Checking In With: SMALL ARMS DEALER Posted by Corey Schmidt / May 7, 2007 These things just keeping getting better and better. In what is probably the longest and funniest Checking In With features we've done yet (scratch that, this is "interview" territory), not just one, but TWO members of SMALL ARMS DEALER, Stephen Andolfo (bass) and Jason Lubrano (vocals), answered three of our burning questions in regards to the band's current state and their soon-to-be-released follow-up to last year's A Single Unifying Theory.
Pastepunk: You guys recently wrapped up recording for your next record. How do you guys feel about the record compared to the last one, and do you have any details on what it may be called, how many songs will be on it, or when we might see a release?
Lubrano: I feel that this new record will not only take a big fat shit all over the last one, but it will also marry it's ex-wife and send its kids to boarding school. I don't know, we think it's pretty good. It's called Patron Saint Of Disappointment, and it's got 13 songs on it. We're not sure of the release date, but if everything goes according to plan it should be out pretty soon.
Steve: This plan he’s talking about involves a place just outside of Portland and the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42 being typed into a computer for a really long time.
Pastepunk: What kind of touring plans does SMALL ARMS DEALER have for the rest of the year? And what are your thoughts on playing the upcoming ON THE MIGHT OF PRINCES reunion show?
Lubrano: We all have day jobs to pay the bills which makes touring kind of hard for us. We are hoping to at least play a bunch of shows on the east coast until we are in a position to be able to do a longer stint. Personally, I'm pretty psyched about the OTMOP show. I think it's going to be a reminder of a time in our lives that we all have fond memories of.
Steve: Honestly the reason I don’t tour is 'cause I have superbad allergies. Like John Travolta in that movie where he is a boy in a plastic bubble. Hopefully someday medical science will come up with a way to heal me, but until that day there will be limited touring from the rock extravaganza known simply as SMALL ARMS DEALER. Or what Lubrano said could be the reason. As psyched as I am for the ON THE MIGHT OF PRINCES show, I honestly am just psyched to play shows again.
Pastepunk: As it has been mentioned, Deep Elm will be limiting the number of future album pressings in an effort to focus on the digital side of the music retail spectrum. Knowing your upcoming album may fall into this category, how do you think a move like this will affect a relatively smaller band like SMALL ARMS DEALER? Do you see your band thriving in the digital market more than through the sale of physical copies?
Lubrano: Honestly, I don't know. I think that if people are aware of the music and it appeals to them they will find it and procure it by whatever means are convenient, be it mail-order, digital downloads or hunting it down in the store. I'll leave that kind of speculation for the suits. I get a fucking headache just thinking about it. I'd much rather spend my time thinking about how awesome LOST is this season.
Steve: I am going to answer this question in two parts. Part the first: Listen, if you are in a band you play music in the hopes that on one day someone will hear your band's music and be fucking pumped to know your band exists. Some of the bands that I hold in the highest regards are bands that had their record pressed by a tiny local label or not at all and reached virtually no one. I don’t care if our record is online (although I would like to say that paying money for bits of digital information that isn't tangible is stupid) or if the record is in 80 stores. Fuck, I really don’t care if our record is thrown out of an unmarked van at random people! Someone is going to find it and listen to it and be psyched. Now, part the second: Only fools are enslaved by time and space. Stop reading this and go watch LOST.
- For more SMALL ARMS DEALER (you really need more after that?), check out their MySpace.
Pastepunk: You guys recently wrapped up recording for your next record. How do you guys feel about the record compared to the last one, and do you have any details on what it may be called, how many songs will be on it, or when we might see a release?
