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American Hi-Fi
Interview
Toronto, Canada
June 11, 2001
Take the best of the pop/alternative/rock world, throw in a case of beer, a rehearsal studio, the pineapple-saturated
island of Maui, and what you've got is American Hi-Fi.
After years of playing drums for Letters to Cleo, Aimee Mann and Veruca Salt, Stacy Jones decided to start a band of his
own. He brought together former friends Jamie Arentzen, Drew Parsons and Brian Nolan to complete the lineup. Jones wrote all
12 songs on the debut album, which was recorded with Bob Rock after rehearsing in his Maui studio. Even though the melodies
are pure pop, the density of guitars and drums puts the album in the heaviest of rock categories.
Stacy and Jamie spoke with Virtuecast.com about the making of their album, the rock 'n roll lifestyle, and much more.
Don't miss it!
Stacy: Hey, I'm Stacy...
Jamie: I'm Jamie...
Stacy: We're from American Hi Fi...Hi Fi... [You were going to...]
Jamie: That's okay, you can keep, you can keep going now... Finish up.
Stacy: And you're watching virtuecast.com.
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George: Ladies and gents... Hey! How are you doing? My name is George [...] and I'm sitting here with half of what is
known as American Hi Fi.
Both: Yeah...
Stacy: What's going on?
George: Alright, I'm alright... Maybe you could introduce yourselves individually AND your masterplan...
Stacy: And our masterplan?
George: You have... you need a masterplan, man.
Stacy: Huh... okay... I think we have a masterplan... Hey, I'm Stacy.
Jamie: I'm Jamie.
Stacy: What's our masterplan?
George: Actually I think...
Jamie: We're going to take over the world...
Stacy: That one?
George: Yeah.
Stacy: I think... I mean... [We performed about...]
Jamie: (Looking at the wall behind him) Hey!
George: I think that's a wall...
Stacy: (To wall) Hey, I'm Stacy.
Jamie: Jamie... What's going on?
Stacy: Hum... Now the light's on that one...
George: It's all very confusing...
Stacy: Yeah, I need someone directing me...
(Laughs)
Stacy: But I don't know what our masterplan is. Do we need one?
George: No, you've been wandering aimlessly through life...
Stacy: I think that's what we do.
George: You never know where life might take you.
Jamie: Just one beer to the next... [...]
George: And how has the ride been so far?
Stacy: So far, it's been great... We mean you never really expected this band to, you know, amount to anything so... the
fact that we actually got to make a record...and, you know... and go on tour...
Jamie: And make it in Hawaii...
Stacy: ...and make it in Hawaii.
George: Yeah, life is tough, I feel your pain... [Of course, I do know] the record was made in Hawaii, with Bob Rock...
Stacy: Yeah, for nine months.
George: So, how much was work and how much was play?
Stacy: I think half and half... But it's all play though... It's really cool... Yeah, I mean, you know, it's like, it
was so great to go in the studio every day... I mean, we looked forward to it.
Jamie: [...] we have to go work on the record... really exciting...
George: You said you didn't expect it to go anywhere. Did you really not expect it to go anywhere?
Stacy: Well... I mean, when we first started, like, it was kind of like, the joke was that "Oh, we're gonna be huge"
you know what I mean... It was, like, we never really thought that in the back of our head, we always knew that, like, it
was virtually impossible to be huge or that, like, we could make a record you know... It's just that being in the music business...
it's so hard, so...
Jamie: There was no plan on us being a real band... It was like, we were just hanging out, we were friends and we really
started enjoying it and Stacy started writing songs and we started recording them and when he first started singing we thought
"Maybe we actually could do this..."
(Laughs)
George: So, at, like, what point did you think that... How long did it take after the songs were written when you realised
"Oh, we have a pretty decent thing going on..."
Jamie: It was a couple of months...
Stacy: Yeah, 'cause, you know, originally, it started out in rehearsal state and you couldn't really hear what I was singing...
it was crappy...
Jamie: Yeah, he screams really good...
Stacy: Yeah, you couldn't really tell so the first time we went in the studio, it was like... I don't know... Yeah...
probably two or three months after we started, like, drunkenly jamming.
George: It's a very fine album... One of my favourites is "My Only Enemy"... That song must be fun playing live...
Stacy: That is a good live.
George: So what was the inspiration for that?
Stacy: Huh... That's kind... you know... the enemy within... kind of odd... that's me telling about how stupid I am sometimes.
George: How so? How are you stupid sometimes?
Stacy: Just... you know, the way we handle things in our personal lives... I don't want to give too much away...
George: So with age comes wisdom...
Stacy: I think you're right, maybe a little.
George: So you think you've learned anything along the way so far?
Stacy: Oh yeah, tons...
Jamie: Almost as much as we've forgot...
(Laughs)
George: Well, you have to forget it and learn it all over again... [...] You've spent a big time of your career behind
the drums...
Stacy: Yeah...
George: And I guess the most famous band would be Veruca Salt...
Stacy: Yeah...
George: What's been the most satisfying part of stepping out in front and singing?
Stacy: I don't know... I just think... I think it's... you know... we really built this from nothing, you know, all together,
so for us, to arrive at a point... it just feels very good, you know... And I love the music... I love...
Jamie: You can see the girls better from there.
(Laughs)
George: So it's all about the view.
Stacy: That's right.
George: So, you guys are riding high with the single "Flavor of the Weak"...
Stacy: Are we riding high?
George: I think so... I think it's good...
Stacy: I think we kinda ride in the middle, somewhere...
George: I actually think you guys are doing fairly well... Love the line "He's too stoned, Nintendo"...
Stacy: Yeah, it rhymed, and it also, like, you know, brings a picture maybe, of that guy sitting on his couch...
George: Who is that guy?
Stacy: He's no one in particular. You know, I think that I've definitely known that guy... and I've known the girl in
the song too, so it seemed like a good, you know, a good topic for a rock song...
George: Okay, cool, very cool...
Stacy: That guy's Jamie!
George: Is it?
Jamie: No...
George: The truth is out!
Jamie: No, it's not... not me at all...
George: Are you?
Jamie: Not at all...
George: Have you been partaking in any rock'n'roll excesses on the road so far?
Stacy: No... I think we're pretty good, you know... (To Jamie) Have you?
Jamie: (Laughing) No...
(Laughs)
Stacy: We drink some beer and we've had a couple of Bikini Teams on our bus.
Jamie: (To George) Did you know there were such things?
George: Now I know...
Stacy: We didn't know either...
George: Do they need a referee or a judge of some kind?
Jamie: They don't actually compete... I was like...
Stacy: "What's your record?"
Jamie: Yeah, "What's your record?"
Stacy: There were these girls... we played a show and these girls showed up and they were all, like, wearing high heels
and, you know, bikinis, you know, like strippers and huh... but they're cute, if they're watching... cute strippers... and
hum... I just said, I'm like "Who are you guys?" and they're like, five or six of them all in unison "We're
the Bikini Team!" and I'm like, I didn't even know such a thing existed...
George: Very cool... Aside of that, any strange encounters with fans? On the road?
Stacy: Not yet. We've had people spit at us, you know, we've had like...
George: Spit at you?
Jamie: These people don't like us.
Stacy: We've had some people make signs and say "You guys suck" and like, bring them to the show to hold them
up, like, to make sure we know we suck...
Jamie: But we're starting to get... huh... artwork from fans.
Stacy: Yeah, that's cool.
Jamie: Yeah, caricatures...
Stacy: Yeah, drawings...
George: Going back to the producer of this album, Bob Rock, for those who don't know. Bob Rock, super producer to the
stars, worked with everyone from Aerosmith, Metallica...
Jamie: Loverboy, Cher...
George: The list goes on and on...
Jamie: The Cult...
Stacy: Yeah...
George: Veruca Salt.
Jamie: When we were working with him, we went up into like, one of his little warehouses where he stores guitars and like,
literally, in a pile like, chest high and this wide, they're all these gold and platinum records of all those bands...
Stacy: Just covered with dust...
Jamie: All broken and stuff...
Stacy: And it's like, you know, you take "Dr. Feelgood", you know, like, one million records sold...
George: It's like a history lesson right in there.
Stacy: Every instrument he has is like a [...] Jamie was playing this Fender 12-strings and Bob said like "Oh, yeah,
that used to belong to Pete Townshend".
George: So do you still have these moments when you can take a step back from being in a band yourself and feel like a
fan all over again?
Stacy: Oh yeah.
Jamie: Definitely.
George: What's one encounter that you had with someone that you admire?
Stacy: Well, we've almost had encounters twice with members of Mötley Crüe and I was really excited about that and neither
time they came to be... Once Mickey was gonna come to our show and once I was gonna play golf with Tommy and also he was at
a hotel in New York with us and he was gonna come to the show...
George: They're all a bunch of nice guys.
Stacy: That's what I hear.
George: What's your favourite Bob Rock story? Do you have one?
Stacy: Oh god, I don't know... Do we have any good Bob Rock stories?
Jamie: There are so many...
Stacy: Let me think about that... I think... I enjoyed seeing him in that band...
Jamie: Oh yeah...
George: The video?
Stacy: Yeah, the video...
Jamie: That was...
Stacy: What was the band called?
Jamie: That was [Rockhead].
Stacy: [Rockhead] or Rock and Hike?
Jamie: No, that one was [Rockhead].
Stacy: [Rockhead]... We saw a [Rockhead] video... he was playing metal guitar, with long hair...
George: Besides being musicians, do you have any special talents?
Stacy: Golf.
Stacy: I'm not sure if we're talented but we have an obsession...
Jamie: That's something we like.
George: All of you get together and play golf?
Stacy: Yeah, we're avid golfers.
George: I have a hard time picturing that.
Stacy: Rockers like to golf!
Jamie: Stacy has a really nice pink Polo shirt...
Stacy: We pull our hair back...
George: I'd love to see that... What were you guys like as kids?
Stacy: I was bad.
Jamie: As we are now... I don't know...
Stacy: I was spazzy when I was a kid...
Jamie: I was definitely spazzy as a kid.
Stacy: I would not classify you as spazzy now...
Jamie: No, I'm not spazzy... I don't know what happened... Maybe I was told to sit down and shut up so many times that
I finally did...
Stacy: Pot!
Jamie: I didn't do [...]... The early 90's...
George: That's almost inevitable that you guys started a band. Could there have been anything else?
Stacy: No... I never wanted to do anything else...
George: What crappy jobs did you have to do in the meantime, before you got to this point?
Stacy: You know I've been really lucky 'cause I went to college and straight out of college I started playing in bands
so I never had a... for about three months I worked at a theater... in Boston... I answered the phones... at a theater...
Jamie: I wasn't so lucky. I worked for catering companies for years but I... no it was fine...
Stacy: That sucks! I did that once. I had one catering job.
Jamie: You had a bad one... I worked for cool companies...
Stacy: They all suck.
Jamie: Well, it's not that great...
Stacy: People are so rude to you... you keep bringing the food around... and I don't know... It really pissed me off...
I got really mad...
Jamie: You yelled at people throwing trays around?
George: A person who is nice to you but who is not nice to the waiter is not a nice person. Correct?
Stacy: Correct. How do you know you have to look into that camera?
George: It's the natural instinct...
(Laughs)
George: Comparisions are inevitable I guess when you're in a new band...
Stacy: Sure.
George: Some of the names being popped out, Foo Fighters...
Stacy: Sure.
George: Smashing Pumpkins...
Jamie: Well, we do it all the time...
George: Nirvana... You're cool with all those?
Both: Yeah.
Stacy: Hell yeah... love those bands...
Jamie: We're [...] that stuff...
Stacy: Those are my favourite bands... that's like... that's what I love.
Jamie: We're not playing to, like, re-invent the music at all... you're... we're just [...] we've always loved... that's
all everybody ever does anyway...
George: But it's a refreshing vibe, it's a happy record... but it's a fun record...
Stacy: Yeah, well, you know, it's alright, you know, it's not, like, full of angst and, you know, we're not like those
rap-rock bands you know, bummed out all the time, but see, there are sad songs on the record.
George: There's a really beautiful one actually, it was also on a soundtrack...huh... which soundtrack was it? I don't
remember now... "Another Perfect Day".
Stacy: Oh, yeah, yeah.
George: Which one was that? Which soundtrack?
Stacy: That was on a soundtrack...
Jamie: It was? I didn't...
George: (To Jamie) You didn't know that?
Stacy: I forgot which one it was...
Jamie: I know we talked about it but I didn't know it actually happened...
Stacy: That should be our next single.
George: Oh, is it?
Jamie: It's got strings to it too.
Stacy: Yeah, it sounds really nice.
George: A few things... a few more things. Let's have some "what if" questions, okay? Silly stuff...
Stacy: Bring it on.
George: What if you guys were to wake up tomorrow and find out the headlines were focused on American Hi Fi? What would
the headliners say?
Jamie: I hope it's not "Died on a plane crash"...
George: That would suck...
Jamie: That would suck!
George: That would be a short story. Alright, you want another one?
Stacy: Yeah.
George: Alright. What if you were on a desert island with Britney Spears, Fred Durst, Donny Osmond and Madonna. Who would
you vote off first?
Stacy: Fred Durst.
Jamie: Definitely.
George: Why is that?
Stacy: 'Cause he's a jerk.
George: Have you had any run ins with him?
Stacy: No, I haven't, but most people that I know that have had run ins with him said that he was a jerk so [it must be
true].
Jamie: Who was the other guy?
Stacy: Donny Osmond.
Jamie: Oh, Donny Osmond, yeah, he could hang for a little while.
Stacy: He's cool.
Jamie: Yeah, I'm not threatened by him.
Stacy: We've met Donny Osmond.
George: Did you? He was here just last week.
Stacy: Nice fella...
George: He is a nice fella... That's a refreshing thing when you could be in the music industry for so long and, you know...
Stacy: And not be a jaded old fuck?
George: Yeah...
Stacy: Can I say that on this show?
George: Huh... it's cool [...] Anything else you wanna...
Stacy: It's not live, is it?
George: Huh... no.
Stacy: You can beep me...
George: We'll probably beep... So what's the game plan? Where are you guys going right after here?
Stacy: After this, we actually have the first... our own... first and only six days off of the year and then we're gonna
go to Europe for like, ten days and then we're gonna come back to the States and we're gonna tour with Everclear throught
the summer and then we're coming back up to Canada...
Jamie: And then back to Europe...
Stacy: And then back to Europe...
Jamie: And then Australia...
Stacy: Australia and Japan...
Jamie: And then it's gonna be Christmas, we'll probably have Chritmas off...
George: Are you finding any time to stop and reflect and say "Wow, this is amazing"?
Stacy: Not really... Every once in a while we have little flashes...
[Jamie]: Like "Woah"...
Stacy: And all of a sudden we're just sitting there, we're like "Holy... shit, I can't believe we're doing this".
George: Yeah...
Stacy: But most of the time, we're so busy and things are so crazy that, you know, you just kind of, like, you know, you
forget about your real life...
George: Yeah...
Stacy: That doesn't even exist anymore, you know...
George: Speaking of real life, what about relations? Do you guys have any time for that? Are you making time for that?
Stacy: No...
Jamie: We can have lots of 'em!
(Laughs)
Jamie: This band destroyed [at least one relationship...]
Stacy: We've not destroyed a [...] one [...]
Jamie: Well, one is not being dismantled...
Stacy: No, one is being...
Jamie: Yeah, one just got engaged...
George: You're speaking very [...] here. Who are we talking about?
Stacy: Well, Drew got engaged...
Jamie: And nobody else has a girlfriend!
Stacy: And nobody else has a girlfriend.
George: Were you going out with Nina...
Stacy: Yeah.
George: Nina Gordon? That's not going on anymore?
Stacy: No, not, not right now... I'm gonna see her tomorrow...
George: She's a lovely lady...
Jamie: We're going to Chicago?
George: You actually played on her album?
Stacy: Yeah.
George: You see yourself doing any more of that?
Stacy: Oh yeah, definitely.
George: Not just for her though, but for other people... drumming...
Stacy: No... yeah... absolutely, I mean, you know, it's still a huge part...
Jamie: You're gonna have to play the drums on MY record...
(Laughs)
George: Keep it in the family... Guys, so we're gonna wrap it up now, we're gonna let you head off into wild blue [...].
Any last words that you want to [...] here? Speak now or forever hold your [peace]?
Stacy: I don't know... I don't think so... (To Jamie) You have any last words?
Jamie: No. Have a good time all the time...
Stacy: (Laughing) That's right, that's right...
(Laughs)
George: Thanks guys, thank you...
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