Mike from Geographer was kind enough to answer some questions that Noah Aldonas asked him. Enjoy the interview, and enjoy their music on The Next Big Sound.

For those who don’t know much about Geographer, can you give us a little background on yourselves and your influences?

We met in San Francisco, but we’re from all over. Mike is from NJ, Brian is from Detroit, and Nate grew up in Japan. Brian and Nate met in Boston, where Nate toured around with Annie Clark, who later took the name St. Vincent and signed with Sufjan Stevens’ Asthmatic Kitty label. Mike moved out to San Francisco to start a band, and met Nate playing open mic nights. Nate brought Brian in on drums about a year later.

Why did you turn to music after moving to San Francisco rather than something else?

Ever since I realized you could, I wanted to play music for a living. When I was younger I just assumed you said to somebody, “hey man, I’d like to play shows in that stadium,” and they would say, “great!” So I always had a blind confidence in the notion that I would be a musician. Other than a stint in college where I fancied myself a novelist, it’s all I’ve ever truly considered doing. So when I moved out to San Francisco, it was with the express purpose of getting my songs into the hands of a band.

You have shows running up and down the West Coast from Feb. 14 to Feb. 20, how do you cope with the stress of life on the road?

We love touring. It’s the greatest thing a human being can do. You go to a new town, you play a show, everyone comes up and talks to you afterwards. It’s like a free ticket into the castle. So for the most part, we just have a blast. But of course things break, people get tired, tensions can rise. But we have a very open and honest relationship with each other, which allows everybody to get stuff off their chests, and not be too worried when we get mad at each other. But really, life on the road is our dream come true. So far. We haven’t done a year-long tour through Scandinavia yet, so I feel we haven’t truly been tested.

Will you be heading east anytime soon to play or is the West Coast too good to give up?

We would love to go east. We’re all from there, have great friends and the promises of many home-cooked meals along the way, and would love the chance to play some of the venues we remember going to, especially in New York and Boston. So while California is where we hang our hats, we are very excited to get to the East Coast. If not this spring, we’ll definitely be there this fall.

What is the best kind of audience at a show? Do you like them noisy or subdued?

It definitely depends. I like a real connection with a crowd, so if they don’t respond to my banter, I don’t have as much fun. But we’ve played all kinds of shows. Ones where people are completely silent and you could hear a pin drop after the applause is done and they’re staring right at you, and ones where people are yelling things out and dancing. And I’ve enjoyed each, but I’ve got to say, the latter is more fun. I love feeling the energy come off the crowd, to see people moving, or just really feeling the songs. It’s an incredibly fulfilling experience.

What does the band do to sell itself and get out on the airwaves? Is it hard to get your name out there?

We try to think of interesting ways to get our music out there, like videos and special releases, but mostly we just play as many shows as we can with bands we think are really great. And eventually more and more people hear about what you’re doing and come to your shows. We like to build from the ground up. Though entering contests and reaching out to radio and blogs is always a good thing. That’s how we got into SPIN, through a contest.

SPIN Magazine says we need to hear you. Every bit of publicity is important, how has SPIN’s nod to your music affected the band/your listeners?

Getting into SPIN has been a big leg up for us. It just makes people take notice who normally might not. It’s one thing that can pop off the page to promoters or bookers to make you stand out. Whether or not this is the way it should be, that’s often the way it works. When you think about how many submissions bookers and blogs get, they need to look to certain bastions of taste to help weed through the piles and piles of onesheets. So it has been a big help, especially in booking in towns we’ve never been to before, just to be able to say we were in SPIN.

Has the band’s sound changed significantly since you all began playing and recording? How?

I think it has. When we started out, Nate and I, and our friend Kacey, who you hear on some songs on “Innocent Ghosts,” we were much more mellow. We didn’t have drums, and I was writing more meloncholy ballads, which just guitar, piano, and cello . Nate and I always wanted to incorporate more electronics, and when we started experimenting with that, our sound definitely changed. Just the fact that it became important for us to make people move, was a big difference from our early work. Now we’re making the music we always wanted to make, but lacked either the means or the confidence, or both, to do so. But I think the initial groundwork we laid was very important to understanding what made a good song, beat or no beat. And no matter how experimental we get, we bring that foundation with us.

You list a lot of diverse influences on your MySpace and on the Next Big Sound, how exactly have these artists influenced your music?

I grew up listening to a lot of Simon and Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (and Steven Winwood, for that matter), cause that’s what my parents were listening to. So I have always had a strong sense that a song should be a song. Complete, beautiful, concrete. But at the same time, Paul Simon in particular does incredible, irrepeatable things within this structure. And lyrically, he is a phenomenal. But I could never really try to emulate his music, he just stands for what I want to try to achieve, more as an ideal, more than literally. When I heard bands like New Order I realised that with the right hook and the right melody, you could pack a great deal into a very simple structure, and make music that was fun to dance to but also meaningful and artistic. As for the electronic influences, like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, those have served the purpose of making me say, “How the hell do you make something sound like that,” and pushing my bounds electronically, with synths and pedals. Certain Aphex Twin songs are some of the most beautiful songs I listen to, and some of the most interesting.

If you could give any piece of advice to a new artist, what would you say?

Find the cool bands in your area and become friends with them. If you’re a sociable person, that’s really the best thing for you. If you can become part of a scene of musicians that you respect and who respect you, you’re golden. But that’s not the only way. If you can write a good email, you’ll go far. But honestly, the most important thing is the music you’re making. So start with that, and the rest will fall into place.

If you met the Dalai Lama what would you say to him?

Whoa.

Noah Aldonas’ interview with Scotty Don’t.

For those who don’t know much about Scotty Don’t, can we have some background on yourselves and the band? Why the band name Scotty Don’t?

Originally members of a sublime tribute band (badfish) we decided to strike out and put our own stamp on the music scene while maintaining the tribute band tour machine. It is really like being in 2 full-time bands. Neither band is neglected when it comes to practice, performance, merchandising, or growth. As for the name, aside from it being a line from a scene in an Austin Powers movie, Our drummer’s name is Scott. Sometimes we gotta say “scotty…. don’t

Where does your music come from?

Where does anything come from…. It’s just a collective interpretation on life and living i guess.

You’re on tour now, and you’ll be on tour until May. Is that daunting? Any lessons from the road? Was milk a bad choice?

Touring is daunting if you try to think of it all at once. I like to take it show by show. I know i’ll be home eventually and when i do i make the best of it. Same story when i’m home and i’m ready to hit the road. I’ll make the best of it.

What’s the best way to get for musicians to get more publicity? How do you market yourselves?

Sell yourself! Be seen. If nobody knows who you are or what you’re doing you’re not going to get very far. And as far as marketing ourselves, I think putting on a great performance is still king. A lot of people say they’re the best but the proof is in the pudding. Why tell people you’re the shit if you can show them instead.

You released “Songs from the Back Porch” a little over two months ago, what was the recording process like? Fun? Annoying?

Recording is a funny thing. It’s always fun but There’s ALWAYS room for improvement.

What was it like working with Paul Leary?

Paul is a great guy and amazing producer. He isn’t one to take raw piece of art and make it flashy and over produced. He keeps the ideas sincere and to the point. I felt like there was nothing pointless added to this album during the recording process. If we started down a road that didn’t seem right we’d turn around and start working in another direction.

What has been your favorite venue? Why?

My favorite venue is a full one. The bigger the party the better! I’m also a fan of any small dirty club that just goes nuts.

What influences the band most? Other musicians? Aliens?

I’d say for myself. People are the biggest influences. Everybody sees the world differently. It’s interesting to get a glimpse of how other people are living in their world. That and Led Zeppelin.

Is there one thing you wish you had known before embarking as a band?

Can’t think of anything. It’s all one big learning curve. I like figuring things out through experience.

What is the coolest part of being in a band and making music?

I’d say the coolest part is being a part of being in a band is being able to belong to something bigger. It’s just 4 people and some instruments until we put our minds to work… then it gets wild.

Cosmo runs an article on Scotty Don’t, what is it about?

Is this hypothetical? Did cosmo write an article on Scotty Don’t? If they haven’t yet i’d suggest they title it “Scotty Don’t: …walking a different way”. The article is about the creation of art through music, living a life on stage, and observing the evolution of a band as they persue and experience a living dream.

Noah Aldonas got a chance to ask The Next Big Sound’s Caw! Caw! some questions. Topics included nudity, roasting marshmellows, and good ole’ Abe Lincoln. Enjoy and check out Caw! Caw! at The Next Big Sound.


1. For those who don’t know anything about Caw! Caw! Can you give us a little information on your background and what influences your music?

Caw! Caw! is a group of kids who’ve been playing together on and off since the beginning of high school, in 2001. All four of us have pretty different tastes and ideas but it all comes together into our unique sonic goulash. Back in the day we were a punk band, so we feel like we’ve retained that genres inclination toward driving rhythms and punchy hooks. Since then we’ve been through a lot of nutty stylistic incarnations, including ambient noise and a sort of woodsy, cosmic pop. If there’s a “sound” we’ve settled on, it’s probably a fusion of these earlier interests.

2. You have 4 shows right in a row from Dec 11- Dec14, do you guys have any pre-show rituals or anything you do to prepare before going on stage?

Yes, but they all involve nudity and it’s best not to go into detail.

3. What is your favorite venue that you have played so far?

We roasted marshmallows at a national park in Arkansas. That was fun. There was an open-air amphitheater. In the middle of the night, you could look at the stars and imagine it was a thousand years ago, and pretend the world was new. But to answer your question, we love playing most d.i.y. spaces. We like communities of weird kids who love music and they’re always very good to us.

4. The band was formed in 2001, how have you all stuck together and kept the focus of the band over such a long period of time?

The lineup has shifted quite a bit over the years, but lead singer/guitarist Tim Tsurutani and drummer Evan Burrows cannot separate due to a Vulcan ritual. As far as the focus of the band, a running theme of frustration with the pace of the modern world has been an undercurrent - from the political punk to the experimental stuff to today’s CAW! CAW! sound.

5. For other up and coming artists, what’s the best way to connect to fans and get yourselves out there for people to see?

We’re pretty delinquent on the promotion side of things. Our philosophy is to make the best music we can and hope people want to listen to us. We think live performance is still the best form of self-promotion.

6. How did you guys decide to form the band and how did you come up with Caw! Caw! as the band’s name?

We originally formed the band to protest sweatshop labor or something. We were pretty self righteous then. We changed our name to CAW! CAW! some years later. We have no idea why we came up with that, but today it seems like it has something to do with horror movies, foreboding castle towers and gray cloudy skies with just a pinch of adolescent humor.

7. For those of us with no understanding of the music-making process, where do your songs come from? Do you start fiddling and come up with something or is it more of an epiphany?

One of us (usually Tim) starts the songwriting process with a riff or a chord progression, and we flesh out the song and build the structure as a group.

8. How has Chicago and its music scene influenced your music?

It’s hard to answer that question. Our lives have been shaped by the city we live in, and of course that influences the music. But this is such a mysterious city, it’s hard to say exactly how that happened. We keep hearing about Chicago’s great music scene, but we still don’t know that much about it.

9. Where do you find new music to listen to?

Nightmares

10. If Abe Lincoln heard your music, what do you think he would say about it?

“If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.”