BlindSpot Interviews and Articles

Even though none of these guys are in the band any more, I thought I'd leave the interviews up. They are pretty current (July 98). I have delivered an interview to the band, which will also be published in Down Syndrome Barbie, a 'zine that I write for. As soon as they send it back to me it will be posted.
Interview with Jeff*Interview with Kim* Interview with Achilles*Old Interview

Interview with Jeff

1)What is your name and what do you do in the band?
My name is Jeff and I play Trumpet.

2)How old are you?
I'm 23.

3)How did Blindspot get together?
BS started when Jay (guitar) and Kim (sax) wanted to start a band, and a friend turned Jay on to ska through the Bosstones, and they asked friends from school to join.

4)Were there any other members in the band before?
Yes David (vocals) played Bari sax originaly, we had a different lead singer named Ted, a different drummer named Jesse, and another sax player named Nate.

5)How would you describe the sound of Blindspot?
Humm... thats a tough one. I think in general we try not to limit ourselves to any particular genera. We are very ska influenced, but we try to mix it up with just about anything to see if it works.

6)What music did you listen to in high school?
In high school I hadn't even heard of ska so I mostly listened to Classical, Jazz, and Rock.

7)Out of all the genres of ska, which one do you like the most? What other types of music do you like?
Personaly I like bands from every genera of ska, but I dont like or dislike any music based on genera alone. Good music is good music regardless of the classification. As far a other types of music, well...just about everything. Jazz, Classical, Pop, Reggae.

8)Anything really bad happen while on tour? or while playing at shows?
Well a few of our shows got cancelled and the show at Fireside in Chicago was kind of weak, mostly because LTJ had just played there like a night or two before for like $6 and the warped tour had just stopped in Chicago so the trunout was pretty bad. We made the best of it though and had a lot of fun.

9)What is your favorite club/clubs to play at?
My favorite place to play is The Phoenix Theater in Petaluma CA. It's the only large club in our home County so we play there quite a bit. Its probably the nearest thing to a home BS has.

10)Do you plan on touring the east anytime soon?
Well the band hopes to go full time in January, and Im sure they will make at least one swing through the east coast early next year. Unfortunatly I wont be able to join them due to financial obligations (read DEBT)

Interview With Kim
1)What is your name and what do you do in the band?
Kim Abrams, (mostly alto) saxophone.

2)How old are you?
23
3)What year did Blindspot get together?
late '93/early '94.

4)Do you have any CDs or 7" out; and if so, what are they and what labels are they on?
We have our big debut CD "Accelleration Zero" out on Tomatohead Records, as well as an out of print self-titled 7" that we put out ourselves, and a 7" called "Maude" on Reptilian Records. (pretty rare)

5)Who's in the band now and what do they play?
me: sax; Achilles Poloynis: trombone, vocals; Jeff Underwood: trumpet, vocals; Jay Cosper: guitar; Zack Proteau: bass; Nate Fadelli: drums; David Hall: lead vocals.

6)What are your favorite bands to play with in the ska scene today?
I really like Slow Gherkin, we've known those guys since both bands started out, and we've played some great shows together over the years. The Siren Six are another great band. They're intense to watch on stage, and the sound they've put together is really fresh and original. I wouldn't be surprised to see them get huge. I'm also totally impressed with Unsteady. Really talented players in that group. I really dig their horn parts, and their rythmn section is insanely tight. They play with a really solid groove.

We've just recently played a few shows with a Minneapolis band called Secret Society, and they're definitely a group to keep an eye on. Incredible energy, great vocals, and they're the nicest guys in the world. Another group we've hooked up with recently is The Smooths from Baltimore. We played a couple times with them in Southern Cal. earlier this year, and they're on the Warped Tour now. They just put out a great record called "No Brakes." I'm hoping we get a chance to play with them again soon. Some other personal favorites include The Blue Meanies, The Readymen, The Adjustments, Let's Go Bowling... there's a lot.

7)What are some of your favorite ska, punk or reggae cds?
I don't listen to a whole lot of ska, but I've been listening to the Smooths CD that I mentioned earlier, called "No Brakes." I like Rancid a lot. "...And Out Come the Wolves" is a brilliant record, and their new one is really good as well. I like the Pietasters latest record, "Willis." The Siren Six and Slow Gherkin both have CDs on the way that I'm really looking forward to. NOFX's "White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean" is fucking amazing. I love anything by the Mr. T Experience. They just keep getting better and better. Their latest cd, "Love is Dead" is excellent. One of my all time favorite punk records is a live record by Victim's Family of their last show, called "4 Great Thrash Songs." That cd blows my fucking head off. I'm not sure how much it fits the category, but The Police's "Synchronicity" is brilliant. There's a band from Austin, TX called Dynamite Boy that put out a really good record.

8)Do you think ska is getting too popular, and if so, does that help out your band a lot by having more shows, and more bands to play with?
Well, there are definitely a lot of bands around these days. I don't really care how popular ska gets... I know a lot of people are concerned about losing "the scene" to a mainstream audience, but I tend to think that the people who really love it and really care about the scene should just go on doing what they're doing and not be concerned with a bunch of kids who will be moving on to something else in a few months. What the recent popularity of ska has done is put a few formerly underground bands in the national spotlight, and given a few more musicians a chance to feed themselves and pay rent by playing, which I think is fantastic. I'm really happy for the success of the Bosstones and No Doubt and some other bands that have been playing for years and years and are finally getting some well-deserved recognition. I don't intend to debate whether or not these bands are genuinely ska, or ever were, everyone is welcome to come to their own conclusion on that one, but they are definitely connected to the mainstreaming of ska. The one thing that I think is too bad, and this applies to any type of underground scene that becomes popular, is that some really talented, excellent bands will get overlooked in favor of more marketable ones. Every last checkerboard-wearing high school marching band trombone player in Orange County will probably be a millionaire before the Blue Meanies ever get a video in regular rotation on MTV. I'd really like to believe that's wrong, but...

I don't see anything wrong with a band doing whatever is necessary to make themselves successful, as long as that doesn't dictate their artistic direction. An example: we played with the Cherry Poppin' Daddies a couple years ago. They didn't dress up in suits or go way overboard with the Forties look or feel. The singer wore jeans and a t-shirt and looked kinda punk rock. Now, swing gets some mainstream interest, and people are looking for the whole swing era feel. So the Daddies put on a suit, maybe a hat, or spats, basically adopt the style of the era, but they play the same stuff they always did. And it goes over big. Good for them. Marketing doesn't have to be in direct opposition to artistic integrity.

As far as getting more shows and having more bands to play with, what's helped us the most is just being around a long time and getting people to recognize our name and hear our stuff. I'm glad there are more bands around, because this is fun music to play, and it is nice to hear other peoples' take on it. But it can get a bit overwhelming. We played at the big Ska Against Racism fest in Southern California earlier in the year, with a ridiculous number of bands. Like 40 or something. And by the end of the day it all pretty much blended into a big mass of upbeats and Hawaiian shirts and trombones and crunchy punk choruses and skanking kids and countless crowdsurfing girls getting groped by countless assholes... it all pretty much blended together, with a very few notable standouts. I like to think that every band has a slightly different take on the music, something unique to add, but put enough of us together and it gets a little tough to discriminate. So maybe with the increased numbers, originality is a little tougher to come across. But I feel like we're doing a pretty good job remaining reasonably individual. We're doing our best.

9)What are your favorite TV shows and movies?
4 words... Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's a fucking great show. Love the Simpsons, the Daily Show.

I just saw What's New Pussycat?, an old Woody Allen movie with Peter Sellers. That was hysterical. Apocalypse Now is a good one. Taxi Driver. I'm really looking forward to the new version of Lolita. I love the book, and I like Jeremy Irons. I'm gonna have to get my cable box fixed, though, cause they're only showing it on Showtime.

10)Have you done any covers before and if so, what songs have you played?
We don't do a lot of covers, although we're constantly hearing songs and saying "Oh, we should totally do that one!" We do a version of the "12" song from Sesame Street, the one that goes along with the pinball cartoon. We used to do Sir Duke, the Stevie Wonder song. We'll probably try doing another Stevie song at some point. We also used to play a traditional folk song called the Happy Wanderer. We borrowed the Brave Combo arrangement, more or less, so I guess it's a Brave Combo cover. If you go back far enough, you can find a Primus tune, several failed attempts at writing a ska arrangement of Master of Puppets (admit it, you'd want to hear it), and Our Only Weapon, the Bosstones' song from Don't Know How to Party. But we never got the weird time thing in the bridge right. Jesus, that's going way back. We probably only played that at our first couple shows. So, no. Not a lot of covers.

Interview with Achilles
1)What is your name and what do you do in the band?
Hmm... my name is Achilles Poloynis, and my main role in the band is trombone, a little backup vocals, and dancing around like a freak.

2)How old are you?
I'm the youngest member of the band at 20 years old, I'll be 21 in August. Our oldest member (Jay) is 24, I think.

3)Where are you from? and where are the other members from?
Well, I was born in Inglewood C.A., I lived the first 7 years of my life in varias hell holes around the getto's of the L.A. area. Then I moved up to Sonoma county for a while. Now I live in Hayward (YUCK!) and am looking to move to a warehouse in Berkeley. Lets see, I'm not sure where everyone was born, but I know everyone aside from Nate (drums) is from Santa Rosa Originaly. Now David (vocals), Nate, Zack(bass) and I live in Hayward. Kim (sax) lives in San Francisco, and Jeff(trumpet) and Jay live in Santa Rosa.

4)How did you hook up with Chuck and Tomatohead Records? Are you guys all friends and stuff?
How did we hook up with Tomatoehead? I'm not really sure I remember. I mean I knew him from Skankin Pickle of course, and he's friends with Mike from Asian Man Rec. and I was friends with him through Slow Gherkin and I guess one way or another Chuck asked us to be on the Bay Area Ska compilation and after some discusion we started talking to Chuck about getting signed. The rest is history, yea.. that's it. We love Chuck! He is everything anyone could ask for in a label, and a friend. We went into this whole deal with a sort of family perspective and that's how it feels now we're like family.

5)What kind of jobs to you and the other members of the band have while not playing in Blindspot?
Well, Jeff works at Cosco. David, Zack, and Nate are students at Hayward state(although Nate works too). Jay is a student of San Jose State. Kim and I work for Berkeley Systems Inc. (They make after dark screen savers and JACK games) I'm hoping to soon be employed full time by Blindspot though.

6)Do you play any sports or like any sport teams?
The last time I personally played sports was in 4th grade when I played soccer on a team called the cobras or something like that. I respect people who have the skill for sports, it's just not one of my interests. I'm just not into competing with anyone but myself. That is by no means what the band feels on sports, just me personaly.

7)What's your take on the whole "sellout issue"?
Hmm... The sellout issue is a tough one indeed. Really I think the only person who can judge whether someone sold out is the person him/herself. I mean, as long as someone is staying true to the music in regards to what he/she wants they aren't really selling out and that person is the only one who really knows what is true to his/her music.

8)What are some of your favorite concerts that you played? and with whom?
Favorite concerts, huh? Well one of them would have to be the Flipside productions show in Reno w/ LGB, Pickle, Gherkin, and a bunch of other cool bands. Another one would have to be our C.D. release show at the Phoenix, in Petaluma. It was the Little Tin Frog, The Blockheads, The Siren Six, Slow Gherkin, and of course Blindspot. That is my dream bill, My favorite bands in one show and the whole vibe of the night was great, between the bands and the crowd. I loved that show. I have to say, it was great to see LTJ at the phoenix too. They put on a great show.

9)What was your last movie that you saw? and did you like it?
The last move I saw... I actually think it was Mulan. Disney has gotten me sad lately. A lot of hack material. Eddy Murphy's character was funny though. All and all I was disapointed, worth renting though.

10)What are your future goals in the band?
My future goals with Blindspot is to go full time and do it for a living. All I need is enough money for gas, food, rent, and the occasional van repair. I would love to be able to hit the whole U.S. at least twice a year. I love touring and playing music. Nothing could make me happier and it's gonna happen very soon so keep your eyes open.
***This interview was used by permission and originally ska_punk19@hotmail.com conducted the interview

BLINDSPOT INTERVIEW FROM 1996

YG:WHOS IN THE BAND AND WHAT DO THEY PLAY?
BS:ACHILLES(T-BONE)DAVID(VOCALS)JAY(GUITAR)ZACK(BASS)NATE(SAX)KIM(SAX) JESSE(DRUMS)AND ME JEFF ON TRUMPET.

YG:HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING TOGETHER?
BS:WEVE BEEN TOGETHER ABOUT THREE YEARS.

YG:WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
BS:SANTA ROSA CALIFORNIA.

YG:WHAT RELEASES DO YOU HAVE?
BS:UMMM WE HAVE A 3 SONG DEMO,AND AN OLDER 7 WITH 4 SONGS,AND THE RAJ COMPILATION. AND WE ARE ON THE NEW SKA THE THIRD WAVE VOL. 2

YG:ARE YOU GONNA MAKE A CD?
BS:WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING ONE NOW.

YG:IS IT GONNA HAVE MISFIT AND THE FLY ON IT?
BS:YA, ITS GONNA HAVE THE STUFF THAT HASENT BEEN ON ANYTHING BEFORE.

YG:IS IT GONNA BE ON RAJ.
BS:NO ITS NOT GOING TO BE ON RAJ.

YG:WELL WHATS IT GONNA BE ON JEFF?
BS:ITS GONNA BE ON FLYING HAROLD RECORDS,THE SAME LABEL AS THE CONSPIRACY.

YG:UM.WHERE HAVE YOU TOURED?
BS:WE HAVE TOURED THE WESTERN U.S. , NEW MEXICO,COLORADO,MANTANA,AND OREGON.

YG:ARE YOU PLANNING ON TOURING SOON?
BS:YA,MAYBE A FULL U.S. TOUR,BUT THATS LOOKING LIKE ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.SO JUST ANOTHER WEST COAST TOUR.

YG:WE WERE AT THE SHOW HERE IN SANTA CRUZ WITH SIREN 6 AND READYMAN.
BS:OH REALLY.WHAT DO YOU THINK OF SIREN 6?

YG:THEY WERE GREAT I LIKE EM ALOT.
BS:THEY ROCK AND YOU(NOT SURE MAYBE LOVE THEM)

YG:WHAT ARE YOU INFLUENCED BY?
BS:ME OR THE BAND?

YG:EITHER ONE.
BS:SLAYER TO CLASSICAL.WHEN WE STARTED WE WERENT INTO SKA.BUT WE PLAYED WITH THE CONSPIRACY AND CAUGHT ON . ME PERSONALLY, I LISTEN TO ALOT OF SKINHEAD REGGAE.

YG:WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE BANDS THAT ARE INFLUENCED BY PUNK.LIKE THE SO CALLED SKA-CORE BANDS.
BS:I THINK ITS A VERY NATURAL DIRECTION FOR SKA TO GO.PUNK IS THE GROWING MUSIC HERE IN THE U.S. ALOT OF BANDS ARE TAKING IT AND MIXING IT WITH SKA,WHICH IS GOOD.

YG:ALOT OF PEOPLE SAY THE ONLY SKA IS TRAD STYLE SKA.LIKE TOASTERS SKA.
BS:I DONT THINK THAT IS THE CASE REALLY.BECAUSE SKA GOT ITS START WITH MENTO AND NEW ORLEANS JAZZ.ALOT OF MIXING.FOR ANYONE TO SAY THAT,SKA IS NOT A PURE FORM ITSELF.AND YOU CANT REALLY CLAIM IT.YOU CANT CLAIM SOMETHING IS STRICTLY SKA AND SOMETHING ELSE IS NOT.

YG:WHO WRITES THE SONGS?
BS:PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY HAS A HAND IN WRITING SONGS.MAINLY JAY ON THE GUITAR PLAYER.DAVID WRITES ALL THE VOCALS.ZACK ON BASS.

YG:ANY BIG FUTURE PLANS FOR THE BAND?
BS:UM,JUST KEEP CHUGGIN ALONG,GET THE CD OUT,AND PLAY IT BY EAR FROM THERE.

YG:WHAT IS THE CRAZIEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO THE BAND?
BS:HAHAHAHA,AT THE SHOW AT THE PHEONIX IT WAS REALLY WACKED OUT.WE BOUGHT SILLY STRING AND SPRAYED THE SIREN SIX GUYS.THEN IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR SET A FEW OF THEIR MEMBERS RAN ON STAGE NAKED AND STARTED YELLING OBSCENETIES(sp) AT US.

YG:HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN SLOW GHERKIN?
BS:WE FIRST PLAYED TOGETHER 2 YEARS AGO.

YG:DO YOU PLAY WITH THEM ALOT?
BS:YA WE PLAY WITH THEM ALOT.THEY ARE FABULOUS MUSICIANS AND AWESOME GUYS.

YG:DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE AQUABATS SHOW ON AUGUST 8TH?
BS:YA I HEARD ABOUT THAT.

YG:YOU SHOULD GO.
BS:YA I MIGHT DO THAT.I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO CATCH THEM FOR A WHILE.

YG:WE ALL HAVE JEFF.ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SAY.
BS:UMM TO SANTA CRUZ RIGHT?HOPEFULLY WE CAN COME BACK PRETTY SOON.AND TELL EVERYONE TO KEEP SKANKIN.
***note-I, webmaster do not take credit for this! I found this lovely thing on the internet, and decided to put it up for you to read. It appears as though it came from a YOU GO! interview. But that's just a guess. As you might now, some of this info is outdated. That's because it appears this interview took place in Dec. '96.

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