All questions answered by Alex:

NSM
Give us some background on "Can't Hang." I read that you've been through some line-up changes and you use 2 drummers from other bands, but how did the current band members get together?

Alex - Well, the other guys met in high school in Towson, Maryland, and started the band when they graduated. I met the guys while playing in another band about 4 years ago now.

When the original drummer left, both myself & Jerome Maffeo from “Jimmies Chicken Shack” started playing the shows for them, depending on which one of us was available at any given time. Jerome played on & recorded “Blood Sweat & Beers” because he's also an awesome engineer with his own studio. My other band broke up at the start of 2007, so I took the gig full time and have been the permanent drummer ever since.

NSM
What has been your favorite performance?

Alex - Opening for “Blondie” recently was amazing. Last summer opening for “Steel Pulse” & “The Wailers” was awesome too. And we've got a big show at the end of July opening up for Ziggy, Stephen & Damian Marley. So if you ask us in 4 weeks, that will probably be the answer! Personally, I'd have to say my favorite show with the band so far was New Years Eve 2006 with “John Brown's Body” in Baltimore.

 

NSM
Can you elaborate a bit about these shows?

Alex - The Steel Pulse/Wailers show was awesome mainly because they are two of our favorite bands. Even metal heads that have nothing to do with ska/reggae have probably heard of these guys. Plus both bands ripped it. The New Years Show in 2006 was awesome because “John Brown's Body” is probably collectively our favorite reggae band of the past decade or so. Aside from NOFX (our favorite punk band), no other discs get more spin in the van when we're traveling than J.B.B. You're always a bit giddy when you get to play with your favorite bands - especially when they end up playing for nearly 2 hours!

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NSM
How about your worst performing memory?

Alex - "Club Mate" in Brooklyn a couple years ago. We went on at 1:00 a.m. on a Monday, played to nobody and were completely hammered. During the show, if you could even call it that, Luke tripped over the kick drum microphone and ripped the drumhead open, destroying my "Bob Parker: Pimp" sticker on the drum. Later, Bob retired from the Price is Right. I blame Luke.

NSM
Tell us about the journey of completing "Blood, Sweat, and Beers."

Alex - I wasn't really a part of that journey. Although I did play some mean vibro-slap on Trouble! I can tell you that it was a long process due to schedules. It took almost a year to complete because the band was playing so often, so it was a day here, a day there, etc.

NSM
You guys have sold over 9,000 CD's w/o help from a label. You have a loyal fan base, you're being booked all over the place; you are proving to other bands that it can be done with a lot of hard work. What are your thoughts on this?

Alex - We're lucky to have some great fans. That certainly helps to create all of those things. But in the end, it's all about perseverance. For every show we get ala opening for Blondie to 1000 people, I could list at least 3 other shows that were us playing to 3 drunk guys with handlebar mustaches requesting “Freebird.” There are always ups & downs, but the bottom line is we love what we do and in the end that's what keeps us going.

NSM
What are your thoughts on the current state of the music industry?

Alex - It's a great time right now. The old model of the label, aka the factory to mass-produce your product, is being rendered obsolete by the Internet. Success used to be defined by two extremes – either you're nobody, or you are a signed act on the radio & on MTV. Existing between those two extremes was very difficult to do. Now the middle ground has opened up a lot more. You can make a respectable living without label support if you play your cards right.

NSM
Name your favorite song and describe your ideal music video for it.

Alex - Collectively, our favorite song is probably "Trouble." It's a song that really represents some of the musical extremes of our band. For a video, I'd do a montage of live/backstage shots & random debauchery.

NSM
Let's get off the music and a little more personal for a minute. What do you do for fun outside the music world, how old are you, what do you do for a living, etc?

Alex - I have a day job as a paralegal in a law office. I also teach percussion part time at the Naval Academy as a civilian. So all together, I've got 3 jobs including the band. Therefore, for fun outside of working those 3 jobs, I enjoy sleep, sleep, and sleep.

 

NSM
How about the other band members?

Alex - Steve works at Guitar Center during the day and gives guitar lessons. Luke runs sound with our P.A. system and does some day landscaping for extra money. Rob plays Xbox.

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NSM
Back to music, did any of you have musical training or are you self-taught?

Alex - I was formally taught general percussion for a number of years, but never drum set. I was a string & guitar player long before I ever started playing drums though, so I have at least a workable understanding of music theory.

NSM
If you could no longer be musicians, is there anything else you would pursue?

Alex - To quote the immortal Mick Shrimpton: "As long as there's still, you know, sex & drugs……. I can do without the rock & roll."

NSM
How would you describe the band's working relationship, as far as the musical process is concerned?

Alex - We are a business & a family at the same time, which can be a difficult dynamic. When it comes to playing live, we play so often that we're pretty much on autopilot at this point. As for writing music, it varies. Sometimes we'll come up with ideas individually and then bounce them off of each other to try to shape a song and demo it. Other times, one of us writes an entire song to completion and the rest of the band learns it.

NSM
Is there any musical aspect you feel you need to work on, individually or as a group?

Alex - Finding more time to write new music would be good. As a business & working band, we have so many bills to pay, from travel costs, hotels, bar tabs, maintenance, loans, etc., that we pretty much have to keep playing all the time just to keep afloat. That makes it difficult to find the time to write, learn, and record new material.

NSM
Name a few of your musical influences as well as why, and how these people have an effect on you and your music.

Alex - We're influenced by a ton of different music, ranging from old school reggae like Marley, Barrington Levy, and Dennis Brown, to modern day punk bands like NOFX & Lagwagon, and we hope that comes across in our music.

Personally, my favorite band ever is the Mighty Mighty Bosstones (prior to getting famous, that is). There's something about them that is the perfect blend of punk, hardcore, reggae & ska, to me at least. It's not often you hear a band playing some sweet reggae sounds where suddenly their singer chimes in with a voice and scream that sounds like he swallowed a bucket of rusty nails. I was a total metal head before I discovered that band back in the early 90's. Without them, I'm not sure I'd have ended up in this band.

 

NSM
Is there anything you would like to say to the people reading this interview?

Alex - Thanks for your support and we hope to see you out at a show soon!

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