Not Chinese Takeout – Interview – Thanks for Asking!

Not Chinese Takeout – Interview – Thanks for Asking! – by Liam Sweeny.

RRX: Every artist’s first song is a milestone. But so is the latest song. Describe the first song/album you recorded, and also the latest song/album you recorded; what are the differences?

Nate (Not Chinese Takeout) : Our first EP “Not For Me” was crazy man. The whole experience was wild. We ended up hitting up producer/engineer  Sam Pura because he’s worked with some of our favorite bands. Ended up driving to San Francisco to record that first one. We were kinda musical babies at that point almost. Some of us had been doing the music release thing for a little while before that but never on that scale. That will always be a landmark experience for us. The most recent project “Better In September” I think just drove down more of the indie/“Midwest emo” path (my own personal favorite at least right now haha that shoegaze & hardcore) it felt like we kind of hit a stride and are more confident now with our take on the genres we live in. Producer Connor Hanson and his production partner Greg Pease of Flycatcher (another one of our favorite bands) helped us get this one together and to us it’s a beautiful project and we were able to capture the season of fall which we love.

RRX: Music genres are difficult for some artists. Some strictly adhere; others not so much. What is your perspective on the genre you play, or the genres you hover around?

JP: Genres, for us, always seem to be more of a “movie” descriptor, rather than for music. Songs can be so expansive and outwardly expressed, that it’s hard to put them into a particular box. We like to say our music is “Blendcore” and/or “Middle States” music, because it’s a good mix of Punk, Midwest Emo and Shoegaze genres. We try to keep the walls of the genre box from becoming too rigid.

Nate: Hover is a fact haha we’re a Blendcore band dawg. Not sure if that exist but ya know, it does now I guess. We love too many things to just bunker down with one sound. We know it’s sometimes seemed as something fans don’t like but I don’t know, we never wanted to make just pop punk or  shoegaze etc. We love all that shit so we make all that shit ya know? Trying to stay true to ourselves and also all the feelings/sounds we love.

RRX: In the universe of music, anything can happen. Bizarro doppelgangers can walk down the street in feather boas. Who would be your musical opposite and why? What do you think the “anti-you” band would sound like?

Nate: Haha I’m not sure, maybe a band that only focuses on one very specific thing.

JP: Musical opposites are hard to find because everything in our music is influenced by almost everything else in life. We have a metal-leaning guitarist, post-based rhythm guitarist, jazz bassist, pop punk drummer/singer and a Midwest leaning singer…and we seem to work just fine coming together to make some vibes happen. So I can’t say we have an opposite, because we can take something out of everything we hear and see. But I can say; maybe we’re influenced the least by artists, or groups, who are ONLY created and concocted by the producers or people around them. We live and die by the creation, and find something good in almost anything that’s created by the people that project their creation!

RRX: Our style comes from the extension of our influences. It’s like an evolution. We’re influenced, and it inspires us to influence. What can you say about your influences, and what you feel you’ve done with their influence as a musician or band? Have you extended their work?

Nate: Between all of us we could probably talk about this for a whole day or two honestly. There are so many bands and artist that have nurtured what we do and allowed us to express something close but at the same time unique to us. When you listen to our music I’m sure a lot of bands might come to mind or maybe not! But that’s how alternative music kinda works. We’re all related, all one big family.

RRX: In the musical world, there are many supporting players. Recording engineers, sound techs, cover art designers. Who are three people that support the craft that you would like to shine a spotlight on?

Nate: Oh man, All those sorts of people you just mentioned are so important to this. I sometimes see bands or artist post their new project or something and not always are there credits for who worked on them. I don’t know if it’s like a label thing or like an insecurity thing but we love our engineers and art workers. Shout out to all of them. Can’t keep it at just three it’s too hard haha but if we had to 5 is the minimum if that’s ok. Those are Sam Pura, Theresa Brown, David Liebig, Connor Hanson, Greg Pease. We love you guys.

RRX: Let’s talk about your next project, your next few. Just not the ones you’re working on now. The ones you have your eyes on for the future. What’s coming to us?

JP: Our build-up to an album is going to be a fun one…We have 4 more tracks releasing within a few months from now; two songs for the colder seasons, and 2 for the warmer weather. Then the plan is to have our first full length album out during the back half of 2025.

It’s been an amazing experience getting these ideas and demos finalized, and then getting to play those same ideas live has been wild as well. We’re hyped for the process and ready for some more.

Nate: Some crazy shit probably haha we are starting to build towards a full length record. We have some ideas and we love this music thing man. You guys won’t be disappointed. Believe us when we say that. We have some super cool visions and concepts that we totally think you’ll love and will be the reason why you’ll be seeing us out on the road with all the people we look up to.

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