Interview: Invincible Gods
The Invincible Gods is a band that needs no introduction. But, for the people that really enjoy introductions, here’s one anyway: They’re from New Jersey, it’s two dudes and a lady, and they play a truly rad amalgam of punk, garage, and shoegaze, draping everything in the kind of psychedelic goodness that triggers violent acid flashbacks. They recently took some time out of their busy schedule to answer a few of our questions about their creative process, the excellent genes they’ve been blessed with, and Jared Leto’s stint in the Hitler Youth.
Assault.it: You guys are all ridiculously good-looking, yet you don’t include any photos of yourselves with your CD. Isn’t that kind of a missed opportunity?
Sean: Well, we’re also pretty humble – epically humble, in fact. We’re so humble that we didn’t want to go rubbing our extreme gorgeousness in anyone’s face, but thank you. We’re flattered. Next time, we’ll send out pictures and locks of hair.
How did you guys all hook up? I know Nick and Sean have some history together, but what was the genesis of Invincible Gods?
Sean: Well, we’re billions of years old, so it’s actually weird how long it took for us to all meet.
Candace: I’m kinda foggy on the details. I do remember going to one awesome raging house party in LA and waking up 2 weeks later in a van in New Hope, though. At first I thought I was being kidnapped again, but, no, it turns out I just joined a new band.
Sean: Nick and I played together in The Atomic Missiles [as a side note: you can download every A-Missiles song for free @ http://www.reverbnation.com/theatomicmissiles ] for years. We got together in NJ, moved to Brooklyn, and then again to Hollywood, where we eventually split up. That’s also where we met Candace and started jamming together. It was supposed to be just for fun, but it came together so naturally.
Nick: Then we moved back to NJ and fell under the influence of a few cool bands like Screaming Females, Thomas Francis Takes His Chances, The Imperialists, The Sex Zombies, and later, Ben Franklin, A few of those bands have been sort of starting a resurgence of the old streetwave scene.
Candace, according to the press release in my hands, you’re Alaskan. What’s that like?
Candace: I can see Russia from my backyard. I left because I was sick of being chased by giant moose and catching wild lynx, I’m still not quite used to the weather outside of my igloo.
Nick: Alaska has to be the most gnarly place I’ve ever come from. Those are some mean hills up there. Everywhere you turn there is flannel, guns, saloons…. It’s kind of like the Canadian wild west with people riding snow mobiles instead of horses. And there’s bears! Up there those motherfuckers got horns! Everything is extreme.
Sean: Ummm, Nick?
Nick: Yeah?
Sean: You’re from NJ. We grew up together.
Nick: Oh.
What’s your songwriting process? Who brings what to the table?
Sean: Usually, we meditate for thirty to forty minutes in the dungeon before lighting the ceremonial candles and drinking mugs of absinthe. By the time that is over, the song has revealed itself to us and we begin the process of etching it into stone. A lot of times when we tell people that we take a long time writing songs, they think we take a long time coming up with the ideas for songs or for the way that we are going to play them. That simply isn’t true. We are literally carving the songs into granite. It’s not easy. Nick holds the granite over his head, while Candace and I take turns carving words into it. It’s honestly a group effort.
What was the recording process like for Slightly More Ballsy Than Pretentious? It’s pretty short but stylistically elaborate – does that take a lot of time, or is it pretty natural?
Sean: I’d say both. It comes extrememly naturally, but in a band with one guitarist and no bass, it takes a certain amount of time to lay down all of those tracks, no matter what.
Candace: Yeah. But if you subtract all the time we spent playing shows, going to shows, eating, sleeping, watching tv, having parties, cleaning up parties, instructing yoga, posing nude for art classes, watching iMax porno, baking cookies, making up complicated handshakes, talking about streetwave, voodoo zombies, robbing banks, and being hung-over it was actually really short. Like 2 days.
Sean: Not to mention, the temple we rented to record in was filled with snakes and spiders. That took forever to sort out.
I know bands hate to explicitly discuss their influences, but who influences the Invincible Gods?
Sean: A lot of what we do is shaped by people who have influenced us outside of the music world. If it weren’t for Kurt Vonnegut, George Carlin, Aleister Crowley, and other great 20th century minds, we wouldn’t be making the music we are in this new millenium. Musically I think my biggest sources of inspiration are probably The Velvet Underground, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, psychedelic Beatles stuff, and, of course, The Ramones, but I try to listen to other people’s favorite music as much as possible, just to keep my mind open. At this point, I’m just as comfortable listening to Drake, The Grateful Dead, and Taylor Swift as I am with Iggy and The Stooges or The Misfits.
Nick: I think that what we are influenced by plays a little bit bigger role in our music than who. I mean we grew up listening to a lot of punk rock in high school and then later broadened our horizons and really started listening to almost everything. We really just wanted to make awesome punk rock that you can dance too. But most of our songs are really influenced by the experiences of life, the ups and downs, love, parties, religion etc.
Candace: For me, Karen O from the YeahYeahYeahs and Blondie.
30 Seconds to Mars stole your album cover. What the fuck is up with that?
Sean: I keep reading on the internet that Jared Leto is a big fan of ours, but I’ve never met him or anything. It’s weird, we were just sort of minding our own business and then some corporate rock band from Hollywood comes along and vomits at our party.
Nick: That’s not even the worst of it. He entitled it This Is War, declaring war on us. I’d like to put his nuts in a Slap Chop.
Candace: Jared Leto is almost my favorite actor, only after Freddie Prinze Jr. I loved watching him get hacked to pieces in American Psycho.
Sean: I wouldn’t be so offended if they weren’t so godawful. Their music is like easy listening for teenage girls who cut themselves. It makes me feel hopeless. If Andrew W.K. or Jack White stole our album art, we could live with it. But, 30 Seconds to Mars? Just horrible. A lot of people think we hate them because of the Nazi rumors about Jared Leto, or the kiddie porn that people have alleged that 30STM makes, but really, it’s just because of how terrible their music is. We’re not the type of people who go around spreading rumors, you know? I mean, who cares if people say he was in the Hitler Youth? We’re not just going to believe everything people tell us. But even if they are good people, it doesn’t make up for their sonic awfulness.
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Amazing piece, you’re a fantastic writer but what’s up with band you’re interviewing? Honestly, if you want to get far in the music business you have to learn to turn the other cheek at times and step back from the situation. Are you even sure 30 Seconds To Mars stole your album cover? I mean of course it looks similar but have you ever heard of a confidence, it happens all the time. I’m sorry to say this, Invincible Gods… But your little publicity stunt isn’t working, people still don’t know who you are.
I have to agree with Molly. The album covers do look very similar, but have u ever heard of coincedence?
I have never heard of you guys before this interview and bashing 30 Seconds to Mars certainly doesnt make me wanna listen to you. Instead of talking shxt about other bands, you should just make music.
Pretty immature stuff.
Molly, Its true. I stole the cover art.
love me some iGods!
not for nothing but, really? hey molly, if you really want to get far in life, clean the poop out from between your ears and have a listen to this record! i love it. invincible god’s are indeed gods and thanks for turning me onto this band… i hope to hear more soon…
what do you know about making it far in the music business anyhow? jaret leto sucks! die jaret leto .
SUCKS you guys got your album art ripped off.. and by 30 seconds to mars?? Those guys suck a whole bag of dicks!
Fun interview!
I remember the atomic missiles! used to go see them at cbgb back in the day.. what’s up beekeeper!
lol @ molly.. you know who they are now
I heard Jared Leto is hooked on Crush.
its totally kosher to talk shit on a band that sucks as bad a 30stm
I feel like the parents are out of town and they let the kids comment on the interwebz
What is going on here.
Is oswald hobbes commenting on his own post in several names. Jared Leto is my personal Jesus
Awesome music, guys. I’ve never heard of you before this, but the 30 seconds stuff cracked me up. I’m definietly grabbing this on itunes.
P.S. “easy listening for girls who cut themselves” HA!
OMG THE IGODS ARE SO SEXY. It’s not uncommon for people in the crowd to take off all of their clothing in a sexually charged frenzy and throw it on stage.
“After a hot and sticky wait, along with the unveiling of an insipid Disneyland faux-Chinese themed set, 30 Seconds To Mars took the stage to rapturous applause and the beat of operatic masterpiece O Fortuna. A sad reflection on a self-touted musically ‘epic’ band, Jared Leto and co. could not settle on an opening song of their own creation. The lighting and smoke effects, luckily, came to the rescue. Jared, imposing himself on the stage and audience, was draped in formal quasi-military uniform and would have looked the part in >>>Hitler’s Youth Movement.<<< " – http://www.last.fm/music/Jared+Leto/+journal
I was propositioned by Jared Leto in a filthy gas station restroom in Hoboken.
Jared Leto dishonoured my name, as he knew it would ring perfect and commanding thru the hallow’d halls of the entertainment industry.
He also cheated me when we played Foosball in the fall of 2007.
HEARTS! <3 <3 <3 xoxoxo
awesome interview, everything i would have expected from you three! all my love to you guys!!!!!!
i heard that the album cover is actually stolen from survivor
the igods make my pussy wet
nick the drummer from the igods is the hottest guy in middlesex county
bull****
admit it invisable gods ur fcukin jealous they are selling out their tour venues and no one in england has heard of ur sorry asses.
if u don’t like someone keep ur mouths shut, some of the stuff u said was out of order and completely wrong.
GROW UP!!
Jared Leto has inverted nipples and wears a hibiscus in his hair when he thinks nobody is looking.
every ignorant fuck who feels the undying need to bash the igods can suck on my ding dang like the world is going to end tomorrow. you have no idea what you’re talking about, so get in line for the mouth punching because i’m making necklaces out of all your teeth, bitches.
I just want everybody to know we are working our contacts here in the office as hard as humanly possible to get an interview with Jared Leto. Apparently 30STM is out of the country right now so we can’t get on it immediately, but we’re gonna keep pushing, and the evildoers should consider themselves pretty much smokes out of their holes.
The iGods suck.
flame on
That just makes you look stupid. Where’s my fuckin’ avatar?
I forgot to mention it’s the year of the tiger, maybe that’s why the album covers look the same. It’s a shame when people don’t do their research before opening their arrogant mouths.
Hey Molly? You’re really hung up on this, huh? Are you that other Leto that no one cares about?
Ha! 30STM are the worst band I’ve heard in a decade.