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Marisa Lowenstein — Tuesday, December 11, 2001
American Hi-Fi is faking you out. Under the sparkling pop surface, the boys of AHF are feeding hungry ears a long overdue
dose of hard rock. While the unavoidably catchy lyrics and melodies of their hits ("Flavor of the Weak," "Another Perfect
Day") creep into your subconscious, so do the heavy guitar and drumming of producer Bob Rock (Veruca Salt, Motley Crue, Aerosmith).
Is this a conscious plan to divert America's youth from boyband-ification, or just a happy accident born of the band's diehard
mission to have fun playing rock n' roll?
Singer/guitarist/songwriter Stacy Jones claims it's all about "bringing the fun back to rock." Onstage with guitarist Jamie
Arentzen, bassist Drew Parsons, and drummer Brian Nolan, American Hi-Fi is doing just that.
Arentzen recently took a moment away from the band's European tour to answer the some questions from regular StarPolish contributor
Marisa Lowenstein about the band's newfound success and future plans.
STARPOLISH: The debut single from your self-titled album, Flavor of the Week, recently made it onto the Now 7 album,
along with more "traditional" pop symbols such as *NSYNC, J. Lo, and Aerosmith. Do you think people look at that album and
wonder, "Who the hell is American Hi-Fi?"
ARENTZEN: The people who listen to that album are pop fans, and anyone who knows us through it probably thinks we're
a rock band because compared to the rest of the format, we are.
STARPOLISH: There's no such thing as an overnight success. How long did it take you to reach this level?
ARENTZEN: Everything we've done over the past 10-15 years has led up to this point. How successful are we? I don't
know. But we get to make another record, and that's cool. In five years, hopefully we'll still be doing that, making more
records.
STARPOLISH: Are you guys having as much fun as it looks like you are? How do you separate the business aspects
of music from actually performing?
ARENTZEN: We are having as much fun as it seems, and playing is the thing we're really living for. At the show, it's
what makes all the business stuff worthwhile.
STARPOLISH: Why did you choose Bob Rock - who has worked with Veruca Salt, Motley Crue and Aerosmith -- to produce
your album? Is it due to AHF's unashamed love of hair metal?
ARENTZEN: We love all that music, but choosing Bob Rock had nothing to do with that. He may be known for his work in
that genre, but he's just an all-around great musicologist. We love the way his records sound and think he's a great guy.
We hope to do another record with him.
STARPOLISH: You're veterans at this point. Do you have any nuggets of wisdom for emerging musicians?
ARENTZEN: We're still trying to figure some out ourselves! Just keep playing, ask a lot of questions, and listen to
a lot of music.
STARPOLISH: Videos are key in promoting emerging artists. While many of them virtually copy each other, you guys
have released two very innovative videos. Where did you get the ideas for them? Did your record company give you freedom to
flow with your vision?
ARENTZEN: We were lucky enough to be able to work with directors we liked. We can't take credit for the ideas of those
videos, but we did decide to do them. We had to push the label at times, but it all worked out.
STARPOLISH: We hear that the Internet, and more specifically, Napster, played a major role in helping to break
you guys.
ARENTZEN: We started touring before the record came out, and there were tons of kids who came because they had heard
our stuff on Napster. It definitely got the word out and that was reflected at our shows.
STARPOLISH: How important do you think it is to have a good website? Do you guys contribute to yours?
ARENTZEN: It's totally important-I wish we were more involved, but when you're on the road, it's tough. We'll try
to get more involved in the future, and the website will probably become increasingly important.
STARPOLISH: What are your thoughts on the future of rock n' roll? Is Justin Timberlake right-will boy bands be
around forever?
ARENTZEN: I guess they'll be around forever. They've been around forever. They die off now and then, but they keep
coming back. I'd like to see them go away for a little while, though.
STARPOLISH: Are you working on a follow-up album?
ARENTZEN: We are hoping to start recording in January, and we want it to be released next summer.
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