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Mar 06, 2014 Generationals By Under the Radar Staff

For Under the Radar‘s 11th annual Artist Survey we emailed some of our favorite artists a few questions relating to the important issues of the last year, as well as some quirkier subjects. Check out our current print issue and digital issue for surveys from My Morning Jacket, Foals, Amanda Palmer, Local Natives, Wild Nothing, These New Puritans, Lanterns on the Lake, Xiu Xiu, and Summer Camp.

Here are answers from Ted Joyner of Generationals. The band’s most recent album, 2013’s Heza, is out now via Polyvinyl.

What was the highlight of 2013, either for you personally or for the band?

(See low point first.) Retracing our route for several miles and then finding our guitars in the road un-destroyed!

What was the low point of 2013 for you?

Realizing that our trailer was open on the interstate and that some guitars had fallen out! Worst feeling ever! LOL.

What are your hopes and plans for 2014?

Recording a new record!

What are your thoughts on the U.S. government shutdown and the debt ceiling debate?

I was pretty disengaged from the whole thing, not really paying much attention, until I saw that congressman yelling at that park ranger and then I was like, “Okay, fuck this.” I think some of those guys got a free pass this time around by just doing nothing. But as things get worse, I think people inevitably will want some leaders who’ll be willing to get in a room and try to find some compromise, and not just grandstand and obstruct. I’m sure I’ll be proven wrong. But it’s my hope.

What are your thoughts on Obamacare, now that it’s being implemented?

Read today that the website actually works now so it’s on my list of things to do.

What is your opinion on the extensive government spying on the world’s Internet/phone usage? Is Edward Snowden a patriot or traitor?

I think I had just presumed that they’re spying on everyone. And I think we should be allowed to benefit from it. Like when I lost my phone recently and it had a bunch of pictures that I hadn’t backed up to the cloud, I just thought, “I bet the NSA has got them on their servers somewhere.”

What are your thoughts on music streaming services such as Spotify and Rdio? Are they good or bad for musicians?

I guess I still can’t really tell. I mean, I can’t help but use them since they’re so useful. I think people get into our music through them so it’s good for a band our size. But whether it’s a long-term good thing for the music industry at large, I don’t know. I think it’s good that a conversation about it continues so that we can get services like that to a place where everybody agrees it’s fair.

Who was the first person to break your heart? Whose heart did you first break?

Probably my third grade teacher. One day she announced to the class that she was leaving to go teach somewhere else and I remember feeling like “WTF? I thought we had a connection. What’s the deal?”

What was your most embarrassing moment in high school?

Once for an art assignment I drew a nude picture of the Roman goddess Venus. I basically just copied as best I could a painting out of a book. I guess my drawing skills were not great, because some of the shading I did on her was read by the teacher as straight-up pubic hair. He called me out in front of the class about it and was like, “This is not cool.” I tried to plead my case but to no avail and he took off major points for the pubes.

Do bad reviews bother you and which negative review has affected you the most?

If I happen to read something negative I think it bothers for me for like a day or so. Then honestly I totally forget about it.

What moment in history do you most wish you could’ve witnessed in person?

I would like to have hung out backstage at SNL when Phil Hartman was there. Have you seen his audition tape on YouTube? It’s incredible. I kind of didn’t realize it until much later, but I think he was my favorite SNL cast member of all time.

What is your favorite word and why?

Expunge. I like the way it sounds-[it’s] gratifying to say-and it’s usually in the context of, like, getting off the hook for something.

What was the first R-rated (17+) movie you remember seeing and how old were you?

It was either RoboCop or Total Recall. I was probably eight or nine. I remember it being graphically violent but also with nudity, so it was basically like the moment I felt like, “Okay, I’m a man now. I can handle shit.”

Which line from a movie or TV show do you most quote?

“Life finds a way.” - Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park

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