Spring Standards Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 16th 2010 12:21PM by Glennisha Morgan
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Hailing from New York City, James Cleare, Heather Robb and James Smith, each heavily influenced by 20th century songcraft, create music under the evocative name the Spring Standards. The three met while in high school and initially formed their band, formerly called Old Springs Pike, along with John Gallagher Jr. The band later became a three-piece and began their current musical journey. Spinner caught up with James Smith before he headed to SXSW to discuss how the Spring Standards formed, their tour experiences and how they feel about participating in SXSW for the first time.

Describe your sound in your own words.

Our sound is like a ballerina going skydiving with a parachute made of kazoos, but the parachute doesn't really work. So you land on the biggest trampoline in the world.

How did your band form?

We've been playing music for a long time together. I met James Cleare when I was in high school. He met this girl and said we should really have her come in and sing with us. She came in and was amazing. We all came to New York for different reasons. James is the one who came for music. Heather and I both came for other stuff . We all eventually got back together to play music for fun. We would always hang out, and then the guitars would come out eventually.

What are your musical influences?

A lot of old stuff. Personally, I'm into the blues and really old country. Not pop country. Like an old man with no teeth sitting on the porch country. James Cleare and Heather love the old country as well. They also love folk music. We all had parents that raised us on kinds of music. There is some classical in there and a little of jazz. I'm big on Aretha Franklin and a lot of really soulful singers.

How did you come up with your band name?

We used to be called Old Springs Pike. We came up with that one because those were the names of our streets where we grew up playing music. Mine was Old Kennet Road. James's was and Cold Springs and Heather lived by Cokard Pike. So we just combined those. When we had the fourth band member and decided to become a three-part, we felt like it was a new band. We had a new sound and a new energy. We felt like we wanted to rearrange the name but keep some elements. So we kept the "Spring." We felt like we had done some spring cleaning.

What's your biggest vice?

Other than whiskey? That's a good question. Being lethargic. I feel like I always have to fight that. It's so much easier to just sit on the couch and play guitar. Just sitting around and hanging out. I have to tell myself no, that's one of mine. I'm always fighting against sitting around.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

My celebrity crush outside of the classic Jenny McCarthy and Pamela Anderson is Sarah Michelle Gellar. I literally had two posters of her in my room.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

Ace of Base [singing]: "I saw the sun. When I opened up my eyes, I saw the sun."

Beatles or Stones?

Beatles. I can't answer for any other bandmates, but the Beatles just do it for it. Their eclectic nature just rocks my world.

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

We've had some crazy stuff. We were in a greenroom one time. We had just packed up. We had double-checked to see if we hadn't left anything. The green room was locked. We knocked on the door and it smelled of skunk coming out of the room. We walked in and two guys were smoking all kinds of weed. One of the guys had a huge scar on his face. Another guy says to us, "Hey. Do you wanna see my new friend?" Then he pulled out a gun. We were like, "What? Check please!"

Is this your first year participating in SXSW?

Yeah, it is. We're very excited. We just finished our album, so we're so pumped.

What's in your festival survival kit?

Oh, my God! Well, I don't want you to get the wrong impression, but, again, whiskey. It loosens your voice up. We're all poor, so we can't afford the drinks at the bar. Also, a million strings and guitar picks. As corny as it is, music. If we can just have as many different styles of music as we can. It's fun introducing each other to new stuff. Other than that, our biggest survival for festival is our tour manager, Noah Goldman.

Glennisha Morgan is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.