In this titillating episode, Oswald talks to Decortica frontman Mathew Bosher about New Zealand, the band’s latest album Love Hotel (which you can download for free here), the ’80s, and Billy Corgan.

More Decortica:

• MySpace
• Official Site
• Facebook
• Vimeo

In this most special of episodes (no, seriously, it is quite special!) Oswald interviews rock ‘n’ roll legend Coley Kennedy. They talk about his voice, how he writes songs, and why he can’t get any traction on the radio. Interspersed are some tracks from Mr. Kennedy’s various projects. If you’ve never heard this dude, you are missing out on just about everything great.

Coley Kennedy:

• Welcome To Ashley
• Coley Kennedy & The Warm Regards
• Candy Apple + The Buddies
• Download “End Of The Line” from WTA’s Beyond The Pale for free

Hey, it’s another interview! This time Oswald focuses his question laser on Alicia Dara, of Seattle’s The Volcano Diary, and turns it up to 11, asking some typically hard-hitting questions about what her new album is like, how she made it, and whether there are still grunge bands wandering around in the Pacific Northwest. You don’t want to miss this fabulous installment of America’s Favorite Podcast, Audio Assault!

For more info on The Volcano Diary, go here or here.

In this exciting new episode of Audio Assault, Oswald talks to Jim Hanke of the phenomenal Chicago band Kid, You’ll Move Mountains. They discuss songwriting, opening for the Dismemberment Plan, Milwaukee vs. Chicago, and trying to get Justin Bieber to join the band at Summerfest. All in all, it’s exactly what you’ve been waiting for your entire life.

Kid, You’ll Move Mountains:

• Official Site
• MySpace
• Facebook
• Jim interviews Eric Axelson of Dismemberment Plan for Sock Monkey Sound

On this fascinating new episode of Audio Assault, the three distinguished gentlemen discuss Conan, Scott Pilgrim, and Alison Brie. Also included is the electrifying conclusion of our interview with Benjamin Grigg from Geronimo!.

(Check out Geronimo!’s MySpace, buy their album here, and vote for them as The Deli’s Chicago Artist Of The Month. You can also check out their new video for “Design Yourself A Heart” here, or watch them performing some classic Rage Against the Machine songs at a recent Halloween show.)

Between his time as a possible contender for single man of the year, and posing for various Chicago magazines, Shawn Hilgart is doing what a lot of our visitors to Assault.it are doing–listening to music, designing websites for bands and clothing lines, and laying down code for Chicago idea house, We Cant Stop Thinking.

In the past, he’s done work for Friends Or Enemies, Fall Out Boy, Clandestine Industries, Empires, The Academy Is…, Q101, Plain White T’s, Boys Like Girls, Warner Brothers, and Patagonia. We Cant Stop Thinking recently launched The Music Trust, a collective of high profile DJs and artists.

Assault.it: How’d you get started in actionscript and php?

Shawn Hilgart: I got started with actionscript after being a designer at a small shop in the suburbs of Chicago, and being required to use it for projects. I got into php when I got thrown into a fire learning it when I started developing the friendsorenemies.com online community.

What are your major responsibilities at We Cant Stop Thinking?

There are so many – where do I even start? I guess day to day I am programming about 5-6 hours of the day, and the rest of the day is managing clients, making sure everyone gets paid on time, trying to improve our process, project managing. You name the job, I’m probably doing it.

Is WCST ahead of the times a bit when it comes to interactive design? (My last job used to basically just plop PSDs of designs in front of us and say build it with absolutely no specs or functionality documents of any kind – have you ever had that happen?)

I would like to think we have a pretty good process here. I think the scope of the projects you do really affects the process. When we first started it was trial by fire – my partner Nick would design something, I would slice and code it up. Now we have different phases. We research the competition, do information architecture, wireframes, and then design. Once you get a psd, you also get nice IA docs to back up that design. Having IA really helps. It allows you to see all the paths a user can take spelled out in a clear form. Another benefit of this process is the whole team gets all this time to think about how to make the project better for the user through each phase. Of course we’re not perfect, and some projects just need to get done. Then I get a PSD just put into my drop box and the real fun begins.

When it comes to breaking down something you’ve seen to try and recreate it yourself in actionscript, what’s the process?  (I know this is old, but this site is one I always use as a benchmark for design and you replicated it: http://www.iamalwayshungry.com/VERS7/)

First off, that site is amazing, I remember first seeing it and being taken back by how smooth it ran. Over the last 2 years I’ve developed a collection of home grown classes that I have been using to put together my flash sites. So when it comes to breaking down a site I first think about what chunks of code I have laying around that are similar. So in this case I think of different navigations I have done, and if I have any drag-and-drop or image tiling libraries. If I don’t have something around,I will start to craft a specific library for that task. I try and code everything in reusable classes if possible. Once I have all the parts I just start to combine them into a way that works. I think replicating a site is much easier than creating a new one – you can have the perfect block of code, but when clients start to make changes it can get really scrambled. All of a sudden your vision for that code is destroyed. On another note I have never been much one for swf decompilers, just copy and pasting code. That won’t really teach you the lessons of going through the process in your head.

I saw you’ve done some work with Empires, one of my favorite local bands. Can you describe what other kind of work you’ve done as it relates to the music business?

I really started out developing when E-cards were huge – every band wanted an E-card, and every label wanted to pay for one. So that’s kinda where I started getting some flash skills animating and pulling all these external content feeds. My partner Nick played in bands when he was younger,and we both have friends in bands so it just came naturally to be in that industry. We don’t do so much music stuff anymore. Just here and there, normally to help out a friend.

What’s been the most challenging piece of actionscript/php you’ve put together in terms of complexity?

I built this touchscreen wall out of a projector, IR leds, and some cameras, so this was electrical wiring nad coding. It was fun. I haven’t taken it out in a while but it was complex in terms of logic and execution. The code was all in as3 and it could turn any surface into a touch surface which was pretty rad.

What piece of your work are you most proud of that people may not even know you worked on?

I worked on this piece for Patagonia called “the footprint.” It was this complicated flash piece that mapped out all the places your clothing travelled before it got to your door. It got tons of press and won a couple awards. It was a great team to work with and I ended up laying down close to 95% of the code for the original.

There was a time when I thought flash was the glue between the web and television becoming a completely interactive experience when it came to UI and architecture of websites and mobile devices in general. It seems, though, that since JQuery became so popular, this may never happen. Do you see interactive and motion graphics ultimately overtaking the static html/js/jquery-based world anytime in the future?

I will be careful with my words here as to not start a flash vs. html5 fanboy riot. I don’t think html5 will inch out the demand for flash. I think html5 is coming to do the same tasks that flash pioneered 4 years ago when video on the web really started exploding. We could always play video without flash in html – you may recall the object tag that let you play quicktimes, right? So while the html 5 spec is getting ironed out, the problem I see is, it’s not a browser plugin, but rather part of the browser. So if html 5 can do what flash can do currently, what will flash be up to in 5-10 years before we see html 6? I think Adobe’s ability to push a new plugin version to users lets them move quickly on new tech, and html will once again be stuck catching up.

I’ve heard Steve Jobs called Adobe lazy–is it Adobe or Apple that’s the real culprit behind why we can’t get really any sort of flash on our iPhones? Do you think Flash will ever make it’s way onto the iPhone?

I don’t think flash will make it on to the iPhone or iPad. I think that Adobe and Apple each have their own agendas right now, and I believe that will hurt designer/developer loyalties to Apple. Adobe certainly has its work cut out for them but with cs5 being able to compile to iPhone apps, I think the concern over flash being on the actual device doesn’t concern me as much.

I’ve always said that Macromedia Flash was like Skynet–as soon as someone finds a way to exploit it, we’re all fucked because it seems to be installed on everything. Is there any validity to that?

I am sure there is some validity to those claims, but slightly exaggerated. There are so many variables that go into making a piece of software and one that runs in multiple browsers across multiple operating systems with very little system requirements. Also your plugin can only be as secure as the OS it runs on.

Vampires or zombies?

Zombies. Giving blood doesn’t sound as bad as having my brains eaten.

What’s one place you go for inspiration besides the internet?

I listen to music all the time and walk everywhere. It gives me tons of time to think and come up with ideas.

Are there any websites you visit on a regular basis within the design/development community?

I keep up with my flash news on theflashblog.com. I also read this blog called yewknee.com, it’s great for Friday videos and design/html/ajax stuff. Also a whole mess of gadget and tech blogs.

Are you working on anything major right now that you’d like to share?

I can tell you I have been working on the same project for months now, so it’s big one. It will be one of the most complex builds I have got the chance to lead and is using just about every scripting language out there. But that’s all I can really say!

Anyone who’s lived in the South knows that if you’re not a country band, metal band, or rapper–that there’s really no scene for your particular genre of music. If you plucked Newamerica (formerly The Discover Radio) out of Clarksville and plopped them into the local pop-punk scene in any big city there’s no doubt they’d fit right in.

Assault.it: I noticed you guys are from Clarksville, Georgia. If Georgia is anything like I remember (I went to school at SCAD) then it probably sucks in that area. Have you had luck touring locally in your area, and if so, what’s the scene like in that region of the country?

Jared: Yeah, Georgia seems to get a pretty bad reputation – not only for its lack of a defined music scene, but also for its lack of. . . well, things to do. We are from Clarkesville. We don’t kid ourselves like a lot of Georgia pop/punkers and say we’re from the ATL. We’re not that cool. But I think we like that about us – it fits. We’re just some honest kids who do what we can musically, and then hang out and do the whole small-town thing in the meantime. I guess we are what we seem to be – not trying to be city kids with bright purple shirts with monsters on them. Just normal, small-town kids. As far as the music scene goes, there isn’t really one – at least for our genre. And the bands that are in it, we’re not really into. This has probably been good for us though, allowing us to define our own sound and mature at our own pace.

If you had to pick your biggest influences as a band, who would it be and why?

Alex: We have a lot of different individual influences. Some bands that have definitely influenced us as a whole are Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory, The Get Up Kids, Jimmy Eat World, and Brand New.

Assault.it: I noticed that your MySpace didn’t have any tour dates on it–any plans to totour in the near future? Are there any other bands in your area you’d like to tour/play with?

Joel: Well, as of now, we’re in the studio for a few more weeks (which we’re super stoked about), we are beginning to book for the month of March and we’ll be doing mini tours throughout the spring to build up some hype about the band. We like to think that this is a new era for the band so we’re making sure that everything is sort of ‘ in-tune so we can take Georgia as a whole instead of bits and pieces. We’re currently booking a 3 week summer tour that’ll be all the way up the East coast. As far as bands in our area, there aren’t too many as it is. They’re either metal or country. So I’m going to have to say, as of now, we’re in the works of building a scene for this area.

Seems to me like you guys were early adopters into the pop-punk scene–any ideas where your music is headed next? Will you be at the forefront of the next major shift in the punk/rock genre?

Jared: We like to think that we were kind of part of this incredible scene from the beginning – well, as much as we could be for being our age. As far as where the direction our music is heading – it’s hard to say exactly, but I do know it will not be electronic. We did that whole thing, it got wore out, so we’re out. I think just solid pop/punk-genuine pop/punk – a genre that has been messed with and messed up by so many bands these days that it’s almost lost the very thing that attracted us to it in the beginning – that’s what we’re hoping for at least! We’ll see! I think we have the potential to redirect the scene, but we’re still learning ourselves (and I mean that doubly).

Can you walk us through the process in which you create songs from concept to actualization, especially the song writing process?

Alex: We don’t really have a set way of writing our songs. Usually either Jared will start the process with something he wrote on the guitar, or it starts with a melody or lyrics on Joel’s end. Once the song idea has been thought out, we add drums, bass, more guitar, and lead. It’s nothing too complicated but it seems to work out well.

What separates you from the rest of the bands out there on the scene now?

Jared: I think the biggest thing that separates us from the rest of the bands in the scene right now is the fact that we actually have a genuine sincerity for the scene. We’ve grown up in it and kind of know the history of it – so our appreciation goes deeper than the All Time Low rip-off band’s. That and the fact that we are pretty nice guys – we don’t think higher of ourselves than anyone else. We listen to every band we play with, whether it’s four hours before our set, or four hours after. We care about people, we care about the scene, and we just want to get as much out of this as we can. Also, we’re not trying to hook up with any of the desperate-for-attention girls that feed off the scene at the shows.

If we were to give everyone to read this article $3, what would you have them do with it?

Alex: I’d say buy some songs from our EP! Or buy some songs from other local bands who could really use the money.

If everyone we gave $3 was forced to buy songs form your album, what 3 would you say were your best and why?

Joel: Jeez, this is a tough one. Well, I really don’t know. We’ve changed so much since we’ve recorded those songs. I’d feel weird recommending those songs to anyone now that we’ve started recording our new stuff. But I’d say “I’ve Got You,” “Raising the Bar,” and “What’s Missing.” But I’d definitely tell them our new stuff is something to look out for!

Is there anyone you wouldn’t want to listen to your music?

Jared: Of course not! I want everyone to listen to us! Metalheads and gangsta-thugs alike. All are wanted.

On a dream tour, who would you be playing with? Who would be your openers?

Jared: Dream tour: Paramore (those guys are legit people), Hellogoodbye (preferably with the old members because they were hilarious), You Me and Everyone We Know (maybe the best EP of all time), and either Jimmy Eat World, Panic!, or FOB, just ’cause. I can’t imagine any of them opening for us. They are such good role models.

Have you had any interest from record labels? What would be your dream label to sign to?

Joel: Well, we’re working on some new stuff for several labels. We’d love to be a part of Fueled By Ramen, Doghouse, Epitaph, and Fearless.  We don’t have an interest in the majors. We aren’t in this for the money. We love music and the people who love ours. Indie labels are where it’s at.

Have you had any crazy ideas to help market yourselves? (Such as secret shows, an impromptu show in a mall, or dropping your cds in stores on your own.)

Alex: One day, after Different & We Know It had just been released, we went to the mall to try and sell some CDs but ended up handing them out more than selling them. Back in high school I used to walk around the halls selling them to my friends or whoever I thought would by one.

It seems like you guys go way back as friends and aren’t just band buds–have any crazy stories that happened when you were younger, or while you were in the band?

Jared: Yes we do! Joel, Jordan, and Jared are family, so we have thousands of stories about our ridiculously awesome family times. And we know Jo from playing in a church youth band in middle school. One thing that I think most people will find hilarious – and they may get mad at me for saying – is that Joel and Alex met each other after Alex started dating Joel’s ex, then were on the same rec. basketball team.

Alex: There’s been so many crazy, awesome times. The funniest time was probably after one of our shows us and a bunch of our friends went to Steak & Shake. Joel was dared to drink from his coke using a cigarette as a straw. One of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.

Joel: Well, to set the record straight, Alex and I met before he dated my ex, which is even worse. But I think, like Jared said, we all go so far back that we’re truly all like family.  Sometimes we fuss, complain, and push each other around, but there isn’t really ever any band drama. We all have each others backs.  We’re like the Jersey Shore group in a way. I’m Mike, Jared’s Pauly D, Alex is Vinny, Jordan would be Ronny, and Jo would be Angelina (but mainly ’cause he has been here for the shortest of time).  No, we don’t all live on the beach, we’re not super tan, we don’t wear sleeveless shirts or use hair product, but we do try and make something fun out of every situation that gets thrown our way. One time, when we played with Sparks the Rescue, there was this crazy, rabid dog in someone’s car, and Pat (Sparks), Jared, and I took turns taking people to see the dog. When they got close to the window, the thing went crazy. It’s one of those, you had to be there, kind of things. But you really can’t ever tell what might happen next. We’re a pretty fun group though.    

Newamerica:

• MySpace
• Twitter

It’s no secret that we love the Swellers here at the Assault offices – their latest record, 2009′s Ups & Downsizing, provided us with plenty of inspiration during long coffee-fueled nights of writing reviews and hammering out tutorials. So it was a real honor when lead Sweller Nick Diener graciously consented to answering a few questions for us via e-mail while taking a much-deserved break from the road.

AssaultBLOG: What’s the typical journey for a Swellers song from conception to actualization?

Nick Diener: Jonathan and I are the songwriters. We’ll have a riff, a chorus, sometimes a whole song’s music just happening in our heads. We bring it to each other, and if we like it, we keep it. If we sorta like it, we trash it. That’s probably why it takes us like a year to write 6 songs. We rarely have “extra” songs to play around with. Sometimes it’ll take 9 months to get a song right, sometimes it’ll take 9 minutes. Either way, usually lyrics come last, to make sure they’re exactly presented how we want them.

Being on an indie label, do you have to meet certain expectations, or do you get free reign? For instance, is there any pressure to deliver a song that “sounds” like a single?

FBR [Fueled By Ramen] has been great and believes in us 100%. We recorded our album and paid for it ourselves before we even got signed. I’m sure they’d like us to do well and get huge and have a big radio jam some day, but they know we’re a punk band and not to tell us what to do!

How important do you consider traditional measures of success, such as sales and radio play?

Sales are very important because the numbers are what get good things for bands. The higher the numbers you have, the better the tours, the more money to make touring easier, etc. Sales are down like 99% from what they used to be, though. If you’ve sold 100,000 records, it means probably 2 million have already downloaded it for free. Only weirdos listen to the radio, but hey, it helps.

How do you keep the equation of “career” and “calling” properly balanced? How has the work-to-fun ratio changed as the band has become more popular?

Good question. I think it just kind of happened. As more people started coming to shows and we got on bigger tours, there was more money going around. We went from breaking even, to making enough to “get by” and keep touring. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I can live, just from playing in this band. But I don’t live very extravagantly. I try not to buy expensive things. Just food! It’s a lot more fun, now, actually, than it used to be, because we don’t have to worry about so many things, like will we eat today? Will we have enough gas money to get home? It’s a lot more relaxed. We’re working even harder though now too!

Being on the road so much, are you able to balance your personal life with band business? Is it hard to normalize when you finally get home?

Very hard to normalize when I get home. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do when I’m home. I’m made to play songs and tour. It’s good to see friends, girlfriends, family, and everyone else for awhile though.

What lessons have you learned from being on the road with heavy-hitters like Paramore and Less Than Jake? And is that level of popularity scary or inspiring?

The Paramore and Less Than Jake tours were both two of the biggest tours we’ve done, but they were also very different tours. Paramore plays to mostly “concert-goers” and Less Than Jake plays to “punk rock fans”. Very different people, very different staff and crews on the tour, but both did great things for our band and we loved hanging out with everybody on both. Definitely makes us want to keep working up to that point.

At your shows you talk about playing in real bands with real instruments. Any idea why kids nowadays are more likely to pick up a video game controller than a guitar? What got you started playing music?

Video games are easier than real life, in every aspect. A video game costs less than a real guitar, too. My bro and I started playing music together when we were 9 and 10, so it’s all i’ve known for 13 years. Never went with the trends of what was popular.. just played rock music from day one. Still am, just in front of more people than just my parents. I picked up a guitar so I could play Nirvana songs.

It’s no secret that you and your brother are straight-edge vegans. What made you decide to be straight edge and vegan?

I don’t like the idea of not being able to drive. I don’t like the idea of spending money on drinks that taste like shit. I don’t like the idea of my breath smelling like white trash. I don’t like the idea of contributing to animals being killed for selfish reasons. Hence, the vegan straight edge. Makes me feel good.

You’ve opened for Paramore, Less Than Jake, and pretty soon you’ll be opening for Motion City Soundtrack, is there one band that you haven’t opened up for that you’d like to?

Weezer, Green Day, Jimmy Eat world, Foo Fighters, NOFX, Get Up Kids. I’d like to be with those guys.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given by another band or person in the music industry?

It was from Bill Stevenson when we toured with Only Crime. He was in Black Flag and the Descendants. He said that no matter how many kids are in the crowd that night, even if it’s two, they still could have done ANYTHING they wanted that night, and they came to see your band. So give them a hell of a show.

When you guys start headlining, who are the bands you’d like to have opening up?

A band called Heartsounds from California. Living With Lions, A Wilhelm Scream, Broadway Calls, Cheap Girls from Michigan, just to name a few!

Besides getting boners to stop from having to pee while driving, what are some other crazy/weird/funny things that have happened to you and the guys while on the road?

I just think its crazy, weird, and funny that anyone would like us or our music enough to put a poster of us on their wall. We’re just weirdo kids who play rock songs. Makes me really happy, though. There are too many random and weird moments to really pick just one.. but I think it’s nuts how much we actually drive. Brutal.

I know you guys just came out with a new CD, but are you planning on coming out with anything else in the near future?

Not really the near future, but hopefully early to mid 2011 will be our next record release. Can’t wait. Already writing it.

What’s the end game for The Swellers? At what point can you say, “yup, we’ve done it all now.”

I think the second we stop growing is the second I’ll start thinking of wrapping things up. Don’t wanna beat a dead horse.

(Additional reporting by Third World Timmy.)

I’m sure most people have in one way or another heard of Puddle of Mudd. If there was one thing I surely wasn’t going to pass up, being a wannabe rock star myself, it’s interviewing a band that has done it all: partied, toured virtually nonstop, and most importantly, been successful doing so. (8 million records sold to all you haters out there.) I got a chance to talk to them on the phone about their strange stories as well as ask them a few questions about their new album, Songs in the Key of Love & Hate.

Link opens in iTunes

Since the guys had already done 35-40 interviews, I decided to pepper them with questions like, “Is it true you had the Puddle of Mudd logo on condoms at one point?“, but I also decided to grind out a few details about how the band chooses an opening band, as well as ask them why bands don’t party like they use to. Check out the full interview download below, or just check out a few of the highlights.

Have you explored any alternate release strategies, and how has the internet changed the playing field?

(Label Dude responded) For this album we are doing a direct to consumer strategy as part of the option, so there will be special packages that the fans can buy where the band will be signing the booklets, and they’ll get an exclusive shirt. So we are employing a different, more direct to the fan relationship with this album, but we will be going through all the various retail outlets including iTunes.

Wes Scantlin: We did do a thing off of our previous record where we put a golden ticket in  one of our records and this chick from… I don’t even know where she lived but her and a bunch of her friends got to come out in their own tour bus with us for a week. Although, I was the only one who would hang out with them the whole time. The rest of the guys in the band didn’t even like, talk to ‘em. [laughs]

Ryan Yerdon: We were debating doing that on this album, but not actually putting the golden ticket in

Wes Scantlin: Yea, and then no one will ever find it.

Ryan Yerdon: And then we were just going to give it to our guitar player Paul’s girlfriend so she can come out and be with us for a week.

Wes Scantlin: I was just going to say that I got it so I can get another tour bus for a week. [laughter]

What do you look for in an opening band?

Wes Scantlin: Alot of the time you want to have a couple of bands that are rolling with you that have got some heat, VH1, MTV, alot of radio airplay–stuff like that, and then ya know give some not so fortunate people. Ya know, cut one band some slack, the ones rolling in a van, slugging it out out there and give somebody else a chance to play in front of your crowd–the ones that don’t really have a deal or anything like that.

Ryan Yerdon: It’s the combination of a band that doesn’t have a deal, but your shit’s kinda cool so we’ll take you with us, and the other stuff is a band that will bring a few more people to the show.

Best place to play?

Wes Scantlin: Man, every city has their own little personality. I kinda like playing a smaller, b-market city, where you’re kinda rolling through a little town and you’re the party, showing up with an awesome show, and there’s nothing else going on in town. Everybody in the whole town is coming cause it’s the weekend–kids, families, picnic baskets, blankets, it’s like a day out for the family–everybody comes.

Ryan Yerdon: As long as the crowd is good and the energy is there then I don’t care if it’s in a club or an outdoors show or an indoor show. If people are excited to see us, that makes it a good show, and a favorite place to be.

Wes Scantlin: I like it when little kids show up and they’re like 8, 9, or ten years old, and it’s their first show and they’re having a blast, like the first blast of their life. Then you get to meet them later and give ‘em high fives and they’re totally in show and just loving it.

Ryan Yerdon: We bring kids on stage, Wes always invites the kids up on stage. We did a show a few weeks ago in Seattle, and this kid came up on stage and he stayed there for like 3 or 4 songs

Wes Scantlin: He was just kind of jamming dude. Most of the time they get up there and they’re like shocked, like “WOAAAAH!” This kid was just like let’s rock!

Ryan Yerdon: Yea this kid was up there for like 3 or 4 songs, dancing, making faces, so that made that a great show.

West Scantlin: It’s a good thing cause I was hammered that night, and I caught some shit for it.

Ryan Yerdon: No you weren’t.

West Scantlin: No… I wasn’t.

Do you party? What’s the wildest thing you’ve had happen

Ryan Yerdon: Well the craziest things we’ve had happen can’t really be shared. It’s like a band of brothers but…

Wes Scantlin: There was something that had to do with a banana getting inserted in a weird thing and actually exploding.

Ryan Yerdon: It wasn’t pretty.

Wes Scantlin: It was really weird man…. We’re pretty mellow right now, but you should have caught us back in the day when we were a bit crazier. Now it’s just mellow man. We just sit in the back of the bus and see who can drink the most beer till like 3 or 4 in the morning.

It doesn’t seem like you get too much of that partying anymore nowadays. Vegan/Straight-edge rock seems to be picking up momentum…

Wes Scantlin: There’s this thing in the record business now called the, “No Tolerance Clause” where they’ll just pull the plug on you if you get too fucked up. Which has happened to me. [laughs]

What was the best part about playing for the troops in Iraq?

Ryan Yerdon: I have to say the best thing is just seeing the faces of the soldiers after we got done playing. We do a meet and greet with everybody, and it seems like it was a really high percentage of the people that watched the show actually stay and came up to us and we signed things for them and they were so thankful. It all made sense in that moment looking at those guys saying, thank you guys for coming here, and we really need your support. Just hanging out with all those guys and playing for them–they made it worth it worth it when we got there. We kinda thought we were crazy to do it.

West Scantlin: I think the hardest thing about playing was seeing the young 18 year old soldiers who’ve had their arms or legs blown off, especially when they’re there with their family, or girlfriends or whatever, that’s definitely the hardest part about playing for the troops. They still have a good attitude about it, but it’s the saddest thing to have to see someone who’s just a kid that’s just blown to bits that’s still alive–who’s going to have to go and get prosthetics and shit. That’s the hardest thing about it. It just sucks to see that kind of shit.

What’s the most outrageous thing Puddle of Mudd has had their logo on?

Wes Scantlin: Yea we had condoms for awhile, and it was kinda strange cause my bass player Doug was embarrassed that I had made the condoms, and I’d just be throwing them out into the crowd, jokingly, and he took like 750 of them, and took them to his house and threw them away because he thought it was embarrassing to the band to have condoms. So he took them and threw them away. Yea, and I paid for them–so he’s basically throwing my shit down the drain.

…I like to go bare-back style.

Advice for guys getting started that are still playing local shows in one region?

Wes Scantlin: The only advice I can really throw out is practice your craft, and your writing ability. Don’t expect someone to come walking up to your front door with a record contract–ever. You gotta get out there and fight for it and get your music to the right people. Fortunately, we have the internet now, and we got the MySpace, the Youtubes, Facebook, so you can use that to your benefit, and uhhh… pray.

Get Puddle of Mudd music:

Download the full interview:

Puddle of Mudd Interview (mp3)

Puddle of Mudd have a new album out today (December 8th, 2009) called Volume 4: Songs in the Key of Love & Hate which you can purchase on iTunes.

More Puddle of  Mudd

Behind the scenes to Puddle of Mudd’s music video to their first single, Spaceship. (Link opens in iTunes)

Tour:Smart and Break the Band by Martin Atkins, a must read for bands about to go on the road

I’ve never been in a band, and I’ve never been a producer or groupie, and I’ve never had what it takes to make it in a band. (Albeit my expert level singing and drumming skills on Rock Band) Lucky for those of you looking to embark on your first tour, there is an incredibly detailed guide on how to do it the right way. The book is called, Tour:Smart and Break the Band. The book was written by Chicago’s own Martin Atkins, and it outlines how to plan, manage and execute a successful tour on any level.

If you haven’t heard of Martin, you’ve surely heard of the bands he has played in including PiL, The Killing Joke, Ministry, and even Nine Inch Nails.

Without going to much into the details of the book,  (It’s nearly 600 pages!) let’s just say that the book covers every single aspect of touring, all the way down to groupies, alcohol, drugs, screen printing, and using spreadsheets! I was recently lucky enough to ask Martin a few questions about the biz, and his book via email.

Tim: I read a quote from you where you mentioned that education was the new thing that drives the creative fire in your mind — something along those lines. Can you tell me a little bit about your school and yourself? What made you decide to start it?

Martin Atkins: Well, I started playing drums when I was nine, started drinking Newcastle Brown Ale and backing strippers at 11 or 12! I joined PiL [Public Image Ltd.] in 1979, performed on the seminal Metal Box album and the next four or so with them over the next 5 years. Then Killing Joke, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and Damage Manual. I started the label Invisible Records 20 years ago, built a recording studio, produced a bunch of stuff from Gravity Kills to Skinny Puppy; then, started teaching, went to China, made a documentary, and realized that the book they were using at Columbia for the Business of Touring class was written in 1962! So, I wrote Tour:Smart, then started to revamp a bunch of the courses there. Applied Marketing was a ton of work, but I’m really pleased with the results. I’m working on Band:Smart, the sequel to Tour:Smart, and another 16 days in China amongst many, many other things — and I have four young boys!

I decided to start the school because I saw a need for real world stuff in the classroom. I pitched the people at Columbia several times on allowing me to just bring all of my businesses up there: Label, book publishing, studio, music publishing, film production and all of that — but they didn’t seem to think it was a good idea. So, like I usually do, I just did it! Education — or, more correctly, the relationship and the conundrum of trying to show people an unexpected spark — really gets me going. I’ve loved teaching since the moment I started and I love trying to make my lectures entertaining — otherwise what’s the point?

The possibilities within this are huge and I find myself very excited to see what the future holds.

Tim: Your book is one of the most comprehensive guides I’ve ever read — of any kind. If you could write a second book, what would it be about? Post economic meltdown/apocalyptic zombie outbreak touring for dummies?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzNjmIWbns4

MA: Well thanks! I have nearly finished Band:Smart and, along the way, I’ve put 12,000 words down for the Killing Joke book and I’m working on the PiL one, and a new cool marketing book, too. I do need to get on the Zombie bandwagon, though!

Tim: What are a few of the indicators that it’s time to go on a band’s first nationwide tour? Should they be making money already locally? Should they have a good seed of money saved up?

MA: I think bands should let this stuff evolve organically. Get out to the next set of cities 20, 40 miles out — where fans might travel to see the larger shows; see the five-pointed star inward facing crush strategy! Keep heading out of town in a flower petal pattern. I like to say, “Returning home just in time to fall asleep at their day job!”…but seriously, that’s how hard you need to push it.

Don’t give up your day job until you are on the point of getting fired. And yes, a band should be able to go from a show with 10 people to 40 to 100 to 200 — something like that. If you can’t do that in amongst your local markets, then what makes you think you can do it 400 miles from home where you don’t know anyone? Can’t score any deals or free beer or a bunch of free copies because your mate works at Kinkos, ditto Starbucks etc., etc.

Tim: One of the most profound parts of the book Tour:Smart to me was the fact that running a tour was just like running any small business. The one item that stuck out to me was the use of spreadsheets! How important is it to be organized and keep track of your finances and information when running a tour or a small business?

MA: Well, it’s important — and it definitely fits into that category of not magic, but attention to this stuff enables more crazy magic to happen. For instance, when you start to track random crazy stuff, you learn — let’s say in the case of the sizes of the shirts you have sold. Maybe when you look at the information after 30 shows, you realize that the only size of shirts you sell are L and XL. So, you can stop making the dozen or so small and mediums that you have been wasting money on. Small stuff like that really start to add up.

Same thing with the guest list: Put it on a spreadsheet and take a printer out on the road with you. You can alphabetize and pump up the size of the font at the last minute to make sure — or try to — that there isn’t a problem. Easy shit to avoid, costly and time consuming to try and repair.

Tim: What advice would you give to a band that has a member that is “holding the band back”?

MA: Fire their ass immediately, or give me their phone number now and I’ll do it for you. There is so much working against you that if you know something isn’t right, you have to take care of it — because, rest assured, there are 10 other things fucking up your chances that you don’t know about.

Tim: If there was one gig that a band must take and one that they should avoid at all costs what would they be?

The venue that is too large: Don’t persuade yourself that you are big enough to fill it — you aren’t!

And the show for no money on a rainy Tuesday night at the last-minute because another band needs the help — and to borrow half of your equipment, and as many members of your audience as they can — and can you help with their van? And can they sleep at your house? But there’s no money and you have to play at 6:30 and don’t get a sound check — and you could pack that place on your own. If someone blesses you with the opportunity to do them a really big favor — then do it! This is a small world and what goes around, comes around — for sure.

Tim: What are your top three must do’s for a band trying to get exposure? Having an electronic press kit? Playing as many shows as possible? Having a quality EP? Merchandise?

MA: Err, you got it. And remember that free is the new black — give stuff away, treat your fans like they were your best friends — they are!

Tim: You had a great entry in Tour:Smart about getting sponsorships. Do you have any advice for companies trying to get their clothing to musicians they align their brand with? Is it a sound investment for smaller companies?

You have to be careful, but — as I say to bands — free is the new black. I have a bunch of ideas for you, but if you target national acts halfway through their tour and show up with some free — and clean! — shirts, then you will be heroes and the band and crew will wear your stuff for the next week!

Affliction put special, nice pillowcases on all of the pillows in Austin for South by Southwest. That was cool, and probably cost a bit, but there are ways to accomplish stuff like that without breaking the bank.

Tim: With Assault, we measure down to the penny sometimes with what we spend our money on. We try to do everything that we possibly can ourselves — see photography, web design, shirt design, accounting, SEO + online marketing, blogging, etc. etc. If there is an expense that’s worth paying for for bands playing relatively often on the local scene, what would it be?

MA: OK, in certain circumstances a buy on to a larger show can be a great idea — it can also be the worst waste of money. But, once again, if a band keeps good records of their sales and attendance — not how many people you wish were at the show, but the real numbers — then you can extrapolate and make decisions based on better facts rather than no facts.

I don’t mean this to sound like a plug for me — because I’m silly busy anyway — but a few bands have brought me in for a few hours or a day to really analyze what they are doing and consult to them on what they are doing right and wrong. Sometimes they are surprised when I call them out on some rock star bullshit or studio elitism stuff, or just their fears. I get to reinforce the good ideas, accelerate them, pour gasoline on them — and put ice down the pants of the insane, distracting shit that many bands surround themselves with, immerse themselves in. And, compared to losing everything — your love of music, your credit rating, your friends, your van and your partner — I’m cheap as fuck!

Tim: If there was one or two careers that would really help you supplement a career in music — as most parents would want for their aspiring musicians — what would it be? I wrote a post on this a while back and someone suggested “car mechanic” — I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t thought of that.

MA: Yeah, mechanic is great. Studio person, logistics, web, PR, screen printing — anything — welding, culinary, all of that stuff comes in handy. Xbox modding, hair cutting, tattoo — it’s all great shit and the more skills, the more chances you have of tapping into a new audience and involving them in your music.

Tim: Of all the touring you’ve done, which tour was the most fun and why?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTs5SoOteQQ

MA: Well, it seem like it’s the ones from way back. PiL across the USA in 1981 when we did American Bandstand — they still play it in Europe! I was very young and drunk, and speeding through most of it. I had no clue how much it all cost — none of us did really — but, 30 years later, it seems like it was fun.

Parts of Ministry was fun. Lots of Killing Joke. From a drumming point of view, I was at the height of my game — I did Pigface, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Killing Joke and Murder, Inc. all in a mad two-year period. I was drumming all the time.

Pigface was just fantastic in the breadth of the onstage experience: Sitars, cello, harp, belly dancers — Danny Carey from Tool!

I liked touring Europe with Killing Joke — Madrid, Barcelona — oh yeah! — and Japan and Australia.

I guess, every minute of it was terrific! Why, well, someone else — mostly — paid for it. And I’ve forgotten all of the horrible mind-numbing horror!

Tim: What’s the weirdest thing that ever happened to you while you were on tour?

MA: A guy came onstage with a shopping cart all hooked up with pickups and all this mad stuff. We [Pigface] were all really excited. It sounded like a shopping cart! I nearly pissed my pants onstage.

Tim: Of all the skills you mention in Tour:Smart — screen printing, learning HTML, accounting etc. — which proves to be the most valuable in putting together a tour for your band?

MA: You need every single one of them. You can split them up between the band members — that’s a great idea — but you need them all, and more!

Tour:Smart by Martin Atkins, a must read for bands about to go on the road

I HIGHLY recommend Martin’s Book, Tour:Smart: And Break the Band, to anyone who’s in a band. The book includes insight from other musicians, tour managers, producers, sound technicians, booking agents, and just about anyone and everyone involved with the music industry. The book also features guest chapters from Henry Rollins, and Chris Connelly.

I’d also check out the Tour:Smart Plus weekend events going on in October. (Check out the first Tour:Smart Plus Weekend wrap up here.) Martin’s school is called Revolution Number Three which you can check out at their Official Website.

If you’d like to keep up with Martin, or talk to him via the internetzzzz you can @reply him on twitter via @marteeeen. Ask him what he thinks about girlfriends, bacon salt, music, word of mouth marketing, and just about anything else!

Almost two months ago, Assault had the honor of being reviewed by Buy-Tees.net.  After reading what came from that review, I felt compelled to dig in on the mind of Paul, co-owner and main contributor at Buy Tees.  I was very impressed with both the writing style and in-depth review of the art itself, rather than just a bland t-shirt review.  If you aren’t familiar with their site, I recommend you BEG Paul to check your stuff out; he has this uncanny ability to actually tell you things about your work that you may not have known.

I had the honor of interviewing him to try and get a little insight into what drives him, enjoy!

First and foremost, what is buy-tees.net?

Hmm… well I suppose the clue is in the name heh. It’s a t-shirt reviews blog first and foremost–although it’s probably not quite like any other you’ve read. I do have a tendency to quote the world and his wife and just about every homespun philosophy imaginable when I get cracking on a review. I am probably what you’d call a ‘natural blogger’ – I’m from a creative background in both the fine arts and literature and so I suppose it made sense to hone my abilities by venturing into blogging. It just so happens that I use the excuse of t-shirt reviews to express my opinions to the world.

What drove you to start it?

There are two answers to this. The first was simply to promote a few of my own t-shirt designs, way back when I’d decided to set up my own independent t-shirt label, I was sick of the enormous profits and poor service that many major print-on-demand sites were offering and so I thought I’d have a bash. Promoting the label was a total nightmare, besides which the overall costs of setting up a label were beyond my reach at the time and so I thought a blog would save on marketing costs and be a good way of drumming up business. The second reason came along within a week or two of blogging. Essentially, I found that a lot of other designers were in the same proverbial boat – vis-a-vis they also hadn’t two pennies to rub together and needed quality sources of promotion and marketing without the extortionate expense of traditional advertising such as Adwords or hiring an SEO expert. So I filled the gap, featuring designers’ work in return for a back link to the blog.

I know buy-tees.net is made up of yourself and another silent partner; is there anyone else that is part of the team?  Do you ever have guest posts and if so, how do you go about selecting the individual?

Short answer no – I have had offers – although for the main part they’re rather self-promotional in the main. I’m not exactly an objective reviewer myself, I am however an artist and so I know when I see something conceptually or visually superior and that always urges me on when it comes to deconstructing the mindset or ethos of a brand/designer. I’m also not ‘in it for the money’ as they say – I make a few dollars from the odd banner now and again but it doesn’t even cover hosting most of the time.

I have always enjoyed the company of artists, whatever medium they may choose to specialize in – it just so happens that I believe t-shirt design has until recently been treated as a rather lowly distant cousin of say illustration or graphic design and thought it’d be rather satisfying both personally and for the arts community at large if someone could give this niche a boost.

My partner helps out with some administration of the site from time to time and we discuss our reactions to designers’ work, we like to bounce ideas off of each other and see if there’s anything more I can add to the review than the usual ‘pic and click’ offerings out there.

How did you go about setting up your site, and what tips/suggestions can you give to others?

In truth I’d say exactly the same thing now as I always have, if you enjoy what you do, if you take pride in your work, if you can offer something truly original in whatever form the world will slowly rub its eyes, stand up and take notice of what you’re doing. There are plenty of options out there for marketing but I’m not the best person to ask, I am not a marketing expert, I simply enjoy being creative and sharing the results.

I designed the blog myself, I suppose I could revamp it but ‘if it ain’t broke why fix it?’ There are plenty of gorgeous looking sites out there with very little to say or offer, no matter what niche they cover, it’s funny how people make a distinction between the online and offline world.

Salespeople annoy me, they are for the most part impatient, desperate to sell their wares and rarely listen to their prospects views and opinions. I’ve actually worked for a few major companies in a marketing capacity (many of whom probably rather I hadn’t) and they all seemed to make the same common mistake, forgetting that the public consists of millions of individuals, each with their own way of seeing and doing things. The only thing I have learned about marketing this last year is that excitement is infectious, if you can share the thrill of what you do then others will want to as well.

What sets buy-tees.net apart from the many other resource sites/blogs out there?

When I first set up Buy Tees almost every t-shirt reviews blog out there knocked out posts with a title, a photo, a price and a link. They may not like to admit it but I’ve seen a lot of those very same blogs turn my way, almost all of them will now,  at some point or other, wax lyrical about a designer or label. I am of the opinion that if you can’t pour your heart and soul into what you do why bother?

I have received so many emails from designers thanking me for helping them reach the next level of success, for saving a brand, even reinventing one that I can’t keep track anymore. I suppose the biggest difference, without wanting to sound arrogant, is me. I am different, I am an artist and I need constant sources of inspiration and so it’s a two-way street, creative people contact me, ask for my opinion or help and I, for the main part, am glad to help. You could call it a calling, or perhaps that’s a little over dramatic, but it certainly adds something special to my life.

You appear to get very personally involved in each of your reviews.  What approach do you take when reviewing a brand or particular shirt?

I can’t say there’s a formula, I’ve always been good at ‘reading people’, I don’t mean I am some kind of psychic, I don’t tell fortunes or read tarot, I just understand basic human motivation, especially when it comes to creative outlets such as t-shirt design. It’s as if I sit down and look at a body of work and imagine I have created the tees in front of me, then I work out why, where the inspiration came from, and how well it has been conceptually resolved.

I do have a habit of making up my own layman’s terms for things and this I’d call ‘logical progression’. You take things, no matter what they are, one step at a time, a creative mind follows a pattern, built up over years of experience, interactions, events, actions. If you for instance had been a backpacker for the last decade I’d expect a lot of cultural reference in anything you did, an openness to new experiences, an understanding of geo-political and historical boundaries, a longing for freedom, a zest for adventure. That would show in any creative outlet you pursued. I suppose I’ve specialized in ‘what makes people tick’ and try to connect with them personally through my opinions of their work.

Being creative is rewarding, connecting with other creative minds is probably as exciting as it gets for me.

I am very impressed with your writing form and style; do you have a background in literature?

Thanks, I have to admit I do get quite a bit of praise for my writing style which even now surprises me. I write the way I talk, which yes, must be exhausting for everyone involved. My mother was an English teacher, she taught me to read and write within the first few months of my life.

I’m the guy at the party at the end of the night, when you’re trying to get everyone to go home, who just won’t shut up.

I did write a screenplay once, it was almost accepted by Fox Searchlight in the mid 90s, they decided against it in the end saying it was too hot to handle, imagine The Matrix with more body parts and you’re half way there. I actually trained in conceptual arts at college, don’t ask, it’s all twaddle, but the tutors did force us to justify everything we created, however absurd the reasoning, and so I got into the habit of deconstructing everything and everyone around me until I felt I was about to burst – hence the outpouring of opinion at the slightest opportunity.

Are you involved in any other sites other than buy-tees?  If so, what?

Yes, I’m an artist, you can visit my site at http://paulbaines.co.uk – there’s also my arts blog at http://paulbaines.co.uk/category/blog where I review other contemporary artists. I’ve recently been approached by a major arts publisher who wants to feature my designs in a student textbook for illustrators which quite surprised me as I’d never considered I was an illustrator – but there you go.

I work on rather a large scale, at the moment I’m offering digital prints up to 44″ x 55″ in size however I’m in the midst of creating my own silk screen print studio and will be hand printing limited edition signed and numbered A1 prints by the end of summer if all goes well. It’s hard to explain my work, you will probably either love it or hate it. I have a few ties with the UK graffiti movement, I’m also hoping to have a few outlets and galleries selling my work by the end of the year.

Where do you see buy-tees heading from here?

Who knows? I was recently offered a very tidy sum for the blog, a major t-shirt producer wanted to buy it, and keep it as an archive which was very tempting and rather flattering. However I’d had so much feedback asking that I continue I didn’t have the heart to sell up. So what does the future hold? I really couldn’t say, perhaps it’s time for a t-shirt book? In the long term if the art career really takes off I will have to find a worthy successor, if not I will probably continue to review t-shirts until I drop. Either way it will be an exciting ride!

After attempting to debunk how Tom Muller did some of his work for Wired magazine I decided to ask him a few additional questions such as  where he gets his inspiration from, and how he got involved in graphic design. Here’s what he had to say…

AssaultBLOG: You mention in pretty good detail how you got out of college in Antwerp and were sort of poking around the yellow pages looking for a “real world” job as your father had pushed you to get into as soon as possible, and that you wanted to get into “THE COOL STUFF”. I know that looking back on college there was a few things I wish I had done differently… and was wondering if you could go back would there be anything you would do differently?

Hmm… Not really. I had a great time in college actually. I didn’t always see eye to eye with my teachers (who does?), but overall I had a good experience; and especially my graduation project was something I had complete control over and that kind of kick started my professional career. The only thing I’d change if I could go back is pay more attention to design history.

AB: Are there any somewhat non-traditional or unusual places you look for design influence?

Anything and everything really. I don’t go looking for specific things to get inspiration. Can be anything – something I see, read, hear… very random.

AB: Most designers struggle with knowing when a project is complete, and personally I know I always have a hard time deciding when a design is done–Can you think of one or two projects in the past ten years in that you were most satisfied with the results? Was there ever a really challenging project that you had a hard time nailing down ideas, or deciding when a design was finished?

To be honest I’m really happy with the stuff I’m currently doing. That’s not to say that my older work has lost its value, but looking back I can see the errors and me struggling a bit finding my way and style if you will. I’d say the work from 2004 onwards is the work I’m most proud of, where I feel that I finally got into a direction I’m happy with – with the Mam Tor Publishing and Ashley Wood projects in particular.

AB: You mention in your blog that you were highly experimental with Photoshop in its early stages ten years ago when it had a 99 layer limit. Since your beginning use with Photoshop has there been one feature, or technique that you can remember learning that totally changed the way you work and design in the software?

Well, “highly experimental” is mildly overstating that I basically didn’t know what I was doing in the beginning and just playing around finding my way around the application and being very impressed with lens flare effect and the like.

I think the computer as a whole changed my way of working, because I got into it pretty late (I was 24 when I finally got my own Mac at home) and used to draw and paint more. So going digital was a complete change for me.

AB: The design work on hellomuller.com spans a broad range of mediums–is there one particular medium that you’ve found you enjoy the most and if so why?

Its all of them. Its all graphic design, just applied to a different medium – be it in print or on screen. I like both, thats why I do them. Although I love doing web design, I need to be able to do some print work to counter balance looking at html and work at 72dpi all day.

Being able to switch between designing a site, or a book, or a logo is what keeps everything fresh and interesting. I don’t want to be doing the same thing all the time.

AB: Are there any mediums you would like to transition into in the future that you may have not already tackled?

Designing a title sequence for a feature film would be interesting to do I think. And comics/graphic novels of course. That one is always high on the list, its just a matter of finding the time and putting my money where my mouth is.

AB: I know you recently launched a website collaboration with your wife…what is it like to collaborate with her, and do you find that collaboration in general makes for better design? Or is there a perfect formula for the number of “chefs in the kitchen” where the design work tends to turn out the best?

Collaborating with her is great. Design-wise we really click in terms of what we like, how we approach a problem and execute it. She’s much more technical than me, so when we’re designing a book for example more often than not she’ll end up designing the actual guts of the book while I play with the more superficial stuff like logos etc. She’s also really good in cutting through the design bullshit and go for effortlessly simple solutions, whereas I’m always trying to come up with needlessly complex visuals and over design it to the point where a seemingly random dot is actually placed in some grid I made up. Just for that dot.

AB: Do you feel it’s important for designers to do personal work and use their skills to address social and economic issues as well as to keep their own voice?

Well, one aspect of being a graphic designer is that you have to realize you’re working in a service industry, and that its our job to communicate other people’s messages. Whether that’s for a global corporation or the local salvation army.

On the other hand I think its very important that designers initiate personal work, if only to keep things interesting and grow creatively.

Relevant Links:

• Comic Book Tattoo – The graphic anthology of the year
  
• Hello Muller
• Tom’s Blog
• Mr. and Mrs. M (Tom and his wife’s site)