SIXONEFOUR contributor and friend Mariel Stoll attended the Vans Warped Tour at the Pomona, California stop to take concert pictures and talk to a couple of the bands.
Band: Disco Curtis
Who: Tanner Howe, Garrett Perales
Date: August 11, 2010
M = Mariel, T = Tanner, G = Garrett
Photo by Mariel Stoll for SIXONEFOUR.
M: For the record, state your name and what you do in your band.
T: I’m Tanner, I sing and play guitar in Disco Curtis.
G: I’m Garrett and I play guitar.
M: What’s the best thing, in your opinion, about being in a band?
T: I get to play music as a living, and hang out with people, and tour, and see new, great things every day.
G: In the world.
T: Yeah!
G: In the country. It’s awesome.
M: How would you guys describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard it before?
T: I’d say that it’s pop and rock and it’s a blend of those things together. Live, a lot more rock comes out, and it’s a lot of big energy, and we definitely like to entertain as much as possible live. So it’s definitely pop and rock.
M: What sets you guys apart from other bands in the scene today?
T: Which scene necessarily are you speaking of?
M: Haha, any scene.
T: You mean, like, the general scene?
M: Yeah.
T: Sets us apart… um… we’re definitely younger. I can say, being on this tour, I think it’s safe to say we’re the youngest band on the tour. Are we? Garrett?
G: Ummm…
T: Think so?
G: I don’t know… maybe… yeah… one of the youngest.
T: Yeah, I think that definitely sets us apart in a way. We are fresh out of high school.
G: So we don’t have tattoos or that good stuff.
T: Yeah, we don’t have tattoos. I don’t have any piercings. I don’t know, haha, we’re just… we’re very new… we’re like babies. Fresh out of the womb.
M: So, as you mentioned, you’re fresh out of high school. What groups would you say you guys were in while you were in high school, if any?
G: Um, we were in another one.
T: Oh! Like a musical group?
M: No, no, like social groups!
G: Oh, I thought you were talking about bands!
T: Oh, like high school cliches?
M: Yes! Exactly that!
T: We were really our own brand. We were floaters. We would hang out with the jocks and the cheerleaders and the stoners. I mean, we weren’t any of those things, but we hung out with them because they were cool kids, and you know… whatever.
G: Yeah, we just hung out with whoever we thought was cool. Didn’t matter what group.
T: It didn’t really matter to us.
G: Style-wise… whatever.
Photo by Mariel Stoll for SIXONEFOUR.
M: You just released two summer singles, “This Gravity” and “Ammunitiion.” Are you trying to go in a new direction with these songs, or are you liking where you’re at as a band right now? Do you feel these songs represent your growth as a band?
T: I’d say that these these new songs are… well, first of all, these songs are a little bit of a different direction than the EP. These songs are more.. there’s more to it, there’s more dynamics. There’s a little bit more variety to them. Also, a song like “This Gravity,” we’re just trying to bring a little more positivity to our music and branch out. It’s really just a maturing process with song writing, trying to figure out what works, what doesn’t, what defines us. Definitely bringing in some more elements though - some keys, some strings - just kind of experimenting with what best defines us, and I think with the full-length, these two new songs are the direction where that’s going to go, um, but we’ll see once it’s recorded what it is ultimately going to sound like.
M: You worked with Geoff Rockwell on your EP, “Play With Fire, Get Burned. “ How was that?
T: It was great! He’s a great guy, we loved working with him! We did the EP with him, and he’s a cool dude. We actually worked with him before Disco Curtis, ‘cause we met him when we were freshmen in highschool or something like that. He’s always just been really cool to us.
M: If you had the chance to interview your biggest musical influence, who would it be, and what’s one question you would ask them?
T: Ooh. I have a lot of influence from Chris Carrabba. Dashboard Confessional? Uh. Not sure what I’d ask. Maybe I’d ask Max Bemix from Say Anything, because he’s such an interesting character. And I’d probably ask him the meanings of different songs that he has, just ‘cause his songs are very interesting. I want to understand his metaphors. I’d go with that.
M: Okay! Any for you [Garrett]?
G: I’d probably want to talk to John Mayer. No idea what I’d ask him though.
M: Haha, no idea?
T: Ask him for guitar lessons.
G: Yeah! “Can you give me guitar lessons?” That’s what I’d want.
T: Good answer!
M: After Warped, you’re going back home to Texas and playing a few shows with Rooney, but what are your big plans after that? Any fall tour plans?
T: We talked about some stuff, but we’re not quite sure as far as touring what we’re going to be doing, simply because we want to make a lot of new music. That’s kind of the goal - to put out new music.
Photo by Mariel Stoll for SIXONEFOUR.
M: If you were stuck on a deserted island, what 3 things would you bring with you?
T: Insulin. Gotta have insulin.
G: I’d bring a guitar!
T: Okay. One for you, one for me. What else would you bring, Garrett?
G: What’s an essential… survival…
T: I would bring insulin, clean water…
G: Mhm, yeah, water.
T: And… food! I’d have to have food!
G: Yeah!
T: Or else there’s no point in giving me insulin! So there you go!
M: That was my last question. Any closing statements?
T: Thanks for taking the time to interview us!
G: Yeah, thank you!
T: And keep on the look out for those new songs!
M: Perfect! Thank you!
T: Yeah, sure thing!
For more Disco Curtis information, music, and tour dates, visit their website http://www.myspace.com/discocurtis
View more of Mariel’s photos at http://flickr.com/photos/thatgirlmariel and her blog at http://thewildtype.tumblr.com.
