Exclusive Interview with Matt from The Border Cops
The Border Cops are a band of merry men from New York City. They are great band we enjoy, (review here), and they are on the great bill on December 12, 2009 at the Gramercy in New York. We decided to sit down and do a quick interview with Matt the band's bass player.
BnR: We were in the NY Public Library and they told of a fantastical tale about a few strong men carrying a ring to a volcano to rid the world of evil. I listened intently as the older lady read this story with gusto, but was surprised to find out it wasn't Lord of the Rings, but the origin story for The Border Cops. Can you elaborate on the beginnings of the Border Cops?
Matt: The five of us had all played in a bunch of bands over the years, sometimes together in various configurations. Rich and I had been in two or three other bands together before this one. We’re all from the same circle of friends, we were familiar with each other’s playing and most importantly, we actually like hanging out together when we’re not playing. So it’s all kind of incestuous, but not in that creepy Angelina Jolie sort of way.
BnR: In the story, we never found out how the men came up with the name for their group: The Border Cops. What is the story behind the name?
Matt: I overheard another musician friend of mine bitching about the border cops giving them a hard time when they tried to cross into Canada, and I thought that would make a great name for a band.
BnR: We have seen your glorious live show before, but some of our readers live in far away lands like East Brunswick, New Jersey. How would you describe a Border Cops show to those in such a foreign land?
Matt: The New York scene has become kind of joyless, hipster-addled and jaded. So you go to these clubs and watch one band after another, and they all have perfect floppy hair, tight black jeans, Chuck Taylors. Maybe one idiot has a keytar. And they’re too cool for school and the audience isn’t even really there to check out music in the first place. We’re the band that pulls their ironic blazers over their heads, takes their lunch money and stuffs them into a locker. Then their hipster girlfriends get this urge to grind on each other while we play.
BnR: You have a big show opening up for the Dirty Pearls at the Gramercy on December 12. Have you played this venue before? Do you have anything in store for the concert goers? If not, may I recommend a holiday cheese ball?
Matt: This is our first time at the Gramercy, and I don’t know what the other guys are doing for the concertgoers, but I’ll be wearing my new belt. For sure.
BnR: You have released Waterguns & Handcuffs, your 11 song EP. How was the recording process? In case you are not familiar with our rating system, we tend to rate things in terms of hookers. It is a perfect system because it describes ease of doing business and also expense. [Thai Hooker (real easy/real cheap) to Ashley Dupre (real hard/real expensive)].
Matt: We have two engineers in the band – Adam and Evan. We track basics at their studio, we’ll do vocals at another studio or even at Rich’s apartment, then Evan does the mixing. The great thing about this band is that we’re self-contained. Rich writes songs, I write songs, Kris helps out with organizing, Adam is great at tracking guitars and Evan does the mixes. Then we all fight over the production but at least we’re able to keep it all in-house from start to finish so we can sound Ashley Dupre at Thai hooker rates.
BnR: What are your plans for the rest of 2009 and most importantly the 2010 calendar year? Will we see a full Border Cops tour? New EP?
Matt: We’re making our third record as we speak. We already have four new songs in the can that we’ll actually be posting online any minute now, once we stop brawling over the mixes.
BnR: Besides vanquishing the world from evil, what would you say is your biggest accomplishment so far? This could be individual or as a band.
Matt: I don’t know about any big accomplishments, I’m just thankful for however many small victories we can achieve. We’ve been involved with the NHL and doing some work with the New York Rangers, we played the Bowery Ballroom last year with the Pearls and that was awesome because it was basically four local bands proving they could go beyond selling out a large venue in New York City on a Saturday night, and now we have this Live Nation gig at the Gramercy. Hopefully our biggest accomplishment hasn’t happened yet!
BnR: You play bass in the band, does having a larger guitar sometimes give you a big head?
Matt: No, I had that well before I took up bass.
BnR: Besides New York City and The Shire, what is your favorite city to play?
Matt: Abu Dhabi.
BnR: I saw your website that your music is best suited for driving in a Camaro with the sunroof open, but I drive a 1982 Toyota Starlett. Would your music still translate to my transportation of choice?
Matt: No, but allow me to recommend something equally edgy, such as Jack Johnson, or maybe Matchbox 20 if Jack Johnson’s too heavy for you.
We thank Matt for sitting down with us. Check out The Border Cops at their MySpace site, their regular site, and at the Gramercy show next week. Tickets can be had for cheap through Live Nation. It is a bill not to be missed if you are in NYC and love great rock music.
BnR: We were in the NY Public Library and they told of a fantastical tale about a few strong men carrying a ring to a volcano to rid the world of evil. I listened intently as the older lady read this story with gusto, but was surprised to find out it wasn't Lord of the Rings, but the origin story for The Border Cops. Can you elaborate on the beginnings of the Border Cops?
Matt: The five of us had all played in a bunch of bands over the years, sometimes together in various configurations. Rich and I had been in two or three other bands together before this one. We’re all from the same circle of friends, we were familiar with each other’s playing and most importantly, we actually like hanging out together when we’re not playing. So it’s all kind of incestuous, but not in that creepy Angelina Jolie sort of way.
BnR: In the story, we never found out how the men came up with the name for their group: The Border Cops. What is the story behind the name?
Matt: I overheard another musician friend of mine bitching about the border cops giving them a hard time when they tried to cross into Canada, and I thought that would make a great name for a band.
BnR: We have seen your glorious live show before, but some of our readers live in far away lands like East Brunswick, New Jersey. How would you describe a Border Cops show to those in such a foreign land?
Matt: The New York scene has become kind of joyless, hipster-addled and jaded. So you go to these clubs and watch one band after another, and they all have perfect floppy hair, tight black jeans, Chuck Taylors. Maybe one idiot has a keytar. And they’re too cool for school and the audience isn’t even really there to check out music in the first place. We’re the band that pulls their ironic blazers over their heads, takes their lunch money and stuffs them into a locker. Then their hipster girlfriends get this urge to grind on each other while we play.
BnR: You have a big show opening up for the Dirty Pearls at the Gramercy on December 12. Have you played this venue before? Do you have anything in store for the concert goers? If not, may I recommend a holiday cheese ball?
Matt: This is our first time at the Gramercy, and I don’t know what the other guys are doing for the concertgoers, but I’ll be wearing my new belt. For sure.
BnR: You have released Waterguns & Handcuffs, your 11 song EP. How was the recording process? In case you are not familiar with our rating system, we tend to rate things in terms of hookers. It is a perfect system because it describes ease of doing business and also expense. [Thai Hooker (real easy/real cheap) to Ashley Dupre (real hard/real expensive)].
Matt: We have two engineers in the band – Adam and Evan. We track basics at their studio, we’ll do vocals at another studio or even at Rich’s apartment, then Evan does the mixing. The great thing about this band is that we’re self-contained. Rich writes songs, I write songs, Kris helps out with organizing, Adam is great at tracking guitars and Evan does the mixes. Then we all fight over the production but at least we’re able to keep it all in-house from start to finish so we can sound Ashley Dupre at Thai hooker rates.
BnR: What are your plans for the rest of 2009 and most importantly the 2010 calendar year? Will we see a full Border Cops tour? New EP?
Matt: We’re making our third record as we speak. We already have four new songs in the can that we’ll actually be posting online any minute now, once we stop brawling over the mixes.
BnR: Besides vanquishing the world from evil, what would you say is your biggest accomplishment so far? This could be individual or as a band.
Matt: I don’t know about any big accomplishments, I’m just thankful for however many small victories we can achieve. We’ve been involved with the NHL and doing some work with the New York Rangers, we played the Bowery Ballroom last year with the Pearls and that was awesome because it was basically four local bands proving they could go beyond selling out a large venue in New York City on a Saturday night, and now we have this Live Nation gig at the Gramercy. Hopefully our biggest accomplishment hasn’t happened yet!
BnR: You play bass in the band, does having a larger guitar sometimes give you a big head?
Matt: No, I had that well before I took up bass.
BnR: Besides New York City and The Shire, what is your favorite city to play?
Matt: Abu Dhabi.
BnR: I saw your website that your music is best suited for driving in a Camaro with the sunroof open, but I drive a 1982 Toyota Starlett. Would your music still translate to my transportation of choice?
Matt: No, but allow me to recommend something equally edgy, such as Jack Johnson, or maybe Matchbox 20 if Jack Johnson’s too heavy for you.
We thank Matt for sitting down with us. Check out The Border Cops at their MySpace site, their regular site, and at the Gramercy show next week. Tickets can be had for cheap through Live Nation. It is a bill not to be missed if you are in NYC and love great rock music.
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