The older folks among you might remember when Chicago band Green named its record "R.E.M.," a couple years after R.E.M. titled its major label debut "Green." Not long after, San Fran experimental rockers Negativland released an EP called U2, sparking a lawsuit by Island Records.
When Nada Surf named a 2010 cover record "If I Had A Hi-Fi," the Milwaukee noise rock band of the same name decided it would record an EP and name it in honor of Nada Surf.
After a lot of talk about the project, Latest Flame is getting ready to release IfIHadAHiFi's "Nada Surf EP +3" next month.
According to drummer DJ Hostettler, the group spent much of 2010 making the record. Earlier this year IfIHadAHiFi also released "Imperial Walker" in support of protesters at the state capitol in Madison.
Although Hostettler himself describes the band as a "noise rock band," "Nada Surf" – which is released on vinyl (with an accompanying download) – is based on traditional song structures and instrumentation.
There's no arguing that it's noisy. But it's the noise of good old loud, raucous rock and roll. And that's likely what led Dan Kubinski to say IfIHadAHiFi is one of the best Milwaukee bands around when he and his former bandmates were inducted into the WAMI Hall of Fame earlier this year at Turner Hall Ballroom.
While he was hanging out in Oakland, we asked Hostettler – aka Dr. Awkward – about "Nada Surf," Nada Surf, "Imperial Walker" and more via e-mail.
OnMilwaukee.com: Can you tell me a bit about making the record? I feel like it's been in the works for a while; like I've been hearing about it for a while now.
DJ Hostettler: It definitely took longer to make than we had hoped, but then, most things we do take longer than we'd like. We recorded the record with our friend Thom Geibel, who drummed for White, Wrench, Conservatory as well as for Owner/Operator, the band I was in along with our utility infielder Rev.Ever.
The recording schedule was very lax; other than recording the drums and basic bass/keys at the Borg Ward, we did all the recording in our top-secret compound, the Church of Murray. We decided this under the rationale that we could record whenever we didn't have work, during band practice time, etc.
Unfortunately, in practice, five competing work schedules dragged the recording process out over the entirety of 2010. Next time we'll just go back to the tried-and-true method of blocking out consecutive days in a real recording studio and getting the damn thing over with.
That being said, Thom was great to work with and had a lot of fun ideas when it came to overdubs, making the drums sound huge, etc. We then had the record mixed by Shane Hochstetler at Howl Street and mastered by Mystery Room's Justin Perkins, who also recorded our first two full-lengths.
OMC: Of course, we've gotta talk about the name. Can you explain for the uninitiated, why it's called Nada Surf?
DJH: It's a story that actually goes all the way back to 2002. Back then Nada Surf were getting set to release a record called "Let Go" that they had had a lot of difficulty naming. They explained in a fan club e-mail – that was forwarded to (singer) MrAlarm by a friend of his – that they realized that Avril Lavigne was also naming her record "Let Go," but they said "screw it" after they had wanted to name their record "If I Had A Hi-Fi," only to discover that "a band in the Midwest was already using that name."
Apparently last year they said "screw it" again and went ahead and named their covers album "If I Had A Hi-Fi." We don't care if someone else uses the same palindrome that we used to name our band – heck, for a few years there we were one of three bands in the world using a variation of "If I Had A Hi-Fi" as their name, and we thought it was hilarious – but if a famous band is going to use it, well, we're going to capitalize.
We immediately released a statement that said we were flattered that Nada Surf named their record after us, and that we were going to return the favor by naming our next release after them. Giving them some free publicity is the least we could do. I should also point out that we have nothing against those guys as a band. It's all in good fun.
DJH: Nah, we've never talked to them. One of their fans posted our press release about our plans on their message board, however, so I'd be shocked if they weren't aware of it. And besides, doesn't every musician put their band's name in their Google alerts?
OMC: Do you release the tradition here? Like REM/Green? And I suspect there's a Negativland/U2 reference on the back, too. Am I right?
DJH: Good eye! We put the U2 bomber on the back cover as a wink and nod to the tradition. We're aware of the REM/Green album name exchange, as well. I think there was one other one that I can't think of right now, maybe involving David Bowie?
OMC: So, if it's an EP +3, does that mean it's a full-length? Why are those tracks "+3" and not part of the EP?
DJH: Heh. No. I shall explain. The original plan for "Nada Surf" was a five-song, one-sided, 12" vinyl EP. As the recording process crept along, we added three additional songs – "Arson, You Let Me Down," "Somebody Take the Damn Money," and "Permanent Sleeperhold" – that we were going to self-release on a vinyl 7".
However, we soon began to realize that the costs of manufacturing a vinyl record in 2011 meant that even as a one-sided release, we'd have to charge a certain amount for the record that most people would balk at if it only had five songs. So we moved the 7" to side 2 of the 12" record.
Nada Surf is still a five-song collection of songs on one side of a 12" – that's how the songs were sequenced, and those five should be listened to as one body of work. It just happens to now have three bonus songs on side two. That's probably a little confusing when you get the CD copy, but Latest Flame and we are focusing on vinyl with download as the go-to music format from now on.
OMC: And my copy has "Imperial Walker," too. So is it an EP+3+1 now?
DJH: We put "Imperial Walker" on the promo CDs just for press people who may not have heard it yet. It's not on the vinyl and won't be on the limited run of CDs that will be sold in stores and on tour. "Imperial Walker" was recorded to raise money for a non-profit and the resources to record it were donated for free from friends, so we wouldn't feel comfortable putting it on a proper commercial release.
OMC: What was the response to "Imperial Walker."
DJH: The most public response was a hilarious "review" of the song in the National Review, of all places, by a right-wing music writer who, I guess, thought he was really putting us in our place by giving us way more attention than we thought we were going to get for it.
What was especially funny about it was that some of his descriptions of our music, which we assume were meant to be sarcastic snipes at our sound, really did a good job capturing what we're all about: "grating guitars, scratchy vocal processing and a sludgy sound that may or may not be the low E string of a bass." We're a noise-rock band, dude. That's how it's supposed to sound. Nice writing, guy!
On the flip side of that, we went out on a weekend jaunt to Michigan and Indiana over Memorial Day, and at every single show, someone came up to me after our set and said "I'm a teacher and want to thank you for writing that song." The assault against teachers in Wisconsin has resonated elsewhere. I was also personally thanked for that song after we played it opening for Archers of Loaf in Chicago in July.
OMC: What's up with the band now that the disc is coming out. Hitting the road?
DJH: The record isn't officially "out" until Sept. 27, but we'll be taking the copies we have on the road with us when we tour the East Coast from Aug. 12 through Aug. 28. We're going out with Zebras, a Madison synth-punk band that happens to feature MrAlarm and me as noisemaker and drummer, respectively.
That's right, I'm embarking on a marathon stretch of playing two sets per night for 16 days in the dog days of summer, and playing many of the shows in the dirty south of Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. I hope to be finally free of the tyranny of man-boobs at the end of this tour.
We'll officially celebrate the release of "Nada Surf +3" in late September with shows at Cactus Club (Sept. 24) and Quenchers in Chicago with Haymarket Riot and Rev.Ever's other band – with (Latest Flame label boss) Dan Hanke on drums – Like Like The The The Death.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
