Es gab mal eine Zeit, in der man das Gefühl hatte, es gäbe im Spektrum Punkrock durchaus noch Bands, die mit Inhalt gefüllte Geschichten zu erzählen hätten und eben solche, von denen man noch etwas lernen konnte. Die nicht gerade unberechtigte Frage, ob es am Alter liegt, dass man sich heuer des Eindrucks nicht erwehren kann, einschneidend wirkende Formationen wie Jawbreaker, Face To Face, Dillinger Four und die Lawrence Arms wären schlicht und ergreifend ausgestorben beziehungsweise vom Aussterben bedroht, bleibe an dieser Stelle unbeantwortet. Nach langer Zeit durfte ich mit Banner Pilot jedoch wieder eine solch wichtig wirkende Band kennen lernen, die mit eben genannten Genregrößen eines gemein hat: Banner Pilot bilden die musikalische Schnittmenge aus eben diesen vier Bands, wobei man an so mancher Stelle schon das Gefühl hat, Jawbreaker wären für den US-amerikanischen Vierer besonders wichtig gewesen. Wir sprachen bereits im Vorfeld der Veröffentlichung von "Collapser" mit Nate und Nick von Banner Pilot:


SJM: First of all: Who am I talking to? How are you and what are you doing in days like these, when the recordings of "Collapser" are finally done and you're about to finally release your second album worldwide?

Nate: I’m Nate. I’m doing well, and I’m excited that the record is about to come out!

Nick: I’m Nick, and I’m doing great thanks! Now that Collapser is done we’re working on the live set and trying to figure out tour plans. We’re also in the early stages of working on songs for the next record.

SJM: I suppose a good place to start is with the new record. The release date in Germany has been September 1st and is entitled "Collapser". Now I'm pretty interested in this sort of stuff, so I was hoping you could shortly elaborate on where the title came from, and how you think it relates to the rest of the record.

Nate: I don’t write any of the lyrics but I did come up with the title. This was back in the fall of 2008 where it felt like a lot of things around the country and world were, well, collapsing. I was working on something in my apartment and this guy on the TV in the background was talking about the economy collapsing, and for a second I misheard what he said as “Collapser”. I thought it was a neat-sounding word that sort of summed up the feel of that period of time. And because that atmosphere and mood was the backdrop to us finishing up the songs, it seemed to fit. The other thing is, it fit pretty well with the artwork that I had already picked out for the album.
I guess overall there’s no specific meaning or story behind it; it’s meant more to convey a mood or a feeling. Being right in the middle of something falling apart, not exactly sure what’s happening, not exactly sure how things will look when it’s over--- which is kind of how things felt last fall in the US.

Nick: I think it relates to rest of the record in that a lot of the lyrics deal with things falling apart, be it relationships, mental states, plans, what have you.

SJM: What, in your opinion, after playing the songs of "Collapser" over and over again, is one of the most exciting aspects about "Collapser"?

Nate: Nothing specific really. The songs are still pretty new to us, and it’s satisfying to be able to play them live after having worked on them for a few months, so it’s definitely a little more exciting/fun to play them than the older songs.

Nick: I’m excited to be releasing something with production I’m really happy with. I’m also stoked to have a label like Fat Wreck Chords behind the record who have been fantastic to work with. It’s also fun to be adding new songs to the live set like Nate said and to be phasing out older stuff we’ve been playing since 2006.

SJM: This may seem like a strange question, but are the members of Banner Pilot into reading philosophy? A lot of your work seems to combine conscious thoughts and different aspects of life, so I thought perhaps you were into studying these topics.

Nick: I actually did study philosophy in college and really enjoyed it, although I wouldn’t say that there’s any overriding philosophy guiding the lyrics (that I know of). As to the conscious thought part, one of the best pieces of advice I ever got regarding song writing came from a middle-aged drunk guy at an Oktoberfest celebration in Northern Minnesota – between swigs from his stein he said “man, you need to show and tell” - that is to say/tell what you’re thinking/feeling about something but also show what’s going on in a descriptive manner. Sometimes you can find wisdom in strange places.

SJM: The lyrics of "Collapser" have – as far as I could understand them - a quite melancholic, but also optimistic viewpoint on life. Am I partially right with it? We have all faced tragedy in our lives at one time or the other; be it the loss of a girlfriend or the death of someone close to you. What's the biggest tragedy you suffered and how did you overcome it?

Nick: I think you’re right on with that. Things get fucked up, but at the end of the day, to quote Latterman, “we are still alive!” and hopefully better for the struggle. I’ve been pretty fortunate as far as tragedy goes and wouldn’t say I’ve had any compared to the shit some people go though – my setbacks are usually self-induced. I’ve have had relationships that started with manic highs only to end with really dark, introspective lows – and looking back though I’m glad I had them - if only for lyric material.

SJM: A lot of bands change their sound over time, but much to your credit the band has kept the successful sound your fans have grown to love with your debut on Go Kart Records. Concerning "Collapser" - is it hard to stay true to that sound or do you guys just play what feels right?

Nate: Nah, it’s not hard at all... I mean, that’s what we know how to do. It would be much more difficult if we decided to expand our horizons and add a string section or something. It would sound forced and ridiculous, if we could even pull it off.
It’s a fine line -- you don’t want to get stuck in a rut and play the same exact stuff over and over again but you also don’t want to force changes and lose why people liked you in the first place. We tried to keep the same basic sound as the first two records but have a few subtle additions and changes. Hopefully we pulled that off.

SJM: When I pull out my "Collapser" in ten years to force my kids to listen to it - how do you want to be remembered?

Nate: Well, hopefully not as “that crappy album our dad forced us to listen to.” I dunno, I guess it would be nice to be a band that ages well. There are records I used to love 10 years ago that I will probably never have a desire to put on again, not even for purely nostalgic reasons. And then there are other records I’ve consistently turned back to and can still appreciate and like to listen to. Hopefully we can fall into the latter category .

SJM: When listening to "Collapser", I have to think about bands like Jawbreaker, Dillinger Four and Face To Face. What do you think about those references? Would you say they totally fit? What do you think about these bands?

Nate: Absolutely. I’ve been a huge fan of Jawbreaker and D4 since I was 14 or something. Face to Face not as much, but I still liked some of their stuff. I think you can definitely hear stuff from all of those bands in our songs. Nick: Yep, D4 was my reference growing up in Minneapolis for what a punk band was/should be, so there’s no question we’re heavily influenced by them - they’re an institution here and their live shows are amazing. I remember seeing them kill in a basement around ’96 while their roadie lit off firecrackers and thinking “fuck yea!” I love Jawbreaker and Blake’s the kind the kind of lyricist I aspire to be 1/10th as good as. As far as Face to Face, I played the shit out of “Big Choice” when it came out so that’s definitely got to be in there somewhere!

SJM: From being out on the road, what is one of the things you've come to realize? I'm sure driving to and from a venue almost every night leaves you ample time to sit and think about things. Unless, of course, you're too tired to do so. Do you think it's made you a stronger person at all? It's difficult to maintain friendships with people back home, I'm sure.

Nate: Well, I feel kind of silly answering this question since I honestly don’t tour all that much. I’ve gone out for 4-5 weeks in a row a few times, but in general I’m at home way more than I’m on the road. So for me, touring is just a fun thing to do for a bit a couple times a year.... it’s not a major part of my life that affects friendships at home or anything like that.

Nick: When we’re out on the road, I’m always struck by how many great people/bands are out there across the country. We’ll get to a city we’ve never been to and where we know no one, get to the show and it’s as comfortable as if we were in Minneapolis.

SJM: What do you hope to uncover in the future of Banner Pilot? There must be more the band has in store to unleash to the public, it’s only a matter of time until it’s all said and done. What else would you like to try and stress to your listeners through your work?

Nate: I’d like to keep putting out records for as long as it’s fun, and as long as we can come up with stuff we’re happy with. Hopefully people will continue to check it out!

Nick: Stadiums! Just kidding – what Nate said.

SJM: Growing up, was there anyone that you would look up to and say “Oh I wish I could be like so and so…I wish I was as cool as him?” If not on a famous level, do you remember seeing any local bands when you were younger that you looked up to?

Nate: No one specific, but I remember reading Maximumrocknroll and watching Another State of Mind and just in general thinking that it would be really fun to be in a band that toured and released records. Part of the appeal was that it seemed like something I -- or anyone else -- could plausibly do, as opposed to wanting to be like a famous person or something.

Nick: Growing up I looked up to Screeching Weasel and The Queers. I adored Boogada! and Love Songs/Beat Off, and when I was lucky enough to finally meet Ben/Joe those guys they could not have been cooler. If you’re saying “bullshit!” to yourself right now regarding Ben, let me remind you that you probably just hate him ‘cause he don’t have to work (or at least didn’t).

SJM: I always leave the last statement to the band. Is there anything you´d like to mention that hasn´t been mentioned before? Anything you want to add or just say. If so – be my guest:

Nate: Nothing really to add, thanks for the questions! We’re looking forward to making it over to Europe next year!

Nick: Hope you like the new record and hope we’ll get to meet you out on the road this fall/spring!

(Dennis Grenzel)