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What was the first Extra Virgin song
written?
I think "20 days" is the first song that
we wrote that has survived. We were at my house in Woodstock, NY putting
my studio together, and it popped out sideways. Its pretty intact from
how it started, unlike a lot of others which are Frankenstein songs.
Who chose the name "Extra Virgin" and
were there any other names considered?
Rene was at a bar with his friend Carrie,
and they were brainstorming about band names. She looked at a bottle of
olive oil on the wall and said "How about Extra Virgin?" He told me about
it and we both knew right away that was our name. Coming up with a band
name is so difficult. My new litmus test is that I go out and tell a bunch
of people what it is, and if I'm embarassed to tell them, then the name
is out. I didn't even wince to tell people that we were called Extra Virgin.
I think Bill, our drummer, hated it, but I'm not sure. He may have just
hated it that day.
Also, why was the first record named
"Twelve Stories High?"
Rene came up with the name because there
are 12 songs on the record. There are all sorts of other connotations in
there.
How do you think the next record will
compare with "Twelve Stories High?"
The new stuff is less ethereal and more
rock. We've pushed the guitar up front, gotten rid of the keyboards, and
kicked the whole thing in the ass. I would say that it is a much more immediate
sound. The first time we played like this in March the response was apparent.
Our crowd have gotten much bigger, and I think its because the band somehow
found our whatever it is that our sound is.
Will it be on Old Lady records?
There are several record companies interested
in us and we've just signed on with management, so we'll be doing this
on a major label.
Do you plan to tour extensively in promotion
of this record?
We will definately tour everywhere after
this. Right now, we're doing as many shows in the northeast us as we can.
Hopefully we'll also do Toronto and Montreal this summer as well as other
stuff.
Whats the song writing process like
for you guys? Do you write seperately? together? through jams?
Rene and I write most of the ideas and
then get together with the band to arrange, deconstruct, and re-think.
Its a cool collaboration. Bill is a different type drummer than I've been
used to. His energy is really powerful, and he pushes me to do different
stuff. Pat has great melodic and arrangement ideas. He also does his own
music, which is really great. We also write by just getting in the room
and playing together, and I think it'll really start going in that direction
now.
What kind of things do you draw influences
from? What's in your stereos?
We listen to a lot of jazz.....Thelonious
Monk, Coltrane, old New Orleans stuff, Django Reindthart. Rock as well.....Beatles,
Big Star, Flaming Lips, Zeppelin, pretty musch the standard everything
there. Also things like the Meters, Neville Brothers. This all changes
all the time.....
Will any of the songs which didn't make
it on to "Twelve Stories High"ever be released?
We're pretty much moving ahead now with
new stuff, and a lot of songs are being forgotten. I was listening to a
tape of us the other day and it took me a while to recognize a song that
we did a year ago. I would say that its doubtful for now that there will
be other songs from that time coming out. We are having a difficult time
keeping up with ourselves.
Lastly, is "Fat Laces" autobiographical?
"Fat Laces" was written by Rene about
his teenage years. He's pretty much an uncoordinated slob, so there you
go.