Company Interview: SXSW 2010

Company are a self-described indie rock sounding band. The band members are now living in Charleston, South Carolina. Used to playing empty bar rooms, Company is excited to be playing at the SXSW festival this year. Spinner recently spoke with singer Brian Hannon from the band about the upcoming festival and their future plans.

Describe your sound in your own words.

I guess like indie rock. Like the Flaming Lips. Anything like that.

How did your band form?

I grew up with the drummer, we went to Catholic school together. We ended up going to different high schools and colleges. Then we both ended up moving to Charleston, South Carolina a couple of years ago, and we saw each other at a show. I knew from growing up that Kelly could play drums. I was playing guitar and singing, so we just started playing together. Later we met the bass player -- he was at our show, but he was playing with another band. After our first show, he started hanging with us. The other guitar player he lived right down the street from my apartment in Charleston when I first moved here. He started playing guitar with us, and that is it.

How did you come up with your band name?

We started off as Ko, which is a symbol from an important Eastern religious text called the I-Ching. But, everyone would call us "Knock Out" at our shows, which is lame. So after about a year or so I changed the spelling to "CO.", the abbreviation for "Company", so that the band name was easier to explain and so people wouldn't screw it up.

Who are your musical influences?

Band of Horses and Flaming Lips.

What's your biggest vice?

Women.

How does it feel getting ready to play the SXSW festival?

Very exciting, we're not use to any exposure. We have just recently been discovered or whatever by Band of Horses. So now all of the sudden we are going from playing an empty bar room to playing in front of thousands of people. It is pretty huge for us.

What do you hope to accomplish with this trip to SXSW 2010?

Hopefully more exposure. I'd love to go on a tour with any band, because after this trip we are still coming back home. I'm still going back to my normal job. I'd like to meet up with some people that can hopefully help me get out on a tour and get out of town for awhile.

What's in your festival survival kit?

Deodorant and I guess some party favors that I can't really talk about. I think it is going to be really cold because we are going to Colorado and then going on to Texas. We're from Charleston and we are used to pretty warm weather. But it is cold everywhere now. So I think I am going to have to layer it up, more than I am used to.

Who was your first celeb crush?

That is a easy one. Joanna Newsom. She is a singer from California and she plays the harp. She just came out with a new album.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

I really like that Spin Doctor's song that goes, "If you want to buy me flowers, go ahead now" -- that whole thing. I really like that song. I don't know why.

Beatles or Stones?

Oh man -- that's unfair, that's really hard. I don't know -- I guess I'd say The Beatles, but I hate to say that.

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

We met this guy in Brooklyn once who was like ex-army. I think he was in Iraq, he was discharged, not on good conditions. We were there playing and we didn't have anywhere to stay and we were just like hanging around our car, sleeping in our car basically. He came up to us, it was like 11 AM and he was really drunk. Somehow someone we were with ended up talking to him and we went back to his apartment. But it wasn't even his apartment it was like his ex-wife's, friend's place. He let us take showers. He was all hopped up talking about killing people in the military, just like really crazy. He would be normal one minute and then all the sudden he would be like yelling at us. He eventually kicked us out because he drank all his beer and we wouldn't go buy more beer.

Besides the festival, what are you up to in the near future?

We are doing 2 dates with Band of Horses in Colorado before the festival. The day before we are at the festival, we are playing in Dallas at Good Records.


Cindy Wright is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.