by Kelly La Croix
Hiya. Who are you and what do you do in the band and where can find a decent pair of jeans?
Phil: I'm Phil and I play guitar and provide vox. I'm actually a bit obsessed with my jeans - they're raw denim and I never wash them. I recommend The Unbranded Brand. Some real hipster shit.
Nels: I’m Nels, I hit things. Decent jeans? Pissed.
Tell us about your band's sound using a school-style analogy: Bull Market is to ____________, as _____________ is to ______________.
Really Kelly? “School-style analogy”? I’ll give you a school style analogy… we’re playing shows all the time, and kids are hearing us, but are they really listening? If they were, I’m sure they’d realize that they need to invest… not in a few years, not next week… NOW. Compound interest, people! Get in at least with some index funds. You want to be affluent investors, get your head in the game. Now. INVEST!
If you were to start an online petition, in an effort to get thousands, if not millions of signatures on, what would the stated purpose of that petition be?
To get some decent interview questions...
What band was your gateway drug to the seedy world of rock and roll?
Phil: Ooo. I dunno, there's probably a few. I'd just happen upon a cd and get kind of obsessed. I remember once getting a live Backstreet Boys album from a Burger King in Minneapolis when I was like ten. That was weird, looking back. I've never seen that since. Another time in 4th grade I got Highway to Hell and listened to that for a long time. There was also some Blink 182, Good Charlotte, and RHCP through middle school and high school.
Nels: I’m not sure I tried to grab every one of a band's albums before Nirvana…
Phil, you are currently part of Beatnik City Council, could you tell us a little about it?
Phil: Yeah! So me and a gal named Brie Ripley and a guy named Ty Herman started meeting weekly with the goal of opening a DIY venue in Billings. We decided to reach out to other artsy groups in town to see about common interests and ran into some folks with a project called Artspace. They were trying to get a fancy live/work space for artists built downtown and had a hearing with the city council coming up. We decided to show some solidarity and testify on their behalf - personally I was pretty pissed about the political goings-on and wanted to make an appearance on behalf of artists in Trump Country. Some old white guys in the council made comments about "beatniks" so we cheekily adopted the term for our name.
As far as the DIY space goes, we realized it was gonna take a lot of work and $$$ to make it happen, and have since refocused our efforts to put on shows (including DF!), gauge community interest, and hopefully-maybe apply for some grants in the next year or two. You can read more about BCC here.
Nels, you have had a long and storied career as an nighttime astroturf layer for several major stadiums. How is that going?
Nels: I’m liking it mow and mow as time goes on… I mean, I’m makin’ some real green because I’ve been in the business for such a lawn time. It’s actually the only “side” job that I’ve got at this point… all of the other jobs weren’t cutting it, and I didn’t see the growth potential that astroturf has.
Most fun thing you've done in the past year:
Phil: I've been experimenting with ice baths and hot-cold therapy. There's a great hotspring outside Missoula I always make a point of visiting because you can dip in the icy creek and alternate with the spring. I grew up taking saunas and jumping naked into the snow, so it kinda makes sense. I also got married last summer, that's been a weird kind of fun.
Nels: Oh man… I dressed up in a suit with some of my friends (bow ties) and pretend to play a song at a bar… there was all of this drama, like this girl threw her phone before the first chorus, and then this guy busted a prop bottle over her head. There were fights and explosions… but we just kept on pretending to play. People were running around with X-mas lights on…and slicing fruits with swords…people were eating other people's faces, but you know, we are young.
Most challenging thing you've done in the past year:
Phil: I worked in a law office for the entirety of 2016. That was tough. But I quit in January and decided to pursue art stuff full-time, nannying, walking dogs, and house-sitting as a side-hussle.
Nels: I had to listen to Phil complain about his job at a law office.
Stupidest thing you've done in the past year:
Phil: When I decided to play in a band with this yayhoo! Nyuck-nyuck-nyuck.
Nels: We don’t have that kind of time, Kelly.
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