(photo: Alex Thomas)



Band: The Terrible Airplane

The Mic: What got this band together and started in this business?

Mark: Well, we're brothers, and we have always talked about starting a band. When life had its way, we decided to conceptualize a musical project, and here we are today.

Todd: We both have a lot of the same musical interests, and look for the same things (mainly originality) when listening to, and writing music. Mark and I think so much alike musically, we hardly ever disagree on an idea. I guess you could say that convenience got this band started. That and the need for artistic expression.

The Mic: Who writes and produces all the material for the band?

Mark: It is a totally collaborative effort. I usually write a bunch of guitar riffs, and take them to Todd. In the basement, we arrange those riffs with new ideas we come up with on the spot, and turn out a song or two. We have no set formula for writing. Sometimes a new song takes 2 hours to write, sometimes it takes over a year.

Todd: Yep. Pretty much like that.

The Mic: The band played in front of or with any acts our readers would know from the Mainstream?

Mark: Mainstream? No. But we have played with some cool independent/underground bands you and your readers should take time to know. They include: Dysrhythmia (New York), Juan Prophet Organization (Portland, OR), Clatter (Columbus, MO), Turdus Musicus (Tromso, Norway), Battlefields (Minnesota), AmenRa (Belgium), Samothrace (Seattle, formerly Lawrence, KS), Big Knife (Lawrence), Sleeping In The Aviary (Madison, WI) Troglodite (St. Louis, MO), Blood of Me (KCMO), Daleria (Lawrence, KS), Killing California (California), Sea of Bones (Connecticut), Go Motion (Omaha, NE), The Seas (Austin, TX) and cool local bands: Dead Commuter, Continent of Ash, The Shingles, David Hasselhoff on Acid, Blood In The Wire, No Romance In Russia, Wrath and Ruin, Noise Complaint, Schumann's Resonance...

Todd: Don't forget about Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire (Denver, CO), Canyons (Marshall, MO) and locals: Nursing Home Panty Raid, She's Dead Jim, Death 2 Nancy...

The Mic: Where can people access your music on the web?

Our main page:
Myspace.com/theterribleairplane


Our second page (more songs/videos):
Myspace.com/terribletheairplane


Our YouTube:
Youtube.com/theterribleairplane

(We are currently working on a Facebook profile, so friend us on Myspace to find out when that is fully operational.)


The Mic: Any embarrassing moments on stage?

Mark: Other than dropping out of a song due to personal retardation, or bad monitor mixes, not really. We have both been on stage so much, embarrassment is not really an issue anymore.


Todd: We played in dresses once at a Halloween show in Lawrence (KS). It was outdoors and kinda' chilly, but not embarrassing. Doing "embarrassing" things kinda' fuels the energy of our live performance. As far as messing up goes, well, isn't that what live music is all about?

The Mic: Any good stories you want to tell us?

Mark: We have had the honor of playing with some of the most randomly cool bands in the world, and there are so many cool stories it is difficult to come up with just one. Drunken idiocy, crazy stage antics, getting unplugged at Kirby's, engineer students from India dancing on the tables—all a typical night with The Terrible Airplane.

Todd: During one gig at Kirby's Beer Store (Wichita, KS) some cops were busting up a "disturbance" outside, and we were inside heckling them from stage as they did it. The cool thing is, they were outside heckling us at the same time--someone asked them for some Tylenol for their bruised hand, and the cop replied they would more likely need it because of the music!

The Mic: Who is the bands musical influence?

Mark: Well, the bands people say TTA most sound like are Melvins, Neurosis, System of a Down, Tool, Meshuggah, Clutch, and Mastadon. Some have gone so far as to say we sound like Metallica, if Metallica were a palm tree, and we have also been likened to The Doors on acid. Personally, I am a sucker for Minus The Bear, and just discovered The Dismemberment Plan. I regularly dabble in Doom/Grind/Metal/Noisecore genres, and recently had the opportunity to see Secret Chiefs 3 live! The band is not really patterned after any single influence, though.

Todd: I think that we are influenced more by what's going on around us than by music. Obviously the musics we are constantly exposing ourselves to bleed through in the final product, but I'm focusing more on color and symmetry when I'm writing music with Mark.

The Mic: How did the band get together?

Mark: We started living together after Todd moved to the 'ta after high school. We spent a couple years working day jobs, bought instruments, and wrote some songs. A few years later, we are still working day jobs, but now play shows, sell an EP, and plan for the future as a band.

Todd: It seemed like the obvious thing to do. We didn't even have to worry about auditions.

The Mic: What is your musical background like?

Mark: I have been 'vocalizing' since the age of 17, and played the trumpet until the 8th grade. I picked up the guitar around 24. Back in the nineties, I was in a Wichita band called Mut, and after that, the improvisational funk-jazz/noise combo The Big Insult: Legendary.

Todd: Well, I also played trumpet, but changed to euphonium in the 7th grade. I played it through high school and some college. Along the way I picked up drums and percussion, bass, guitar, keyboards, I've had voice training, and have studied music theory for many years. I've been composing scores since high school and have a solo project called Foster In Law (myspace.com/fosterinlaw). Music is my only background.

The Mic: Any other members in your family that are musicians?

Mark: Mom Dad both play piano and sing; three uncles played guitar and/or bass; one cousin plays the bass now, and I think another plays drums.

Todd: Yep.

The Mic: What is the TOP reason why you want to play music?

Mark: You know, my reasons for wanting to play music have changed through the years. I guess now the top reason with TTA is to see how far we can go with our songwriting, and touring. All the peripheral rock star reasons have given way to focus more on artistic expression, and creative vision. I have been involved with music for so long, it would be difficult to stop.

Todd: Yea. I don't think we have a choice but to play music. It's the only thing we do that we like doing. I don't think that I'd be able to artistically express enough if my career was a dayjob. I can't stop being a musician. Luckily I don't want to stop.

The Mic: What's your stance on file swapping?

Mark: It is a great way to get your name out. We have no real problems with it, and we do it too. Everyone does. I just think it should be up to the consumer to make an effort to support the artists they like any way they can. If you rip a CD from the internet, buy a t-shirt, or go see the band live. And as a general rule, if you see an independent band at a club, give them a couple bucks for gas, even if you don't like them enough to buy a shirt or CD. It is a difficult world for the independent musician now, and it is up to us as consumers to provide a community of support for everyone committed enough to go on the road.

Todd: People need to go out and see bands and bootleg them all. Audio, video, it doesn't matter. Record them and give it away. Make more people want to go see those bands and record more bootlegs continuing the chain. Sooner or later the band will start selling CDs.

The Mic: What is the process of making a CD?

Mark: It is a tedious experience with many rewards. Our CD Reconnaissance was recorded by our friend Eric Harrison (No Romance In Russia). Recording and mixing took a couple weeks. The packaging includes the talents of five international visual artists, a local screen printer, Copy Max, and a CD burner.

Todd: I like making CDs. I wish I could do it all the time. You get to crawl inside your own songs and view them objectively for a change and translate them to a disc. More listening and tweaking knobs than playing.

The Mic: How do you get the word out about your music?

Mark: Myspace, word of mouth, fliers, and interviews like this.

Todd: Everything but radio for now.

The Mic: How is your local responce to your music?

Mark: Musicians love us, and we have a good number of friends and supporters who come out to shows. We are lucky to be able to play with many different-sounding bands, and the reactions we get from their crowds are usually positive. We also get some entertaining responses that are not so positive. We have been known to clear bars mid-set, and once we were kicked off stage after 2 songs for being too heavy. Ironically, when we played 'Wichita's Metal Bar' the following weekend, we were told that we couldn't come back because we were too alternative.

Todd: We've actually had a good number of middle-agers see us and like what they hear. We're always getting the response "I don't like listening to heavy music but I like it when you play it."


The Mic: What is the farthest you have traveled for a gig?

Mark: Albuquerque, NM. We went on a mini-tour with Dead Commuter a few years ago, and also played Denver, Tulsa, and Taos, NM. But we would love to travel the US and Europe for months on end, so if you are independently wealthy, or own a label, let us know.

Todd: Yea. The Albuquerque gig was a blast. We both drank a whole bottle of Smoking Loon Merlot and got really drunk before we played. Setting up was hard, but we ended up playing the best we did the whole tour. That show was bootlegged. . .

The Mic: What tune on the CD are you most proud of?

Mark: Well, we are actually touching up the CD before we print another batch—messing with the mix, auxiliary tracking, etc—so I may have a solid favorite after that is finished. Right now I like them all equally. Every song is cool because I have specific memories from the recording sessions.

Todd: "Who Painted Whispers on My Fortnight?" and "Minus" are my favorite songs on the EP. They are longer than the rest and require more listening. We captured them in a way that really shows the listener what the song should sound like in a non-live setting.

Thanks,
Jigg

Thank you for the opportunity to get the word out! We encourage everyone who reads this to friend us on Myspace, comment on our Youtube videos, and pass the word along to friends and family. Hope to see you soon! Mark/Todd --TTA