Interview with Tied For Last
How did Tied for Last get started?
Tied For Last started in 2001, when Stephen posted an add looking for musicians....Tommy responded because of one of the bands Stephen mentioned was Everclear. The two jammed for a bit then found drummer Kisco Slim. The magic really happened when upon meeting Kisco Slim, the three jammed on Surrender by Cheap Trick (the first song TFL ever played together). We all clicked immediately. TFL then went through a few bass players until they found Jen Chappell who's playing and charisma took the band to another level.
How would you describe Tied for Last to someone who has never heard or seen you play?
Hard to say....We take from so many influences, from everything musical to everything pop culture. But one fan who worked in the music industry at CBGBs described us best in a conversation with her friend. "You'll like these guys....Tied For Last is like Tom Petty meets NOFX" It was the greatest thing anybody has ever said about us.
What's in the works for Tied for Last for this summer?
Hopefully play even more out of state shows, promote the hell out of the new album, maybe record some more and hopefully get some label interest.
Were any of you in bands prior to Tied for Last?
We've all been bands, but nothing really worth mentioning.
Favorite place to play and why-
Well we really miss CBGBs and the Continental. We were flabbergasted when both of those places asked us to play the last week of their existences. Right now our favorite place has to be Otto's Shrunken Head on 14th street in NYC. It's a punk rock tiki bar that really has a thriving punk scene. They treat us great there and we really consider it home.
Funniest thing you've seen at a show?
Wow hard to say....We've seen it all. Well two instances, one fan brought her dog to a show once and when we were playing a gig in rural Pennsylvania basically Amish Country, a drunken patron runs up on stage, grabs the mic and says "This is the best band in the United States" He then grabs a bunch of guitar pics as souvenirs.
Most bizarre place you've played?
Probably Siberia's in New York where there was cursing was not allowed at all in the bar.
Who are your favorite bands right now?
Hard to say, we all like so much stuff and constantly argue over music. I mean we all love NOFX, Rancid, the Ramones, The Beatles, and The Replacements etc. As far as new bands, we are digging the Strawberry Blondes, Billy Talent, and the Pink Spiders.
Who writes your songs and how are you motivated to write them?
Well we all write, I mean Tommy or Steve usually comes in with an idea, and then we all add collectively as a group.
What's your favorite song that you play right now and why?
For us the newest song is always the best and right now our newest song is Jimi on the Radio. It's a song about Jimi Hendrix. Of course we love playing the hits lol Achiever, She Was Just a Girl and Take Janine Away.
What do you do when you're not playing music?
Hmmmm Video Games, Trivia, watching baseball etc. Get us away from the stage and we're total geeks.
What is your evaluation of the current punk scene?
Well the underground punk scene is alive and well. There will always be a great band playing somewhere at 2 AM in a dive bar. To us that's real punk. Mainstream "punk" is not really doing it for us these days.
Who are your musical influences?
Everything. NOFX, Greenday, the Clash, the Ramones, Everclear, the Replacements, the Monkeys, the Beatles, Elvis, Tom Petty, Springsteen, the Vandals. Everything.
Any bands you really want to do a show with and why?
There a ton of bands that we would love to play with. It'd be great to do a show with a real big rock legend type of band. I don't know maybe like someone like Cheap Trick.
Who's the wildest band you've ever done a show with?
We've played with some crazy acts. Our buddies the Trakes are probably the wildest act we play with. They are from the future!
What are your general thoughts on the world today?
A lot of good and a whole lot of bad. We still got hope though.
What's your favorite part of being in a band?
The free drink tickets we get
How did you come up with the name Tied for Last?
Honestly we came up with a ton of names and then just voted on one. Tied For Last won out. Not too exciting.
Anything you want to add or say?
Cheap plug time....Check us out at myspace.com/tiedforlast. Buy our new album "Kick Ass Yes-Man Corporate Hacks" on Itunes and Interpunk. And of course support underground music
Anyone you want to thank?
Our manager Revlina. She handles booking, scheduling and just about everything. We couldn't even tie our shoes if not for her.
Next - Word association; Type the first thing that comes to your mind when you read the following words.
Punk - Ramones
Drink - Mountain Dew
Porn - Delicious
Eat - Tacos
Girls - Delicious
Money - Send it
Work - Sucks
Sex - Yes Please
Sleep - We snore
Tied For Last started in 2001, when Stephen posted an add looking for musicians....Tommy responded because of one of the bands Stephen mentioned was Everclear. The two jammed for a bit then found drummer Kisco Slim. The magic really happened when upon meeting Kisco Slim, the three jammed on Surrender by Cheap Trick (the first song TFL ever played together). We all clicked immediately. TFL then went through a few bass players until they found Jen Chappell who's playing and charisma took the band to another level.
How would you describe Tied for Last to someone who has never heard or seen you play?
Hard to say....We take from so many influences, from everything musical to everything pop culture. But one fan who worked in the music industry at CBGBs described us best in a conversation with her friend. "You'll like these guys....Tied For Last is like Tom Petty meets NOFX" It was the greatest thing anybody has ever said about us.
What's in the works for Tied for Last for this summer?
Hopefully play even more out of state shows, promote the hell out of the new album, maybe record some more and hopefully get some label interest.
Were any of you in bands prior to Tied for Last?
We've all been bands, but nothing really worth mentioning.
Favorite place to play and why-
Well we really miss CBGBs and the Continental. We were flabbergasted when both of those places asked us to play the last week of their existences. Right now our favorite place has to be Otto's Shrunken Head on 14th street in NYC. It's a punk rock tiki bar that really has a thriving punk scene. They treat us great there and we really consider it home.
Funniest thing you've seen at a show?
Wow hard to say....We've seen it all. Well two instances, one fan brought her dog to a show once and when we were playing a gig in rural Pennsylvania basically Amish Country, a drunken patron runs up on stage, grabs the mic and says "This is the best band in the United States" He then grabs a bunch of guitar pics as souvenirs.
Most bizarre place you've played?
Probably Siberia's in New York where there was cursing was not allowed at all in the bar.
Who are your favorite bands right now?
Hard to say, we all like so much stuff and constantly argue over music. I mean we all love NOFX, Rancid, the Ramones, The Beatles, and The Replacements etc. As far as new bands, we are digging the Strawberry Blondes, Billy Talent, and the Pink Spiders.
Who writes your songs and how are you motivated to write them?
Well we all write, I mean Tommy or Steve usually comes in with an idea, and then we all add collectively as a group.
What's your favorite song that you play right now and why?
For us the newest song is always the best and right now our newest song is Jimi on the Radio. It's a song about Jimi Hendrix. Of course we love playing the hits lol Achiever, She Was Just a Girl and Take Janine Away.
What do you do when you're not playing music?
Hmmmm Video Games, Trivia, watching baseball etc. Get us away from the stage and we're total geeks.
What is your evaluation of the current punk scene?
Well the underground punk scene is alive and well. There will always be a great band playing somewhere at 2 AM in a dive bar. To us that's real punk. Mainstream "punk" is not really doing it for us these days.
Who are your musical influences?
Everything. NOFX, Greenday, the Clash, the Ramones, Everclear, the Replacements, the Monkeys, the Beatles, Elvis, Tom Petty, Springsteen, the Vandals. Everything.
Any bands you really want to do a show with and why?
There a ton of bands that we would love to play with. It'd be great to do a show with a real big rock legend type of band. I don't know maybe like someone like Cheap Trick.
Who's the wildest band you've ever done a show with?
We've played with some crazy acts. Our buddies the Trakes are probably the wildest act we play with. They are from the future!
What are your general thoughts on the world today?
A lot of good and a whole lot of bad. We still got hope though.
What's your favorite part of being in a band?
The free drink tickets we get
How did you come up with the name Tied for Last?
Honestly we came up with a ton of names and then just voted on one. Tied For Last won out. Not too exciting.
Anything you want to add or say?
Cheap plug time....Check us out at myspace.com/tiedforlast. Buy our new album "Kick Ass Yes-Man Corporate Hacks" on Itunes and Interpunk. And of course support underground music
Anyone you want to thank?
Our manager Revlina. She handles booking, scheduling and just about everything. We couldn't even tie our shoes if not for her.
Next - Word association; Type the first thing that comes to your mind when you read the following words.
Punk - Ramones
Drink - Mountain Dew
Porn - Delicious
Eat - Tacos
Girls - Delicious
Money - Send it
Work - Sucks
Sex - Yes Please
Sleep - We snore
Comments
i love u tied for last hehe
Posted by: amber | June 6, 2007 02:25 AM
Uh so
That was pretty much the best interview Ive read ever. Although, I dont see a mention of a canadian tour;) ♥
sweet kirsten™
Posted by: Kirsten Kirsch | June 10, 2007 07:04 PM
great interview! TFL freakin' rocks!!
Posted by: teqi | June 10, 2007 07:13 PM