Envy Corps Interview: A surprisingly optimistic band indeed!

• 19th Apr 2008

If you haven’t heard Iowa quartet The Envy Corps yet, get on it! As well as their forthcoming tour, they’re releasing a kickass single ‘Story Problem’ – (which was actually written in jail!) out April 21st. Check it out here by clicking this link and see the appropriately excellent Takeshis Castle inspired video too!

Their debut album ‘Dwell’ (which was actually delayed due to an unscheduled stroke!) follows it a week later and holds great promise for fans of feel-good music everywhere. So, how chuffed was I to get to interview such an undeniably colourful, character crammed band? I think the correct phrase is well chuffed! Luke kindly answered some questions

AS: Thanks for this…

AS: When you take aim with your peashooter/pellet gun/sniper rifle, you’re aiming at? TEC: Children of all ages!

AS: Where do you go when it all gets too much? TEC: My cave of drugs!

AS: Is bedtime more half nine with a half read paper or more half four with fully red eyes? TEC: I’m half asleep the entire day.

AS: What do you do in your recreational time? TEC: Play American football; it requires hands as well as feet, making it vastly superior.

AS: Who would be your dream collaborator? TEC: Stacy Dupree (of Eisley).

AS: What’s the last gig/concert you went to? TEC: My own in Gainesville Florida just this evening.

AS: What’s the best music video? TEC: ‘Bachelorette’ by Bjork.

AS: If you were a musical instrument what would you be? TEC: A Harpsichord because I’m clangy, prickly and hard to move alone!

AS: Do you believe in love at first sight? TEC: I didn't until the other day.

AS: Where do you draw your inspiration from? TEC: Ancient inscriptions get well cards and fortune cookies.

AS: Any regrets, missed opportunities or things that might’ve been? TEC: I regret not having better moisturizing habits!

AS: Were/are you aware of your escalating popularity? TEC: I’d appreciate a phone call if it occurs does one day.

AS: Will your past come back to haunt you? TEC: Hopefully! I miss it.

AS: Where do you most enjoy playing live? TEC: Theaters or churches created specifically to sound pleasant.

AS: Why? What's your biggest why question and has mystified you the longest? TEC: Luckily I’m made of answers!

AS: Who is most influential on your sound? TEC: Me.

AS: Where do you sit in the grand scheme of things? TEC: Near the bottom half of the middle.

AS: Any choice epitaphs, famous last words or something you’d like to be remembered for? TEC: ‘He died saving his family from a sinking battleship’.

AS: What makes you better than everyone else? TEC: My bone structure.

AS: When do you plan to take over the world? TEC: When it's not looking.

AS: Wish you were doing anything else with your time other than music? TEC: Either contributing to the underprivileged portion of society or trying my luck with a lady friend perhaps.

AS: Did you have any heroes when you were a teenager? TEC: Scott of the Sahara!

AS: What do you think of the paparazzi? TEC: Sneaky!

AS: What are you listening to right now? TEC: My band mates playing Mario-kart on their gameboys.

AS: Any message to any underachieving or odds facing musician out there? TEC: Calm down!

AS: Any career highs or lows you care to share? TEC: Every day is a new low.

AS: Do you enjoy playing live or are you more at home in a studio? TEC: Definitely the studio. It’s a comforting domicile where all mistakes and transgressions are easily erased.

AS: Your career defining dream moment would be what? TEC: Playing for the United Nations.

AS: Any upcoming music / bands worth keeping an eye on that are destined for greatness? TEC: Eisley, The Silent Years, Coconut Records and Midlake.

AS: How important do you feel visuals are in relation to music? TEC: Only for bands that are otherwise boring.

AS: I’m sure you’ve done a few but, do you know which has been your best ever gig? TEC: I instantly forget each show after I play it. It’s the only reason I can determine to keep doing it.

AS: What will this year bring? TEC: A slew of important holidays including my birthday and Christmas.

AS: Is there more pressure playing live with a band than there is playing solo? TEC: Probably solo. You can't hide behind a wall of feedback.

AS: Are you unlucky in love? TEC: It would seem (love you honey!).

AS: Best song, movie or LP ever? TEC: Best song ever is ‘Let Down’ by Radiohead.

AS: Where did you sleep last night? TEC: The cramped front seat of my band's van.

AS: What’s your secret vice, what are you a sucker for? TEC: Chutney of any kind.

AS: What makes the world go round? TEC: Science.

AS: What’s your weak point? TEC: Somewhere in the top quarter of my spine.

AS: What’s your favourite instrument? TEC: Piano, for playing purposes at least.

AS: What inspired the LP title ‘Dwell’? TEC: The songs on our record have been with us for awhile. We've lived with them for many months. It felt like they were the framework of our lives. ‘Dwell’ is about living inside what we create.

AS: Are you a good dancer? TEC: Nope!

AS: What kinds of music do you dislike the most? TEC: Foals and other neon buzz bands.

AS: Where will you retire to when you're tired of comeback concerts? TEC: The comeback concert retirement home of Florida!

AS: When will the world end?
TEC: 2005!

AS: Who is the main driving force or do you work as a team? TEC: Teamwork is for sissies!

AS: How important are the charts? TEC: Important to the mindless idiots who can't create their own tastes.

AS: Are exercise and diet important? TEC: Absolutely. However, England’s obviously missed the memo; luckily, depression keeps the English slim and trim!

AS: Who’s the most gifted person alive today? TEC: Bjork Gudmundsdottir.

AS: Which rules, the digital age or the vinyl/cassette age? TEC: The gramophone age

AS: If a musical style was to become extinct, which would go first i.e. jazz, folk…? TEC: Nu-rave.

AS: Do you have any unused band names you’d love to use? TEC: Geppedophilee.

AS: Thanks for your time and for the cool video too!

For all info on The Envy Corps, please visit this link