Louden Swain band Interview

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I N T E R V I E W
June 2004
Louden Swain

Band email (2) ____Loudenswain@sbcglobal.net
Band email (3) ___threecarwreckords@sbcglobal.net
Band contact number: ___818-430-4769

RCN: Hello, we are here with Louden Swain_________ a local band from __Hollywood_______ , and they're _a band that remains a constant on the local scene and is starting to create quite a buzz_____ , 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 pretty much a straight up rock band. People have tried to call us "power pop" but we're not crazy about the "pop" part of that tag. We've also come in contact with "emo" or "alt rock" but they dont' quite stick exactly either. We're like if Power Pop and Alt Rock had a bastard son and he ran away when he was like 13 to try to stir shit up on his own.

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

We started playing together about five years ago. Our common denomenator was that we all grew up in the midwest and all met via a few degrees of separation (Steve and Rob had a mutual friend, Rob and Mike had a mutual friend...) We started playing covers just for fun and that turned into "hey check out this tune I wrote" which turned into a couple of acoustic shows which eventually became a full on rock show. One of our first big gigs was at the Roxy about four years ago. The place was packed and the show went really well. We were left looking at each other going, "holy shit...we can do this."

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

Steve grew up hanging out with a lot of the popular hair bands of the late 80s. A close family friend was in Slaughter, and he literally rocked with those guys. Rob and Mike were victims of the more alt music of that time: REM, Buffalo Tom, and The Cure. Now, our band is pretty heavily influenced by the music that is out now. You have to listen carefully to find it, but there is some really great alternative music being made right now. With new radio stations like 103.1, and actual video shows like M2's "Subterranean" we have access to hearing music being made by people that are making it for themselves. That's inspiring to us.

4. RCN: What are your dreams and goals?

A house and a white picket fence. Seriously, we put our music out on our independent label, and that has it's advantages in terms of control and whatnot. But certainly it would always be nice to be signed and be working with someone else's money for a change. It's always nice to get paid!

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

The band pretty much writes the music together, and Rob writes the lyrics. Most of the songs deal with sort of guy vs. the world and have a pretty sardonic, and at times comedic, tone.

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

We are by no means a political band. We try to make music to take your mind off the messed up state of the world we live in right now. That being said, he's a fucking moron and we hope to hell he doesn't get re-elected.

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

We have a pretty extensive mailing list that we contact via email, we print up song sampler cd's with the gig info on them and hand them out at the venue a few nights before the show, and we usually put samplers or ads in local record stores.

8. RCN: Describe your show, visual and musically

A lot of energy. A lot of jumping around. We like to jump. The music is the same. Jumpy.

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

itunes is the best. cheap, quick and the artists don't get screwed. that's the way to go.

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

the problem is in any branch of the entertainment industry you have artists trying to do what they do best, juxtaposed with business people trying to make $$ by "packaging it" for an audience that they can't ever quite get a handle on. It's just naturally a fucked up scenerio. The business stands between the audience and the art.

11. RCN: What's your claim to fame?

We're not sure how many people know this but our lead singer Rob is an actor. Right now he's starring in a sitcom called Come To Papa that will start airing on NBC in June.

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

We're kind of like Clark Kents. We have day jobs. Mike works in a suit downtown. Rob is an actor. Norton works in Beverly Hills. We get off at 5ish. Meet in our grungy studio space downtown. Lose the suits/costumes. And rock in the face of the downtown skyline until our fingers fall off.

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

Music, man. Music. Listening to music and seeing live music makes us want to do that.

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

Work on building a following. It's really hard to do anything--book shows, get people to listen to your demos, etc--unless you have people who want to come to your shows.

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

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

It just inspires us. It's all we do. We listen to music and play music all the time. That is our world.

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

We've got a bunch of new songs that we've just begun to record. We're going to be working with a few new producers this time around and go for some new sounds. We've already recorded the drums in a studio a friend of ours runs in Burbank. They sound amazing. We're really excited about the new stuff.

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

Time. It takes a lot of time to build a band to a successful level.

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

It all depends on the club. Some clubs are just hard to deal with--the booker wont' call you back, the contract isn't clear, the sound guy is an asshole, you dont' get a sound check....but others are great, just the opposite. We try to only play the ones that are agreable like that. And the best thing is if it's a good club and the sound system is good, it's a great place to play and hear music.

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

Wednesday, June 23rd at DiPiazza's in Long Beach at 9pm. This will be a great show to see. It's this kickass little bar in Long Beach where great bands play. After that we'll be playing IPO at the end of July. Check our website or the IPO website for details. Wer'e at www.loudenswain.com.

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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