Jun 28 2004

information leafblower exclusive!

Um...well...not so much.

Nonetheless, we are very proud to serve up the following interview with geetarist extraordinaire Greg Zinman from our new favorite band Sea Ray!!

1) You called Pistons in 5 right?
Actually, Jordan called the Pistons in six. He took a moment on stage in Vancouver to announce that Detroit took the trophy. We were far enough away from both L.A. and the Motor City that absolutely no one cared. We thought the Von Bondies, with whom we were playing that evening, would be fired up, but they're not really the most sports-oriented rock band.

2) How did you find out about information leafblower?
I had started reading Whatevs.org on a regular basis, and he was always linking good bits from your site, and I got hooked pretty quickly. The blogosphere makes slow work days move a little faster, y'know?

3) Apparently you guys have been a band for quite some time, like seven years. I just found out about you last winter. Fill me in on everything that I missed.
Jordan, I-Huei, and myself started playing music together after we finished school and moved to New York in 1997. Over the summer we spent a month or so in northern Michigan, at Jordan's folks' house, writing and recording our first LP when we weren't kneeboarding and going to the beach. A slightly different lineup (we went through a number of drummers) made an EP with Tobin Sprout back up in Michigan in 1999. We got Anne, our cellist and good buddy from school, to overdub some stuff on that, and then we convinced her to leave behind the classical music world for a rock 'n' roll life of unbridled hedonism. Jeff was dating a friend of mine and had come to see us play a couple of times—it was obvious that he wanted to hang out with us, so we let him join. Colin we knew through some mutual friends, and he made our lives better by agreeing to play with us. The current lineup coalesced in 2001. It took a long time to get the right people and the right sound together, but I'm glad we've stuck with it, because we're really happy with the music we're making now. Besides, Colin and Jeff attract a lot of girls to our shows.

4) Was anyone in bands prior to sea ray?
Everyone had bands in college, and Anne was in the symphony, but Colin is the only person who had significant professional experience playing in other bands. He's done stints with Skeleton Key, Bic Runga, and a host of other people. He's also in a killer band from his home town of Little Rock, AR, called the Big Cats.

5) Even though you’ve played with a good many of the NYC bands (Interpol,Ted Leo, Elefant, etc.), You don’t really fit into the NYC Scene so much. Is this a good thing or bad thing?
Oh, it's fine. The exciting thing about living in New York is that there's actually plenty of stuff going on that has nothing to do with the perceived "New York Scene." We're lucky enough to have fans and promoters supporting bands like ours, so we've been able to make the kind of music we want to make—without worrying about whether or not other people are doing similar things. We all have friends in bands that sound nothing like us, and very few music fans listen to only one kind of music, so I think the diversity of styles in the city is definitely a good thing. Besides, "fitting in" would mean spending less time working on music, and more time doing "guest DJ sets" and wearing scarves.

6) Jeff was supposed to mail me some concert posters he made for the Super Furry Animals like 9 months ago. Is he always this flaky? Should I take it personal? :)
Look, Jeff's a very busy man, and he has numerous sexual conquests to attend to before trifling with posters and the bloggers who want them.

7) You’ve guys have played Charlotte NC numerous times. Umm…Why? Most bands head for indie music heaven aka Chapel Hill.
We love Charlotte! We always have a really good time there--at the end of our last show at the Room, some man demanded that we give his girlfriend a t-shirt, because, he said, "you wanna represent on those titties." I don't think we're going to get that in Chapel Hill.

8) List your dream tour and where you would play on the bill.
Opening for Pink Floyd in Pompeii.

9) In His interview with Damore, Jeff said something very notable:
"We're part of the first generation of bands who are meeting fans at shows that tell us about the blog where they discovered us." Do you think bloggers will one day be in a position to break bands or are we just a bunch of wankers with too much free time?
Well, you guys are actually a lot like musicians—totally self-absorbed navel-gazers who eagerly devour their own press. Really, though, the bloggers have been very, very kind to us, and it seems to be helping so far. I can only imagine that more people will be turning to you guys for info and ideas, so yeah, I'm sure you'll be taking bribes from record companies in no time.

10) Is downloading good or bad for the music industry?
I'm fine with it. It's a great way to find out about new music. I don't condone someone downloading an entire album simply because he doesn't feel like paying for it, but if I'm only buying a couple of new records a month, downloading is an good tool for figuring out where my hard-earned dollar is going to go.

11) You guys have a few scattered shows coming up when the tour is over. Is there more touring in the works or more recording? How many new songs do you have already written?
We've got about four or five songs ready to go, and we've started a bunch more. We'll be demo'ing stuff when we're back home. We love working in the studio, and we're just trying to sort out the details of the next album. We'll be touring in the fall, too.

12) Tell me about how Anne joined the band. Were you all like “Hell yeah, a cello, that’s so indie rock!” or were you like “What the fuck do we need a cello for?”
You know how on the Who's "A Quick One, While He's Away," the band is chanting "cello cello cello cello" because they couldn't find anyone to play the part? We'll, we weren't going out like that. Jordan, I-Huei, and myself are all big fans of 60s psych and orch-pop, and we had been talking about incorporating strings into the Sea Ray sound for a while. Like I said earlier, Anne is an old friend, and we all knew that she was a formidable talent. When she moved to New York, it was a pretty natural thing to ask her to join the group.

13) Do you guys do any covers? What is a song you want to cover but can’t convince the band to learn?
We've never played a cover live. At nearly every rehearsal, however, someone mentions a song he or she wants the group to cover. Personally, I'd love to hear us do Eno's "On Some Faraway Beach" or the Buffalo Springfield's "Expecting to Fly." Probably won't happen, though.

14) Who came up with the iPod that streams the music on your website? That thing is cool as shit and earned you guys extra cool points in my book.
That's Jeff's genius, right there. He does all of our graphic design stuff--posters, button, t-shirts, CDs, our website, etc., and we're lucky to have him. Wish he would ease up on the Manishevitz, though.

15) Ultimately what is the plan for the band? Do you want to be on a major label and try and conquor the world or be on an indie and have your own little piece of it?
We just want to keep making music we enjoy and then share it with as many people as possible. We're not sure at the moment what the best way to do that is--maybe blog-exclusive tracks? [Ed's note: That was my idea! Don't tell anyone yet!]

16) Which do you prefer and why?
The Bends / OK Computer OK Computer--I like the prog.
Fuzzy Logic / Radiator I'm more of a Guerilla man, myself, and tune-wise, Phantom Power is probably the best thing they've done.
100 Broken Windows / The Remote Part Jeff likes 100 Broken Windows. I don't really listen to those guys.
The Holy Bible / Everything Must Go Jeff likes Everything Must Go--it's got "Design for Life". Again, I haven't really listened to those guys.
Nowhere / Going Blank Again Gotta give the nod to their Smile EP. "Like a Daydream"--soooo best. Isn't that what you people say?
Different Class / This Is Hardcore Different Class--my girlfriend turned me on to that record, so it has a lot of sentimental value for me.
Spooky / Split I remember buying the "Nothing Natural" EP in high school. Loved it, but that was enough for me.
The Masterplan / Be Here Now I don't really fancy Oasis, though Jeff gives big ups to "Talk Tonight"--I like the odd song here and there, but I've always been a huge Blur fan. By the way, why are you only asking me about Britpop stuff from the nineties?
A Northern Soul / Urban Hymns A Storm in Heaven is more psychedelicious than either of those.
Hope and Adams / Per Second Every Second Ah, no.
Darko / Carmelo Joe D. has already answered the shoulda-drafted Carmelo critics. Just the same, Darko will rule the league by 2008.

So wait, there are other genre's of music besides Brit-Pop? I'll have to form a committee and look into this. information leafblower would like to thank Greg for taking time out his busy touring schedule to answer my questions. Good on ya man!

All images from the Sea Ray Photo Album. Be sure to check out the band on tour.

Posted by Kyle in Permalink

Comments

Posted by: frank at June 28, 2004 2:20 PM

Posted by: damore at June 28, 2004 3:03 PM

Posted by: Uncle Grambo at June 28, 2004 4:19 PM

Posted by: Morten Elbech at July 1, 2004 6:43 AM