Interview by: Cody
TF: Is it better or worse to be a serious band in a city like New York where there are a lot of diverse music fans, but at the same time 9,341 other bands acting seriously too? I'm sure a lot of bands fly under the radar so to speak...
TP: It's kind of a catch 22. We love being a band in New York because it is so diverse and there are so many places to see and play great shows, however, with an oversaturated environment such as this it makes things hard for a band trying to get some recognition. If we were based out of a smaller town we could easily focus the music scene around us, but in New York it's hard to stay focused on anything. Really though, it does create a much deeper bond between band members as we are the only people we have to answer to. The extra added difficulty just makes every success that much more sweet.
TF: How have your touring experiences been thus far?
TP: The tours that we've been on have been fantastic. It's kind of like being involved in an iron man contest. You have to struggle through adversity, sleep on floors, play in places that look and smell like the end of the world and drink heavily every single night. The drinking part isn't necessarily something you have to do but it helps with the whole waking up in a Howard Johnsons at six in the morning in New Orleans thing...yeah....that sucked. I will say that touring allows for you to see a ton of the country. The U.S. is truly a strange and beautiful place.
TF: Otis Redding or Aretha Franklin?
TP: Well, now, that's a tough one. Otis Redding is and always will be a personal hero to everyone in the band, but we could easily say the same thing about Aretha. I'd say that they are pretty much equal to us, although I will admit that I prefer Otis' version of 'Respect' over Aretha's, so there.
TF: When was the last time a band member got kicked out of/nearly got kicked out of a bar for slamming a cue ball down on the pool table?
TP: We were in Easton, Maryland and our bass player (mine and my brother's cousin Kyle) decided to start doing scientific tests on how much pressure a cue ball could take before it crumbles. I was personally a little disappointed that we never got a real conclusion. Obviously that bar tender wasn't interested in the advancement of technology or intelligence in our ever changing world. That being said, our bass player does make a concerted effort to try to get kicked out of most bars we enter, call it a hobby of sorts.
TF: You guys seem to bring a lot of styles to the table...I can listen to one song and hear Stax Records, The Stooges, and Gram Parsons at once...where does it all come from?
TP: We all love the same kinds of music, it's just a matter of what we love more than other stuff. Think of it as a jar filled with influences and for each of us a few things float a little higher than the others. I love everything Stax, Randy Newman and The Kinks, but I'm also huge into Pavement and Guided by Voices, which adds a different element to the way I play. Timmy is into Pavement and GBV, but Stax and Spiritualized rise to the top. Kyle drums loves Spiritualized, but really really loves Merle Haggard and Will Oldham. Kyle bass likes Will Oldham and Merle Haggard but is head over heels for The Dirtbombs and Bruce Springsteen. Overall I think that this eclectic mix makes for something really interesting and theatrical. We really just want to be loud.
TF: Where can low-life scum bags in Maryland get your music if they happened to be particularly scummy and low-lifey and missed your shows the couple times you've been through on tour?
TP: You can always go to our website, www. teenageprayers. com, and make a purchase. If you don't want to do that, both of our albums, Ten Songs and Everyone Thinks You're The Best, are available on ITunes and Amazon. com. Go buy our stuff and then check out our tour dates on our myspace page (www. myspace. com/theteenageprayers) and come see us!
TF: What does the term "Rock of Love" mean to you exactly?
TP: Isn't that a show or something? I would say that, to me, Rock of Love is not so much a term as it is a mantra. Every morning when I get up I strap on my guitar and play Rush's 'Tom Sawyer' in it's entirety in order to appease the Rock gods. I then play Joan Jett's 'I Love Rock n' Roll' 50 times in a row on piano. This is all part of my Rock of Love regiment and my Rock n' Roll fantasy, my Rock n' Roll dream.
TF: Has there ever been a worse set of interview questions than the ones you just wasted your time answering?
TP: Well, I mean that depends. I don't usually answer interview questions as Tim, who is the lead singer and consumate front man for the band, more often than not takes the baton. I would even hesitate to say that this is my FIRST time answering interview questions, so this set is actually the best I've ever seen. It was a total waste of time though.
www.teenageprayers.com
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