Newcomers Archie Powell & The Exports have just released their debut full-length album, Skip Work, and are making grit-covered guitar pop that is accompanied by charming lyrics and formidable songwriting. The Chicago band is still new, but their sound is a fresh mix of influences like Elvis Costello and Weezer that has us bopping our heads right along. Bassist Adam Export gave us the details on the band’s start and told us the juicy secret behind their band mascot.
Kelly: Tell us the story of how the band got together…
Adam Export: Archie and I had played in a previous band together when we both were in colllege in Madison, WI. When that was over I moved to Chicago and couple years later Archie was ready to move to a new town. I basically coerced him into making Chicago his choice by saying it was the best option and by offering my bass playing services again. He had already started to do some demos for which he recruited our friend Ryan for keys who was also ready for a change in scenery. There was time spent driving back and forth until they relocated and when we did we lost our drummer shortly after. We found RJ on craigslist and he didn’t turn out to be some internet perv, so we were lucky to have that work out. Overall we have been a band for over a year and a half and already released an EP and LP, not bad accomplishments in my mind.
K: How would you describe your sound?
AE: Whenever anyone asks for a label or anything I usually say “garage pop” for lack of a better term. We play loud rock n’ roll tunes that last three minutes but you end up knowing the words by the end. We’re a tactical assault on your ear drums/brain.
K: Who are some of your sonic influences?
AE: If I rattled off the top five of who I think have the biggest impact on us as a band I would say Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, The Replacements, Weezer and Phantom Planet would make the list with Nirvana and The Strokes getting honorable mention. There are great songwriters in every single one of those bands and they know how to tear a roof off as well.
K: What has been your biggest accomplishment as a band so far?
AE: I have to say our debut record Skip Work has been a high point for me. We went into the studio and everyone performed at the top of their game. We had a more time scheduled than any of us were used to and I think it calmed every one’s nerves. Also it gave us some time to play and experiment with the songs sometimes taking them from a B to an A in letter grade. I think we put out the best record we possibly could and we look forward to going all over the place and showcasing the songs on it. The east coast tour we just got back from comes in a very close second.
What are your goals for the upcoming year?
Basically to get out to as many cities as possible and let people hear these songs and see us perform. We plan on shooting another video soon since we had so much fun filming “Enough About Me” already, so that should be around hopefully in the new year. We’d also love to hop on some festivals and other shows like that to play to a much wider audience.
K: What has been your favorite city/venue to play in?
AE: We love Chicago. We’ve recently hit our stride with a couple of great shows at some great venues and hope to go back as well as find some new places to play. Recently on our tour we really dug New York at Arlene’s Grocery in Manhattan and I know Archie, Ryan and I especially love The High Noon Saloon in Madison, WI.
K; What’s on heavy rotation in the tour bus/ on your iPod?
AE: A lot of classics hit our speakers. Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello are great for pump up jams. Archie and I like to throw on Mclusky/Future of the Left, Ryan does some Daft Punk or Calvin Harris and RJ likes to drive to Coheed & Cambria or Jimmy Eat World. Hell, we even drove back home listening and singing along with the old Tenacious D record once. We’re all over the place with our musical tastes and it always keeps everyone on their toes when someone grabs the iPod and goes “I got this.”
K: Who is your favorite new artist?
AE: There’s a lot of cool local Chicago music that I’ve gotten into as of late. Bands we find out are sweet by playing with them like Glittermouse or see randomly at an awesome house show like Devon Kay & The Solutions. Some of the best music out there is not available through iTunes, so take a closer look at your local scene.
K: What would be your dream collaboration and why?
AE: Oh jeez, there are so many people I think it would be interesting to work with because I think it would be cool or just because it would make a good story. I’d love to get Archie and Rivers Cuomo from Weezer in a room writing together for 24 hours and see what happens. I’m sure there would be some pop gold as well as some real weird stuff to come out of it. Also, just for the hell of it, let’s get Ludacris on one of our tracks. I’m sure he could drop a killer verse on an “Enough About Me” remix.
K: Tell us your craziest/most embarrassing band story, and make it a good one.
AE: I’ll just reveal the embarrassing secret behind our deer mascot that sits on our merch table at every show. Ready? We stole it from an old lady’s lawn in Chicago. We always drive by this one house with a bunch of stupid crap in the front lawn and they had two deer sitting there. Since our album cover has Archie petting a deer on it we figured it would be a good mascot. I pulled up to the house on a dark and stormy night and Archie jumped out to nab one of them. He reached his arm through a fence to find the first one was bolted to the ground somehow so he chose the second and jumped back in to make our escape. One day we will go back for the set.
