#Poundsign#

Poundsign

You know Poundsign, right? They're from San Francisco, and not only are they fun to see live (we'll miss them when we move!), they have just put out an excellent new CD on Fantastic Records. As of this interview, they are on a huge country-wide tour and seem to be having fun. Enjoy!

You're from California - how do you like it here?
Stephen: California is the optimal place to live.
Alicia: I love it, see in California you got the trees, the mountains, the ocean, the beautiful air and the desert all in one place...
Becky: Ca. is great because the sun is out so often and the cuisine is healthy for the most part -- fresh fruit and veg.

Have you lived anywhere else?
A: No. Well, yes, I was born and lived in Arkansas for about a year (my parents lived on a commune).
S: I was born in England, but I pretty much grew up in the bay area. It's home.
B: I spent my youth on the East Coast in various places then moved to California and now Scotland.

Who's in the band nowadays?
A: Me, Becky, Stephen, as always, and now we have a new bass player, our friend Jaime!!! He has been playing with us now for about two months and is the most dedicated member of Poundsign by far. We are at present on tour, actually, and are answering these questions from our nation's capital. We are on a month-long tour with the Aislers Set.

Becky just toured with you - where has she been off to? Will she rejoin you later?
B: I'm baaack. I have been living in Glasgow and will return there for a few more months after recording in SF for October ... then who knows.

How was the tour? Where did you go?
S: the present tour has been really fun.
A: So far we've played LA, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Lubbock, Austin, Athens, GA, D.C., Arlington, and now we go on to Philly, NY, Ohio, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas, Denver, and Reno, then home. It's been great. We've taken a whole month, which really gives us time to stop and enjoy the places where we are. Also, we are with seven wonderful people and I am really enjoying the whole thing.

Which state was your favorite as you drove through?
B: Louisiana.
A: Louisiana, we stopped for a day off in New Orleans and it was raining and beautiful and just one of the best days of the tour, and one of the most memorable places I've been. It was beautiful ... really great.
S: I enjoyed driving through the south, looking out the window at all the vegetation growing all over each other, the swamps. There's so much nature in the south.
A: Lush vegetation...

Least favorite?
B: Texas-the heat
A: Durham, NC - no one came to the show.
S: Arizona and Texas were a drag to drive through because it's so hot.

What did you guys eat on the road (yuck, that sounds like you were eating roadkill)?
S: this tour, we've been taking more responsibility for what we eat. Instead of going to Denny's or some faceless place like that, we packed food, so we could save money for places that we really wanted to eat at.
A: It's been amazing really ... we've had a great variety of different kinds of local foods in places that we've been. Albuquerque at the "Frontier" with new Mexico green chiles, Louisiana and all that good food. Different stuff, but it takes effort to actually find them and to ask the locals.

What's essential to pack to survive a road trip?
A: Lots of water, and a flashlight, and a radio. And a map. S: Ten pair of underwear, six pairs of socks, a towel, sleeping bag, t-shirts, etc.

The new album is excellent - what made you go in the keyboard direction?
A: We have actually been using keyboards for the past couple of years, after Ravi, our old bass player left, we wanted something to fill the bass sound, for one, and also were sort of into keyboards anyway ... we all grew up listening to bands like New Order, the Cure, etc. and also we all play piano. Whatever fits the songs is what I say ... also, its just another instrument which you can use to get what you want.
S: I think it goes back to our natural curiosity about the possibilities of sound. Also, our favorite bands have often used keyboards, and so we maybe feel less afraid to use them.

What is Stephen saying in the beginning of "Telephone?" We know it's German, but we can't decipher it.
I get up, I watch TV
I call you up, because you're my girl.

What are your future recording plans?
A: We've got a lot of new songs and so when we get back from tour we are gonna record and put out another record. Yep.

If you had unlimited money to plan a vacation, where would you go and what would you do?
(Jaime just joined us at the computer)
J: I think that I would probably try to make it all the way around the world, there are lots of people that I've met while traveling in the past that I would like to visit and lots of places that I've never been that I'd like to go. I think that I could travel for a very long time if I had the funds to keep myself comfortable and possibly take/ pick up some friends along the way.
A: (Jaime dances while he types)
A & S: We want to go to outer space.
S: I'd also like to go to Athens, Greece, and soak up the vibes from the great philosophers.
A: I would like to go to Peru.

What have you been listening to/reading/watching lately?
A: Magnetic Fields, reading the history of the Civil War, and watching the country go by out the window.
J: (still dancing) I've been buying a lot of old (80's) pop music lately like Felt, Orange Juice, the Shop Assistants etc. It makes me wonder where I was when this music was being released originally. I still listen to a lot of the music I listened to when I was growing up too.
S: I've been getting into Stereo Total, reading Fahrenheit 451, and taking lots of pictures.