....................

                While
most bands seem to reach stardom within months of releasing their first single,
Good Old War is still striving for more. First playing as the backing band for
Anthony Green (Circa Survive), Good Old War writes more acoustically touched
folk songs with upbeat melodies. Their debut album, Only Way to be Alone, shows the progression of a soft spoken trio
who shine a light on one’s personal frustrations. 

                This is
a recent Q&A I had with Tim Arnold, drummer of Good Old War.

..1.      
..Is it
tiring to play “Coney Island”?....

..a.      
..No, I love that song. Are you getting sick of
it?

..me:     
..I
hear it everywhere I go. I just think there are better songs on your record. Do
you ever find yourself getting bored with your own songs?....

..a.      
..I’m sure it can get to the point where it’s kind
of tiring, but at this point I’m still into it. We’ve only been a band for so
long; we just have to keep rocking it.

..2.      
..How
does your normal life compare to your life as a musician?....

..a.      
..I don’t have a normal life. My life is being a
musician.

..3.      
..How
do you make ends meet for going on tour or putting out music?....

..a.      
..We have a contract with Sargent House, and they
help us out. We’re putting out this new EP, and they give us money to record,
or when we’re on the road doing shows. We try to save as much as we can, and
spend wisely.  That way when we come home
after a tour, we can just practice every day and not worry about working.

..4.      
..Tell
us more about the EP.....

..a.      
..It’s going to have six songs on it that we
recorded ourselves. It’s the same set up, musically, but I think the sound is
evolving, and a little more upbeat. I think people are going to like it; I like
it. It’s being mixed, now. So it will be out in a couple months.

..5.      
..When
did you decide that Good Old War was going to be your main focus?....

..a.      
..Keith and I had been talking about an acoustic
thing for a while. I had been playing in other bands with members of Days Away
(former band), and Keith started writing with Dan. We got together and played
at a bar, and afterwards we noticed that we sounded pretty good together. It
was real.

....................

Beep Beep’s Eric Bemberger Swoons on Enchanted Islands....

When the Omaha-based-quartet,
Beep Beep, release their forthcoming album, Enchanted
Islands, this month on Saddle Creek Records, it will be because they were
doing it more for themselves, and not for the handful of people who know of
them. The album prior to Islands,
Business Casual, was hardly
noticed by anyone as people continued to write them off as a Blood Brothers rip-off, gaining almost no popularity. Now,
after an extensive break between albums and interviews, Eric Bemberger of
the band has taken the time to answer a few questions while touring for the
support of their sophomore release. Bemberger hints at the frustrations it had
taken the band to record the album, saying “the record was not finished when we
left the studio even though we worked an average of 18 hours/day. I ended up
having to finish mixing a good portion of the songs on my own at home, and I
had none of the knowledge, skill, or equipment required to do the job.  I
did the best I could.” ....

.. ..

1. It took
nearly five years for you to finish the follow up to 2004’s Business Casual. On Enchanted Islands, what stances are you taking, musically, with
this record than you have with your debut?



It was actually 3 years for completion as far as the finished recording is
concerned.  Completing this record became the most challenging task I’ve
ever accomplished; and the challenges involved were completely unrelated to the
writing of the music.  These obstacles delayed things significantly.



My stance is the same.  I believe music should be a holistic celebration,
embracing all aspects that make up true human identity. Embarrassment should be
reserved for behaviors that negatively affect others, not for major components
of your body and psyche.  As Bono has said in the press and has since
converted to lyrics, “The right to be ridiculous is something I hold
dear.” 



Independent music used to be so amazing in that it was virtually unencumbered
by the notion of success.  Artists freely and passionately explored and
embraced all that confounded and inspired them, creating work with such depth
that to hear it actually improves your quality of life.  They forwent the
normal western lifestyle accepting poverty because they recognized the cultural
duty to fill this massive void created by the short list of permitted
expressions that guaranteed mass appeal.  Music is one of art’s most
exploited mediums, but is by no means any less legitimate or vital (galleries
should have music exhibitions).  Somewhere along the way (Pavement’s
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, aka Matador’s Atlantic partnership, marked the
beginning of the end for me), independent music became the microbrewery to the
corporate structure.  A miniature replica of the same success model, yet
somehow more “cool”.



And so there it is, the other corrupting force that has diluted this once great
movement; this notion of and desire for the elusive status of “cool”.  It
is such a plague, that even the talented artists who confront it become
absorbed and emulated in its name.  It has made music so much more a
visual identity than ever before, with constantly changing color schemes,
imagery, and attire required to maintain the same status.  It has become a
competition for exclusive elitist hipness, and the prize is being marketed and
perceived as a mysterious detached genius that promises some entirely new way
of looking at music. It’s become so oppressive that “bad taste” has become
refreshing, because the exploration of it at least is still openly creative.
 You would think someone trying to be mysterious and cool isn’t going to
want to have anything to do with jazz flute or wind chimes, but even now,
history’s no-no’s are being commandeered as

 tomorrow’s genius.



Independent media have created the platform for this popularity game, and the
hype they generate by inflating today’s latest flavor while trashing and
discarding yesterday’s sways the focus of both the artists they cover and the
audiences they serve.  What is independent music anymore anyway?  It
used to be a philosophy that united a myriad of styles and influences, but now
it’s a marketing format for the exploitation of disposable income, not just
from consuming fans who’s wardrobe ends up costing more than their education,
but from the artists themselves as well.  It costs money to compete in
projecting the current standard; in order to afford to compete, one must to
appeal to a larger audience.  Artists become tools for marketing their own
identity, human billboards for prescribed appearances, a pleasant tune in an
automobile commercial. Republican entrepreneurs have created storefronts and
publications to feed and perpetuate demand.  I’d shop at Walmart before
I’d ever spend a dime at Urban Outfitters.  They both exploit the global
economy, but at least Walmart isn’t exploiting the naivety of persons
attempting to appear progressive.  Walmart isn’t selling a false identity.



So, as a result of this competition for approval, independent music creates,
consumes, and discards more sub genres than all other genres combined, and at
an alarming rate.  Something that’s always bothered me: there are
thousands of blues artists, none of which are ridiculed for following in the
traditions of the genre, an impossibility within any of the myriad of styles of
independent music.  Why?  What’s the difference?  Substance.
 I believe the difference lies within the process by which new ideas are
consumed, reduced, and discarded by artists competing for status, and the
leverage imposed by a fickle media that no longer has the patience for
substance.  Honest creative exploration occurs, and when someone is
recognized as successfully inventive, the themes are cultivated, the aesthetics
skimmed, and the essence discarded. Dozens of bands thirsting for recognition
continue to dilute meaning through saturation and 2nd-hand parroting until the

 once beautiful and unique perspective becomes discarded as an
embarrassment.  It has become a stylistic feeding frenzy, bingeing on the
inventions of others and leaving true innovation and beauty in its wake.
 All for this embarrassing game of trendiness, this pseudo-intellectual
elitist popularity contest.



It shapes what we do, in that we don’t ever want to be perceived as
participants.  We feel like we are constantly on the run, finding solace
in the places of our imagination that have nothing to do with anything that’s
being stylistically assimilated.



2. The album, Enchanted Islands still holds true to the Beep Beep sound, being
almost discordant and boggling with sloppy beats that keep the ears locked in.
What do you hope to gain from this release compared to your debut?



Nothing.  I’ve never hoped to gain anything from making music other than
the ability to become better at creating it. 



I just keep trying to make art that sucks as little as possible while
restricting conscious efforts to direct it.  At first, it’s a battle
between the right and left hemisphere.  The moment my right brain spits
out any amalgam of randomly reflected information, I want to analyze and
consolidate it so that it conforms to some concise identifiable notion.  I
resist these impulses until much later, when these abstract clusters form a
clear statement through proximity; kind of like pointillism.  Once
undeniable themes appear, then I let my left brain go to town, organizing,
structuring, and editing in an attempt to allow these themes to be identifiable
while preserving their essence. 



3. What are the future touring plans for
the band, including what do you have in mind for the next album?



Once we finish this upcoming US tour, we’ll be doing a little touring in
Europe.  After that, if no other touring opportunities present themselves,
I’d like to start writing again.



4. Where was the album recorded/who
produced/were there any additional players on any specific tracks?



Enchanted Islands was recorded at Enamel (the studio The Faint built) and at my
house.  No one produced the record.  Our budget was nonexistent.
 Our good friend Dan McCarthy (McCarthy Trenching) played accordion on
“Return to Me”, Matthew Whipkey played harmonica on “Human Hair”, and John
Hischke Sr. played Saxophone on “Wooden Nickels”.



5. Your sound is close to that of the
Blood Brothers. Do you think so as well, or do you think you're trying
something different from the bands you are compared to most frequently?



Comparisons tell more about the person making the comparison, how extensive or
limited their library of music references is, and much less about the
intentions or perspective of the artists being compared.



6. As far as side projects go, what do
you have going on other than Beep Beep? Can we expect any cameo appearances for
any of you in Saddle Creek related projects, or other mediums in general?



Personally, keeping Beep Beep afloat is about all I have time for currently.
 Beep Beep is comprised of individuals that are all seriously involved in
other wonderful music projects, but none of these involvements are respected or
recognized by Saddle Creek.



7. Is there anything on the forthcoming
album that you feel you could have improved on or did differently to make the
sound absolutely perfect?....

Oh yes!  Another overlooked and understated point:  An artist doesn’t
automatically enjoy their own art just because they made it!  I’m
embarrassed by many aspects of Enchanted
Islands; I don’t think I would ever voluntarily sing in wispy falsetto, but
I was certain it was what the project required; it was a sacrifice of
self-image for the sake of art!



More importantly, I must point out that the record, in my opinion, is sonically
disappointing in some aspects.  We had no time because we had no budget,
so we did the best we could.  Joel Petersen is a very recently
self-trained engineer who did an unbelievable job given the circumstances, but
the record was not finished when we left the studio even though we worked an
average of 18 hours/day.  I ended up having to finish mixing a good
portion of the songs on my own at home, and I had none of the knowledge, skill,
or equipment required to do the job.  I did the best I could.



8. The Story of Beep Beep:



Beep Beep was fathered by the sun and born of a virgin on Dec 25th, baptized by
a man who was later beheaded, has no record of existence from infancy to
adulthood, was betrayed and crucified by our associates, then rose from the
dead to be heralded by approximately 2 women.....

The Status: Que

It's like this:

I was scheduled to interview this band I had never heard of called the Status. Their name gave off too many bad vibes, but I figured I would give them a listen before I wrote them off as a generic emo band. I mean, you never know who's going to end up famous these days.

Rey, the publicist, sent me a download of their album, and I tried my best to let it stay afloat in the ocean in my head. Not only listening to the music, but also listening for that unique style a band with this more emotional direction needs to stand out from all the rest.

Though their songs are catchy, the band hasn't hit their full potential. Maybe songs like the title track to the album, So This is Progress, play off a well written melody but other songs do not compare. With not only the lead singer/guitarist of the Status, Ben Grant, bellowing out lyrics, but also Anthony Raneri from Bayside was donating his voice to the song, "So This is Progress."
It seems as though the track was written to be the bands first single, and you could tell by the beat's high energy with the strong orbital vocals from either gentlemen in duet.

In all, the album wasn't too bad, but decent.

When the day came for the concert on October 8, I was in such a rush to find a new date after my girlfriend dumped me, that I ended up late to the show. Rey told me that they were to take the stage around 8pm, so when my date and I got to the venue it was only 7:33. As soon as we make our way to the ticket office, I could hear those power pop guitars crunching away at the eardrums of every fifteen-year-old kid with his mom -- the Status was already playing. I quickly asked the kid at the ticket office for my press passes, but he took my ID and couldn't find my name on any of the lists. This day was killing me, and I already had to pay $10 for parking with a spray of some 'PimpShield' on my windows from one of Detroit's local bums.

I was close to nothing in cash, and needed to get in the show.
I rang Rey.
"It's Ian," I say.
"What's up, man?" he says. "Are you going to the show?"
"Yeah, that's the thing, dude," I begin. "They said I'm not on the list."

Rey calls me back about seven minutes later saying that the tour manager, Steve, is on his way to find me. I tell him he's already gotten me inside the venue.

We stood on the right where the equipment was, and watched the Status move back and forth, pacing across the compact area that was considered a stage. They had a lot of action going on with their facial expressions, and not as much with their body movements, yet when they rocked out on a song like "The Wake of What's Been Done", they got into it. I won't say their stage presence wasn't good because they don't know how to keep up with their own music, but it was more so just as well could have been due to that elbow room they didn't seem to have enough of. Other than that, they sounded great live. Just like their CD, until Ben had to replicate Anthony's vocal part on "So This is Progress."

Their set ended, and I approached Ben coming off the stage with an amp in his hands.
Sounding like a tool, I said "Need any help?"
"No thanks," he says. "We're cool, man."

I felt a chill go down my spine as if I was just written off as some fanboy, but I took the initiative to introduce myself as the person who was going to interview him that night.
"Okay cool," he says in a surprised way. "When did you want to do this?"

We set up the interview for 8pm, and when it came time to conduct the interview, we had to find an electrical outlet for my laptop. First heading to the basement, and getting stopped on the way by security along the way, we found that the lower floor back area was just the other half of St. Andrew's, The Shelter. There were about six people down there, hanging around and making racket.

I walked into the men's bathroom, small and cluttered with a sink and a toilet stall, along with a urinal in the middle of everything.
"Well, I'm sure the bathroom is quiet," I say. "I see a place for my laptop on the head of the toilet."

We make our way to the second floor, and that security guard at the stairs stops us again.
"You can't go up there," he says, trying to be stern, but by the look of him he couldn't be more than a year or two older than I. He wasn't very intimidating.
"Come on, man," Ben says to the kid. "We have to do an interview."
"You need to get permission from the tour manager if you want up there," says the security guard.

We finally get to the second floor of St. Andrew's, after having another run-in with Steve and him giving me the "you again" look.

The space is quiet and rich. There is a stage that cuts on an angle in the corner of the room with a couple amps sitting on the floor next to it. We set up on top of an amp, and I give my lady friend the camera to record the interview.

I begin the session by asking a very obvious question for any band, but what can I say? I didn't know anything about them.

"So tell me about the Status," I say. "How did you guys become a band?"

"We started out just as friends," he begins. "Andy plays guitar and does backup vocals. Him and I just started hanging out, writing songs. We both came from other bands growing up, and then our bands just broke up. We started playing, and it was very casual. Then we got the other guys and started doing local shows."

"Where you come from, is it hard to find people who share the same interest in creating the same style of music as you?"

"Well, probably the only reason this band is a band is because it was so easy. Like when there were no arguments or band drama, it was easy; Andy and I get along, Danny, the bass player in the band and my brother, we get along already. Our

Ben and I got into discussing music in general. Both of us agreed that Weezer's new material was nowhere near Rivers Cuomo's full potential, as well the parallel between bands of older age to new; Radiohead, the Beatles of our generation?
"I would definitely agree with that statement," Ben begins. "I'm really big into Radiohead. Thom Yorke is a genius; he has great ideas and is really creative. I think that's what was so unique about the Beatles at their time. Back then they were trying to be unique, and I think that's what Radiohead does."

Music is not defined by good looks, hair products, or by the numerous sexual encounters an artist has. By generating a natural feeling everyone can share, an artist has the ability to make music a more genuine experience to any listener. Take Bayside for example – full of the raw intensities of life in every lyric, supported by bittersweet melodies and catchy guitar, Bayside is more for the music hungry ear than any teeny bopper act out now.

With a recent run in on the phone line, I had the chance to speak with Nick Ghanbarian – the good-lookin', string-slappin' bassist of Bayside. After emailing back-and-forth their publicist, Rey, and awkward salutations ("Hi, Nick? This is Ian Cruz, I guess I'm supposed to interview you today. So just act comfortable."), the interview was finally underway.

Q. So what is Bayside; Who are you, and what do you contribute to the band?
A. I play bass. My name is Nick, and I've been in the band for about 4 years at this point. We are a band that is based out of Bayside in Queens, New York. The band has been around since 2000, actually. We've all kind of come together in the past from different bands, or mutual friends. It's been the four of us since 2006, I would say. We've just been writing together, and we just released our fourth studio album last Tuesday, called Shudder.

Q. I guess you already answered this next question. When did you join the band, and was it your smooth bass lines, or good looks, that got you the position?
A. (haha) I'm not sure. I joined the band in 2004. It was about August or September, and the Silences and Condolences album was already out, which was the first album we did for Victory Records. I think more-so than good looks, or even skills, I think that because I had been in bands before, and had some kind of experience playing in bands in Long Island. I had just gotten to know Anthony (vocals/guitar), and didn't have tryouts or anything; he just asked me if I was interested. I started learning the songs, and a couple months later I was in the band. But I'll go with looks; just say it was my looks.

Q. Do you enjoy playing bass in Bayside, or was there something else you wanted to do in life?
A. No. I mean, I've been playing since I was thirteen or fourteen. I've been in all kinds of bands with friends from school, or whatever. Music has definitely been what speaks to me the most in life. I've never been big enough to be a hockey player. That's another one of my passions in life – hockey. But I'm only 5'8" and 178 lbs; I'd be a midget out there on the ice. I don't know, though. There are a lot of things I appreciate in life that I would like to learn how to do. I've always wanted to cut people's hair, or be a masseuse. I think things like that are interesting, and maybe one day I'll get a chance to learn some of those things.

Q. You just released a new album, Shudder. It's more aggressive than some of your previous albums. What can we expect from Bayside in the future?
A. You know, everything seems to come back to fan's perceptions of us. We've always steadily grown, and I think that gives us the opportunity to grow with our music and fuse some new ideas into the music. I think all of our albums sound the same to me, as it all sounds cohesive to Bayside; it all sounds like the same band. So I think that we all started bringing our own individual influences in slowly, and kinda do some more experimental things. We're not sounding like the Mars Volta or anything like that, but we're just experimenting with something in the range of Bayside. If we keep things sounding the same, I think we have the right to take some chances and I think with this album we've reached the point where we feel comfortable. We're growing as musicians still -- and as song writers – and I think we're all comfortable with each other where the melodies and songwriting really come together. Especially on this album, and I think we're most proud of that. The future again – it's really how this album is perceived. We know it's the best we could do, and it's the best we have done. But who knows what people really think of it? So far it's been out 4 days, and it seems like it's going well. It steadily climbs, and the fan base grows. The next album will have a little more wiggle room to grow as musicians; it's a really great feeling.

Q. This next question kind of coincides with what you were just talking about, like when bands try new things the fans may retort, saying the band sounded better with a different sound that may have been on an older album. What would you say is Bayside's most definitive album?
A. That's so hard. In my opinion I'm really not sure. I know in the fan's opinion it's definitely our self-titled album. Including our new album, that was about three albums ago. But I feel that there are more defining songs. Maybe our self-titled was more successful than The Walking Wounded, but I think songs like "The Walking Wounded" is how I would like our band to be remembered – songs like that. But for all I know, it's this album. I know it's the best we could have done, and the best doesn't have to translate into record sales or fans liking it. I think [Shudder] really should be left as our legacy, because it's the most cohesive we have come within the reigns of Bayside. We're all happy with it a hundred percent -- every part of every song, with the vibe of it and the message. I'm sure a lot people haven't even listened to it, but I do think it's our battle cry with this album and I hope people perceive it like that.

Q. A lot of your music has changed the way people perceive life. How do you feel personally about what influences your music has on your fans?
A. It's something we absolutely intend to do. I think that the four of our lives have changed for the better because of music, and that's the type of band we're trying to be. We're not out there to write a pop song, or something that's really meaningless with a good melody. Along with a melody, or anything that has good gear and you can move your body to, there has to be a message to it. I think we take that more as a responsibility than a lot bands. I think there are a lot of bad rate models out there and generalizations to another scene -- we just don't want anything to do with that. There are plenty of bands that are completely out there, and are delusional when it comes to reality. I think that we're the opposite of that even though we're in the same community musically. I think that we're the opposite of that in having the responsibility to make people's lives better, and have them have a positive impact on the people around them. There are not enough people in the world trying to do good when everyone's selfish, and we're reminding people to keep an open mind in life.

Q. You're currently on tour with a few bands, including Valencia, the Matches and the Status. When you do these tours, do you ever find yourself playing favorites with any one of the bands, like a parent would with a son or daughter?
A. It's happened in the past, but you kind of just gravitate towards certain people. It's all like a band-of-brothers type of thing. We're all doing the same thing; we're all traveling the country together, and the world – whatever it is. It's a great experience for a couple weeks to know you're all in it together, and have fun every night. It's more along the lines of that whole brotherhood thing, and not on an individual level. We just feel closer to the people we are working closer to with our band. As far as other bands -- yeah, everyone gets along all the time. We usually go on tour with bands we know, before we bring out bands that we don't, but everyone's friends at this point of the tour.

Q. When you're going about your day – what is it that you're listening to? Who are your influences?
A. Growing up it was Green Day and Bad Religion; that whole California-punk sort of thing. The last two CDs I picked up were the new Ben Folds and Jenny Lewis. I just gravitate towards the melody and the overall consciousness of different people's views and lives. I think listening to bands like Green Day and Bad Religion when I was younger, all their messages still hold true. It's also great to hear different singer-songwriters, and I think as I got older I started listening to more folky stuff. I mean, Bad Religion is my favorite band, but I like to slow it down and listen to something that's calmer.

Q. I recently went to visit your website, www.baysideisacult.com. Are you in fact a cult, and where can I signup?
A. (haha) That was definitely a marketing tool when we signed to Victory, but they wanted to use that to give us some buzz and it turned into our fan base. It's how dedicated people are, and I think it's something that people really embrace. We love the community that listens to our band, and we're kind of a tight knit group. Like, when we play small clubs it feels like five hundred friends showed up, and it feels like everyone knows each other. It's something we're proud of, and I feel that we're lucky to have that fan base. There are bands that have two or three thousand people show up for a show, and they don't experience what we experience. We appreciate every last minute of it. So just add us on myspace if you decide to join our cult.

Q. Say I'm a new listener. Why should I take time out of my day to listen to Bayside?
A. Because of our message – it's exactly that. Same reason when I was fourteen or fifteen listening to Green Day. It's catchy, it is aggressive, and we're also not singing about things that people don't experience. We're normal people, getting through things that other people have to get through. At this point we're not asking "What is Aerosmith singing about?" "What does Nine Inch Nails have to sing about?" We're still every day people, and we let everyone know that. People see the world through their own eyes, and I think we see very similar. We are relatable, and we try to see things in a positive way. There are plenty of bad things in the world, and at the end of the day we want to be open minded and help out, unlike other bands with their music.

Take into account how bands are ever changing sounds and experimenting with their image, then look at Bayside – a band that is doing what they like to do, while keeping it real. They are more prone to a growing fan base when listeners hear the surreal imagery conveyed in neatly picked lyrics, and well tuned melodies. A recent release like Shudder is more than enough jam for the starved music junky.