New Tongues - Interview

New Tongues blew me away with their debut release which I reviewed Here. 

This was prime punk/noise rock which I gleefully fucking recommended!

The band have been cool enough to give me an interview, so here goes:

Who is in the band and how did you get together? 

I met Justin at a street fair here in Columbia and we began playing and writing 

songs together. It was just the two of us playing bass (Justin) and guitar (Shane) 

for a few months in this tiny little room. 

Mike and Justin went to high school together. Justin and I had been trying 

to find a drummer for a few months before we met up with Mike at a 

show to see what he thought. 

He agreed and we wrote most of the album in the course of the next 4-5 months. 

We recorded all of We Are... after playing only 4 shows together. 

I can hear influences of NoMeansNo, These Arms Are Snakes and 

Jesus Lizard in your music. Was this the music that inspired you? 

I have been playing guitar for decades now and my stuff still has 

echoes of The Ramones and The Stooges in it - 

music I love and always play. 

We definitely wanted to play loud, chaotic music that wasn’t necessarily defined by a period or predecessor. No doubt all of those bands and many more shape what we sound like however, we often find ourselves describing a feeling or texture in a song in non-musical terms ie “let’s make this part sound like a truck slipping out of park and rolling downhill into a jeweler or fine dining restaurant” 

Do you have to put on your own gigs or are there plenty of places to play? 

We definitely book all of our own shows. Columbia has lots of good venues and bars but the one DIY venue is scheduled for demolition because the owner of the building would rather have a parking lot.

What has the general reaction been to “We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For” - I have seen some really good reviews on the web, has this album helped in getting people along to see you play and getting gigs? 

It hasn’t helped yet but we plan on doing some touring soon. We’ve got a few offers to play out of town. 

I thought the production was really good - powerful & aggressive with a “live” raw sound - are you pleased with it? 

Very pleased. We worked with our friend Dan Ruder, drummer of the band Jack Buck in St. Louis (an amazing band) on the record. He recorded it and we mixed it together. Carl Saff in Chicago mastered it for vinyl. It was recorded in about a day and half, mostly single takes with minimal overdubs. 

How difficult is it to juggle work with being in the band. 

Difficult, but necessary. We have smart phones that tell us what to do and where to be. 

Your digital album is pay what you want - do you find places like Bandcamp are able to get your music out to a much wider audience than just gigs and friends? 

It is certainly a great tool. We have no illusions about broadening our audience or making it. We love playing music and making records and prefer said records are in other peoples hands/turntables/ or respective listening devices rather than our hands/basements. Sharing is good!

Are there any bands in Columbia that other readers may not of heard of before that we should check out? Columbia has a small but high concentration of great bands. Normally these come off as “check out my friends bands” but they are fantastic. Coward, Dark Blue Dark Green, Bald Eagle, Hott Lunch, Jack Buck (STL), Believers, etc. are all bands that you should check out and buy their records.

What does the future hold for you? We’re going to try for some Europe or South American tours next year and continue playing shows here in the Midwest (No Coast). We’re probably going to write another record this year too. Buying a trailer hitch will also happen. 

Those are the words - check out the sounds!