Interview: The Bogarts

>>One day when I was updating my fan page, I saw a wall post asking about how someone could get their band featured on my site. About 2 weeks later, here they are. I interviewed The Bogarts from California, and as you'll be able to tell, they're a trio of fun loving guys who just so happen to make good music.

Introduce yourselves.
Hi, I’m Nick Waite and I play bass, vocals, and good looks.
I’m Alex Johnson, and I play guitar, vocals, and I’m the one in the band with no friends.
Moritz Kaltenbrunner is our drummer but he’s not here to answer questions.

Where are you from? How would you describe the local music scene there?
We’re from Thousand Oaks, California, and the music scene is pretty much Indie and Hardcore. There’s only a few punk bands around, so it’s hard to get a good punk show going.

What are some of your earliest memories that made you want to get into music?
Alex: Well, I remember the first album I ever bought was Green Day’s “Dookie”, and I guess that record just had a huge impact on my childhood and the way I thought of music.
Nick: Watching a Blink-182 music video at a pretty young age, I think it was “All The Small Things.”

How’d you guys get together to form this band?
Basically, Alex and Moritz had been in various other formations together, but none of them really worked out. We met Nick last summer, and we all just kind of clicked. We got together in early August of 2009.

Who named the band? How’d you come up with that name?
There was really no hidden reason behind our name, to be honest. Alex was sitting in his house, and heard someone in the other room watching a Humphrey Bogart movie, and started contemplating about how much of a badass he was.

Do you have a certain process you always use when it comes to songwriting?
Alex: Well, I just write about what comes to mind, I guess. Whether it’s a girl problem, mild insomnia, ADD, you name it… I’ve got a song about it somewhere. Basically what happens when we get songs together is Nick comes over to my house, and we just figure everything out. Once that’s done, then we take the song to Moritz, and finish it up.
Nick: If I get really mad, sad, or happy, I write a song. It’s either a fuck-you to whatever is making me mad, a fuck-you to whatever is making me sad, or a thank-you to whatever is making me happy.

Tell us about the new record you guys have coming out soon.
Okay.
Name: Better Than Before
How many songs are on it?: 11
Main inspiration behind it: Music, girls, and frustration, pretty much.
Release Date: February 12, 2010
Where it can be purchased? Pretty much from us, if you hit us up on Myspace or Facebook, we can get you a copy. It might be on iTunes, also. If we’re lucky.
Anything else you'd like to mention about it?:
We recorded 5 of the songs at Beatlab Studios in Thousand Oaks. They’re really great people, and they’re just starting out, but they’ve got great recordings, so if any up and coming bands are looking for good recordings for cheap, that’s the place to go. That’s my shameless advertising for them.
The other 6 songs we done on our own, and it’s a pretty drastic change in sound quality, but we just wanted to get all of our stuff onto a physical product.

Out of all the songs you've written, which are you most proud of?
Alex: For me, it would probably be Revenge. I put a lot of time into getting the lyrics as good as I could get them, and the last chorus on it is really cool because we got a big group of people to sing, and it gives it this kind of stadium-sounding thing. It’s really cool.
(Nick left my house after this, so all of the remaining questions are from Alex.

What’s your favorite part about being in this band?
I love playing shows, and meeting other bands. I also just love hanging out with the guys, and dicking around at practices, and seeing how much trouble we can get ourselves into without getting busted.

You have a pretty interesting MySpace URL (myspace.com/nickhasacutebutt). Is there a story behind that?
Well, obviously, myspace.com/thebogarts was taken, otherwise we’d just use that. Nick has a bad habit of mooning the wrong people, and streaking in public, and a lot of girls we know started saying that he had a cute butt, so we just used that. We figured it’d set us apart from everyone else.

For those who haven’t heard it yet, how would you describe your music?
I guess you’d call it punk-rock. But we have other influences, for sure. It’s fast, it’s crunchy, and I’d like to think it’s different.

Have you been compared to other artists?
We get a lot of comparisons to A.F.I.’s early stuff, and Anti-Flag. We’ve also been compared to Green Day, Rise Against, and The Offspring.

How do you respond to negative criticism?
I just think about where the criticism is coming from, and decide if we really give a fuck what they think, and if we do, then we’ll work on it, but if we don’t… well…

What do you consider your biggest accomplishment so far as a band?
We’ve played a good number of shows for a band that’s only been together since August, so I guess that’s an accomplishment.

What is something you want to accomplish with your music in the future?
We just wanna get our music out to everyone who wants to listen to it. We want people to hear the music we’ve created, even if they don’t like it. Because then at least we can get our name out there.

Do you guys have any shows coming up?
Yeah, we have two shows at the Thousand Oaks Teen Center on February 13th, and March 20th. We’re also playing at the Calabasas Rec Center on February 26th, and Epic Ventura with Universal/Geffen artist MIXI on April 16th.

How would you describe your stage presence?
Hm. Moritz come out on one song and sings at the end, it’s pretty great. He just slides onto his knees and strikes this really epic pose. Nick jumps around a lot, I tend to be the same nowadays, but in our early shows, I had pretty terrible presence. I kind of just stood in one spot, and didn’t do much. But at one of our more recent shows a few months back, Nick handed out an enema during our set. The guy he handed it out to came to us after the show and had us all sign it. I signed as Billy Mays.

How do you guys find new music to listen to? What have you been listening to a lot lately?
I find new music by hearing about something from friends and going to shows. Nick and I saw Anti-Flag a few weeks back, and I’ve been listening to a band that opened for them, Broadway Calls. It’s really good pop-punk, and they’re a cool bunch of guys. I’ve also been listening to Green Day’s “Insomniac” lately, just because it’s one of my favorite albums of all time, and has always had heavy rotation for me. Also, I’ve been listening to our friends The Braces’ newest album “I’m Telling Everyone.” Everyone that’s reading this should check them out. They make some awesome music.

What are some of the best, and weirdest gifts you’ve received from fans?
Well, at our first show, I signed someone’s boobs, if that counts. I don’t know, really. I’ve been threatened by someone that they would throw a condom at me, but that hasn’t happened yet.

If there was a television show about your band, what would it be called?
“The Bogarts: Not Actually a Gay Porno”

If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?
I would definitely have teleportation, just because I’m really lazy. Being to fly would be pretty sick, too. I know Nick has always wanted spider-powers. He actually said something about that today.

Fan Submissions:

What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you to sign? – Dublin
Hm. I think the enema takes the cake on this one.

How would you spend your time if you weren't in this band? - Pete Lawnes
If we weren’t in the band, we would probably start a nudist colony. I might continue writing poetry. Moritz would sell his body on the streets, for sure.

How has your fan base affected you as band? - Amy Nelson
Our fan base is actually really loyal so far, considering we’ve only been together for such a short time. The majority of them are really good people, and some of them are great friends. We try to spend a lot of time interacting with fans, and making sure they know we care, because without them we’d be nothing.

What's the most awkward/funny show you have played? - Amy Nelson
Well, we played a show at a taco shop called Chronic Tacos once. It was really awkward because by the time we played, everyone besides us had jumped on the alcohol train, and we’re underage. People were yelling at us and making fun of us, but it was more fun for us because we made fun of them back, and they couldn’t even comprehend that was what we were doing.

If any of the band members were to go out with each other, who would and why?- Amy Nelson
I think that Nick and I would probably be good as a couple. Moritz is a very good cook though. I don’t know who I’d choose. Cute butt or good cook? You decide.

What do you think sets your music apart from other local bands?- Amy Nelson
I think what sets us apart from everyone around Thousand Oaks is that we tend to be very blunt with our music. If I’m thinking something, I’m gonna write about it, no matter who or what it’s about. Also, our live shows tend to get people going, because we tell bad jokes and run around like idiots. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but that’s how it is.

Bonus Round:

Favorite:
CD(s)?
Alex: “Insomniac” by Green Day, “Underground Network” by Anti-Flag, “Dude Ranch” by Blink-182, “Ruiner” by A Wilhelm Scream, and “You’re Awful, I Love You” by Ludo.
Nick: “Broken” by Nine Inch Nails, “Warning:” by Green Day, “Americana” by The Offspring, and “Underground Network” by Anti-Flag.
Moritz: I don’t like music.

Song to play live?
Alex: Downhill
Nick: K.K.B.
Moritz: Revenge

TV show?
Alex: The O’Reilly Factor.
Nick: Can’t decide between Vampire Diaries or Wizards of Waverly Place.
Moritz: I don’t watch TV.

Food?
Alex: Candy. Any candy.
Nick: Can’t decide.
Moritz: Grannel Noedel.

Quote?
Alex: “It’s not what you make, it’s what you leave.” – Billie Joe Armstrong
Nick: “Moritz is gay.” - Anonymous
Moritz: “Easy come, premature ejaculation.” – Anonymous

This or that:
Plugged in or Acoustic? Plugged in.
MySpace or Facebook? Facebook, for sure.
Calling or Texting? Calling.
Albums or Singles? Albums.

Behind The Scenes: What else should we know?

Nicknames?
Alex– Kent and The Reverend Billy Mays;
Nick – The Diaper and The Boulder;
Moritz – Santiago and Awesome Man.

Special talents? Nick can run really fast, Moritz can jump really high, and Alex can complain a lot.
Pet peeves? People at shows that don’t dance, people that take themselves too seriously.
Additional hobbies?
Alex: Poetry, long walks on the beach.
Nick: Streaking, and dancing.
Moritz: Pole-dancing and sleeping.

Members Only: In the band, who is
Funniest? None of us are funny whatsoever. We accepted this long ago.
Craziest? Nick.
Most organized? Alex.
Most outgoing? Nick.
Most stubborn? Moritz.

Thanks again to Alex, Nick, & Moritz; aka The Bogarts :)


myspace.com/nickhasacutebutt
facebook.com/thebogarts