Interview mit Evan Foster

Earlier Boss Martians songs were more 60s/garage/surf. Since “Making The Rounds” you have more of a power pop/rock and roll sound, which is getting harder, louder and sometimes more aggressive on the new record. Would you consider that a natural progression?
I think that it’s crucial for a songwriter to grow and change -- otherwise, in my opinion, the music suffers.  For me personally, the growth and development of the Boss Martians’ sound has been a very natural (and necessary) progression.  Our sound has evolved to showcase many of the elements which inspire and influence the band, but at the same time we’ve also worked extremely hard to develop our own unique voice as a band.  I truly think that there isn’t another band or artist at this time that sounds similar to us, especially on this new album.

What would you say is the main difference between “Pressure In The S.O.D.O.“ and “The Set Up“? New influences? New inspirations?
Great question -- main difference, in my opinion, is that the band had developed more of our own, unique, sound and is drawing less upon our heroes and initial influences.  And “Pressure in the S.O.D.O.” is definitely more of a Rock & Roll album -- we’ve incorporated not only the influence of our Power Pop heroes such as Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, etc but also a lot of the various Rock & Roll influences which have always inspired us, everyone from the Kinks to Thin Lizzy to Eddie & The Hot Rods.  Personally there are a few nods to some of my favourite guitar players ever like Rory Gallagher, Yardbirds-era Jeff Beck, etc…

What does S.O.D.O. stands for?
“S.O.D.O.” is the name of the neighbourhood where the Martians’ rehearsal studio is (and basically where we’ve spent absolutely most of our time over the last 5 years when we’ve not been on tour.)  Originally S.O.D.O. stood for “South of the Dome“ - a reference to the old famous sports stadium called the King Dome where our local sports teams played (baseball, football, etc) - but in 2000 the stadium was blown up and demolished because it was basically about to fall down. Since the destruction of the stadium, the term ’S.O.D.O.’ now means, ’South of Downtown’ - of course meaning south of downtown Seattle. It’s a pretty cool old neighborhood. You can look up the SODO on Wikipedia!

What does the title of the album mean?
We went through a lot of difficult things throughout the making of this album - a lot of pressure so to speak.  Pressure perhaps that would have challenged most bands’ will to survive and overcome - but we did much more than survive, we pulled together tighter and decided to play with more intense determination and conviction than ever before.  There was a lot of pressure on me as a writer and as the band’s leader to deliver an album that, more than ever before, showcased the band’s truly unique voice - our own “sound” both musically, and lyrically.  And, due to certain circumstances, when I was faced with the task of personally recording and producing the album from the ground up this past Jan/Feb you could say the pressure got even more intense.  But in a way the pressure felt good - it made me feel like there was more on the line than with any previous release.  There was also tremendous pressure on the band to perform and to deliver consistently as a unit like we never had before.  I’m proud to be a part of such a hard-working unit as tight as this one right now - and it was an honour for me to make this album with Nick (Keys), Scott (Bass), and Tommy (Drums) from the ground up.  This album was recorded mainly between our rehearsal room and my small flat here in Seattle, and then mixed at one of our favourite studios in Seattle, Soundhouse Recording with Jack Endino, an incredible engineer, a great teacher, and a great friend, to whom we owe a great deal of thanks.  When the album was finally mixed and I was sitting in the mastering studio reflecting on how intense the last year was and how much pressure we all felt, and also how much fucking time we spent in that little rehearsal room, our 2nd home, down in the S.O.D.O. - there was only way to title this album -- PRESSURE IN THE SODO…

The success of “The Set Up” in the US and being called “the next big thing” did this change anything for you? Does it make things easier or harder?
It changed some things for the better for sure - it put us on a lot more people’s radars but also opened us up to a lot of criticism as well -- I think it’s the same thing with any band getting a lot of hype.  I think it’s good to be cautious when you’re being called anything like the ‘next big thing’ because if you start to believe all the bullshit hype you can get caught up in it and stop making great music, and playing like every show may be your last.  When the band received a lot of good press as a result of The Set-Up, after a while I knew it would be a challenge to come up with the next album which would more so showcase the band’s own sound but also not necessarily sound too much like The Set-Up.  Also, since we’ve had a consistant line-up for over 2 years I knew that for the first time since Making the Rounds, we’d be able to make an album that reflects the sound of a REAL band - 4 guys making music together that sounds unique to them and (hopefully) unlike other Rock & Roll bands out there making records now…

You have met Iggy Pop at the Little Steven Underground Garage Festival. How and when did your collaboration with the godfather of punk start and what was his part in writing “Mars Is For Martians”.
Yes this is correct, I met Iggy for the 1st time 4 yrs ago in New York, our manager at the time knew Iggy’s long-time manager Art Collins (R.I.P.) through our Publishing Administration company, Bug Music, and after the show Iggy and I met and talked for a few minutes, which for me was an incredible honour.  It was soon after that the idea of a collaboration between Iggy and I was proposed and sometime early last year (2006), I woke up one morning, checked my E-mail, and BOOM, there was an E-mail from Bug Music which Iggy had to sent to them with lyrics for a Boss Martians song that he titled  “Mars is for Martians”!!  So after I picked my self up off the floor I began working on the backing track right away…!

How was is like to work with a legend?
So far it’s been amazing, Iggy is just incredible - the focus and intensity he puts into his work is only rivalled by his live performance -- I’ve never seen or worked with another artist as intense as Iggy - he is a complete and total inspiration and driving force - Iggy Pop totally fucking rules.

Johnny Sangster produced your last two records. Why did you produce “Pressure In The S.O.D.O.“ yourself?
Johnny is amazing, an incredible producer and engineer, and he actually recorded one of the lead vocals with me on “Pressure”, a song called “You’ve Taken Everything” (and sang some great back-up vocals too!)  But regarding producing this album, certain circumstances arose that basically laid the task of recording and producing this album at my feet.  And all of us in the band felt like it was time to truly make an album which more than ever focussed on what the Boss Martians really sound like now.  So, knowing that, I borrowed a tape machine, annoyed Jack Endino for months with lots of recording questions, and I recorded “Pressure” at both our rehearsal studio and my apartment mainly.  There are a few songs featuring drum tracks and some vocals that Jack recorded at Soundhouse and a few songs that were recorded with Geoff Ott at London Bridge Studios but most of the album was done in true DIY fashion at home and at practice.  We’re extremely pleased with how it turned out.  A testament to the fact that DIY recording can be great in order to capture the true vibe of a band in their own space -- that was a big goal of mine with “Pressure” when recording and producing became my job.

Would you say that the new line up with Scott Myrene and Thomas Caviezel is the best in the history of The Boss Martians?
Well, of course I’m biased, but I’d definitely say this is the best line-up we’ve ever had to offer - the band you see on tour is the band that made the album - and that feels great.  Also, we’re all out of our minds in many ways which makes for a good combination since we seem to be able to work with each other quite well in some really intense conditions!  Scott (Bass), Tommy (Drums), Nick (Keys) and I have been working together as a unit now since Spring 2005 -- it’s a real honour to play with such hard-working guys.

Why did the rhythm section of the band changed so often in the past?
I think in the past we just weren’t able to find guys that wanted to tour as much as Nick and I wanted to -- and that caused some conflicts with some of the guys we’ve played with.  Nick and I felt that the only way to start getting The Martians out there and on the radar was by just getting in the van and going on tour - and it really turned out to be the thing that put us in front of a lot more people.  Also, our last manager was a big supporter of DIY touring so as we were developing the band’s game-plan back in 2002-2003, DIY touring was a major part of what we were doing and that just didn’t work out as well with the rhythm sections that we were playing with at the time.  So, it took a while, but we found some killer players who happen to be great guys and total Rock & Rollers.

Which songs on the new album did you write together with hit-songwriter Richard Gottehrer?
Actually the song that Richard and I started to collaborate on isn’t finished yet but I’m hoping to get it done soon, perhaps for the next record!  Richard’s songwriting sense is just INCREDIBLE -- he’s got a natural ear for great hooks and melody -- and once again, it’s a complete and total honour for me to know and have the opportunity to work with such a talented artist!  While I was writing “Pressure” I talked with Richard several times and got some great feedback and advice from him -- he’s an inspiration to me as a songwriter and an incredibly great guy to work with.

How and when did you meet him?
I was introduced to Richard at SXSW 2004 by a good friend of the Martians when he came to see us play.  After the show he invited me to see The Hives with him at Stubb’s BBQ and that’s when we talked about working together.  That was a great day!

What are your main inspirations for writing lyrics?
Tough question for me really.  I would have to say my inspirations come from many sources -- mainly from my need to get an idea or feeling across.  Sometimes I have one person in mind that I’m trying to get an idea across to -- but I want to make sure the message stays universal enough so that someone else feeling the same way might find a way to relate.  At other times I like to write from a strictly anonymous perspective -- basically becoming a fly on the wall and attempting to tell someone else’s story (or what I might imagine their story to be) true or not!  For some reason though it always seems that feelings of tension, intensity, frustration, or determination seem to be at the core of everything I write, can’t imagine why!

What do you like about touring?
What I like most is mainly the fact that we get to perform every night -- that for me is the main motivation behind touring.  The band focuses harder, the shows are more intense, the music gets more natural, and the sweat pours -- it’s what I love more than anything.  So maybe the long drives are a pain in the arse, but it’s always worth it because the fans that support this band are THE BEST.