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With over a decade of existence under its
belt, Hopewell has been dousing its listeners in layers upon layers of
wonderful sound for quite awhile. Their latest, Good Good Desperation, is
a self-described homage to the album rock of yore, presumably matching
their uncanny pop sense with a more expansive scope. I challenged
Hopewell's founding member and singer/guitarist Jason Russo to a round of
20 Questions in mid-March; read on for the titillating results.
Good Good Desperation, the new album
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1. Why name the band after Hopewell
Junction, NY?
Why not? Hopewell was farmland when I was a
kid and then it turned into suburban sprawl. We formed the band because
there was nothing else to do but get into trouble.
2. How have the past few years been to
Hopewell? It seems like things have been picking up.
The past few years have been enlightening.
Weirdly, as soon as we ceased to consider the business of music, it
started to consider us.
3. What bands are Hopewell's kindred
spirits?
Hard to say. We are close friends with lots
of bands but don't exactly fit in with any of them musically. Everyone has
a slightly different spirit.
4. How did you become connected with Tee
Pee Records?
They saw a show randomly, they liked it.
5. By that token, what ever happened to
Priapus Records?
The folks that were behind Priapus are happy
and healthy and keep Kansas alive. They wisely decided
to stop trading music for money.
6. What was the worst gig you ever played?
Yeesh, that's a tough question. We have
played in huge festivals and frozen New York city bathrooms, we've played
on a bus, we played in a creperie, we played in front of thousands of
people and we've played to 10 people, we've played outdoor shows in below
freezing weather, we once played in Texas in the sun on a day that was 103
degrees.
7. Recommend a few books.
Underworld - Don Dellilo, Infinite Jest -
David Foster Wallace, The Heart of The Matter - Graham Green, Already Dead
- Denis Johnson.
8. Favourite album of the 60s, 70s, 80s,
90s, 00s. Go.
Damn man. This is subject to change every day
but: 60's: Velvet Underground & Nico. 70's: anything by Magma or Plastic
Ono Band. 80's: Deceit - This Heat or
Nebraska - B.Springsteen. 90's:
Boces
- Mercury Rev. 00's:
Love is the Best Con in Town - Grand Mal.
9. What is there to do in Hopewell
Junction?
Bad things.
10. How important (or detrimental) has the
internet been to Hopewell's success?
Well, if you consider the demise of the music
business as good thing, as we do, the internet has done wonders.
11. You need to make a thousand dollars in
three hours. What's your strategy?
Sex.
12. Tell us a strange story.
Well, about a hundred years ago, my great
grandmother was murdered with an axe and thrown down the village well in
Sicily. This is why my family came to America. Had this not happened
Hopewell may have been named Palermo and we could be making euro pop in
Speedos.
13. I've always thought "The Curved Glass"
was a great album. Do you ever listen to your old
recordings? How do you feel about records like "The Curved Glass"
now?
I feel pretty good about it. I tend to hate
what ever record we last put out, the Curved Glass is old enough that I
have grown fond of it again. We were trying to make a specific thing,
failed miserably and a whole new thing was born out of it. In hindsight
it's a great process.
2001's The Curved Glass
14. "Beautiful Targets" is your most
recent album. Looking back on it, how satisfied were you with it? What was
the response like?
Well, we set out to prove we could write
songs. There has been a certain amount of success in TV licensing, which
means we proved we could reach the lowest common denominator in America. I
think the general response was confusion. Which is fine.
15. "Good Good
Good Desperation," a new
single, came out on March 10. What can we expect?
A taste of the new record. Us doing our best
impression of our live show in a studio, our dispensing with string and
horn arrangements, a rowdy cacophonous din.
16. In addition to the single, there's
also a new album on the way! When is it coming, and is it going to blow
our minds?
Yes. It's coming May 4th. Its our attempt to
contribute to the lost art of album rock. In an era where mp3's herald the
return to the singles format of the 50's and 60's, we decided to really
just stretch out and please ourselves.
17. Would you rather have a penis for a
nose or have a beard on every inch of your face?
Is both an option? I actually am a little
close to having both in real life. It's kind of an Italian thing.
18. What is your favourite colour? Justify
your selection.
White, it includes all the colors. It's the
most common color used when describing a religious experience.
19. Who would you love to have remix a
Hopewell song?
A robot or a mental patient.
20. Aside from the new album, what does
the future hold in store for Hopewell?
The future is for suckers. Love the one you
are with.
2007's Beautiful Targets
interview
conducted by Michael Tau
March 2009
published May 2009
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