Interview: Throat Culture

Throat Culture Questions Answered By Benny (Vocals) Date Unknown Interviewed by wookubus

Related Links: Official Website

PRP: First off the fun loving question, how did you guys get together, and who is the new drummer to recently join the band?
Pete: We were all in local bands for years around Santa Barbara. We all knew eachother and what we were capable of. All our bands broke up at the same time and we started Ultraspank. We knew James (new drummer) the same way. He was in Snot in the beginning and a couple of other local bands. Tyler left the band and Dan ran into James the same day. Boom, we had a new bad ass drummer.

PRP: Lets start with the basics, how did you all get together?
Benny: Well Emu and I have been best friends forever. We were going to the same school for awhile but then I split and started going to another school where I met Bitch and Beau. Bitch had been playing guitar for quite some time and Beau as well. About two years after I left middle school with Emu he stated going to North Bay, which is where we all go now. Emu totally hit it off with Vanessa and I guess they were going start a band called Jesus Penus, which never really worked out. I had also begun I project called Pimp Syndrome with a few friends of mine and I asked Vanessa to join. We practiced one day and it really sucked but I ended up hitting the high note on the Deftones song "Bored". She instantly told me we should get Ian to play with us and we needed a drummer and he was already in Jazz band so we just started rippin shit up, and that's alls I gots to says abouts that!

PRP: You guys all seem to have nicknames, any purpose behind it?
Benny: My favorite Question of all! There is some meaning behind a couple of the names. We call Vanessa Bitch because shit she's a bitch. No she's not really the biggest bitch in the world but she has those days. We love you Vanessa. We call Ian Emu because he's a big dumb ugly bird that can't fly. If you look at him at a certain angle you'll see what I'm talking about. No I'm just fuckin with you. Emu was his old band name so we just started calling him Emu. My name has absolutely no fuckin meaning it's just a nickname that everyone calls me. Then we have sweet little Beau who has a nickname (Freshman) but refuses to be associated with it because he is in denial of his own age but we won't get into that because I'm sure when he reads this interview he'll kick my ass.

PRP: You guys were originally going to be called Jesus Penus, do you wish you hadn't chose Throat Culture instead?
Benny: Actually Jesus was a whole different Project that included Vanessa and Ian. Beau and I were never a part of it. We love Throat Culture it just really pisses us off that there are a whole handful of bands with the same name. I think there is some Death Metal Throat Culture in Colorado. Oh yea and then there's the coffee shop artsy Throat Culture that's based out of New York I guess. We love our name though it will always stick.

PRP: Ever consider changing the name to "Deep Throat Culture"?
Benny: Um we joke about shit like that all the time. There are so many fucked up names that we come up with but we'll never change our name. It's just the way it is we've always been attached to it.

PRP: Your guys jazz background shines through on the album, do you feel that playing heavier music is more satisfying then say jazz?
Benny: Well I can't speak for anyone else but for me fuck yea! I was never in the Jazz band but I still love it. The stuff that I write for me is more satisfying than sitting on the toilet for two hours. When I go to practice or get up on stage I just let myself go. I forget about everything and everyone and I put everything I have into singing. Music all in all though is the most satisfying form of art that I know of.

PRP: Ever consider buying Beau a haircut?
Benny: HaHaHaHa, Beau's got a mop! I don't know we fuck with Beau too much I think. It's just he's so small and innocent. We love you Beau! We actually don't talk about his hair that much but now that you mention it he does need a fucking haircut.

PRP: You guys pay a distinct amount of attention to the music rather than vocals, is this a calculated thing or just how it comes out?
Benny: You know I'd like to protest because I think I'm being deprived of my talent as a young musician. No It's we just write our songs and play what sounds good to us. Our newer shit is gonna blow up as soon as it's recorded. There are definitely going to be more vocals with four of us singing this time and another little touch that we'll be a surprise for all yall Throat Culture fans out there!

PRP: If I told you I hadn't changed my underwear in 4 days would you be offended?
Benny: Well I can relate with you here because it's like I'll put on a pair of underwear and I'll completely forget that I'm wearing them, so I'll wake up without remembering to put a new pair on then I'll leave the house and go to sleep with the same fuckin pair of underwear on. I'll do it for like a week and a half. Sometimes I'll wear a thong you know and it just gets up between my cheeks and you know then it's all over. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!

PRP: Just what exactly is "Throat Culture"?
Benny: A Throat Culture is when you go to a doctor and he pulls out a long Q-tip and tells you to bend over. Then he rams up your ass and gets all the nasty little dingle berries out of there and gives you a nice little baggy to take them home with you! No that's not what it is but I like to think it is! A Throat Culture is when you have like A cold or the Flu or something like that and a doctor takes a Q-tip and swabs the back of your throat for particles and Saliva samples. That's what a Throat Culture really is. I love em', I get em' regularly!

PRP: You guys seem to all be a bit young, do you find this causes stereotypes for the band?
Benny: You know if anyone out there wants to label us as being inexperienced or young or as being a bad band they can shove right up there ass. I think the youth of today is the path of the future. I think younger bands are the more creative bands because they're still learning and they have more energy and more emotion than any 40 year old could ever fart out. If there are any stereotypes about young bands then I don't know what the fuck music is because the young bands of today have put some of the sickest fucking music out there than anyone has in years.

PRP: Did "Bitch" pick her nickname? Or was she just a pain in the ass to work with?
Benny: You know that's a really good question and I think that she picked the name before we ever started the band because she knew she was a bitch but we sort of took it to the next level, if you know what I mean!

PRP: How do you feel about the Internet as a tool in the promotion of the band?
Benny: I think the Internet is one of the best tools out there because it's worldwide. People from fuckin Africa can listen to our shit and love it or hate it, there is always a little bad in good but that's another subject. I love the Internet, I think the Internet is the best way to get you stuff heard. There are so many websites out there that will promote a band for the cost of nothing and it's great because it helps you get a stronger foothold in the music industry.

PRP: Do you find it hard getting recognition in a scene with so many bands such as the Bay Area?
Benny: It is very hard but the whole thing is, is that we are becoming good friends with a lot of different bands so when something really cool happens to them we are mentioned so it gets easier as you progress. The bay Are and L.A I think are the two hardest places because there are so many bands and it's like I think one out a thousand will make it. I know I will keep playing until I make it. You just have to believe that It will happen otherwise what's the point you know.

PRP: For being a band made up of a younger generation its odd to see someone like Herbie Hancock listed as an influence, do you guys (and girl) as a band listen to wide ranges of music?
Benny: Oh hell yea, I mean I grew up listening to Eric Clapton, Sting, the Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, B.B. King. I love all types of music and I respect every type of music for what it is. I know Vanessa grew up on Blues and Ian grew up listening to Frank Zappa. Then there's Beau who I am very confused about because he listens to the weirdest fucking music in the world. It's still great though. Actually Beau probably has the better taste in music than all of us because he's picky about what he listens to and it's always good.

PRP: If Britney Spears asked you the band to be the opening act on her tour, would you do it?
Benny: Fuck yea man! I don't know about the rest of the band but I sure as fucking shit would. It would be great, we'd get onstage dressed as the Backstreet Boys with all the little girls and boys screaming at us and then we'd just thrash into our hardcore shit and they'd all drop to the floor. Besides that Britney has Tit's so I'd go on tour with her. (LOL)

PRP: If you had to pick one Care Bear who you think would be into Scat, which one would it be?
Benny: Beau and that's all I'm gonna say! We'll leave it at that!

PRP: Drums play a heavy role in the groups music, as well as dynamics, are these elements you all try to focus on when writing new material?
Benny: We focus on every detail when we write music. Beau is also an incredible drummer and he knows how to play so they definitely are a big part of the band but I think we all are. We all put in just as much energy and time as we can into our music; I know it's what I want to do for the rest of my life! Fuck the 9 to 5, as Jacoby would say!!!!!

PRP: Any deep reason as to why you guys had a backwards "Promise" to close out the CD?
Benny: When we were recording our engineer Chris Krtoky looped my lyrics backwards and played it just as a joke so we thought it would be funny to put it at the end of the CD. I wanted to put it like a half an hour after the CD but everyone else disagreed with me. Oh well everyone thinks it's funny. I love being able to tell people I speak German or Romanian, the reactions out of people are great!

PRP: What bands career path would you most like to emulate?
Benny: For me it would be Deftones because they got big with out any radio play or television. They did it themselves and I think that would be a better feeling than to follow the path of lest say Korn or Limp Bizkit because they sold themselves to get big and to get they're money. Fuck that I'd rather not play music.

PRP: Stuck in a car with only Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock and Korn CD's, which do you choose?
Benny: Probably Korn only because even though I despise they're new material I have always supported there music and will continue as long as they're around. I do not respect them as people though.

PRP: Do you have any explanation as to why ass crack sweat smells like vinegar?
Benny: Well uh I've never really smelt ass crack sweat but I'll take a guess. Maybe it's because the oils that your dingle suck up get transformed into molecules of ass crack sweat which when mixed with the smell of shit! It turns into Vinegar, how's that for an explanation.

PRP: You guys incorporate alot of influences, yet mesh them together so none stand out distinctly, is there time spent in going over the song structure to make sure no parts sound as a distinct style or genre?
Benny: We try our hardest not to sound like anyone else. We have a lot of different styles and variety of music and when we just mix it up together and start to play it sounds fucking good. When we sit there and try to mimic another bands style it comes out fucking wack so we play the way we think about music. As for me I'll write my lyrics about things that have happened to me or what I'm feeling at the moment and I'll incorporate a Rage Against The Machine or Deftones kind of style to it and mesh it all together. When we put every aspect of the song together it comes out awesome. That's the way we write and will always.

PRP: Musically where do you see the band heading?
Benny: I believe we'll make it. I think that's the attitude you have to have and think you need to set goals or they won't happen. I see myself up on a big stage playing for a thousand people. That's where I see the band in the future.

PRP: What's next for Throat Culture?
Benny: I think we are trying to focus on getting a new full length CD with such songs as Nicholas, maybe a new and longer version of Promise, Just Breathe, Downfall, Thrown Accident, All is lost, Phoenix, and a few others that we are working on. We have financial issues to work out but as soon as that is done we are back in the recording studio and you can expect so sick shit!

PRP: That's about it, any shoutouts or shameless self promotion?
Benny: The only shout out I wanna give is to the people who come to our shows, and buy our CD's, and support us one hundred percent because we wouldn't be doing very well if it weren't for you. Also one more thing I wanna say is Pimp Rock Palace is the shit. Wookubus I wanna have sex with you and bear you children. Emu, Vanessa, Beau, Gina I love all you guy's and that's about it. PEACE!

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