Alternative Press describes Limbeck’s new record as “a timeless rock album” and for once, AP is right on the money. Vocalist/guitarist Robb was kind enough to answer these questions for us.
Alternative Press describes Limbeck’s new record as “a timeless rock album” and for once, AP is right on the money.
Vocalist/guitarist Robb was kind enough to answer these questions for us.
Interview w/ Robb (vocals and
guitar) of Limbeck
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By Cameron Chambers
Thanks for your time today
Robb.
It’s definitely my pleasure.
I’m in Houston, Texas right now, looking out the window at a pretty
wild storm.
I’ll be honest, I hadn’t
really heard you guys prior to receiving your new record, but I’m
really enjoying it!
No worries man. We ain’t mad
at you!
Stylistically, Limbeck isn’t
a band I would’ve sought out on my own, but I think this record is
going to stand the test of time man. It’s got a timeless feel to it.
For us, that’s a very important
part of making records. We don’t wanna make an album that 10 years
down the road we’ll put out again and say, “maaan, what were we
thinkin’ when we made this?!”, ya know?
Instead we’d rather pull it
out and say, “wow… we were gooooooood”.
Limbeck seems like the kind
of band who makes fans out of people who wouldn’t normally be into
this kind of music - me included. Why do you think people from such
varied musical backgrounds can relate to you guys?
It’s just our personalities.
We’re not really out there to champion any type of scene or anything.
We just like travelling, we like playing shows and we like meeting good
people. Plus, our own musical tastes are pretty out there, and I feel
like that really comes out on our new record.
I checked out your tour schedule
and you guys are on the road for 3 months straight
– playing live and getting close to your fans is obviously something
Limbeck take pretty seriously?
Definitely. There are two sides
to being in a band… the recording side and the touring side. We really
love both, but they’re very different. Touring is ALWAYS an adventure
though… which makes it exciting. And it’s really what it’s all
about.
You can make records and put ‘em
out, but when you play shows and get to see people react to what you
do, it’s definitely very inspiring. Plus, we dig just hangin’ out
with people. Seriously!
Something in your bio/press
release really stood out: “seeing the country unfold via bug splattered
van windows and meeting people and sharing experiences that wouldn’t
only help spike sales in certain markets, but wouldalso help define you asa human being”. That has to
be one of the most honest and heartfelt things I’ve read in a very
long time man.
Thanks a lot man. I’d say it’s
exactly what we’re about. It brings me back to that earlier question
about being happy with our record ten years down the road… but even
more so, I want to be happy with myself as a human being ten years down
the road! Ya Know!?
I don’t wanna look back and
think about how much of a jerk I was, which I’m sure is gonna happen
to some people in bands. I want to look back and think about how many
great people I met. Of course it’s great to sell records, but meeting
people out there on the road really does help you find out a lot about
yourself.
Genre names and musical tags
are thrown around with reckless abandon these days. How would you describe
Limbeck’s music?
We’re just a rock band. Plain
and simple. People can say otherwise, we’d rather not personally add
to the confusion.
Tell us a bit about the recording
process for your self titled record. I know you collaborated with Ed
Rose (producer) again – did he have much input into the song writing,
additional instrumentation etc…
Ed Rose is a great friend, and
really helped us spread things out on this record. He has a great ear
for getting the best possible sound for a certain part. Whether it is
which snare drum to use, or where to position a guitar amp and a mic
in a big room to get a cool, unique sound out of it.
For this record we spent about
two months on the recording process, which was the longest we’ve spent
in the studio on an album. We went in for about 3 weeks of tracking,
and then we took a break to head over in your direction, Australia,
for 3 weeks, and then we returned to another month in the studio to
finish things up.
It was an exciting process this
time because about half of the songs were finished up in the studio
and the majority of those were figured out somewhere around 2am. We’d
work all day in the studio on the songs we knew, then Patrick and I
would head down to the studio around midnight and play around on new
ideas I had.
Also, Ed hooked us up with a trip
to the local high school band room so we could add some extra instrumentation.
We put a video of the trip up on YouTube. It’s solid gold!
Were there any
influences (either musical or something else) present in the recording
of “Limbeck” that weren’t there in the past?
We’ve been fans of The Beach
Boys and The Beatles for a while now, but I think on this record those
influences finally out a little more than ever. Ed picked up this book
called “Recording The Beatles” which documents just about every
record they made, instrument by instrument. It’s insane. We definitely
took some notes.
Also, we wanted to give a bit
of a nod to our old days when we started the band out. Back then we
were only listening to pop-punk, so the song “Keepin’ Busy” is
a little bit of a shout out.
How have the new songs been
going down live? Do you have any additional musicians on the road with
you to reproduce the sounds that are found on the record?
The new songs have been going
good live. On the past two tours we’ve been bringin an extra musician
friend to help out. Last tour we brought our buddy “Spacey” Casey
Prestwood out. He plays some pedal steel guitar on the record, but we
had him playin some keys and guitar as well.
Right now we have a guy named
Joe Camerlengo. He’s from Ohio. He’s playin some keys, glockenspiel,
guitar and filling out some harmonies. It’s beautiful.
Which bands are you on tour
with at the moment?
Right now we’re on tour with
some of our favourite bands to tour with ever – The Format and Steel
Train. We’ve all known each other for a while now, so we all get into
collaborations with each other. Right now Marko from The Format plays
a song on mandolin with us, and Jack from Steel Train plays some duelling
lead guitar with Patrick on “People Don’t Change”.
You’ve been on some musically
diverse tours in the past, what do you enjoy more
– playing to existing fans or winning over a crowd and making some
new Limbeck converts?
We really like to do both, so
I think that’s why we like to mix it up all the time. Playing to a
room full of people that really dig what you do is always fun. But playin
to a bigger room of people where you have to do your best to make a
good impression is a good challenge. We gotta stay on our toes!
It’s just been announced
that you’ll be hitting Australia again September
– what can people expect from this tour?
We will be very happy to be there
and enjoying ourselves to the FULLEST. And people can expect us asking
for tips about good places to eat and hang out. We’re looking for
a good time.
Do you guys get a say in your
support bands?
To be honest, I’m not too sure!!
We just wanna tour with Bob Evans.
What have you got planned
for the rest of 2007?
After we get back from Australia,
we’ll get home and try to relax. And after we’re done with that,
possibly work on a new record. Earlier in the year we bought an 8 track
reel to reel recorder, so we’re anxious to get some stuff down on
it.
Who are some bands you’ve
heard in the last 12 months who people should check out?
We’re huge fans of a band called
Dr Dog. They’re from Philadelphia. They’re a good mix of The Beatles
and The Band. The other we stayed at a friend’s house in Austin, Texas
and another guy named David Vandervelde was stayin over. We had a real
good night hangin out and talked music… and then before we left we
heard his record and it’s insane. It’s like modern day T-Rex…
and we’re huge fans of T-Rex!
If you could assemble your
dream tour, who would be on it and why?
The Beatles circa “Revolver”,
The Beach Boys circa “Carl & The Passions”, Dr Dog and Lily
Allen.
The Beatles and The Beach Boys
were very competitive for a while, so it’d be great to get them out
on tour together during that time cuz I’m sure a crazy record would
out of the whole thing. Dr Dog would be a lot of fun to see every night
and Patrick has a huge crush on Lily Allen, so that’d be good!
Favourite activity to pass
time on the road?
We record freestyle rap songs.
Well, our tour manager Jon Cheese does. He goes by the name of EZ Cheese.
And Patrick produces all the tracks. He puts down the beats and instrumentation
and then Cheese does his freestyle over it. Patrick actually beat him
in a rap battle in a parking lot in Vermont, but we won’t talk about
that.
Have there been any humorous
incidents on a Limbeck tour that you’d like to share with our readers?
I’ll try to make this a quick
story… but a few years ago our van broke down in the middle of nowhere
in South Carolina. We were able to get it to a shop but this shop was
craaaaaaazy, with a bunch of very interesting people working there.
Anyhow, we got a quick fix on
our van and moved on. A year later the car mechanic showed up to a show
of ours in South Carolina and he had won the lottery for $8 million!!!
He said he had a big RV for us, that he wanted to sign over to us cuz
he liked our band.
Unfortunately, the next few days
he was buying houses so we couldn’t pick it up. There are a LOT more
details to this story, but you can ask us when we’re around.
Any final words man?
We’re ridiculously excited to
be back in Australia. And please tell us where good Mexican food is!!!!
Thanks for your time!
Thank you!
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