Innerpartysystem’s always down with cereal…and that wasn’t the only knowledge Kris Barman (programming, guitar, synth) and Patrick Nissley (vox/programming) of Innerpartysystem dropped on me. We talked about their current Pac Sun Tour, upcoming album plans, cereal and they explained what “Butt Rock” is. Check out the full interview below:
Bethany, PopWreckoning: This tour just started about two weeks ago. How has it been treating you so far? It is a pretty diverse line up. Has that changed the audience reactions to your set?
Patrick Nissley, Innerpartysystem: We have a tendency to win people over. Our show is really high energy so rock kids will like it. We have some heavier sounding beats. I think hip hop kids like it. At least that’s what we’re going for. They might hate it.
PW: I know that your guys’ set is highly influenced by the light show, how involved are you in the planning of that?
Kris Barman, Innerpartysystem: Yeah. We built that. We did all that stuff. I’m serious. We went to Home Depot. Bought wood and bought lights. Then we figured out how to sync it all up with the computer. So we built that and Jesse [Cronan] (synthesizer, sampling) actually designed the light show.
PN: Yeah. We don’t actually have an ld. It is all synced to our computer.
PW: Yeah. That’s awesome and your light show is awesome and it seems like everyone else always hires their own light guy.
KB: We try to be as DIY as possible. We want to save money. We don’t want to pay anybody.
PW: Nice. I know you just released a “Winter Mixtape.” Tell me about that.
KB: A majority of that is Jared [Piccone] (drums). Jared does all the mixtape stuff. We just like putting more shit out there for kids to listen to. Music is free pretty much nowadays, so the more stuff you can put out and get them to listen to, well it’s just cool to let them here what we’re listening to and what we’re hearing. It is kind of what we’re listening to now and what we think is cool.
PW: So what are some of the bands you’re sampling now or listening to now?
KB: Listening to now… I’ve been listening to the same bands forever. There aren’t any new bands. I should listen to new music, but I don’t.
PN: I’m really into Hall and Oates right now.
KB: Hall and Oates is something you’re always into though.
PN: Um. Usually a lot of really obscure electronic shit that a bunch of dudes from Sweden do that no one has heard.
PW: Now, you’re all from Pennsylvania, right?
IPS: Yeah.
PW: It seems like you don’t hear too much about electronic-based bands from Pennsylvania. Is there a scene that I just don’t know about?
KB: Where we are from, the only scene is cover bands.
PN: I think Gwar. Gwar’s the scene.
KB: Gwar does all of it.
PW: So how did you guys get into it?
KB: I personally, I’ve been doing it since I was really young. I got into programming beats from I don’t know, 27 down, so I’ve always done it. I’ve always had an interest in it. I don’t know where it came from. When you sit at home on your computer, what else are you going to do? I love music, so I learned how to make music and I was like, oh this is really cool. I’ve been doing it ever since.
PN: For me it kind of started with like fruity loops in high school.
PW: Fruity loops?
KB: It’s like a really sh-well, actually, it’s not shitty at all, it is a beginner program, but it can do a lot of stuff. It is like beginner to pro. So you can make music.
PW: OK, I for some reason was thinking cereal.
PN: No.
KB: Haha, no. Totally different. I’m always into cereal though.
PN: I’m always down with Fruit Loops. That’s how I got into electronics. Cereal. Can we quote that in your thing, so it is a little blurb here?
PW: Innerpartysystem loves cereal.
KB: Cereal. What drives Innerpartysystem.
PW: Haha. We’ll see. My mom lives in Scranton, so that’s about as familiar as I get with Pennsylvania.
PN: There’s a lot of butt rock in Pennsylvania.
KB: Yeah.
PN: I’m going to say it is safe to say we coined the term “butt rock.”
PW: I would say that’s safe to say.
PN: Butt rock is where the drummer has the gotee and the lengthy hair. Always the ripped guitar player with the white beard and they play like a cover band.
KB: They do the “Jugh jugh jugh jugh jugh ooo.”
PN: Like really shitty breakdowns. There’s a lot of that in Pennsylvania.
PW: I really wish this was a video interview right now. So it has been about a half a year since you parted with Island. Is that a decision that has been good for you? Have you learned a lot since then? Do you still find major labels relevant?
PN: I’m about to drop some knowledge on you. We’re not on Island anymore.
PW: Right. It has been about half a year.
PN: Oh, right. Fuck me. I’m not dropping shit. It was a mutual thing. Island wasn’t doing anything for us. Obviously we didn’t sell three million records and become the biggest band in the world. We’re not fucking Lady Gaga. For us, it is more of an indie route and we’re trying to find that way.
KB: It’s nice now that we don’t have a label to talk to for the “big single” and all that shit.
PN: Yeah.
KB: We could make a song out of fart sounds if we wanted. No more of the chorus needs to be “bigger.” Make it “big.”
PN: A&R people say that a lot. “It’s just not big enough.”
PW: “Don’t Stop” was pretty popular in Kansas City.
IPS: Was it?
PW: Yeah. Last year you played our Christmas show.
KB: Oh that’s right. The Buzz.
(crazy announcer voices)
PN: You’re listening to the Buzzzzz.
KB: The Buzzzz. 93.3
PW: Haha, oh no. Not that. They’ll kill you. 96.5.
KB: 96.5 the Buzzz.
This continues for quite awhile
KB: AM Radio.
PW: So no label plans for the future, or sticking with DIY?
KB: Maybe. It depends.
PN: There are some people looking at us, but really we need to write the next record and see where it goes.
PW: Have you started planning it out at all?
KB: A little bit. It really needs to come to fruition. Like that word?
PW: How do you, well, you do a lot of remixes vs. original music-how do you draw the line between the two or is there a preference?
PN: Remixing is easy.
KB: Yeah. We love remixing.
PN: A lot of the things we create and I get most excited about are remixes. I don’t know if there is even a line to draw. It is just whatever rules. We could be writing a song and working on our remixes at the same time. We don’t spend like three days on a song and stop. We get bored on one thing and we move on. We have A.D.D.
PW: To wrap up since it is still pretty loud and I’m sure you want to get back to the show, do you have a favorite musical memory of the “Naught Decade?”
PN: Personally or music in general?
PW: Personally is fine.
KB: Last ten years?
PW: Yeah. You don’t have to be cliche too and say KC is the best or something. Just a favorite memory. Super easy.
PN: Favorite musical place or?
PW: Just favorite musical memory?
PN: Just playing a huge show.
KB: We played Projekt Revolution in the UK and there were 49,000 people there. That was huge for us.
PW: Are your UK crowds pretty different than your US crowds then?
KB: Yes.
PN: Yeah. For some reason, we did way better over there. “Don’t Stop” hit radio really hard and MTV and all that crap, so yeah.
KB: I think shows are better there. Kids just flip shit. Drinking age is lower, too. That loosens them up and fuels the fire. Kids, well, music is still thriving over there and radio is still good over there. They just know music better than in America. Americans can be boring or listen to just down music.
PN: Another way to answer that question: I think it is great the way electronic music is coming to the pop culture now. Definitely in the last five or six years, a lot more bands are using a lot more electronics, which I love since we are all huge electronicheads. A lot of the bigger bands, bands like Daft Punk and Justice, are getting huge.
PW: I’ve noticed that too. Sweet. Well, we’re wrap up there since it is loud and cold.
IPS: Cool.
PW: Thanks so much.
IPS: Nice to meet you.
Innerpartysystem: website | myspace | @ afentra’s vd party
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