Phoenix Bodies interview

it was really late the other night when i got the proverbial horn up my ass and decided to feign productivity for the sake of Limp Cat. i shot out random messages to bands on the Caitlyn Bailey (the band, not the person) friend list, and among those who replied was Derek of Indiana band, Phoenix Bodies.

here's the interview:

1. what is your name and what do you do for the band?

Hello! My name is Derek. I write lyrics and yell into microphones.

2. this is way too cliche in hardcore interviews, but what could you guys say about your scene? how about indiana? i mean, what's it like over there?

Indiana is pretty cool. I'm going to see some local bands, Medusa and Worldeater, tonight that I really like. Medusa is some guys from Racebannon's (who are also from Indiana, and I saw the other night with Melt Banana) new band. They play really heavy, but short and catchy rock songs, and are really fun to see live. Worldeater are another new band from Indianapolis. They play fast punk/powerviolence stuff, and are really tight and raging. There are a bunch of great bands from this place, and usually a lot of good shows going on here. So, I'd say the scene is allright. I book shows in town kind of often. I have Black Cross coming up here in a few days. Louisville is only a 2 hour drive away from where I live in Indianapolis, so Coliseum, Lords, Young Widows, and all those bands come up here all of the time. I also book a big annual fest in town called Dude Fest that is always a great time. Pig Destroyer came and played this year, and it ruled. A few other awesome bands from Indiana are The Dream is Dead, Black Arrows of Filth and Impurity, Demiricous, In the Face of War, Rapider Than Horsepower, You Will Die, and Illithed. That is just a very short list too.

3. do you guys like beef?

Some of us are into it, some of us are not. Actually, we can all get down on a good cheeseburger from time to time, except for Colin the token vegan guy in the band.

4. on a more serious note, how and when did Phoenix Bodies come together? what bands did you guys play in before this?

We've all played in other bands together before. We have a different line-up right now than when we started, but Kevin and I started playing in bands together about 10 years ago, none of those were that good, but right before Kevin joined Phoenix Bodies we played in a band called Holy Bible that we both liked a lot. Colin and I have been in bands together for about 7 or 8 years. I met him when I joined his band, Mara'akate in 1999 or 2000. Colin and Thomas used to be in a band called Hospital before Phoenix Bodies started. That band was really cool. Jared from The Dream is Dead was in that band, along with Adam, our former 2nd vocalist. I think they broke up in about 2001 or 2002, when Jared quit to do TDID full time. Brian our drummer has been a friend of mine for a while. One time Kevin and I tried to start a band with him that didn't really work out for some reason, but now we're all in Phoenix Bodies and it is great.

5. musically, for lack of a better term, you guys play fast, chaotic hardcore. what stuff do you guys usually listen to? what did you guys listen to back when you were starting this band? lastly, what do you guys think of your own music?

Right now we all still listen to a lot of different stuff. Today I was just listening to The Wayward and Shitstorm. Colin is always rocking stuff like Animal Collective, The Rachel's and AIDS Wolf.
Thomas and I used to live together and he would always listen to Bright Eyes when he took showers, but he's really into stuff like Torche and Black Cobra as well. We all pretty much love old gravity records stuff like Clikitat Ikatowi and Universal Order of Armageddon. Kevin loves the Fucking Champs and Psychic Paramount, and Brian listens to all of that stuff and more. Back when the band started, I think it was birthed out of us jamming a lot of Creation is Crucifixion and Forcefedglass. Just loud, crazy music. I don't really think a lot about, or listen to our own music. I just know that it is fun to play.

6. what exactly pops into your heads whenever one of you ends up naked at shows? how often does this happen?

It happens a lot. It's usually pretty funny. We either take our own clothes off or someone helps us. I don't really know how to explain the phenomenon beyond that.

7. would it be awkward to say i love you guys on more levels than just a guy who listens to your records and stares at your pictures for hours on end?

Yeah, probably, but you live on the other side of the planet, so we shouldn't get too worried should we?

8. touring is a major part of being a band in general, would you guys happen to have any interesting stories from any of your previous tours?

Every single day has it's own long story behind it. We've played so many weird shows in weird places, I could easily fill up a book with lots of stories. At our first shows ever, I got stranded in Detroit when my car broke down, and at the last show we played a human pyramid was built and an acoustic guitar was smashed and destroyed by the crowd. We've been put up in giant mansions for the night, kept up all night by crazy parties, and had to sleep outside in the hot
Florida sun in July. Tour is full of both fun and miserable times. It is really great to go out and see the world and meet different people from different places though. So it is really worth all of the trouble.

9. on touring again, do you have plans of playing in southeast Asia anytime soon? we'd love to have you guys here.

We would really love to come to that area. Our friends in Hewhocorrupts are doing that next year. So go see them if you can. We don't really tour a whole lot, but we'd love to make a trip there sometime.

10. last question, how do you guys get those perpetually spartan figures, and just how did you grow all of that awesome facial hair?

Lots of sweet tea, video games, and occasional bike riding keeps us in shape. Being lazy and not shaving puts hair on our faces.