Tag: Kris Roe

Categories
Features

So Long, Maxwell’s

I’ve been to Maxwell’s in Hoboken so many times over the past few years that I’ve lost count. In fact, I couldn’t even tell you the first show I saw there. I can tell you, though the feeling I felt every time I was inside: comfortable. While waiting in line to see the last show the venue would host Wednesday evening (July 31) before it closed its doors indefinitely, I befriended an older man who lived nearby. Talking about the venue and the shows we’ve seen there over the years, I described Maxwell’s as “homey” and he agreed.

I can’t explain it, but it’s the closest I have gotten to finding my Cheers bar. Over the years I have covered countless shows there and I didn’t even need to have my name added to the guest list. It was one of those places where, yes — everybody knows your name. One of the first shows I saw there was Tyrone Wells and Jason Reeves, both singer-songwriters who I went on to interview after thoroughly enjoying their sets at Maxwell’s. I also interviewed one of my childhood favorites — Kris Roe of The Ataris in the basement of the venue. (Picture below).

interviwingkris

In 2008, I hosted my one-year blog anniversary show. I pitched the show to the booker of Maxwell’s and said my goal was to have 150 people attend. He laughed at the idea because hardly anyone who books their first concert can guarantee that amount will actually show up. But I was set to prove that I could do it. Josh Charles, Joey DeGraw and The Canon Logic, a band I would later come to manage, performed and 152 people attended. Not too shabby for my first concert.

YSIW2

I have reviewed countless indie sets, folk bands and even a few hardcore groups at Maxwell’s and loved every second of it. Covering concerts at Maxwell’s really helped pave the way of my career in music journalism, whether I was writing for my own blog or the Hoboken Patch.

Maxwell’s was hailed by Rolling Stone as one of the best rock clubs in the country and I couldn’t agree more. It has quickly become my favorite concert venue and it’s truly a shame to see it go. Maxwell’s, thanks for the memories.

Categories
Concert Reviews

The Ataris Bring Music, Nostalgia to Hoboken

“Come up close,” frontman Kris Roe said before he kicked off his set at Maxwell’s Sunday night. “We’re a band from Indiana called The Ataris.”

Not that concertgoers weren’t aware. For most, The Ataris were a part of their childhood. Song requests were screamed out all night spanning their album catalogue. While Roe often joked with the crowd, most requests were played.

While the band has seen numerous lineup changes over the years, die-hard fans found comfort in that Roe continues to sing the songs they grew up on with the same passion he did over a decade ago.

For the complete review, visit Hoboken Patch.

Related Links:
• Q&A; with Kris Roe of the Ataris: Part 1
• Q&A; with Kris Roe of the Ataris: Part 2
• The Ataris’ “Blue Skies, Broken Hearts” Acoustic Tour Hits New Jersey
• Song of the Week: “Boys of Summer”

Categories
Q&A

Blast From the Past: Q&A with Kris Roe of The Ataris

This past weekend I stumbled on my journal from college. Curious to see if my thoughts and passions had changed over the years, I picked it up and started reading. I was quickly taken back in time to my senior year of college while interning at JANE Magazine and later MTV News.

I’m glad to report the feelings of excitement haven’t faded when it comes to interviewing some of my favorite bands and discovering new artists. I came across one entry that particularly struck me. It was spring semester of my senior year and I was covering Rutgers’ annual Springfest concert with my friend and colleague Monica Rozenfeld. The Ataris were playing and I was determined to get an interview with frontman Kris Roe. I already had questions prepared, but never heard back from management so I decided to take matters into my own hands and just ask around.

After a few attempts we ran into a band member who said he’d talk to Kris about an interview. Kris gave us the green light and five minutes later we were in the boys locker room, sitting on the floor and chatting with him. I still remember the feeling of pure excitement walking out of the locker room after having asked one of my favorite bands everything I wanted to know. That night I wrote about my experience:

“This is exactly what I want to do with my life. Find & interview & write about bands — get their real life answers to questions! That’s my dream.”

Four years later, I’m glad its the same dream. You can read an excerpt from my interview here on Rutgers’ Daily Targum Web site, and I’ll paste it below as well.

When was the last time you performed? What happened with your old drummer?
October of 2004, we played our last show in Florida, some random show we flew down to do for Halloween. I just remember it was one of those things that we didn’t know if it would be our last show as that band. It was me, John, Mike and our old drummer Chris. It came at a point where the band felt like it was very limited.

I didn’t enjoy playing music with our drummer anymore. He really wanted different things from me. He wanted to be the hugest rock band in the world, whereas I just wanted to get in a van and play shows with my friends and have fun. I didn’t really feel like we had a friendship bond anymore. And our bass player went off the deep end and got involved in things that I wasn’t so proud of. I hated seeing my friends succumb to those things, and it’s like tough love. I had to be like, you know, this band’s here for you if you want it, but you’ve got to sort your life out first. A year went by and I never talked to him, so obviously he chose the other elements over me and over this band, and it happens.

What is to be expected of your new CD released in July? Is the sound similar to your previous record?
It’s completely different. At first it sounds like a different band. Musically its way more um, ah, I don’t really know. There are seven people in the band, there’s three guitars, cello, keyboards, and we got a new drummer and a new bass player. It’s more dreamy, spacey, like a big wall of sound. It’s more akin to all the British bands, like Radiohead, Muse, Snow Patrol, and Doves. We came to a point where I don’t really feel the music we were creating was the music I listen to and the music that I wanted to represent me. I think that we just kind of had to step outside ourselves and be like, you know what do we really want to do and what do we feel feels really honest. And we just started writing a bunch of songs and eventually after two years off with a year of writing, rehearsing, and recording, the record just kind of wrote itself.

Where do you get your inspiration for your songs?
Lyrically, this album is like a story about questioning yourself. There’s a lot of existentialist thought in it, about how in life there is so much more out there. It’s my question of myself asking what is out there in this world and what is beyond this world. The title of the album is Welcome the Night and it’s based on this concept that to me, everything in this earth and this planet is in transit and everything prior to our lives and after our lives is darkness.

Is there any venue or audience that you hated playing for?
Usually, it’s all pretty good, as long as people keep an open mind and don’t like to shout for stupid songs. Occasionally, you’ll get the one random punker guy. I’ve learned to ignore them. Back in the early days I would get kind of irate and stupid. I broke my hand getting in a fight with a kid because he threw some shit at me, and I never did that shit again. Just don’t let people get to you. One time in Australia I got pegged in the head with a bottle and I was like fuck it I’m just gonna keep playing because I knew it was the night of some Australian soccer championship. I knew it was some crazy, pissed off soccer fan and I knew he could kick me to shreds. So I was, like, I’m just gonna deal with it. If you don’t call attention to it usually people will just go on about their business.

How is it playing for a student crowd?
Playing colleges is always a good opportunity to bring your music to people that sometimes wouldn’t often get the chance to hear it. Because usually when you’re so absorbed with studying and probably a lot of partying I would assume as well, the music seems to take a secondary position in your life. Whereas a nerd like me, all I do is listen to music and pretty much sleep in all day and play music.

Is it a lot different from Warped Tour and headlining shows?
Yeah, I just feel the crowds are a little bit more narrow-minded [at Warped Tour]. I think that Warped Tour is more of a young audience and they already have their mind made up a bit more, whereas at colleges are a little bit more collective and willing to listen to more different and daring things.

Related Links:
• Q&A; with Kris Roe of the Ataris: Part 1
• Q&A; with Kris Roe of the Ataris: Part 2
• The Ataris’ “Blue Skies, Broken Hearts” Acoustic Tour Hits New Jersey
• Song of the Week: “Boys of Summer”

Categories
Features Q&A

Top 10 Interviews

While I’ve been taking suggestions on revamping my blog, some advised cleaning up the sidebar and deleting older interviews to make it easier on the eyes. After much thought, I really can’t just weed out certain interviews because each has a life of its own. Maybe its the frank musician that discussed exactly what’s wrong with the label executives, or the bass player that told me just how “gross” groupies are, regardless, each artist I’ve talked to needs to be showcased. So, when you’re bored at work or just surfing the Web, you have plenty of reading material on your hands.

While going through each interview I came up with my “Top 10” list of interviews that have surprised me or left an impact. Here’s my Top 10 list, in no particular order.

1. Jon Foreman of Switchfoot (photo above)
I’ve been listening to Switchfoot since high school. I’d buy tickets with friends and we’d travel to NYC together at least once a year to see them live. One year, when covering the show for MTV’s concert blog, I was able to meet the guys, and interview frontman Jon Foreman. To meet one of your favorite musicians and talk to him about life, his fears of being a songwriter and pretty much anything else you’d want to know was truly one of the best moments in my music writing career. Read the in-depth interview here.

2. Colbie Caillat
I remember my cousin from California mentioning Colbie Caillat on his visit to New Jersey right after her debut album was released. A few weeks later “Bubbly” exploded on the radio and I just had to buy myself a copy of her album. The next summer she was going on tour with one of her biggest influences (and mine) — John Mayer. I was able to set up an interview for the blog and was surprised at how humble and down to earth she was. Talking about her stage fright before performing and thoughts on just why “Bubbly” took off, Colbie shared insight into her life before and after her music invaded the airwaves. Read all about it here.

3. Marko DeSantis of Sugarcult
This was my first impromptu band interview. Before catching Sugarcult’s set at Starland Ballroom, I noticed a group of fans by the stage door talking to someone. My friend found out it was Sugarcult guitarist Marko, so I asked to interview him. Why not? He wrote down his email address in my notebook with the casual, “Just don’t show this around” and I emailed him questions a few days later. My first nationally published interview, it was featured on Jane Magazine‘s Web site. I still can’t believe I did that, but it paid off. Read the full email interview here.

4. Kris Roe of The Ataris (photo above)
I lucked out being able to interview Kris twice — first for Rutgers University’s entertainment section, Inside Beat, and last year for my blog. Having listened to The Ataris growing up, I attended a performance of theirs at Rutgers and was able to obtain an interview after talking to his manager. After interviewing him with my friend Monica, I remember leaving the room with the realization and determination that, “This IS what I’m going to do the rest of my life.” Haven’t looked back since. Read the full two-part interview with Kris from his performance at Maxwell’s last year here.

5. Joshua Radin
Incredibly honest about the music industry, Radin bought himself out of his five record deal with Columbia and put out his most recent release independently. Not to mention, it hit No.1 on the iTunes folk charts. Not too shabby. A class act to follow, Radin even performed at Ellen DeGeneres’ wedding. Read on for more of his take on the music business here.

6. Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind
I was extremely nervous for this interview. 3eb was one of the most recognized bands of the 90s and having read up on past interviews with the band I was a little worried how mine would pan out. Luckily, it went extremely well — good enough to be used as my first interview feature on MarieClaire.com! You can read it on Marie Claire here.

7. Vince Scheuerman of Army of Me (photo above)
Possibly the most open singer-songwriter I’ve interviewed, my chat with Vince revealed many of the stories behind his songs, the struggle of making it in the music business and a typical day in the life of a musician. Read on for more here.

8. Tyson Ritter of the All-American Rejects
Oh, Tyson. Brutally honest and never afraid to hold anything back. Though it was a quick 3-question on-the-spot interview outside his tour bus at a concert, it’s one that will always stand out in my memory. Laugh about it here.

9. Jeph Howard of The Used
Okay, I must admit interviewing Jeph on their tour bus was definitely a highlight of the interview. Possibly the longest interview I’ve had, he chatted with me for nearly an hour about life on the road, groupies, and struggles the band has faced. Read all about it here.

10. Sia
Australian singer-songwriter Sia was definitely the most captivating and lively phone interview I have ever had. With her infectious laugh and refreshing take on the music industry, it’s interviews like these that make me continue pursuing this crazy career. You can read the interview featured on RollingStone.com here.

That’s my Top 10. What’s your favorite? Did I miss one that should be added?

Categories
Q&A

Q&A with Kris Roe of the Ataris: Part 2

As promised, part two of my Q&A; with Kris Roe. If you haven’t yet, check out the Ataris’ MySpace, which Kris runs personally, for the latest tour dates and music. And be on the look out for a new album in the near future!

On this tour, are you just playing the whole Blue Skies album?
I’m playing our whole Blue Skies album from start to finish and then I also play a handful of songs from our other records at the end. Time permitting; I usually play four or five of our other most well known songs at the end. “So Long, Astoria” and “In This Diary” are usually always in the set and the other three I just toy with what people are drunkenly shouting at me or what I feel like playing.

Why did you decide Blue Skies?
Well, it was beyond the five, six year anniversary of that album, and almost the 10 year anniversary of that album and I think that was the album that, other than So Long, Astoria, got most of our core fan base into our band. We usually played the majority of songs from So Long, Astoria over the years and Blue Skies we played like the four, five most known songs. There was the other half of that album that we never played since we recorded. And that’s the same way probably with a lot of bands. You record an album, you play the best four or five songs and the rest are just album tracks. So, I just thought it was a fun challenge to go out and do something like that. And also, I feel it would bring a little bit more interest to the show to people that wouldn’t necessarily just come out and see me play acoustic. Maybe they’d be like, “Wow, that’s kinda cool he’s doing a whole record and playing a few other songs.”

I think that the majority of the album people are always singing along with. For me, there are some songs that were later on the album and were just kind of filler. I think that’s why that album did so well. We kind of back loaded the album. The strongest songs are the first five or six songs. There are a couple of strong songs later on the album. But for the most part, that’s why we put those songs towards the end of the record, because we wanted to make the strongest record from the beginning because most people only listen to the first five songs of an album anyway and then the diehards listen to the rest. I think people know most of the songs, but I don’t expect them to know every one. If they do, they’re usually creepy or too much of a fan. No not, really. But you know what I mean.

How would you describe your fan base? Has it changed a lot over the years?
It definitely changes throughout time because music changes. I think it depends. I think to sum it up, we have this core fan base and those are the kids that really come out, the kids that have been listening to the band for so long and they kind of grow with you. And then we have the people that discovered our band on So Long, Astoria when they heard “In This Diary” and then “Boys of Summer” and that’s cool too. But those are the people, I think, that usually have a shorter attention span. This is just a guess off of what I have seen. Because, I think the radio public are more on to the next thing because they love the current single and that’s fine, but that’s how it is where I grew up. In Indiana people just discovered shit off of MTV and the radio unfortunately. For me, a lot of my friends, we were kind of the kids who seeked things out, discovered bands and just stayed with them. Those are the kids that really stick around. Once we get a new album out and we have a song that’s on the radio or MTV you’ll notice a new resurgence of new fans. Right now, it’s kind of mid time between records and I’m not really out supporting anything, I’m just out doing this for fun. So it’s usually the diehards. The people that really love your band and your music and know the songs.

80% of the people that come to these Blue Skies shows are not the kids who are more apt to yell for “Boys of Summer.” There are those nights. When you play a college town you assume that will be more of the thing because that was more their era. I think the kids that come to these shows; they were into the band before that. I love just as much the kids that got into our band because of that song than the other ones. I think it’s equal. I try to make sure to play some songs from that record at the end. I think those are two of our most popular records and I really try to make a fair set if I have time.

Do you have a favorite song to perform?
I think the best song in our band’s history is the song “Fast Times at Drop-Out High.” That was an older song that I feel stood throughout the history of our band and doesn’t feel dated to me today. There are some songs you write and a month or two later after you record them, you’re like, “That feels really dated” and it’s something you don’t ever want to play again. And then there are some songs that stick throughout. Pretty much everything I play in my set I feel happy playing. There are a couple songs that I’d rather not play and are slightly dated, but I want to make the people who paid happy and give them a set that’s good for them. There are some songs I sing, either love songs from the past that I don’t believe a word I’m singing anymore that I’m just singing so people want to sing along and hear it and there are some songs that I still believe like the day I wrote it. But, that’s the good thing about being a songwriter. You move on and your songs stay frozen in time and you just gotta live with that.

Do you remember how to play everything and all of the lyrics?
No. [Laughs] But I give it a shot. Most of the stuff. I have a handful of songs beyond the Blue Skies album that I can choose from every night within reason. If someone is yelling out something that is rare, I’ll sometimes take the challenge. Sometimes I fail miserably. Like, last night I think I failed miserably on a couple.

You’ve been doing this so long, what inspires you to keep going?
Hands down, it’s the only thing that I really enjoy doing. I take photos, I like doing that. I have some other interests. For right now music is the only thing that I know and the one thing I want to continue doing. That’s pretty much it. I’m a really driven person, but I think when you get something that you know, it’s like if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It’s true. Just keep moving forward and try to do as much as you can.

Can you tell us about your photography skills?
Skills, I don’t know. I just take photos of things that I like and strike me. Overall, my general photography is stuff that’s kind of sad but beautiful at the same time. Growing up in the Midwest you have all this worn down beauty. You have these old factories but you also have a side to it that’s kind of tragic but beautiful and that’s the thing I come across in my photos. I just became a photographer by accident. I stole my old roommate’s camera because I needed to take photos for a record because we had a deadline and the guy that was doing the photos flaked out. And after I was like, “Well, shit, I can do this.” So I always feel weird saying I’m a photographer because there are so many people that go to school and do this for a living and for me it’s just something I do. I think anybody, if you have a good eye, you can take photos. Anybody can write a song. It’s all in here. [pointing to heart]
It’s all trial and error really. For me, it’s like guitar; I never read a book of fuckin’ tablature or chords in my life. I just hear it and go. Look at the Ramones, look at painting, or photography, or anything, it’s all in here.

Are you working on a new album?
Not currently. Planning to do a new album, but probably later in the year. I’ve written some rough ideas of songs, but for the most part, that area is just getting started. I’ll probably be doing this touring off and on throughout the summer just to have some money so when I do go in the studio I’ll have some money put aside to pay the bills. I think it will be my hope to realistically get in the studio by late summer now. I think by then I will have tapped every market I can actually play. After this tour and South America and Japan we’re going to try to book Europe and Canada and I think after that, the only thing I can really do is go in the studio. It’s really hard to go beyond that when you’re just doing a solo tour. We used to play Australia a lot, but I think to go down there and do a tour by myself I’m not sure I can do that by myself. But, who knows.

Welcome the Night is a little deeper and darker than So Long, Astoria. What was going on in your life when you wrote it?
I agree with part of that. I think So Long, Astoria has a lot of really personal songs but I think the biggest difference is that album [So Long, Astoria] was a bit more uplifting and positive and optimistic and Welcome the Night was not necessarily self-loathing or anything, but it was more self questioning. That was just because I wasn’t really happy with my life at the time and I was just trying to find a place in my life where I was content and happy. That album was kind of a cathartic process of me questioning myself and trying to find that place in my life. So, that’s what I was doing. Kind of like therapy, that album was. I think where I am at now, writing is a little back towards where I was when I was writing So Long, Astoria. I think your writing reflects where you are in your life. I’ve kind of come around full circle again.

How did your fans respond to that?
I really expected, overall, to be a split kind of thing. I just wrote what I know and I always like to change it up and do things that are different and daring. I think that I really expected half of the people to get it and really pay attention and the other half to be like, “What the fuck?” and that’s good ‘cause unless you shake shit up, then you’re selling yourself short. I think art is about people questioning and people not understanding it. I think it would be more of a tragedy if people just listened to it and got it the first time they heard it. Things that are easily palpable for me are things that fall to the way side and is the art and music that you’re going to forget 10 years from now. I think that was an album that needs to grow on people. The people that really paid attention to it, I think they got it and the other ones weren’t supposed to get it.

What is your typical writing process like?
Laziness. No, I’m really bad. I keep a little journal. Usually I write the most when I’m just sitting in my car because I don’t let myself get distracted. When I’m just driving around the country I’ll get a piece of scrap paper and I’ll just write my thoughts and later I’ll put it altogether and try and make it into songs. I write a lot of free verse and poetry and things and put it all together and make it into something. It’s changed throughout the years. Before, in earlier albums, I used to write more in a format and start with the actual verse, chorus, verse, chorus. Later, as we went along, I started writing differently. Now, it’s a little different, more disjointed, but it comes together after the fact. Musically, I usually come up with a melody or music part in my head and I’ll jot it down. I put the two together at the end.

Have you ever been afraid to give away too much of yourself in your music?
The only time I was ever afraid of that was when I didn’t want to dispel too many things that would scare the shit out of my mother and father or my ex. There was one point when I finally realized that as a writer, I think your only duty is really to say everything you need to say despite what some people might read or see. After writing that last album, the immediate response I got from a lot of my fans was, “Are you okay?” And I’m like, “Yeah, ‘cause I wrote it two years ago and if you were to ask me then I would have been like, no I’m not.” Today, yeah, it is a thought. But you really can’t give into that. You really have to keep pushing it and write everything despite the consequences or that’d be your biggest mistake.

How would you explain your music to someone who has never heard it before?
I think we’re a band that has something to offer everyone. I feel it’s really personal stories. I try to write things that I feel everyone can relate to but that are brutally honest and really try to put my whole heart out there, sometimes to my disadvantage. Definitely, when you do that, you get a lot of the creepy people that are like, “Oh my God!” asking me all these questions. It’s like you don’t know me, but you know me. It’s kind of weird. I want to be known as a storyteller or the singer/songwriter type artist. That, I would portray to someone who had never heard us.

Categories
Interviews

The Ataris

In a way, I feel like I grew up while listening to the Ataris. Everyone has that one album they remember listening to like it was yesterday. That album for me was So Long, Astoria. The entire album was the anthem to my senior year of high school – you know, that tumultuous time of having no clue what you want to do with the rest of your life and the thought of becoming an adult causes more anguish than anything else. Okay, maybe that’s being a little too dramatic. But come on, “Being grown up isn’t half as fun as growing up/These are the best days of our lives/The only thing that matters is just following your heart/And eventually you’ll finally get it right.” Those lines from “In This Diary” were my motto just five years ago and I’d like to think they still are today.

Kris was nice enough to sit down with me last Friday before his show at Maxwell’s in Hoboken and talk to me about the Ataris, the state of the music industry and his current acoustic tour, among many things. I’m going to break up the interview into two posts because it’s way too long for just one and you guys really should read the entire thing. He’s not only a good interview, but an amazing musician to see live so be sure to check out his MySpace and see when he’ll be playing your city!

How is the tour going so far?
Well, hands down, this has probably been the most crazy, cursed tour I’ve ever been on, at least the beginning of this part of the tour. I did a small run on the West Coast and those dates went amazing. But the first four shows of this tour, two got canceled due to the fact that the shows were double booked and two got canceled due to winter storms. But, as of last night, that was the first show of the tour and it ended up going really well and tonight’s show is nearly sold out so I think the curse is coming to an end finally so that’s good.

I saw on your MySpace the massive bulletins, “Please repost tour dates.” Do your fans request certain places to play?
In the years I’ve been touring, you make a note of where you actually can play and draw people. This tour was pretty much all booked by me off of our MySpace. I made a kind of, rough routing and then I went over it and started filling in the gaps. Usually when you’re booking the tour you start with the weekends and get the good cities where you know you’ll draw good on the weekends. For instance, I know Hoboken has to be a weekend and Long Island and other parts of New Jersey are usually some of our stronger markets. I wanted to make sure that our strongest markets I put on a weekend. A Monday is a Monday no matter where it is. It’s usually your weakest night and you just try and fill up the dates. I try not to take any days off. It’s usually 50 some odd dates with no days off and then I go to South America and Japan on the same tour. It’s definitely a lot of fun and it’s the best thing I could be doing. There’s no overhead hardly on these shows. Just a hotel room and gas every night. Me out traveling in my car. It’s a good way to make a living I would say.

Have you always been a very DIY type of band?
I think this band was kind of founded on that belief that you just gotta do everything yourself. No one’s going to do it for you. There’s so many bands out there that the harder you work at it, the better the shows are going to be and I think that’s pretty much how this band started getting to people, our C.D.’s got into people’s hands. We just toured enough that finally we were probably halfway through our second tour ever, right when our Blue Skies album came out and at that point we started realizing it went from 50 people at the shows to 300 people at the shows and we didn’t do anything different other than keep going to the same areas and get in the van and people would come out and see us. Just continue that kind of mindset and it really works.

Do you think it’s been word of mouth?
Oh, yeah. When we started there wasn’t that mentality, there was no MySpace, there was no Facebook or any of those places where you could just get on and promote it like that. It was all word of mouth. It was you go out and play a show and they’re like, “Hey, we saw this good band play last night. Go out and check them out next time they’re through.” And you trade phone numbers with other bands and are like, “Hey, there’s a place that books bands in Albuquerque or in Phoenix.” Now it’s easy because you put up a bulletin and are like, “Hey, I need a show in St. Louis.” And somebody emails you and says, “Hey, I book shows here.”

Also, I keep a list of all the people who have booked good shows for me in the past and now I have good contacts and most of them stay current and you write them back and say, “Hey, can you book me on the next tour?” But we have a good booking agent; he books some of the biggest bands in rock music. But the thing is he’s got so many bands I didn’t want to trouble him and ask him, “Hey, will you book an acoustic tour for me?” He books the Ataris and I was like, I can do this myself and I just wanted to see if I could do it. First time I did it and it went well. He actually emailed me the other day and said, “Man, I gotta compliment you on your booking” and jokingly said, “if you ever need a job as an agent, you know where to call.” And I was like, “Sorry, I hate dealing and haggling with people, I’ll leave that to you.” I just want to go out and play. Anything to get a show, I’ll do it.

Do you take fans requests?
For the most part, if it’s something valid I will. I’ve done some weird things. I played this guy and girl’s wedding once and that was great. An endless bar and their mom paid me $1,000 to play a wedding and paid for all my travel. It was like, “Alright I’ll do that. Sure.” I’m probably more reasonable than any band. If you had a reasonable request and could meet the guarantee of the tour, pay the costs, I’ll play anywhere I don’t really care. I mean I’m not a whore or anything, but I’ll definitely do anything within reason as long as there will be people there and it fits into the current routing of the tour.

You guys have been together since, what, 1994?
I think our first real tour, when we really put ourselves on the map was more like 1997 or 1998. I’ve been recording songs myself since, the first Ataris album. All the demos were just me and a drum machine and I’d give that to bands we’d see. Through that we got a record deal and put out three independent records. Probably about halfway through our second record, Blue Skies is when people started actually taking notice. I think for our first record when it was out, nobody paid attention. Once we got out there and really started touring, at that point, ’97, ’98 that’s when people actually started coming out to see us.

That’s been 10 years. Have you seen a huge change in the music industry since when you started?

/>Oh, for sure. There are two things you notice. Obviously, when we started, the Internet was beginning, but it wasn’t a prominent factor. Now, it’s over saturated. There are so many bands. Anyone and there brother can record music and put music out. B. Like I said, booking shows is so much easier. There’s pros and cons of it. I think that it was better for rock bands then on some levels because it was so much easier to make an impact. Now, if you put an album out there are 10 other bands that are just as good as you that have an album out too so it’s harder to make headway and really get your name out there. Whereas then, there weren’t as many bands doing it. But, at the same time, it’s easier to do it now. I don’t know. I try to change with the times. I’m just utilizing the tools I know I have compared to back then when I didn’t have them.

So, over the past 10 years, have you ever had to have a day job?
I’ve worked so many odd jobs. Literally, I can go down a list. I’ve worked restaurants, I’ve worked at a factory, I worked in an adult bookstore for six months, I worked at a K-Mart, Taco Bell. I’ve done it all. That was like from 15-20. I think about 22 or 23 was the last time I had a real job outside of this band. So I feel very blessed that I’ve been able to spend nearly seven, eight years of my life job free other than the music. There are definitely times now and in the last four years that have been a struggle. The one thing that I will say about the music industry is that it is very inconsistent. There might be six months where you make a lot of income and then the next six months it’s very slow. So that’s why, right now, if I’m out and I stay touring and stay busy I’m able to pay all my bills, but if I’m not, then I might as well work an odd job, because you’re sitting around at home and you’re not making any money when you’re sitting around at home.

I read on Wikipedia that you sold an old drum set to pay for rent.
First off, never believe anything you read on Wikipedia because that’s the most inaccurate account of anything. When I first started dating my girlfriend, her mom wikipedia’d me and there was stuff on there that I went on Wikipedia and changed myself. I was like, “Holy shit, your mom wikipedia’d me? And now she thinks I’m a drug addict or this or that because I wrote one thing in a song.” Wikipedia is so fucked. Some other Internet sources are fine, but Wikipedia is a joke. I’m sorry. And you notice that because you start doing a bunch of interviews and everyone gets their questions from Wikipedia. And you’re like, “This is so easy.” So me and John one night, we were like, “Let’s go on Wikipedia and change it because we’ve got like 20 interviews in one day coming up next week.” And we changed it and wrote shit that wasn’t true to see if they’d ask us based on that and it was totally, probably 5 out of 10 interviews were like, “So, I heard you were once a drug dealer in Columbia.” And we were like, “Yeah, I lived in Bogotá for five years of my life and I dealt smack and lived down there, and yeah, I lived in a hut.”

I am resourceful and within reason, when I’m sitting around at home, everything is expendable when it comes to material possessions. I’ve sold all kinds of shit on my eBay. For me, I’ve got a lot of things and I keep everything and I’d rather a fan to have it then for me to have it. But I don’t play drums regularly and so I never sold a drum set. I’ve sold like old lyrics I’ve had and art photography, and old guitar equipment. But, for me, if I don’t need it and I’m not using it and it’s sitting in my closet, I’d rather one of our fans to have it and be stoked on it. So, yeah, whatever. Mortgage. It’s a hard thing.

You guys broke away from Columbia and have your own label now, right?
Quite a while ago. We did our last album, Welcome the Night, on this label Sanctuary and then about five months after we put that album out the label folded and they basically decided that they weren’t going to put any future records out from anyone. There were a lot of good bands on the label like Morrissey, Tegan and Sara, the last one they released was the girl from the Cranberries, her solo album. After that they said they were just going to keep her back catalog and not put anything else out. Currently, we’re basically just waiting to record some songs and then we’ll start deciding where we’re going to put it out. We have label interests, but not until we have some songs to play for them can we really decide what we’re going to do.

We have our own label imprint on our last album. But in this market, it’s not something I would expect to pursue. I wouldn’t want to have a label per say. You can put your imprint or whatever you want to call it. That was pretty much the extent of it. It was strictly in case we wanted to exercise that option really.

A lot of bands are breaking away from the major labels. Do you think that’s the future?
I think on some levels it is. Unless you’re a band that can exist by selling records through the big conglomerates like Wal-Mart and places like that. Those are really the only places that people buy full records I feel. Independent record stores don’t make enough of a dent in it anymore. People buy the song on iTunes that’s a single or they’ll download the record for free. Unless you’re like a pop, R&B;, hip-hop or country artist. If you’re a rock band, you probably sell a small fraction of what you would have sold six years ago. A band like the Foo Fighters who would win a Grammy, they would sell like, maybe 800,000 of a record now, where six years ago would probably be a double platinum album which would be a couple million. That’s just the changing market if you’re a rock band. I think you just have to change with it and realize that’s how it goes.

They’re actually talking about lowering the number it takes to have a gold record. Now, currently, it’s 500,000 for a gold record and a million for platinum. Within this coming year I think it’s going to lower in half, like 250 or something for gold and then platinum is going to be like 6, 7, 8 I don’t know. That’s pretty crazy because for the size of our country, I mean, based on other countries, a gold record in the UK, it’s a small country, but it’s less than 100,000. It’s changed a lot. It’s really put a dent in the music industry. On some levels, I think that’s good because it really shakes shit up and I’m all for that, but if you’re a real starving musician and you’re trying to support yourself on your art, it kinda fucks you really bad.

For part two of the interview, to read about the upcoming album and Kris’ typical writing process as well as the change in the Ataris’ fan base over the years, click here.

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Q&A

Interview From the Vault: Kristopher Roe of The Ataris

Just about two years ago I interviewed lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Kristopher Roe of The Ataris when they performed for the first time in over a year at Rutgers for Springfest. Live bands, food, and games in a carnival type setting on Livingston Campus is the typical Springfest setting. Kris opened up to me about the renovated band, their future album, Welcome the Night (which came out in February of 2007) and playing for a college crowd. Be sure to catch their show Friday, February 15 at Maxwell’s in Hoboken with Army of Me. For more info on future tour dates or to hear some of their latest songs check them out on MySpace.

When was the last time you performed?
October of 2004, we played our last show in Florida, some random show we flew down to do for Halloween. I just remember it was one of those things that we didn’t know if it would be our last show as that band was. It was me, John, Mike and our old drummer Chris. It came at a point where the band felt like it was very limited. What we did on our last record I felt was the best that band could do.

I didn’t feel like it represented me anymore and I didn’t enjoy playing music with our drummer anymore. He really wanted different things than me. He wanted to be the hugest rock band in the world, whereas I just wanted to get in a van and play shows with my friends and have fun. I didn’t really feel like we had a friendship bond anymore. And our bass player went off the deep end and got involved in things that I wasn’t so proud of. I hated seeing my friends succumb to those things, and it’s like tough love. I had to be like, “This band’s here for you if you want it, but you’ve got to sort your life out first.” A year went by and I never talked to him, so obviously he chose the other elements over me and over this band, and it happens.

John and I started playing music with a few of our friends out here in New York where he lives and we recorded a bunch of demos and from that the band took its own shape. After we had the five-piece going, our friend Angus (who played cello) and our friend Bob (who played keys) and we were like, well with the three guitars it sounds atmospheric and is very full and special but it still needed more layers. I wanted to have a certain sound and I knew when we all played together – the seven of us – it really just clicked and I felt the chemistry and that was what we were looking for. When we recorded the record we recorded it all live, we all got in a room together, all seven of us, and we played and recorded. The only thing that was over dubbed was the vocals so pretty much how we sound on the record is how we sound live. It’s an honest representation of what we sound like now, which was what we were going for.

What is to be expected of your new album, Welcome the Night? Is the sound similar to your previous record?
It’s completely different. At first it sounds like a different band. Musically its way more um, I don’t really know. There are seven people in the band, there’s three guitars, cello, keyboards, and we got a new drummer and a new bass player. It’s very atmospheric, it’s more dreamy, spacey, it’s like a big wall of sound. It’s more akin to all the British bands, like Radiohead, Muse, Snow Patrol, and Doves. We came to a point where I don’t really feel the music we were creating was the music I listen to and the music that I wanted to represent me. I think that we just kind of had to step outside ourselves and be like, “What do we really want to do and what do we feel feels really honest?” We just started writing a bunch of songs and eventually after two years off with a year of writing, rehearsing, and recording, the record just kind of wrote itself.

Where do you get inspiration for your songs?
Lyrically, this album is like a story about questioning yourself. There’s a lot of existentialist thought in it, about how in life there is so much more out there. It’s me questioning myself, asking what is out there in this world and what is beyond this world. The title of the album is Welcome the Night and it’s based on this concept that to me, everything in this earth and this planet is like, we are in transit and everything prior to our lives and after our lives is darkness. Welcome the Night is me thinking of the time where there’s not going to be me having to question myself and what my purpose in life is and that there is something better beyond this life.

Is there any venue or audience that you hated playing for?
Hated playing for? Oh good, I usually get the other one. I hate playing radio festivals. That’s the worst. It sucks! Usually, for the most part it’s always at these dumb, Clear Channel type amphitheater type venues where a lot of people are just sitting down with no atmosphere whatsoever. You’re playing outdoors during the day probably and there’s just no vibe. It’s too open and there’s just no feeling whatsoever. Too much hate, man. I can’t get on a tangent.

Usually it’s all pretty good, as long as people keep an open mind and don’t like to shout for stupid songs. Occasionally, you’ll get the one random punker guy. I’ve learned to ignore them. Back in the early days I would get kind of irate and get stupid. I broke my hand getting in a fight with a kid because he threw some shit at me, and I never did that shit ever again. Just don’t let people get to you. One time in Australia I got pegged in the head with a bottle and I was like fuck it, I’m just gonna keep playing because I knew it was the night of some Australian soccer championship. I knew it was some crazy, pissed off soccer fan and I knew he could kick me to shreds. So I was, like, “I’m just gonna deal with it.” If you don’t call attention to it, usually people will just go on about their business.

How is it playing for a student crowd?
Playing colleges is always a good opportunity to bring your music to people that sometimes wouldn’t often get the chance to hear it. Because usually when you’re so absorbed with studying and probably a lot of partying I would assume as well, the music seems to take a secondary position in your life. Where a nerd like me, all I do is listen to music and pretty much sleep in all day and play music.

Is it a lot different from Warped Tour and headlining shows?
Yeah, I just feel the crowds are a little bit more narrow-minded [at Warped Tour]. I think that Warped Tour is more of a young audience and they already have their mind made up a bit more, whereas colleges are a little bit more collective and willing to listen to more different and daring things.

Do you choose the songs you play based on your audience?
Well for this tour, there are two songs we play in the set because we know people would be bummed if we didn’t play them. Two older songs we’ve been playing for a while that we reinvented in a way with this band that I think come across different so that we still like them. If you play a song a million times you also have to realize that some people will be hearing them for the first time ever. So you might be sick of it and it might not mean anything to you lyrically anymore, but to somebody else it might. I try to be 25% compromise, 75% just us being honest to ourselves and doing what we feel is best. So, overall I think the main thing we stick to is we try to play a set that is comprised of songs
that are lyrically relevant in this point in our lives and try to get more of the story telling of The Ataris across. Nothing that is really too silly because there is some stuff that I wrote when I was way younger and it’s just not really me anymore. We do half new and half old. The old songs I feel had a lot more to say and still fit alongside the new songs we do.