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#7 Interview with the Mooney Suzuki. These young lads hail from New York City, and have been making their way for quite some time now with their hot brand of garage rock. Featured here are Sammy James Jr., vocalist and guitarist, and Graham Tyler, guitarist of the band.

1. When and how did you become interested in performing?

SJ: Right outta the womb.
GT: Yeah. I’ve always been a performer. From day one. I can’t remember not performing- I used to give miniature rock concerts for my parents and all their friends in our back yard. I’d stand at the top of our swingset-
SJ: Naked
GT: Yeah. In like my Spiderman Underoos and my little headless electric guitar and I’d play for them. I’d sing Simon and Garfunkle songs. My parents and their friends loved it and that had me hooked.

2. What is the first album / artist that exposed you to Rock and Roll?

SJ: My cousin who is older than me who I worshiped because he wore concert t-shirts and smoked cigarettes gave me a tape called ‘cool tape’ that had “Back In Black” on it and all the ‘heavy’ songs from Led Zeppelin I. That was the first thing that got me going, and then the first record I bought was the Who Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy because I just went to the store and asked for the record that had Pinball Wizard on it.

3. NYC has a dense musical background; who are some of your favorite artists / bands- current or old- that have emerged from the depths?

GT: The obvious ones
SJ: Yeah, the Velvet Underground, the Heartbreakers. I appreciate the NY Dolls and the Ramones, but I never went through a period of loving them.
GT: Yeah, I think I agree with that. Those have been the two biggest New York based.
SJ: And more recently, the Beastie Boys are another major major influence and inspiration. I don’t know, do you consider Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix New York bands?

4. Bands are a dime a dozen in NYC- was it a challenge to set yourselves apart in order to gain buzz?

GT: I don’t think it was ever a challenge
SJ: It is a challenge to seperate yourselves, but for us it wasn’t a challenge because all we had to do was do what we do and we were automatically seperated. Because we were pretty hot shit. And that’s what happens.
GT: People that are playing already suck. If you don’t suck, you’ll be seperated.
SJ: Not everybody sucks. But in New York, you’re not just competing with bands, you’re competing with the MET the MoMA, Lincoln Center, crack. We’ve got to be more of an experience than crack.

5. Who or what has had the greatest impact on your music?

GT: There’s so many. Impact is such a general term. There’s been so many, from Paul Reubens-
SJ: I was just gonna say, “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure”! Uh, Estrus Records
GT: James Brown, Sly
SJ: Soul music, so many things. Each other...

6. Did you grow up around soul music or did you discover that on your own?

SJ: I didn’t. I was into the music that someone throws at you as a kid. I think that being a kid and listening to the Beastie Boys or De La Soul and hearing the samples, you’re like “Oh james Brown’s Funky Drummer” and then you go out and buy the music. I got into black america music through music I was inspired by, and then you start digging into that.

7. There have been a few lineup changes / label changes in the band’s history- can you shed some light onto that?

SJ: It’s like James Brown, sure he’s had his classic lineups and stuff, but we saw him two summers ago, and there was no one from the original band, and it was the greatest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. That’s how we look at it. We’re more of a collective. It’s always been Graham Tyler and Sammy James Jr. and whoever else is in the band could just be like a drone. For us, it’s always part of the fun of recruiting new blood. Our current drummer was our original drummer. We have such a bank of musicians now, I feel like there are 20 Mooney Suzuki members. It’s always just the question of who’s serving and active duty and who’s on reserve.

8. The band has had the opportunity to play at Cavestomp! with the likes of The Monks, The Standells, what was the experience like?

SJ: It was great to blow those bands off the stage- I’m just kidding. It was awesome. Cavestomp was a weird nite because it was the first time ever where people were actually there to see us. Normally, it’s like, ‘fuck you guys’, and we’re like ‘oh yeah?! We’ll show them!” So it was kinda nice meeting that community, which has been such a huge support for us and really got us rolling. I love all those records. We’ve been to all the other Cavestomps and it’s a hit or miss. I can appreciate it, like the guys playing again with their friends, but sometimes they just blow you away, like the Monks did. The first time ? and the Mysterians played Cavestomp it was one of the best experiences of my life, it was incredible.

9.The band has also played at noteworthy fests like SxSW and CMJ- what have been the benefits of playing these?

GT: It’s always been great for us.
SJ: People always complain about these events from a fan point of view, and it does suck waiting in line or not getting in, but it’s not for fans, you know. It’s like work, to be honest. When we played CMJ, right before our record came out, we played shows for radio program directors, and our record did great on radio. That was an amazing oppportunity to play a show for those people and go out and talk to those people. And SxSW was awesome because it was really well attended.
GT: It’s always a positive experience.

10. The band puts on an explosive live show for nites in a row when on tour; does it get harder to go out and do that by the end of the tour?

SJ: I can’t tell you what happens. One time we had been on the road for 6 months straight, and we were on our last show. We were all sitting in this mini bus we had rented because our main bus had broken down-
GT: It was our most grueling tour ever.
SJ: And we were just lying in the back of the mini bus, quivering and drooling like we were just done. And once we get on stage, it doesn’t matter what we do, because what we do creates energy. And it was one of the best shows ever.

11. What are your top 5 touring / performance experiences / opportunities?

GT and SJ: Bellingham, with Monkey Wrench, Austin Texas, anytime we’ve played there.
GT: Chicago at the Fireside Bowl.
SJ: The first time played DC was pretty amazing because Ian Svenonius came to see us and our boners ripped through our pants because that was very exciting.
GT: New York Bowery
SJ: Oh, Bowery Ballroom in October. It was like our first show after September 11th and it was a great- . We were going through our songs, thinking about the lyrics, and were just like fuck it. We just went and did what we do and it was one of the best experiences ever.

12. Bottom 5?

SJ: We just had one in Jackson, but even that was good. Houston! One time this guy poured mustard over Tyler’s guitar pedal and Tyler took his Rickenbacker like an ax and beat him. And that was the first time a show ended before a show was suppossed to end, except on this tour we got cut off. And then another time, this idiot came on stage and started pulling his pants down and pulling cables out of our things.
GT: He was just fucked up and, whatever...

13. If you could see or meet one concert or band in history who would it be, and why?

SJ: Sly and the Family Stone at Woodstock. The Velvet Underground during an Exploding Plastic Inevitible Performance.
GT: The Who live at Leeds.
SJ: Jimi Hendrix live at Monterey. James Brown live at the Apollo 1965.
GT: Jimi Hendrix New Years Eve 1969.
SJ: Oh, shit (laughing)
GT: James Brown opening for the Stones. You could just keep going.

14. Do you have any advice for someone who wants to be in a band or has musical aspirations?
GT: If you’re gonna do it, do it well. Don’t just do it, cause there’s a lotta people that are just doing it. And if you’re gonna do it, try to do something that makes it extra special. And when you think it’s extra special, make it even more special than that.
SJ: Be yourself and be thankful. And then thank you for letting you be yourself.