Boyfrndz (Interview w/ Scott Martin 2013)
Boyfrndz is an Austin band with lofty aspirations and enough creativity under their wings to back it up. Soaring vocals meld with whirring guitars and expansive rhythms to create a dissonant sound that will have you hooked instantaneously. Whether you call them Shoegaze, Experimental, or just plain fucking awesome, Boyfrndz is definitely worth a listen. We sat down with lead singer and guitarist, Scott Martin, to discuss the band’s origin, inspirations, and upcoming album.
Scott Martin interviewed by SlackerLee
Lee: I hear you’re quite the coffee fanatic, if Boyfrndz were a blend, how would it taste?
Scott: I imagine it would be pretty nutty…. and strong I guess.
Lee: You guys have been labeled as Shoegaze. Do you embrace that terminology?
Scott: Honestly I don’t really know what that means. I remember reading once that it was just people staring at their shoes, like pedal stompers or something. Those kind of terms evolve and turn into new things, but sure, I guess it fits.
Lee: So what was the genesis of Boyfrndz, how did you guys meet?
Scott: Aaron, the drummer and I, have known each other since high school. He’s always been in bands and had this band awhile back that I auditioned for as lead singer. It turned out that I was pretty bad at singing, like real bad. So yeah, I tried that and it didn’t work out and they had another lead singer for a long time and I was supportive and was always really about it and always wanted to be in the band, but it never really stuck. He was in a really good band called Toronado. Toronado was starting to fizzle a little bit, so we ended up getting a place downtown with a buddy of his, about where Cenote is now on the East side. We were both unemployed coincidentally and started to play together and would improv all day. We would wake up in the morning, walk to Progress, get coffee, come back, smoke some weed, and just play for hours. It was so much fun. Joseph and I, the bass player, had been in a band called We the Grenada. We ended up quitting that band because we felt like we weren’t contributing in that band anymore and weren’t really doing anything with it. We just said ‘fuck it, lets do something different’. So we kind of put two and two together and made a new band.
Lee: Did you intend to create your complex/ experimental sound, or did it come from something more basic?
Scott: No, because We the Granada was an experimental prog type of band. We were kind of ridiculous as far as compositions are concerned. If you listen to the other guitarist from that band, he formed another band now called Feuding Fathers. So Feuding Fathers and Boyfrndz came out of the split of We the Granada, and if you listen to all three bands, you would understand better where the sound came from.
Lee: You said you were unemployed when you got the band going, what would be doing if Boyfrndz was not happening?
Scott: I was working at Uchiko here in town. I actually helped open that restaurant. I was working there and then I left around Christmas and that was when Aaron left his job, so it was just waiting tables, but I guess I’m still waiting tables now.
Lee: When do you think you will have a full-length album?
Scott: Next year. We go in the studio in the middle of September. We aren’t signed so we’re just going to record it ourselves. So far we haven’t had any trouble creating music, so we’re just going to keep on making it happen.
Lee: How do you think the city of Austin has influenced your band?
Scott: It is a lot easier to get your shit together here, because everybody has their shit together. It’s a lot of competition. It’s a lot of people working really hard, which is inspiring in of it’s self. There are certain cities where it seems like all of the popular bands come from like New York or Los Angeles. In Austin, bands seem to get ‘Austin Famous’. They are big here, they do big shows here, and then that’s about that. They forget to tour and really tend to not care about the rest of the world, because they are doing so well here.
Lee: Austin definitely has its own bubble, how do you see Boyfrndz breaking out of that?
Scott: It’s all a big fucking question mark. We don’t know what the best thing to do is. Especially with things like they are today, we don’t know what the best plan is. It’s just a big guess. Basically the best thing do is to write music and to go out and tour and just keep touring.
Lee: What is your favorite show that you have played so far?
Scott: We played the last show ever at Emo’s outside downtown. We were the only opener for Death From Above 1979. That was our first really big show and I think that was probably my favorite show so far.
Lee: What are some influences of yours?
Scott: All three of us listen to so much different stuff. I’ve always been a huge Queens of the Stone Age fan. We’ve always been big Mars Volta bands. We all love Tera Melos. I dunno, just a bunch of Sacramento bands in general like Raleigh Moncrief, and Teddy Brigg’s band. Aaron has been into a bunch of hip-hop lately and R&B stuff, like J-Dilla. I’m also an enormous Grizzly Bear fan.
Lee: Do you feel like you need to keep pushing your boundaries as far as experimentation, or are you satisfied with whatever feels good?
Scott: We are certainly always trying to push boundaries and experiment with different things. Its still something we are always trying to let come out during improve sessions, its not like I’m just sitting in my bedroom and trying to muscle this stuff out. We practice a lot too, we practice four times a week.
Lee: With all the external pressures that act on musicians during this ‘making it’ process, how do you stay sane?
Scott: Smoking weed. (Laughs) Just kidding. No it’s amazing that I don’t go insane. I do all the work as far as management and, I book all of our tours and do the local booking. Also, Joe and I both work 40 hours a week at Second Bar + Kitchen. I am a server and he is a back-wait. That in of it’s self is a great thing because it’s a home base and they are really understanding, and they understand that we are musicians and are respectful of it. This is going to be our fifth tour working while for that company, and it’s fine with them that we do it and are even giving us PTO. It’s pretty unheard for musicians. I mean I’ve lost so many fucking jobs trying to do it. It is just a whole other thing to worry about. That’s why a lot of bands don’t tour because, they have 9-5 jobs, or they work at a fucking sandwich shop and, can’t take the time off to tour. Music makes it easier but for the other stuff, I just put my head down and keep working, because I wouldn’t be happy otherwise.
Lee: Could you envision a life without making music in a band?
Scott: No, if I don’t play a show for a couple of weeks, there is this certain depression that I go through. I get bummed out. If we only practice once a week, like I feel it, it affects me and, it affects my relationships, it’s weird.
Lee: What is your intention going into each show with Boyfrndz?
Scott: I guess it would be to hope that they feel what we are feeling. Make you feel good, make you feel warm, make you feel exactly how we do.
