Avenpitch interview with StirSomeDirt:

The following is an interview with Avenpitch taken from StirSomeDirt.

*StirSomeDirt is a print zine from Traverse City, MI.

Where Avenpitch's self-titled debut stabbed a thrash-metal knife through the heart of New Wave, the band's follow-up LP, Butterfly Radio (Omega Point Records), breaks out the chainsaw. Anchored by its unforgettable title track, Butterfly Radio finds Avenpitch moving even farther towards both extremes. Guitars and synthesizers push recklessly into the red, as if the band were trying to blow a fuse or crash their hard drive, yet the songwriting remains laser-focused, with every hook and shout-along chorus precisely arranged for maximum pop effect. Had the Sex Pistols grown up listening to the Happy Mondays and New Order, instead of the other way around, Butterfly Radio could very well be the result.

1. You guys are heading out on tour this summer to support the new album, "Butterfly Radio". How does it feel?

Todd Millenacker (Vocals, Guitar): Exciting! This is our second extended journey and we're finally starting to get the hang of this touring thing. We do quite a few out-of-town weekend shows, but it’s different when you have to spend almost 24 hours for 10 days straight with the same three people. I think we've learned to tolerate each other’s personality defects quite well.

Paul Hudalla (Drums): We love to tour and are always excited to get to a new town and meet some of the music fans keeping things alive and real outside of our hometown. We feel very fortunate to be in the position to get out to new cities and share our sound with people. Life is good. After getting the recording done, it’s great to be able to play the new songs in front of new audiences.

2. Has there been anyone you've particularly enjoyed touring with?

Paul: Although we haven't paired up with bands for any tours yet, we have met some incredible bands on the road. Several Michigan bands that we have played with were excellent and very friendly to us. They include the Casionauts, In Civilian Clothing, Slaughterhouse 5 (RIP), and Traverse City's own Victor! Fix the Sun. Touring is great because we get to see all the great talent on our tour path.

3. Is there a show you guys have played that is more memorable than any other?

Darren Siaw (Guitar): I would definitely have to pick our CD release as my favorite of the year. We've never pushed for a show as much as our second CD release and it was just really fun to see how well everything turned out; not even a major technical difficulty could ruin the vibe.

Sarah France (Keyboards): Since I joined Avenpitch, there have been a few I would definitely call memorable - some of my favorites include the FutureOfMusic show put together by 301 Studios and playing at Cheap Thrills in St. Cloud to an extremely enthusiastic group of kids. The Eclectic Café in Brainerd was also a great experience and I had a fantastic time there!

4. What do you guys think of Traverse City?

Paul: It was a great stop on our last tour. The number of people catering to indie music in Traverse City is amazing considering the size of the city. If the people who we met last year are any indication of the town; we love Traverse City! Hopefully we will get more time to explore the town this year, but it is a hefty drive from Minneapolis and sometimes the people that we meet at the shows are the only glimpse that we have of a city.

Sarah: I can't say I've been to Traverse City before, but I will say that the folks on TC Cellar Door's forums seem really cool and I hope to meet some of them in person. It sounds like you guys have a closely-knit and thriving music scene there, which is wonderful.

5. How is the scene for Electropunk doing? Is Minneapolis a hotspot for it?

Todd: The electropunk thing is definitely getting bigger in this area. Obviously, music made with electronics and live instrumentation has always been around in Minneapolis, but since we started putting out the Twin Cities Electropunk compilations (www.tcelectropunk.com) it seems like there has been much more of a consolidated effort. Hopefully, within 5 years it'll be something really important to this town.

Paul: Minneapolis is amazing for any genre of music! For electropunk we have very solid acts including Halloween Alaska, MachFoX, Mystery Palace, Thosquanta, Melodious Owl and UCKF just to name a few. These are bands that aim to innovate while entertaining and, recently, the local press and music fans have really been ponying up the support that these bands have worked so long to establish.

6. Tell us about your record label, Omega Point. How did you guys end up there?

Todd: The guy who runs Omega Point was a big fan of my old band the Fleshpeddlers. When he was getting Omega Point off the ground he asked Avenpitch to be a part of the roster. So far they've been really good with helping us navigate the big mean streets of indie-rock America.

7. When I played your new album, "Butterfly Radio" for some people, many of them said it seemed like they had heard the song "Jack the Idiot Dance" before. It's extremely catchy. Before you recorded "Butterfly Radio", had you guys been performing it live already?

Darren: "Jack" was on the second Twin Cities Electropunk compilation and we played it way before "Butterfly Radio" came out so it's not surprising to hear that. Before choosing that track for the comp all the band members had to vote between "Jack" and "Disposable Pop Song" for inclusion and I was the only one for voted against "Jack", which I guess at this point, I'm glad that I got vetoed out.

Todd: Oddly enough "Jack" was actually written for a record of children's music coming out over in Germany. I originally had this stupid little number called "I Scream Truck" written for it, but then at the last minute we came up with "Jack the Idiot Dance" as a substitute. We liked it so much it made Twin Cities Electropunk Volume 2 and the "Butterfly Radio" album.

8. Where do you guys get ideas for songs? How do you go about writing them?

Darren: The usual heartaches and trials and tribulations of life I guess. Actually I don't know, Todd writes 'em. I can tell you about the next CD, if my song make's the cut, it's gonna be about starvation 'cause I'm broke.

Todd: Usually, I hear some record that blows me away and I get an idea for a riff or chord progression from there. After working on an idea for a bit, I get bored with it and put it away for a couple months. Then I'll rediscover the idea with a fresh perspective and add something to it that pulls it in a totally different direction. Once I have the basic skeleton of a song together I bring it to the band and we hammer it out at practice. This, of course, causes the song to go in yet another direction. Somewhere amongst all the writes and rewrites a decent song shows up. I think "Tumbleweeds" had the longest gestation period of everything on the record and came together over three years.

9. Where can people pick up copies of the new album if they don't have enough money at the show?

Todd: Avenpitch.com will do the trick.

10. Anything else you'd like to say?

Paul: Friend us at www.myspace.com/avenpitch - check out some of our music and our tour schedule. Stop by and introduce yourselves to us on tour. The people are what make the music go 'round.

Todd: Thanks for checking us out!