GRAND MAL TR: How NYC is your music, how much does living here influence your sound? i grew up obsessed with all things New York....the books, the music, the art...the architecture...the iconography... so i guess NYC is influence #1 on me and grand mal...however, like richard hell or the n.y.dolls, the heartbreakers...the root influence is probably the rolling stones... TR: Do you feel like your band, and related bands from Brooklyn, constitutes a scene that many feel has disappeared in NY or hasn't been around since the hard-core scene of the late 80's? i know a lot of nyc musicians and there is a certain cameraderie...however we are all products of 21st america...diverse and fragmented...not unified by any one concept or belief...so there aint no scene that i can say that i am part of... TR: Is power-pop bad for indie music? what's power pop? is it music made by the well educated, affluent children of rich baby boomers? who went to ivy league schools and play music as a hobby? if it is, then it's probably bad...i know i cant stand that type of music... that's probably 'cause i'm jealous of those damn rich kids....but if it isnt?...i dont know... i like the beach boys... TR: Do you think the music world in NY is becoming like Boston was in the late 70's early 80's (the cars, aerosmith, the pixies)? christ, i hope not....boston is a horrible place...it's like apartheid era johannesburg... TR: Has LA surpassed NY as the place to "make it"? L.A. is a wasteland....but it's monstrous superficiality...it's porno culture...has spread to every corner of america...including nyc... if your sick enough to want to crawl into the belly of the beast...and try to 'make it'...i guess L.A. would be the place...you could hang out with beck and lou barlow... L.A.is where the stand-up comic is king... TR: What does makin' it mean to you? to make a decent living doing something...that you do well and also enjoy... TR: Are you satisfied with your present success? what? TR: What is your definition of success? if you owe the IRS a lot of money you are probably sucessful... TR: How important was your live show in cultivating your sound? on stage is where you find out if your new songs hold-up...you can always tell if they dont....that horrible sick feeling you get in your stomach...when you play a new song that is clearly not ready for public consumption... TR: How many times a week does your band practice? we have no fixed schedule... TR: Do you guys have a day jobs and what are they? everyone in grand mal is a working man... our jobs range from blue collar to black market...to temporary secretary... TR: Where do you get most of your music? Online stores, traditional record stores? traditional record stores that buy and sell used items.... TR: Do you think the greater presence of booking agents, distributors, and publicity crews have made indie-rock in the mirror image of the type of musical organizations indie labels were trying to remove/distance themselves from? it's all showbiz...once you get onstage and get paid to play your songs or sell recorded versions of them...except for a few stellar holdouts (like ani difranco etc) everyone in the history of indie rock has sold out to the majors when they got the chance...myself included...it's kind of depressing TR: Are indie bands even the underground anymore? And if not them, who is? musicians, rappers etc. from the blighted inner cities of the u.s. ...people who live on the economic margins of our society...all the people who are actively persecuted, repressed and enslaved in this or any other country...they are truly underground and any sound they make will be genuinely 'indie'... TR: Do you see that fragmentation of a scene ending, a forming up of, not the sounds really, but the approach to making music? it has never been easier to make music alone in your bedroom... TR: Do you think making your music is a socio-politcal act? unfortunately, no.. TR: Why can't rich kids write good songs? OR Why can't rich kids write punk rock? plenty of rich people write good or great music...it just makes me uncomfortable to witness not only the gentrification of neighborhoods and cities but also of art,culture, music, etc...it makes me nervous.... TR: Do you consider your band Punk, or is it Rock? And does it matter? g.mal is a rockandroll band... TR: Has most new indie music taken the banner of Rock since radio has gone either glossy/pop or rap-rock? let's hope so...when people are forced into the margins for whatever reason...economics etc...they tend to respond with art that is not created with any consideration towards the marketplace... the next few years will be a fecund time... TR: Do musicians in general lose credibility with the mass popular audience as their music became free as traded mp3s on the internet? nahh,if the free mp3's etc are any good people will want to find out more... TR: What band from the 90's did the world miss out on? i cant remember...the 90's were a long long time ago... was. TR: What bands do you feel aren't getting the attention they deserve? i dont know...who cares what i think? Learn more about Grand Mal at their label's website http://www.arenarockrecordingco.com