Answers from bassist BJ:

What were you all doing when you first got together as a band?

Dan had been performing solo with his childhood toy keyboard and some fx pedals. We'd been friends for many years, and thought the songs could be translated and arranged for a rock trio. I picked up the bass, we asked our friend Jim to play drums, and so it began.

Where did the name come from?

You Brits don't have this phrase, but it's actually very common in the States. It's less exotic than y'all seem to think it is! It refers to how you get charged for repairs, like when you bring your car to the mechanic. You pay for the parts and you pay for the labor, the work, involved. We picked the name after Dan saw it on a receipt for getting a guitar pedal fixed.

What are you up to at the moment?

Sitting in a cold basement working on some new songs for my solo project, Shooting Spires.

Are you as excited about All Tomorrow's Parties as we are? (very excited).

Dude, totally! I've never been to an ATP and have always wanted to go as a spectator. Going as a performer is just an added bonus and an honor.

How do you usually go about writing your music?

Generally speaking, Dan or I will come up with a vocal melody and a skeletal arrangement for a song. It varies how fleshed out they are before we show the songs to the rest of the band. Sometimes we'll make home demo recordings. Then it's a long process of playing the parts in the practice space, and everyone figuring out how they can contribute, adding details, etc. We try to arrange the songs fairly democratically, but Dan and I usually get veto power over our own songs.



Can you tell us a little about Cardboard Records?

We started the label just to help out some friends and expose some underexposed music. We've slowed down a bit due to financial strains and lack of time. Hopefully we'll be rereleasing P&L's first LP, "Groundswell", before the end of the year.But I think my favourite smells are old books, petrol and blossom trees. Sailor Jerry's smells pretty good too though

What do you like to do when your having a break from the music?

I just learned how to knit, so I've been working on that. I'm knitting my girlfriend a scarf. Total Knit 101. Otherwise, I read a lot, play with my dog, jog. I eat a lot. Oh, and I sleep sometimes.

How do you like Brooklyn...where are your favourite places to hang out?

I actually left Brooklyn last year. I live in a house in New Jersey now. Brooklyn is too fucking expensive and I was tired of having to hustle for a day job every time I got home from tour. I've lowered my cost of living. But when I do go back I go to a Todd P show, or Death By Audio, or Cinders. Those're my top 3 hangs.

What are you most looking forward to in the future?

I've been experimenting with some different processes for writing music on the computer and it's a load of fun.

What's the most important thing your mother ever taught you?

Don't throw rocks.

[May 2009] Back to Top