Interview With The Shackeltons

In case you don't read Rolling Stone, Spin, listen to XPN, or you flat out live under a rock, you may not know about The Shackeltons. You should. We've posted about these guys before and can't stop listening to their music. Four star reviews in Spin should tell you how good these guys are. Their music is so catchy, Paris Hilton bought Penicilin before listening...DA DUM CHH! We got to interview a few of the guys from the Chambersburg PA band and pick their brains a little about their music, life as a traveling band, and whether or not Britney is still do-able.

JukeboxFuture: For those who missed your numerous Rolling Stone and Spin features, what's the origin of the band name?

Sean: We named ourselves after the great Sir Ernest Shackleton. The story of his journey throughout the Antarctic was really inspiring to Mark after reading about it in a book called "The Endurance." It's interesting how the story and mood of our band parallels to the experiences and characteristics of he and his crew... the spelling differences between his name and ours is due to a simple spelling mistake when we set up our myspace. I'm actually glad it happened because now, we can pay our homage while having an identity of our own.

JF: You claim to draw inspiration from Busta Rhymes. How?

Dan: That was part joke, part truth. I think he's one of the most interesting rappers of all time, that his delivery is one of the most unique and most copied, but the plan truth is "Flip Mode Squad is the Greatest!!"

JF: What bands influenced you growing up?

Dan: Billy Ray Cyrus...that man was a walking mullet. Black Flag, Ramones, New York Dolls, Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Nirvana, Beck, Sonic Youth, Michael Jackson, Kool Moe Dee, KRS one, Jurassic 5, Busta Rhymes, Daft Punk, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, John Denver, Hank Williams Sr. Johnny Cash
Sean: As long as I can remember, I’ve always listened to alternative rock music... my father is a huge music buff (he sports Rock and Roll history/review books all over the house) and raised me on such music as: Nirvana, R.E.M., Patti Smith, Radiohead, and Elliott Smith. I think that being surrounded with such groundbreaking music made me want to strive to make my own mark on music history. And I have my Dad to thank for that inspiration.

JF: Any current bands influence you?

Justin: Upsilon Acrux. I may not be able to play such technical stuff but it is amazing to think about the writing process involved in such complex riffs and melodies.

JF: Are there bands you don’t like being compared to?

Sean: It's funny you asked that, there was a recent blog about us being a "Mewithoutyou ripoff-band" and although I can see a few similarities, I know for sure that we aren't any sort of ripoff... we're not here to do that. I've honestly never listened to Mewithoutyou... other than the time we played a show with them about 2 years ago, and even then, I didn't feel any sort of drive to play like they do.

JF: Sean, you play in two bands? What’s up with that?

Sean: Yes I do. My side-project is called Bratcore (named after a VCR song). I've been in bands since I was 9 or 10, and I’ve been playing with my best friend since then, and this is the 3rd musical project I’ve had with him. It consists of me playing bass and him playing drums. It's a blend of Post-Hardcore, Progressive, and Dance music styles. I tend to experiment a lot since a larger percentage of the music is controlled by me, rather than in the Shackeltons where I write exactly 1/5th of the music... as does everyone else.

JF: Give us a funny road story.

Justin: Last week we were driving back from state college when we almost hit a deer. Dan kept yelling WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA! After we avoided it, it was real quiet and Sean just says "Dan would you get your hand off my leg?”
Dan: I said, “at least I didn’t grab your dick!”

JF: That could have made for an awkward rest of the drive home! What has been your biggest challenge as a band?

Dan: building a decent sized fan base in NYC.
Justin: Trying to figure out how to push this whole thing further without going broke.

JF: Do you guys have day jobs?

Justin: I work at a gas station, Dan works at a hotel, Sean works at a grocery store, Mark works at some factory, and Eric works with troubled students and teaches guitar lessons.

JF: Your average citizens by day, Rock and Roll party animals by night, I love it. What's in heavy rotation on your iPods right now?

Justin: Lately I’ve been listening to Animal Collective's Strawberry Jam and this post-rockish band from Virginia named Barkitecture's new album called Quarry.
Sean: Oh definitely the new Radiohead album, it's incredible. Along with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blood Brothers, Tom Waits, The Smiths, and XBXRX... to name a few.

JF: How much would it cost for you to play a house party? We’ll give you free range on all booze and women!

Dan: That sounds good! I'm the only one into booze and women; meaning I'm not married, taken, or a minor, so what would have been split 5 ways, will now be humbly enjoyed by myself only. Thank you!
Sean: Some of my favorite shows have been house shows. What I always did when I had an out-of-town band come through, was give them whatever money came through at the door with the admission price of about $5. I think that's fair enough for me. I just love house shows.

JF: Note to self: gather mucho booze and women. OK now, there are five basic types in every successful band, so fill in your names accordingly: your rebel, your shy bashful type, your reassuring older brother type, your dewey-eyed youngster, and five, your heartthrob.

Sean: rebel= justin, heart throb= mark, older brother= dan, quiet one= eric, youngster= definitely me... I joined the band when I was 14 and I’m 17 now.
Dan: that's totally not us, this is more like it:
the David Koresh-esque charismatic one - Mark
the June Cleaver-esque mother - Eric
the Mark Wahlberg-esque funky buncher - Sean
the shy anarchist - Justin

JF: What’s your ultimate goal as a band?

Justin: As Mark has said before, “To take over the world!”
Dan: Wild Stallions!! Watch Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and you'll find out!

Lightning round….

JF: Beatles or Stones?

Justin: Stones
Dan: Post Brian Jones Stones doesn't compare to the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Beatles.

JF: Dave Chappelle or Chris Rock?

Dan: Neither, the Old Eddie Murphy with the leather jump suits and the questionable taste in hookers.
Justin: Chappelle.

JF: Britney……still do-able?

Dan: Hit me baby...um one more time? No thanks, you've been donkey punched one too many times, thank you.

JF: OH SNAP! You told that trick! Alright.....Ad Lib: I______when I hear______.

Justin: Shudder when I hear Fall Out Boy.
Dan: I stab living things when I hear Panic at My Chemical Romance's Disco bullshit, pretty much any band that takes photo shoots in their whitey tighties. Seems to be the recent thing, or if they sport the asymmetrical hair cuts, please realize how ridiculous you look, and how unoriginal your brand of hardcore is.

JF: Our thoughts exactly, you couldn’t have said that any better. What city has the best crowds?

Justin: Other than our home town Chambersburg, it would definitely have to be Baltimore.

JF: OK, more importantly, what city has the best groupies?

Dan: I never have time to find that one out. Insert sad internet face here :-(

JF: If the band turned into Survivor, who gets kicked off first and why?

Justin: Probably Dan because he's kinda lazy.
Dan: Yo fuck that show!

JF: Best band of the 80’s?

Dan: Bobby Brown, haha...no! Wang Chung!! Nope umm Ray Parker Jr.! That's tough…I'll have to say a three way tie, Tears for fears, The Cure, and Joy Division.
Justin: one of my favorite bands of all time Rudimentary Peni.

JF: How about the 90’s?

Dan: Nirvana, and Smashing Pumpkins.
Justin: I’m going to say Fugazi because I’m drawing a blank on the 90's

JF: Finally, are record major record labels relevant any more?

Justin: To the people who make those deals, yes. But you can toss millions into any "pop" band to get into them into as many ears as possible and people will eat it up without thinking twice about.
Dan: If you want a lot of aimless money, and promises thrown at you, sure!

Visit the band's myspace and get lost in the rock n' roll extavaganza that is The Shackeltons! And don't worry, we'll let you know when they're coming to Philly again. Hide the women and children.

Well that's the breaks,
Josh