Interview by Jim Testa, photos by
Eric Smith
Houston Calls were among the first generation
of emo-pop bands from New Jersey that helped
turn the Drive-Thru label into an indie force
to be reckoned with. With the release of their
second album, End Of An Error, the band's
finding it a bit harder to stand out amongst
the small army of bands that have sprung up
in recent years basically cloning the style
and sound of that first generation of Drive-Thru
pop. We spoke with the band about their frustrations,
their feelings about the NJ scene, and their
hopes for the future.
Q: I think the first question your fans
want to know is why it took four years for
you to release your second album.
HC: Well it only took 3 years, first of all,
heh. It took awhile because we were touring
a lot and Drive Thru didn't want to release
the original songs we wrote. They had us get
back to the writing for a bit.
Q: Several members of HC were in Face First,
a band I fondly associate with the amazing
NJ scene of the early 00's, when you could
see Midtown at one of Ricky Saporta's Palace
shows in Bound Brook for $5 and then catch
the Early November in some basement the next
day. It seems like the NJ scene – at
least the part of it that's involved with
emo-pop - lost that DIY spirit along the way
and now bands want to play their first show
at big corporate venues like Starland Ballroom
or School Of Rock, and the scene seems more
about haircuts and tight jeans than it does
about playing punk rock in front of your friends.
What's been your experience in the last four
years and how do you feel the NJ scene has
changed in that time?
HC: There is no more community. I would recognize
everyone at every show back in the day and
now I can't keep track with all the changing
trends and things. Quite frankly I think the
scene is shit today.
Q: One thing I've noticed
lately is that the demographic for your kind
of music seems to get younger and younger,
so that kids graduate from Hannah Montana
and the Jonas Brothers and get right into
bands like All Time Low or a slick rock act
like Forever The Sickest Kids. Even established
"punk" labels like Epitaph are signing
cute boy bands and putting them on the road
to cash in on this phenomenon. Do you see
this happening and do you think ultimately
it's a good or bad thing for indie music?
HC: It's lame as hell, but they have to do
it to survive I suppose. Epitaph probably
sacrificed their punk rock roots because the
punk rock doesn't sell for shit right now,
unfortunately. Everyone is trying to make
a living doing this and some just have to
sacrifice morals to do so.
Q: What I like best about "End Of An
Error" is that the sound is still unmistakably
Houston Calls but you're incorporating some
new influences like R&B and even a little
hardcore. One of the great things about that
2000-era NJ scene is that you'd have thrash
bands playing shows with ska bands and pop-punk
bands, whereas now almost every new band you
see sounds the same (I've often complained
that emo is one of the few genres that's only
influenced by itself, whereas classic punk
bands like the Clash borrowed from rockabilly,
reggae, soul, and so forth.) How would you
describe the progress from your first album
to the new one, and were there conscious decisions
within the band to try and broaden your sound?
HC: Our first CD all sounded very similar
and familiar. I think it had some great moments,
but it wasn't very well crafted. The new CD
has dynamics and I think displays a better
sense of song writing. People hate on the
new CD because apparently it's not as catchy
as the first, but I don't really see that.
The melodies are more refined and understandable
and stronger as well! Oh well, if I cared
what everyone thinks I'd probably be behind
a cubicle right not making shit wages and
pissed off as hell.
Q: You've toured with some very successful
bands over the last few years like The Rocket
Summer, All-American Rejects, Hellogoodbye,
etc. What's been the biggest and most important
lesson you've learned from them? Have you
seen any behavior by headlining bands that
made you say "we won't be like that when
we're headlining!"
HC: We learned a lesson from Yellowcard once
- the singer Ryan told us no matter how big
we get, we will ALWAYS struggle with relationships
on the road (which may seem obvious, but sometimes
people think it's easier when you're a huge
band). The only behavior I have seen from
headliners is not hanging out with the smaller
bands which is lame to me. I'd never do that....unless
they were assholes.
Q: I'm curious personally about something.
Most of the reviews I've read call you guys
"pop-punk," which is a label I'm
sure you prefer to "emo" or "emo-pop"
or whatever. Do you guys listen to bands like
The Measure (SA), Used Kids, Steinways, For
Science… the New Brunswick/basement-show
scene variant of pop-punk? And if so, who
are some of your favorite local bands?
HC: Yeah we're clearly not "punk"
at all. I think pop rock would be safe. I
listen to a lot of "pop-punk" like
Screeching Weasel, Squirtgun, MTX, Bouncing
Souls, Blatz, and stuff like that but I don't
really know any pop punk bands from the scene
nowadays, just emo-pop or whatever as you
say. I do like a band called Mi Barrio from
Rockaway/Denville. Check them out.
Q: Kids get their music from so many different
places today, from streaming sites like MySpace
and Last FM to (illegal) file-sharing with
friends. Speaking as a band that still has
to work day jobs when you're not on tour,
how important is it for your fans to actually
buy your new CD (or at least download it from
a pay site like iTunes)? What does that revenue
make possible that your fans might not understand?
HC: I don't care how many people BUY the
CD as long as everyone who wants to hear it
hears it. The goal is to reach as many people
as possible so if you want to download it
- go for it - just pass it on to other people
too. We're not going to make anything off
CD sales unless we sell 100,000 or more or
so. I'm not too worried about it, I just want
crowds at the shows.
Q: With the new album finally out, what do
the next few months look like for you guys?
Do you have any major tours booked? When can
local fans look forward to seeing you? And
please add anything you'd like to say that
I haven't asked.
HC: We're trying to get tours. You must sell
CDs to get tours. No one buys CDs. It's messy.
We're playing some holiday shows around our
area in December with Just Surrender. Should
be cool.
Houston Calls will be appearing at
Mexicali Live, 1409 Queen Anne Rd., Teaneck
on Sunday, December 21, with Patent Pending,
Article A, and Streets of Fire.
More? www.myspace.com/houstoncalls
