Q&A with Naked Giants
After their performance in Boston with Car Seat Headrest, Seattle-based rockers Naked Giants were kind enough to answer a few of my questions through email!
Check out what Gianni, Grant, and Henry had to say:
GMAT: Hi guys! Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for me! I was just at the show in Boston and had such a great time.
First question - What has been the funniest or weirdest fan interaction on a tour thus far?
Gianni: "There's a guy named Tom who lives in Detroit - he is a super nice guy and he really loves our music. He has a radio show on Ferndale radio and also works at Trader Joe's, and at our last show in Detroit he brought us 3 full bags of Trader Joe's goodies that are just perfect for the road - granola bars, protein bars, bananas, apples, vitamin C, tea, cough drops, you name it! He also gave us a good 15-20 mix CDs as well as a CD of his brother's instrumental surf rock band. We have been munching so hard because of him. Go Tom forever."
GMAT: What about tour, or just playing a show, do you most look forward to? What is something you don’t like about ‘tour life’?
Gianni: "Lately the best thing about tour has been trying all the food. We don't get to spend a whole lot of time in each city on tour, but the best way to reconcile that and get the feel for a place is by eating it up. It also helps clear the head of all the music stuff. For me, the hard part about tour is not really having your own space or time - at home it's quite therapeutic to have a day to just sit at home alone, write and record and create all day. On tour there is rarely time when you're not in close quarters with the same people you see every day, and even if you have an hour or two of down time, it's not quite completely free. But you know, touring is a job that we're super fortunate to have and just like any job you have to put in the time to get it out!"
GMAT: You guys seem to work non-stop on the road. From pre-show soundchecks, to playing with Naked Giants, then Car Seat, and then helping pack up at the end of the night. How do you keep yourselves motivated?
Gianni: "This definitely goes back to the food thing and to just appreciating the little things on the road. It's nice to get in as much of a routine as possible while being in a different city every night and driving so much every day. For me, I like to spend a lot of time drawing - it exercises the creative side of the brain that gets lost between the driving and loading and performing the same songs every night."
GMAT: What is a goal Naked Giants wants to fulfill by the end of the year? Or sometime in the far-off future?
Gianni: "This year we definitely want to record and release our next album. We're sitting on a bunch of demos for songs we're very proud of and it feels like more of a cohesive set of songs than SLUFF. More arty. Down the road: bigger amps, bigger drums, crazy stage show."
-- QUICK QUESTIONS!--
GMAT: Favorite city to play?
Gianni: New York
Grant: New York or Austin
Henry: Seattle or New York
GMAT: Favorite song to perform? Favorite song to perform with CSH?
Gianni: Naked Giants - "Regular Guy", CSH - "Destroyed By Hippie Powers"
Grant: Naked Giants - "Green Fuzz", CSH - "Destroyed by Hippie Powers"
Henry: Naked Giants - "High School", CSH - "Can't Cool Me Down"
GMAT: Favorite artist people would not expect you to listen to?
Gianni: JS Bach
Grant: Elvis
Henry: The 1975
GMAT: Word of advice to any kids reading this who wants to be in a band like Naked Giants?
Gianni: "Practice everything, look for inspiration everywhere, do what makes the most people happy."
Grant: "Play what you enjoy, and spend time alone creating, and time jamming on your instrument with people you like and vibe with."
Henry: "When you play gigs, network with the other bands, play as much as you can, don't do hard drugs, don't give up before you're at peace with where you are at."
GMAT: Favorite flavor of seltzer/sparkling water? Preferred brand?
Gianni: Grapefruit Polar
Grant: Cherry Cranberry Polar
Henry: Schweppes Tonic Water
FOLLOW NAKED GIANTS EVERYWHERE:
website: https://www.nakedgiants.com/
twitter: @nakedgiants
instagram: @naked_giants
spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KhnLZjONKS3nuYzXoqoXi
CATCH NAKED GIANTS IN A CITY NEAR YOU:
MAR 8, 2019
The Echo
Los Angeles, CA, United States
MAR 9, 2019
Bottom of the Hill
San Francisco, CA, United States
MAR 20, 2019
Downtown
Boise, ID, United States
MAR 22, 2019
Neumos
Seattle, WA, United States
MAR 23, 2019
Doug Fir Lounge
Portland, OR, United States
MAR 29, 2019
Fox Cabaret
Vancouver, Canada
JUN 22, 2019
College Street Music Hall
New Haven, CT
JUN 23, 2019
Firefly Music Festival
Dover, DE
JUN 25, 2019
Asbury Hall at Babeville
Buffalo, NY
JUN 26, 2019
House of Blues Cleveland
Cleveland, OH
JUN 27, 2019
Deluxe at Old National Centre
Indianapolis, IN
JUN 28, 2019
Cannery Ballroom
Nashville, TN
JUN 29, 2019
Bogart's
Cincinnati, OH
JUL 2, 2019
Wooly's
Des Moines, IA
JUL 3, 2019
The Waiting Room
Omaha, NE
