Rick Pierik Interview

Rick heads local label Nine Mile Records. 


What’s the best piece of advice someone has ever given you? Is it different than advice you would give to someone?
Be Your Own Boss. The person giving this advice meant it literally, but I think it has broader implications. Yes, I would absolutely give this advice in many circumstances.

What's the most interesting/memorable encounter you've had with a complete stranger?
When I was 22, I took a train across country to visit my family in Upstate New York when I was living in Denver. I met a guy named Will in the bar car and we drank some beers and played cards. It was in December and well below zero outside. At about midnight the conductor announced that the tracks were frozen and the train would be stopping in Chicago for the night and Amtrak would be putting us up in a hotel. I called some old buddies in town who happened to be out bowling and we met them at the alley and bowled and drank some more until about 2am. We ran to catch the L back downtown to our hotel. We were pretty sauced and completely missed our stop for the hotel and ended up on the Southside at 2:30am. The temperature was -10, and the next train back wasn't coming for about 45 minutes. We wandered a couple blocks in each direction from the station looking for a convenience store or anywhere to stay warm. A couple neighborhood guys spotted us, and after the shock of seeing us wandering the streets wore off, they began to chase us. We got disoriented and a little lost, darting down alleys and hoping there wasn't more trouble around each corner. Eventually we lost them (or they got realized chasing us in the cold wasn't worth what was likely a shitty payout). At about 3am we found the station again and grabbed the train back to the hotel. I woke up at 5:30 to hustle to the shuttle to get back to Amtrak, hungover and exhausted. I looked for Will on the train, but he slept in and never made it!

If you could get in a tour bus with any band dead or alive who, why, and what would it look like?
The Who circa 1971. I think this would capture the band at their most eccentric. One can only assume they had a live circus going on in there, and I like circuses. Plus, those guys have enough British refinement that it wouldn't just be all party.

What's your favorite record and why?
Stupidest question ever asked of anyone in the music industry. I mean, we're in this thing because we can't decide, right? My favorite record is the one I haven't heard yet that's going to blow my mind - most likely the next Sweet Spirit record(!)

What will your legacy be when you die?
My daughter. There's no one nor nothing I'm more proud of.
Plus, a giant CD collection that will sell on eBay for $.80.

Sara Ostovar Interview

Sara runs No. 9 Dream salon and is responsible for Sabrina's hair.


Most memorable moment at a Sweet Spirit show?
When I saw them at The Blackheart. Everyone was sweaty and dancing and crammed together and really, really happy. Also, just any time Sabrina is around is memorable.

What's the most interesting encounter you've had with a complete stranger?
I don't know if it's the most interesting, but I can't think of one so I'll just choose this encounter... Yesterday, at the grocery store there was a man behind me who looked like he was maybe in his 80's. And, as I was leaving, I said hi to him and he said hello, how are you? I said, I'm good how are you? And he said great! It put me in a good mood and it made me think about how it's nice to talk to strangers. Also, the word stranger is weird.

What's your favorite record and why?
Emitt Rhodes' self titled album, there's a song on that record for every mood you're in. It's also a really good record to put on when you wake up and do all your morning things. My friend Paul showed it to me with the song "Promises I've Made", it's my favorite one and it's a happy sounding kind of sad love song about doing all the stuff you tell yourself you're not going to do or think about when you're trying to forget about someone, but you do it anyway. After you listen to that one follow it with "Somebody Made for Me" and you'll feel really good. If you feel sad and need to sulk, listen to "Ever Find Yourself Running" and have a good shower cry.

To whom do you owe a huge thank you and why?
My friend Erin Riley, I tell her any weird thought I think and she still likes me.

You have 24 hours...where, with who, doing what? 
With Esme, eating TCBY with a gang of aliens floating and flying through space and then we're all singing Mariah Carey "Always Be My Baby" at a karaoke bar on the moon. NO GRAVITY KARAOKE.

If you could get in a tour bus with any band dead or alive who, why, and what would it look like?
Harry Nilsson and John Lennon during the Pussy Cats album period... I'd get to choose which one I could kiss every night and there would be a giant bubble bath on the tour bus that I'd sit in while they sang "Many Rivers to Cross" to me while I get to drink a giant frozen daiquiri out of a fish bowl and then in the morning when we're hungover we could sing "All My Life" while Im cuddled between the two of them and do it all over again!

John Wesley Coleman III

John writes music and has been friends with Sabrina and Andrew for awhile.


What’s the most memorable encounter you’ve had with a complete stranger?
Uhmm, stranger most memorable...met the US Ambassador of Paris and his daughter in a bar in Paris. They helped me get to where I needed to be after many pints of beer

Is there one piece of advice or wisdom that was given to you that just stuck, if so what was it?
If you don't like someone, don't say anything.

If you could get on a tour bus with any band ever, who would it be and what would it look like?
The Pogues. Looks like endless holiday in hells ditch. Love.

Tell us about your best friend.
I don't have a best friend. I have friends and family though.

What’s the best prank that you’ve pulled or that's been pulled on you?
I called my work and and said I was stabbed and can't come in.

  Thanks-jwc

Andrew Cashen Interview

Andrew is the primary songwriter and guitarist of Sweet Spirit.


What’s your favorite record and why?
I mean, I never had one favorite record. There is just too much out there. Here are some records that I remember listening to until they were unplayable.

T. Rex - Electric Warrior
The Stooges - S/T
Velvet Underground & Nico
Sparks - Kimono My House
Sam Cooke - Everything He Has Ever Done In His Entire Career Ever

I could go on and on but I feel like I'm just listing staples.

If you could get in tour bus with any band ever, who would it be, why, and what would it look like?
Motley Crue. Early Motley Crue. I don't know if the debauchery would be really really fun or just kinda depressing. Either way I'm sure you would have some stories to tell by the water cooler the next day, that or Jars of Clay.
    
What would you be doing now if you weren’t pursuing music?
Before I moved to Austin, I did Search Engine Optimization in Houston. Its one of those jobs where you sit in a tiny cubicle and contemplate suicide all day. So probably death. Death or Graphic Design I do have a degree in that.
   
To whom do you owe a huge thank you and why?
The Guilla-Teens. When I was 14 or 15 years old they were that local band that was magic. The way they looked, the way they sounded, the fact that they were only like 2 or 3 years older than us. The whole package was a light bulb that told me "you can actually do this". Before that moment, it just seemed so unattainable. I went back and found some of their music, its ok, not as good as I remembered but still held up pretty well. If any of the bands I've played in do that for someone else then it's worth it. Stay broke y'all.
    
Tell us about your best friend
This question is fucking stupid. I feel like I would answer it the same way I did the record question. I like my friends you know who you are, I probably like you even If you hate me, I even like people who are super annoying, they're still pretty interesting. I hate Big Head, that's the crack head who stole my bike.

What’s the most memorable encounter you’ve had with a complete stranger?
This Hummer, with tinted black windows, was in a parking lot that I was also smoking a cigarette in. This soccer mom gets out and runs into to a convenience store. Suddenly, I hear this really loud bass coming from the Hummer and I think to myself "damn soccer mom's a little gansta". Slowly, the back window rolls down. I thought the music was loud with the windows rolled up, but it was full on night club in the parking lot now. The windows rolling down also revealed that the music inside the Hummer was the Kool & the Gang classic "Jungle Boogie", and emerging from the window is a, couldn't be more than 4 year old, little girl who is dancing like Chris Tucker. She was staring at me like a boxer who just entered the ring. She had a "Do something Bitch, I dare you" face. I was having a pretty shitty day and that experience turned it around and stuck with me for a while afterwards.

Jake Knight Interview

Jake is the keyboardist of Sweet Spirit.


What’s your favorite record and why?
Kid A by Radiohead stands out. It sounds weird at first but then the weirdness becomes addictive. I'm not talking about my sexual behaviors. I hear it goes great with psilocybin mushrooms.


What would you be doing now if you weren’t pursuing music?
I would probably take a lot of naps, watch a lot of tv, and try to find something else to do.

You have 24 hours, where, with who, and what?
This is a very morbid scenario. The idea of dying is difficult to grasp to say the least. I would probably be at home trying to relax and enjoy stuff but end up spending most of the time thinking about the fact that in a few hours I would enter the death realm.

To whom do you owe a huge thank you to and why?
That would have to be Jim and Kathy Knight. Jim fixes people's hearts for a living and is as selfless and manly as they come. Kathy is a world-class mom and was more popular than my sister and me while we were in school.


Tell us about your best friend
I've collected a few through the years. They're all handsome guys that are successful professionals and have attractive girlfriends. Everything that I'm not and don't have.


Who’s your favorite movie character?
Let's go with the young Don Corleone played by Robert DeNiro. Baddest mofo on the planet. After Godfather 2 concludes, one can only imagine the things the future don would have to have done to ultimately become the head of la cosa nostra.

Would you survive a zombie invasion?
Like my homeboy Will Clark, I'd go down swinging.

Josh Merry Interview

Josh plays the guitar for Sweet Spirit.


What’s your favorite record and why?
Currently, my favorite record is "seventh wave" by a band called Sci-fi. I got it for three bucks at this vintage furniture store up on north loop because it had a rad cover. It wound up being this amazing ELO-butmorefuckedup type of record and I can't stop listening to it. I keep threatening to have a sit down beer listening party with Jon(AKA John) and Danny but have yet to follow through. I also really like the new Spoon record. All time favorite is too tough to answer. Maybe "Night at the Opera" by Queen, if greatest hits is not an option.

“I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger” except what advice would you give your 50 year old self?
I would never give a 50 year old version of myself advice. I would say, "where did I reeeeeallly fuck up?" And then I would most likely sack-tap future me.

Who’s your favorite movie character?
This is like favorite album... I will say The Mask and Ace Ventura ruined any chance of me not being super annoying to be around pretty early on.

What’s been your greatest moment of doubt, and how did you get through it?
I have no idea. Moving to Texas by myself fucked me up pretty bad for awhile. I got thru it by nagging everyone I met until people let me play in their bands. Now, I nag them about the songs we play.

What’s the most memorable encounter you’ve had with a complete stranger?
I rode by a man on the south congress bridge, when I first moved here, who was on the phone, and heard him say" I'm just gonna jump". I made it about halfway down the bridge and turned around and rode up to him and asked him what was wrong blah blah blah. His girl had just left him and he was crying over his face tattoos so, I talked him down the best I could and he's like " yea man?! Let's go get drunk!" So I got shithoused with this guy at like one in the afternoon at casino and felt real good about myself and then found out from like five different people that that guy is a total asshole. That's the first thing that came to mind.

To whom do you owe a huge thank you to and why?
First and foremost are my mom and dad. They bought me drums when I was fuckin 3! They put up with so much crap and always encouraged me, let me have a half stack in my bedroom, didn't kill me when I told them that grades didn't matter when I was 13 because I was gonna play music. I am forever indebted to them and think of them every time I start to feel lazy. Second, is probably David Woffard. He was the first talented musician in Austin who let me play with him and kind of brought me into the scene around here. Also, he introduced me to Sparks, which is one of my favorite bands now. I'd say I owe him but I put up with so much crap from him I think were even now. I love that man. Lastly, for now I'd say Sabrina and Andrew. Playing in Sweet Spirit is fucking fun. Oh and Danny and John for giving me rides everywhere.

Sabrina Ellis Interview

Sabrina sings and writes songs for Sweet Spirit.


What’s your favorite record and why?
The Velvet Underground (1969). There ain't a damn thing wrong with it.

To whom do you owe a huge thank you, and why?
My mom and dad. I never call them. They set an example for me of hard work and moderation. They told me I could be whatever I want, do what I want, go anywhere in the world if I work hard. My dad is a retired pilot. He says he was happy to fly through the sky every day and call that work. My mom is a flight attendant. She is a picture of patience and downheartedness. They have always encouraged me to do what I love, even at the expense of my teeth. When I struggle with the daily grind, wishing I was on tour, wishing I was there already, I think of my parents, young and poor, before I came along, dreaming of future stability and making it happen for themselves.

What’s been your greatest moment of doubt, and how did you get through it?
A couple years ago in Denton, Bobby Jealousy and Shivery Shakes performed a joint cover of Sloop John B, the Beach Boys' version. A full house of people turned around and walked out within 3 and a half minutes. It doesn't seem like that big a deal now, but I felt my world crashing down for a second and was confused a while after. Who wouldn't want to hear a double-band kill Sloop John B? I am still confused by the incident and now that it's on my mind again, who wants to cover Sloop John B in a “We Are the World” style roundabout?

That's how I get through doubt. Stay stubborn. Act like an ass. Slap myself in the face and say- wake up! Try again a little bit different.

If you could get in the tour bus with any band ever, who would it be, why and what would it look like?
2009, A Giant Dog. It was our first tour and I don't think anything could top it. If I imagine getting in a bus with the young Rolling Stones or The Who, I just feel stressed out. I could never keep those animals in check. Fleetwood Mac, what a mess. Sharing a van for a couple weeks is a terribly intimate experience and works best with people who know each other well.

We were all about 23 and it was everybody's first tour except Orville. I don't think I slept for most of ten days we were out. Every night was a party. It was unspoken, but we took turns getting the others to the next town alive. We got to play an eviction party at a house in Philly then drove 14 hours to Nashville and played with Natural Child and Cy Barkley at a defunct police station.

Tell us about your best friend.
He spends a lot of time alone in his room alone making up riffs. He has long hair and sometimes wears glasses. He's been working almost every day since he was 15 and I admire him for this. Among his many talents is the ability to make people laugh, even at his own expense. We use telepathy to write songs together and sometimes to wordlessly make fun of other people in public. Andrew Cashen is my best friend, but for the record his is Andy Bauer.

If you could sing for one of your heroes, who would it be?
I would like to commission Bette Midler to sing The Wind Beneath my Wings to Louis C.K. And I get to be there, and it's just the three of us in one room.

Jon Fichter Interview

Jon is the bass player of Sweet Spirit.


What’s your favorite record and why?
I think it's "marquee moon" by the band Television.  Just really well constructed songs, and lots of gratuitous guitar solos... it's the record I've listened to the most without getting tired of.

If you could get in tour bus with any band ever, who would it be, why and what would it look like?
If I could ride with someone, it would be that band in the Muppet movie, I think they're called Electric Mayhem.  Just hanging, you know, me and my Muppet friends, moving right along.

What’s been your greatest moment of doubt, and how did you get through it?
Is this a job interview?  No, really, I doubt myself every day.  I doubt I could come up with a better answer than that.  There isn't anything I'm anxious about, though.  Lots of people are afraid of dying or where their water comes from or if their dad is their dad.  Anxiety seems way harder a pill to swallow than doubt.  I don't think my water source will kill me and I know my dad is my dad.  There's no doubt about that.  Don't fear what you can't change.

What would you be doing now if you weren’t pursuing music?
If I wasn't playing music, I would be a sign painter.

What’s the most memorable encounter you’ve had with a complete stranger?
I used to go door to door asking people for money (it was more credible than that sounds) and I met a lot of interesting people that way, but this one woman really knocked me out.  She had been a painter but had retired and was living in San Antonio.  Her whole house was covered in crazy artwork and she wouldn't let me leave for like, four hours, while she told me about celebrities in the 60's and her house smelled like cat pee and I couldn't leave and by the end I think I developed Stockholm syndrome and didn't want to go home.  Somehow I broke away from her even though I wish we kept in touch sometimes.

Who’s your favorite movie character?
Snake Plissken.

To whom do you owe a huge thank you to and why?
Snake Plissken.  You know exactly why.

Daniel Blanchard Interview

Daniel plays the drums for Sweet Spirit.

What is your favorite record and why?

Bat Out of Hell has been my favorite record for a long time.  I saw an interview with Jim Steinman where he was talking about the title track.  He had always been a big fan of the “teenage tragedy” sub genre from the 60’s, like Dead Man’s Curve, Leader of the Pack,Tell Laura I Love Her, and that kind of thing, so he wanted to write his own quintessential teenage tragedy anthem: The car wreck song to end all car wreck songs.   He took that concept and turned the album into this crazy …like…Roy Orbison meets the E Street Band thing and I love every second of it.  Oh…and Todd Rundgren’s motorcycle guitar solo is amazing.

If you could get in a tour bus with any band ever, who would it be.  Why and what would it look like?

I guess in like 2001, Glenn Tilbrook bought a Winnebego and went on a US tour.  There’s a movie about it.  Almost everything went wrong, but that dude is one of the coolest, most positive people I’ve ever seen, assuming the documentary accurately portrayed him. I would love to go on tour with him.  I don’t think I could possibly be bummed out the entire time.

What would you be doing now if you weren’t pursuing music?

I think I’d make a pretty good soccer coach.  You know, like City League.  I’m not in great shape and I don’t know a whole lot about soccer, but I think if I nailed those two things down, I could lead a team to at least one or two wins.

Tell us about your best friend.

Do you remember when Atreyu’s horse, Artax died in the Swamp of Sadness because he was too sad not to die?  I’m never going to put myself through that.

"I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger” What advice would you give to your middle school self?

Jesus…where do I start.  No, you know what…I turned out great.  No advice.  Sorry, little Danny.

What will your legacy be when you die?

I buried a shit-ton of Gi-Joes in my neighbor’s back yard.  I hope someone finds them some day.