WALRUS COMIX PRESENTS:
An Exclusive Interview with Thomas Hughes and Nick Krill of THE SPINTO BAND!

 

 

 

We here at Walrus Comix were elated when we found out we were going to be interviewing Thomas Hughes (bass/vocals) and Nick Krill (guitarist/vocals), respectively of the colossal musical group 'The Spinto Band'. We truly feel they are making some of the most innovative and groundbreaking music out there today. We had already hyped them up in our 'We Recommend' section, so to get the chance to pick their brains got us really jazzed up - and we are not 'Jazzed up’ kind of people! The Spinto Band has recently released a sensational album 'Nice and Nicely Done' out on Bar/None records, which we believe is a superb candidate for record of the year. We suggest you get a copy, like immediately! The record has been universally praised, and for a mighty good reason – it’s brilliant. All at once recalling the sophisticated pop soundscape of The Beatles, Pavement and The Flaming Lips, they bring their own individual musicality to the party making for a unique, complex and thoroughly enjoyable listening experience.  Are we gushing? Buy the record and see for yourselves?

For more information on the boys, drop by their official website where you'll not only delight in the tremendous art of Nick Gurewitch of the Perry Bible Fellowship fame, but, you'll also get all the info you can hold on the boys and their latest exploits. Additionally, you can check em' out on Myspace.

All hailing from Wilmington VT., the Spintos are collectively two sets of brothers, Thomas and Sam Hughes, and Jeff and Joey Hobsen, plus their high school friends, Albert Birney and John Eaton. In 1997 they officially became ‘The Spinto Band’, taking the name from Nick Krill's grandpa, Roy Spinto, (an aspiring songwriter in his own right) and as they say, musical history was born! As we found out in the interview not only are the guys’ talented musicians and songwriters, they are also very thoughtful and articulate young lads. After reading below, we think you will feel entirely similarly. ..And away we go…!

How did you all meet, and was it always evident that there was a natural musical chemistry with one another?

Thomas: Any "natural musical chemistry" probably stems from the fact that we've all been good friends from way back before The Spinto Band even existed. Initially, our music was just another hobby sandwiched in between other weekend activities such as making movies, drawing comics,
and playing video games.

Art is often inspired by the need to contend, did you have easy childhoods, or was your art informed by a rougher experience growing up?

Nick: I wouldn't consider my upbringing rough by conventional thug standards, but I did grow up in an odd community and went to a prep school where I did feel slightly marginalized. It is kind of funny looking back on it...I remember at lunch Tom and I would sit at a table with a weird hayseed / jock hybrid guy who road dirt bikes, a scrawny engineering buff and the only two black kids in our class. I mean there was your standard cool guy tables, sports tables, nerd tables, and then our table which didn't make any sense... We were all kind of the leftovers. Anyhow, I suppose I contended with that marginalization by spending all my free time in the music building messing around with a tape recorder and all the high school band instruments.

You guys are so young, how did you learn to craft your songs with such finesse? Did you all come from musical families?

Nick: Yeah, almost every band member has a musical parent or uncle, and I do think some of our interest in creating concise little pop numbers came from dipping into our dad's and uncle's bags of songwriting tricks. yet, at the same time, the majority of our (or at least my) musical influences are all people who wrote, and write succinct music, so it makes sense that I would end up trying to create that kind of thing.

Are you all in relationships, and is it hard to maintain them, being so young and touring all the time?

Nick: I am a particularly career oriented kind of fella and that tends to frustrate people sometimes.

"The worst is when someone tries to argue their questionable ethics by saying something to the effect of "Well, that's why they call it the music business." as if it's a get-out-of-jail-free card."

Do you feel being so young, the experience of the road and general music business stuff has jaded you prematurely to any great extent?

Nick: I do think I have become slightly weary of the music business, and part of that comes form some people taking advantage of us due to our youth and naiveté in music business. The other real part of it that bugs me is that I have met a great many people who are convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that they have the correct solution to a given problem (record sales, what a good record sounds like, what a indie rock and roll act should do, etc.). However, they have no indisputable analysis or evidence to lend support to their positions. If all these people can think they know the most effective way to approach show business, and all of them are relatively successful, I would just as soon conclude that there is no compelling argument as to how one should approach the music business, and it is probably best to do what ever you feel most comfortable with.

Thomas: I'd like to think that it's been more of a learning process than a jading process. I would agree with Nick that it's those music business axioms that tend to bother me. The worst is when someone tries to argue their questionable ethics by saying something to the effect of "Well, that's why they call it the music business." as if it's a get-out-of-jail-free card.

I notice that in many of your songs, you reinforce the main melody with a unique variety of instrumentation, in ‘Brown Boxes’, it's a kazoo, in ‘Oh Mandy’ it's a haunting keyboard, which is reminiscent of a Theremin, and in Spy vs. Spy it's a buzzy moog sounding synth. Is this an intentional approach? To drive the point home so to speak? It's very musically sophisticated, and was employed by the greatest bands, however, today you hardly hear that technique, it's mostly just a basic chordal accompaniment.

Nick: Well, I just kind of try to create interesting musical arrangements...try to think about what tones share a space well together.

"I don't know, I just try my darndest not to sound like a California guy doing an impression of a British punk singer...oh brother, that is the worst."

Your voices have none of the whiny affectation that's so prevalent in today's young bands. In point of fact you just sing, with distinct authority, and individual timbre. You do a lot with your voices. Did you guys always know you could sing, and does it bother you when you hear what's on the radio, and the banal vocal similarity to the majority of bands out there? Do you have any singers that have specifically informed or inspired your styles?

Nick: Ha, it is very nice of you to say all that. I guess we just started singing and since it didn't sound terrible, we kept at it...and now...I’m a singer. I think it is always fun to listen to Harry Nilsson, Ray Davies, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, Aretha Franklin, Al Jolson, Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, David Bowie...Aayy I am writing a lot of names. I don't know, I just try my darndest not to sound like a California guy doing an impression of a British punk singer...oh brother, that is the worst.

Thomas: When I first began recording my own music I never considered myself to be much of a singer, but since most of the music I listened to had vocals, I figured I might as well give it a shot. It's taken many years to get to a point where I feel technically competent at it. I really admire and envy the talent in a barbershop quartet. One of my earliest singing influences would have to be Gene Ween, which probably accounts for the fact that it's easier to tolerate the sound of my voice when it's sped up or slowed down.

"You can make beautiful pop music with three chords or less. Ask a doctor."

The meticulous chord structures and arrangements to your songs are at a level which belie your age. You use diminished chords, and switch from major to minor in inventive and seamless ways, which evoke a rich tapestry of emotional response in the listener. You seem to take pains not follow down the well worn path of the usual tired chord patterns and try to create the melody outside or on top of the confines of the basic chords. Is it an objective when you sit down to write a song, to come up with melodies that are more complex that maybe push the listener to invest a bit more of themselves?

Thomas: I usually write around chord structures, which can be as equally restraining as they are liberating. Once you familiarize yourself with the effects of certain chord progressions they can be hard habits to break. My interest in harmony is not to push the listener towards anything really; it's more of a source of personal entertainment or satisfaction. When it comes to the song itself, though, melody takes precedence. You can make beautiful pop music with three chords or less. Ask a doctor.

Lyrically, your take on the themes of love and relationships are often set in a unique context. For instance, with  Brown boxes it's set in the context of someone moving out of an apartment once shared with a girl, and you use this context as a metaphor for moving on in general In this sense your lyrics have a very literary feel to them. Are you big readers? Does this influence you lyrically? If so, any specific favorite authors?

Thomas: I would say I'm more influenced by traditional song craft and rhyme scheme, so my lyrics tend to be informed by other lyricists rather than traditional authors. Although, I've been reading a lot of non-fiction lately which could explain why a few of my songs sound more like essays put to music...But that's something that can just as easily be attributed to my love of Momus.

photo: stephen vogel

Even in a song like ‘Oh Mandy’, which is a song of yours which is more quote end quote commercial, you stick a bridge in there which enriches the song, makes it more complex, than just your average 'single'. Do you shy away from writing songs just for the sake of a mass commercial appeal?

Nick: Hmm, you know I think it could be argued that a bridge in a song could push it towards a more commercial style of song writing. But anyhow, that's another story. When it comes to Spinto Band music I don't start with any presuppositions about whether a song should have commercial appeal or lack commercial appeal all together. For me the Spinto Band is for messing around with whatever I find most musically interesting at the moment, that might be commercial...it might not, who knows. Maybe someday I’ll write a song for an American Idol contestant, in which case I swear on Johnny Mercer's grave I will write a song with as much mass commercial appeal as I can muster. If any American Idol contestant is reading this, hey, let me write a song for you, eh?

Video for "Oh Mandy"  

I hear the obvious influences of Beatles, Beach Boys, and Pavement. Were there any other bands that directly informed your work?

Nick: I guess my list in the singer question kind of covers this. But just to be a real heady prick I’ll add Leonard Bernstein, Brian Eno, Ennio Morricone and the Gershwins. Oooooohhhhh aren't I a music sophisticate. Feel free to start thinking I am a dingus now. But come on that's what pop acts are supposed to do in these things right?

Thomas: In the early days there was a lot of Ween, the Flaming Lips, the Residents, Beck, They Might Be Giants...All those artists hold a very special place in my heart. Lately though, I've been listening to Biff Rose, Franklin Bruno, Sparks, Andre Popp, and the Spoils of War.

Instrumentally, you all play with such sophistication, individual parts are written, the rhythmic patterns are creative, you mix them up and it never feels stale. It also seems you really love to play with crescendo, you can see that beautifully represented in Direct to Helmet. One really gets the sense that you guys love to play. How did you start out on your instruments? What made you choose them?

Thomas: When I first began playing music I wanted to get my hands on any instrument I could. There was a period in the early basement recording days where new instruments would show up once a month, either from a recent birthday, garage sale purchase, or rescue mission from the street. Everyone had a hand in everything...Drums, guitar, synthesizers, ukulele, banjo, various horns...Since we never played live; no one really had a "set" instrument, which accounts for some of our instrument changes during the live show. Though, I actually started playing on bass guitar because since it had less strings, I figured it'd be easier. Now it's what I play with the band today. And you want to know the secret? It is easier.

It's really an art to get a live a spirit when putting music to tape; you seem to have captured a great energy on your latest album. Does recording come naturally to you? or is it a painstaking process, with a lot of deliberation? Do you have everything worked out beforehand, or is there a lot of improvisation going on in the studio? Did you enjoy the process of making this last album?

Thomas: Nowadays we have a tendency to nit-pick every detail of the song's arrangement before entering the studio, so there is no improvisation when we're doing the basic live-tracking. However, once the skeletal structure has been put down to tape, the real fun begins by smothering its body with different sounds...Then comes a sobering process of cleaning up the mess via subtraction of the unnecessary elements. Improvisation and chance are important to the process, but editing is essential.

Which is more important to you, putting on a great live show, or crafting a great sounding album?

Nick: They are each two different ways to present a song, and each is equally important. I like it when there is a recorded interpretation of the music and then a live interpretation. They both end up contributing to the piece as a whole.

Thomas: Recording an album is more important for me. There is only one recording but there will be hundreds of live performances. Even when we don't exist, our recordings will (if archived properly). Not to diminish the importance of the live show, because I love them and have had wonderful experiences doing them. As a person, I'm just more attracted to recorded music than live music.

The reality of the music business today is that the emphasis is placed on mass commercialism, perhaps there was always an element there, but it's never been as prevalent as it is today. Does this ever get you down? Do you feel you're on a mission to try and offer something else to your audience?

Thomas: We like to evoke the image of a bunch of chilled-out entertainers, which, according to our data, is exactly what the audience wants.

How is your relationship with your label? Do they give you full creative freedom, or do they place any pressure on you to come up with 'singles'?

Nick: Right now we are not on any legitimate record label, so we can do whatever we want musically.

Your videos are fantastic, and extremely artful, is it a disappointment to you that MTV never plays videos anymore, and that there are less and less venues around to get them shown?

Nick: Actually, with websites like youtube shooting up all over the place, blogs posting videos and itunes video happening I would probably say that there are way more ways for a band of our stature to send videos out to the public than ever before.

Video for "Direct to Helmet "  

I know that you're good friends with Nick Gurewitch of the Perry Bible Fellowship fame, he did all your artwork on your site and he seems to be coming from a similar place aesthetically, albeit working in a different medium, as you guys. How did you meet, and do you all feel a sense of fellowship, like you're part of a collective dedicated to bringing art to the masses? It seems you’ve got a genuine love for cartooning as art; do you have any favorites in the medium?

Thomas: Nick Gurewitch is a very talented artist, so it's kind of you to compare us to him. He went to Syracuse University with Jon and Albert and was actually in attendance for our first ever Canadian show. The Perry Bible Fellowship archives are an inspiring work of comedy that makes the majority of short-form comics pale in comparison. I can't wait for his feature length film. In addition to Gurewitch, I also enjoy the cartooning of Daniel Clowes, Winsor McCay, Jeffrey Brown, Albert Birney, Jon Moses and Jesse Moynihan.

above: photo created by Jeff Fusco & Sara Green

How do you view your relationship with the audience? Is it a feeling of trying to impart to them something worthwhile, or is it more of a symbiotic give and take? Do you derive inspiration from them? Do you feel as a whole they get where you're coming from?

Thomas: It's difficult to think of any band/audience relationship that isn't symbiotic. I am very grateful of the people that buy our music and attend our shows. As a whole, it doesn't matter to me if they get where we're coming from (are we coming from somewhere?). If they want to dance to it, analyze it intently, or put it on in the background to aid the seduction process, I don't care. I'm just flattered by the idea that people are getting something out of it.

Are there any current bands out there you feel are making relevant music?

Nick: The Teeth, Dr. Dog, Okay Paddy, Mystery Jets, Dr. Horse Machine and The Money Notes, Illumina, National Eye, Normal Love.

Thomas: Asleep In The Sea (r.i.p), Half-Handed Cloud, The Eames Era, Deerhoof, Edan, The High Llamas, Make a Rising, B.C Camplight, The Ailsers Set, Emilyn Brodsky

5 quick questions

Favorite album?

Nick:  ‘Clouds Taste Metallic’ by The Flaming Lips
Thomas: ‘Take a Picture’ by Margo Guryan

Favorite band?

Nick: The Beatles
Thomas: The Music Tapes

Favorite movie?

Nick: The Royal Tenenbaums
Thomas: Charade

Favorite cartoon character?

Nick: Felix the Cat
Thomas: Eek! the Cat

Who are you going to vote for in 2008?

Nick: Not sure yet, I guess we'll see who wins the primaries and I’ll go from there.
Thomas: I think someone like Dennis Kucinich is what America needs, but doesn't want.