LOWER 40/8 iNTERVIEW 

a three piece band project haling from the american west coast (in great detail: san francisco;), sharing the same "musical goals", providing surrealism in notes' just stretched out among the european continent. they found a recent and comfy home at monotreme, located in britain and by the way, with "skin failure" they released one of the most exciting longplayers in the last few months or the last few years?!;)  ..:::.. .:::::.

    fRk: standard question: who the f*** is "lower forty-eight" and what do you do?

    Phil:  We are 3-peice who have the same general musical goals, but each bring a different set 
    of influences into the process.  It’s a balancing act.  Grady is from the East coast, Andy from 
    the West coast, and I grew up somewhere in the middle.  We converged in San Francisco in 
    2001... 

    Andy:  We play music that we would like to hear.  Music that makes us think.  That’s really it. 
    Did I answer that correctly? 
 

    fRk: first of all... i don't know what other people told you about your last record' but for me it 
    was one of the most exciting and unconventional releases of the vanishing last year. for god's 
    sake' that's surrealism converted in music... nevertheless we need a description of the artists.
    how would you describe lower forty-eight, the sound of lower forty-eight?

    Andy:  Glad you like it!  That is very encouraging.  As far as a description, trying to give 
    standard terms to most music these days can be difficult and insulting.  I think we are shooting 
    for heaviness, intensity and believability.  We back this music and believe in it.  We aren’t 
    writing to gain acceptance per se, but I think we’re looking to include the listener in an 
    experience that hopefully they’ll enjoy it and come away with a different idea about what 
    rock music can do. But as far as comparisons to other bands, I don’t really know.  I would 
    rather not be lumped in with anyone to be honest.

    Phil: To me, our music is all about feeling and conveying emotions.  One doesn’t always feel 
    the same way, so why should all our songs sound alike?  It’s hard not to have componenets of 
    aggression and anger in our music when we have a butthole like Bush as our president. We try 
    to keep it challenging and fresh for us without becoming overly technical.  Sometimes this can 
    result in a somewhat complex arrangement, which we don’t shy away from, but don’t 
    necessarily strive for. 
 

    fRk: what's your own opinion, what do you think of "skin failure"? do you feel satisfied when 
    you hear the old studio recordings now? 

    Andy:  I like it still.  We recorded it ourselves so it gave us time to really concentrate on all 
    of it.  It has good cohesion from song to song and that’s important to me, personally.  I have a 
    hard time in traditional studio situations so working alone or with Phil pushing the faders allowed
    me to do what i want, when i want.  I spent a lot of time on guitar sounds alone.  There are a 
    few parts i wish i had done differently, but you can’t take a lifetime to record an album, 
    so eventually you have to let it go and get it out there. 

    Phil: I still enjoy it, even though I’ve heard it way too many times.  I usually don’t like my 
    playing after it’s been recorded for a while.  After a period of time, I think there were probably
    better ways for me to have interpreted and played the songs.  That may be a good thing, 
    because it shows you’re progressing on your instrument and as a band member.  Although 
    with Skin Failure, I’m still pretty stoked on the songs, the performances, and the sound of it. 

   
                        Drums - Phil Becker              Grady Mutzel - Bass            Andy Lund - Vox/Guitar
 

    fRk: how did the recording sessions went on... how long did it take to get "skin failure" done?

    Andy:  I think we did it over the course of three months while still playing shows and such. 
    It was sporadic until we finally buckled down and worked JUST on the record.  We tracked 
    most things live and then I would overdub more guitars and vocals.  Phil did all the editing and
    mixing and studio trickery.  Grady and I merely approved or made comments. 

    Phil:  About once a week for a couple months we would tranform our rehearsal space into 
    a recording studio and hope that the band next to us wouldn’t start playing in the middle of 
    tracking!  We would play live in the room, but the guitar and bass were only in the headphones 
    as temporary scratch tracks.  The majority of the drum tracks were from one 3 hour session. 
    The bass was all overdubbed in one afternoon.  We took more time with the guitars and vocals
    to try different amps, mics, positions, etc.  We knew a fair amount about recording already, 
    but this was a huge learning process without having to pay big money for studio time. 
 

    fRk: do you think satisfaction could harm progress in songwriting?

    Andy:  Who’s satisfaction?  My own?  If I’m not happy playing something it shows and 
    therefore it doesn’t come across well when playing it live or recording.  We are three really 
    opinionated individuals and we are constantly revising and editing our own songs to try and 
    really make them succinct and have impact.  There are no passive players so when we are 
    ALL satisfied it shows because everyone is part of the process of creation and, finally, 
    the delivery. 

    Phil:  Yeah, I think it’s totally possible to be satisfied with your life and still be compelled to 
    write good music, especially if that satisfaction comes –from- writing and playing great music. 
    If you’re playing music for the sole purpose of commercial success, which we’re not, satisfaction 
    would probably be the end you.  Then it’s it’s just hookers and cocaine from there on out! 
    hahaha....
 

    fRk: you're definetly a band with thousand influences and a million sounds. so where can we 
    find you're pool of creativity, what are your own influences and are there any exisitng bands' 
    stimulating your minds? 

    Andy:  My background is mostly 80s metal, punk and hardcore and 90s indie rock and now 
    more screamo and underground metal.  But really I don’t listen to too much modern music. 
    I don’t want to be TOO influenced by other bands.  I need to do that to keep on my own path
    on guitar and voice.  Obviously i’m ripping off a lot of artists throughout rock history but not 
    consciously.  I like Off Minor from New York and Converge quite a bit.  I try and listen to 
    20th century classical more than anything though: Barber, Stravinsky, Copland, Debussy, 
    Ravel, Schnittke, Berg, Schoenberg, Part...  It helps with harmonic situations that require 
    some thought and it’s just brilliant and powerful music.

    Phil:  About half of the pictures of me as a kid are with headphones on.  I was into rock music 
    since about one year old.  When I was fourteen, some friends turned me on to Metallica and 
    the Dead Kennedy’s.  I loved both.   When I was 19, I went through a year-long phase of 
    nothing but Zappa and Nomeansno.  That opened the door for Mr. Bungle, Naked City, 
    Masada, Ween, SunRa, the Residents, etc.  Take that and add a bunch of indie rock and 
    some jazz and that’s me -  a mutt. You can even catch me listening to more mainstream bands 
    like Tool & Clutch.   I think it’s crazy to limit yourself to one type of music.  What’s currently 
    pleasing my brain is Sleepyime Gorilla Museum (local Oakland art-rockers), ISIS... 
    and Keelhaul. 
 

    fRk: you're from san francisco' and you found your recent home at monotreme records. but 
    honestly' don't tell me that there weren't other (bigger) possibilities;) i'm just wondering, cause 
    till "skain failure" i never ever heard of them... so what's the deal with monotreme? 

    Andy:  I met Kim of Monotreme while playing bass/guitar on tour in UK with Thee Shallows 
    (who are also on Monotreme).  I gave her a demo of LFE and she was interested.  We didn’t 
    really have any other interest and literally *because* of what Kim has done for us, we have a 
    domestic label releasing the album in the United States, finally.  We owe everything to her. 
    Check out her other bands as well: Ral Partha, The Mass and of course Thee Shallows. 

    Phil:  Kim has been great!  We are lucky to have met her.
 

    fRk: what do you do when you're not playing with the instruments?

    Phil:   I spend a lot of time listening to music.  I’m always on the search for new favorites. 
    Other than that, I try to get outdoors and run around in the woods whenever I’m not staring 
    at the computer. 

    Andy:  I play on two football (soccer) teams here in the city and follow Newcastle United 
    religiously.  And I work but that’s not important!  I smoke pipe tobacco too.  That’s kind of 
    an oddity. 
 

    fRk: "crimes in the past"... a so called section of our nice little fanzine. have the lower forty-eight
    boys ever been in "funny" conflict with the law?

    Andy:  I wish!  My dad told me when I was 18 not to do anything that may land my ass in jail 
    because it wouldn’t be pretty!

    Phil:  I got suspended from high school once for peeing in an empty potato chip bag on a school
    bus and throwing it out the window. 
 

    fRk: please, please, please come to germany;) when can we expect you here?!

    Andy:  SEPTEMBER 2004!  With The Mass.
 

    fRk: awesome! i won't miss that... all the best from my side! 

    Andy:  Thanks very much.  Look forward to meeting you when we get over there.  Cheers.

    text: frankie.