INTERVIEW
THE MEASURE [SA]
by Christer Davidsson, February 2007

Hey! Tell me about the Measure (SA). For how long have you guys been a band?

Lauren Measure: -Hi! We've been a band for almost three years now. Which is kind of nuts considering we didn't think we'd be a band for more than a summer when we first started. We started just for fun when I was at home in New Jersey for a summer. Mike, Fid and I started the band and Andrew joined us right after we recorded our first album. We really liked making music together so we decided to stick it out while I finished school out of state. We're based in New Brunswick, New Jersey and play a lot of shows around there.

Who's doing what in the band?

Mike plays guitar and sings, Fid plays drums and sings and Andrew plays bass. I play guitar and sing.

I think your music is a lot different from most punk bands that are playing nowdays. It's kind of hard to put a label on your sound. What are your influences?

I don't think we're trying to sound like any one type of band but collectively we really like bands like The Replacements, American Steel, J Church, Sticks and Stones, Fine Young Cannibals, The Clash, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, The Modern Machines, The Ergs, etc. Our biggest influences are really just our surroundings, our friends, and a lot of alcohol.

How would you describe the band's sound yourself?

I'm really bad at describing us. We're a punk rock band and play pretty loud and fast. Beyond that I can't really describe it. We like open chords a lot and a solid melody line.

Your seven-inch "Union Pool" has been spinning quite frequently on my record-player since I got it. Tell me a little bit about that one.

That was the first recording we did after our LP came out. We knew we wanted the A-side to come out as a single and then Mike had the song "Unreleased" that we were working on as well. The other song, "Another Protest Singer" was written by Fid and our friend Todd in their other band, The Scarlet Letter, who broke up a while ago. Fid wanted us to put our spin on that song, which was a lot of fun. So I think that 7" is a pretty good example of us really collaborating as a group. Union Pool is also the first song we wrote together with Andrew in the band.

I love the title-track. Tell me a little more about the songs and what you write lyrics about?

I wrote the lyrics to Union Pool. The song is about when I lived in New York for a couple months (from Rhode Island) so we could play shows more often, and the person I started dating while I was living there. That whole period of time made me really happy and when I had to move back and the relationship ended I wanted to write something to remind myself that things all working out is actually possible sometimes. Union Pool is the bar we'd go to, and I still go there all the time, which is kind of embarrassing.

You also got a 14-track LP out on Don Giovanni & Salinas Records taht has been getting some really great reviews. What can you tell me about that album?

We recorded that a long time ago, almost two years ago now. It came out about a year after we recorded it. We thought we might be breaking up for logistical reasons and so we wanted to record an album just to have something to listen to. As a literal record of us as a band. We didn't break up, obviously, so it's turned into the first of many recordings.

It's only available on vinyl, right? How come?

We all really like vinyl a lot, and we wanted it to come out first and foremost on vinyl. We were just starting out so we really only had the choice of vinyl or CD, so we picked vinyl. In the end we would've been happy if there had only been one copy for each of us. We really just wanted records. It's about to finally come out on CD really soon though. Team Science Records is putting it out for us, which we're really excited about. People have asked for it on CD and I'm glad we'll finally be able to have that.

How did you hook up with those labels and how come it was released by two labels instead of one?

It was released by Salinas and Don Giovanni. We split it three ways because no one had the means to put it out all by themselves. Marco, who runs Salinas, had gotten our demo from a jersey band on tour who handed it to him I guess. He randomly met Mike at a show one night and Mike gave him a CD-R of Historical Fiction, which we had already recorded. We kept in touch ever since. Salinas has put out records for bands we're big fans of like One Reason, Drunken Boat and North Lincoln. Joe, who runs Don Giovanni, is from our area and we've known him for a long time. He puts out some great records from New Brunswick bands like The Ergs, The Degenerics, For Science, etc. We're really glad they helped us out with the LP.

Apart from the great reviews you've been getting how has the band been received on shows?

Lately I think we've been playing really well, though it hasn't always been that way. We went on tour this winter for a few weeks and I think that went really well and people seemed to like us. I think that's the most fun to do, to play a town where you don't play very often and see people dancing or even singing along.

Have you been doing a lot of touring?

Kind of, but not as much as we would've like to. We went on tour for about a week last March out to the mid-west and this past January we spent a few weeks going to Texas and back. We plan on touring again in May, probably to Minneapolis and back.

What could one expect from a Measure (SA) show?

You can expect us to be loud and to make fun of each other on stage. Andrew won't talk, Fid will talk too much, he'll probably throw drum sticks at one of us, you won't be able to understand a word Mike says, and I'll be the tall girl singing off to the side. We just set up and play. Nothing fancy.

What does the (SA) in your name stand for?

Technically it stands for Strictly Analog, but we're fine with Seldom Appropriate, Somewhat Attractive, Semi-Acquatic, etc.

How did you come up with the name of the group?

It's from a song that Mike liked a lot. He came up with the name based on some lyrics. I don't want to give it away too much.

I read somewhere on your website that you got a whole bunch of split seven inches coming out. What are you working on?

Right now we have a 7" with the Modern Machines that Salinas is going to put out and then a split 7" with O Pioneers!!! on an as yet to be determined label. We're recording a lot of songs right now to possibly put out as singles or other splits as well.

So, apart from the new releases what is the future plan for the Measure (SA)?

Just to keep doing what we're doing I think. We really want to tour the West Coast sometime, because none of us have done that before. And we want to record another album in the near future. We want to put out a bunch of singles and splits first and then collect them all on a CD. Other than that we really don't have any big plans.

Thanks a lot for answering these questions!



Links:

http://www.themeasuresa.com

http://www.myspace.com/themeasuresa