interview with Buildings
What´s the name of your band? Buildings
How was the band formed? Brian and Travis met at a show I believe. I saw on myspace actually, that Brian liked the band These Arms Are Snakes and I asked him he wanted to start something. Our first "practice" we honestly just played TAAS songs...lame.
Can you tell about your band? We're all 3 pretty laid back. Watch stupid movies, drink too much, we're very midwestern.
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? Brian (singer/Guitar) is from North Carolina Joe (bass) is from a suburb of minneapolis Travis(drums) is also from a suburb of minneapolis
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? We didnt really set any goals I dont think. Just to play shows and honestly, write songs we were really into. Personally, I wanted to record a full length record that actually sounded good, which happened.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? I usually have a hard time explaining our band. I told my aunt that its a rip off of everything I like and that she would have no idea who any of these bands were.
Where was your first gig? I think it was at Big V's in St. Paul
Where was the latest gig? An art gallery.
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? We all write the songs together. Someone usually has an idea or just starts playing something at rehearsal. Brian writes the lyrics and once he does that, depending on what he comes up with it can change the pattern/structure of the song and then we finalize it.
Who has the best since of humor in the band? We're all moody morons, it depends on the day really.
What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? Really, everything is good AND bad with our band. As much as I hate the word, I would say we're a punk band, just cuz we do what we want.
Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? Its what we know and its all completely natural, these songs really just come out. Its simple. Most of our songs are about frustrations, emotions and hate. I think thats pretty spot on.
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? Our own material. We cover a Nomeansno song every now and then.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? We have 2 full lengths "Braille Animal" and "Melt Cry Sleep" An out of print ep. 2 split 7"s one with ATL based bad asses Hawks and one with the beautiful french lads Made in Canada. And a 10" "It Doesn't Matter"
Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yeah, theres a crap ton covering the last 9 years.
How old are you?/What got you started in music? I'm 30. I started playing drums when i was 14, basically because my 2 buddies already played guitar and bass. I just did it and it came to me naturally and it was super easy, didnt even try, still dont.
At what age did you start playing? 14, man!
How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? 16 maybe, around there.
What year was the band started? 2006
Best/worst gig you've played? Best-somewhere in EU, our Paris show immediately comes to mind. Worst-too many to count, one that comes to mind was in Delaware, uff.
What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? Chicago and here in minneapolis
What has been the best/most promising gig so far? We played at Firs Avenue here in town, thats a venue we never thought we'd play.
Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? Europe was huge and amazing, also something we never thought we'd do.
How big crowds do you usually play for? 10-300
What are the plans for the rest of the year? Play a couple more shows and finish writing new jams for a new record.
Where do you usually play? Bars around town. How do you get psyched up for a gig? A shot and a beer. What are your goals with your music? Write songs we dig and put them out for the people to hear.
When did you decide to go all in for the music? Right outta the womb.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? Its a pretty fair mix of both. Probably more relevent with modern-ish bands.
What are your sources of inspiration? Well, for me I get motivated through frustrations and hate toward everyday life. That sounds a lot worse than I mean it to.
What's the first step when making a new song? A riff or drum beat is how every song starts.
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? I dont mind at all. I download music every day and if i love it I buy it, if i hate it, i delete it.
What would be your dreams for the band? I'd like to keep taking things to a new level, we'll see how life treats us, eh?!
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Everything, literally everything. Rap-pop, classics-country, noise-post everything.
What do you hold most dear? My nice, supportive friends.
What would be your greatest fears for the future? My car dying and a shortage of beef jerky
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? No water
Have you been part of any other projects? Oh yes, we all have been. Have you been in any other bands? You betchya!
What would you do if there was no music? Its hard to say, if there wasnt music to get into when i was a kid getting into it, who the fuck knows what i would be doing. Nothing, or maybe id be more motivated to actually do something,
How important are your fans? Very important, we aim to please...after we please ourselves.
What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? Fed us, got us drunk, massage my hands.
How often do you rehearse? Twice a week.
Where do you rehearse? A shithole practice space in town.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? New songs "Who is This?" and "Neck"
What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? The Jesus Lizard, duh.
What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? I suppose love for the music. I really just love playing drums, I dont take it too seriously its just actually fun to bang the hell out of em.
Do you have any webpages? A label page and a facebook page.
Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Dont take yourself too serious, be modest, have fun, tune your fucking guitars.
Describe your show, visually and musically Loud, sweaty, manish
How do you view the musicindurty of today? Its horse shit.
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Putting out good sounding records, that or getting along. What is best/worst with playing the clubs? Terrible manage is the worst. The best is when theres a great sound system and of course, free beers.
Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? Buncha new songs and supporting great touring bands.
What is your favorite crappy instrument? kazoo baby.
What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? Fighting/losing our bass player in Europe, actually we didntt really care about that, just fighting in a foreign beautiful land, we were lucky to be there and we were fighting, lame!
Whats your Pre-show ritual? Beers, farts, stretching.
Do you have anything to add?We love you!
