Interviews: Totally Slow

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Skate Punk/ Hardcore band, Totally Slow, from the USA. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name?

My dear friend Betsey painted it on a wooden sign to hang near her house so people would stop driving so fast in her neighborhood. I saw it and it instantly seemed unique yet familiar. Kind of funny, and also a pretty good overall life philosophy. I don’t really see band names as being descriptive, they’re place markers. It works.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

This is the music that obsessed and changed me in my formative years. It’s stuck with me well into middle age. It’s what I know, and I don’t particularly love playing music just for the sake of it. I need it to be really cathartic. Punk serves that.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Yes, we’ve all been active musicians for many many years, and NC is a small interwoven scene. Andy and I have been in and out of bands together for 20 years.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

I don’t know if any of us can nail down a #1 favorite, but between us are some very big fans of Fugazi, AFI, REM, and Swervedriver.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

I’m constantly picking riffs up out of the air, they’re zooming around my head, and if I’m lucky I’m able to pluck them out of the sky and build a song. The lyrics always come later, and it usually starts with some kind of phraseology that hits me when listening to a main riff. I read a lot and keep a journal of cool-sounding words sentences and ideas. Once I have a baseline I start building a whole song, it’s not a quick process and I’m not super prolific.

6. Where was your last gig?

Our last show was a great local punk show at Above Board Skatepark in Greensboro. Our next show is in Chapel Hill with Teen Mortgage and Death Lens on April

6. Where’s a place you’d like to tour that you haven’t played yet?

We need to get over to the West Coast. I’d love to go to Europe for sure.

7. Who would you like to tour with?

Naturally, it would be rad to tour with a more established national act that fits well with what we’re doing. We’ve gotten to travel some with a lot of very cool bands like Shehehe, Man or Astroman and Night! Night!.

8. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

I’ve been doing this so long, I don’t really remember having stage fright. There’s a level of mojo you’ve gotta muster to do loud rock music that might not be true to an actual real-life level of self-confidence. It’s easy to fake it until you believe it, at least for a half hour or so with a guitar in your hand in front of people.

9. What bands have inspired you the most?

My ethos was formed on Minor Threat and eventually Fugazi. Bad Brains too. Building something real, working hard, being the best at it that you can - and being kind to people on the journey. Maybe those bands connected me too on some kind of mid-Atlantic level, haha. I don’t know.

10. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

This feels like a trap. I’m gonna walk around it.

11. What do you think of your fans?

We operate in a fairly specific sub-genre that tends to connect with thoughtful, good folks. We’ve been fortunate to meet an awful lot of really wonderful people with this band.

12. Anything to add?

Thanks for checking out the record - and be cool to each other!