Linda Ferreira
08/10/09, 10:47 AM
The following is a mini interview of generic questions that we posed to all bands that wanted to answer:
1997 [myspace (http://www.myspace.com/nineteenninetyseven)] [ap.net profile (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?l=4095)]
1. How did you get your band name? / 2. How did this band get started?
(caleb) well, we started out as a old school scream-o type band, like saetia or orchid, except really a lot worse because i was playing drums and my little brother was playing bass and neither of us are really good at those instruments. but it was really fun to play together, even though we sucked, because we knew that no one else in our neighborhood was rocking out to the same kind of tunes at all. everyone thought underoath was scream-o music and senses fail and shit like that so we kind of found some pride in knowing about and playing this totally raw no-bullshit type of music. all of the best albums from this era seemed to have come out in the year 1997 so my brother just came up with that as our band name one day at practice. soon after, i started writing some more pop-type songs and started to put together a "real" band and we kind of wanted to carry over the same spirit of the original 1997 so we just adopted the name.
3. What bands are you influenced by?
(caleb) we are influenced by a lot of different types of music these days. in the van, we are always listening to sigur ros or radiohead. but we also listen to a lot of classic rock, country, and folk music like neil young, bob dylan, john denver, and emmylou harris. we also really like the newer folk music that is coming out like bright eyes, and mariah taylor and m ward. theres a good deal of 80's music on all our ipods like the cure, the smiths, elvis costello, and the psychedelic furs, but i would have to say our main influences as far as songwriting goes are the late 90's indie bands like promise ring, appleseed cast, and mineral.
4. If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would it be and why?
(caleb)
1.bob dylan (because he is the king.)
2. johnny cash(just watch walk the line and you'll understand)
3. the get up kids(four minute mile era)
4. lanemeyer (little known pop punk band that meant the world to me growing up)
5. exploding hearts(they probably rose hell on tour)
(kevin)
1.tom petty(because who better?)
2. the strokes( it would be a constant party)
3. jimmy eat world(futures)
4. jeff buckley(to watch the crazy faces he would make)
5. elliott smith(he might be better)
(nick)
1. sigur ros (because they keep me chill in the summertime)
2. radiohead (because their light show is amazing!)
3. elliott smith(because he is such a big influence)
4. alkaline trio (maybe i'll catch fire era)
5. appleseed cast (best band ever)
5. If you were a furry, what animal would you be? Why that animal?
(kevin) a camel, because all you're gonna get is a couple humps and a ton of spit.
(caleb) a horse. no explanation, its personal, ok?!
(nick) tasmanian devil, cuz i'll tear your ass apart!
6. Why should people listen to your band?
(nick, caleb, kevin)you should listen to our band because we have it all. we have songs that make you want to dance around like a little kid, and other songs that make you want to sit around and be sentimental. we write songs the way they were meant to be written. to tell a story and to send a message that is real and from the heart. we aren't looking to be some flavor of the week pop-punk band like 90 percent of the glamour kills wearing groups you see in magazines today. we never want to be rockstars, our favorite part of being in this band is traveling and developing personal relationships with kids who like our music and feel the way we do about the world.
7. If you were chosen to be in Guitar Hero/Rock Band, what song would you want in the game? How hard do you think it would be to five-star on expert?
(caleb, kevin agrees) first of all, to hell with guitar hero, what ever happened to good ol fashioned learning how to play guitar by listening to the radio and using your own brain to figure out the notes? i'm convinced that guitar hero is like crack. which is why i only tried it once or twice. and second of all, our songs would never be in that game because we dont play solo's and shit like that in our songs. we leave that kind of shit to guns n' roses and aerosmith.
8. If you won a Grammy, who would you thank?
(caleb) i would thank myself and my band for working so hard.
9. If you could change something about the music industry, what would it be?
(caleb, nick and kevin agree while laughing their asses off) i would get rid of cute is what we aim for and boys like girls. i think that would be a really important first step. then i would make it illegal to put out a record that the actual band/singer didn't actually play/sing on. that would get rid of a lot of other bullshit (panic!, FOB) and free up everyone's ears to explore some real music and not just settle for a pretty face and a catchy image.
10. Memorable tour experience?
there is never really a dull moment when 1997 is on tour. whether its some one getting arrested(me), or the hood flying open and smashing the windshield while driving on the highway(happened twice), or trying to find out where kevin is in the morning after a night of debauchery(happens all the time), we are always finding trouble. there are too many fights and drugs to even start talking about. but i would say the most memorable part of touring is when you get to talk and spend time with some one who really understands your music and they tell you how much it means to them. i can remember one time in detroit, after a show this kid came up to me and told me i was his hero and we got to talking about how his family doesnt accept him for who he is. it felt really nice to get affirmation from this kid and it also felt really nice to be able to let him know that i accept him and i think he is cool. he gave me a poem to read and i always have it with me on tour as encouragement.
11. What does AP.net mean to you?
(caleb) a cool place to promote my band and check out other bands too!
(kevin) its now, its wow, and how!
12. What is your favorite song to play?
(caleb) my favorite song to play live is probably "enough is enough" because it is a really energetic song that everyone always gets into, but it's challenging and diverse enough that it never really gets boring to play.
13. What is your vacation spot of choice?
(caleb) i don't know much about vacations and things like that, but when i was a kid my favorite place to spend time was my grandparent's horse ranch near durango, colorado.
(kevin) basically anywhere in asia.
14. What music reminds you of your childhood?
(caleb) when i was a kid my parents mostly listened to country. so whenever a garth brooks song comes on it brings me right back to 1995 sitting in the rear-facing back seat of our station wagon. and yes, it was one of those wagons with the fake wood all over it. i also used to really like to sing along to whitney houston's version of "i will always love you"
15. If you could have any super power, what would it be? Why?
(caleb) i would have to say telechanisis, because it would probably make me the best songwriter ever. i could hear people's real thoughts and feeling and i would know exactly how to make them feel better. either that or i would want to be able to see fly, because i would just float above every one else and sing nelly furtato all day.
16. Do you feel that your band has "made it"?
(caleb) no, i would never say we have made it, because that would mean that we have accomplished all our goals and there would be no point in being a band anymore. a lot of our will to go on comes from a hunger that will never be filled; to write the perfect song, to influence change in our world, however small or big our influence might be, we will always want to be doing more than we are at the time.
17. What is something that most fans don't know about you?
(caleb) most people don't know that i spent the first 6 years of my life as a missionary with my parents moving around the world to places like costa rica and guatemala and even africa. i also have a toaster tattoo. but i'm not telling where!
(kevin) most fans dont know that i was there when caleb got his toaster tramp stamp tattoo.
18. What's your favorite holiday?
i like new years the best probably. to me, its like a celebration of christmas season being finally over and also of new beginnings in general. i like that it is the only holiday that your family cant yell at you for being messed up. i also like that we start our new years with a kiss. that's a tradition i can stand behind.
19. What do you like to do in your spare time?
(caleb) what spare time?
20. What kind of hidden talents do you have?
(caleb) i am really stretchy, and i can jump really high.
(kevin) i can spin any pillow on my right index finger for a very long time.
1997 [myspace (http://www.myspace.com/nineteenninetyseven)] [ap.net profile (http://www.absolutepunk.net/artists/showlink.php?l=4095)]
1. How did you get your band name? / 2. How did this band get started?
(caleb) well, we started out as a old school scream-o type band, like saetia or orchid, except really a lot worse because i was playing drums and my little brother was playing bass and neither of us are really good at those instruments. but it was really fun to play together, even though we sucked, because we knew that no one else in our neighborhood was rocking out to the same kind of tunes at all. everyone thought underoath was scream-o music and senses fail and shit like that so we kind of found some pride in knowing about and playing this totally raw no-bullshit type of music. all of the best albums from this era seemed to have come out in the year 1997 so my brother just came up with that as our band name one day at practice. soon after, i started writing some more pop-type songs and started to put together a "real" band and we kind of wanted to carry over the same spirit of the original 1997 so we just adopted the name.
3. What bands are you influenced by?
(caleb) we are influenced by a lot of different types of music these days. in the van, we are always listening to sigur ros or radiohead. but we also listen to a lot of classic rock, country, and folk music like neil young, bob dylan, john denver, and emmylou harris. we also really like the newer folk music that is coming out like bright eyes, and mariah taylor and m ward. theres a good deal of 80's music on all our ipods like the cure, the smiths, elvis costello, and the psychedelic furs, but i would have to say our main influences as far as songwriting goes are the late 90's indie bands like promise ring, appleseed cast, and mineral.
4. If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would it be and why?
(caleb)
1.bob dylan (because he is the king.)
2. johnny cash(just watch walk the line and you'll understand)
3. the get up kids(four minute mile era)
4. lanemeyer (little known pop punk band that meant the world to me growing up)
5. exploding hearts(they probably rose hell on tour)
(kevin)
1.tom petty(because who better?)
2. the strokes( it would be a constant party)
3. jimmy eat world(futures)
4. jeff buckley(to watch the crazy faces he would make)
5. elliott smith(he might be better)
(nick)
1. sigur ros (because they keep me chill in the summertime)
2. radiohead (because their light show is amazing!)
3. elliott smith(because he is such a big influence)
4. alkaline trio (maybe i'll catch fire era)
5. appleseed cast (best band ever)
5. If you were a furry, what animal would you be? Why that animal?
(kevin) a camel, because all you're gonna get is a couple humps and a ton of spit.
(caleb) a horse. no explanation, its personal, ok?!
(nick) tasmanian devil, cuz i'll tear your ass apart!
6. Why should people listen to your band?
(nick, caleb, kevin)you should listen to our band because we have it all. we have songs that make you want to dance around like a little kid, and other songs that make you want to sit around and be sentimental. we write songs the way they were meant to be written. to tell a story and to send a message that is real and from the heart. we aren't looking to be some flavor of the week pop-punk band like 90 percent of the glamour kills wearing groups you see in magazines today. we never want to be rockstars, our favorite part of being in this band is traveling and developing personal relationships with kids who like our music and feel the way we do about the world.
7. If you were chosen to be in Guitar Hero/Rock Band, what song would you want in the game? How hard do you think it would be to five-star on expert?
(caleb, kevin agrees) first of all, to hell with guitar hero, what ever happened to good ol fashioned learning how to play guitar by listening to the radio and using your own brain to figure out the notes? i'm convinced that guitar hero is like crack. which is why i only tried it once or twice. and second of all, our songs would never be in that game because we dont play solo's and shit like that in our songs. we leave that kind of shit to guns n' roses and aerosmith.
8. If you won a Grammy, who would you thank?
(caleb) i would thank myself and my band for working so hard.
9. If you could change something about the music industry, what would it be?
(caleb, nick and kevin agree while laughing their asses off) i would get rid of cute is what we aim for and boys like girls. i think that would be a really important first step. then i would make it illegal to put out a record that the actual band/singer didn't actually play/sing on. that would get rid of a lot of other bullshit (panic!, FOB) and free up everyone's ears to explore some real music and not just settle for a pretty face and a catchy image.
10. Memorable tour experience?
there is never really a dull moment when 1997 is on tour. whether its some one getting arrested(me), or the hood flying open and smashing the windshield while driving on the highway(happened twice), or trying to find out where kevin is in the morning after a night of debauchery(happens all the time), we are always finding trouble. there are too many fights and drugs to even start talking about. but i would say the most memorable part of touring is when you get to talk and spend time with some one who really understands your music and they tell you how much it means to them. i can remember one time in detroit, after a show this kid came up to me and told me i was his hero and we got to talking about how his family doesnt accept him for who he is. it felt really nice to get affirmation from this kid and it also felt really nice to be able to let him know that i accept him and i think he is cool. he gave me a poem to read and i always have it with me on tour as encouragement.
11. What does AP.net mean to you?
(caleb) a cool place to promote my band and check out other bands too!
(kevin) its now, its wow, and how!
12. What is your favorite song to play?
(caleb) my favorite song to play live is probably "enough is enough" because it is a really energetic song that everyone always gets into, but it's challenging and diverse enough that it never really gets boring to play.
13. What is your vacation spot of choice?
(caleb) i don't know much about vacations and things like that, but when i was a kid my favorite place to spend time was my grandparent's horse ranch near durango, colorado.
(kevin) basically anywhere in asia.
14. What music reminds you of your childhood?
(caleb) when i was a kid my parents mostly listened to country. so whenever a garth brooks song comes on it brings me right back to 1995 sitting in the rear-facing back seat of our station wagon. and yes, it was one of those wagons with the fake wood all over it. i also used to really like to sing along to whitney houston's version of "i will always love you"
15. If you could have any super power, what would it be? Why?
(caleb) i would have to say telechanisis, because it would probably make me the best songwriter ever. i could hear people's real thoughts and feeling and i would know exactly how to make them feel better. either that or i would want to be able to see fly, because i would just float above every one else and sing nelly furtato all day.
16. Do you feel that your band has "made it"?
(caleb) no, i would never say we have made it, because that would mean that we have accomplished all our goals and there would be no point in being a band anymore. a lot of our will to go on comes from a hunger that will never be filled; to write the perfect song, to influence change in our world, however small or big our influence might be, we will always want to be doing more than we are at the time.
17. What is something that most fans don't know about you?
(caleb) most people don't know that i spent the first 6 years of my life as a missionary with my parents moving around the world to places like costa rica and guatemala and even africa. i also have a toaster tattoo. but i'm not telling where!
(kevin) most fans dont know that i was there when caleb got his toaster tramp stamp tattoo.
18. What's your favorite holiday?
i like new years the best probably. to me, its like a celebration of christmas season being finally over and also of new beginnings in general. i like that it is the only holiday that your family cant yell at you for being messed up. i also like that we start our new years with a kiss. that's a tradition i can stand behind.
19. What do you like to do in your spare time?
(caleb) what spare time?
20. What kind of hidden talents do you have?
(caleb) i am really stretchy, and i can jump really high.
(kevin) i can spin any pillow on my right index finger for a very long time.