Talented, original, and more fun than a case of lighters in a fireworks factory, A Clever Con walked on into the Ripple Office and proceeded to take over with nary a second thought. Squeezing all of them onto our red interview couch was one thing, listening to them answer questions together was another. Originally, the boys blew us away with the stunning self-produced demo disc, now they tear us apart with their slapstick.
Sit back, oh waveriders, and prepare for one of the most entertaining Sunday Conversations you've ever read.
Welcome to the Ripple Office, gentlemen. Sorry you all need to squeeze onto that one couch.
Mike (M) - Hey Guys
Ryan (R) - Hey Ripple Dudes, thanks for having us.
TJ (TJ) - SMASH!
M – Our bass player Bobby, couldn’t make it here tonight. He moonlights as a superhero. You may have seen him before... Catwoman?
When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkle, the first time I ever heard Kiss's "Detroit Rock City," it was a moment of musical epiphany. It was just so vicious, aggressive and mean. It changed the way I listened to music. I've had a few minor epiphany's since then, when you come across a band that just brings something new and revolutionary to your ears.
What have been your musical epiphany moments?
M – I had an epiphany listening to the RX bandits for the time in our ex-drummers car. He turned up the volume and it was sweet, sweet music. It made my ears standup like a dog’s. And for the first time in my life I felt like there was a band that truly mirrored my life.
R – Actually, my KISS epiphany actually happened for me at a young age. My brother who is 11 years older fed me KISS day and night. I performed “Dr. Love” for my 2nd grade talent show in full costume and makeup. It was epic.
TJ – TJ SMASH!!!
R – No TJ… it’s just a record… Anyway, that record introduced me to gritty, graphic and curse-filled aggression and angst and. I loved every second of it. From then on, I discovered music and lyrics/poetry as a way to express myself. That epiphany happened to me around the same time I had 7th grade guitar class. That was the first time I ever played guitar. I was that disruptive kid in the back of the class noodling around, writing riffs and songs because “Ode To Joy” was just too way to boring. I had found my instrument.
Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall into place?
R - It starts with a lot of drugs…
M – No, it starts with a lot of everything.
R – Yeah, we write off everything really. It might start with a guitar riff, a vocal line, a poem, musical theme, a random jam session- whatever works and appeals to us musically and creatively.
M – We find it easier to work on writing these parts on our own. Then we put all the pieces on the table and see what fits. It’s a big puzzle. That’s why our music goes from dance-rock to alt-metal.
R- We love everything so we include everything.
TJ – SMASH EVERYTHING!!
Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?
M – The news, our lives,
R - Politics, love and heartache,
M – friends and family…
R – I sometime go… I wonder if Mike would like to sing to this… haha. I started off as the cliché, angst ridden teenager. Depression and doubt is a huge muse. The process is one-hundred percent cathartic. I took refuge in music, so I started to build my own musical asylums.
Genre's are so misleading and such a way to pigeonhole bands. Without resorting to labels, how would you describe your music?
R – A Clever Con: The illegitimate love child of Incubus and Rx Bandits raised by his dirty uncles, Dispatch and GlassJaw
What is you musical intention? What are you trying to express or get your audience to feel?
M – Life is hard sometimes…and it’s important to realize that things always get better. Every artist that writes a song leaves a piece of his or her soul embedded in its core. I’m simply trying to let the World know how It has effected me.
R - … pussy. Haha, actually I’m the same way. I want to give people that connection I had growing up with music. I want to relate to listeners and in that, give them comfort knowing not matter what the World does to you – you are not alone. It’s going to be okay man, now let’s rock out. I also like to let people know that the world is not always as they see it. Media, marketing, religion, government- They all implement ‘smoke and mirrors’ and have ‘men behind the curtain’.
Lyrically, we leave it ambiguous to the listener can relate to them on their own level while esoterically inserting our own personal messages. We use a lot of metaphor, similes, double entendres, etc and exploit homonyms to covey multiple meanings at once.
TJ – For everyone to know that they wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.
span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >In songwriting, how do you bring the song together? What do you look for in terms of complexity? Simplicity? Time changes?
R – It takes time really. I mean look at Beethoven, he’s infamous for rewriting with pieces over and over and over.
M- At first, it was easy, because we just threw riffs and melody lines together. It was very haphazard. The puzzle didn’t fit. But now, we’re trying to perfect our craft and make our music more intelligible.
R - We’ll typically go back and forth from 4/4 to a 3/4 on purpose to highlight the dance/swing/reggae sections in our music coming in and out of the hard rock sections. It’s intentional- mixing these styles. We purposely switch it up, but we always place it where it feels right, where it works.
The business of music is a brutal place. Changes in technology have made it easier than ever for bands to get their music out, but harder than ever to make a living? What are your plans to move the band forward? How do you stay motivated in this brutal business?
M – It’s a grueling race to stay on top…
R – Hah!…
M – Dick. It’s a grueling race to stay on top. The more shows we play, I watch and listen to the bands and I’ve come to the conclusion that everyone’s out just ‘to make it’, instead of enjoying the scene. It’s hard to fathom us attaining stardom. We work hard as a band just to come out with fresh tunes. I find it personally hard, on the business aspect of it, ‘cause without fans, you have nothing.
TJ – SMASH NOTHING!!
M – [pause] Fans mean everything. Fans spread your music, increase your revenue and cultivate your popularity. It’s amazing how fans really dictate your success.
R – yeah… too bad we don’t have any, haha. We’re giving out our demo for free now just to spread the word. But as far as plans go, we are going to record and EP in the Spring and from there, we’ll see where that takes us. It’s going to be amazing.
Come on, share with us a couple of your great, Spinal Tap, rock and roll moments?
R – We always seem to get some at shows.
M – I made out with two lesbians.
R – Mike rips my shirt off at our after-gig parties and well… from there Racer, it’s pretty easy. He’s a really good wing-man.
TJ – RYAN’S MUSCLES!!
M – Speaking of which, two years ago at our first show, at the local firehouse, mid-set, Ryan’s was sweating profusely. Which is understandable, because our set was an hour long. He decided to take his shirt off. Everything seemed fine. No dirty looks. I mean, he’s got a pretty good… he’s got a pretty awesome body… I love it. Mmmmm. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, everything seemed fine. It was our first show so we had a big after party planned. When most of us were pretty sloshed at the party, our drummer and bassist came up to me and quit the band on account of Ryan taking his shirt off.
Where do you see you and your music going in ten years?
M – We’ll evolve. The music scene is constantly changing and we’ll adapt to it. I’m not saying that we’ll sell out, but we’ll take our style and songwriting and conform it to what’s relevant. Otherwise we’ll be playing the same old stuff. Hopefully, we’ll be playing together. We have a great camaraderie between us. We’re all great friends. It shows on stage, we click well, and we find that to be very important.
TJ – TJ? Friennnd?
R – Yes TJ. We’re friends, all of us. To add to what Mike said, yes that will happen with us, but the music adaptation will happen subconsciously. We’re all fans of current music and stay up to date. We’ll bring out new tastes and likes to our music. That’s what we do now, and we’ll do it in 10 years down the road. We play what we like. Hopefully, by then we’ll have expanded upon our local success as a band. By then we’ll all be working on A Clever Son – our kids’ band.
What makes a great song?
R – A Great song is under 3 minutes and 15 seconds where the hook arrives within the first 60 seconds. Sorry, that’s what record execs think. And they’re right – it’s subliminal to the human race’s ever decreasing attention spans. Haha! This question is liable to result in more than one interpretation. In essence, music is a byproduct of its creator’s culture and imaginations. A #1 hit over here won’t necessarily translate with say, a native tribe in
M – Umm, yeah whatever sounds cool
Tell us about the first song you ever wrote?
R- Ahhhh… “SonLore”. Mike was dating a girl named Lauren and I was dating a girl named Sonnie.
M- It’s your typical love song.
R – Yes, it’s about gaining that attention from the one you love or seek to love. Ironically meshing their names became SonLore – Which sounds like something that brings you light, happiness, love, etc- so using it as a title really reflects the song’s meaning. I had the verse and chorus guitar leads already written out with the chorus’s basic vocal melody written. I showed Mike and he went to work. He added in his off-beat style that never ceases to amaze me. He has a unique spin on rhythm guitar. This is ‘cause he was a drummer first. SonLore got me brownie points with girlfriend at the time btw. No shirts needed to taken off. Haha.
What piece of your music are particularly proud of?
R – This is tacky, but I’m proud of everything we’ve ever written. Our new stuff is amazing too. A new song “Able Danger” is awesome. Musically it’s a rock powerhouse. The feedback we get from it live is astounding. Lyrically, it’s a cryptic poem that I wrote expressing my political views, predictions, questions and theories. It’s awesomely esoteric.
Who today, writes great songs? Why?
M – Who today writes great songs… hmm that’s a hard one.
R – That’s what she said, HAH!
M – …ass. You can pretty much go anywhere from saying that Dispatch create a plethora of sonic bliss that could turn you into a newt. Which means… It’s good! Dave Matthews Band is amazing, just full of genius musicians... They put on flawless performances and display astounding ability as artists. But, I think that what takes the cake is Rx Bandits. Sorry… I really like them.
R – Short answer: Incubus, Sia, Immortal Technique and anything involving Daryl Palumbo
I feel that Max Bemis of Say Anything created a modern masterpiece with “… Is A Real Boy”. The problem that incurred with that record’s missed recognition is that it, because of it’s Emo style, didn’t gain a lot of attention. People turn their heads and typecast music so abruptly. We all do it. If you listen to the album front to back, it’s solid man. You just have to hear it. It implements so many musical devices: litany, accelerando, counterpoint, modulation the list goes on. Every song is unique and captivating. It’s a great rock record.
Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?
TJ – DIGITAL SMASH!!!... You see Mr. Racer that’s a very tough question. The advent of digital music has made it more accessible, portable and convenient with the unfortunate consequence of diminished quality, frequency and tonality, which are all due to file compression and conversion. It also makes music incredibly inexpensive – prices drop to absolute zero with Torrents, P2P networks and the like. We will always love and respect the nostalgia and pristine warm characteristics of analog recordings and formats.
What's the best record store in your town?
R – Before we go, thanks for having us guys.
M – Yes, we appreciate it. TJ plug the website please.
TJ - A CLEVER CON DOT COM!!
M – Thanks, and to answer the question umm... Best Buy?? K-Mart??
Bobby – Hey guys what’s up? Did I miss the interview?
R – Dude, you’re still in costume.
B – Meow.
Thanks guys. I've never spit milk out through my nose so many times in one conversation. I'll make sure all the waveriders know to pop over to your myspace page and download the new demo. Keep it up, soon the world shall be yours.
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