ATH Interviews: Henry Clay People
As we lead up to our little ACL Festival in October, we here at ATH want to start focusing in on some of the lesser known acts coming into town. Our first look brings us Glendale, CA based indie group The Henry Clay People. Lucky for you and the ATH crew, this band will be making a stop in town next week with Against Me! before their ACL Festival slotted date. To preview that show and their ACL appearance, we spoke with band member Joey about their current tour and their brand new LP Somewhere on the Golden Coast. Follow the jump to read full interview.
ATH: For someone who has yet to hear the new album Somewhere on The Golden Coast, what can they expect?
Joey: Scrappy old man rock and roll played by dudes in their mid-late twenties who grew up listening to crappy pop-punk: A lot of guitars, loose drums, pretty live sounding.
ATH: You guys are from the L.A. area. What’s the music scene like there? I’ve heard that it’s really spread out and over-saturated, and as a result it’s hard to have close relationships with other bands. What’s your take?
Joey: It is definitely spread out and definitely over saturated. However, I feel that has helped us really cling to great bands that we hear. There is a nice cluster of bands from our neighborhood (Eagle Rock/Echo Park) that we have hit it off with musically and as buddies. The Parson Red Heads, Le Switch, Marvelous Toy, The Monolators…I can name a dozen other bands that we are tight with. It’s a really supportive little scene.
ATH: You’ve been to Austin before and are coming back twice in the next few months. What do you look forward to most about our little town? Favorite spots, food, drink, etc..?
Joey: Well our manager lives in Austin and he also happens to be one of the greatest human beings to ever exist so it’s always a treat to hang in your fine town. He lives in the neighborhood on S. Congress behind Homeslice. So I have spent a lot of time in that area. I enjoy my chicken cones. Last time we were in Austin we had BBQ at Art’s. Not sure what neighborhood that is but we loved it so much that we went back the following day for more. As far as bars go, I am pretty indiscriminant as long as the beer is cheap and the bar isn’t too crowded. There was a little honky tonk bar with a live country band and folks dancing. I think it was called the Broken Spoke. It was quite charming and unlike any place I’ve seen in LA.
ATH: You are currently embarking on a tour with huge bands Silversun Pickups and Against Me. What do you think this is doing for the band’s career? How have you been received on the tour so far?
Joey: This tour is definitely putting us in front of people. It’s a challenge every night to get a feel for the crowd. I feel like 95% of the time the audience could care less about watching the opening band (no matter who it is) because the headliner is the main attraction and the opener just wastes some time before getting to the main attraction. So it’s an uphill battle. We have to prove ourselves worthy of their attention. Some nights are better than others but overall I feel like Against Me! and Silversun fans are open minded and enthusiastic so its been a really fun, relatively painless tour so far. Knock on wood.
ATH: Speaking of tour. You are relatively young band but have already done all kinds of touring. How does a band survive living “on the road”? Any advice for the upstarts?
Joey: Be OK with a horrible quality of life. We are onstage for 30 minutes and those are the best 30 minutes of our day. The other 23 and half hours consist of cramming six dudes into a van that comfortably fits five, driving up to 12 hrs/day at any time, eating at gas stations, sleeping on average of 5-6 hrs a night at crappy motels or crashing on floors with folks you meet on the road. It’s miserable but also an adventure. That half hour on stage has to be worth it. For me, it is. You have to learn to love the horrible aspects of it or else you’ll end up killing your bandmates.
ATH: Outside of touring, what is your band doing to get noticed in this digital age?
Joey: We just did a music video with a bunch of our buddies for one of our tunes “Your Famous Friends.” Hopefully somebody somewhere is posting it on facebook or youtube or whatever. I’m not as tech savvy as I could be.
ATH: Who will win the World Cup? (we asked this prior to the quarter-finals)
Joey: I have no idea. I heard Germany was just eliminated.
ATH: What’s the best record of the year so far?
LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
Thanks again guys for making the time to speak with us. We’ll see you on July 19th @ Stubbs with Against Me! and Silversun Pickups.