"Everyone Has A Fucking Beard Here" - The Rainn Wilson Interview

George, WA -- I found Rainn Wilson to be a Gooseninja.com kind of guy. Not only does he have ties to Eastern Washington, but he's into Ninjas (I'll get to that) and seemingly everywhere at once. Like the small biplane circling the Gorge hour after hour, signage for his latest film The Rocker streaming behind, Mr. Wilson's brilliant, over-the-top acting presence has become omnipresent. As Rainn and I hung out on the side of the Sasquatch Music Festival's Mainstage in, we couldn't help but notice the small plane circling around and around. "I wish they would shoot that plane down…(He fires me a no-shit, but playfully exasperated look) It's too much, don't you think?" He said it, almost adopting the classic self-depreciating spirit of any great indi-rocker, and saving me one complaint. I agree these festivals have become over-saturated with marketing departments and promotional street teams, though instead of asking Mr. Wilson his take on the Fleet Foxes (who were performing as we chatted) I had to inquire about his next (ninja) picture, Bonzai Shadowhands.

"Imagine…Just Imagine the most fucked-up version of Karate Kid. That's Bonzai Shadowhands." Sold. The Fox Searchlight film will be directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You for Smoking). Gooseninja.com will keep you update as to the progress of this dark comedy about a depressed former master ninja.

Gazing upon the miles of God's golden country, we discussed The Office star's thoughts on Eastern Washington. "If Yakima is the armpit of Washington State, then Wapato is like the infested mole encrusted within that armpit." One should point out Rainn's wife (Author Holiday Reinhorn) hails from Wapato. The two met at the University of Washington's Hutchinson Hall in '85 and still frequent their vacation cottage in Sisters, OR. Surrounded by the malnourished and dehydrated, I found it refreshing to hear they still kick around our native Eastern Washington.

"Everyone has a fucking beard here." And he was right. These apathetic neo-hippies have no hygiene, no manners. Shave? Fuck, how about a shower! After a night of spreading herpes from tent to tent, these hardcore red-state rockers reak of BO and bud. Many of them are sporting red and white bandanas adorning the former SNL host's film The Rocker. For the role, Mr. Wilson worked with drum coach Stewart Johnson in LA.

As for real rockers, The Flaming Lips were at the top of the list for Rainn. He also professed a love for the Cold War Kids, whose show Mr. Wilson caught later on the sidestage. You could see he was completely into their set and engaged with their music. I think Rainn Wilson loves music, community, and people in general. Rolling Stone tapped him to blog for them (read it here) and interview Rogue Wave. Gander On!

Matt Costa Interview

Gander On!

Interview - The Pharmacy

We manged to catch up with Seattle pop-punk rockers The Pharmacy after their set at the EMP Sky Church during Bumbershoot and talk about everything from the Sky Church's Psychedelic backdrop to Rembrandt's b-sides. The band recently got done with a seventy plus date tour and are currently working on finishing their second album while still managing to play a few local dates. This bands love for amusement parks really shines through as they are not only fun and exciting to see live but talk to as well. Check out their video for "Tropical Yeti" below and Gander On for the interview.




GN: How long have you guys been together?

Scottie: Ryan and Stefan have been playing with us for the past year but Brendhan and I have been playing music since we we're like sixteen so about five years now. We started playing shows and touring in 2003.

GN: Is this your first time at Bumbershoot?

Scottie: It's our first time playing.

GN: How was it?

Scottie: It's really Psychedelic. The lights were intense.

GN: What did you think about that giant screen?

Scottie: I couldn't really look at the screen

Stefan: I was trying to match up the keyboard parts with the screen. I tried really hard.

Ryan: I think there were giant anime creatures being projected behind us.

Brendhan: It was like watching a computer screen, like watching Itunes.

GN: It seems that your music covers a wide spectrum, where does that come from?

Brendhan: I think we started out as a Ska band right.

Scottie: No not really, that was like the second wave of The Pharmacy. First we were like a garage rock band. It's kind of hard to keep track of what music style we are. it's hard to think about.

GN: Where do you guys draw most of your influence from?

Brendhan: Nirvana, Electric Light Orchestra, The Beatles.

Scottie: Moldy Peaches

Brendhan: On Tour we always go together to theme parks and we're always at the top of the roller coaster together and we like our music to represent that feeling when we're all going down.

GN: Have you ever been on this ride here?(pointing to The Booster.)

Stefan: Yes I have it's so great!

Scottie: One time Stefan spent Seventy dollars on that ride.

GN: So you guys have an album out right now?

Scottie: Yeah we record an album and it came out about two years ago. We've been in the middle of recording. We've been touring so much this year it's been hard to finish the new one.

GN: Who did you guys tour with this year?

Scottie: This year we pretty much booked our own tour. We toured with Totally Michael for a little while.

Ryan: We toured with different friends we have around the country for little blocks.

GN: So there is a new CD in the works?

Scottie: Yeah, we've been recording it for about eight months or so, off and on.

GN: When can we expect to see that?

Scottie: By the end of year.

GN: You guys are all from the same area?

Scottie: yeah, we're all from Vashon Island but Ryan's from the Tri-Cities.

GN: Are there any bands you guys are excited to see tonight?

All: Tiny Vipers!

Stefan: Scott and I work with Jesy.

GN: We always ask the bands what some of their guilty pleasure songs are?

Scottie: I like eighties Paul McCartney.

Brendhan: I like The Knack. They sing "My Sharona," they have some really cheesy songs.

Ryan: I like The Waitresses actually.

Scottie: The Rembrandts. Every one knows them for the "Friends" song but they've got a lot of really cool b-sides.

Brendhan: I used to really like that Shaggy song "It wasn't me"

Stefan: We actually ripped off a few measures of that on "My Friends."

Brendhan: Yeah the dub breakdown. We recorded it backwards.

You can catch The Pharmacy at the Reverb Festival October 6th and look out for the yet to be titled album coming out later this year.

Gander On!

Interview: Big Pooh of Little Brother

Little Brother is one of the dopest new acts to come out in hip-hop lately dropping three classic albums The Listening, Chitlin’ Circuit 1.5, and The Minstrel Show in the last few years. They have a classic hip-hop feel that takes me back and makes me appreciate what the music can be. So it was my honor to interview Big Pooh of Little Brother and talk about their new album The Get Back. Gander On for the interview.

JB: When’s the new album coming out
BP: October 23rd

JB: I’ve heard that you and 9th wonder have split up since the last album. How has this and other changes that have occurred in your lives affected what we will hear on The Get Back?

BP: The two main changes that have happened since the last one came out have been 9th leaving the group and us leaving Atlantic Records. Besides that the production has opened up a little more but that actually began to happen before 9th left.

JB: We heard that 9th left the group because you guys wanted the opportunity to work with other producers and to try to work with more diverse beats. What can we expect from the new album? The others were very soulful. Can we expect more experimentation? Is it more commercial?

BP: That wasn’t the basis for the split with 9th. This album will still be soulful but there’s a lot more live instrumentation on this record.

JB: Are you guys still cool with ninth and are there possibilities of you guys working with him in the future?

BP: On a personal note it’s not the same and probably never will be but we still have a lot of respect for each other’s work. As far as I’m concerned I have laid down some songs for 9ths solo project the Dream Catcher so you’ll see that coming soon. As far as Little Brother is concerned you will probably see us work together in the future but there won’t be any reunions. He’ll definitely be called to produce whenever myself or the group are planning to put out another album. But no reunions.

JB: Since the last album The Minstrel Show both you and Phonte have released solo projects. Phonte with Foreign Exchange and yourself with Sleepers. Why does great hip-hop continue to be overlooked by the masses?

BP: It’s not what they’re used to. It’s not what they’re being fed. I equate it to junk food. These companies are making money off of junk food which may be good for you now but later you’ll be hungry again which is what they want.

JB: We haven’t seen too many huge Big Brother collaborations. You had Rhymefest on the new mixtape but what artists would you like to work with and/or compete against on the mic?

BP: We got Weezy (Lil’ Wayne) on the new album so your gonna see him on there. I’m a huge
fan of making music and music in general so there’s a ton of people out there. A lot of times we exchange info but just as the nature of the business it doesn’t always work out.

JB: Any specifics?

BP: Outkast. I’ve been listening to them for a long time. Since they came out. Also some of the other legends that I’ve respected. DJ Quik. DJ Quik I feel is one of the most underrated producers in hip-hop. And Dr. Dre definitely Dre. He’s the Master.

JB: Coming from North Carolina what advice can you give to MC’s coming up especially in areas outside of New York, LA, and Atlanta?

BP: Figure out who you are and be consistent. Stick to your guns. Don’t go for the allure of being famous. Being famous doesn’t equal being Rich and being Rich doesn’t equal longevity. You gotta grind, grind, grind. Some people are lucky and have a hit single and get big early but that doesn’t mean they’re gonna be around forever. Nothing is given in this business. It’s a sacrifice.

JB: You guys just left Atlantic. Given the current state of music would you stay away from the major labels if you had the opportunity to do it again?

BP: Naw. We’d do the same thing. You need to go through the experience. It was a great experience and it helped me become who I am and it helped Phonte to become who he is. Naw you can’t sit back and think about what if?

JB: When can we see ya’ll in Seattle?

BP: We’ll be in Seattle November 3rd and Bellingham November 5th

JB: Who are some other dope MC’s coming out of NC right now?

BP: You got Josey Loc, Superstition out of Charlotte, Big Reno outta Salem, and Trill all from North Carolina.

I’d like to thank Big Pooh and Little Brother for taking their time out and for making dope hip-hop which is sorely lacking today. I had the opportunity to listen to portions of the new album The Get Back recently and from what I’ve heard so far it should be another dope outing from Little Brother. And be sure to check out The Listening, Chitlin’ Circuit 1.5, The Minstrel Show, all Gooseninja and JBuc certified hot!!! Gander On!

Interview With Hot Hot Heat And More!

With Hot Hot Heat set to release "Happiness Ltd." today we figured it would be a great time to post this email interview we did with Dustin and Paul. The guys definitely seem exited to be done with the album. We're excited. for next weeks Endfest and their performance! Gander On for the interview as well as parts four and five of the making of "Happiness Ltd" and make sure to hit your local record stores today for a copy, It's Hot!>

Where did the name of the new album come from?
It came from the first lyric of the first song.

How do you think your music has evolved from Make Up The Breakdown to Elevators to now with Happiness Ltd?
If Make up the Breakdown was a one celled organism, this is album is a fully formed Homohablis.

What is the process you go through when making an album. Do you write a lot of the music and then go in and write to it? Or write the music first? Is it a combination of the two?
We spent a lot of time writing on the road. Songs usually start with one person bringing in an idea, a skeleton of a song, and then we all flesh it out.

You’ve put out some behind the scenes videos on your youtube channel. What’s it like to look back and see the process you went through making the album?
We shouldn't have been drinking so much. It seems as though there is a beer can in every other shot.

What can people expect at a Hot Hot Heat live show?
It's like being struck by lightning, repeatedly. Now ride the lightning!

You’ve said several times that you don’t like playing clubs but rather playing to a larger audience. Why do you think this is?
That's cause Steve was misquoted, what he actually said was that we prefer to play arenas.

What have been some of your favorite venues to play and what have been some of your favorite venues to see other bands play?

Santa Barbara Bowl, Red Rocks, London Astoria, Logan's, Whiskey, Viper Room
Steve did a remix of the Killers “Read My Mind” earlier this year. Are there any other remixes out there we should be looking for or any others in the works?
The Let Me In remixes are quite good.

What are some of your guilty pleasure songs you listen to?
Dripping With Hate - Hatewolf




Gander On!

Aqueduct Interview

As the sun set on Saturday at Bumbershoot we had a chance to catch up with David Terry aka Aqueduct just before he hit the Sound Transit Stage and rocked a huge crowd of Seattle faithful and we talked about everything from Oklahoma to Matt Hasselbeck. Dave is one of the nicest guys we've met and is genuinely happy to be doing what he loves. You can check him out right now on an East Coast tour with Apples In Stereo and back on the West Coast in October and November with Georgie James. Gander On for the interview.

GN: So what do you think about Bumbershoot?

AQ: I like it, it's cool. It's smack dab in the middle of the city and it's a lot of different styles of music and tons of people. I feel very fortunate to be asked to play.

GN: Have you caught any acts while your here?

AQ: I saw St.Vincent and a little bit of The Lashes and most of Menomena

GN: Anyone your looking forward to seeing?

AQ: I really would like to see Apples In Stereo.

GN: Your doing a show with them coming up right?

AQ: Yeah were actually doing a whole East Coast tour with them. They're one of my favorite bands of the last ten years or so, so it'll be great to go play with them.

GN: So Oklahoma to Seattle, how does that happen?

AQ: That's a big jump. It's a big cultural shift. I like it a lot here and moving to Seattle has done nothing but great things for me and Aqueduct.

GN: So you like the Northwest then?

AQ: The West Coast was definitely calling my name and I wasn't sure where to go. I almost moved to Portland but I ended up being here in Seattle and I think that ended up being a great twist of fate.

GN: I see you've become a Seahawks. (Dave was sporting a Seahawks wristband)

AQ: I kind of live down close to the stadium and I had a chance to go see a game for the first time this year a couple weeks ago.

GN: Who do see as most of your major influences?

AQ: Aqueduct as long as it's catchy, that's the consistent thing. So really bands that have kind of motivated me and inspired me over the years have just been super catchy bands. Oldies Stuff, Beach Boys, Bee Gees, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and I also just love fun silly music to like heavy metal, gangster rap, and hair metal.

GN: So how would you describe yourself?

AQ: I pretty much just say it's anything goes and I refer people to the website aqueductisgoodmusic.comand I leave it at that.

GN: So it's pretty much what your feeling at the time?

AQ: yeah it is. I try not to limit myself or pigeon hole myself ti much and really just keep the production something that keeps me going in the studio trying new stuff and trying crazy stuff.

Word Association

GN: Bumbershoot

AQ: Huge

GN: Aqueduct

AQ: Fun

GN: Northwest

AQ: Yes

GN: Oklahoma

AQ: Yes!

GN: Matt Hasslebeck

AQ: Geeky, I saw a picture of him recently and I was like man for a quarterback he's kinda geeky, scrawny looking guy.

GN: It looks like you've drawn quite a crowd here. Are you excited?

AQ: Yeah

GN: Do really like the performance aspect of it? Is that what your in it for?

AQ: I'm really in it just to make the music that I hear in my head and put it down. I'm very fortunate that people like it and playing live has become a whole thing now because it's kind of a one man band thing in the studio and from the get go I had to figure out if I wanted to have a band or if I wanted to be the laptop guy with the guitar. I really decided it should be a full band pretty much from the start and have really been working to mold that into something and I feel like in the last three years I've got a good thing going on.

GN: You play with a regular group of band members?

AQ: Yeah, if they'll have me. Gander On!

I Am Not A Gangster! D. Black - The Interview

For the record D. Black is not a gangster. What he is though is a member of the up and coming Sportin' Life Records crew taking Seattle by storm. With his parents hailing from Seattle's first real Hip Hop crew, the Emerald City Gang and a stage presence that commands your attention one thing D. Black is sure to be is successful.

After D. got done rockin the crowd inside the EMP Sky Church on Saturday we stepped outside to find out what was really going down with this Seattle Hip-Hopper.

Gander On for the interview.

GN: So How's Life?

DB: Life's good, it's wonderful!

GN: Everything but the bills right?

DB: A lot of the times I come to shows, and for some reason on show days there's always a lot of baggage and that's the time it gets overwhelming. But I swear I love being on stage more than anything. Right when I get on stage, even up to that it's stressful. I know it sounds cliche but I'm serious that's my high, I don't drink, I don't smoke. It's the best part of the game for me.

GN: How long have you been performing for?

DB: I did my first show in like the fourth grade. That was my first time being up on stage. I had my little studio at home so I made a little show tape and I rocked it. My partner started crying he forgot his verse in front of the entire school with the parents. That was my first time rockin it. I can't remember my first real show, my sophomore year of high school we had a club night, Sportin' Life Thursdays at the Safari Club on Rainier. I know that was the beginning stages when we used to rock it.

GN: You had a studio in the fourth grade?

DB: I set it up myself. I had these two karaoke machines hooked together so I could dub my tape to the other tape and I had a microphone hanging from the vent because I didn't have a mic stand. I had a Roland groove box, that was my first beat machine, I got it when I was like eight. I've been doin it for a minute.

GN: You just had a birthday party for Sportin' Life Records?

DB: We just had a birthday party, a five year anniversary party. We've actually been a crew before that but we made it a business back in 02'.

GN: You have a new album coming out?

DB: Yeah, "Life and Legacy."

GN: When can people expect that?

DB: Around the first quarter of 08' January, February.

GN: What was Mix A Lot's reaction when you first played "808" for him.

DB: I go to Mix's house and I got this record. I'm kinda scared because I know people have done Posse before and Mix didn't like it. We were just choppin it up for a minute. He had already heard about the song, so we're in the studio and he puts it on and he hears himself and he's kinda like that's me and then it just drops and his head noddin and it stopped and then he played it again and he was like this shit is hot and I told him I felt like it was a hit. He worked with it and mixed it and then a baby was born.

Word Association

GN: Bumbershoot

DB: Live!

GN: My Posse's On Broadway

DB: Classic

GN: Seattle Hip-Hop

DB: D. Black, Sportin' Life

GN: Sportin' Life Records

DB: The Movement

GN: D. Black

DB: Forever!

For more info and upcoming shows be sure to check out Sportin' Life Records Myspace page and be sure to pick up Fatal Lucciauno's record "The Only Forgotton Son" a record already labeled a Seattle classic as well as D. Black's "Cause and Effect" out now. And be sure to keep your eyes and ears open for J.Pinder and D. Black dropping new albums soon. Gander On!

King 5 Totally Snaked Aqueduct Interview!

We almost had to bust out some of our ninja moves, but the interviewer was to cute to hassle. As I was typing Dave came down from soundcheck and talked with us. Super cool guy, super awesome music! Don't sleep Seattle! Gander On!

Spike Jonze Spends Saturday With M.I.A. Parts 3-6

Last Week we brought you parts one and two and on this great Monday we have he rest of the series. Enjoy!

Gander On!

Spike Jonze Spends Saturday With M.I.A.

Our favorite music video director recently spent a Saturday afternoon with M.I.A. The interview has been broken down into six parts and today we've got one and two. In part one Spike gives M.I.A a few gifts and we learn that her hair stylist enjoys taking Ketamine on the job. Part 2 isn't as exciting but it's mostly conversation on their way to meet Afrikan Boy but it's worth watching. Check out part 1 below and Gander On for Part 2. Big thanks to GvsB for the link.

Gander On!

The Hives Are Making A Chinese Democracy

NME posted this great interview with The Hives Howlin' Pelle Almqvist and Chris Dangerous. The band discuss the fact that their new album is taking forever to come out and compare it to G&R's "Chines Democracy." The band also talks new song titles, set lists, and a few other interesting tidbits. Enjoy!
Gander On!

On The Couch With The Blakes

We took a break during the windstorm on Sunday to sit down with Seattle rockers The Blakes who were enjoying themselves aside from the fact that their keg had just tapped out.

Right off the bat we got the question we most wanted answered out of the way, the trio now owns two cell phones as opposed to the one they were sharing earlier this year. They still have one van though but did inform us that they had recently picked up two scooters and were loving them, even if they still hadn't gotten them registered. Garnet didn't seem worried about the registration and informed us that they had gone about two years in Seattle without registering the van and hadn't had any problems.

Earlier in the day at the show I mentioned to Danny that The Blake's sound seemed to have a Rolling Stones influence to it. The guys agreed but also let us know they drew their material from other great acts like The Kinks, CCR, Sam King, and Argent who Snow and Bob were adamant I wrote down.

We took a break when the guys from the Black Angels stopped by to say hello. Our conversation then drifted into talking about the new album which the guys self leaked about two-thousand copies of before signing with Light in the Attic two weeks ago. A July EP is now in the works and the full length album should be released by Light in the Attic around August/September.

This interview was the highlight of my day. It was great to see a group of guys who had put in so much work finally getting the success they deserved. You know we couldn't let the guys get away without asking about guilty pleasures and this is what we got.

Snow - Phil Collins
Garnet - Stryper
Bob - Abba or for the more obscure, Bucks Fizz.

Thank you to The Blakes and watch for them in Seattle this year at The West Seattle Summerfest, The Capitol Hill Block Party, Bumbershoot and all summer long cruising the streets on environmentally friendly unregistered scooters.

Goose Gander On!

Tokyo Police Club Interview

The Tokyo Police Clubs first Gorge experience was delayed after the missed their flight and incurred an additional sixteen hundred dollar expense to get here. Josh and Greg were nice enough to sit down with us and still seemed to be taking in their surroundings.

Growing up in Nemarket, Ontario a suburb of Toronto the music scene for Josh and Greg consisted of Friday and Saturday night Punk/Ska shows at the local youth center or bus rides into Toronto for the bigger acts. Josh let us know that his first concert experience was a Radiohead show, and Greg chimed in to let us know his was Ringo Star at the Casinorama.

My favorite story was Josh talking about the day he met Greg while riding the bus in the eight grade. According to Josh there was a kid on the bus with a guitar and he wasn't so great at playing it, eventually though Greg got his hands on it and began to play Radiohead's Paranoid Android which got Josh to turn around in his seat and listen. The rest of the crew have all known each other since the fourth grade.

The topics ranged from sound problems for the guys and others at Coachella this year, to Greg's not so impressed views on the new Smashing Pumpkins single "Tarantula."

After the Gorge show the guys are off for two months before heading out on their second European tour and are working on putting together new material. Of course we had to ask what some of their guilty pleasure songs/bands were. Greg said he still likes to crank up the Blink 182 and Josh is still a fan of The New Radicals "You Get What You Give."

They truly seem to be enjoying their success and are some of the most down to earth guys we've met. Best of luck to them in the future and we can't wait for the set today.

Goose Gander On!

Sasquatch Festival Live Blog

As you may have noticed we haven't been updating to much the last couple of days, mainly because we have to work at our real jobs so we can continue to write here in our free time. This all comes to an end this weekend when we bring to you Our second live blog of the year. The Sasquatch Festival at the Gorge. We look forward to bringing you up to the minute pictures, video, and more.

You can expect interviews from Common Market, Tokyo Police Club, The Black Angels, The Blakes and more.

Saturday we will be bringing you photography from Kyle Johnson a great up and coming photographer from Seattle. On Sunday get your dancing shoes on as our one of our favorite contributors Danny Dancer brings you his dance factor reviews of artists throughout the day.

It's going to be a great couple of days so check back regularly because we're going to bring you as close to being there as we possibly can. Gander On!