Bermuda Triangles Interview

**THIS FRIDAY - 12/5 @ NO RADIO**

"Taken from "FREE!" issue DEC 2008 #1"

Interview with Bermuda Triangles’ Jason Hodges
By Bubba

Bubba: For those uninitiated, can you give us some background on who you are in regards to Bermuda Triangles and CNP Records?

Jason: I started C.N.P. as Chaotic Noise Productions, it was a tape label, in Roanoke, VA. It was 1992....we released tons of cassettes from weirdos worldwide and my own bands Suppression and Rectal Pus. In 1998 I moved to Richmond, VA and started putting out CDs and vinyl under the name C.N.P. Records and played in Kojak (RIP), Suppression (2-piece line-up), Amoeba Men, Silver Ninjas, Yes Sirs, and when 3 years ago I was practically given a 4-track Bermuda Triangles were formed.

What is your favorite piece of gear used on this album/tour?
Either my cheap-o DD-20 drum machine (Bill has one too) or my delay pedal (keys and synths sound great through it).

How has it been transitioning this from a solo studio work to taking the project on the road?
We now have band practice instead of me just hitting record on my 4-track. Some of the songs that I did by myself with these really "bassed-out" drum beats just don't work live....my song "Cosby Sweater" kind of sounds stupid in a live band setting.

Who all is on this tour with you?
I did 4 shows by myself playing over prerecorded beats on my iPod and using a sampler but it had no "juice," so I asked my old friend and label partner Bill Porter, also from Roanoke, and my weird Louisiana friend Jared Young to join. Jared was recently in a duo called Can't Kill It but they're not doing anything at the moment. Bill was in Hallelujah! for years and then HO-AX (Horrible Axidents) but both are now defunct. Bill's solo-project is called Big Eats which is all electronic, cut up and choppy, weird Dr. Phil samples....he's also in a new improv duo called Blood Banks.

As with Bermuda Triangles, you've worked with many people on your various projects (Suppression, Amoeba Men, The Skin) any best of/worst of stories associated with them?
I have nothing but great things to say about the guys in those bands. The drummer in Amoeba Men, Barry Cover, is amazing and we've been playing together almost 10 years...the guitarist, Chris Conrad, was one of my favorite guitarists before we were in the band together. Ryan Parrish in Suppression is another amazing drummer who, after 8 years of traveling and making music, I've never had one argument with. There are many ridiculous drunk, weird, nude stories with all of those guys. Once at a Suppression show in a tiny room in a house Ryan was naked and called someone on his cell-phone to talk to his balls and I got duct-taped until i couldn't move so i just fell on my bass (there were people under me), my friend Adam fell backwards out of the window during this...luckily we were on the first floor. I'm very fortunate to have these maniacs as friends.

What was the shining moment for you while working on the new album, Terror In The Tropics?

Getting to use a "Drum Buddy" on the track "Melting Your Brains." My friend Derek Jones in Roanoke bought one of Quintron's Drum Buddy oscillator drum machines and let me, Bill, and our friends Mattress Fox and John Chambers play with it and record one day and we took one of the tracks and made a song out of it.

Any personal reasons you chose these cover songs for this album or were they just tracks you thought you’d like to fuck with?

I covered "Syd Barrett's "Terrapin" b/c he'd recently died and it was a tribute kind of thing plus I wanted to attempt to make it ugly and yet still sound a little pretty...everything else on the record is really abrasive so I wanted to ease up on the listener a bit. I covered "2:35" by Spacemen 3 b/c I like how dirgy that song is and I thought with my cheap electronics I could maintain that while simplifying it and making it heavier. But most of all I did those songs for the fun of it.

For your previous release, the Tickley Feather/Bermuda Triangles split, was the artwork a spoof of anything? It looks vaguely familiar. If not, what prompted that shoot?
Annie (Tickley Feather) had a concept in mind for the cover, she was going for the 60's style record covers like Donovan...so she had her friend Kimber take her photo and she emailed it to me...she said she wanted me to do something similar so I went to the thrift store and found some funny clothes and went to my girlfriend Susan's house and she took my photo.

As a unique act, it's harder for some to describe your sound. What’s the most ridiculous or flat our wrong way a promoter/someone has attempted to describe your sound?
Luckily I promoted almost all of the shows we've played so far so that hasn't been a problem, I've been booking shows here in Richmond for years. We were called Bermuda Triange on one flyer.

Any encouragement or discouragement for people starting out looking to do the "one-man" project?
DO IT!

Any words for fans and adversaries before they show up on Dec 5th?
Uh, yeah...definitely....SHOW UP!!!!! [and] we have videos up at www.youtube.comterrortropics23 and music at www.myspace.com/bermudatriangles. Thanks Bubba!!!!