This is an interview with Lemuria I did two years ago that appeared in Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll #285 (February 2007) and has not appeared anywhere else since then.

Derek: The three of you live in Buffalo, NY, a city that not a lot of people think positively about. After touring across the country multiple times, why are you always excited to come home to Buffalo, despite its bad reputation and declining economy?

Jason: I believe that most people’s opinions on Buffalo are based on the weather here. Four to five months out of the year are spent in a constant dismal gray state with obscene amounts of snow. That being said, I love Buffalo. I’ve done a lot of traveling over the past 7-8 years, and in my experience it’s rare to find a city whose inhabitants are so supportive of each other. I think this has a lot to due with our declining economy and because we are a mid-sized city. In regards to punk (and I use the term to include all genres of independent music), we’re a big enough city to have various sub-genre scenes thriving, yet at the same time it’s not so big that people become just a face in the crowd. That’s really important to me. Everyone knows each other, or at least knows of each other. I guess it just boils down to it being a friendly city.

Sheena: Buffalo is cheap! We can afford to pay rent in houses while we are touring, and come back and not be totally broke.

Alex: Because the economy is so depressed in Buffalo, it’s actually a desirable place for any form of artist to live. You can buy house in a nice neighborhood near a college campus for $20,000 or rent a 5 bedroom house, full with an attic and basement for $700 a month. Also, right around the corner from where I live you can get 99 cent breakfast from Amy’s Place, which is an excellent diner with a wait staff who will understand you when you say “vegan”. The only reason I can think of people thinking negatively of Buffalo is if they just drive through it on a highway, because it looks like an abandoned rust belt city, which isn’t a completely false observation. But I think anybody could feel comfort if they spent a little time in the community.

D: Alex and Sheena, you both live on Custer Street in houses which are known for hosting punk and hardcore shows with bands from around the world. How do you think this affects the band and you personally?

A: I’m currently in the process of buying the house I live in on Custer St. It’s cheaper to buy the house than to pay rent for 2 years. We have basement shows and I have my distro for the label I run, Art of the Underground, in the basement during shows. It’s nice to be able to have a solid space for shows to help out all the bands that help us out on tour. It’s also at the end of a dead-end street, so cops rarely drive by, and even when they do, there are so many house parties in our neighborhood that they normally don’t hassle us. Another plus about the location in the summertime is that it’s next to a free community pool, and if you feel like swimming at night, there’s only a short fence as an obstacle. Some of my roommates actually practice with their bands in the basement of our house, but we actually practice over a bar that hosts some of the best shows in the city, called Mohawk Place. 99 Custer has been doing shows for about 6 years and has had bands from all over the world tour through, along with 29 Custer St. being around for about 4 years.

S: We are really lucky to have two houses on one street that do shows, and house 17+ kids between the two of them. Bands play our houses, and then when we are on tour, we usually end up running into most of them, somewhere, while we are touring.

J: Custer Street has become and institution in the Buffalo punk scene. There have consistently been punk houses operating on the street for over six years. I can’t even imagine what Buffalo would be like without their existence. Personally this has influenced me by showing me that you can do things for yourself, your own way. Initially it turned me on to the idea that if you didn’t feel like dealing with “the assholes” that run the local clubs, that you could take matters into your own hands, make your own rules. As time passed I watched all of these bands come through those basements, most of them weren’t very well known, but they were all welcomed. It made me want to go out on the road and tour for myself.

D: Have you seen anything like the unity of the two Custer Street houses anywhere else?

J: We’ve come across a lot of unity in the scenes around the country. But as of yet we have not run across, two punk houses that work so much with each other.

S: New Brunswick, NJ has a street with a few houses on it that do shows. I’m not sure if they are connected at all, but it reminds me of Custer St.

D: Do you find it frustrating that you are often compared to Discount just because you are an indie rock band with a female vocalist?

S: The only thing that frustrates me about getting compared to Discount is that I really feel like it’s the easiest comparison to us, only because Discount was female fronted. Almost all of the bands that I’m into, that have a female vocalist in them, get the ‘you sound like Discount’ card pulled on them, even when they don’t sound anything like them. Discount was a great band, and it’s definitely a compliment getting compared to them, but I don’t think that we sound like them, especially in our new songs.

J: At first it didn’t really bother us too much. We couldn’t argue with it because our earlier material had a definite Discount (and Jawbreaker) feel to it. Now that some time has passed, and we’re more comfortable writing songs together, I don’t feel like we sound too much like those bands anymore. So now the comparisons get a little annoying. It seems like any poppy punk band with a female vocalist is automatically compared to Discount, but then again the comparison game is always a hard one to play.

D: Lemuria tours almost 6 months out of the year. Is that stressful for any of you or your relationships with friends, family, and significant others?

J: The road is a stressful place by nature. When you don’t have a set home to go back to every night, there is always a worrying in the back of your mind. “Are people going to show up tonight?”, “Will we have a place to stay tonight?”, “Am I going to be able to find decent pizza and Arizona Iced Tea in this town?”, and “Why are there constantly banana peels outside of the van door whenever I open it?” All of this causes stress between the people on the tour, but eventually you learn how to handle each other, and when to give each other some room to breath. As for stress with the people at home, there’s not much of that for me. They understand that I’m out here doing the thing I love most, and at the same time I know they are back home doing the things they want to do with their lives. It’s sad when you don’t have your friends and family around you all the time, but it’s so unbelievably comforting knowing that they will be waiting with open arms for you when you get back.

S: We all have significant others at the moment, and its really hard leaving them for long periods of time, but if we didn’t tour because of them, we would all regret it. I know that me and Alex’s families are really supportive, and at least pretend to be interested in why we are touring. So we usually stay in pretty close touch with friends and family back home when we are gone. I started taking pictures with a digital camera on the road, and then I would get individual copies of random ones for really cheap, and I would send them as post cards, with letters on the back. I guess it sort of makes people feel like they could be there or something.

A: I’m usually stressed out for a couple weeks before tour kicks off, but then once it starts I feel completely relieved. Because I know that anything I left behind I can’t really do anything about until I return home anyways. I wish I could always be on tour! I actually get annoyed when we play with bands who complain about touring and they say how it’s just one of those things they have to do. I think touring is a privilege.

D: Lemuria just played The Fest 5 in Gainesville, Florida. Have you ever played a show of that magnitude before? How was it?

S: The fest was incredible. We played in a really comfortable venue to a bunch of friends, and it was really special.

A: One of the best parts about playing The Fest is that you get a free ticket for the full weekend. I had such a great deal of fun attending and playing.

J: First off The Fest was 100% amazing, and we’re so grateful that we were asked to play. As for the magnitude of the show, we’ve played shows in front of larger number of people before, but never anything that cohesive before. So many amazing bands constantly playing. It’s a wonder that our heads didn’t blow up.

D: Going on tour for months at a time you’re bound to see 100’s of bands. Who are some of the bands you have played with that have stood out over the others?

J: My all-time favorite band that we’ve come across so far has been Greasegun from Baltimore. Some others are True if Destroyed (Philly), The Ergs (Jersey), The Merkurs and Delay (both Cleveland), This is My Fist! (Cali), The Exit Strategy (Buffalo), Off With Their Heads (Minneapolis), and Karmella’s Game (Baltimore).

S: Off With Their Heads, Delay, Andrew Jackson Jihad, The Social Classics, Rainer Maria, and The Ergs are my favorites so far.

A: Some of my favorite bands that we have played with so far have been The Ergs, Social Classics, Off With Their Heads, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Delay, and Greasegun. Some of my local favorites we play with are the Unwelcome Guests. And of course, the bands we’ve toured with!

D: You recently released a split LP/CD with Kind of Like Spitting. How did that split come to be?

J: Alex met Ben randomly at some show and they became friends. I’m sure Alex could tell the story better. It involves free food.

A: I met Ben from Kind of Like Spitting about 4 years ago in Syracuse, NY at a show I randomly went to, and I wasn’t even there to see them. But I got to talking to him, then ended up going to a diner, then ended up helping them out with car trouble and spending a good amount of time talking about touring and records, etcetera. We originally decided back then that I was going to release some records on Art of the Underground for him, but then after sending him our band’s demo awhile back he asked if we’d like to do a split together and a tour. We toured together for 5 weeks, they were sweethearts and I miss them a great deal!

D: By listening to your songs there is the obvious Jawbreaker and Superchunk influences. What are some other bands that have helped molded Lemuria’s sound throughout the past couple years?

J: I’d have to say Leatherface has been a big influence on our songwriting. As far as my bass playing goes, Dinosaur Jr has always been a huge influence on me. Oh yeah and Tegan and Sara are a driving force for me to make our songs as catchy as possible. I swear those girls signed a deal with the devil.

A: I’d say some bands that have influenced the drumming in me would be Trans Am, The Police, and power pop record sets. In whole, as a band, I would say Leatherface, Jawbox, Lemonheads and a lot early 90’s punk.

S: For me it’s Leatherface, The Magnetic Fields, and Trans Am.

D: Aside from your demo, every one of your releases has been released on vinyl. Do you think there will be a higher demand for vinyl in the upcoming years due to the decline in CD sales even though it’s much more costly to manufacture?

A: I think vinyl is a strong format that will last for a very long time. I don’t see an end in sight, even with mp3’s becoming more popular and music more easily attained freely. Vinyl survived the tape generation, and I think the compact disc will eventually be extinct. When I listen to a record on vinyl, I’m much more attentive because I put more effort in playing it. I also like the idea of having an intermission where you have to flip the album, to renew your attention. I like when albums are designed, pace-wise, to have two-sides…two beginnings and two ends.

S: Vinyl sounds so good, compared to any other format for music. The cost of vinyl production is high, but I think it’s mainly because there aren’t that many pressing plants anymore. I think people will pay decent money to keep printing music on vinyl, at least for a while.

J: I personally don’t think there will be a higher demand for vinyl. Unfortunately I think people see it as too much of an inconvenience. I myself fall victim to this. It’s so rare that I’m actually at home to listen to my records. As a result the music I have on CD gets way more rotation.

D: Alex, you also run Art of the Underground and have helped release every Lemuria record on your label. Has this been out of necessity or do you just prefer to have a hand in the release?

A: It’s nice to know you have complete control of your record, and it’s also nice when you receive an order from an area where you would’ve never expected, then respond and learn a little about the area, and possibly play there someday if they have a scene. Usually when other labels offer records, I just ask if we can split release the record, which I did with All Things Ordinary, Salinas, and Standstill. Although we do have a song coming out on a 7″ comp on Crafty Records, which I’ll have no hand in, label-wise. We’re recording a single this week for the Single Series that I run, which is limited to 250 copies. Besides the comp and the single, we’re not sure what we’re doing next release wise.

J: At first it was out of convenience (and I guess necessity had a bit to do with it), but then it was comforting knowing that our releases were going to be given so much attention by the label. I mean when a band member runs the label, you know they are going to work their ass off to get it out there for people to hear.

D: Any last words or thoughts?

J: The Midwest really needs to start carrying Arizona Iced Tea in cans. Is it possible to go through iced tea withdrawal?

A: To touch back on the issue of the 99 cent breakfast at Amy’s Place from the beginning of the interview…it includes: Two eggs, home fries w/ onions and green peppers, and toast. If you’d like it vegan, they’ll replace your eggs with lentils and broccoli. If you come to Buffalo, I’ll go with you.

Contact:
Sheena Ozzella- Guitar and vocals
Alex Kerns- Drums and vocals
Jason Draper- Bass and backing vocals

http://www.lemuriapop.com
lemuriapop@hotmail.com

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