On The Cinder – Interview – Thanks for Asking!

On The Cinder – Interview – Thanks for Asking! – by Liam Sweeny.

RRX: Artists, musicians, we immortalize. We set it in stone. Is there anyone who has passed that you feel you have immortalized in your work? If so, can you tell us a little about them?”

Mike: This is something we briefly mention to audiences, but the loss of loved ones is a huge influence on our songwriting. I feel like grief is such a powerful feeling that writing and song have become important means to process and heal after losing a friend or family member.

I’ve never put this in an interview before, but our song “Green Flames” from our latest record is a commemoration to our friend Tom. While the song describes the Buffalo cornerstone dive bar The Old Pink (RIP), the song was inspired by our friend that we coincidentally met up with and he then gave me a safe ride home. It was the last time I ever saw him, though our last interaction was him making sure I got home safe. Kind gestures like that go a long way with me and we’ll always have him in our hearts when we play that song.

RRX: We have to play somewhere, and sometimes those places have more going for them than a stage and a power outlet. What is a memorable place you played, and bonus points if it’s not a well-known place.

Jason: It’s hard to narrow it down to one, so here are a few – And I’m sure they’re not well-known:

We once played a laundromat in DC… or rather a room that shared a wall, but all of the gear was loaded onto washers and dryers, and it was a dry venue, so I’m sure we spent at least some of the time sneaking shots off of washers and dryers

Kirby’s beer store has become a somewhat regular stop on our way through Kansas (Wichita, I believe). The maximum capacity of the room is under 40, so when 3 bands play, that leaves room for about 20 guests – Standing room only. The tables and chairs are moved onto the sidewalk in front of the building before the show starts.

Shantytown in Jacksonville has been good to us, but we weren’t sure what to expect when one of the attendees took our shoes from us and ran away during our set. After a minute or so, he brought them back full of beer so that we’d be properly initiated. — #shoeboat

Mike: We’ve played many house shows over the years, and the show spaces have ranged from living rooms, dens, kitchens, toy rooms, backyards, basements, foyers….if there is a corner of your house and you want to get loud, we’ll squeeze in.

RRX: With services like Spotify, streaming revenue can be pretty dismal. Without spilling secrets, do you have a promotional mindset or philosophy?

Mike: I think the two most important things to live by when it comes to promotion of your band, small business, or simply your professional identity, is to 1) be yourself 2) do things because they are fun.

Musicians can definitely build personas to express their music and their act to entertain people (ie., Chappell Roan, Steel Panther), though chasing trends and faking your energy to be what you think people want is usually transparent to your audience. Be yourself and show what is interesting about you, if you can’t come up with anything than why expect an audience to care about you? And doing things for fun is crucial; everyone is buried in their own feed and marketing can be really challenging, so having fun making what you need to push your music will bring you more joy rather than feel like a chore.

RRX: What would you like fans to know before they come to see you play? (No basic stuff; get specific.)

Jason: I think we’d all like fans to know that we want to hang out! I don’t think we have many “fans” that we wouldn’t consider friends, and if you’re in that minority and you’re reading this, please shoot us a message so we can change that. We usually hang out around the club or space before and after the set, and between the 3 of us, we love to talk shop about music, wrestling, bad movies, sports, you name it!

RRX: Sometimes you gotta go on the road. Miles can build up, and it can stretch the comfort level of any traveling act. What do you bring on a road trip, or tour? What will you forget to bring?

Jason: These days, two-thirds of us work from the road in come capacity, so laptops, batteries and the hot-spot are essential. Sometimes Tyler will bring his golf back, so that he can get a few rounds in during the off time. Sleeping bags, pillows, phone chargers… they seem to start in abundance on day 1, but by day 9 or 10, we are usually sharing and borrowing at an embarrassing level — shout out if you whole band passes around 1 stick of deodorant in the morning.

Otherwise, jumper cables, spare tire, backup guitar, a good hoody and a hat are quintessential components of band’s “success”.

RRX: How does practice go? Is the road practice enough, or do you have a practice shack? If so, how does it look? What’s on the walls? What cool sh*t is in there?

Mike: I live in Rochester, NY, while Jason and Tyler are roommates in Buffalo. They are the proprietors of the once great house show venue Noiseland Arcade, though all good things must end eventually, and now it is simply their home and our practice space. The house is filled with relics of shows past, an elephant graveyard of musical instruments, bachelor life antiquities, and the basement show space. Lots of show fliers hang behind the drum kit, white boards and writing notebooks litter the shelves along the wall, and the feel of the carpet in the basement brings on a sensory overload of memories from shows and moments in practice after all these years. Practice usually consists of 3-4 straight hours of writing/rehearsing, with a coffee/beer hang before and after to decompress.

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