Big Day In is fast approaching which brings NYC's Bridge & Tunnel back to Ithaca! Pat (drums) takes part in some rapid fire Q&A with IU's Bubba Crumrine about their latest No Idea release, Tia & Al, new material, Ron Artest's house and more.
 
IU: How did your fall tour and Fest 9 go this year?

Pat: Well we actually flew down this year. Honestly i feel like it took a little bit of the fest experience away for me. I think because it was such a quick trip, we were just there and back so soon.

IU:  Cool. Any good stories from this latest batch of road dates?

Pat: On our last tour we actually stayed at Ron Artest's house. He had an NBA compound in Indiana where his family lived. He was in California i think, but we hung out with his mother-in-law and shot hoops at 2am.

IU:  Whoa! That's pretty great. I heard Rachel broke her hand recently... is all that on the mend and OK?

Pat: Umm yeah, hopefully it should be good to go pretty soon. I know she is super stoked to play guitar again!

IU:  Good to hear! This is your first time back in Ithaca since playing No Radio Records back in Summer '08 with Attica! Attica!, correct?

Pat: Yup, that was a fun time. Me and Jeff played a couple songs with Aaron on that tour. Jeff wore a bandana. It ruled.

IU:  Looking in the rear-view for a bit, what year did you guys start playing together and what brought you together?
Pat: We started playing in 2006. Me and Jeff had played in a few other bands together since we were about 18 years old and my old band had just broken up so we decided to get a new one going. We knew Rachel from the music scene on Long Island and I have known Tia since 3rd grade so it all kinda fell together.

IU:   Give us the skinny on the new 10" "Indoor Voices"!

When we last spoke with Oscar, it was 2009. FREE! was still in print edition, Oscar's storied band, Nakatomi Plaza was coming to a close with their last tour, and he was looking forward to fresh start with some new projects. Fast forward to present day where we're heading to close out 2010 and his two new projects Ludlow Lions and Ghost Robot Ninja Bear have already begun to make their mark on the underground music community. In this interview we'll focus on the later of his two newest loves and discuss how the project came about, their new material, Red Bull's poor choice in marking campaign, and more. Bubba Crumrine interviews. 


IU: When did you first know you wanted to form a band like GRNB?

Oscar: For a couple years now I knew I wanted to do a solo project.  I had worked with many songwriters on their own projects and just thought it might be nice to do a something where I could play solo if I wanted to, or have a band, or half a band, or cowrite sometimes, and have a revolving door where my friends (who all happen to be amazing musicians) could walk in and do their thing.  It's been great so far. 

IU: Was the foundation for GRNB underway while you were still in Nakatomi Plaza or formed afterwards?

Oscar: Yes, I started recording demos for GRNB while NP was figuring out how to release our final album, "Ghosts".  We actually played our first show ever at Piano's on July 20, 2009, a few months before NP's The Coda Tour.  That lineup included me, Geoff Kraly on bass, Rachel Rubino from Bridge and Tunnel on guitar, Christopher Enriquez from On The Might Of Princes on drums, and Brendan Coon of Ludlow Lions on vocals and percussion. 

IU: How did the lot of players come to be performing together?