Riding Shotgun with Silversun Pickups

efore I really started listening to them, the word on the street about L.A.'s Silversun Pickups was that they kinda sounded like early 1990s Smashing Pumpkins. After listening to them... I can agree with that assessment. It's not just that they sound a little grimy (in the hip way, of course), but they also sound kind of pure, if that makes any sense at all. Pure and very, very good. SSPU like to tour, and they launch yet another tour today that sees them hit DC (again) on March 23rd. That leaves you plenty of time to check out what goes on in SSPU land, courtesy of drummer extraordinaire Christopher Guanlao (Cheese steaks! Black Cat! Vinyl!). Maybe this time Christopher can make it up the Monument...

Touring is: a really long roller coaster ride. It can be very rewarding and sometimes very annoying. But if you can roll with the punches and take one day at a time, it's a lot of fun.

Our first gig was: on this tour our first show was at the Doug Fir in Portland. It was so much fun and the fir is a great place to play. The PDXers gave us a really warm welcome.

Our favorite venue to play is: It's hard to pinpoint one venue. It seems like the last venue we've played is our new favorite venue. It has a lot to do with all the peeps that come out to our show. For example, at the show at the side stage of the Black Cat, we didn't expect more than 15 people to show up. It ended up really packed and the crowd seemed really excited to see us. We were completely blown away by that. So the Black Cat is definitely one of our favorite venues, for sure.

Hygiene on a tour is: few and far between.

Our favorite thing about touring is: going to different places and meeting people. And eating specialty fast foods from specific regions - i.e., eating a Philly cheese steak in Philly or a Polish hot dog in Chicago.

And the least favorite: finding a decent bathroom to do the do...

City with the best audiences: it's hard to say, like I said earlier. The last city we've been to had the best audience.

The tour bus/van smells like: the van smells like rainbows and flowers.

Laundry is: a) washed regularly, b) washed irregularly, c) we go shopping a lot: b - irregularly. I usually end up spilling my drinks on my pants, so I usually just wear boxers in the van.

Who controls the music in the touring vehicle? And what do you like to listen to while tooling around on tour? usually the one driving gets to choose, but mainly we listen to NPR or put on a DVD that we've all seen before, like Back to the Future or Family Guy.

Your new favorite watering hole after being on tour? And/or the best place to get greasy, hangover-curing food?
See answer to "Our favorite thing about touring is."

Most amusing memory from your current or most recent tour?
We were playing in Richards on Richards in Vancouver, and during our set the sewers backed up and by the time we finished playing, half of the venue floor was covered with sewage.

Favorite tour activity (other than the gigs themselves):
Eating the complimentary continental breakfast. Actually, that's getting a bit old.

What makes a tour successful? Clean socks. Bring a lot of clean socks, and you should be good to go.

Are there any bands you've played with that you'd like to tour with again? And/or bands that you have yet to tour with that you'd like to? We'd love to go on tour with Amusement Parks on Fire again. That would be great.

Please name the city you wouldn't ever play in again? Or, if not a particular city, which venue makes your skin crawl?
If there's a venue with people that wants us to play, we'll play regardless where it is.

Apart from the obvious cd, what's the merch item of yours you think people should shell out for?
The Pikul vinyl. Vinyl est cool.

Have you been to the top of the Washington Monument?
Not yet. Being a tourist in a touring band is usually very difficult.

How long did it take to record Carnavas? And what was the best part of the recording process (apart from the finished product, of course)?
It took roughly 3 or 4 months to make. Listening to all the musical elements together for the first time is really cool. Up until that point, it's just music parts here or there. Once you hear all the instruments and the vocals in for the first time, it actually becomes a real song.

Favorite Silversun Pickups song? Currently right now it's "Common Reactor."

What would you like people to be saying about Silversun Pickups in 50 years?
"Can't believe that band cured cancer, saved the world from a nuclear holocaust, and defeated insect type aliens that wanted to use human beings as nesting pods. And still they managed to rock!"

What's the first thing a first-time visitor to L.A. should do/see?
Buy music at Sea Level Records in Echo Park.

Please recite a line of poetry:
"Rain, rain, go away. Come again some other day." (It's raining outside our hotel room right now)

And finally, it's BigYawn's round. What's your poison?
Jameson's on the rocks, please.

For more on SSPU, amble your way to www.silversunpickups.com and www.myspace.com/silversunpickups.

 

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