5 minute read
musicbeat
from Aug. 15, 2013
Noise pop rocks
No Age
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Randy Randall is the guitarist of the critically acclaimed noise pop band No Age. The Los Angeles-based duo is on the legendary record label Sub Pop and the new record, An Object, will be released Aug. 19. No Age is set to return to Reno for the first time in five years with a show at the Holland Project, 140 Vesta St., with Protect Me, Surf Curse and Cat Jelly, on Aug. 26 at 8 p.m. I know you’ve played in Reno at least once before. I saw you play here with Liars five or six years ago. What do you remember about that show? I remember it was awesome! That was right at the beginning of our tour. We were still getting to know the Liars guys. They were still getting to know us. And I remember the club was sort of like a youth sort of club? It had a bar, but it was all ages. Club Underground. It’s not there anymore. I remember the spot was cool. And it was the first time we ever Pricelined a hotel. There’s so many hotels in this town, where do we crash? We didn’t have WiFi or anything, so we had one of our girlfriends Priceline a hotel in Reno. We got a nice hotel for $40 or something. … It was one of the casinos. It was just exciting because you could book a hotel online. That technology had been around, but it was new to us. … I think it was the beginning of 2008. It was new to us even just staying in a hotel. Even being able to afford a $40 hotel was new to us. It was very new. The world was very new to us as a band and as people back then. Fast forward to 2013, and we’re roadweary old men.
One of the main things I remember about your set was you passing by your guitar out into the crowd. Like Brad Bynum building up to the climax of a song bradb@ newsreview.com and passing the guitar out and the guitar kind of went crowd surfing. Do you remember that? Is that something you do a lot? Yeah, especially then, I was doing that a lot. It was fun. I think since then, it’s met with negative consequences at times. We’ve caught guys trying to run out the door. Our sound guy would see someone heading toward the door or somebody just completely ripping the shit out of it and trying to break it. So at some point I realized that not everybody is as nice as the people in Reno. So I’ve got more cautious with it. But that night it was fine. Smaller places, where you can actually look people in the eye, it’s fine. The bigger places where you can’t see who’s back there, it’s not always a good idea. This show is going to be at Holland Project, which is an all-ages, no-alcohol club. Do you like playing venues like that? I definitely prefer playing the shows that are all ages and have a different sort of vibe. … What I like about it is that the majority of the time, these places are set up to see music. Not saying that bars can’t be like that or stadiums or whatever. But these kind of all ages show places, the one goal is for people to come in and see a band. It’s not about getting drinks. It’s not about riding the mechanical bull. It’s not about playing the slots, and you happen to get a band also. Really, these places are designed to see a band. It’s not like the biggest budget or the biggest PAs or anything, but really the spirit is right there. … And they’re usually independent. You don’t have Clear Channel taking a hand in all ages spaces. They could give a shit. So you feel like you’re off the corporate map. So, intentions are transparent. Sometimes it can get weird. Sometimes you’re attacked by a 14-year-old kid doing the door who doesn’t think your pants are the right kind of pants. It can feel corny a little bit, especially as you get older. I don’t want to get punked by a 14-year-old. But it depends. Every space has its own vibe. And I like the idea of it being some place different. Maybe not every band goes to these places. And if you’re interested in a band, maybe you have to go out of your comfort zone to see them, and I always like that. Ω
Randy Randall and Dean Spunt of No Age, a band that likes to play unusual venues.
No Age plays the Holland Project, 140 Vesta St., on Aug. 26 at 8 p.m. For tickets or more information, visit www.hollandreno.org.
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