sandiegopunk.com
Straight No Chaser
| SDP: Who's
in the band and what do they do? SNC: Kerrie Caldwell - keys, guitar, vocals, programming Spencer Pforsich - guitar, vocals, programming Brandon Sullivan - trap kit Stephen Cook - bass SDP: Briefly describe your music. SNC: It's indie rock with a pop sensibility. We tend to be attracted to bands who work within established forms yet still manage to do |
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SDP: What's your live show like?
SNC: Well, to an extent our songs are studio-oriented, so there are some elements that have to be left out of the performance. But one of the key elements of our sound is its dynamic quality - which is exciting in a live show because we'll go from heavy to chaotic to whispering all within the same song. That can be very engaging for the audience to witness. Also, we really care a lot about the music we play, so I hope that shows through in our performance as well.
SDP: Why should people listen to your band?
SNC: This is a trick question, right? How about this: I believe all music is good music, because it wouldn't have been made in the first place if it didn't have merit for someone. It's just a matter of hearing it with the right ears to find where that merit lies. We make music that we really love and really stand behind, and it takes a degree of faith to believe that there are people out there who share the same taste and values as us. I think people should listen to us if they hear something in our music that they can relate to. If it's something in the lyrics that speaks to their heart or politics, or if it's something they can intellectualize and appreciate in the depth and complexity of our sound - either way, there's a connection being made and that's the whole point.
SDP: How long have you been a band for?
SNC: Actually, this Wednesday (4/20) will be our four-year anniversary. We're going out for a romantic candlelit dinner to celebrate. No, just kidding.
SDP: Where did you get your name from?
SNC: I guess that depends on your perspective. Originally, the term comes from the way you take a shot of liquor - as in, drink it without a chaser. But that's not the most useful bit of info in a band where three of the four members don't drink at all. Actually, I first heard the expression from an old Thelonius Monk tune by that name. On Conan O'Brien last Friday his band started playing that song and Jeff Goldblum was like, "Hey, that's 'Straight No Chaser.'" We were excited for the inadvertent shout-out.
SDP: Is there any message you try to get across through your music?
SNC: We pride ourselves on being politically educated and socially conscious, and we try to use music as a space to share that with others. Within the band, we may not always agree on the issues at hand, but we always make time to learn from our differences and use those to fuel our art. Recently we've been involved with an organization called Music For America (www.musicforamerica.org), through which we've been exposed to an audience who, like us, sees music as more than just entertainment but rather as a means of sharing and expressing what we care about most.
SDP: Do you have a single song that has a special meaning to you?
SNC: On our first CD, The End of Now, there's a song called "Among the Vulnerable." Although it's not one of the best tracks on the album, it's definitely the closest to my heart because it's about when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer about two years ago. She's fine now, but at the time it was something I definitely had to write about because I couldn't keep it bottled up.
SDP: What bands, people, books, etc. have had the biggest influence on your band?
SNC:Bands: For me (Spencer), Radiohead or Sonic Youth for their experimental approach to music making, and Ani Difranco or underground hip hop for the amazing lyrical content. Brandon appreciates drummers who add to the band but are still incredibly solid time keepers, such as Charlie Watts or Clem Burke, but his favorite bands are Death Cab For Cutie, Smashing Pumpkins, Dave Matthews Band. For Kerrie (as a female singer/songwriter/pianist), she's always related well to artists like Tori Amos, Bjork, Fiona Apple. She's also a classically trained opera vocalist, so she's a huge classical music snob.
Literature: I think we appreciate the same thing in writing as we do in music - people who take established forms and do surprising or innovative things with tem. People like David Sedaris or Chuck Palahniuk are really just novelists, but they manage to express really unique perspectives nonetheless. Also, I read a lot of 20th century poetry - lots of east coast "New School" stuff and some experimental work. Basically anything that challenges my expectations, which goes for visual art and films as well.
SDP: What about the band are you most proud of?
SNC: It's great that we're constantly reinventing our sound. When we started out, we could have been the Goo Goo Dolls we were so generic. But that's just where my songwriting was at the time. Now we've developed a system of songwriting that emphasizes each of our strengths, so the songs more accurately represent our identity as a band. Also, the addition of Kerrie to the band about a year and a half ago was a huge step in the right direction for us because it added a new dimension and a fresh perspective. Now with our bassist leaving to get married, we'll have to make some new adjustments for that as well. Every new song we write is refining our identity as a band, so that's really exciting.
SDP: What is the biggest thing you want to improve?
SNC: We're currently focusing on developing a "body of work" rather than just a collection of unrelated songs. Bands like Interpol, Q And Not U, Tegan and Sara, and Cursive are putting out records that have a very consistent sound from track to track, so we're trying to accomplish that with the record we're putting out this summer so that the listener can be more comfortable knowing on what terms to experience the music.
SDP: What CDs are currently in your stereo?
SNC: Mr. Lif, "I Phantom"; Living Legends, "Classic"; Ted Leo/Pharmacists, "Shake The Sheets"; Blonde Redhead, "Misery Is A Butterfly"; Iron&Wine, "Woman King"; Tori Amos, "Boys For Pele"; Gwen Stefani, "Love Angel Music Baby"; Fiona Apple, "Extraordinary Machine." (That's two per person in the band, I guess).
Check out some Straight No Chaser shows this month:
Thursday, 5/5/05 (Cinco De Mayo!) @ Dreamstreet (2228 Bacon Street, Ocean Beach)
with Bicycles Walking | 8pm 21+
Friday, 5/27/05 @ Hot Monkey Love Cafe
with First Wave Hello and Plane Without A Pilot | 8pm $6 ALL AGES
mp3s: http://www.purevolume.com/straightnochaser
http://www.myspace.com/straightnochaser
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