What makes your music stand out from other acts? Can you tell us 3 things
about yourself that people might not already know?
What stands out: People seem to notice the lyrics and I hope my honest voice stands
out. I do my best to sing my guts out, but I don’t pitch correct anything. If I am a bit flat
or there is something rattling around in my throat, you will hear it.
Three things people might not already know:
1) I make a living rigging in concerts and film/tv
2) I’m answering these questions lying in a hammock (in a boom lift) about 40’ in the air
right now. Cameras are rolling underneath me.
3) I have a 24 year old son who plays drums better than I can.
You played in the Doughboys. Was that an exciting experience? How did it
influence your life and your music career?
Absolutely! In the early days, you never knew what was going to happen:
From Scott (McCullough) and Bond Head doing aerial body checks in front of
me, to John (Kastner) leaping off my bass drum and getting microphones in his
teeth, playing in the Doughboys was always exciting! That experience taught me that what I had to say was important, and worth saying, regardless of the consequences. It also taught me that being a part of something bigger than yourself is a rare and valuable gift.
The Doughboys were part of a wave of music that was closely associated with
the skateboarding world. Were you involved in that world too?
I was. I had a quarter pipe in front of my house when I was a kid. We used to
charge down the street into it as fast as we could because none of us knew how to
pump transition. I tried imitating Bobby Valdez handplants on that ramp.
Jonathan (Cummins) and I skated to band practice often. I have fond memories of
almost losing my deck into the water, the first time I skated a drainage ditch in Houston
on our second tour. I still live down the street from the Hastings Skatepark, although I
haven’t dropped into the 4’ in a couple of years.
Who are your inspirations in life and in music?
Bill Stevenson is a huge inspiration for me. He’s survived so many things that
should have killed him and is just smiling from ear to ear every moment that he is
playing. That is how I want to live. Bob Mould obviously, and Paul Westerberg from a songwriting standpoint…
Where are your favorite gig venues and festivals on your bucket list? What is
your best memory at a gig as a music artist and as a fan?
Honestly, I really love playing places that are packed and hot and sweaty. We
(Slip-on’s) did this thing at Bully’s a couple months ago. The place has a cap of
maybe 80 people but it felt just like Blondie’s in Detroit in the middle of summer.
First Avenue/7th street entry holds a certain mystique for me because of how
big an influence all the MPLS bands were. I’d love to play punk rock bowling, or
Destination Chaos, and honestly it would be super cool to get back and play all
the places in the US that I haven’t been to in ages… Seeing the Replacements
(Paul and Tommy) reunion at Bumbershoot was pretty special for me as a fan.
Tell us about your solo project. How did this come about, and how would you
describe it?
This latest incarnation of the solo project came out of sessions I did with Bond
Head and Jonathan in like 2011. We had just done those Doughboys reunion
shows and Howard (Bilerman) was helping me record some ideas at
Hotel2Tango. He handed me the keys after we’d tracked Hurrah Hooray and
said, “take these and write something new for tomorrow.” So I spent a good
chunk of the night there and came up with what is now Anemic Heart. I’d kind of
always figured I’d do these songs with a band so I just kind of sat on them.
After the whole cancer thing, I decided I can’t afford to wait so I’d better get my
shit together and start putting stuff out.
Tell us about Vancouver. How is the scene? Is it a good place to be a musician?
Vancouver has always been a bit tricky for live shows. You certainly wouldn’t tell
someone to move here to further their musical career (although SNFU did just
that, kind of). Some of the venues are in the DTES and there are people that will
not come to that part of town on purpose, even for a touring band. That said,
there are some excellent bands here (the Early Onset Records bands, for
example) and some super passionate people that keep coming back to support
their favorites.
What is coming next for you? Plans to record and release music? Tour?
The next thing is to get the Slip-on’s EP out. Dave Ogilvie has finished mixing it
and I just need to complete the graphics and get the mastering and
manufacturing in motion. There will be a digital single or two with a pre-order for
the 12” EP. At this point, it looks like that will also be on Scamindy.
There’s a couple more songs from that H2T session with Howard to mine, but if
all goes well, the EP, Heavy Machinery, will be out in the summer and we will start
supporting it live. I’ve also started playing drums a bit with James Farwell (Bison) and we may
write something new together as well.
Your bio tells us about a health scare that inspired your new release. How did
that affect the way you write music or change your perspective on life?
I touched on that a bit already, but yeah, I basically took a look at my recorded
output and decided that I was not at all satisfied with what I was leaving behind,
if my life ended tomorrow. I’ve always been sort of a perfectionist, or maybe I
was blocked creatively for a while. It was a wakeup call. I don’t think
I’ll be on my death bed wishing I’d taken more weekend overtime work, you
know? Pitter Patter!
Any shout outs to bands or musicians you think we should check out?
Well, as I mentioned, the Early Onset bands are doing some cool stuff right now. Aanthems,
Dead End Drive In, etc. Richard Duguay (formerly of personality crisis) is a good buddy of mine and his new solo LP promises to be rad.
Slips are playing with dead bars (from Seattle) and Jon Snodgrass (and his buddies) ina couple weeks with Dan Garrison from the corps opening-he has a really great voice.
Jonathan (Cummins’s) new band the Low Sixes are awesome, and if you haven’t heard
Ian Blurton’s Future Now, that is an absolute must!
