Punktuation-What name do you guys give yourselves?
Small Brown Bike
P-AKA?
SMALL BROWN BIKE
P-How did you come up with this name?
SBB-We named the band after a bike that we used to work on back in middle school. We actually used to work on a lot of bikes during the boring summers in Michigan. Either play basketball, skate, or work on bikes. We painted a little Barbie bike brown and gave it a new seat and some good handlebars and rode it to death. We actually named it "Poop", but that would have been a really bad name for the band.
P-Where do you guys currently reside?
SBB-We all live in Lansing, Michigan. It's the capital city about an hour and a half west of Detroit. Ben, Dan and I live together and Scott lives about four houses down. It makes things really convenient for practice and stuff like that.
P-What is the scene like there compared to other places you've played/lived?
SBB-It's a roller coaster like anywhere else. Sometimes there is a place to play in every city, but sometimes you can't even get a show in Michigan. There is a lot of great bands from Michigan like Keleton DMD, Quixote, Lovesick, Inside Five Minutes, Thoughts of Ionesco, Flashpapr, Trocar, Propellor, Capture the Flag, My Complex, Few and Far Between, With Arms Still Empty, and many more. Some of them tour and some don't, but we are really lucky to have so many good bands. It makes it really fun to play shows here. We also are lucky enough to have Michigan Fest in the spring. That is a really amazing event...there was about 1500 people there on Saturday this year. Really inspiring!
P-What releases do you guys have under your belts?
SBB-We have done a demo tape and a couple of seven-inches that are compiled on a CD called 'Collection' on Atarms Mechanics. We also have a LP/CD called 'Our Own Wars' on No Idea Records. We just released a couple of new things too...a four band split 7" called 'Quarters, Vol. One' with Keleton DMD, Quixote, and Lovesick and we have a song on a new compilation called 'Slightest Indication of Change' which also includes The Casket Lottery, No Knife, Piebald, Jejune, Kind of Like Spitting and more. Right now we are working on a bunch of new songs to record for a new LP/CD, but we aren't really sure when we will record.
P-What is your favourite release to date? Why?
SBB-I think that 'Our Own Wars' is our most complete release to date. I think that it really surprised us how people responded to it. We just went in and recorded those songs without really expecting what was going to happen. It's been so rewarding to get emails and see people at shows and I think that we owe a lot of that to that record. All of us are really excited to start working on a new record though.
P-Who plays in the band and what do they play?
SBB-Dan Jaquint-drums, Ben Reed-bass/vocals, Mike Reed-vocals/guitar, Scott Flaster-guitar
P-Why do you guys play music and what keeps you going?
SBB-We all just really love every aspect of the band. From playing shows to practicing to touring to recording to meeting new friends. It is all something that we have fun doing. The day that we don't look forward to those things is the day that it ends.
P-How do you guys come up with your songs?
SBB-Usually one of us comes to practice with an idea for a part. Then we all jam it for awhile and see what happens. If it feels like it could be something cool, then we start to form ideas around it. Sometimes this happens really quickly and other times it may take months and months.
P-How would you describe your sound to somebody who doesn't understand english?
SBB-I would just play a little air guitar for them and hope that they could figure it out from there.
P-How would you describe your sound to somebody who DOES understand english?
SBB-I don't know...rock?
P-What inspires you guys while playing a show?
SBB-We all laugh at each other and have a good time. I just react to the music when we play. Lately, we have been playing some shows where people are singing along and dancing. It's something that we aren't used to, but I have to admit that it really is rewarding.
P-What inspires you guys as a band?
SBB-I personally get inspired to write when I see my friend's bands play. There is something really cool about personally knowing someone who is writing music that you really enjoy. It just makes it that much more personal and genuine, and it just gets me pumped up to do work on stuff.
P-What sets your sound apart from any other bands somebody might hear at say, Michigan Fest?
SBB-The thing that really differentiates bands and music is the personality that comes through in the music. We just try to put our own twist in our songs. Something that keeps it interesting and fun to play. And if people enjoy it, thats cool, but we really are selfish when it comes to writing. If it doesn't rock us, then we don't do it.
P-How do you guys feel about playing this festival?
SBB-Michigan Fest 2000 was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. We had a great time when we played and we all had a great time in general at the fest. All of the bands were so good. It really made it fun to be there. I'm really glad that it went as smooth as it did.
P-What other bands do you guys look up to?
SBB-We respect all of our friend's bands a lot, especially around Michigan because we just have a more personal relationship with them. We also love all of the guys in The Casket Lottery, Hot Water Music, Saves the Day, and Alkaline Trio. We have gotten to know all of them on a friendship level and it is really inspiring to see and hear everything that they are doing.
P-What do you guys do in your free time?
SBB-Scott owns a record store in East Lansing called Vinyl Addict. Dan works on web design. Ben goes to school for photography. I graduated from Michigan State University, but I don't have a job because we are getting ready to go on tour. We all like to bowl too.
P-What are your future plans for the band and how do you hope to achieve this?
SBB-We are just going to tour as much as we want to, especially starting in Fall, 2000 because Ben will be done with school. We actually hooked up with someone who is going to help us book tours because we don't really know much about the east or west coast. She is really going to help out a lot. Hopefully, we will do a full US tour in the fall and then go to Europe someday. Who knows?
P-Do you guys have any special rituals or traditions while playing or practicing?
SBB-Not really. We like to high-five a lot.
P-What might somebody expect when coming to a Small Brown Bike show and how might they prepare?
SBB-Four guys jumping around hitting things...laughing, screaming, etc...
P-Any final words of wisdom or comments?
SBB-Thanks! Wick is Dead.