Interview with Jeff Rosenstock of Bomb the Music Industry!

I recently talked to Jeff Rosenstock of Bomb the Music Industry! about his move to Georgia and the future of the group. The interview was the basis for an article to appear in Unwind! magazine, an entertainment publication at the University of Maryland. The next issue should be coming out sometime in the next week.


1.) Why did you decide to move to Georgia? You've said it costs less there, but why did you specifically choose Athens?

I've been to a lot of places on tour, and when it came down to me not being able to afford to live in New York anymore, Athens Georgia seemed like the only other logical choice for place to move. I've been friends with We Versus the Shark and Cinemechanica for a really long time, so I already knew some friends down here who were in good bands.

But I guess the most important thing was that I knew a few people down here and it's always better to move somewhere where you have some friends.

2.) What has it been like living with and around musicians? Are you able to practice and record more easily?

It's pretty much the same, actually. We've got a pretty good set up in our house as far as there being a room designated specifically for instruments and amps and stuff, and being able to play after 7 PM 'cause I'm not in an apartment is also pretty nice. All my old roommates were always pretty nice about me recording songs and turning my guitar loud though, so it's not that big a change.

3.) How DO you make money, since you don't make any money off your music - how has Media Frenzy Designs been going?

I make money just like anyone I know makes money, whether they be in bands or just people. I work as much as I can. For the last six months, I worked at a book publishing company, scanning in old books and touching them up to make them look nice. Other than that, I've been taking whatever odd jobs I could get. Media Frenzy Design is really important to me 'cause I get to be creative, and it has been bringing in a little bit of money - enough to pay rent and eat cheap - but if I don't have something else that forces me to get out of the house, I have nothing to write about and I go a little stir crazy.

4.) How does being in a different project like BTMI compare to being in ASOB? Do promoters and venues take you as seriously when you try to book shows?

A big deal is that this is the first time I've REALLY been booking full tours and stuff like that. Dave Dickerman was the king of that during the ASOB days. However, I've found that 95% of the people I've dealt with are more than happy to throw us gas money, and usually a bit more 'cause the shows have been doing surprisingly well in some circumstances. There are some people who have been really shitty with us, treated us like we weren't a real band due to how I approach things, and those are people I just won't work with anymore. For the most part, everyone involved with Bomb the Music Industry! shows have been really nice and really supportive.

5.) Now that you live in Georgia, do you see yourself playing in the northeast often or will you probably stick down there more?

The reason it didn't flip me out too much to move out of New York as far as a "career move" because Bomb the Music Industry! hasn't really played too much in the northeast unless it's at the beginning of a tour or at the end of a tour. So now the northeast will just be in the middle of tours. The funny thing is that I've already played New York City once since moving to Athens, and I've got one more show planned at the end of the year - that's more New York City shows than we had played during all of 2005 (which was zero!)

6.) Have you recorded or written a lot of bomb songs that just never got finished or weren't up to the quality of the released songs?

There's only one song that's been recorded that hasn't been released - it was done with a live drummer and it just didn't feel right, but I really like the song so it'll come out somehow soon. It usually takes SUCH a long time, with writing, rewriting, arranging and blah blah blah that once it's finally time to lay down instruments, so much work has gone into it that there's no way I wouldn't release it. Of course parts get scrapped here and there and become parts of other songs, and it keeps going on like that. Then again, there are songs that have been written and recorded in one multi-hour blast and I really like those songs. The only thing I've ever done that I've really hated how it came out and wanted to go back and fix was the Harvey Danger cover on the first album, and that was the first thing I had really done.

But it's still released - bad punches, weird guitar sounds, shitty mix and all. 'Cause it was a lot of work.

7.) I saw you wanted to do something with a big band - were you thinking touring or playing one or two shows with that, or just recording some songs with a big band?

I REALLY hope the next record happens with a band, hopefully with everyone I meet down here. I'd really like to tour with a big band, but I also don't wanna compromise the open-membership policy I've got going on now so we'll see if it happens. I should also clarify that by "big band" I don't mean big band like how jazz people say it. I mean big band like how people who can't think of a better adjective than "big" say it.

8.) Has it been hard to get musicians to release their music for free on Quote Unquote, or did they come looking for you just wanting some exposure?

All the artists on Quote Unquote are good friends and are really excited about the label. They're always out looking for people to get involved with it, and I really feel everyone on the label is an important part of how it's run, how we do things and everything else.

There have been some bands who clearly overstate the amount of exposure Quote Unquote will bring, and I usually just suggest that they do it themselves 'cause it's the same thing. There was also a band that asked us for a lot of money to record, promote and release their record. I don't think that band got it.

9.) If we could get you a show in the basement of a dorm at the University, will you come?

As long as there's gas money and food. Actually, fuck it. It's a college show? Make them pay us a thousand bucks, I gotta buy Christmas presents somehow.