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Minneapolis does it again, this time responsible for the futuristic one-man band Hastings 3000.  I have to believe Joe Hastings, the single man behind the act, has some impressively ambidextrous brain capabilities–he plays the guitar while operating his feet on separate kick-drums and singing at the same time–all while sound pretty darn good. And if it’s widely believed and well known that loneliness leads to madness, Hastings takes this madness and embraces it.  He plays up his image and sound with an imagined, almost insane, overly-industrial-and-mechanized portrayal of the future (he often wears a gas mask), so much to the point where it’s as if he is living in the future now, and the rest of us are the crazy ones. Maybe he’s right.  Regardless, his sound is ironically old-school, especially on “Speed of Light,” with Ramones-esque vocals and a gritty driving force behind his tempo and song structure.  Furthermore, his responses to the interview questions are minimal, carefully chosen and totally weird, which makes for a curious, strange, and hilarious picture of this man in a different time.

Claire Gallagher: So who are you?

Joe Hastings: Joe Hastings is Hastings 3000, and my band is as follows–Left foot (Snare, Hi-hat, tambourine) Right foot (Kick Drum) Left hand (String manipulation-pedal pusher) Right hand (Strummer and the leader of the band) Head (Voice and screams)

 

CG: Cute. Where are you from?

JH: I was brought to this consciousness through Honolulu, Hi

CG: Did you grow up there?

JH: No, I did not grow up in Hawaii-I grew up in Minneapolis, MN.

CG: Who are some of your biggest musical influences?

JH: Link Wray, The Ramones, Tiny Tim, Dick Dale, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits.

CG: Any influences besides music–people, art, literature, film, etc?

JH: Film: Stanley Kubrick (The Shining), David Lynch (Wild at Heart); People: Dian Fossey, Maya Angelou; Literature: Emily Dickinson, Mary Louise Alcott, Walt Whitman; Art: Rothko, Jenny Holzer

CG: Are there any particular eras or places or both that have influenced your work?

JH: 50′s B-grade horror movies have gotten me to love dissonance and swirling theremins-”It Came From Outer Space”, “Them” and “Creature From the Black Lagoon” and Picasso’s blue period.

CG: Did growing up where you did influence your music at all?

JH: Being in Minneapolis, Prince‘s Purple Rain hit me hard–as I remember hearing that he recorded all the instruments himself–and that gave me thoughts and energy.

CG: Do you feel a kinship with your hometown?

JH:I have a great love for Minneapolis.

CG: What bands do you think you sound like, if any?

JH: I think I sound like monsters at the beach.

CG: What bands have others told you you sound like?

JH: Tom Waits, Muddy Waters

CG: What bands would you like to sound like?

JH: Katy Perry, Cannibal Corpse

CG: What do you think you would be doing right now if you weren’t a musician?

JH: Stock Broker

CG: What did you want to be when you were a kid?

JH: A buffalo

CG: Interesting. What has been a personal high and a personal low about your musical career so far?

JH: Being able to play to a diverse audience around the world.

CG: Any particular moments of awesomeness or embarrassing blunders?

JH: Awesomeness: 7 minutes after I had received the master of my debut album, A New Monster, I got a call to appear live on WCCO radio and went in that night to perform.  Blunder: I come in from the street-ripping my guitar and get behind my drum set about to start then I fall flat on my back and knock over the Hi-hat!

CG: So what’s the story behind the name Hastings 3000?

JH: Hastings = Primordial connection to this earth, 3000 is the connection to the universe and the future. The name came about by melding the spirit with the host.

CG: What is next for you?

JH: Good things! I am on tour right now as I speak–Southwest United States, Hawaii (Oahu), Japan and Okinawa. I’m also in a 3 piece band called the Sex Rays.

CG: As for your next project/sound, will you stick to your sound now or will you experiment/take a new route at all?

JH: Moving forward is very becoming.

CG: If you do, do you think your fans will dig it?

JH: If humans dig it then my animals will not.

If you’re looking for a modern take on a vintage sound, look no further than Hastings 3000.  Check out his album released in October of 2010, A New Monster, and see where in the world he’s playing next here.