Interview

EP: Can you please state your name and position in the band?
Lou: My name is Lou Panico and I play the bass. I'm the only member of the band that knows how to pack our trailer, and the only member that enjoys professional wrestling.

EP: You just finished the Small Fries tour with labelmates Say No More and label-friends You Me And Everyone We Know. How did the tour go?
Lou: This tour was so much fun. All the dudes in YMEWK and Say No More are great dudes. We all got along really well and never hesitated kicking back and drinking a few beers. My favorite show on the tour was Chicago.

EP: How do you get along with the rest of Drive Thru's roster? Drive Thru bands have always seemed to be a very close-knit unit.
Lou: There are still a few bands we've yet to meet but for the most part everyone gets along great. I think it just comes to being down to earth and fighting for the same cause. It's hard not to respect someone who's doing the same thing you're doing.

EP: You recorded your new album Spread The Rumors with Mark Hoppus (of Blink 182/Plus 44 fame). How was your experience recording with him? Did you gain any knowledge from those sessions that stuck with you?
Lou: Working with "The Hop" was great. He's one of those guys that doesn't have a bad bone in his body. Mark knew what was up and was very easy to work with. We were all taken back when we heard the news that he wanted to do our record. It felt like we won the lottery or something. We were obviously huge into Blink and it was sort of an honor for us to actually sit down and spend so much time with him for 4 weeks of recording. Every time you gain another set of ears in your music you gain more knowledge and experience for the future. Especially when those ears are on a dude that sold 40 million-plus records (or whatever the insane number is). We loved it.

EP: What, if any, is the theme you were aiming for with the new album?
Lou: We wanted to keep the songs upbeat as much as possible, especially with the songs that weren't so happy and uplifting. A lot of the songs are very satirical in nature. Especially in regards to our outlook on life's trials and tribulations. We wanted to give you the substance but never wanted to bum you out.

EP: What is the band's songwriting process like?
Lou: I think we've very lucky in the sense that every member of Socratic writes music. Some may write more than others, but there is no denying the bond that we all share as musicians. We all very much listen and respect one another on a personal as well as musical level. Everyone is always contributing and listening to one another. I think it's very important to have that bond and respect between band mates. Duane has a ton of songs and so does Vinny. They're always showing new ideas and we collectively build on them from there.

EP: The band combines a sunny pop sound with witty and sometimes sarcastic lyrics. Do you consciously play on those contrasts?
Lou: We most definitely do.

EP: The band is constantly on the road touring. Does that factor into your songwriting?
Lou: Just as much as anything. The more we experience, the more places we go, the more bands we meet, and the more time we spend with each other completely reflects in our songwriting. I don't think we'll ever run out of things to say.

EP: Last few times I've seen the band live, there has been an absence of songs from your debut album Lunch For The Sky. Is there a reason you have shied away from playing those songs?
Lou: We actually have been playing quite a few songs off Lunch recently. Alexandria, Doctor, and Lunch For The Sky are still very much standards that we like to include in our set as much as possible.

EP: What bands do you listen to? Who or what influenced the sound of Spread The Rumors?
Lou: Collectively we listen from anything from Phish to Avril Lavigne. The list is honestly that big. Everyone and everything influenced Spread The Rumors. It's definitely a culmination of more things then I could possibly begin to list. Every member of Socratic brings in different influences and experiences. Before we started recording we would always talk about how we wanted to make a record like Enema Of The State. We wanted to have that pop sensibility while leaving the listener wanting more. We didn't want to do another lengthy record like Lunch For The Sky right away. We wanted to do something a little bit more direct.

EP: The song "Long Distance Calls" has very personal lyrics and is perhaps the most folk sounding song on the record. Is there any truth to that tale?
Lou: There is, actually. Vinny wrote this song about his childhood and growing up in a family that didn't quite always get along.

EP: In the winter of 2006, you decided to give away your EP "Just Turn" for free? What prompted that move?
Lou: Sometimes it's just time for new music. We have a bunch of songs. Somebody's always writing something. We want to get as much of it out there as possible. And what better than giving it away for free, right?

EP: What are the band's plans for the rest of 2008?
Lou: We're going to keep touring and performing. Hopefully we get a good response with this new record and it'll take us to the next level. We're going to keep doing our thing until we can't do it any more. And hopefully we get to do it forever.

Thank you so much to Lou for his time and Ana Bustilloz from Drive Thru Records for setting this up. The band's new album Spread The Rumors is in stores now!