How often do I get to interview someone nicknamed Destroyer? I was hoping that with a nickname like that, Justin Moyer of the band Supersystem would talk like Starscream of the Decepticons. But alas, he did not. Besides being the bassist and vocalist for Supersystem, Moyer is an incredibly diverse cat. Before starting to tour again, he finished up a gig as an intern for an alternative weekly in Washington DC right. I had a chance to talk with Moyer about Supersystems new album, A Million Microphones.
Buy A Million Microphones
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to today?
Justin Moyer: Actually for the summer Im doing what Im doing right now. Im a paid intern at the Washington City paper, which means Im kind of a pretend writer for the summer.
DRE: When does your next tour start?
JM: Actually its my last couple days here. Were about to start a US tour and then Europe in the fall, so we have a lot of stuff on our plate.
DRE: What made you go for the internship?
JM: Well, I love music and its probably what Id do all the time if I could but it doesnt always pay so well. But beyond just the financial consideration, when you sit in a room all day and try to think about things to write about you dont really lead a life in to have experiences to write about. So its an isolating thing and I feel like you need to get out and experience reality. Find out whats going on in local politics or whats at the movies. For the past three years, I feel like I was just not out of the house very much. Ive been working on Supersystem songs and my solo projects but you need a break and I got that break which is good for me.
DRE: What do you do at the paper?
JM: I just sit around and think about things to write about. It could be on local government or some obscure controversy. I really do whatever I want as long as they are into it.
DRE: What was the inspiration for A Million Microphones?
JM: We wanted to make a record that continued our exploration of pop music. We come from jazz and avant garde backgrounds so we want to get up in R & Bs guys and see if we could bring our own thing into it. We wanted to work on our singing and get stronger vocal performances. I dont know if we succeeded in that. Rafael [Cohen] is fucking with this whole world music influence.
DRE: Why is the album called A Million Microphone?
JM: I cant remember who came up with the title but I was an early champion of that title. It was more about the way that we work because half of us live in DC and half of us live in New York. I would do a demo in my home studio and send it up to New York and those guys would get their hands on it and send it back to me and so by the time you hear this music it has passed through a million microphones. Its been put through the wringer so what youre hearing is the best of the stuff we wanted to present.
DRE: You guys have been working with Touch and Go for a while now, how much control do you guys have at this point?
JM: They didnt have to approve our selections or our mix or anything like that. Certainly they have suggestions which we generally listen to. We were trying out these songs for our friends and family members so hearing comments from them means a lot more than from someone at the label. When you can make a connection with someone who doesnt necessarily know the community or know the bands or anything like that then thats important.
DRE: Do you guys all agree on what the band is?
JM: I dont think so at all and I hope that that would make our records and our shows more interesting. We have vastly different abilities and experiences and perceptions of whats good. Sometimes its a cause of tension but I would like to think that tension is productive. If we were all are just sitting around and agreeing on everything, that wouldnt be very interesting. I think its the conversations about whats wrong with our band that make us be better at what we do.
DRE: Did you guys have a producer on this?
JM: Well our engineer was Jonathan Kreinik. Hes from DC originally. He engineered us and he definitely had some production ideas but he wasnt really the producer. He wasnt really approving mixes or making big moves about the way a song sounded. I credit him with recording the best sounding bits that Ive ever recorded. But we produced it ourselves.
DRE: How long have you done that for?
JM: Jeez, I dont know if we ever have not. The last record we did totally on our own in Petes home studio, which was really a bedroom in Brooklyn. But for the new album we were in a real studio but we were still making a lot of the decisions ourselves. In fact, Jonathan was the closest thing we could agree on to having a producer. Maybe next time around well find someone that we trust to really shape the songs and be part of the songwriting process.
DRE: You guys are going to be touring with Zombi, right?
JM: Yeah, Zombi is a band that weve known for a while. Josh [Blair] and Orthrelm actually toured with them. I wasnt sure if they would fit in with us but Josh was like, No man. They have this whole Italian gay disco side. So Im interested to check out what they have going on.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Buy A Million Microphones
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to today?
Justin Moyer: Actually for the summer Im doing what Im doing right now. Im a paid intern at the Washington City paper, which means Im kind of a pretend writer for the summer.
DRE: When does your next tour start?
JM: Actually its my last couple days here. Were about to start a US tour and then Europe in the fall, so we have a lot of stuff on our plate.
DRE: What made you go for the internship?
JM: Well, I love music and its probably what Id do all the time if I could but it doesnt always pay so well. But beyond just the financial consideration, when you sit in a room all day and try to think about things to write about you dont really lead a life in to have experiences to write about. So its an isolating thing and I feel like you need to get out and experience reality. Find out whats going on in local politics or whats at the movies. For the past three years, I feel like I was just not out of the house very much. Ive been working on Supersystem songs and my solo projects but you need a break and I got that break which is good for me.
DRE: What do you do at the paper?
JM: I just sit around and think about things to write about. It could be on local government or some obscure controversy. I really do whatever I want as long as they are into it.
DRE: What was the inspiration for A Million Microphones?
JM: We wanted to make a record that continued our exploration of pop music. We come from jazz and avant garde backgrounds so we want to get up in R & Bs guys and see if we could bring our own thing into it. We wanted to work on our singing and get stronger vocal performances. I dont know if we succeeded in that. Rafael [Cohen] is fucking with this whole world music influence.
DRE: Why is the album called A Million Microphone?
JM: I cant remember who came up with the title but I was an early champion of that title. It was more about the way that we work because half of us live in DC and half of us live in New York. I would do a demo in my home studio and send it up to New York and those guys would get their hands on it and send it back to me and so by the time you hear this music it has passed through a million microphones. Its been put through the wringer so what youre hearing is the best of the stuff we wanted to present.
DRE: You guys have been working with Touch and Go for a while now, how much control do you guys have at this point?
JM: They didnt have to approve our selections or our mix or anything like that. Certainly they have suggestions which we generally listen to. We were trying out these songs for our friends and family members so hearing comments from them means a lot more than from someone at the label. When you can make a connection with someone who doesnt necessarily know the community or know the bands or anything like that then thats important.
DRE: Do you guys all agree on what the band is?
JM: I dont think so at all and I hope that that would make our records and our shows more interesting. We have vastly different abilities and experiences and perceptions of whats good. Sometimes its a cause of tension but I would like to think that tension is productive. If we were all are just sitting around and agreeing on everything, that wouldnt be very interesting. I think its the conversations about whats wrong with our band that make us be better at what we do.
DRE: Did you guys have a producer on this?
JM: Well our engineer was Jonathan Kreinik. Hes from DC originally. He engineered us and he definitely had some production ideas but he wasnt really the producer. He wasnt really approving mixes or making big moves about the way a song sounded. I credit him with recording the best sounding bits that Ive ever recorded. But we produced it ourselves.
DRE: How long have you done that for?
JM: Jeez, I dont know if we ever have not. The last record we did totally on our own in Petes home studio, which was really a bedroom in Brooklyn. But for the new album we were in a real studio but we were still making a lot of the decisions ourselves. In fact, Jonathan was the closest thing we could agree on to having a producer. Maybe next time around well find someone that we trust to really shape the songs and be part of the songwriting process.
DRE: You guys are going to be touring with Zombi, right?
JM: Yeah, Zombi is a band that weve known for a while. Josh [Blair] and Orthrelm actually toured with them. I wasnt sure if they would fit in with us but Josh was like, No man. They have this whole Italian gay disco side. So Im interested to check out what they have going on.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 4 of 4 COMMENTS
tangus:
they are a really good band, especially live.
acet:
Doyle Brunson fans?
