Remove called up Joey
Hanania to find out about his inspirations, number one pedal choice, and
upcoming releases.
You're in a lot of
bands. Tell us what you're in and what you play.
What are some of your musical influences?
Who inspires your writing process?
That’s
a pretty hard one because there’s so many. I’d say there are a few main ones. I
feel like I got one for each genre. I got The Beatles, Sleep, and The Brian Jonestown
Massacre.
Then honestly A Place to Bury Strangers. They’re one of my
favorite shoegaze bands. Like really one of the best.
And what are some non-musical influences?
Stalin for
killing Hitler in WWII.
You're famously outspoken about economics and politics.
Where do you officially stand?
Marxist-Leninist-Maoist.
And what does that mean to you?
Basically
that the capitalist economic system cannot go any further and you need to
understand history with a dialectic view. And that communism is sick.
You can only use one pedal. What is it?
That's
a hard one. That’s a real hard one. Honestly, probably the Russian big muff,
the one from the 90’s. I’ve used it with The Hand and on our recordings. I’ve
used it with the Toeheads on the bass and it sounds good too. It’s the perfect
fuzz pedal honestly.
Will we ever hear The Hand’s debut LP?
Well. We’re
recording on the 26th of October. But I wouldn't really consider that our debut
LP. It’s kind of a compilation of songs that we’ve done over the past year. I
think of it more as, ‘let's get these songs we’ve been playing for awhile out
there and recorded.’ Once we take care of that we can do a full album.
Something that comes together as a real piece.
Similarly, what can we expect next from Toeheads?
We’re actually
going to put out an EP before Halloween. We recorded a bunch of songs live with
Jake on his Tascam but there’s two or so we’re gonna re-record. Same way and
everything.
Dang, I'm really excited about that.
Me
too. Like, we recorded that back in the summer. We didn’t do anything because
Jake had been debating on whether that was the version he wanted to keep. I was
like, ‘okay.’ Then he said, ‘You know what, actually I do like these.’ We also
had a cassingle but we didn’t put any of the songs out on Bandcamp. That was
‘Glue Factory’ and ‘Dead Malls.’
Why’s DIY so important?
I feel like its
a lot more fun and community-building. Playing in a bar is cool and all, but
DIY and house shows have more of a one-on-one feel.
You run The Ham House, what kind of space are you trying
to create?
I don’t really
like parties but I feel it is kind of a party house. Just come get drunk and
listen to some really good local music. The main thing is that people feel safe
and have fun. Instead of being scared of getting kicked out of a bar you can
come to our house and have as much fun as you want. Just have a let loose time.
What are your goals in regards to music? Is there anything
you hoping to accomplish?
Honestly, just
some cool tunes, tours, and getting out vinyl. That’s really it. That's my
biggest goal. I would like to do a Toeheads/The Hand tour honestly.
Lastly, is there any band that’s come out in the last year
that’s gotten you really excited?
It’s hard to
choose but I think it’s gotta be Hala or Sugar T.
Interview conducted by Joey Molloy on 10/14/2019 via phone