Math the Band Interview: SXSW 2010

It's not surprising that Math the Band list Andrew W.K. and Blink-182 as influences -- these young New Englanders are all about partying hard, playful lyrics and breaking stuff for the sake of a good time. Known for putting on extra-lively live shows (there have been over 500 in five years) that have literally brought down ceilings, MTB have been recently getting into more serious territory with the release of two LP's -- 'Math the Band Banned the Math' in 2008 and 'Don't Worry' in 2009. In keeping with their Energizer Bunny reputation, core duo Kevin Steinhauser and Justine Mainville will be performing no less (and possibly more) than seven times in five days at this year's SXSW. Spinner had the pleasure of chatting with Kevin and Justine, who are just as fun to talk to as their music would suggest.

Can you describe your sound?

Kevin: It's surprising how often I'm asked that and how unprepared I am to answer. We are a punk band, only instead of having the traditional instruments, we are about 75% electronic.

How did your band form? How did you two meet?

K: I've been doing it on my own for six years and with other members for only a little over two years now. The core members are Justine and I. I met her freshman year of college when I was playing a show on my own at her school. And we have band members throughout the entire country that play with us when they can or when we go on tour. We've got people in New Jersey, Arizona, California, Seattle ...

How does that work?

K: When we tour with other bands, often we'll play instruments in their band and they'll play in ours. You can only fit so many people in a van. So you have to learn someone else's set in an afternoon. It's just always ended up being a really good fit.

What are your musical influences?

K: I'd say the biggest right now are Andrew W.K., Blink 182, Adam and his Package and Devo.

What did you listen to growing up?

K: That's a pretty accurate list actually. Also a lot of punk bands, Piebald and bands local to us.

Justine: And Kevin was really into ska.

How did you come up with your band name?

K: I never meant for the band to actually be a band. It was just something I did in my free time, because I was kicked out of my other band. I realized I'd been doing it for six hours a day -- every day, writing and recording. I figured I should give it a name and I noticed a pin on my backpack, a yellow pin that just said "math." So I named it after the pin, so the band would have a pin.

What's your biggest vice?

J: Mountain Dew.

K: Not eating right. I don't eat very well, especially on tour. I slum it big time with the food.

J: Peppermint Altoids!

K: I can't leave the gas station without a bag of Doritos, two things of sour candy and a soda. It actually is a problem.

J: And I'm really into coffee. Big caffeine person.

So we gather. What else is in your festival survival kit? Is there anything that you always bring on the road with you?

K: When we tour, it's usually just the two of us in a minivan with the back seat empty. I bring about 50 pounds of tools -- power drill, soldering iron, glue, different-sized screws. If anything breaks, I'll be able to fix it. When you're on the kind of schedule where you only have one hour of leeway between driving and sleeping and being at the show, it can be a problem. On the last tour we broke a guitar, a keyboard and an amp.

Speaking of breaking stuff, we hear you guys have suffered some performance injuries.

K: I haven't hurt myself in a while, but yeah. There's a long list of injuries. I broke the big toe on my right foot four or five times: I used to play every show without any shoes on. I've fractured my wrist, split my head open...

J: A black eye.

K: Oh yeah, a couple of black eyes. And I have to wrap my mics in foam because I've chipped my teeth so many times that at this point two of my teeth don't even touch each other. Before the foam, I'd have dreams of myself waking up and missing all of my front teeth like the guys in old punk bands. I got really worried and now I bring a big bag of foam clown noses in different colors. Actually, I think people would be better off if everyone did that, since during a show the mics get covered with spit. If I ever own a club, that will be mandatory.

J: And I just injure myself when carrying stuff in.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

K: I can think of a few. I'm going to start naming whatever comes to my head. Once, we ran into Jason Schwarzman in an LA parking garage and he talked to us for 15 minutes. Another time, we saw a motorcycle drive into a grocery store and down the produce aisle. There were two guys with leather jackets going 15 miles an hour. But no one believes me because I joke a lot and make up stories. Oh, and we almost broke the floor at a barn in New Hampshire. We were playing on the third story of this 80-year-old barn, in a room that could've comfortably fit 20 people. Except there were 50 people and the building was swaying from one side to the other. Someone called the police and people were running out...

J: With Coors Lite in their hands. And once at a bookstore we made a chandelier fall from the ceiling below us.

Who was your first celeb crush?

K: Who was the girl in 'Austin Powers'? Elizabeth Hurley. I liked her accent.

J: Tom Delonge from Blink-182. I had him on my wall. He was fine.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

J: This isn't that guilty because they actually are really good, but I like Outkast a lot. And Kelly Clarkson's 'Since U Been Gone,' but only that song.

K: I think everything I listen to is really cool and I think everyone else would think so too.

J: Kevin does like legit music.

K: Yeah, one time I had a guilty pleasure but the fact that I liked it made it cool.


Gina Ginstead is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.