jeanne crump continues the M.A.D. Wednesday interview series with the Asbury Park trio …
Hitting the stage tonight as part of the Downtown’s M.A.D. Wednesday music series is a relatively new name in town: Give Me Static. Taking inspiration from ’90s alternative rock bands like Pavement and Sonic Youth, the Asbury Park, N.J., trio churns out melodic riffs topped with a modern edge of rock ‘n’ roll. Sharing the stage is one of the most hard-working, hard-rocking bands in town — The Obvious, along with the uniquely talented ambient/experimental group Chemtrail. This is undoubtedly a killer set of local bands that shouldn’t be missed.
Give Me Static Is: Bob Paulos — guitar and vocals; Brad Harrison — drums; Nick Bock — bass
We Formed In: September 2010
We’re Based Out Of: Asbury Park, N.J.
Any Records Coming Out Soon? We just finished recording two songs for a possible split 7-inch with The Obvious. We recorded the tracks ourselves and had Pat Noon from Eightsixteenstudios.com mix them and it’s being mastered by Alan Douches at westwestsidemusic.com
Our Sound Has Been Likened To: ’90s alternative like Sonic Youth, Pavement.
You’ve Seen Us Before In Other Bands:
Bob: I started off playing bass in a hardcore band called Is This Real around 2004. I played drums in a band called The Fire for a couple years and also played drums briefly for The Sixty Six. I also am currently playing drums in Gay Guy/Straight Guy with Nick Cucci from River City Extension.
Nick: Played bass in a band called Bobby Teenager and in Spanish Bombs. Also drums in a hardcore band called Learn.
Brad: Played drums in various projects; also played guitar in Bobby Teenager and drums in Rusted Destruction.
Famous/Awesome Bands We’ve Performed With Before: Atlantic/Pacific, Goldenboy, The Obvious, Keith Kenny, I Hope You Die, Chemtrail.
Pop-Break: How did you become a part of The Downtown’s M.A.D. series?
Give Me Static: Anthony Jude asked us to play back in June and wanted us back in the future.
PB: What kind of inspiration/ideals are behind the name of your band Give Me Static?
GMS: We came up with the name Give Me Static from the book War All The Time by Charles Bukowski. There’s really no definition for it — we just liked the way it sounded.
PB: What musicians or groups have influenced your song making the most?
GMS: Sonic Youth, Pavement, Nirvana, Dave Grohl, Dinosaur Jr, Hot Snakes, The Ramones.
PB: Are you planning any kind of tour in the future, or just keeping it local?
GMS: We plan on doing some small weekend tours in the future and see where it takes us. But for now, locally has been great.
