Interviews

Legends Of Rodeo

Interview with Nathan on Nov 30, 1999 by Archive Bot

Big thank you to Mike Cubillos at Earshot Media and Nathan from Legends of Rodeo. To get more info go to www.lormusic.com. 

PB: Whats your name and what do you play?
LOR: My name is Nathan and I play the guitar.

PB: In your bio there are a whole bunch of really interesting stories about crazy things that have happened to you guys on tour. Give us one story about something that has happened on this tour with Dashboard Confessional.
LOR: That tour was pretty amazing front to back. Everything was always taken care of by Dashboard’s tour manager which makes it hard for anything to go wrong. Our lead singer lost his voice in Iowa City and five Florida boys tried putting on snow chains in Oregon. Oh yeah, we almost got in a fight with some kids in the crowd in San Francisco.

PB: It's been said that your lives sound like a movie. If someone were to make a movie about Legends of Rodeo, who would you want to play you?
LOR: I think that after Brad Pitt’s performances in Fight Club and Snatch he would be qualified to play me in a made for television movie. I think that is the only way I would let it happen. Brad Pitt in a made for TV flick. When movies get on the big screen everybody tends to take it all too seriously. I think I would want it on the Fox network. They are a little more racy than NBC and CBS. There should be a couple of those cheesy sex scenes where the covers go up to everybody’s chin.

PB: You mention Peal Jam in "Devil Started Rock'n'Roll". What are some bands that have influenced you guys?
LOR: Well, there is some Petty and Springsteen in our bones but I think Pearl Jam has a lot to do with our sound. Personally, I grew up with hiphop and old school punk. Unfortunately, I don’t think those influences shine through real well, but trust me they are there. I guess we could be described as Petty getting in the sack with Dave Grohl.

PB: What is one band that you listen to that no one would expect you to?
LOR: I love T. Rex but I don’t think that should surprise anyone because everybody knows that Marc Bolan is a genius. There is also a little wham going on. 

PB: Ok in just a short time you guys have been signed to a division of a major label, toured with bands like NFG and Dashboard Confessional and recorded your debut album. Has anything about all of this been at all overwhelming?
LOR: Not really or not yet. The most overwhelming things are what I gave up to do this rock and roll circus. I quit my job, I dropped out of college, and I moved to the ghetto to save money.

PB: What are some other bands you'd like to tour with?
LOR: I think it would be fun to tour with David Bowie. He is probably the hippest musician alive. Touring Africa with Pearl Jam would be alright too but I don’t think they are touring Africa anytime soon. I know a lot of the guys would want to tour with the Stones but I don’t think I could get through it every night. It would be so stressful to play before those masters every night.

PB: Honestly, when I listened to your CD, its not something that I would normally listen to. I actually usually listen to stuff like NFG or whatever. Being on tour with those kinds of bands, how are the kids reacting? And do you think that you are broadening your audience by allowing yourself to be exposed to kids who normally maybe wouldnt listen to your band?
LOR: Yeah, I think a lot of the kids are into what we do. Rock and roll is a universal communicator. There’s the energy and attitude that anybody can identify with. So, a lot of the kids are real down with that. But then you always got a handful of hooligans who are just too uptight to shake it up a bit. Those kids think that rock music belongs in their parents record collection. Hopefully, they will wise up real soon. 

PB: You have a really interesting story about where you got your name and I know that is that lamest question. But will you tell us how you got the name Legends of Rodeo?
LOR: I wasn’t there at the time. We were staying in El Paso, Texas. Three of us went into Juarez, Mexico to grab some authentic grub and cheap booze. John (our vocalist) stayed behind in El Paso and went to some art museum. He met a security guard and they started talking. It turned out that the guard was a rodeo rider from Mexico. He told John some story about the rodeo and he said something like, “To ride in the rodeo you need big balls and a big heart. But mostly,you need big balls.” We liked that story so much we named the band after him.

PB: What is one of your biggest fears?
LOR: Living a life of regret.

PB: Describe your band in one word.
LOR: Vigorous

PB: After this tour what are your plans for the rest of the year?
LOR: Sell some records and then tour some more.