Today we've got a special treat for you. Not only do we have a stream of the new split 7" from Tigon and Olehole for Brick Gun Records, we've also got a special band on band interview for you to read while listening.
You can check out the stream on Tigon's Punknews.org page and click Read More for the interview.
Part 1: Olehole interviews Tigon:
You guys look really good in drag. In fact, I'd say you're collectively far hotter than the original Lizzies gang. It's pretty much visual viagra. How do you make it look so easy and natural? We here at camp Olehole have been looking for some pointers. Brian: Really the key here is to visualize yourself having sex with yourself as a woman, and then become that woman. For simple tips, dont hide your gut and work the legs and butt.
Jon: This pungent dipping sauce is for strong-tasting fish and beef. Wasabi soy sauce is best eaten right away, for it loses its pungency as it sits.
Your style definitely involves a fair amount of atypical song structuring, anti-pop gratings, and technical interplay. Is your writing process generally collaborative or are certain members pulling most of the weight? Did your sound develop organically or did you consciously set out to do something a bit off kilter? In other words, was there a decision or intentional aim to be different? Brian: Our writing process can be quite collaborative, with all members taking part in riffs, structure, feel and execution. Most songs start with a set of ideas and grow from there. Our drummer has even suggested guitar parts and we (guitarists) have suggested drum parts. We certainly are influenced a bit by more off-kilter, urgent, and expansive types of music. From those types of influences we feel our sound developed organically as a sum of parts. We all strongly feel that if you remove someone that the sound would most likely change.
Jon: Dude, check that picture again… CLEARLY, Jon is "pulling most of the weight."
Some of the band's lyrical material is pretty cryptic, but Clint's blatant and howling intensity makes his fervor evident. Could you briefly discuss some of the subjects you're addressing on the 7" and in your other recorded material? Clint:It's hard to say if there's a decisive subject or theme to any of the songs. I approach the lyrics more as a loose type of prose with a beginning, middle and end. There are reoccurring ideas and images and feelings. They're also meant to be read into more as a first person observer more so than self reflective. Think of it as seedy sexual mechanical insecure science fiction.
If you could go on a Four Loko bender with anyone in the world who would it be and why? Jon: The Olsen Twinnzzzz because Doc has a habit of going through people's pockets after they pass out and you know those guys carry around a lot of cash. But seriously folks, the correct answer to this question is Wu Tang.
Brian: Im gonna maybe bend the rules on this question and suggest someone who has passed. I would love to go on a Four Loko or even a Modelo bender with my Grandpa Arthur. My middle name is after him, i only knew him for 8 years of my life but have a strong memory of his outlook and charm on life. My grandma continues to tell me the many ways we are alike. My grandpa loved the ocean, was a mechanical engineer, proposed to his wife in california and was constantly surprised by life. I try to surf, im an engineer, and proposed to my wife in california. I would wanna go on a bender with him and simply enjoy it and be influenced more.
Out of the following names, which do you think best describes Brady (co-founder of Brick Gun Records) and why: Brady "The Slice" Rice, P.P.R. (Poopy Pants Rice), B.B.R. (Big Booty Rice), Red Baby, 20-Box, or Whiskey Ginger? Jon: Man… there's not enough adjectives or nicknames in the English language to fully describe Big Bold Brady. So, we'll leave you with a few choice, descriptive nouns and phrases: Pink Brillo, Veal Sashimi, the lecherous tadpole, the hanalei handmaiden, sh#t t!ts, Dad, etc, ah nice.
Brian: In our van before i knew of all these nicknames, i simply referred to him as captain crunch cause of his shoulders and the proportion to the rest of his body. If I had to choose itd probably be Big Booty Rice, i think that goes with his booty and his personality of simply going big on music and partying.
Tigon interviews Olehole:
Clint(directed to whole band): Which bands do Olehole get compared to, which are fair and which are far off the mark? Brian Moss: I tend to loathe band comparisons (at least in terms of music criticism). Although it may be ambitious, I'd like to think that writers, even if it's a hobby blog, shouldn't have to rely on using one band to describe another unless it's despicably derivative. There's no shortage of adjectives out there. Furthermore, bands that play in carbon copy fashion should probably just call it quits. It's fucking boring and stagnant. Just sayin'. With that out of the way, it doesn't really help that over the course of more than decade of personal musical endeavors I think most writers that have attempted to draw parallels to my projects have been inaccurate.
Brian(directed to whole band individually): All of you are in more full time projects, what specifically do each of you get from Olehole musically etc and how does a less frequent writing process work for you guys? Brian Moss: I get to do loud, aggro, collaborative, and creative shit with three rad dudes. Hanalei's obviously a pretty subdued sounding project. I love doing solo stuff where I get to shot call all by myself in terms of playing, scheduling, and writing, but I love heavy and confrontational sounds - it's what I've been steeped in. Plus, I think working together with other folks is almost always a beneficial and perspective widening process. As long as I can, I'll try to keep playing in both veins, if not more. Lately everyone's been really busy with other bands and other pursuits. So, yes, writing, practice, and shows have been slow, but whenever we get together it's super fun. We've all got enough experience and chemistry going that things remain fluid.
John(directed to Brian Moss): In your previous band The Ghost, you recorded with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio. How do your subsequent recording experiences, particularly the more DIY oriented ones, compare to recording with Steve?
I view each recording experience I'm involved with as valuable, educational, and unique. Of course, recording with Albini was an immense and intriguing honor. He's an innovator and has come with up processes and sounds that countless other engineers, producers, and musicians try to emulate. However, I don't feel like it was a paramount or untouchable in contrast to other studios or even a laptop with only an internal microphone in my bedroom. Albini didn't start with much; if my memory serves me Electrical Audio/his recording career began in his mom's garage with a few pieces of used gear. As long as you're into continued learning and experimentation you can do a lot with a little. Some of my favorite records were self made. I love imperfections and honesty in an album - both in playing and overall aural quality. One of the things that's actually super rad about Albini is that despite the incredibly refined and thought out sounds he gets on tape, he's actually somewhat of a minimalist. He wasn't into many overdubs, harmonies, doubling, or production tweaks. So, at least in my experience, what he records is a pretty legitimate expression of how a band plays and sounds.
Band to Band: Which member of Olehole could beat Brick Gun Record's dude, Brady Rice, in a shotgunning contest?
Danthrax without a doubt. I've seen him pull em' off in well under one second.
Band to Band: Which member of Tigon makes the sexiest Lizzy?
As I suggested in my question section, the whole band is pretty much bonersville. However, Dooley's midriff sets him at a cut above the rest. My loins are now tingling. You'll have to excuse me for a moment. Mom, have you seen my tanning lotion around here?