I got a chance to talk with quite a few bands at the CMJ Music Marathon recently. Those interviews of course will be appearing here on SuicideGirls exclusively over the next few weeks.
The lucky first band I got to talk with is Epitaph Records Scatter the Ashes which consists of Daryl Stamps on vocals, guitarist James Robert Farmer, basisst Matt McCord and drummer Dillon Napier. Stamps and I spoke in-between CMJ shows about the band, farts and their album Devout/The Modern Hymn.
Check out the official website of Scatter the Ashes
Daniel Robert Epstein: Hows CMJ going?
Daryl Stamps: Its good but I miss the warm weather in Tampa. I dont like coming up north because its too cold. Its also too fast for me in New York. I like going down south where its much more relaxed and you can take your time.
DRE: Are you going to go see any other bands?
DS: Yeah we went to see Sonic Youth and Saul Williams last night which was awesome and well go see our friends, Me Without You, in a few days. Other than that we havent been able to check out much.
DRE: Are you big Sonic Youth fans?
DS: Yeah we like them a lot and Ive never seen them before. I think we share their mentality when it comes to music and art. I wouldnt mind when years come to pass to play like them because they really put on an amazing show.
DRE: Do you guys actually consider your album prayer hymns or was it just a goof to call your album Devout: The Modern Hymn?
DS: Its not prayer hymns but we had a broad theme of having to give up all kinds of stuff when we started this band. We dropped out of school, gave up jobs, and a lot of relationships with girls and family. We really wanted to devote ourselves to music and art because we believed in it. There are many different levels of devotion and if we can devote ourselves to music then you can devote yourself to a belief or anything. Its an attitude towards believing in something and knowing that you will achieve your goal by sacrificing everything. We kind of ripped off the idea from old bands like The Swans where they used to have two albums that are integral to one another. Its not prayer hymns but we also dont like to come right out and tell you exactly what it means. So I guess if people take it as prayer hymns, thats fine.
DRE: Do you play any instruments?
DS: No I just sing.
DRE: That doesnt seem to happen very much anymore.
DS: A lot of people have mentioned that. Its kind of sad because a lot of bands like Led Zeppelin had really good frontman. I dont know if people are following a trend or if thats just what works for them. No one just seems to just sing anymore.
DRE: What is the writing process for the band?
DS: It really is split evenly among the four members of the band. Its hard to find bands that say that and mean it. The guitarist comes up with something then the bass will come in then the drums and once the song is written we will then put melodies and vocals in. We go from the ground up by starting with guitars and bass. It isnt always like that but thats the way the bulk of the songs are done.
DRE: So the decision making must be evenly split too.
DS: Yeah but you really have to come out and say whats on your mind. You cant let stuff fly because one person likes it. You have to be able to tell another person that you dont like something they did. You have to have that within the band so we can really discuss the music.
DRE: Have you been in other bands before Scatter the Ashes?
DS: I havent and neither has our guitarist. Our bass player was in some punks bands and our drummer was in kind of a funk punk band.
DRE: Since you got nothing to handle on the stage besides singing do you jump around a lot?
DS: I like a lot of people like Dave Gahan [of Depeche Mode], Scott Weiland, Robert Plant and a lot of people who are really good frontman and just grooved around onstage to the music. I try to put energy out there but I dont really jump around like crazy like a lot of bands. I try to do something different.
DRE: Who got sick a while ago?
DS: Our guitarist got bronchitis. We had to take him to the hospital a few times. It was pretty much at the end of our tour so we were able to allow him to rest up where he lives in New York City. We told him we would hook up at CMJ and hes all better now.
DRE: I read this funny review where the critic said that you guys are punk rockers who can cry.
DS: That sounds to me like hes jumping on the emo thing. I think that Epitaph realized that we didnt sound like the typical punk rock band like Rancid or The Clash. We have the attitude towards punk rock of changing music in the way that Joy Division was punk rock. But crying I think is a bit of an attack.
DRE: How is it working with Epitaph Records?
DS: Its awesome. They give us complete artistic freedom. We write our songs and we come in and they ask us which songs we want on college radio and what songs do we want to do a video for. Its really cool. I always hear stories about how shitty labels are but they have never let us down.
DRE: How was touring with Liars Academy?
DS: It was cool but they had to drop out because theyre stuff got stolen. When they took a day off to go home someone broke into their trailer and stole all their stuff so they had to quit. That sucked real bad but were going to see them tonight at the CMJ Showcase.
DRE: How as producing your album yourselves?
DS: We pretty much did it ourselves in upstate New York at a studio called Nada Recording with John Naclerio. My Chemical Romance and a bunch of pop punk bands worked with him. He really let us go with it and told us when we were good.
DRE: Who has the worst gas in the van?
DS: Probably our bass player. We used to have a tour manager/buddy of ours and he used to kill us. We would have to pull over to the side of the road and get out for a little bit.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
The lucky first band I got to talk with is Epitaph Records Scatter the Ashes which consists of Daryl Stamps on vocals, guitarist James Robert Farmer, basisst Matt McCord and drummer Dillon Napier. Stamps and I spoke in-between CMJ shows about the band, farts and their album Devout/The Modern Hymn.
Check out the official website of Scatter the Ashes
Daniel Robert Epstein: Hows CMJ going?
Daryl Stamps: Its good but I miss the warm weather in Tampa. I dont like coming up north because its too cold. Its also too fast for me in New York. I like going down south where its much more relaxed and you can take your time.
DRE: Are you going to go see any other bands?
DS: Yeah we went to see Sonic Youth and Saul Williams last night which was awesome and well go see our friends, Me Without You, in a few days. Other than that we havent been able to check out much.
DRE: Are you big Sonic Youth fans?
DS: Yeah we like them a lot and Ive never seen them before. I think we share their mentality when it comes to music and art. I wouldnt mind when years come to pass to play like them because they really put on an amazing show.
DRE: Do you guys actually consider your album prayer hymns or was it just a goof to call your album Devout: The Modern Hymn?
DS: Its not prayer hymns but we had a broad theme of having to give up all kinds of stuff when we started this band. We dropped out of school, gave up jobs, and a lot of relationships with girls and family. We really wanted to devote ourselves to music and art because we believed in it. There are many different levels of devotion and if we can devote ourselves to music then you can devote yourself to a belief or anything. Its an attitude towards believing in something and knowing that you will achieve your goal by sacrificing everything. We kind of ripped off the idea from old bands like The Swans where they used to have two albums that are integral to one another. Its not prayer hymns but we also dont like to come right out and tell you exactly what it means. So I guess if people take it as prayer hymns, thats fine.
DRE: Do you play any instruments?
DS: No I just sing.
DRE: That doesnt seem to happen very much anymore.
DS: A lot of people have mentioned that. Its kind of sad because a lot of bands like Led Zeppelin had really good frontman. I dont know if people are following a trend or if thats just what works for them. No one just seems to just sing anymore.
DRE: What is the writing process for the band?
DS: It really is split evenly among the four members of the band. Its hard to find bands that say that and mean it. The guitarist comes up with something then the bass will come in then the drums and once the song is written we will then put melodies and vocals in. We go from the ground up by starting with guitars and bass. It isnt always like that but thats the way the bulk of the songs are done.
DRE: So the decision making must be evenly split too.
DS: Yeah but you really have to come out and say whats on your mind. You cant let stuff fly because one person likes it. You have to be able to tell another person that you dont like something they did. You have to have that within the band so we can really discuss the music.
DRE: Have you been in other bands before Scatter the Ashes?
DS: I havent and neither has our guitarist. Our bass player was in some punks bands and our drummer was in kind of a funk punk band.
DRE: Since you got nothing to handle on the stage besides singing do you jump around a lot?
DS: I like a lot of people like Dave Gahan [of Depeche Mode], Scott Weiland, Robert Plant and a lot of people who are really good frontman and just grooved around onstage to the music. I try to put energy out there but I dont really jump around like crazy like a lot of bands. I try to do something different.
DRE: Who got sick a while ago?
DS: Our guitarist got bronchitis. We had to take him to the hospital a few times. It was pretty much at the end of our tour so we were able to allow him to rest up where he lives in New York City. We told him we would hook up at CMJ and hes all better now.
DRE: I read this funny review where the critic said that you guys are punk rockers who can cry.
DS: That sounds to me like hes jumping on the emo thing. I think that Epitaph realized that we didnt sound like the typical punk rock band like Rancid or The Clash. We have the attitude towards punk rock of changing music in the way that Joy Division was punk rock. But crying I think is a bit of an attack.
DRE: How is it working with Epitaph Records?
DS: Its awesome. They give us complete artistic freedom. We write our songs and we come in and they ask us which songs we want on college radio and what songs do we want to do a video for. Its really cool. I always hear stories about how shitty labels are but they have never let us down.
DRE: How was touring with Liars Academy?
DS: It was cool but they had to drop out because theyre stuff got stolen. When they took a day off to go home someone broke into their trailer and stole all their stuff so they had to quit. That sucked real bad but were going to see them tonight at the CMJ Showcase.
DRE: How as producing your album yourselves?
DS: We pretty much did it ourselves in upstate New York at a studio called Nada Recording with John Naclerio. My Chemical Romance and a bunch of pop punk bands worked with him. He really let us go with it and told us when we were good.
DRE: Who has the worst gas in the van?
DS: Probably our bass player. We used to have a tour manager/buddy of ours and he used to kill us. We would have to pull over to the side of the road and get out for a little bit.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 4 of 4 COMMENTS
good live band, and really nice guys!
i wonder if they'll come back to new orleans...