumming is the groove. I find most drummers to be annoying to listen to. Most drummers play too many notes and do too many fills. I often rather listen to a "bad" drummer play than a "good" drummer because the "bad" drummer often supports the song better. Subtle changes in a hi-hat, kick, snare based rhythm are much more interesting to me than flashy fills. All the drummers and producers I mentioned above are known for creating distinctive beats that are an integral piece of the songs they are playing with.

Talk about your recording process and the preparation that goes into it. What are some of your favorite records as afar as drum sound is concerned?

For Screaming Females we always record guitar, bass, and drums together live. That means that we really have to understand each other's parts before we hit the studio because we can't really change things once we get there. Mike and Marissa both play very melodic and rhythmic lines. This means that I often can't just play a straight ahead rock beat and need to figure out exactly which notes they are accenting and create a beat around that. Also, I have a pretty good ear for rhythm and will often pick out trouble spots in riffs or songs. I can identify that something isn't matching up quite right. I will analyze each part. Sometimes I go so far as to write down the rhythms of the guitar, bass, and drums and line them up. That way I can visually identify exactly how the rhythms are interacting. 9 times out of 10 if something feels weird to me and I go through this process I will find one beat where one of us is accenting something slightly differently. Doing all that makes for really solid rhythms and distinct grooves. It all makes recording easier.

My favorite drum sound is on Rage Against The Machine's Evil Empire. The drums sound so tight without just being clicky noises. I hate drums that don't have body and tone (except for Lars, that is just his thing). I also love the drum sound on Pixies' Surfer Rosa and Weezer's Pinkerton. 

In my opinion, you approach the drums very academically. Has this approach always come naturally to you or was there an evolution over time?

As I said earlier, I am a classically trained percussionist. So I can read, write, and understand rhythms very well. But calling it academic makes it sound stuffy. I am going for the exact opposite of that. I want groove. It was the way I was taught to think about music so it is very natural.

How did the Screaming Females get together?

That's boring! Google it. Ha. Via a project my friends put together to get money from Rutgers U to put out CDs, I came into contact with Marissa's music. The only CD that the music label club put out had a song from Noun and Surgery On TV (which Mike was also in). I asked Marissa to hang out and she asked me to join the band. We changed our name to Screaming Females and the rest is history.

Did you always have specific goals set as to how far you wanted to go musically and professionally?

We very specifically have never had any musical goals. The only goal was to do what felt right. As far as "professionally" I would say that I had a very specific goal of releasing a real album. I had known some great bands that only released CD-Rs. It seemed to me that they didn't value what they were doing enough to make a lasting document of it. So in that way Baby Teeth is probably still my greatest personal achievement. I dreamed of being able to play music professionally right from the beginning. I thought that if I put all my focus into the band that I could make it work without needing to sell songs to ads or have a bullshit manager telling us what to do. I thought it was a very cool project to undertake and a place for me to focus at a point in my life when I was otherwise completely lost. SF was my full time profession from fall 2008 until fall 2012. I am now having to figure out what it means to be in a band that isn't a full time job anymore.

You seem to be the organizer of the group. How much time and effort goes into the band on a daily basis and how much has that changed over the years?

From about 2007 through 2012, I did all the emailing, phone calls, paperwork, and finances. I also took care of or was intimately involved with planning all our recording sessions, releases, and touring. From 2008-2012 I would spend about 5-7 hours doing band work most days. Some days there would be no work and other times I would spend 10 hours a day for weeks straight filling out and emailing paperwork. I enjoyed being involved in that way and learned a whole lot by making a bunch of mistakes.

I have stepped back from that role now. Mike and Marissa are handling all the managing duties now. I have had to get a full time job recently and have other projects I am focusing my time on. Mike has more time available to devote to managing the band's affairs and he definitely knows what he is doing.

Was there a moment where you realized that the band had gone from one level to the next in terms of music and fans?

Not really. Opening for The Dead Weather in summer of 2009 was the first time we had been on a stage playing for 1000s of people so that was definitely a milestone. Putting out Power Move with Don Giovanni Records was a big milestone because we were super reluctant to give up any control. It was a good thing we did because it was the first time that we realized that there could be people other than the three of us who had something important to contribute to Screaming Females.

Kind of going with the above question, how important is it that you still are able to go back and play a basement in New Brunswick or wherever?

We have always just wanted to play shows in spaces where the people there cared about what was happening. We want to have the best show possible and put on the best show possible for the people who show up. That type of show doesn't happen in any one particular type of space. Keeping our operation small but on a high and professional level allows us to be versatile. We can get up and play a festival to 6000+ people because we have learned how to do that (while the rest of the bands at those types of shows have crews and buses and shit) but than we can also go and play a great DIY show because our operation is small enough to work in that type of setting too. Being on tour with Ted Leo and Rx really showed me how that is a real possibility. They tour in a van with just the band and one sound man. And I have watched them roll into 1000+ person sold out shows and also into 60+ person DIY shows. 

What is your family like and what was your childhood like? Do you have siblings? What do/did your parents do for a living?

My family is great. I grew up in Montclair, NJ until I was 12. It is a very progressive town with a very diverse population along many lines. I grew up on the border of the "bad" side of town across the street from two abandoned houses. My parents bought that house in foreclosure and spent the next 20 years trying to fix it. I went to one of the few public Montessori schools in the country and was involved in an Orff music program there. It definitely shaped me to grow up in that environment. Then we moved to Pequannock, NJ. Pequannock is a small town full of banks, churches, and split-level homes. There was a lot of racism, homophobia, backyard keggers, and friday night high school football games. I didn't fit in and didn't care to. I was made fun of pretty badly. I left for college and never looked back.

I have a brother who is 12 years younger than myself. My mom is a music therapist and was a long time union leader for AFSCME in North Jersey. My dad was a semi-professional singer-songwriter, a wildlife removal specialist, a music teacher, and a professional sound technician for national and international television. They are both sort of retired but the economic disaster of the last 5 years has made a full retirement pretty much impossible.

Did you always want to play the drums or did you also want to be a hand model or a gym teacher too?

When I was younger I wanted to be a comic book artist. When I started taking drum lessons I stopped drawing. 

What other jobs have you had?

I worked sound for weddings at a church in my town. I worked at a deli (got fired). I worked in a cafe in New York City. I worked on an Organic farm. I worked in the dinning hall at Rutgers. I worked for a year at Starbucks. I worked in a university bookstore. I have done mystery shopping. I have written complete bullshit useless articles about crap for blogs. Probably some other stuff. Most recently I worked at one of the world's most high-end furniture manufacturers in the upholstery department (got laid off after 3 weeks because of Sandy). Currently I work a few days a week in a small kitchen for a cafe and a few days a week as a barista.

Do you have any ghost stories?

A friend of mine lived at a very strange house in New Brunswick, NJ. It was set back from the street but once you noticed it was there, you couldn't help but remark at how different it was from all the other houses in the neighborhood. It didn't match the rest of the city. I can only imagine that it was owned by the last family that wouldn't sell to the new developers who rebuilt the city some time in the early 1900s. It was all red brick with a red brick path to the front door and a red brick patio in the back yard. My friend filled a vacant room in the house and didn't know the other roommates very well. Not long after moving in he began to notice strange things. Every time he would come home his food would be moved around in the kitchen. At first he wanted to blame his new roommates but figured it wasn't worth bringing up. Then he started to notice what he could only describe as whispers when no one else was home. Finally one day he was home alone and distinctly heard the bell noise of the toaster oven being opened. He walked into the kitchen and found that the toaster oven had been opened even though no one was there! At this point he couldn't take it any longer. He got up the guts to mention it to one of the other house mates who replied by saying that he had been thinking the same thing but was too scared to mention it to anyone else!!! My friend stopped sleeping at the house. One day when the land lord stopped by my friend decided that he didn't care if he sounded crazy. He straight up said "I think there is a ghost in the house." To which the land lord replied "Oh, I know." He proceeded to tell him that when he had bought the house a year before that it had been empty for 20 years. He said that the legend goes that a infamous New Brunswick drug dealer had died of an OD in the house in the 60s. After that no one had lived in the house for more than 6 months. That young professors with full time appointments to the university had quit and left town after only a month or two of living in the house. After a few years of this the house had just stayed empty until the new landlord bought the house the year before my friend moved in. Upon hearing the story my friend decided that it all made sense, that the ghost wasn't trying to scare him. The ghost just didn't realize he was dead. He was high in the kitchen trying to make himself some munchies.

Thanks Jarrett. For more info about the Screaming Females GOOGLE IT. Hi-YO!

Exorcism Number Four: Mike Yannich

Well, here we are again. You certainly are gluttonous in the punishment department! (How is reading these mild-mannered interviews considered punishment you may ask? I don't know! I thought that was a funny sentence. End of story.)

This interview is with Mike Yannich whose drumming, singing, and songwriting are all awesome. I met Mike back in 2004. He played drums and sang in a band called the Ergs, and I played drums and sang in a band called Hunchback. Shortly after meeting, our two bands made an unspoken (yet oddly indestructible) agreement to play together in basements almost nonstop for the next 2 years approximately. 

In the time that I've known him, Mike has been relentless in his enthusiasm and dedication to making and playing music. He is someone who actually has a pinpoint-able "style" in so much as, when I do something that reminds me of either his singing or drumming I say: "Oh that was so Mike Ergian!"

 

ENJOY!

 

At what age did you start playing the drums? Did you have lessons or were you self taught?

I've been playing in some form for honestly as long as I can remember. My mom definitely went through a lot of broken wooden spoons and nicked up dressers and stuff. My father owned a recording studio and there was always a kit set up there so whenever I had the opportunity I would go there and bang on the drums all day. There's video somewhere of me at 6 years old "jamming" with one of the members of my dad's band on a Beatles song and I was pretty passable even then I think. I also played drums in a school concert when I was in fourth grade. That was the first time I played in front of a group of people and it was honestly the most nerve wracking thing I've ever done. So yeah, I'm self taught. Pretty much just played every opportunity I could until it sounded halfway decent.

Who are some of your favorite drummers and how have they influenced your style of playing? How has your playing evolved over the years?

My first influence was Ringo Starr. My favorite band of all time has to be The Beatles. Mom says my first words were "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" and I've definitely been listening to them pretty much from the day I was born. I think because of him I never really had the urge to be super flashy. Just tasteful with a concentration on time keeping. It always impressed me that Beatles songs were edited together from 3 or 4 different takes from over an 8 hour session. If thats not solid timing I don't know what is. As I got older I got more into heavy rock and metal and Bonham became my idol. I also really loved a lot of what I heard Lars Ulrich do. I'm very into when a drummer has a unique style that lets you know they're self taught. Of course,  when Nevermind came around I worshipped Dave Grohl. I convinced my dad to get me a TAMA kit and immediately did away with the extraneous rack tom, got a couple Zildjian crash rides 'cause that's what I'd seen him play on MTV and just tried to hit as hard as humanly possible. Later once I started getting into punk/indie rock I took from various different people, George Hurley from the Minutemen, Bill Stevenson obviously, Terry Chambers from XTC, Pete Thomas from Elvis Costello & The Attractions. All those dudes are pretty mind blowing in their own way. 

When did you start singing and playing drums simultaneously? Talk about learning how to do that successfully!

Hmm...It's hard to say when I started. I've kinda just always done it here and there. Before the Ergs were The Ergs we played under the name The Flatliners and I played guitar and sang. At one of our last shows the drummer didnt show so I just ended up playing that show on drums which eventually lead to The Ergs. It was out of necessity 'cause any time we tried to find a drummer so I could get up front and sing it never worked out. I've never found it all that difficult though. Probably cause, at least in the case of The Ergs, I usually found myself playing along to my own vocal melody which added a certain something to the part and made it easier to do as a whole. Plus no matter who I'm playing with I'm usually singing along while playing anyway so I guess it just comes naturally.

How do you feel about the process of recording drums? Any particular records have favorite drum sounds for you? 

Recording is pretty rough sometimes. Especially when you're going to tape. Like I HAVE to get a perfect take or else the whole thing is fucked, you know? I like to try to get the keeper performance on the first or second try though because the longer you go at it  the less feeling the take has. Usually even if there's a slight fuck up I'll keep an earlier take just cause the feeling is there. As for favorite drum sounds, Albini is probably king. When I first put In Utero in the cd player the day it came out I was absolutely floored by the drum sound. I also love the drums on Weezer's Pinkerton. The opening of Tired Of Sex might be the greatest moment in recorded sound. Zeppelins drum sounds were always great. I LOVE the sound of Bill Bruford's drums to the point where I find Yes's stuff after he left completely unlistenable.

As much as I may detest "gear" talk, do you have any revelations you might wanna share as far as what works (gear-wise) and what doesn't? Heads, cymbals, tuning etc? Do you have a "dream" drum kit? 

I pretty much swear by Remo Powerstroke 3 Heads for Kick and Snare. I also really love Zildjan Projection rides and crashes. My two favorite things I own though are my Pork Pie Acrylic 7x13" snare and my Paiste Giant Beat 24" ride. That ride is loud as hell and nice and splashy. I actually used it as a crash in the final few months of The Ergs. It's since cracked sadly so I need to work on getting a new one. I love the kit I have now, an old Ludwig that dates from the 70's (excluding the floor tom which is from the 60's), but my dream kit would be a Ludwig Vistalite with ridiculous dimensions (26" kick, 14" rack, 16", and 18" floor!). 

When did you start picking up other instruments and was it mainly to aide in songwriting? Did you want to play guitar/bass in a band also? 

I started playing guitar when I was around 12 or so I think. I'd started lessons when I was like 8 but I hated it and gave up really quickly. One night I was lonely and bored and decided to teach myself every song in the Beatles song book I had. I stayed up all night learning the chords and playing these Beatles songs. I'm pretty sure I'd already learned what the notes of the frets were so then all I had to do was practice getting from one power chord to another and I could play punk. haha. I listened to an Elvis Costello interview where he said that he only cared to know enough guitar to accompany himself so I figured that was good enough for me too. At that point I really had no intention of writing songs...just 'cause I kinda didn't think I could. I think the first songs I wrote were a good 3 or 4 years later.

What songwriters have influenced you the most over the years? Any songs that, when you heard them, changed how you thought about the writing process-either lyrically or musically?

Well definitely Elvis Costello and John Lennon Lyrically. Andy Partridge too. I absolutely LOVE their use of clever word play in lyrics. I also grew up on Tamla/Motown and 50's and 60's soul so I think that's where I developed my love for the love song. I think it was when I heard Pinkerton though that I really decided how I wanted to write. I had really never heard songs like that before. All of the love songs I'd heard previously sounded, like, so matter of fact. like "yeah yeah, sure I love you, yeah) but Rivers was just fucking POURING his heart out and I was like "THAT'S what I need to do.". 

When you're writing a song, how consciously do you try and balance catchiness and originality? (Meaning like, it has to sound like nothing else, but it also cant be so far out there that no one will listen to it.) How much of the catchiness/originality ratio has to do with lyrics? 

It's tough. The kind of songs I write aren't terribly original to begin with. Everybody can write a love song. I just try to come up with a different perspective on it. A new way to describe something we can all relate to. Catchiness is definitely key. There's so much out there so you have to try and make the songs memorable. I find that my catchiest/most popular songs are the ones that I've written essentially in one sitting. Basically in the time it took to play the thing it was written. Miles Davis, Everything Falls Apart, Pray for Rain...they were all pretty much written that way. So I kinda just make sure if something comes out of me like that to get it down asap before I forget it. 

OTHER STUFF

Going into as much detail with which you are comfortable, what was your childhood like and what kind of influence, if any, did your parents have on you musically? Did they support your musical interest then and how do they feel about it now?

My childhood was pretty great in musical terms. Early on my parents and grandparents would pretty much buy me whatever albums I wanted. I was definitely requesting records at 3 or 4 years old. I was also taken to see Michael Jackson/The Jacksons on Victory/Thriller tour in 1984. My dad gave me most of his records and He showed me so much music when I was a kid and I'm very grateful for that. He opened me up to Jazz, funk and soul at a very young age. He also got me my first drums and guitars so I was very lucky in that way. I think it was pretty evident early on that I had absolutely no interest in anything else but music. Now I think they're pretty happy for me that music has enabled me to travel all over the world. I know that my mom is pretty jealous of the trips to Europe and Australia. haha. 

Besides being a source of income, what motivates you to keep playing, performing, and recording?

It's just in my blood. Part of the reason I play with so many people is I kind of just want to be doing it all the time. I've met pretty much every single one of my friends through music. I get to travel, I've gotten to meet many of my heroes. There'd really nothing else I'd rather do. Also I don't know how to do anything else! 

Ghost stories. Spill em. (If you got 'em.)

I got none!

Thanks Mike! 

Here are links:

mikeyerg.bandcamp.com.

mikeyerg.tumblr.com