1. Tell us about the band?
We are a duo from Cleveland, Ohio that plays indie/psychedelic/rock music.  We like time travel, porn, beer, liquor, marijuana, John Titor, The Frogs, and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. We travel around the country in a sweet ass ride called, “the Silver Bullet” and we enjoy sleeping on random people’s couches.

2. Have you ever been fed up with playing music or with band members, why?
Fed up with playing music?…no because that’s how we expel our demons.  Band members?  Yes.  Sam’s actually locked in the closet right now on a timeout for calling me names that I WILL NOT REPEAT.

3. What was your first concert experience? Do you remember how you felt once the concert was over?
Sam: My first concert was when I was 5 years old and my dad took the family to go see Blood, Sweat and Tears.  Shortly after arriving and taking our seats on the lawn, the cops approached my dad and said, “Where’d you get that beer?  You can’t bring beer in here.”  Then my sweet daddy slowly turned around and whispered in my ear, “Hey little buddy. Put this in your pocket,” and kissed me on the forehead. And that was my first introduction to acid…

4. Did you grow up wanting to play music, or when did the whole making albums thing come about and how?
Yeah, once I started doing drugs it all seemed to make sense.  Sam just got into it for the orgies.

5. What qualifies you guys to be in a band?
I played the flute in Sixth Grade and Sam’s played the skin flute his whole life.  That’s how we met, a love for flutes.

6. Do you have a favorite song you have ever written? Why?
We’re writing a new album right now so that’s a hard one to answer…our favorites are always the ones we’re currently creating…

7. What is your greatness weakness as a band?
Our band name. It seems to really piss a lot of people off.  Come out from behind your computer and say it to our faces!

8. What qualities should a successful label or manager have?
I’m not really sure.  If you find out, please tell us.

9. What’s the scariest thing that has ever happened to you in your life?
Nicole:  Meeting Sam.
Sam:  Meeting Nicole.

Mr. Gnome – Slow Side

(click to play, right click to download)

10. What’s the first thing you do when the band arrives in a new town while on tour?
We like to go to thrift stores and look for old music gear for ridiculously cheap prices.  We just bought an old organ from a thrift store in Madison, Wisconsin for $20.00.

11. Have you ever had an audience member give you the willies because they kept looking at you all weird?
Yes, but usually after they watch us have sex they stop looking at us so funny.

12. Have you ever cried while listening to music? If so what were you listening too?
Nicole: Yes, the first time I listened to The Frogs, “Grandma’s in the Corner with a Penis in Her Hand Going No No No No.”  But they were tears of joy.

Sam:  I remember it like it was yesterday.  7th Grade Dance.  Yolanda Dukes forced me to be her boyfriend.  Boyz II Men, “On Bended Knee” came on.  Yolanda held me tight and laid one on me.  Her mustache poked my soft 7th grade boy skin.  Tears rolled down my cheek.  Dearest Yolanda, if you’re reading this, even though you scared the shit out of me, were 3 times bigger than me, made me contemplate my sexuality, and made me cry, you’ll always be my special first kiss.

13. If you could re-record, or re-write any song of yours what would that song be?
Our first two eps.  It’s like looking at our artwork from Kindergarten.

14. What’s the worst place you have ever played a show at, and why?
We played a show in Eureka, California where a 50 year-old lady kept yelling at us to stop playing because she wanted to listen to the jukebox.  At the same time a man in scrubs, we thought he was a doctor – apparently he was a mental patient – was dancing with toilet paper that he picked off the bottom of a woman’s shoe.  However, we did get paid in drugs, which more than made up for the strange night.  Although it wasn’t one of our best shows…by far the classiest.

15. In a perfect world how many albums would you have to sell to be happy?
7,342,431.69

16. What do you guys have planned for the future?
We’ll be touring the U.S. at the end of this month and plan to record our next album later in the year.

17. What music do you listen to when you are having a bad day?
Sam: The Footloose Soundtrack never seems to let me down.

18. If you had your life to live over again, what one thing would you change?
Nicole: Geez, these questions are intense.  I wouldn’t have stolen Pez at the drug store in the mall when I was 11.  I’ve always felt really bad about that.

Sam:  I’m thinking stickin’ with my basketball career would’ve been a lot more financially beneficial than my current career choice.

Visit Mr. Gnome

1. Tell us about the band?

Marching Band was started by Erik and Jacob when we met our first year in college. We called ourselves Second Language back then, and played more acoustic stuff, but the focus on melodies and arrangements were there from the start. We released three home made albums before we got signed in 2007. Right now we’re about to release our second album with U&L Records.

2. Have you ever been fed up with playing music or with band members, why?

Music has been a natural part of our lives all our lives. Jacob had been playing in many bands before and had been recording stuff for several years. And we both have always liked, and still like, the process of making an album. When you get the final CD in your hand it always feels very rewarding and that it’s been worth the trouble of making it.

3. What was your first concert experience? Do you remember how you felt once the concert was over?

Jacob went with his family to a Manhattan Transfer concert i Stockholm when he was about 4 years old. It was held at the big amusement park Gröna Lund and Jacob got lost. It took an hour for the family to find him by the police office because they couldn’t call out for his parents during the concert. He was reading black and white comic books when his family found him. It was probably his strongest experience of feeling rejected and had a deep impact on his personality; always wanting to make sure everyone’s happy and getting along…

4. Did you grow up wanting to play music, or when did the whole making albums thing come about and how?

See #1 and #2.

5. What qualifies you guys to be in a band?

Nothing. We just try hard being one. But we’re OK at dealing with conflicts at least. You have to be when it’s just the two of you.

6. Do you have a favorite song you have ever written? Why?

Our first song “Car” is a really sweet country ballad about a car crash. That first record it’s on will become a collectors item.

7. What is your greatness weakness as a band?

We’re great at not allowing any weak parts in our songs. That’s how we made it this far. Our weakness is probably that our live band members have to tell us to rehearse.

8. What qualities should a successful label or manager have?

Be really, really good with people and no BS. You have to have a great music taste and business sense at the same time.

9. What’s the scariest thing that has ever happened to you in your life?

We’ve both lived very comfortable lives. In South Africa we had to reverse our way away from a flock of elephants standing in the road. That’s the only scary thing we can think of right now. But it was more exciting than scary actually…

Marching Band – For Your Love

10. What’s the first thing you do when the band arrives in a new town while on tour?

Feel confused. Grab whatever free food there is.

11. Have you ever had an audience member give you the willies because they kept looking at you all weird?

No. Only pretty, nice, middle class, well behaved boys and girls at our shows…

12. Have you ever cried while listening to music? If so what were you listening too?

In church when Jacob was about 5 years old he cried when an American gospel choir visited the church he grew up in. It might have been a spiritual experience or just the overwhelming atmosphere they managed to build up in the room.

13. If you could re-record, or re-write any song of yours what would that song be?

Jacob regrets he ever recorded a song called “Waiting” on our first demo. It’s a just a huge cliché.

14. What’s the worst place you have ever played a show at, and why?

We played a night club in Sundsvall in northern Sweden once. There were 800 people in the building, 20 of them were staring at us 30 m away at the bar while the rest were dancing to “Cotton Eye Joe” in the basement.

15. In a perfect world how many albums would you have to sell to be happy?

Just enough to make a living out of it. Real happiness comes from other things. Like friends. Or Swedes winning Olympic gold medals.

16. What do you guys have planned for the future?

The new release with the supporting tours.

17. What music do you listen to when you are having a bad day?

Anything that doesn’t make it worse.

18. If you had your life to live over again, what one thing would you change?

We sing on our new album that we “have no regrets, it’s so hard to accept”. Maybe do some more things we’d regret? Just to know how it feels.

-Visit Marching Band