Kicking off a new segment called “Between Two Speakers”, I sat down to have a chat with local garage power pop band, Simple Circuit. Currently with two 7 inches available in local record stores which have now been picked up for distribution via Matador Direct, you can also find them on the just released Casual Victim Pile II compilation. Sitting down on a sunny, Sunday afternoon over cheese fries and a few beers, the four (human) members of the band discussed all things Simple Circuit. Unfortunately, fifth member of the band, Fairfax the vacuum cleaner, was not available to attend.
TVD: When did Simple Circuit form?
Kevin Hoyas: Edmund, Matt and I started playing together four or five years ago in a shed. None of us had written a song or sang, and it was 2 or 3 years of getting together every once in awhile just jamming on one part of one song for a good 10 minutes not knowing where it went after that. Then about a year and a half ago, we started writing songs and we asked Lisa, who was in the Lovetaps, to be in our band. We had our first show a few months later in November o9 at Beerland.
Edmund LeStrange: Once Lisa came in, it gelled pretty quickly.
TVD: So Lisa is the glue.
Lisa Rickenberg: Lisa has a practice space. And I’m the glue.
EL: And then Kevin finally decided that he was going to have to be a band leader.
TVD: As far as songwriting, is it a collective effort between the four of you?
KH: Both. I’ll send out a demo and everyone comes up with their parts and works on arrangements.
EL: I’ve come up with riffs, but more often than not, it’s Kevin’s songs.
LR: We’re just the hired hands.
TVD: What about “Moon Druggies” also known as “Pop”? That’s one of my favorite songs of yours.
Matt Smith: We practiced that song in the shed and at Okkervil River’s practice space but we could never get our crap together.
EL: “Pop” was technically the first song although it didn’t really come together and we didn’t introduce it until we had some other songs down and then we went back and listened to some older stuff and realized that it was pretty flushed out.
KH: It was a lot slower and the melody was different.
MS: I think you can tell too because it’s a lot different from our other stuff.
KH: I think the first song we wrote as Simple Circuit was “SOS”.
From L-R: Fairfax (odd noises), Matt Smith (drums), Edmund LeStrange (guitar) Lisa Rickenberg (bass) Kevin Hoyas (vocals/guitar) Photo courtesy of Jon Chamberlain
TVD: Are you in the process of recording your first full length album?
EL: We’ve gone into Sweatbox studios twice and we recorded 5 tracks with Mikey Young from Eddy Current Suppression Ring. And we have about 3 new songs since then. I’d say we probably have enough to put out a full length, but we just don’t know if we want to go back in and re-record them.
KH: It’s just a matter of how we want to do it, who we want to do it with, and who is gonna put it out.
EL: We do hope to have one out this year.
TVD: Any plans to go on the road?
MS: One of the main problems we have is that me and Kevin have kids, Edmund just bought a house, Lisa is a lawyer…
LR: I’d love to go on tour, but it’s better to wait for a full length to come out.
EL: I think we’re more interested in the idea of “tour-cations”.
TVD: And lastly, what was the first album you bought on vinyl?
KH: The Ramones- Leave Home. First 7″ was Squirtgun.
LR: When I was about 7, my brother and I went halfsies on a 7″ at Woolworth’s for Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz.
MS: I think it was U2’s War.
EL: For me honestly, it was the Annie Soundtrack.
You can catch Simple Circuit at their SXSW showcase on Saturday, March 19th at the Speakeasy Kabaret – 11pm.
