Mixtape #16: Trans Am

Chrome rule ok.

Hi, I have an interview with Trans Am...

1.What was the inspiration behind calling your band Trans Am?

I had nothing to do with it. Apparently one of those jokers suggested Camaro and the other dude declared that "Trans Am's were cooler than Camaros". Which is, I think, proven. Also, Trans Am has all sorts of other possibilities as a name. In Europe we are known as Trans AM (as in morning, I think) and I once talked to a gay comedian who liked the fact that we had "Trans" in our name. He said he would add it too his act. ??? He wasn't very funny, actually.

2.Can you tell us a little bit about the core members of the band? Who they are, what instruments they play and a their relative backgrounds?

Yes. There is Phil, there is Seb, there is Natron. We all play everything – keys, drums, guitar, bass, vocals - but not always well. Frequently it is better for our writing process if someone doesn't play very well. Live we have more fixed instruments. Since performing is the only way we make money any more, I won't talk more about that – you'll have to come see us.

I don't know what "relative backgrounds" means but we've known each other for a long time. We've actually only developed our own identities in the past few years.

3.What gear does your band use?

Whatever is around – we used to have a studio with lots of stuff around, but now we are more of a band on the run so we just grab what we can find. Mostly the stuff is old. New stuff is too expensive and has too many rave presets.

4.What would you say have been major influences in determining the style of your band, and where do you draw inspiration from for your sound and lyrics?

Basically we are a post-punk band except we started about 20 years too late to really matter in a "history of music" kind of way.

5.Although Trans Am's music has often been labelled as being Prog Kraut Stadium Rock, how would you describe your music to someone who has never heard of you and why do you think you remain a criminally ignored underground band that isn't headlining stadiums?

I don't think criminals ignore us. Actually, one of our favorite people to see on tour in the US is a kid whose brother called him from jail and told him to come check us out when we played this barn in Lafayette, Louisiana with Pansonic. Also, PKSR is pretty good. There was a poster in Croatia that called us Heavy American Electro Rock which also worked as well as any other genre.

6.What is the largest audience you've ever played to, and what would you say is the best and worst part of touring? Have there ever been any memorable events that you feel particularly proud of being associated with, and do you make a comfortable living from touring?

Whoa, Buddy. That should probably be two or three questions:

6a) No idea, but on our recent tour supporting Tool, we played a few 16,000 seat venues. We've played some decent festivals but are you really playing to people there or just a bunch of muddy, deaf, drugged out zombies? (Nothing against drugs or zombies.)

6b) Best=playing; worst=the other 23 hours in a day.

6c) Yeah, heaps. We played a pretty cool little festival down in New Zealand this February called camp a low hum. Very small, but fun and with no attitude or bullshit. We make a little money but not enough to rest on our laurels.

7.Can you describe your daily routine as a band? What do you get up to whilst being in the studio and what steps do you take to ensure that your time on the road is as active and eventful as possible?

I don't know. We will do anything in the studio but we usually just want smooth sailing on tour; that question gives me a lot to think about.

8.Can you describe Trans Am's song-writing process? How do you come up with the various instrument parts and lyrics and collect these to form a seamless whole?

We play the songs a lot. If there isn't enough then we add more. We have an aesthetic called Obscene Strategies. More about that later.

9.Who do you think is your target audience and what kind of people do you think enjoy listening to your music?

Our target audience is people who, when they hear our music, either want to dance, yell, laugh or buy merchandise. We'd prefer someone who is obsessive about all four. Unfortunately we mostly seem to attract stoners.

10.What bands are you listening to at the moment and who would you say are your all time favourite bands? Similarly, what is your stance on Prog Kraut Stadium Rock and which bands would you recommend our readers check out that belong to that particular genre?

I'm not listening to any music right now – trying to concentrate. Chrome is good. (Not Chromeo.)

The rest of this interview will be up when my website goes up. Alternatively, and if you want the full interview to be featured on DiS, please email me. Thanks