This is the second part of the first installment of Portrait of an Artist.  D. Crane will interview musicians and artists who blow his mind.  Read along and see him sharpen his interview skills to that of a slightly sharp pencil.  Fred Schneider was the inspiration for the song “(do the) Magic Centipede,” off of BOAT’s  Setting the Paces LP.  His new band is called the Superions.  They make the most ridiculous surreal/silly dance music around. Read part 1 here.

 

Fred,  here is my attempt to ask you some clever/wacky/personal questions.  The level of cleverness/wackiness/personal-ness seems more minute now that I know that you appeared on Howard Stern, last week!  But here I go anyway!

 

Assuming you go to Totally Nude Island, what piece of clothing would you miss the most?

 

My wallet!  To buy all the fabulous things at the gift shop!

 

Are you vegetarian?  How long?

 

Since ’72.  A friend talked me into it after I dropped out of college.  I never liked fish anyway!

 

Where should I eat when I visit Athens for the Popfest?

 

In Athens there is a great vegetarian restaurant called the Grit, and a lot of other places that are really vegetarian friendly.

 

What happened with the ham in the video?

 

We bought the ham and were gonna donate it, but it fell on the floor during the video.

 

Do you like the song "Monster Mash"?  It’s maybe my favorite song of all time.

 

Yes!  I love everything Halloween.  I love old school Halloween.

 

What is Sprechstimme?

 

Talk singing.  When I started I am just singing as I go along.  If you listen closely there is hesitancy.  It is not for dramatic effect.  I’m trying to think of what to say next.

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Or:  How I Got to Interview Fred Schneider for 25 Minutes---SPONTANEOUS—BASIL LOVER—HERO OF THE SILLY AND ABSURD

 

This is the first part of the first installment of Portrait of an Artist. D. Crane will interview musicians and artists who blow his mind.  Read along and see him sharpen his interview skills to that of a slightly sharp pencil. Fred Schneider was the inspiration for the song “(do the) Magic Centipede,” off of BOAT’s Setting the Paces LP. His new band is called the Superions, and they have a brand new self-titled EP/LP on Athens, GA's Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records. They make the most ridiculous surreal/silly dance music around. Stay tuned for the second part later this week.

 

How did you get in touch with Mike from Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records (HHBTM)?

 

I am a record nut and he runs a record store, so naturally we hit it off. I heard that he runs a label with two of my favorite acts, Cars Can Be Blue and the Lolligags. I knew he was an honest guy and a hard worker, so  I suggested to the Superions, “Hey, let’s put this out on a small label.” Originally, it was going to be a single, but there were some remixes that I thought turned out great, and I couldn’t be happier.

 

How long ago did the Superions start?

 

We started about 5 years ago as the Del Morons.  The first song we did was a song called “Totally Nude Island.”  Dan and Noah came up with the music and I just went in the bathroom and came up with the words off the top of my head.  We thought it was fun.  People said they liked it and told us to put it on Itunes, and that they’d buy it. Most of the HHBTM recordings were recorded soon after.

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It is my pleasure to present a brand new video from Athens, GA's Casper & the Cookies for the song "Sharp!" from 2009's Modern Silence (one of my favorite albums of last year).  I just love this 70's glam influenced song that's really funkier than it has any right to be. Shake it!

And, if that wasn't enough, they have a bunch of tour dates coming up (including a lot of SXSW awesomeness and a TBA Seattle date)!

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Well, it's about time, and I was delighted as the official news landed in my inbox this afternoon! Denton, TX's Fishboy officially have a brand new EP coming out August 18th!

The songs off the new EP, Nom, were originally written for 2007's brilliant Albatross: How We Failed to Save the Lone Star State with the Power of Rock and Roll (a 2007 of both me and imaginary Liz), but were scrapped as plot lines changed or to fit the flow of the album. And, instead of having the band toil in the studio, Mr. Fishboy himself Eric Michener had some Denton superstars dubbed "the Om Nom Noms" record all the songs.

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I am pleased to announce the debut of The Smittens new video for "One Hundred Roses" off their HHBTM album The Coolest Thing About Love. This song has been ruling my world since I got the record last summer, with its perfectly Magnetic Fields-y chorus "It doesn't mean that I love you any less/It only means that I'm a mess".

Not only that, but we also have the debut of another video from The Coolest Thing..., "Magpies and Eccles Cake", which is a collection of live videos.

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The Smittens are like a trip to the candy store, full of extremely sweet and sometimes overwhelmingly saccharine morsels -- definitely not for the faint of heart, or at least the un-indie-pop-initiated.

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Never underestimate a punch from a foxy boxer.

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Nate and Becky have been denied entry into the UK to play their tour.

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This is a Three Imaginary Girls exclusive! Here's the song "Little King" from their upcoming TBD release Modern Silence.

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Doubly Unbeatable follows up their 2005 debut All The Stuff We Do with a broader palette, a bit less angst in some of the tracks, and still contains the magic of a subversively simple sing-along perverted pop duo saying more than you think when you hear them sing.

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