Stepchild band Interview

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I N T E R V I E W
June 2004
Stepchild

Band email (2) shermanation1984@msn.com
Band contact number: 562 756 8548

RCN: Hello, we are here with Stepchild a local band from Norwalk , and they're here , so we're going to find out a little more about what makes them tick. . .

1. RCN: What type of band are you?

We're a four piece band with Paul playing drums, Steve playing bass, I'm Sherman I play guitar, and Raymond plays guitar or keys and everyone but Paul, the drummer, sings at one time or another. I do most of the singing. The music is structured but it leaves some room for improv or jamming.

2. RCN: Tell us the brief history of your band.

I've been in a band with Steve since the end of eighth grade so that's about 6 years now and we've gone from a nirvana cover band to this thing we have a hard time describing to people when they ask what genre we are. We've played small shows in Long Beach and San Pedro for our friends and family members. We're mixing down a full length independently released album with 10 songs on it. The guy mixing it just graduated from Long Beach City College and his name is Albert Roman. This is his first full length project. We really have been taking our time with it so we have no regrets when it is finally finished. A three song demo will be available soon for an optional donation to help pay for the production costs. The cover art is going to be done by Adrian Avila. You can see his work at Cafe Kashmir in South Gate on Tweedy Blvd. or at cafekashmir.com This guy's stuff has so much detail and emotion put into it you need a good part of the day to appreciate his paintings. I'm not just saying that either. See for yourself. Stepchild is going to be playing with Restless Denizen at Sacred Grounds 399 6th st. in San Pedro on Wednesday June 24th. We'll be performing song that will be on the album as well as newer songs. The charge is $5 at the door. The crowd is going to be really laid back but the music is going to be pretty intense and we will be discussing changes that need to be made in the way this country is run and how we can make those changes. What else are you going to do on Wednesday?

3. RCN: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?

The musical ones are Fugazi, Mars Volta, Pink Floyd, Joni Mitchell, Queen, Led Zep, Neil Young, Radiohead, the Flaming Lips, Frank Zappa, Nirvana, Hendrix, Chili Peppers... and that's all I can think of at the moment.

The non-musical ones for me are Chuck Palahniuk (the guy that wrote fight club), Irving Welsh (wrote trainspotting), George Orwell (wrote 1984), Brett Easton Ellis (wrote American Psycho, and Rules of Attracration), Kurt Vonnegut (wrote Breakfast of Champions).

4. RCN: What are your dreams and goals?

The goal for Stepchild is to finish this album. Sell it and record more albums

5. RCN: Who writes the songs, what are they about?

I write songs about communication and social problems like poverty and other negative stuff but I find that my song are getting more and more positive.

6. RCN: What's your opinion of George Bush?

He's the worst president ever because we are in a record deficit, he lead us into war under the false pretence that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction, which they don't, and he used the 9-11 attacks to instill fear in the public and congress to role back civil liberties and push his administration's agenda.

He's over spent on the military and social security is going down the drain. He passed legislature to lower costs for senior medical bills because the are the majority of voters. He does nothing for all the lower class citizens that don't have insurance. And he still says "the state of the union is strong and confident" in his last state of the union address.

As far as the 9-11 attacks, He used the fear of another attack to push for war in Iraq which is the 2nd largest oil reserve in the world. And his family has a lot of control over American Oil and is linked with the royal Saudi Arabian Family which runs the largest oil reserve in the world. He's trying to monopolize the oil industry. Read Bob Woodward's "Plan of Attack." It doesn't criticize Bush as much as it uncovers the agenda of his administration.

He claimed he had the best intelligence and it told him Iraq had WMD's and George Tennet, head of the CIA and the guy who provided the intelligence said the CIA never had intelligence that substantiated that claim. Why else would he push for war in Iraq if they didn't pose as much of a threat as we were lead to believe in the months preceding the invasion? OIL! And Why was the name of the invasion changed from Operation Iraqi Liberation to Operation Iraqi Freedom? Because the acronym for Operation Iraqi Liberation is OIL! Bush is a religious fanatic that believes the day reckoning is coming soon. With that philosophy, he doesn't invest much in the future all he cares about is the now. He doesn't care about your child's education or global warming or the civil rights. He figures the world's going to end soon anyway so he's going to get all he can out of it like the greedy pig his dad was.

7. RCN: How do you promote your band and shows?

I make flyers and we call our friends.

8. RCN: Describe your show, visual and musically

We play some intense songs to get the crowd's attention and then we wing it from there with some audio samples from movies between songs.

9. RCN: What do you think about downloading music online?

Art should be spread to as many people as possible. The art you see shouldn't be limited to what you can afford to by. Artist should just be glad people want their art. If it's good art people will go to the live shows and the artist will make money there.

10. RCN: What's your outlook on the record industry today?

They turn art into a commodity like groceries or something.

11. RCN: What's your claim to fame? (What's unique about your band)

We don't know what we sound like.

12. RCN: Tell us a story about a day in your life.

This last week my dog, a year old black lab/ chow, bit my friend on the hand. We tried training the dog for the last year and nothing has worked. He's snapped before but we always thought we knew the reason. This time it was completely random and My friend thinks there is nerve damage. We took the dog to the animal shelter we got him at. He's being quarantined for the next 4 days and then they'll either put him up for adoption or more than likely put him to sleep. I love Ralph, the dog, but there's nothing I can do.

13. RCN: What inspires you to do what you do?

Seeing crappy bands like Link'n park and Puddle of mud making money on something so paper thin. It makes me want to show people something creative or at least positive. No wonder our generations so apathetic. The bands that make it big don't make it big on talent or skill. They fucking win the lottery.

14. RCN: What advice would you give to fellow bands?

This isn't a talent show, create your music for the outcome not to show how fast you can shred. (to all you guitarists)

15. RCN: What are some of your pet peeves?

bands that try to sound like other bands

16. RCN: How does music affect you and the world around you?

It keeps me busy

17. RCN: What's new in the recording of your music?

What we are doing has probably been done many times over. But its all new to us.

18. RCN: What are the biggest obstacles for bands?

Getting peopl to their shows

19. RCN: What's the best and worst thing about playing clubs?

Presale is the worst and how people usually don't go for the music they just go to drink and socialize. Its hard to do something creative that people will appreciate if the people don't pay attention.

20. RCN: Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.

We're playing with Restless Denizen at Sacred Grounds, 399 6th st. in San Pedro, on Wednesday June 24. Go and you will be pleasantly surprised or I'll pay a hobo to give you a hand job.

RCN: Thank you for your insight and time. We'll look forward to hearing your music and seeing your next live show . . . Later gator.

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