Coming from Seattle, this week we have the three members of
Blooper, responsible of one of the EPs of the year, answering our weekly
questionnaire.
These Go to 11!
Blooper
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| Wish all bloops would be like this one... |
In 2011, Adriano Santi began Blooper as a solo project, releasing '
Ballard Avenue' EP. Quickly realising he wanted to assemble a full band, Darrin Ruder and Chris Quirk joined him and, as trio, they came out with '
Go Away' EP, published in May 2012. A year later, thanks to the extincted
Manic Pop Records, they put out a 7'' called '
Long Distance'. Finally, this year, and with Chris Mac replacing Ruder, they've joined
Jigsaw Records, publishing the EP
'
So Very Small'. As we have said previously, this EP is a real pop feast, an extraordinary mixture of power-pop, surf, garage and 60's vibes, driven by guitars and full of captivating melodies. Read it carefully & enjoy it.
Here we go!
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| The "legendary" teen movie |
1. First record that you bought (be honest)
Adriano:
Nirvana - 'Bleach'
Chris Mac: Jon Cougar - 'American Fool' (tape)
Chris Q: 'The Goonies Soundtrack' (tape)
2. First and last concert you have attended (be honest too!)
Adriano: First - Guns n’ Roses when I was 11. Last -
Allo Darlin’ and Zebra Hunt (we played with them)
Chris Mac: Honestly don’t remember my first (my parents frequently went to concerts), last one was a house show with friends (Iji, OK Vancouver OK, etc).
Chris Q: First was The Lemonheads; the most recent was
Bob Mould, with Cymbals Eat Guitar
s
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| Guilty pleasure? Yes, indeed |
3. Guilty pleasure (song/band you shouldn’t like but you do, yes, it’s the embarrassing question)
Adriano: I don’t know if this is bad but I listen to a lot of King Crimson and Yes sometimes.
Chris Mac: I guess the only band from my early teen years that I can still tolerate in small doses is Rush. Oh, and the first Tears For Fears album is still amazing.
4. Most precious music item you own (collector mode on)
Adriano: A first US pressing of 'She Loves You b/w I’ll Get You' on Swan Records -
the Beatles’ first release in the US.
Chris Mac: Hard to say, with a collection of 15,000+ records/cds/tapes, but I might choose the 'Tomorrow Ends Today' bootleg lp from
Primal Scream’s early (ie. good) period. Never seen it before, never seen it since.
Chris Q: Not a collector, sorry. I like my snare drum.
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| Introducing... Cheap Girls |
5. Favorite lyrics (not yours)
Adriano: Can I just say
Elliott Smith’s entire body of work? No? Ok, the lyrics to 'Waltz #2' by Elliott Smith then.
Chris Mac: I’m gonna cheat and say the entire discography of Cheap Girls, a band that I simply cannot stop listening to, and identifying with their lyrics.
Chris Q: I’m a stereotypical drummer with no memory for lyrics, so it’s hard to say. I do like that final section of Built To Spill’s 'Kicked It In The Sun', though.
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| The Sonic man |
6. Musician/s you would like to meet (should be alive, for obvious reasons, but you can choose a dead one too)
Adriano: George Harrison, Link Wray,
Brian Wilson,
Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Elliott Smith.
Chris Mac: No one in particular. Anybody I’d want to talk to is approachable, but if I had to pick one who wasn't, it might be Thurston Moore.
Chris Q: Philip Glass
.
7. Favorite artwork album (not yours)
Adriano: Anything Reid Miles did for the Blue Note label in the 60s.
Chris Mac: Nothing really springs to mind…
Chris Q: I grew up on tapes and CDs, and the artwork didn’t stand out there unfortunately
.
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| Murakami's cat |
8. Books or movies? Depending on your answer recommend us one (trick: you can choose both)
Adriano: Both. My favourite movie is 'The 400 Blows' and my favourite book is 'Kafka on the Shore' by Haruki Murakami
Chris Mac: You can’t go wrong with 'Die Hard'.
Chris Q: Brazil + John Kennedy Toole’s 'Confederacy of Dunces'.
9. Release (of yours) you are most proud of
Adriano: I still really like 'Pike Street'.
Chris Mac: Probably 'Day Things Fell Apart' by Suretoss (my old band)
Chris Q: 'Shaky' is fun to play.
10. What does it mean indie for you? (yes, the “serious question”)
Adriano: Like any label that’s been around for more than a couple years, “Indie” has pretty much lost all of its meaning. There are “Indie” labels that pretty much operate like majors, “Indie” bands who make craploads of money… but I think as long as the sort of do it yourself vibe is still there, that’s indie.
Chris Mac: I’d have to say that anyone who does things for themselves - for their own personal pleasure - has the indie spirit. Anyone who forms a band/starts a label without the pretense of “making it big”.
Chris Q: What they said.
11. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Adriano: I don’t even know where I’m going to be in 10 minutes…
Chris Mac: Same house, same life. I’m very resistant to change.
Chris Q: Still playing music, probably still in basements and garages..