Judah Kim sings in a band called Stonethrown, is okay with throwing rocks at other bands that try to steal his name and almost went vamp to pay the bills. By Nikki Volpicelli

N: You licensed six your songs off of your album, “Where You Stand” to New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Were any of the better countries interested?
J: Better countries? Are you saying that said countries are inferior ? I’m not sure how to answer this one, Nikki, but here goes: The songs were picked up by a show called “Shreducation” which actually airs in America on Disney-XD as a surfing show–I believe. In Canada, New Zealand and Australia, “Shreducation” airs on MTV2 and Nickelodeon, respectively, as a snowboarding show. The show is in its second season and if it gains enough popularity, hopefully some of the “better” countries will pick it up… which will mean more benjamins for Stonethrown!

N: Judah, you submitted a song that was considered for the opening credits to the new Twilight movie. Why? Which team are you on?
J: Because I wanted to make some $! Team Edward all the way.

N: You make up for it by covering “She Don’t Use Jelly” at the Tritone. I’ve never been to the Tritone, but I lived on the same block for a year. I tend to skip any place with a cover and go straight for Bob and Barb’s for $3 specials. Am I missing out? Are you fans of the city-wide special?
J: Oh hell yeah! The Tritone has the same shot+PBR deal as Bob and Barbara’s, is less crowded, has some pretty good grub and has got one of the finest top shelf beer selections in Philly–completely underrated, that venue. If you’re reading this and are in a band, I highly recommend playing the Tritone. They’ve always treated us really well–both in payout and hospitality.
By the way, I believe you are referring to my other band. Ben and I have a cover band with our other brother called “CLAP.” It was with them that we played “She Don’t Use Jelly.” That band is soo much fun. We’re not your typical top 40 cover band. We play everything from Radiohead b-sides, Flaming Lips, old Weezer, old Muse, the Strokes, the Jayhawks, the Zutons and any other songs we love.

N: What are your thoughts about the Four Loko craze that’s taking this country by the balls?
J: When we were out in LA around 2005, I remember trying “Sparks” and liking it. Anyway, I had no idea it was taking the country by the balls… but now that I think about it… I’m not so sure it’s a good thing. Perhaps its my negativity speaking, but if it continues to blow up all I can think about is drunkards having an exaggerated sense of well being causing extreme DUI’s, bar fights over “Four Loko” pong games, etc.

N: You guys are an independent band to say the least. You book your own shows, record and produce your own music, you play your own instruments and you (mostly) play your own songs. Where do you find the time to construct your fashionable hairstyles? Do you have a go-to pomade?
J: You gotta have it all, Nikki…the songs, AND the look. I write my haircuts off at the end of the year as a business expense! Right now I’m using this hair product called “Taffy,” but I’ve always been a fan of “Aquage” rough paste.

N: Did you know there is a band called Stonethrow? They are from Massachusetts and they are a classic rock cover band so they probably suck. Don’t worry. You have 126 more “likes” than they do. And Massachusetts is close enough that you can go and fight them anyway.Would you consider entering a rock hurling tournament where the best band wins and the worst doesn’t live?
J: No, I was not aware, but I am in the process of trademarking “Stonethrown” and creating an LLC… a rock hurling tournament? Sure. Why not?

N: Would you consider playing at the Renaissance Faire? I’m having my birthday party there and I could use some entertainment. You could do the rock throwing battle of the bands there too. And joust.
J: The Renaissance fair, eh? Send me the details. We’d be honored.

For more information about Stonethrown, visit their Myspace.

For the record, I don’t have a crush. I’m only into guys who have continually worn diapers throughout their adolescent and adult years. By Nikki Volpicelli.

N: You guys sound a bit jam-bandy. Tell me why I’m wrong.
Kelvin – I enjoy looseness as much as the next man, particularly in women and live performances but as a songwriter for a good number of years now I am all about structure. What I’m talking about is the encapsulation of an idea within a musical format that includes a hook, a melody, perhaps a bridge and is over and done with in about four minutes.  That gem of modern culture we call the pop song.  I know that our latest recording has a couple of songs that run to a whopping 6 minutes or so but the majority of songs I write stick to that four minute challenge.  Live performances are an opportunity to expand on the basic song.  It keeps it fresh.

Steve –I respect the talent of jam bands so I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing to be pegged a bit ‘jam-bandy’, but I can only take it in small doses.  I’ve never seen Phish live, but I’ve heard live recordings/DVDs and I just start getting kinda bored by the third 15 minute long jam.

Mike – yeah I agree with Steve. Really talented, not my cup of tea though. Mainly cause I don’t like pieces of shit in my tea. Nah im joking. I actually love playing jam band music but never got the concept of other people listening to it. Sitting in a basement or studio playing ridiculous songs that last 15 minutes on any instrument you can find is hilarious but having people pay to watch or listen to jam music just doesnt really make sense.

Bill – I don’t mind the comparison. I don’t hate jam bands at all, in fact there’s a few I’m a fan of. I agree with Steve how super long jams can get kind of boring without any structure, but I still think it’s a good quality for a band to have to be able to improvise and just play on a whim. We had a recent gig where we played a private event, and one of our songs has trippy middle section where we just improve jam, and it turned into a 20 minute drunken dance party before we came back into the main hook of the song.

N: Some of you are older, and some of you are younger, and one of you is British. How did you end up finding each other and is there anything lost in old-young-British translation? I had a roommate from New Zealand that always told me how pissed she was the night before. I didn’t know for months that just meant she was drunk. I had no idea what I was doing to make her so mad all the time.
Kelvin – In the very beginning Sabu, (the original percussionist), and myself were very lucky to have found a group of young guys to join us and put the time in to learn the songs we had, until then, practiced in our basement.  From the word go the oldest members of the band have proved to be the youngest at heart.  Sabu, God bless him, was a constant inspiration to me on how not to let life make you old…. ever. These young kids in the band are all serious about their careers and college work and so on and they take these responsibilties very seriously and live up to them.  Something I have consistently failed at.  Ask my ex-wives.  As for the Englishisms, I occassionally get blank looks at certain things I say.  I seem to remember the guys deriving a certain amount of mirth from the word “plectrum” for instance.  I endeavour to remain aloof during such trivialities.

Steve – Bill and I met five or six years ago when my former crappy band was looking for a new drummer.  That band was falling apart so I started looking at Craigslist for bands that needed a bassist.  That’s how I met Kelvin…. I had to wade through a bunch of douchebags, ego-maniacs, etc. to find him. I quit the band and dragged Bill with me to play drums for The Absolute Zeros.  We communicate in a series of grunts and moans so nothing gets lost in translation.  As for the age thing, we’re all immature so it balances out.  Seriously though, the age difference has never been an issue for us.  When Sabu was still with us on this Earth, he added an awesome live element….. people would see this band with an age range from 20-50 and they wouldn’t know what to expect and it was cool to see their reactions.  One of the coolest moments in my mind was when we played at West Chester U for a show to benefit VH1 “Save the Music.”  Some of the frat brothers who organized the show invited us back out to a sorority party.  While Bill and Austin (original lead guitarist) blended right in, me, Kelvin and (especially) Sabu really stuck out as the old fogies.  But after about 10 minutes Sabu was out on the dance floor with a bunch of sorority chicks. Oh, and don’t let Kelvin fool you….. he is the only one in the band with children and he takes that responsibility very seriously!  He’s not as aloof as he leads you to believe, haha.

Bill – Steve, I don’t think our old band was crappy, we were ok. Just our guitarist was a huge dick, and the bassist sucked (jk). Anyway, Steve and I had played for about a year so when we both started playing with Kelvin, it was kind of a package deal since we already had a bit of musical chemistry. As far as the cultural and age differences, it really doesn’t matter too much. We all connect on certain levels musically and personally. Kelvin’s Britishness has rubbed off on me a little, I’ve learned a new vocabulary, such as the referring to the trunk of a car as the “boot” (wtf??) and also using the “c word” as part of normal conversation as if it  didn’t have the negative connotations it has here in the States.

Mike – This is going to make everyone reading this automatically asume im a tool but the truth is I met bill through a fraternity we were both in. He would bring it up when I saw him, but I only saw him at parties so I just assumed it was just bullshit drunk plans until he called me up to practice one day. I didnt really want to but I entered a verbal contract, drunk or not, so I had to join.

N: Is it hard to book bar venues when your drummer looks like he’s 18-years-old?
Steve – Not really, but it’s more difficult having to work around his curfew!  For the record, Sharky is of legal drinking age now, but it was never a problem when he wasn’t. Zack Wolf, if you are reading this, we thank you! You know why!

Kelvin – Well, the honest truth is that, like any good student in this fair city, Sharky got a very good fake and was known by the excellent rock ‘n’ roll name of “Zack Wolf” whenever we played gigs…. oooops perhaps I shouldn’t have said that, oh well.

Bill – Usually they allow children under 18 in the bar when there is a parent/guardian present, so we just tell them Kelvin is Sharky’s dad so it just looks like we have that father/son band thing going on, like the new Van Halen lineup. They usually think it’s pretty cute.

Mike- Yeah,  generally no one really cards the band members but I am in fact 21 now.

N: He was the last member to join the band… is that because he wasn’t finished breast feeding yet?
Mike – Yeah.

Steve – Actually, Sharky is the final product of years spent in the lab trying to create the perfect drummer.  He’s our little test-tube baby.

Kelvin – Like I said earlier, Sharky is the oldest member of the band.  He stoically ignores all my attempts to persuade him to join me in the slow inevitable regression of growing younger as the years pass by.  He will probably become a fine, upstanding citizen of this glorious country.

Bill – He’s a little nervous about starting high school this fall but we keep telling him to not let the bullies pick on him too much.

N: If he’s getting a bit fussy you can tell him I’m only 22 so I don’t know why I’m talking like this. Or you can check his diaper there might be a surprise.
Steve – Nikki, I’m starting to think you might have a crush on him.  I’m sensing some flirting going on here…. don’t they say that you always pick on the ones you like the most?

Kelvin – I’m with Steve here.  Definitely spending an inordinate amount of time discussing the cute young little drummer here.  I like the way you casually throw your age out there to make him aware that you’re pretty compatible really.  That’s slick.  Is it because Drummers exhibit such independent control of their limbs? Or is it that you like guys that spend their spare time pounding on things?  Why don’t YOU come out and check his diaper eh?  I’m sensing maybe you’d like that Nikki, huh?

Mike – was I an asshole to you when I met you or something? But really the jokes on all of you cause I never even used diapers as a kid. No lie. Not really by choice but no one had diapers in the Soviet Union, which is why im so happy to be in America now…  you can buy diapers like a free man.

Bill – Oh I see, so that’s why you poop your pants at every gig?

N: In 2007, you guys started playing “anywhere and everywhere” in the Philadelphia area. I’d like to know if that include birthday parties and Bar Mitzvah’s and why dontchya tell me about one of the strangest shows and why it was so strange.
Steve – We did play at Bill’s sister’s high school graduation and his uncle’s birthday party.  There are two weird shows that stick out in my mind though… the first was in this old warehouse out in the Fishtown area back in early 2007.  It was one of our first gigs with the original line up (and the first gig with our former lead guitarist, Austin).  I answered a listing on Craigslist from someone at the “Rock Club of Philadelphia” and they were supposed to be putting on this big show on campus at UPenn. It got moved at the last minute and when we arrived at this warehouse/art studio it was just this family of hippies and a few of their friends.  The guy who was running the whole thing was this burnt out former hippie with one hand.  It was very bizarre. Lots of people just spinning in circles all night long. The second show was at Doc Watson’s when the club first re-opened back in early 2007.  They were still kinda getting back into the whole music scene and hadn’t really established a true booking agent or sound crew yet.  We got to the show and this guy who was probably in his late 50s or early 60s was the sound guy.  That’s not such a bad thing except the dude had two hearing aids.  The sound was terrible.  At one point when we were trying to set up, we asked for his help and he said, “You’re gonna have to wait, I’m getting ready to eat my wings!”  He fell asleep on the sound board about half way through our set.

Bill – Yeah, that “Rock Club of Philadelphia” gig is definitely #1 for strangest shows. Steve left out that the one handed hippie dude had two daughters who belly-danced to one of our songs, which was actually the one cool part of the show. I want to say they were hot but I can’t because pretty sure they were under 18. We’ve had a few other shows in weird places that I’ll never forget. We once played in New York City at some sketchy dirty strip club…that was fun. It was tough dragging Kelvin away from the 50-year-old dancers when it was time for us to go on stage.

Kelvin – Yeah, those two gigs were pretty weird.  Playing upstairs in a strip joint in New York was pretty interesting too.  Needless to say we walked out of that gig with no money to show for it.  Of course, none of them hold a candle to some of the gigs I did in my former life in Amsterdam but that’s another story.

Mike – Not with these guys. Some of the bands in middle and high school, dozens.

N: Why did you guys decide to produce two EP’s, which are comprised of 13 songs in total, and not a full length album?
Mike – Steve?

Steve – The first EP kinda took on a life of its own.  We were simply recording some demos at an inexpensive studio just to have some music to put on Myspace and send to booking agents.  After recording a few songs we just decided to make it our first EP .  It was a really rough recording and it turned out pretty cool and lo-fi.  The most recent EP, “Irredeemable” is a combination of songs that were written under our original line up and new songs with Bill on lead guitar (he used to play drums for us) and Sharky behind the kit.  Plus recording is f’ing expensive and this was all we could really afford right now.  Hopefully a full length album will be our next project.  Oh, and for the record, our first EP is actually 8 songS. There’s a hidden track at the end of the final track if you wait about a minute for it to kick in.

Kelvin – Steve said it all there.  We didn’t really “decide” to do the first one it just happened as the band was forming.  Money is always a deciding factor in these things.  We have more than enough songs for another full length album.  We felt that it was a good time to release something in the interim and we had a small collection of recordings from a few seperate projects.  The new line-up and length of time since the eponymous release also galvanised us into doing something to keep it interesting.

Bill – The two EPs are very different, mostly in that they are three years apart and have very different lineups. We had a lot of growth in the band in the time between the two albums, with myself moving to guitar and also adding a new drummer, and also enduring the loss of the percussionist Sabu Rex. Some of the songs are newer that we put together with the new lineup, while other ones we have been playing live since the release of the first one.

N: Do you have future plans for a full album?
Steve- We have more than enough material for a full length album at this point, t’s just a matter of getting money in order to produce it (or getting some generous soul to fund it for us!)

Kelvin – I have future plans to conquer the world, punch George W. Bush in the face, sire a child with each of the Spice Girls and mould the offspring into the next pop super family group, learn how to ride a unicycle under water while juggling, complete my life-sized, balsa wood model of the Eiffel Tower on wheels, puke on a red carpet and record a full length album.  Not necessarily in that order.

Bill – We actually have plans for a deluxe special edition greatest hits box set that will be probably released in fall 2027 which could be yours for four easy payments of $19.99 if you call now.

Mike – I generally dont get involved in anything but playing drums. I know my place

N: Do you think Less Than Zero was a fictional drama or do you think it was an obvious foreshadowing on Robert Downey Jr.’s imminent future?
Mike:  I think Robert Downey is a actor but I’m not sure what anything else means in that statement.

Kelvin – ???

Steve – I’m with Kelvin, I never saw the movie, but I’m assuming it had to do with him diving nose first into a few lines?

Bill – The first Iron Man was pretty good but I heard the second one sucked.

N: I really liked the movie until I found out he was S’ing all those D’s. It’s just like Basketball Diaries. I like movies where a misunderstood teen with a bad home life spirals out of control into a drug-addled demise just as much as the next person, but when they start following old dudes in suits into dingy bathroom stalls is when the magic stops. For me at least.
Kelvin – For me that would be one of the very few movies where S’ing D’s led to a LOSS of interest.

N: If you guys sold your music to Fearnet, what movie would you want it to be featured in? You can pretty much make up a movie name because I don’t think anyone knows one by heart. Make sure it’s got blood, guts, wolves, or jackhammers in it though.
Mike -  I dont really watch movies. but ill say the one that Kevin Bacon is in.

Kelvin – Well in that case I guess it would be “Jackhammer My Boody, Vulpine Guts” then.

Steve – Well, I can’t really top that name so I’m not even going to try.  Vulpine?  Seriously??  Bloody Englishmen and their superior grasp of the English language.  Oooo, come to think of it, that’s not a bad idea for a horror movie!  A bunch of bloody British Zombies who spout out pompous phrases just before eating your brain!  That’s the movie I’d like to provide the soundtrack to.

Bill – Steve, that movie with British zombies already came out, it was called “Shaun of the Dead.”
Steve – Oh yeah…..Bloody hell!

In this article, I give Reading Rainbow a lot to read and they give me a little bit back. By Nikki Volpicelli

N: Do people ever ask if you’re dating? Do they ask if you’re brother and sister? Do you ever say yes to both?
RR: We used to try to keep our relationship on the D.L. but we are cool with everyone knowing.  WE ARE SONIC SOUL LOVERS.

N: Where do you get the inspiration for your rainbow vomiting animal artwork and where can I check it out slash buy it?
RR: BAD ACID TRIPZ. Website to follow shortly!

N: Both of you were in another band that kind of ditched you one night so you started your own band. It’s like when I was in sixth grade and I brought a tuna sandwich to lunch and got kicked out of my lunch table, so I started my own lunch table by myself. It’s empowering, doing your own thing, right? I mean I still like tuna sandwiches more than anyone that sat at my middle school lunch table. I see them much more often, too.

N: Do you guys eat meat?

Photo By Aaron Debruin

RR: We both used to be vegetarian for a very long time, but as we became more active, the need for more protein overtook us.  We still try to buy our meat from ethical and healthy sources.

N: What about tuna?
RR: We will eat it, but try to stay away from it.

N: You guys got a blog. I’ve got one too. Itwasntfunnythen.com is where my friends and I write about really embarrassing shit that has happened to us. Only everyone thinks I’m the only one who writes on it. So it looks like, aside from others things, I’m a closeted lesbian. You’ve got some weird things on your blog, too, like crotch-less chaps and sacrificial light shows. What are some of your other hobbies?
RR: Sarah collects crystals.  Rob collects broken electronics.

N: I hear that big ass organ that Catholics keep small white-haired women behind on steep church balconies in your music. Do you hear it? Am I making it up or am I hearing God through your music?
RR: No you’re not making it up. you’re hearing Sun Ra channeled through a skinny white boy.

N: Do you guys read LeVar Burton’s Twitter posts? Don’t you think it’s ironic that the Reading Rainbow host now abbreviates his words in 160 characters or less?
RR: No and I don’t know.

N: He once tweeted about how much he hated being on public television and teaching kids how to read. Or maybe The Onion made that story up.

I also heard he tweeted about a Reading Rainbow 2.0. Or maybe Wikipedia made that up.

For more information about Reading Rainbow, visit their blog.

Toy Soldiers consists of two dudes and a handful of expensive robots. They just got home from a Southern tour that left their van smelling like an armadillo in heat. By Nikki Volpicelli

N: Toy Soldiers started out as a joke band, what was the joke and when did it stop being funny?
TS: The joke was on us, and it wasn’t until we found Jesus that we knew we needed to spend every moment of our waking lives trying to spread the good word.  Everyone thinks a lot of the songs are love songs about a lady, the truth? The lord.

N: You guys just got back from a tour of Southern USA. What was the strangest piece of roadkill you came across and what did you do with it?
TS: All in a single motion we got a flat tire while running over an armadillo that must have been cooking in the Alabaman sun for quite some time. If you can, try and imagine the aroma that hung around for a few days.

N: I hear people are weird down South. I hear they eat squirrels and marry cousins.
TS: We haven’t seen too many squirrel eating except a few times from the side of the road. Possum pancakes and pig snout sandwiches have been more popular sightings. Cousins are the safe route, for the people afraid of society, we have most respect for the brothers and sisters.

Photo by Deneka Peniston

N: The band started out as two dudes touring in a Toyota Camry. Now the band is big enough you need a van to tour cross country.  Do you ever miss being a small band in a reliable Japanese made automobile? I own one now. It’s a baby blue ’92 that reeks of patchouli oil because my hippie cousin bathed the interior. It’s got good brakes though, I think.
TS: Well, with the way things go, there’s always something to miss about the olden times of cruising around in that Camry, it’s also just a whole different world traveling with one other person.  It’s more simple and it’s easier to make millions and millions of dollars touring as a duo, which is exactly what happened, and with all that money we earned we bought all these new band members who are actually talented robots.

Photo by Hannah Macintosh

N: I got a friend named Garret who I used to work with. We sat in cubicles and called people on the phone. He wore a tie and I didn’t. He went to work every day and I didn’t. Sometimes he plays tambourine in your band. What’s the rest of the band do during the day?
TS: Dammit Garrett! I never understood why he was so responsible, wearing ties and showing up all the time, he was born to tambourize.  A brief rundown of the day in the life.  I wake up at 5:47 a.m. everyday and run 2 miles, come home and get hopped up on raw flour and dried apricots, write two albums worth of music and record it directly to wax cylinder, paint a portrait of the first person I see that day… some days  I work at a restaurant and other days I’m a struggling idea salesman.  Noah is constructing the first living encyclopedia.  Dan is a dirt farmer. Bennett is an urban gardener. Tom eats cake.

N: Ron, I used to see you going Bob Dylan all over the grassy knoll on Temple Campus. I can tell he’s in influence of yours. Do you get mad when people compare you to him physically and if so, how can you?
TS: Haha, oh the days when I was Bob Dylan.  No I don’t get mad, I think that’s because it’s a huge step up from Napoleon Dynamite, and I am in fact a huge fan of the guy.

N: What are you Temple kids doing on MAD Dragon, a Drexel record label?
TS: Actually they are related! Andy Hurwitz was teaching a class at Temple right before he took over MAD Dragon records.  Some Temple kids gave him word about us and the rest was history. Wam bam thank you ma’am.

N: And don’t you think it sucks that Penn gets WXPN and we get WHIP Radio? I used to want to be a DJ there when I first moved to the city. I was wearing gold hooped earrings and jeans with no butt pockets. Things change.
TS: Oh those silver spooners!  It’s a good thing we love XPN.  When Temple becomes ivy league hopefully we can scoop it up.

Photo by David Timony

N: You guys have an online workout video and I have two questions. One, how effective is the back trot on the treadmill and two, do you think it’s worth starting the exercises this late in swim suit season?
TS: The back trot is really only effective if you ever leave something in your past and require time travel, as you can see it done with such grace in the film.  To answer your second question, It’s never too late, getting juiced and tearing phone books in half are things that come better sooner than later.

N: When is your next tour and can I follow you in my ‘yota? I will play the triangle. It will probably only made it to Ohio before it breaks down, anyway.
TS: Who knows when the next tour is, I know we want a six month tour of Japan! And yes, if you could do that next time that’d be great.  It’d be good to have someone boost morale and catch people that jump out of the van unexpectedly on the highway.

For more information about Toy Soldiers, visit ohnotoysoldiers.com.

Goodnight Lights are playing tomorrow night at the Crash Mansion in NYC. They are so good I’d go see them if I had over twenty bucks in my bank account and if I didn’t have to deal with that Chinese bitch on the bus. By Nikki Volpicelli

N: So you’ve got a song called “Daniel Johnston” on your new album, Electric Spark, which is a coincidence because I just finished watching “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” on Netflix. Great movie, strange dude. What are you saying about him in the song?
GNL: He’s one bad ass dude. He really takes the ego out of songwriting and exposes his exact feelings through the simplest of lyrics and music. Great character to write a song about.

N: It’s so sad to see him living at his elderly parents house and playing with a redneck band at the end of the movie. It’s like, he was so good until he started getting into religion and shit. The acid didn’t help. Do you think that all artistic geniuses have a really, really dark side to them as well? Do they all have to be destructive?
GNL: Everyone has a dark side. Haven’t you seen “The Dark Knight”? Destruction is the prerequisite for invention. Artists who aren’t destructive suck. Haven’t you ever listened to Kenny G?

N: We all have vices, like I bite my nails and curse in front of babies. What do you do?
GNL: We rock too hard. We hurt people’s ears. We break glasses on people’s heads while twisting their nipples.

N: You know how, like, Facebook can read minds and it shoots up ads at the right side of the screen based on whose profile your checking out? Well when I look at yours it says, “Help Drug Addicts” and it’s totally a picture of a lifeless arm with a needle in  it, a pill and a spoon strewn beside it on the floor. I think they’re asking me if I’d like to get my Masters in Addiction online or something. Do you think this comes up because you mention Elliott Smith and the Velvet Underground as influences  or because of your crippling drug addiction?

Photo by Michael Persico

GNL: We don’t know about Facebook’s marketing schemes. However, this advertisement might help us expand our fan base…

N: A lot of the  artists you cite as influential are all part of a certain scene. I’d call it a self-destructive, manic-depressant, transgendered, heroin-chic scene. A good scene. What is it that you admire most about these types of artists?
GNL: They explore the edge that you can so easily fall over. They take risks. We like that.

N: I’m obsessed with Elliott Smith. I’ve got a tattoo and errythang. I’m visiting Portland soon because he lived there. I’m listening to him right now even though I should probably be listening to your album. When you were younger kids, was there that musician or artists that you felt spoke to you? That made sure you didn’t hop in a suit and tie and plant your ass in a cubicle?
GNL: You’re right. You should be listening to the album.

N: How are you making money by giving out free downloads of your new album on your website? Do you think people are more interested in music they can just drop into their iTunes or do you trust that fans will want a physical copy, which they would purchase?
GNL: There’s no money to be made in this business. We’re doing it for the three free PBR’s.

N: I wouldn’t give anything out for free. I plan on selling an old toilet bowl brush at a yard sale next week for 50 cents. Everything comes with a price.
GNL: We’ll give you a quarter for that old toilet bowl brush. Plus a free download of our new CD Electric Spark.
N: I’ll give you three free PBR’s.

Photo by Scott Wright

N: Jonah, tell me about “Exit 117″, the indie movie that’s using your pre-pubescent music as the featured score. Do you sound more like Taylor Hanson or Miley Cyrus?
GNL: I’m just going to stay on the Elliott Smith train here and mention that someone said it was very similar to his featured score in “Good Will Hunting”.

N: Your song “Hannah”, is that about the pretty, young schizophrenic? She makes more money than God, you know. I mean, I’d put a wig on and whore it out to Disney if I could, too…. wouldn’t anybody?
GNL: I guess the bridge has that shimmer that could evoke the image of a glamorous diva. Really I was writing about a few things that I thought most people could begrudgingly relate to. If you want to get all social psychology on this then you might say most of us can sympathize with the glamorous diva because most of us are too self-involved. BUT wouldn’t that be ironic if being too self-involved actually allowed us to relate to other people. Eh, eh? If you want to get all social psychology on this.

For more information about Goodnight Lights, visit goodnight-lights.com.

Dave Vegas won the “Hennessy Artistry Spotlight” in XXL magazine. I drank Hennessy and Hypnotiq and blacked out. They don’t call it an Incredible Hulk for nothing. By Nikki Volpicelli

N:  Did you come up with the name Dave Vegas due to the glitz and glamour of living in Pottstown?
DV: What Pottstown are you referring to? the only glitz and glamour are on July 4th when the fire works are lit at Memorial Park. Dave Vegas was always someone inside of me. My first name is David so I went with Dave, and I thought about how I like to entertain and give a great live show.  So when you think of great entertainers you think of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, the whole Las Vegas-era.  So I put Dave with Vegas and here I am today.  The live show and giving my all when I perform is important to me, as it was to the great entertainers before me.

N: When you tell people where you’re from, do they ask you what it was like to live down the street from Yuengling brewery? Did they giggle cuz it has the word “pot” in it?
DV: No, but most people are only familiar with Pennsylvania from Yuengling beer being the oldest brewery in the US. A few times I did get people asking about “Potts-and-Pans Ville” when I lived in Los Angles.  Usually I have to explain the details about growing up in the suburbs, living outside of the city of Philadelphia.  People are lost if you say anywhere outside of Philly.

N: What are some similarities and some differences between your first band, Secret Invasion, and Tupac’s Digital Underground?
DV: Digital Underground had a vision to be trendsetters from the beginning, from Shock G’s alter-ego with the big nose, to the collaboration with Tupac Shakur, I Get Around.  This was a party anthem that will never be forgotten.  Secret Invasion had a similar goal. We were thinking clear about our choices and living positive lives.  As a group, we were very focused on this way of living. It was very natural for us.  Powerful vision and setting trends in this area is one thing we had in common with Digital Underground. The comedy/party records Digital Underground created didn’t gel with our serious and conscience song writing.  But much love and respect to Digital Underground.  They definitely has a big influence in my musical journey.
N: I can’t find any pictures of your old group so I’m making up my own pictures in my head.

Photo by Brian Michaels

N: Secret Invasion was coming up in Philly around the same time as The Roots, who ended up crediting the band on the Distortion of Static album. Do you still talk to Questlove?
DV: 5. No, not much. I see Questlove once in a while, and the days of Secret Invasion are so long ago it’s never mentioned in present conversation. Questlove is a real cool individual though. Whenever I’ve seen him it’s always love.

N: When you see him, can you tell him he was our first choice?
DV: When I do see him I’ll let him know for sure.  So where did I rank on your list for an interview?  Would you say I’m being interviewed because of my talent or your beginning stages of your magazine?
N: Both!

Photo by Brian Michaels

N: Have you ever even been to Las Vegas?
DV: Oh yea, I’ve been to Las Vegas a few times. I’m always amazed about the architecture of the buildings.  The statues on top of the Caesars Casino are so unique.
N: I went to Reno with my mom this year. We thought we’d get into too much trouble in Vegas. I still managed to puke all over a trash can next to the hotel elevators and its guests. It was an awkward ten flights up.
DV:  There was no puking for me on my Vegas trips, but a few intoxicated nights on the strip.

N: You’re brave for blending rap with pop vocals. How much shit did you get from peers and producers when you decided you weren’t going to be tied down to either genre?
DV: Rap and pop vocals are so natural to me.  I love to sing and I was influenced by rap and the culture of hip hop. I didn’t get much shit from anyone to my face, but I’m sure they have something to say about the wide sound on “Lady Luck.”  I can’t stop myself from being me on records.  If I wanna sing or rap on a record, that’s what you’ll get.  I make my music based on how things are happening in my life or what I want my future to look like.

N: Do you think getting a silver hoop nose ring helped or hurt Lenny Kravitz’s career?
DV: Well I think it’s help brand his rocker image.  I think it’s helping my career, cause alot of people say I resemble him somewhat.  But clearly it’s the hair that makes  people think that.  If I had a nose ring that would really hurt my career.  People would think I wanna take his image. So no nose rings for me baby.  I don’t need any more attention to these wide nostrils as it is now.  So I can say it helps his, piercings are in right now so I’m sure women say it’s sexy.  I’ll pass…..  give me a few unique hats to wear and I’m good to go.

For more information about Dave Vegas, check out his davevegas.com.

We didn’t make it to Jimmy but we still Go’ed. By Nikki Volpicelli

You might be wondering where our tailgating footage of Saturday’s Jimmy Buffet concert is and you might not be wondering. Stop wondering either way. We were too hungover to make it across parrot bay to Jersey and, well, once we got there we weren’t sure we could hang with a bunch of sixty-year-old stoners for an extended period of time. It would’ve been too painful. So next order of business.

We heard about a free OK GO show at the Piazza in Northern Liberties. We said “free?” and “PYT specials?” and “walking distance?” so we went.

We’re glad we went. First, I was glad about the 7 dollar Jameson and High Life duos, then I was glad when a bunch of 14-year-old girls started lining up next to our table to get autographs from the opening band, “Need to Breathe,” then I was super glad when I realized how easy it is to make your way to the stage when you’ve got good lookin’ SLR and a few professional video cameras. (editor’s note: I wasn’t glad about the fourteen-year-old girls because they were fourteen or girls, but because I was reminded of my days of chasing unknown openers at concerts, trying to get them to sign my bicep or take a bite out of their pizza.) Photos by Kirk Fakete and Nikki Volpicelli, Video by John Stish

OK GO fan plays guitar on stage in Philly concert from alternative monitor on Vimeo.

The Quelle Source is a cool band with a sweet owl logo and they like Vintage seltzer water and throwing kibble at their audience. By Nikki Volpicelli

N: Quelle means “source” in German, so the “source of the source”  is what your name means. Can you dumb it down a bit because I don’t really get it.
QS: We’ve spoken with someone who’s actually been to Germany, and they’ve confirmed we are the source of ALL the sources…to everything. Look, there’s no point in pretending you’re not jealous.

N: After five months of recording you 86′ed everything to start over, so Enjoy the Ridge inevitably took eleven months to finish. Your earlier EP took three days. Which was more difficult to produce given the time constraints, or lack of?
QS: You haven’t lived until you’ve played the same guitar part 100x in a row for five straight hours, which we did a lot for Enjoy the Ridge. But you also haven’t lived until you’ve played “NFL Blitz ‘99” on PlayStation while you should be recording drum parts for your debut EP. Needless to say, distractions manage to abound in both situations. We’ll call it a draw.

N: You recorded Ridge in your house on Ridge Ave., which provided you with ample room for sixty friends (heard in the background to “Hi-Fi Glasses Crush”) and a high-ceilinged bathroom for recording vocals. What did you use the kitchen for?
QS: Lots of food, Vintage seltzer water, and beer storage. Plus, our hoopty refrigerator made loud, dying sounds intermittently during recording, so that was also very helpful.

Photo by Alana Allan

N: The sunny disposition of your cover art for Enjoy the Ridge is pretty unrealistic unless you’re on some of the drugs that are sold there. Where did you get the concept of purple clouds, yellow skies and clean Septa busses?
QS: The only way to truly “Enjoy The Ridge” is to make fun of it, so what could be the opposite of Ridge Avenue than a myriad of primary colors? Our experience living on Philadelphia’s Ridge Avenue was such that we had no choice but to name the album after it. ( Side note: We did make the smoke that is discharged from the bus on the cover out of cotton balls that we rubbed in the dirt and trash of Ridge Avenue. This was our only attempt at realism.)

N: I lived on 15th and Ridge right across from a glorious place called Princes Fairmount. It was a cheery bar that patted you down before you could enter. I made friends with Rica, the bartender, and a few older gentlemen who professed their love to me. They made me feel special and extremely out of place. I think Ridge has that affect on a lot of people.
QS: You are a Ridge Hero. Anyone who hangs out at 15th and Ridge (dangerously close to Fairmount and Ridge, the worst intersection in Philadelphia) ought to be respected.
N: Thanks. I think it was more about disrespect, though.

N: Quick, list all of the common mispronunciations of your name.
QS: The Kell Source, The What Source, The Quail Source, and our favorite, The Cold Sores. (FYI: Correct pronunciation = The Kwell Source)

Photo by Alana Allan

N: A lot of your songs are about scary things like the apocalypse and oxygen depletion and moving in with your parents, but the music behind the lyrics is energetic and sunny and alive. It’s like Zach Morris would totally bring a mixtape of your tunes to the beach club and have no idea of their depth until Jessie Spano sat him down for a lecture. If you could speak for her, how would you explain your music to him?
QS: “Zach, you are so naïve. Don’t you realize there is no such thing as true happiness? Any joy you find in life is but fleeting. Now, with that in mind, do me underneath this lifeguard stand.”
N: Jessie doesn’t sleep around.

N: Were you influenced at all by Zack’s band, the Zack Attack? There were five of them too, until Slater had to take over vocals for Zack cuz he was busy breaking up with Kelly outside of the dance.
QS: If you promise not to ask us any follow-up questions about Zack Attack, then yes. God yes.

For more information about the Quelle Source, check out their Myspace.

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