On the eve of our big Champagne of Bands reunion, I talked to the enigmatic Mr. Barringer over email while he was holed up in his underground bunker…

Brendan Boogie:  I’ll start with the question I’ve been asking everyone – what has been your favorite part about working with me?

Bo Barringer:  I was looking forward to working with you because of your sharp wit and deft pop songwriting skills, but I (as I imagine everyone who works with you must…) came to really appreciate your manly musk….yeah, definitely your manly musk.

Brendan:  You were once described by my drummer Justin as “an affable chap” and a “man about town.”  Is that a fit description or would you other terms to describe yourself?

Bo:  Obviously Justin hasn’t talked to my MEandJOANCOLLINS and Mascara bandmates….

Brendan:  Why don’t you give the folks reading a brief history of your musical and creative endeavors.  Try to keep it pithier than Duncan, who answered this question with a 12-page resume I had to edit down.

Bo:  Born. Played Music. Died. (is that too long? ’cause I can probably edit it down a little if you want…)

Brendan:  As Boston’s most beloved Bo, with whom do you relate more – Bo Jackson or Bo Duke?

Bo:  I thought I WAS Bo Duke when I was a kid.  But my world was shattered when i found out Daisy wouldn’t ever be my cousin.  I hated Bo Jackson for all of the “Bo knows” commercials.  You can only imagine how many times, i heard that one…or “Bo don’t know Diddley,”  So I kinda hate him too.  (Even though the Bo Diddley beat is one of man’s great accomplishments of the 20th Century.)  Beau Bridges is kinda cool, but he spells it the wrong way.  (And I wanted to punch him in the Fabulous Baker Boys.)  And don’t even mention that douche-nozzle from American Idol.  So I would have to say Bo Derek.

Brendan:  What was your favorite memory of One Night Band?

Bo:  Playing lead guitar all over the place!  It was awesome. I felt like Slash’s gay British cousin or something.  I mean, how do you guys put up with that(!) Your song was one long guitar solo for me.  And the power ballad…I should have been fired onstage.  The only reason I didn’t solo on Duncan’s song was because he threatened me in the parking lot.

Brendan:  Ever since we’ve worked with Cullen, I have been convinced that this “nicest guy in the world” thing is just an act and that he’s secretly some sort of “Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs” type character.  When we were rehearsing in his house, did you find any overweight lotion-covered women in holes?

Bo:  Why do you think I kept disappearing to “go to the bathroom?”

Brendan:  Other than the Champagne of Bands reunion on Tuesday, what else do you have coming up that the good people should know all about?

Bo:  I’ve been hibernating ever since the One Night Band last summer.  This reunion is a chance for me to get out of the house and let people know I’m still alive…(rumor has it I may resurface the last Thursday in Feb for a solo show at Somerville Armory…)

Brendan:  I’ve described the Champagne of Bands as akin to Voltron in that we are all substantial lions in our own rights, but our power truly comes when we are united into a giant robot with a sword.  Which color lion are you and why?

Bo:  Voltron? Is that like a space age birth control device? Sounds like a futuristic chastity belt.  Birth Control is such an awful term.  I prefer contraceptive myself.  But i’d have to say my favorite color is fried chicken…

Brendan:  What are you most looking forward to about this Tuesday’s big Champagne of Bands reunion at the Middle East Upstairs?

Bo:  Oh, that’s THIS Tuesday? Shit, really?  Cause I have something going on that night.  Damn.  Sorry guys…

Check out the tasty licks of our favorite fried chicken-colored Bo Derek lookalike THIS TUESDAY at the Middle East Upstairs!

Tad took a moment before his New York City show to answer a few of my stupid questions over email…

Brendan Boogie:  I’ll start with the question that’s on everyone’s mind – what has been your favorite part about working with me?

Tad McKitterick:  Your cologne is very appealing to me.

BB:  You are the front man of the great Sidewalk Driver.  In the Champagne of Bands, you had to share the stage with some of Boston’s most charismatic front men.  I have a two-part question:  a) What was it like to be so thoroughly outshined? and b)  Are you going to cry about it?

TM:  I don’t think of it as being outshined, I think of it as if I were, let’s say, Ron Jeremy, getting nailed by Jeff Stryker all whilst jerking-off Peter North. I mean everybody wins (except the audience).  And yes I’m gonna cry about it.  Tears of fuckin pure joy.

BB:  Why don’t you give my lovely readers a brief history of your band and your creative endeavors over the past two decades or so.

TM:  2 decades ago I was 13.  Singing Queensryche and Judas Priest songs in my bedroom.  That’s pretty much stayed the same for the past 2 decades.  Then came Sidewalk Driver.

BB:  If you were to give each member of the Champagne of Bands a “For The Love of Ray J”-style nickname, what would they be?

TM:  Bo – Lashes
Brendan – Fluffy
Cullen – Popeye
Duncan – Gatling

BB:  What was your favorite memory of One Night Band?

TM:  Other than the actual show, it would be Duncan saying “I’ve never written a song with ‘oohs’,” and Brendan replying “I’ve never written a song without them’.”

BB:  Seriously, in a band full of frontmen, who do you think is the actual best frontman in the Champagne of Bands?  No one’s reading this.  It’s just between you and me, pal.

TM:  I’m sure that Duncan, in his element, would be hard to top.  So.  Much.  Intensity.

BB:  Other than the Champagne of Bands reunion, what do you have in store in the future for us?

TM:  An erotic/fun history facts calendar.

BB:  What are you most looking forward to about this Tuesday’s Champagne of Bands reunion at the Middle East Upstairs?

TM:  Wednesday.

Check out Sidewalk Driver’s excellent new album “For All The Boys and Girls,” available at the band’s website. 

Along with joining us for our grand finale reunion, Duncan will be regaling us with a very funny spoken word performance at the Middle East Upstairs this Tuesday February 9.  Here’s my convo with my boy Duncan…

Brendan Boogie:  Let me start the way I started with Cullen – what is your favorite part about working with me?

Duncan Wilder Johnson:  I really enjoy that you are one a different part of the spectrum than myself.  You’re approach to songwriting is very different than mine and it’s really enlightening.  As a person who never studied musical theory, but took some guitar lessons as a kid and then listened to a lot of 80′s Hardcore Punk, 90′s Hardcore/Metalcore, and eventually a lot of classic Metal and Thrash, my musical back ground is based on listening, emulating my heroes, and now using my own natural and unique voice (by voice I don’t just mean what comes from my larynx, but my whole being as an artist).   Oh and I like that “I Remember Teenage Girls” song.

BB:  The name of your book is “How I Fell In Love With Punk Rock.”  I was thinking of writing the sequel “How I Fell In Love With Late 70′s Easy Listening Mellow Gold.”  Any advice, one writer to another?

DWJ:  Why are you asking me about it instead of doing it?  Just start writing, NOW.  I’ll help you edit it later.

BB:  Why don’t you give my readers a brief history of your musical and creative life from birth to about ten minutes ago?

DWJ:  Bands -  Bring the Knife, Flux Capacitor, Destruct-a-thon, Kill It All Away, Duncan Wilder Johnson & T.S. Mike Carnes, Green Machine, High Rocktane, Sister Silver, Hillside 176 (aka The Satones), After The Fact, Two Minute Hate, Aslouchen, The Mushroom Men (we had a million names but more to the point we just went skateboarding).

Non-band creative endeavors – spoken word, Bad Girrls Studio, photography.

BB:  As a guy with three names, who do you relate to more: Jan Michael Vincent or Harry Dean Stanton?

DWJ:  Harry Dean Stanton, definitely.  He was in Paris, Texas and the undeniable cult classic REPO MAN (sick soundtrack).

BB:  During One Night Band, you were the only punk/metal guy in the band.  What was it like to have to deal with us wusses who concerned ourselves with such meaningless bullshit as “chords” and “melody” and “singing in key”?

DWJ:  Awesome.  I love to hear new approaches to creative problems.

BB:  What was your favorite part about the original One Night Band?

DWJ:  Walking up and rocking the shit out of people.  When we lit into The Pixies cover, the place just went ‘off’!  At least, that’s how I remember it.

BB:  If it weren’t for One Night Band, what do you think the chances would be of you and me being on the same bill together?  Or even meeting, for that matter?

DWJ:  Pretty slim, but I do run into you at The Rock N’ Roll Socials now and again.

BB:  Do you have any trash to talk about any of our other Champagne of Band-mates?

DWJ:  Nope.  This thing rules.

BB:  Other than the reunion, what other projects do you have in the works to which the people can look forward?

DWJ:  Bring The Knife (new metal band).  A few spoken word shows – I’m starting a series of Sunday afternoon shows at O’Briens that will be either monthly or every other month called The Spoken Word Hangover.  I’m hunting a publisher for my book Dude, Your Band Sucks.  And I’m slowly, very slowly but persistently, working on a documentary about Sam Black Church with the working title of We Are The Bastards, which is due out when it’s competed.

BB:  What are you most looking forward to about the big Champagne of Bands reunion on February 9 at the Middle East?

DWJ:  Rocking the shit out of that room.

Keep checking back on this space for more interviews with my fellow Champagne of Band-mates, providing Tad makes bail.

For those of you not in the know, Champagne of Bands was formed by the good folks over at Boston Band Crush this summer for the exciting One Night Band project.  Read all about it here and then come back to read my chat with the always affable Mr. Corley. 

Brendan Boogie:  So the most important question – what’s been your favorite part about working with me?

Cullen Corley: No warm up questions?  Let’s see – I enjoy your presence as a person, first and most importantly – you’re positive and fun and easy to work with.  You may have your songwriter order-giving sensibilities but you aren’t hung up on them.  I’ve worked with songwriters before who would take things personally; a disagreement wasn’t only an artistic choice, but commentary on their ideas simultaneously which was sticky.  So I think your positive nature and immediate-opinions-with-flexibility would be the short of it.

BB:  Wow – you’re being actually nice. Most people use that question as an excuse to get into ball-busting.

CC:  I figured so; it was a loaded question.  But I think you gave me the runner-up for nicest person award in a ONB interview, so really I’m just keeping up appearances.

BB:  Once again, you’ve cemented your legacy. Why don’t you tell the folks about your band with the unpronouncable name?

CC:  Well, it’s a blues rock duo, sort of like Black Keys but on the harder, faster side.  You know I wish I had my video camera one day when my bandmate, Stephen Salazar, was talking with a hip-hop producer we met at a recent gig.  “It’s pronounced koo-LOO-koh,” he said and the producer responded “oh, kuu-LO-co.”  And they literally went back and forth for a good 30 seconds, and he just didn’t get it.

BB: So you just invented the name so that people would have spontaneous Abbott and Costello routines?

CC:  Yeah it’s been entertaining – we’re thinking of starting a “spot the misnomer!” contest after seeing our name misspelled in at least 10 magazines, newspapers, etc. by now.  The most entries wins, I don’t know, a 2-on-2 basketball game or something.

BB:  Or you could, you know, change the name.

CC:  No, it means something along the lines of “have you heard?” in Finnish.  We thought about that, but everyone we talked to about it said if they heard and/or saw the name a couple times, it really stuck hard.

BB: I’m pretty good at re-naming bands and cats. Want me to take a crack at it?

CC:  People seem to warm up to it but I think we need to say it at least 20 times per show and get a banner behind us.  Neither of us has a cat, unfortunately.

BB:  I like to rename people’s cats.  No one ever names their cats correctly.

CC:  Are you anti-cats?

BB:  I’m not anti-cats per se. But I do feel people name their cats all wrong. For instance, I renamed my friend’s cat from “Twiggy” to “Future Cat – The Cat from the Future!”  It’s a much more exciting name.  Really jumps off the page.

CC: I have a friend who wants to move, genuinely, to a state that allows ownership of bears, just so he can name it “Fertilicus – Bringer of Pain.”  He’s a metal guitarist, if you couldn’t guess.

BB:  Speaking of metal guitarists, one of the lads we worked with in Champagne of Bands is the great Duncan Wilder Johnson, metal and punk man extraordinaire. You have to play pretty fast when he’s guiding the ship, huh?

CC:  I used to play metal but rarely touched on the fast, punky end of it, and I really like the exercise.  I remember you saying “and now I’ll step out of my comfort zone,” and that’s how I feel to some extent working with Duncan.  Which is great – I’m not in it just to keep the beat, really.  I want to be challenged.

BB:  Yeah, I am not used to playing music in which cardio is such a central factor.  And my cardio is, shall we say, not so good.

CC:  Believe me, sit in on drums for that song when we play it next.

BB:  I’m the worst drummer in history.  So One Night Band was one of my favorite experiences of my life. What were some of your favorite memories from the day?

CC:  Everyone finally getting into the room together, and realizing that all anxieties were totally nonexistent.  Everything just flowed and the second we were all in there together, realizing that everything would go so smoothly was a great feeling.  I’ve drummed with lots of different people; once out of high school I put up a craigslist ad saying I was looking for bands, and, believe me, I really appreciate the feeling of knowing you’re all on the same page.  One band I played with – once – had a pirahna tank in their kitchen.

BB:  We were pretty lucky. We got a good group of guys except Tad.

CC:  Well, at least he’s focused on singing most of the time so we don’t have to socialize.

BB:  I didn’t know they didn’t CORE check people for One Night Band until Tad got there.  So other than the CoB reunion, what other musical stuff do you have on the horizon?

CC:  I’ve been working on a singer songwriter friend’s album.  His name is Dylan Duncan and we’re just about finished with core instrumentals.  Also, I’m going to work with a Berklee friend, whose major is film scoring and he writes very dramatic metal complete with orchestral scores, choirs.    Also, Kuuluuko is talking with a friend about managing us, and I’m excited about that – we’re going to put our nose to the grindstone and really try to make some progress.  And my other band, Electric Laser People, has been on winter hiatus and seen some changes over the winter in the personal lives of a few of the members (very very positive changes).  So once we’re back in the groove, which should be in the next few months, I’m sure the vibe will just be amazing.  I’m excited about that.

BB:  Very cool. Finally, what are you most looking forward to about the Champagne of Bands reunion on February 9?

CC: I haven’t seen much of what all of you are working on, so I’m excited for a little taste of that.  Also, reactions to the new super-epic song we’ve written – we should get a video camera trained on the audience for that one.

In the next week or so, stop by here for (hopefully) more interviews with my Champagne of Band-mates.

We’re all playing a show this Saturday at the Lizard Lounge, you see.  Since Paul was busy in Atlanta pitching batting practice to the Braves, I was able to catch up with him on email this week:

Brendan Boogie:  So you live in Atlanta, huh?  So sorry about that whole “burning the city down during the Civil War” thing. But you’ve got to admit, you guys had it coming, what with the whole “slavery” nonsense.

Paul Melancon:  Um… this is a rhetorical question, right? I don’t really have to pretend to be from the Dukes of Hazzard or anything, do I?

Oh, alright… “Yee-haw.”

BB:  Why don’t you tell the fine people of Boogieland a little bit about your musical and personal background starting from birth to five minutes ago?

PM:  It’s been a wild, rollercoaster ride of hedonistic excess, punctuated by crazed misery, a strange journey through a deranged landscape of despair and madness.  Shortly thereafter I started playing music (which was where I traveled around the country playing dives and festivals, toured with the Indigo Girls, and released some critically-acclaimed records).

BB:  Our readers may not be aware of this, but they are actually reading your words on a website you (along with Andrea Kremer) created.  Tell the good people about your design business and how they can get an awesome  website like mine.

PM:  The fine folks at Shake and Howdy Artist Services are available for all your web and graphic design and artist management needs at affordable rates.  Or, at least, that’s what Andrea just told me to say.

BB:  Any big surprises planned for the big Lizard show on Saturday?

PM:  I don’t know how big any of my surprises might be… I forgot to bring the matching jumpsuits this time around.  So, it’ll just be my usual mix of introspective and moody pop, misguided love of Jeff Lynne and the occasional cover song that I don’t realize is to old for the audience to recognize.  It’ll be TEH HAWESOME, as the kids say.  Or possibly they don’t.  At any rate, it’ll be great to finally play a show together and I’m looking forward to it!

This is going to be quite the great bill of pop rock music at the Lizard Lounge this Saturday night.  Be sure to get your tickets in advance.  Don’t get shut out – this is looking like another sell out.

Brendan Boogie: Basically, this is more of a conversation between fellow musicians than an interview, so feel free to ask me questions as well.

Mike Epstein: Oh, I thought I was asking all of the questions…

BB: You can if you want.

ME: Where were you on the night of September 23rd?

BB: Trick question. We’re only in January. There hasn’t been a September 23rd yet.

ME: Okay, you’ve earned the right to ask me a question.

BB: So where do you stand on the whole Conan/Leno debate?

ME: I find Conan much funnier than Leno, but I’m also always glad to see TV networks making dumb decisions and blowing tons of money. It gives me hope that they may someday completely disappear.

BB: I have been getting the feeling lately that everything is going to disappear. Everything’s just going to be so incompetently run that it’s all just going to go away. Everything – we’re just going to be kind of walking around, looking at each other.

ME: It would be pretty amazing if incompetence resulted in spontaneous combustion. I’d vote for that; you know, if God used referendums.

BB: Well, my band would certainly need a new leader if that were true. So you are in two very different musical projects, the Motion Sick and Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling. What’s it like working on such different types of music?

ME: The biggest issue arising from the differences between the two bands is that playing guitar and playing bass result in blistering/callousing on different parts of my fingers. Apart from that, it’s just all about having fun making music and somehow convincing people that it is in their best interest to listen to said music. I also really like having two completely different sounding projects. There is very little concern regarding which band a song should go to, for example.

BB: Being in a band with your wife (Sophia Cacciola) seems like it could make for some great material for songs. Do you ever write about each other?

ME: I’ve only ever written one song about her – “30 Lives.” She, however, didn’t accept it as a deep and meaningful profession of my love, but rather thought it to be about video games. Sophia, on the other hand, claims that every song is about me. Given that Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling is currently doing a set of concept songs about episodes of The Prisoner which was made before I was born, I conclude that the songs cannot be about me.

BB: Or that she feels like a prisoner in your loveless sham of a marriage.

ME: That is a possibility. Also, I demand that she calls me Number 2 and I call her Number 6. But very recently, some kids down in Texas used “30 Lives” as the first dance at their wedding, thus proving that it is a valid love song.

BB: I saw that video. That must have been a tremendous feeling.

ME: Yes, the wedding dance was probably the best musical thing that has ever happened to me. Musical “success” comes in weird ways I suppose, but it seems like having “30 Lives” in Dance Dance Revolution got us heard/seen by more people than everything else we’ve done combined…and led to this first dance thing.

BB: Speaking of licensing music, you’ve just started a new project. What’s going on with that?

ME: Sophia and I – I mean Number 6 and I have started a company called Launch Over. I’ve been working really hard at licensing The Motion Sick’s music for several years with decent success. I’ve been developing contacts in that area and constantly see calls for music that we just don’t make. Every time I saw a call or got a request, I kept thinking, well I know this band that sounds like that. Finally, I realized that the most useful thing I could possibly do was put together a collection of great Boston music and try and shop it around for placements. Licensing seems to be a really important revenue stream and exposure source for bands now and most local bands don’t have their hands in the cookie jar at all. We did create it structured as a business, but our real, honest focus is on raising the profile of the Boston music community.

BB: You guys, more than anybody, seem to really care about the scene. You’ve recently stepped down from your posts as heads of Boston Band Crush. What did you accomplish with that site of which you were most proud?

ME: I was just really happy that we were able to create what we set out to accomplish: a resource for learning about some of what is going on in Boston to help encourage people to become familiar with local bands and go out to see them. Our goal with BBC was really to try and help unite a broader cross-section of artists in Boston and let people know that there are great artists here – local music can be bad, but it can also be great. I don’t know that most people realize that. I think a lot of things just came together by luck in 2009 and Boston’s music world got 10x better. There is still a ton of work to be done, but I think a lot of us are learning how to make it happen more and more. I also think Facebook, believe it or not, has played a significant role in this process.

BB: I was talking to Brian King of Oranjuly about what facebook whores we are. It’s an essential tool in getting the word out, though.

ME: Honestly, I don’t consider it whoring. We’re communicating about what we’re passionate about. Just like someone else might be very excited to talk about American Idol or Mad Men, I am very excited to talk about my personal creative endeavors. In fact, I think it’s much less interesting to talk about TV or news stories on Facebook. If someone is not interested in what I’m doing, they can unfriend me or block me or whatever. I have realized that I can’t be concerned about whether I might offend each of the people I am friends with. I just have to talk about what excites me and let them decide if they want to be part of it. Also, I should say, I almost never block anybody and I make a significant effort to keep up with everyone’s status updates.

BB: I’ve only blocked ex-girlfriends who seem to have moved on. I shouldn’t have to subject myself to that shit. They should stay hung up on me forever, damn it!

ME: Fair enough. I will block people that spam me. Recent spammers were constantly posting on my wall and events about becoming a fan of a movie they were making and voting for them in that stupid new casino theme song contest (I’d rather not even plug the name of the place) that’s absolutely and totally exploiting bands by making them send their friends to the casino’s web site to register and vote. We actually more or less don’t participate in online voting for any competitions for our bands anymore.

BB: When I was in Scamper, we were famous in coming in 2nd place in online voting. It was kind of our “thing.”

ME: Yeah, online voting is just BS.

BB: I don’t even like real voting. Democracy? No thanks. So let’s talk about this show at the Lizard. It’s your first time playing there, right?

ME: This is indeed my first time ever playing at The Lizard.

BB: You excited?

ME: Excited understates the swell of emotion associated with this event.

BB: Can we expect anything special? Got any surprises planned?

ME: We actually decided to play a whole bunch of songs off our first record that we have not played in a long time. This is also our penultimate Boston show before we take a break from playing live for several months to finish recording. There are rumors that Steven Tyler will join us on stage, but I don’t know if they are true because I just made them up now.

BB: I’m not above lying to get people in the door. We might have a visit from Mr. Ted Danson. I mean, we MIGHT. It’s theoretically possible.

ME: I actually heard that Lady Gaga will be there.

BB: What’s the new record going to be like and when can we expect it?

ME: In this ever changing musical world, there is more and more confusion regarding how to release songs and albums. So, we’re doing more things at a smaller scale. We’ve actually got 3 releases in the near future. First, in February, we have a release for a split 7″ with Golden Bloom. It contains our cover of their song, “Doomsday Devices” and their cover of our song, “30 Lives” and will only be available on vinyl and as a digital download. We are also just about to release a set of 4 novelty songs that we wrote and prepared for a residency at Church two Summers ago. That will likely see a digital-only release. It may also be packaged with some other TMS rarities of some kind. We’re not sure yet. Finally, we are working on a 4-song EP with Anthony Resta at Bopnique. It’s a set of songs with an underlying story, though it’s not really quite a “concept” album. It’s about a time in the future when there is no music and the world is at peace and then someone finds a guitar and it causes turmoil. It’s called 3112.

BB: Is the person that finds a guitar a ki d with a beard at a college party? Because I always caused turmoil in college when I whipped the guitar out.

ME: No, but seriously, it’s a set of songs exploring some underlying themes including the dual meaning of the word “flight” and how with great power comes great responsibility. …and also, mutants have to be registered.

BB: The ironic twist is that they have to be registered at Macy’s.

ME: I was thinking that mutants had to register for online voting for a casino. I will actually reveal here the 4 song titles for the first time: 1. Winged Bicycle 2. Disappear 3. The Violinist 4. Helicopter

BB: You totally ripped off those song titles from Abbey Road.

ME: 5. Here Comes the Sun

BB: So I’ve got to say – you and Sophia are two people who have done more for the local music scene than anyone else I can think of. I hope everyone appreciates how lucky we are to have people like you in our town.

ME: Thanks very much. There are a lot of people doing great things around here, both musically and to provide support to the creative endeavors, and we’re really honored to be part of both.

BB: It almost makes up for the moustache. Almost.

ME: Yeah, it’s pretty inexcusable, but it did land me a role in TraniWreck and I am entering the Somerville mustache competition in February. I actually keep thinking about shaving it off, but I must keep it to bring joy to all of the people of the world.

BB: Anything else you want to add?

ME: If you come to the show at The Lizard, you will have fun. If you go to any other show, you will have a bad time.

BB: That’s a Michael Epstein guarantee?

ME: I guarantee it or no money back!

Be sure to check out two new novelty songs from Mike and the boys just posted at The Motion Sick website.  Tickets for the big Saturday night Lizard Lounge show are available here.  Better safe than sorry – this show is starting to look like a popular one.

Brendan Boogie: Oh, you’re going to start the interview?

BK: Ladies first.

BB: Ok, you are by far my most aggressive interview to date. I like it.

BK: That’s how we roll. We’re aggressive in Oranjuly. Aggresive dudes who love Steely Dan and yacht rock.

BB: Surprises for Saturday? Well, we’ve got some guests joining in. Jason Dunn of The Luxury will be playing with us, as will a guest I’m contractually not allowed to mention. Want a clue?

BK: Is it Bobby McFerrin?

BB: It’s Will Dailey. Fuck it – CBS Records can sue me if they want.

BK: I have yet to see Will play out. This bums me out. And Dunn, he’s everywhere. He should wear the Duran Duran outfit he wore for Halloween. Everyone should.

BB. So what about you guys – anything special planned for this Saturday?

BK: Of course. We’re changing our arrangements up completely for this set. We’re usually more guitar-focused, but I’m playing that lovely upright at the Lizard and we have some very random semi-covers. And our keyboardist Greg is playing trumpet and melodica – it’s much different than our normal set. This is our first show at the Lizard – so it’s an honor. You lucky bastards get to play there ALL the time. I’m jealous.

BB: It is a really great room. So for people who haven’t seen you guys, why don’t you give the folks a brief history of the band? Or don’t. You know, no pressure.

BK: We’re actually robots. No, really – we all met in normal circumstances – friends, college, ex-girlfriends. I write all the material so these gents bring my songs to life essentially. I can’t speak for them but I will anyway – it’s a dictatorship we all love.

BB: I certainly love my dictatorship.

Brian: It’s great. I’m very focused. Usually, though, if someone says something might be off-putting or odd well still take chances on that type of stuff. How about you? You write everything, right?

BB: I do all the writing, but for me that means more just the chords, melody and lyrics. I’ll tell the rest of the band about how I want it to feel, but I don’t really tell them what to play. They’re too good.

BK: That’s pretty cool. I’m more of an arrangements kinda guy than anything else so I’m a perfectionist over sounds and mood. We’re not Sigur Ros by any means but sophisticated pop is hard to do well.

BB: So you get pretty specific with your instructions to the band?

BK: Very. To almost a fault but it serves us well. I tend to like bands who are like that. Beach Boys, ELO (yes, im serious), McCartney, Steely Dan – we have nothing in common with them really but it’s that sound perfection-vibe.  I’ll usually record an entire demo with all the parts and bring that in to get my idea across.  I’m horrible at music terminology because I’m not schooled. The rest of my band knows their theory. Not me. Your recent album, was this your first since Scamper?

BB: No, my second. We came out with the Disposable Pop EP in 2008 and the new one last month.

BK: Ah. I’m always weird about releasing EPs. I don’t know why. It’s practical. We haven’t put out anything yet. We’re HOPING to release our album in April.

BB: Are you in process at all?

BK: Yes, have been for a year. The mixing is taking forever and I’m very picky and indecisive, but I want to release something I’m happy with I guess. Where did you record?

BB: With Jason at Madscience in Allston. It’s funny that you talk about perfectionism. It’s one of the things I vowed to get rid of when I started my own project. I’d rather have a lot of good records than one great record, you know?

BK: That’s a great point. Actually, I want to release an EP after this record of just up-tempo, high-energy (but still quirky and sophisticated) not so meticulous songs. This is also my first band. So it’s all interesting to me.

BB: What have you been doing before this band? What’s your background?

BK: I graduated from college in 2006. Started playing music (guitar/piano) around 2003/04 somewhere. Moved to Boston in 2006 and started this band around 2007. It’s been a very revolving line-up but we’ve finally found the right guys to play these tunes.

BB: I like a man who takes his time.

BK: Yeah, it’s good and bad. I’m a writer too and I love reading histories about bands and so I’m a little more calculated in what we do. We’re more aware of our potential failures.

BB: To me, the best thing to realize about local rock is that no one really cares what you’re doing except you. Some people find that depressing. I find it completely freeing.

BK: I totally agree with that. It’s only depressing if you make it that way. If you’re putting out good quality stuff and people dig it – then there’s not much to bitch about.

BB: I like the fact that I can do whatever I want whenever I want.

BK: Oh totally. I like that too. Like this show, I’m totally glad we’re getting to play it because it gives us a chance to do something different.

BB: Whenever I meet bands with major label deals, they envy me, not the other way around. It’s really a whole new world. They’re always sick and pale. They’re calling their wives and girlfriends and trying to muster up another night of rock and roll for hipsters. It’s not a life I want.

BK: You’re totally right.

BB: I usually am.

BK: I like the whole Mike Viola thing. Playing wacky shows doing whatever but having that respect and dedication that his fans have.

BB: It helps that you don’t pay your opening acts.

BK: Ripping people off is truly the key to success.

BB: Viola seems to think so.

BK: I think a lot of Boston bands are aware of this.

BB: Really? I’ve only really been fucked over by a headliner once and it was Viola. Who else is an asshole? Don’t be afraid to name names.

BK: Some bands are just notorious on not getting back on offers to play great shows. Or maybe they just hate us. I dont know. I love Boston but it’s hard has hell to get people out. What do you think?

BB: Yeah, it’s a challenge at times. It seems to be getting better, though. I think the key is putting a lot of effort into promotion, being creative, etc. You and I are both giant facebook whores.

BK: Oh, there’re far worse than us. But even with the other bands who are obnoxiously promotional – they are the ones getting people out. But I still feel like songs are the most important thing to a band. As dumb and obvious as that sounds.

BB: My favorite bands are always song-based bands vs. sound-based bands, you know what I mean? A cool sound is like a cool look to me. Helpful, but not ultimately lasting,

BK: Ahem, Passion Pit. Even though those guys are great live. So much energy.

BB: Man, I didn’t think Brian King, nicest guy in rock, would be such a trash talker. This is tremendous.

BK: I write for the Weekly Dig. The snarkiest paper in the city!

BB: So I must ask, and this is very important – where do you stand on the Conan vs. Leno debate?

BK: I’m gonna get a lot of shit for this. But I like both. Leno’s monologue’s can be hilarious but Conan shaped my bizarre humor. So I’m bummed for Conan.

BB: I’m glad you feel that way about Leno, because you know how I said you were headlining the Saturday night show at the Lizard? I’ve actually changed my mind and now I’m headlining. Sorry, pal.

BK: 

I believe it was Walter Cronkite who said “It’s always good to end an interview on a saddy face.”  Check out Oranjuly with Brendan Boogie & The Best Intentions, The Motion Sick, and Paul Melancon.  Advance tickets available here.

Brendan Boogie:  First off, how does it feel to be the first interview on brendanboogie.com who is NOT a former bandmate of mine?

Shawn Fogel:  I’m feeling some pressure to make up fake memories from the fame band that we were in together.

BB:  People may think that “fame band” was a typo, but we were actually in the movie Fame together.

SF:  I wanna live forever!  Thanks for turning my typo into something clever.

BB:  No problem.  So why don’t you give the people not familiar with you guys a brief, pithy history of your band. Remember… keep it pithy!

SF:   Well, Golden Bloom for the most part is me, myself and I.  I played all of the instruments on the album, but can’t quite pull that off live so I am joined by a rotating collective of top notch musicians when Golden Bloom takes the stage.

BB:  Was it tough to resist the urge to name the band after yourself?  I certainly couldn’t do it.

SF:  Well, I did play under my own name for many years, up until last summer when I made the switch.

BB:  I considered changing my band name to Brendan Boogie and the Brendan Boogies.  That’s how much I’m all about me.

SF:  I like it!  Can I join that band?

BB: Only if we do the theme song from Fame.

SF:  Sold.

BB:  I first saw you guys play at the Middle East Upstairs with The Motion Sick and remember turning to Mike (Epstein) and saying, “This is my new band I’m going to like.  These guys have everything I want in a band.”  That’s not really a question.  I just think it’s not a professional interview without a little game of Asskiss Rodeo.

SF:  Oh good, I couldn’t think of answer

BB:  But seriously, I really dig your live show and your record.  You, like me, are all about the pop.  It’s hard out there for us happy popsters in a world of hipster indie cred, isn’t it?

SF:  I totally agree.  I don’t think a band/artist should have to choose between being cool and being great.

BB:  You definitely have the craft of pop songwriting down pat.  What’s your approach to writing?  Slow, fast?

SF:  I wish it were a faster process, but sadly it is a long, slow road for me.  I tend to sit on a hook, or a chord progression or even a chorus for a while before it develops into something bigger.

BB:  I’m learning more and more that my process is way faster than most people’s.  I can’t tell whether that’s a good thing or not.

SF:  I once read that Neil Young would sit down to write a song a not get up do do anything else until it was done.  One shot, that’s it – song done.

BB:  I’m definitely not that quick, but I do write a lot and tend to not look back.  The artform I would compare it to is probably photography.  You learn how to take a good shot and then go out and take as many as possible.  Not all of them are going to be winners, but you’ll have a lot from which to choose.  You sound like more of a painter.  Or maybe a kabuki theater performer.

SF:  Yeah, I think I usually determine whether I like a song before I finish writing it and sometimes end up scrapping it before its done.  Time is like canvas (going with the painter analogy) and canvas ain’t cheap.

BB:  Really?  Canvas seems like it would be cheap to me.  I have no idea what the going rate of canvas is these days.

SF:  Blast!  My on the spot word of wisdom have been totally destroyed!

BB:  It’s… what I do.  So you are based in NY, yes?

SF:  A beautiful and exotic part of NY called NJ.

BB:  I’ve heard its lovely there. Want to hear my favorite New Jersey joke?

SF:  Please!  Is Bon Jovi in it?

BB: Nope. A guy and a girl are making out in a car, getting hot and heavy.  And she says, “Kiss me where it smells.”  So he drove her to New Jersey.

SF:  Isn’t that the name of your new album?  “Kiss Me Where It Smells”?

BB:  Yup.  And I’ll write that song in the time it takes to transcribe this interview.  So you spend a lot of time playing up in Boston. How do you find the audiences?

SF:  A lot of people mistakenly think we are a Boston band!  Maybe because I try to play Boston as often as I can, maybe because people actually pay attention and like us when we play!

BB:  You guys seem to have been able to break into the Boston scene more than any out-of-town band I can remember in a while.

SF:  That’s great to hear!  NYC is so tough and competitive, I’d rather play Boston any day.

BB:  And I think we’d rather have New Jersey-ites invading.  If I hear a band is from Brooklyn, I usually groan.  But if they’re from New Jersey, I can usually get down with that.  I feel like there’s a weird Jersey/Boston kinship.

SF:  Well, Boston bands are good kinfolk.

BB:  Speaking of Boston bands, you are doing a project with our buddies The Motion Sick.  Tell the people about that.

SF:  Just mastered it today so it is FRESH!  Golden Bloom covered their song “30 Lives” and they recorded Golden Bloom’s “Doomsday Devices”.  We’re putting it out as a 7″ single in February.  And playing a release show together at Middle East on 2/19.

BB:  Looking forward to it.  Anything else on deck for 2010?  A little bird told me you might be making an appearance in the successful Cover-Up series.

SF:  Smart bird!  Rumor has it I’ll be acting a bit of the fool in April.

BB:  That should be quite the extravaganza.  Anything else big coming up?

SF:  Over the summer I made an album with some fellas which was my first stab at music for kids.  We’re called The Macaroons and our album Let’s Go Coconuts comes out on JDub records in the coming months.

BB:  Did you sneak in any subversive messages for the kids?

SF:  Nope, we are 4 Jews making fun clean music about bagels and the like…

BB:  Finally, what have you got planned for our big show at the Somerville Armory on Friday?

SF:  Big fun!  I’ll play some tunes on my own and the fellow Golden Bloomer and Boston resident Josh Cohen will join me as well.  Working on a special cover or two and my baritone ukulele will even make an appearance!

BB:  Well, you know the old expression: “It’s not a party until the baritone ukulele comes out.”

SF:  Absolutely.

Check out Golden Bloom with yours truly and Nate Rogers from The Future Everybody THIS FRIDAY at the Somerville Armory.  And if you get a chance, visit www.goldenbloom.net and help Shawn with his attempted feud with Rachael Ray by checking out the “Golden Bloom Chicken Challenge”.  Yup, you read that right.

The vest of the vest

In preparation for his big acoustic show with yours truly and Golden Bloom at the Somerville Armory, I gchatted with Nate while watching pro wrestling on television…

Brendan Boogie:  So, your thoughts on tonight’s return of Bret “The Hitman” Hart to the WWE?

Nate Rogers: You misspelled “Bret Michaels.” And “The Tonys.”  Also, that was like 6 months ago.

BB: So a lot of interviews ask what your favorite local bands are right now. I’m going to go the other way – what current local bands do you not care for so much?

NR: Well, The Rationales definitely get worse the more ex-Scampers they recruit.  I’m also tired of the Fatal Flaw never booking shows with me. Good music, but come on already.

BB:  Well, in all fairness, if you were them, would YOU want to spend the night with you?

NR: Spending the night with me is no longer a pre-requisite for a gig.
 
BB: Speaking of ex-Scampers, what do you miss most about our old outfit?

NR: It’s something I hadn’t even thought of, going into TFE:  in Scamper, I only sang lead on a couple tunes, giving me ample opportunity to dance around, visit other people on stage, do foxy synchronized routines, lean over backwards til my knees snapped, and so on. Now I’m locked at the mic for pretty much the whole show. I need to get more creative with my hip shimmying, and/or write longer guitar solo sections for Morgan.
 
BB: I miss the backrubs.

NR: I made you do that at O’Brien’s, is that right?

BB: Yes, for our 5 year Scamperversary, I gave out coupons. Mike got one hug, you got one backrub, and Keith gets to punch me in the stomach once as hard as he wants.  As long as he warns me. That’s how Houdini died.

NR: Did Keith ever cash in, by the way?
 
BB:  No, he’s the only one that hasn’t cashed in. It’s good until 2013, though.

NR: I’ll be sure to remind him. He should have done it at your recent Paradise show.

BB: Knowing him, he’s waiting for an even more opportune moment. Like me speaking at my kids’ career day at school.

NR: Heaven knows he hasn’t forgotten. He must be getting Google Calendar reminders.
 
BB: So other than the shimmying, what’s different about being in charge of a band for the first time ever?

NR: I think I’m most struck by having the final say in things. The day-to-day stuff isn’t so different from any of my former projects. We divvy up duties — Matt is spearheading our upcoming recording project, for instance — and I strive to be pretty laid back as “leader.” But when we do reach an impasse, it’s nice to be able to say “hey, it’s my band, we’re doing it this way.” Or, even better, when someone will just say “Nate should make this decision.”

BB: Speaking of recording, what’s the story with that? Want to let us in on the plans?

NR: We’re hitting New Alliance at the end of the month to lay down basics on hopefully 4 tunes, time and money permitting. We’re launching into pre-production mode in earnest this week. Mike’s excited to use a metronome again. But before we get to that, I foresee a nice knock-down drag-out about which songs we’re doing.

BB: You’ll find those are the moments when its good to be the king.

NR: After New Alliance, we’ll be doing the rest with Matt. Too early to predict an estimated release, alas.

BB: I’m definitely interested to hear what you guys come up with in the studio. You have some pretty diverse players in your band. What does everyone bring to the table?

NR: Oh man, it’s a whole new world for me. The only person whose bag of tricks I’m kind of familiar with is Mike, of course, having played with him since 2001. But with the new guys and girl, he and I are both getting pushed out of our comfort zones, which is awesome. I love the fresh blood and new ideas and new dynamics. In Matt and Morgan, I feel like we found this two-headed monster of awesome searing rock and roll, writing parts that don’t remotely resemble anything that, say, Scamper would have done. And they do it like magic, disappearing into a mystical mind-meld musical moment and emerging with some Holy Shit part. And then V-Rock… having keys/piano has been a long-elusive band dream of mine, and it has more than lived up to that dream. Considering Veronica has never done this “local rock band” thing before, she’s come into her own real fast. Her parts, particularly the piano ones, often elevate songs from merely “grand” to outright “epic.” Once we get the 3-part harmonies going in earnest, we’ll be unstoppable.  (I just broke my self-proclaimed 2010 moratorium on “epic.”)

BB: Are you talking about using the word or the length of your answer?  Seriously, I grew a beard waiting for that one.

NR: The problem with doing an interview with someone like me over a chat program is the interminable waits while I find just the perfect words, phrasings, and punctuatings.
 
BB: Well, it actually gave us time for a write-in question, believe it or not.
 
NR: Ha, we’re taking callers.
 
BB: This one comes from Mike M. in Revere:  “Who is your favorite bandmate and why?”

NR: Mike Nastri. Look it up.

BB: So we’ve got an acoustic show coming up on Friday at the Somerville Armory. Have you even been inside this place yet? I hear its a great venue.

NR: I drove by it 700 times when we rehearsed at the Somerville Rock House, but I’ve never been inside.  I saw a parking lot, though. That’s nice.

BB: The best part is that we’ll be safe if the Redcoats try to attack.  Which, let’s face it, they might.

NR: We will lob acoustic guitars at them, and shield ourselves with our beards*. (* = contingent on you having a beard.)

BB: The beard issue is still undecided. So besides facial hair, what have you got in store for the people on Friday?

NR: I’m looking to nicely represent all of my songwriting eras. TFE stuff, Scamper stuff, solo whiny whiskey stuff. Maybe a new one. Maybe Veronica’s vocal debut on a heartbreaky favorite. And if you could see my Firefox history for the past couple hours, you’d see the ridiculous things under consideration for a cover.
 
BB: Huey Lewis, I assume?

NR: That’s eerie. “If This is It” seriously just came up on iTunes.

BB: As it should be. All is right in the universe. So the final question, as you would predict, is about me.
 
NR: And the answer, as ever, is no.

See Nate as well as me and the great Golden Bloom at the Somerville Armory this Friday night.  8pm start!  Early show!

David Mirabella

Today, I present my interview with David Mirabella of The Rationales. He will be bringing the boys (including yours truly sitting in on bass for an injured Sean Black) to the Lizard Lounge this Saturday night. Also playing are Scarce, former Scamper buddies The Future Everybody, and real-life grizzly man Jon Gorey.

I caught up with Dave in his Malibu-area hot-tub-in-the-back-of-a-Hummer-limo. Enjoy…

Brendan Boogie: Rumor has it that you got banned from doing any more of the Cover-Up shows. What happened?

David Mirabella: You must not remember it, but during the finale of “I Shall Be Released” at the Last Waltz Cover-Up, (Rationales guitarist) Kevin McMahon took his long-standing revenge upon you by doing something very bad that involved a guitar, an order of tater tots, and your “lower areas.”

BB: Hmm… I don’t remember that part. Was that when I was blacked out on female growth hormones?

DM: Indeed.

BB: So let’s get to my favorite subject – me. You are a former member of the Brendan Boogie Band. What were your 17 favorite things about working with me?

DM: It all comes down to your musk.

BB: I’m so flattered you noticed. I work hard on my musk.

DM: Complex pre-choruses come naturally but musk takes work. Of course, having Mike (Mirabella) in the band made the musk thing easier.

BB: True, the three of us were a musk stew. So you played with your brother Mike in my band and now he’s with you in the Rationales. What kind of challenges and benefits come with being in a band with your brother?

DM: Well, there’s the cool benefit of every small discussion about musical direction, be it an arrangement issue or where to play a gig, comes with a lifetime of baggage to it. “Do you think that bridge should be shorter?” “Sure, just like that time you ruined Easter!” On the plus side, I now get to make big balls jokes.

BB: Have you gotten into any real knock-down drag-outs at rehearsal?

DM: Yes. You wouldn’t know it, but I’m very violent. Not just with Mike either. Why do you think you are going to be our 7th bassist in a year? Sean (Black) is home with a broken arm right now. Its nice that people believe it happened at work, but we’ll see if he ever suggests covering Mellencamp again.

BB: Speaking of which, I will be sitting in on bass with you this Saturday night at the Lizard Lounge. You guys go through bassists like Spinal Tap went through drummers. That’s not really a question. I just wanted to sneak in the obligatory Spinal Tap reference.

DM: No, its true. Which reminds me – you have to move at least 900 miles away from Boston in the next year as a result of playing with us. I wanted to make sure you committed to the gig before telling you that, but it is apparently a rule.

BB: My bags are already packed. They usually are. So I understand you’re working on a new record. Tell the good people about that.

DM: Um, thats sort of private – don’t you think? We don’t just go telling everyone about all our little ‘projects.’

BB: Yes, it’s important to keep those sort of things secret. God forbid people actually know about the record and (gasp) BUY it!

DM: No we’re pretty psyched actually. We should have 10 spanking new tracks of our signature heavy-prog-reggae-zydico stylings available by the spring.

BB: You’re working with Ed V over at Q Division again?

DM: Ed is helping us out. He is so much fun to work with. We went into Q for basics and are piecing the rest together as we go.

BB: I’ve heard (and played) some of the new songs. Excellent stuff.

DM: Well. We are the best thing ever so it stands to reason.

BB: As you mentioned earlier, you have gone through a lot of different bass players, drummers, etc. How do you think the seemingly constant turnover of personnel effect the end product?

DM: I love everything that everyone has been in the band has brought and love the changing directions and options that come with the change. But the biggest negative effect is just how much it can slow a band down to always be getting new members up to speed. That and getting everyone’s name right at practice. I’ve taken to just calling our bassists “Bass dude.” “Hey bass dude, gimme a beer.”

BB: Nate Rogers and I used to just refer to your bassists as “Reggie Rationale.” Seemed easier than learning names.

DM: Sound policy. I still think “Reggie” when I see John, “Ralphie” when I see Greg… which brings me to you. You will be “Ruldoph Rationale”… because it is Christmas and all.

BB: Luckily, the alcohol I will be consuming should turn my nose red. So what can folks expect from show this Saturday at the Lizard Lounge?

DM: It’s going to be a great time. Just seeing Mike try to keep straight which band he’s in and what song he’s playing will be worth the price of admission alone. We have Scarce, The Future Everybody, Jon Gorey, you, me, them… it’s going to be a blast.

BB: Anything else you want to share with the people?

DM: Well, I have always felt the need to come clean about that day in first grade that the whole class was kept after school because no one would own up to having been whistling.

BB: You’re a coward.

DM: Oh, it wasn’t me whistling. I just feel bad that I didn’t rat out John Smolinski for whistling and as a result missed a killer episode of Starblazers.

BB: In closing, how did I do with my first interview here on BrendanBoogie.com?

DM: I was your first!?!? But you are so skillful!

The Rationales

Check out The Rationales at the Lizard Lounge this Saturday night. 8pm doors. Photo credit: www.arguedasphotography.com.