SPIV introducing...spiv: TR: How long did you play together before you recorded the album? The first time we were going into the studio to record "Rockstar", our drummer got arrested, and we had to cancel the session and hire a new drummer. Then, when we went in to do it again, our bassist was in jail, so Ken Stringfellow ended up playing the bass and keyboard parts. He had never played with us before. So, to answer your question, the lineup on the CD had been together about two days. Since then, we have eradicated the criminal element in the band. TR: How does this album translate into a live show? There are a lot of overdubs and parts that we couldn't play live without an enormous band. Making an album gives you the opportunity to do a lot of things that you can't do live. Generally speaking, we are a much better live band than a studio band. The difficulty for us is translating the energy we put out live into a studio setting. The next record we release may have to be a live album. TR: How important is humor/cynicism within your music? Is it what attracts your audience to your music? Anyone who listens to our music without seeing the humor is probably missing the point. Not that we don't have some very serious, intense songs, but "Everybody's a Rock Star Tonight" taken seriously would come off as a bad attempt at the Ramones or something. Laughter is an incredibly healing force, and sometimes we find ourselves playing the "holy fool" just to get people to lighten up a bit, and not take themselves so seriously. I think what attracts people to our music is our diversity. People have often commented how our CD's could be a compilation album of many different bands. We have been compared to anyone from Nirvana to Frank Zappa. TR: How often do you tour? Nationally or locally? We would tour three times as much if bandmembers could stay out of jail! When this happens I hop in a van by myself and panhandle acoustic if I have to. A lot of times I end up selling more CD's this way because I get to meet and talk to people on a much more intimate basis than being on a big stage. So far, we have only toured in the West. Mostly the I-5 corridor (Vancouver, BC to San Diego, CA), and as far east as Kansas. I really want to tour Europe, and want this to happen this Fall. I also have a lot of friends on the East Coast that really want us to play, so we're on our way as soon as we can swing it. TR: What recommendations would you make to other bands on music as a careeer choice? Go for it, but just be aware that it is a hard way to make a living. Most records released don't even break even. I wouldn't advise anyone to pursue it unless it's something you can't possibly live without. I have definitely had more fun than bankroll. When it ceases to be fun it's probably a good idea to move on. Like Johnny Rotten at the end of the Sex Pistols U.S. tour saying, "THIS IS NO FUN!!", and then they broke up. I have seen the music business chew up and spit out a lot of great talents and leave them without ground to stand on. TR: Do you have a day job and what is it? Day job? That is against my principles. After all, a Spiv is one who uses their wits to avoid a real job. But, money is usually up and down in music, so you have to be creative. Sometimes I write poems on the spot for people if they buy me lunch. Also, I can fix things, and always travel with tools. Every town you go to there is always someone who has a leaky faucet or a door that won't shut right or something. Sort of like Bill Bixby, fix what needs fixin and move on. I was also thinking about getting into greeting cards... TR: What does it take to have a hit song? Luck is a big part of it, whatever that is. You obviously need to start with a great song, but then I'd say a brilliant producer is key! I went to see George Martin speak about his work with the Beatles, and his part in their success cannot be undervalued! He took the basic clay of their songs and turned them into art. He is truly brilliant. Anyone who can produce Sgt. Pepper's with only a 4 track recorder is THE MAN. TR: Would you sell your songs to a pop-star band, like Blues Traveler, if they wanted to record them? I have written hundreds of songs, many of which may never get recorded. I wouldn't mind selling them at all. I could sure use the money and it beats getting a job. Willie Nelson (I'm a huge Willie fan) wrote many a great country song for other artists before he ever made it himself. I have written songs for other bands (none as big as Blues Traveler) just to see what they can do with it. I think it's an honor for someone to recognize your songwriting enough to want to cover your songs. TR: Would you be happy being a one hit wonder? Better one than none. But happiness for me doesn't depend on whether or not I succeed in music. If I allowed the music business to dictate my level of self-esteem for me, I would probably have jumped off a bridge years ago. TR: Do you think new bands along with the greater separation of the mainstream/major acts from the indie-world and the greater expense of touring than it used to be, will create a new music scene based on the local? That really is up to each local community. No one is going to hand your town a "scene". It depends on the musicians and bands being able to work together. Certainly if you can't afford to get out of town, you better start looking around at what you can do at home! TR: Do you think cities/regions will further develop their own sounds? I think before there was syndicated national radio and things like MTV, each region had more of its own sound, simply because people were more influenced by what they could experience first hand. Now, the sound that people nationally recognize as a regional sound depends a lot on the recordings that they hear from that area. Motown in Detroit, Chess in Chicago, Sun sounds of Elvis Presley, etc. When people speak of the "Seattle sound", they are referring to the sound that was made popular from that area, but Seattle has always had a great jazz scene, and a very musically diverse scene. Not every band from Seattle played grunge! My wish is that bands will try to be as original as possible, take a lot of risks, and hopefully come up with something all their own, no matter what town they find themselves in. TR: And do you think this will increase the amount of music venues where new bands can play? I think what will increase the amount of venues is the concert-going public's willingness to support live music and spend their money to this end. Music hall owners are business people, and if the business is flourishing, and there is money to be made, then there will be more venues. Local bands need to realize that they are competing for an audience with things like rented movies, MTV, and cable television. If I can stay home and watch Elvis the King on TV, why should I venture out, pay for parking and expensive drinks so I can see you? (because TV is boring, but that's a whole other interview...) TR: Do you think there is an audience, will there be an audience for this localized music? Once again, that all depends on there being a buzz about the local music. If no one is excited about what is going on, then that feeling just adds to the apathy of people who would go to the shows. On the other hand take Sub Pop, for example. They just started telling everyone that the scene was huge and was going to be the next big thing. When enough people started believing that, it started happening. No one is going to get anywhere by bad mouthing their scene. If you're telling everyone that your scene sucks, don't be surprised if it does! TR: Where did you draw your biggest crowd? I played at the Evergreen St. College in Olympia for about 25,000 people at Super Saturday with a bunch of other bands and entertainers. TR: Where did you play your best gig? The most die hard of our fans claim our best show was played in Denver, CO, in a little hole in the wall with a two-piece hard rock band named Migas, from Austin, TX. We had everyone in the place up on stage with us singing our song, "Yeah" (the only lyrics being Yeah, Yeah, Yeah). This experience later led to the lyric "There's nobody out in the audience, because everybody's up on the stage" in Everybody's a Rockstar Tonight. TR: Where do you think indie music is going? More folk, more pop, more hip hop? I would hope that after the rise of the Back Street phenomenon, Brittany pop, and all that, that there will be songwriters emerging that are more socially conscious. I am definitely seeing more folk based music than I have in a while; people with a guitar and a message. I really like Elliot Smith a lot. He is a song smith, works hard at his craft, and it shows. I really like punk a lot as well, but it's sort of dying in its own nihilism, just like it did in the late seventies/early eighties. I think it will be all kinds of styles evolving, as more and more bands are opting to put out their own recordings and do it themselves, we will hear more music that may have never been released by a major. TR: Does it take a good booking agent or management to make it in this biz? And by making it all I mean is recording albums and touring in one van with a trailer. It certainly helps. I like how you said "good" in front of agent and manager, because a bad one can make things much worse than if you never had one at all! We have had both good and bad for sure. It makes it a lot easier if someone calls us up and says, "here are your tour dates", then I don't have to play businessman and I can show up with my guitar and off we go. But you can pull off the van/trailer tour booking it on your own if you network a lot, make a lot of friends, couch-surf, etc. Knowing a lot of other bands in towns that you want to play is usually how we have always done it. TR: Do you feel the merger of AOL and Time Warner will really mess things up, or make cross entertainment (MSNBC/NBCi, CBS-VIACOM, ABC-DISNEY) the new positive standard for the future? Things are already messed up. Radio in general is far too corporate, and you end up hearing a lot of music that is there only because it has money behind it, and not for the quality of the songs. I think that the more "MEGA" things get, the more generic they usually get, so I look to the independents to make the moves that will dictate the new trends. TR: Do musicians in general lose credibility with the mass popular audience as their music becomes free as traded mp3s on the Internet? I don't think that the musicians lose credibility, but when something becomes a mass, easily traded commodity I think it takes the sacredness out of it. I started playing rock and roll because I needed something to believe in, and to take that away makes life much less gratifying. My favorite rock and roll memories were seeing bands on their first van tour with four other people in the audience, and they still destroyed the place. Then, I bought their CD and I was one of four people in my whole town that had heard of them. TR: What do you think is going to happen with Napster? My hope is that Napster can continue, because it is a great resource, but that they will pay a small royalty to the artists for each play. I also think artists should have the right to choose whether or not their material is given away free, and if they are against it, that decision should be respected. It is a great promotional tool, and can make you popular in the process, but having fame without the fortune is like having a brand new car without the keys. But, if I could download food and download rent, I would love to give my music away for free! TR: Where do you get most of your music? Online stores, traditional record stores? I like to buy CD's at shows from the artist whenever possible. I also support record stores that support independent bands, and buy most of my CD's from the guys down the street that are very good about putting up our flyers, getting us on the listening stations, etc. TR: What % is indie vs. major? About half and half. The last three major label records I bought were Elvis Costello, David Bowie's "Hunky Dory" and The Clash "London Calling" because they were all stolen from my collection. The last three indie were Modest Mouse, the Minutemen, and a Descendents record. TR: Which Descendents record? I still know all their lyrics by heart. Their Liveage album. Spiv's first full length CD, "By Definition" was for the most part mixed and recorded at their studio in Ft. Collins, CO. Bill Stevenson really liked our song, "Nibley View". TR: What bands do you feel aren't getting the attention they deserve? I recently saw the Gaza Strippers, and was blown away. 1000 watt confessions, man they are rock and roll like it was meant to be. TR: Are indie bands even the underground anymore? And if not them, who is? A lot of the underground parties I go to have DJ's anymore. But most of the DJ's I meet want to be in a band...The true underground is some kids in their garage pounding out something that is driving their parents nuts. TR: What influence do you think our new president will have on indie music? I was living in Olympia, WA from 1990-1994. While Bush, Sr. was in office and the gulf war was raging, the economy wasn't that good, etc. all the bad news was pouring gas on the fire of the grunge movement. The third time I saw Nirvana was at an anti-draft fundraiser. And Bush, Jr. has only been in office for a little over a month, and already the bombs are dropping and the economy is sagging, so I predict great indie music in the years ahead. You can buy the new Spiv record at their label's website: www.popsweatshop.com