Banner Pilot Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 3rd 2010 10:08PM by Lauren Modery
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It's no surprise when a good band comes out of Minneapolis. Up-and-comers Banner Pilot have emerged as one of the city's most promising new punk acts, following the Twin Cities musical lineage of Husker Du, the Replacements and Prince, to name a few. One of the strongest and most steadfast genres in the city is its hardcore punk scene. With years of experience and two albums under their belts, Banner Pilot continue to wow audiences, and are on their way to SXSW 2010 to do just that. Spinner caught up with guitarist/bassist Nate Gangelhoff before the fest.

Describe your sound.

Imagine if Jawbreaker, Lawrence Arms and Alkaline Trio got in a knife fight and Jawbreaker won, but just barely. That's what we sound like.

How did your band form?

I got this cheesy drum program called PC Drummer that helped me write song ideas. Previously I was pretty bad at keeping time and stuff, and it helped. Nick [Johnson, guitars/vocals,] and I had talked about starting a band for a while, so once I had some song ideas from fiddling around with PC Drummer, we added vocal ideas and released a demo. It was terrible. But we stuck with it, and then got a real drummer and started an actual band. And that's the Banner Pilot story.

What are your musical influences?

I suppose Jawbreaker, Dillinger Four, Screeching Weasel, bands like that. I'm guessing those are the bands we collectively have listened to more than any others over the years.

How did you come up with your band name?

We were having a hell of a time coming up with something, so at some point we started looking through lists of old books. 'Bannertail' was one that seemed plausible, but still pretty stupid. We had a lot of stupid names we considered. Can you believe that at one point we were considering Break September? Break September! Anyway, Bannertail lead to Banner Pilot, and that one stuck.

Have you played SXSW before? If not, what are you most looking forward to at the event and/or in Austin?

Nope! Really looking forward to it. I think the two bands I'm most excited about are Superchunk and the Muffs. But in general I'm just looking forward to hanging out with friends of ours in other bands, checking out the house shows, parties and barbecuest. Also, it will be nice to escape the frigid grip of Minnesota's winter for four days.

What is in your festival survival kit?

One water for every two beers. That's not really a "kit," I suppose. Maybe this year I'll make a physical kit that contains beer and water, in a 2-1 ratio.

What's the craziest thing that ever happened to you on tour?

We all got the swine flu. That was pretty crazy. Crazy terrible.

What is your music guilty pleasure?

You know, I'm drawing a blank. Stuff that would have seemed like a guilty pleasure years ago -- say, Tegan and Sara -- is now among my favorite music, and I feel no shame about it. So I guess I have overcome my guilt!

What is your biggest vice?

Probably my Stanley Maxsteel 83-069 Multi-Angle. It's made of durable cast aluminum, and its 2 7/8" jaw opening can hold a wide range of items. Oh wait, I thought you meant vise. Vice ... Hmm, I guess I probably eat too many egg and cheese sandwiches. I'm out of control.

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