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The Punkhouse Interviews: Dave Spodie |
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The Punkhouse Interviews: Dave Spodie |
1.What yo' name fool?
Dave, AKA: Chiding Whitemore
2.So, how has life been treating you?
Okay, I suppose. Life could always be better, but it could surely be worse, so I'm thankful for my health. Aside from the petty complaints than burden every tax paying American, my life is just fine, thanks!
3.How did Spodie get started? (What the hell where you thinking??)
Jon (our bassist) and I were friends in high school and intent on starting a punk band our senior year; Jon called his cousin Bill, who played drums, and we tried to get something off the ground, but nothing worked out for us. Soon after, Jon and I graduated high school and Jon was preparing to leave for the service; with Jon gone, Bill and I decided to continue practicing and writing songs. Six months later, Bill and I had written a fair amount of original material, and Jon had been discharged from the Army, so from there (November 1992) we got back together (Jason joined in Jan. 1995) and we've been going ever since.
4.How do you go through the process of writing a song?
There are two main ways I write songs: usually, I'll be walking down the street and a melody for a chorus will just pop into my head... (and once I get a chorus, the verse and bridge make themselves up almost instantaneously), or I just get inspired and an entire song will come out during a practice... but that only happens during winter months or when I find myself hopelessly infatuated with a new girl.
5.Do you guys have any new releases in the near future?
We're working on a split with The Pettyfords which I hope finishes up pretty soon, and we're planning a CD for release some time this year. The CD is kinda "iffy" and depends alot on whether we get the money for recording saved in time. But that's about all we have "planned".
6.Whats the forcast for Summer tours as far as Spodie is concerned?
Playing out lately has been problematic for us, with our guitarist Jason taking a bit of a hiatus from the band to finish up grad school. As for "touring", I wouldn't mind trying to play weekend shows out of town, but with all our schedules, work and family, it makes these things even harder to nail down. We just hope to play it all by ear and pray for the best...
7.You are starting to get quite alot of fans. We all realize you rock, but is there a secret behind it all?
Geez, thanks. There's no secret here; I'd attribute most of our longevity as a band to our lack of expectations and our long-standing friendships. The band is fun, it's a huge creative and emotional outlet for me, and being in the band means I get to hang out with my three best friends...
As time goes on, our expectations get a bit higher, and I think this is unavoidable, but we don't have any false pretenses or delusions of grandeur... six years ago, just playing on a "real" stage in front of "real" people was a big deal to us. There's a tremendous amount of satisfaction that comes with being able to put out your own record and hear from people who actually bought your record and liked it enough to write you and let you know. This is what keeps me excited and passionate about the music and our band...8.Let the world know your love for Goths.
I don't especially "love" goths, but there is a certain appeal that I find somewhat mysterious and intriguing about "goth" girls. I like old-school goths (the quiet, misunderstood art-school drop-outs in black, holding metal purses, wearing "Cure" shirts) over the Anne-Rice reading, Marilyn Manson, my-boyfriend's-name's "Lestat" goth girls so prevalent in today's shopping mall food courts and downtown nightclubs. I really prefer "punk" girls over "goth" girls... shaved heads and faux leopard fur, PVC mini-skirts and platform combat boots... ooh yeah! Uh... sorry.
9.What are some of your favorite bands?
My tastes are pretty limited to melodic punk and pop rock... I dunno. I like all the usual suspects: The Queers, Green Day, Boris the Sprinkler, The Connie Dungs, The Teen Idols. Newer stuff (to me) like The Pettyfords, The Beautys, Dick Army (NYC), Ruth's Hat, The Hissyfits, The Young Hasslehoffs, After School Special, The Donnas, The Chubbies. I really like Joan Jett, Juliana Hatfield, Shampoo, and various comp tapes I've made with typical 80's junk (metal, pop, new wave). My all time faves list includes: The Misfits,The Ramones, The Dead Kennedys, Angry Samoans, Dickies, Stiff Little Fingers... and usually I borrow all the new records and CDs Jon and Bill get. (Of course, after the fact, I'll think of 30 other bands I should've included...
10.What are some of your other hobbies or interests besides music?
I really like painting and drawing comics... but I don't spend nearly the amount of time on my art that I did, say, five years ago. I always mean to, then put it off; art has become terribly frustrating for me within the last few years... and, uh, I haven't felt "inspired". Lately, I've been slaving away on the computer, teaching myself HTML and web design basics. Spodie finally have our own website, so I'm pretty keen on that.
11.Describe a typical weekend in the life of Dave Spodie.
The last few weekends I have literally been in front of my computer from about noon to midnight, writing, creating and uploading files to our website. But on any other weekend, I usually sleep late, go out record & book shopping, or stay home to work on writing songs or sketching in front of the T.V. I'm a real homebody, and I hate the whole "nightlife" scene, so I tend to keep to myself, and inevitably work on things at home... since I'm a Cancer, this includes re-arranging the furniture in my bedroom every week, putting up new posters in my bathroom, labeling all my desk drawers and alphabetizing all my records and comic books.
12.If you could pick one person to be the President who would it be and why?
Hmmm... probably one of my parents. My Dad would make a good President. He's got a horrible temper , though... but he's good with numbers and he's a pretty honest guy. My Mom is pretty smart, but she gets flustered pretty quickly and would probably approve a lot of things without double-checking all the fine print. Of course, the downside to all of this would be the media attention... of course, neither of my parents are as morally challenged as, say, Bill Clinton, so, I guess I wouldn't have to worry about too much. I guess the actress who plays "Topenga" on "Boy Meets World" would make a good President, too... if there was an election and I had to choose between one of my parents or "Topenga", I'd probably choose "Topenga".
13.Any last words to all your fans and groupies out there?
I was gonna take a stab at more self-depreciating humor, but false-modesty becomes no one... obviously, for everyone who has supported our band, we are eternally appreciative and grateful. I'd like to express our sincerest thanks to (our drummer) Bill's family, and of course you, Robbie. If anyone hasn't been to our website, they can check it out by clicking HERE! Or using the following address: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Bistro/6418/index.html
Thanks a lot!
--Dave Spodie
(2/27/99)
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