Ha Ha Tonka Interview: SXSW 2010

This band may have "ha ha" in their name, but the slowly building reputation that follows honky tonk southern rockers Ha Ha Tonka is nothing to laugh about. The band immediately gained critical praise with their 2007 Bloodshot Records debut, 'Buckle in the Bible Belt.' The band released the follow-up, 'Novel Sounds of the Nouveau South' in 2009, and will be performing at SXSW in support of the album. Spinner recently spoke with guitarist Brian Roberts about the band and the crazy antics that can happen while touring.

How did your band form?

Three of us grew up in the small town in Missouri on the Arkansas/Missouri border, and Brett [Anderson] is from Kansas City. We started the band at college in Springfield, Missouri. We were playing a battle of the bands and Brett was in another band at the time, and somehow and it worked out for us. I'm not sure how exactly -- those college days are kind of fuzzy memories.

Describe your sound in your own words.

Our drummer came up with a great description of what we sound like: indie rock meets 'O Brother, Where Art Thou.' We have lots of four part harmonies, electric guitar and those traditional rock 'n' roll sounds, with a great country vibe.

What are your musical influences?

All of us have diverse musical influences -- R.E.M., country music. Somewhere between there is where we fall; somewhere between Dwight Yoakam and R.E.M.

How did you come up with your band name?

Our band is named after the Arkansas State Park. It is a really gorgeous place. In fact, Brett's family has a vacation home there. It is kind of a weird name that we knew wouldn't be taken by any other band. Whenever it comes up, we just like that we get to talk about the park and where we are from in the Ozarks of Missouri. And we're still trying to get royalties form the state of Missouri. Maybe one day it will happen.

You guys have played Lollapalooza, Sundance Film Festival and even SXSW before. What's in your festival survival kit?

Well, when you are away from home for so long, having your PDA/cell phone and laptop are essential. But at SXSW, the real essential is water, with all the alcohol intake and hot weather. There is so much free alcohol! SXSW is something we are always gung-ho for doing. It is like spring break and band camp combined. The best part is running into acts you really admire.

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

One time last year our tour ended in San Diego, Calif., and we were on our way back to Missouri. We were crossing into Arizona and there was a military checkpoint out in the middle of nowhere we had to cross through. Keep in mind this was in the middle of the night, around 3 a.m. I was driving and one of our members had some, ahem, illegal contraband on him, and so he had to dispose of his contraband and swallow it. We then had to go into a holding tent for a full-on search. And while in this tent, the band member who swallowed this contraband had to belch and it smelled like said contraband. And the guard reacted and was like, "Hm, what's that smell?" I dug in my pocket, reached for a piece of gum and offered a piece of gum to my bandmate to mask the odor. Amazingly, we got out of there without any further incident.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

My most embarrassing guilty pleasure is definitely 'Toxic' by Britney Spears.


Kelly Kettering is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.