“SPECIAL” IS THE FIRST SINGLE OF THE NEW YEAR AND IT'S GOING TO BE A BIG FUCKING HIT!
(You'll understand when you read the interview)
AN INTERVIEW WITH AS FAST AS
As Fast As is the latest great discovery from octone Records (Dropping Daylight, Maroon 5, Flyleaf). Not content to follow the latest music trends, AFA instead breathe new life into the glory days of pop! No, I'm not talking about the crap that currently fills pop radio, I'm talking the GOOD stuff like The Beatles, The Kinks, The Who, and lots of other bands whos name start with 'The" and dont play crappy ironic garage rock. If you like guitar based rock n roll with hooks and melody, then you need to check out their album Open Letter To The Damned Octone worked a small miracle the day before the band opened up for Breaking Benjamin and hooked us up with this interview, so I hooked up with the band after their set and did an on-the-fly interview that ended up being pretty damned cool. Check it out, and then click the links to hear some badass rock!
Anarchy Music: For a lot of people this may be the first time they've heard of you guys so lets introduce the band and tell people what they're going to get when they check you out.
Spencer Albee (vocals, guitar): Our music is basically a melting pot of a 70's record collection, really. We're influenced by The Kinks and The Who. The Beatles are big of course, Wings, there's a lot in there, some punk records are in there.
Zach Jones (lead guitar): We're a rock band that plays pop songs.
Spencer: That’s what we are!
Anarchy: Which I love, Cheap Trick, all that stuff.
Zach: It's not pop like Brittney Spears
Spencer: It's pop from back when pop wasn't a bad word.
Anarchy: You're from the burgeoning music capital of Portland...Maine. What’s the scene like up there?
Spencer: Not much because we're down here right now.
Andrew Hodgkins (drums): It goes through periods just like any scene. It's small, but there's always a lot of great bands going on.
Anarchy: You've been around for a couple of years, but you've pumped out some music. A girl on Myspace had a bunch of cds spread out in a photo. You've got a couple as Rocktopus and then changed your name...
Spencer: I was in a band before and then I put out a solo record. Then we started Rocktopus with a different drummer and put out two records there. The we wanted to switch things up a little bit, change the line-up
Anarchy: And that’s when it got good right?
Zach: That IS when it got good!
Spencer: Then we made the independent record Open Letter To The damned and then got signed to Octone. We recorded some brand new songs for the album.
Anarchy: Was there a reason for the name change?
Spencer: It wasn't straightforward enough. You’ve got some serious music and it didn’t match up with the others that were almost some Tenacious D style. Not like super goofy running around in your underwear...
Anarchy: Is Dio going to pass the torch to you?
Spencer: No, we're kind of following in Jellyfish's footsteps, we just needed to change it up a little.
Anarchy: Do you consider this a new band? Are you not playing the Rocktopus songs?
Spencer: There's a couple of those songs that we took with us. We'll play them from time to time
Anarchy: You've probably been asked this a thousand time...As Fast As what?
Andrew: Asfastasmusic.com
Spencer: There you go! We call ourselves As Fast As so we could put a picture of a turtle on the album. Its a sentence fragment. Rather than having the name absolutely define what we do, it defines nothing.
Anarchy: It could mean anything the listener wants it to mean.
Spencer: Yeah, it's a sentence fragment, it doesn’t mean anything.
Anarchy: On the new record you've taken a big leap in how tight you are, the level of songwriting
Andrew: Mostly the drums
Anarchy: You're constantly touring, is that how that happened?
Spencer: It had to do with working with Matt Wallace a lot, and another producer as well. We're so new! We were all playing in other bands and when we came together it kind of took us a second to figure out everyone’s strengths and what they like. We now have a drum solo in every song, more or less..
Anarchy: Are you jealous over the drum solos?
Hache Horchatta (bass): Not at all, I get bass solos.
Anarchy: I know you've toured with Gavin Degraw, Butch Walker, who are not only two of the coolest dudes in the world, but two of the best live acts out there as well.
Spencer: Two of the most disparate acts in the world too, when you put them together. We've toured with so many different people, I don’t know what your question is but...
Anarchy: Well, these are great live bands, and you guys bring it every night. How bad of an ass-kicker are you when you can come out every night with some of the best?
Spencer: You know we hold our own. We don't really concern ourselves with that. I figure that the better the band we open for the better night we're going to have because their audience demands more.
Anarchy: You have to figure that when you're getting the call from some of the best bands in the country, they aren't calling because you suck. they're calling because you bring it!
Spencer: Well, sometimes you get a tour because the artist saw you and want you. A lot of it has to do with business connections. You end up befriending these bands, and you look at each other and go "you're pretty good aren’t you?".
Zach: When you're opening for these bands, the first night you're kind of getting to know each other and you see what they can do and it kind of raises the bar. So the next night you go out there and close the bar down
Anarchy: Do you find that you're growing as performers from touring with these guys?
Zach: Definitely, I was really inspired watching Butch Walker play. He's one of those guys that every night you'd want to go out there and see the show.
Anarchy: Do you find that the actual crowds of some of the more off center bands will get into it?
Spencer: Yeah, we just go into each situation. For instance, Flogging Molly. I’ve never seen a crowd so divided. You look at some and they’re like “yeah, this rocks” and pointing at us, and look at the next kid and he’s like “Fuck you! Get off the fucking stage!” Throwing stuff at us. This one group of kids started this really ironic hand wave. We were playing more of a ballad type song, a little slower beat. That guy and his five friends didn’t want to hear it. Everyone else was enjoying it. We were getting really good energy from the crowd except for that little group of people. So they decided to be real ironic and wave their hands like “oh, Im at a rock show” and these other kids we’re like “cool” All of a sudden you’ve got 500 kids waving their hands and I’m like “hey, thanks man, you defeated yourself”. Join us now, or join us later, but you’ll buy our record eventually.
Anarchy: And even if you’re accidentally helping us, you’re going to.
Spencer: We only benefited from his sarcasm. You can not like us, that’s fine, but you’re not going to convince us that we’re not good.
Zach: Hey you’re right! We ARE terrible! What are we doing?
Anarchy: Give me a really cool tour story, like a crazy thing that’s happened.
Spencer: We were just telling a great story earlier that would be a good thing to tell in this kind of situation. when we played in Troy NY with some friends of our at Revolution Hall. Because we're away from home, its a big show, we're all friends we proceeded to get shit-faced, all of us, barring nobody. The hotels right down the street, no worries, we're all check in its good. They drank through our set, we drank through their set, and after the set we just drank and drank and drank. Woke up the next morning and had to make the long 5 and a half hour drive back to Portland. We’re in the van, we had some of their guys with us, some friends, the vans packed. I'm in the passenger seat, 3 in the next bench, three in the bench behind it. we were pulling out of the hotel parking lots and I hear this weird sound. just as I turn around and I'm like "what is that sound?", Andrew vomits explosively all over my face, all over the windshield, from the bench. From the bench, just soaking us. So as I'm reeling back from getting vomit on my face. Zach’s in the back going "Nooooo", to get away from it. Christina is screaming and laughing. Before the vomit can even hit the windshield he's in hysterics. there's no sympathy for his friend, he's laughing at him. Then I even throw up because, it's throw up. I'm rolling down the window and I'm laughing because they're laughing but I'm also retching because I'm covered in vomit. I'm pounding on the van drooling.
Zach: My buddy John was sitting in the back of the van and he just kept going “OH MY GOD OH MY GOD"
Spencer: It wasn't so much like he vomited, it was more like he had a balloon full of vomit that he popped.
Anarchy: And no one had a towel?
Zach: We pulled over at a gas station and the other band was there getting gas. I was like "our drummer just puked all over the place". And he goes, "what was that like"? Then Andrew just comes around the corner and goes "bleeeegh".
Spencer: He was emptying buckets.
Anarchy: Octone Records are friends of ours and they seem like a good place for you guys because they really nurture their bands, there's not a whole lot of pressure for immediate success.
Spencer: They keep us on the team longer than most labels would.
Anarchy: How did you hook up with them and what its like to work with them. They seem like really good people.
Spencer: They turn out tour support, which is good. There’s a lot of great people that work there. We met up with them because of our two managers we have one guy named Kurt St Thomas who used to be program director at FNX in Boston an executive at Arista Records. That’s where I met him and we remained friends. He started managing us and then he took us to Jeff Sotokoff to be our co-manager. He showcased us at like every label except for Capital. It was a really quick decision with Octone. They all came out to the showcase and handled us one on one. So, we really felt like we’d get more attention at a label where I’m looking at the entire staff. And that’s exactly how its been, very one on one.
Anarchy: You guys have the coolest contest going on at our Myspace page.
Spencer: Are you as fast as As Fast As?
Anarchy: I guess that hasn’t started yet, as far as actual competitions, so give the lowdown on what that is. Basically people enter the contest with banners and such, then they get to race you in races of their choosing, which is basically screwing you.
Spencer: Oh, is that what it is? We had chosen several you could choose from, a remote control car race, somebody brought up a potato sack race, that might work.
Anarchy: What I got out of it is use your imagination and choose a way to race the band.
Andrew: No physical activity, no actual physical acts.
Spencer: Yeah, its funny you should bring that up because I’m actually going to go ahead and say that that’s not what’s going to happen.. We’ll end up doing what’s less exerting. There’ll be no running, jumping, climbing of any kind, throwing of any balls. They want to chug a beer? Great. If you want to have a flip cup contest? Fine. They can do remote control cars. Anything that we can do in the stationary position is fine.
Zach: The most physical thing we can do is shuffleboard.. That’s it, that’s our sport
Anarchy: Which is the irony of the name…as Fast As…we’re not moving much.
Spencer: It doesn’t mean that we’re fast. Currently we’re can be as fast as a guy sitting at the counter wanting a beer, not very fast.
Anarchy: Your song “Florida Sunshine” was featured in the show CSI: Miami, which is pretty cool. How’d that happen., because like 20 jillion people watch that show.
Andrew: I don’t know why, its terrible.
Anarchy: They were waiting for a good song!
Spencer: What he meant to say is that we’re very excited, thank you
Anarchy: You prefer the New York show is what you’re saying….
Spencer: I don’t know, I can’t get enough of David Caruso whispering his way through parts.. That gravelly voice, I love that.
Anarchy: You had a video for the song too, what’s the reaction to that been?
Spencer: We get a lot of reaction, even compared to radio play. We didn’t want one specific single, per se’. The video was directed bi Kurt St Thomas, one of our manager.
Anarchy: I can totally understand hearing that song on the radio, especially in the summertime, cranking it up in the car.
Spencer: It sounds like an 80’s beer commercial.
Anarchy: Which is always the best kind! My favorite song of yours is “special” you need to put that out as a single.
Spencer: Yeah, I think that’s the plan., the first of the year.
Anarchy: Good, I’ll take credit for it because I gave you the idea.
Spencer: That’s the next single. January 1, coming at you live.
Anarchy: Its such a great song though, its something you guys do well in that you’ll write a song that everyone can identify with.. Is that a goal?
Spencer: Well, I definitely don’t try to write single, because that’s when you end up writing shitty songs. I think if you have any good song its rooted in actual experience. If you’re just talking honestly about what happened to you or where you’re at, people are going to relate to that, unless its some extreme, like..knife-fucking song or something..
Anarchy: How many times have I been fucked by a knife?
Spencer: I know, but its personal. That song really wrote itself in a lot of ways.
Anarchy: Do you think that’s why the following you have REALLY loves you guys, in addition to it being catchy too?
Spencer: I don’t know what it is. A lot of times when people are just finding out about us, which is generally the case everywhere we go, even though we’ve toured a lot. A lot of times it’s the first time we’ve played in that area., so its an all new crowd, they’ve never heard of us. We may even be in their store, but we’re not on the radio there. They just kind of watch, like what? With the exception of the Butch tour, which is pretty right done the middle. That’s kind of what we do, I’d say they’re kind of metal, glam, but still its pulled from the same pile.
Anarchy: What I noticed about this show was that at first people were like “what the fucks he playing ukulele for?” but by the end of the show they were like “Okay, we get this now”. It’s almost like give us fifteen minutes of your time and you’ll end up digging us.
Spencer: Yeah, he drinks, he’s got tattoos, he’s not so bad.
Anarchy: And WHAT A TATTOO!
Spencer: Oh thanks, which one, the light socket?
Anarchy: Maybe the most random tattoo I’ve ever seen.
Spencer: It’s not random at all my friend
Anarchy: Not random?
Zach: It’s very deliberate.
Anarchy: And it means?
Spencer: Well, it goes to the light bulb (further down his arm)
Anarchy: So you’re done with this tour, what comes next?
Spencer: We start a string of northeast headline shows, then we start a tour that starts in Falls Church, VA and takes us up in the northeast and out to the west.
Anarchy: And after that, I’m telling you, “Special” is a hit!
Spencer: I’m telling you in big bold print the title of this article is “Special”: first single of the new year.
Anarchy: And its going to be a big fucking hit! That’s a long title, but whatever.
Spencer: And it’s the first single of the new year.
Anarchy: Of any band!
Spencer: Impact date: January 1 It’s going to clear out the radio.
Andrew: It’ll eliminate Top 40 and it’ll just be Top 1
Spencer: If they put the song on the cd, and put some artwork on the cd. Then those people actually mail it to the radio stations and the people who’s job it is to call the radio stations and say “hey, play that song”. If everyone does their job like that, then it will be a hit. Not to say “we’re so great”, but you know when you’ve got it.
Anarchy: Within like a line or two of that song I was into it. Who doesn’t want to hear this song?
Spencer: As long as everyone does their jobs, we get in a van and do the shows, they mail the cds and make phone calls, bags of money exchange hands. If everyone does their jobs hen we’re all happy.
Anarchy: Who’s the fastest member of this band?
(everyone points at Andrew)
Anarchy: Are you more of a sprinter or a long distance runner?
Andrew: I was a long distance runner. I can’t run very fast, I have short legs. I probably cant run very fast anymore.
Zach: You know I ran cross country freshmen year of high school.
Anarchy: Oh, I know what’s going on here, you’re all runners! You’re trying to get people to challenge you in a race because you’re all Olympic athletes and you’ll destroy them.
Spencer: I see where you’re going with that, but I can assure you that’s not the case
Andrew: Is there a video game that has sprinting?
Spencer: You can always get Commodore 64, we’ll get World games, like the skiing game.
Anarchy: Remember the Nintendo one, where they had the mat and everyone cheated and used their hands?
Spencer: Yes, see I’m not going to do that because it’s actually difficult.
Zack: The best time to run is when you’re being chased, otherwise, just sit and watch tv.
Heche: I know what game we could play, that game Spin. That card game. That’s speed based , and stationary.
Anarchy: Well, you’re going to be chased a lot soon because you’re going to be big-time stars right?
Spencer: What a great problem to have.
Anarchy: Getting chased by throngs of chicks
Spencer: Throngs of chicks in thongs.
Anarchy: Thongs of chicks are gonna be chasing you, and you better run because they’re gonna be 15.
A lot of the people who come to the site want to support new bands, so give us the hard sell.
Andrew: We’re the greatest band of all time.
Anarchy: Of ALL time?
Andrew: And the future
Anarchy: Definitely the best catchy, hooky, pop rock band out now. Maybe the only one.
Andrew: Yes
Spencer: I don’t think you have to qualify it, I’m just going to say its great.
Zach: Good music is good music, people who recognize good music will like us.
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Thanks once again to As Fast As and the amazing people at Octone Records for setting this up on the fly! Everyone should check this band out at their website www.AsFastAsMusic.com and on their Myspace page
SIGNED CD CONTEST IS OVER