How the hell are you guys?
Shaun (S): We are well. For a band that has been sleeping in a minivan we are in top shape! This is what we normally tour in, we've had this for a long time. We are at 222,000 miles! We've had this for a while. As much as it can be a pain trying to tetris everything in at the end of the night but being able to drive this fast and without attracting attention is invaluable.
Mike (M): The cops tend not to stop you either, and gas is cheaper. Most people think we are just some family on vacation!
S: We're pushing the limits on this thing I think. If we had a larger merch load or any extra piece of anything this thing would be out of the question – but how do you let this go?
So obviously you guys are tied into a festival and a magazine – how does that help out the Munsens?
S: Exposure. I'm going to put us on the festival but I won't put us in a spot we don't deserve. I do that with my other band too. I'm not throwing us up as a headliner but I put us where I think we would fall on someone else's festival.
M: You always err on the side of being a bit more humble. I think it's valuable just to have the contacts, even if your band isn't active at the moment you're interacting with the same people and it affords opportunities to keep in touch.
S: That being said that's not why we do it. We do it because it's what we love to do. If I didn't play in a band I would be doing the same thing.
M: I was shooting and doing writing before being in a band, but if you're already spending a ton of time at festivals then it just makes sense.
Shaun you have a business degree, how does that impact what you do with the band?
S: Well I went to school for business but all I give a fuck about is music. It's the little things that go a long way, like how to market your band and how to write an email formally. Those things go a long way when you approach people professionally. For a festival and your own bands that helps quite a bit. I went to school for business, all I give a fuck about is music. I meshed the two and that is how Dust Presents came to be. We do utilize that in our own bands.
M: You also learn to respect peoples time. There's so many people who just want to run you around and this way you realize peoples times is worth something.
How have you felt about the SXSW thus far?
S: It's great. It's hard to give a full opinion since we haven't been downtown. We're at the outside events where it's all people in our crowd, but I can see where people get tired of it. It's our first experience here and we're having an awesome time.
M: I get that it's maybe not what it used to be but from an outside perspective we are fortunate to be even able to complain about that. It's awesome there is something of this magnitude that caters to our type of music. I don't see us being turned off by the chaos. It's unique to have this many musicians regardless of genre in one city.
S: It's an awesome place to meet people even if you are not playing shows.
It's surreal... you were one of 4 festival promoters I met yesterday!
S: It's pretty crazy how the scene is growing. I'm doing it because I love music and want to share that.
M: It would be a much sadder state of affairs if people just complained and things like this didn't exist. Having people here and drinking a beer is so valuable.
Why is stoner rock this unifying thing?
M: I think, at least for me, I remember growing up that if you said you had a 'rock band' it had a butt rock-y connotation. To be able to be a part of something that is rock and roll to its core... people enjoy that. You have bands like 3 Doors Down when you're a kid and that's bullshit. To have something like tis where people are enjoying true rock and roll and getting behind it...
S: Everyone always loves true rock and roll. It's all blues influenced heavy rock and roll.
M: But all the shit you liked would be on the classic rock station, the rock station blasted shitty music. It's a catchy sound and if you're new to heavy music then it's a lot easier to get in to. That has helped a good deal. In a broader sense it's kind of a part of a group of people our age who are for whatever reason, be it discontent, a desire to reach back into the past or whatever... it's easy to be nostalgic about. There's so many cool things about the 70s and it's kind of appealing. You see so many bands playing with that sound and the fact that it's in right now doesn't hurt.
S: The stoner rock thing is getting old already, we have to find a niche within that. We try to stay weird or different or more metally. That being said I don't hate on any bands for doing the generic stoner rock sound because it's fun. It's groovy and bluesy!
M: This isn't a statement on our band or any other band but it's cool right now to like Black Sabbath and do that whole thing and if you were to try and approach a scene that wasn't as accepting it would be different.
S: At the root of it it's cool because it's fucking good music. Sometimes it takes a whole movement for everyone to realize it.
Shaun (S): We are well. For a band that has been sleeping in a minivan we are in top shape! This is what we normally tour in, we've had this for a long time. We are at 222,000 miles! We've had this for a while. As much as it can be a pain trying to tetris everything in at the end of the night but being able to drive this fast and without attracting attention is invaluable.
Mike (M): The cops tend not to stop you either, and gas is cheaper. Most people think we are just some family on vacation!
S: We're pushing the limits on this thing I think. If we had a larger merch load or any extra piece of anything this thing would be out of the question – but how do you let this go?
So obviously you guys are tied into a festival and a magazine – how does that help out the Munsens?
S: Exposure. I'm going to put us on the festival but I won't put us in a spot we don't deserve. I do that with my other band too. I'm not throwing us up as a headliner but I put us where I think we would fall on someone else's festival.
M: You always err on the side of being a bit more humble. I think it's valuable just to have the contacts, even if your band isn't active at the moment you're interacting with the same people and it affords opportunities to keep in touch.
S: That being said that's not why we do it. We do it because it's what we love to do. If I didn't play in a band I would be doing the same thing.
M: I was shooting and doing writing before being in a band, but if you're already spending a ton of time at festivals then it just makes sense.
Shaun you have a business degree, how does that impact what you do with the band?
S: Well I went to school for business but all I give a fuck about is music. It's the little things that go a long way, like how to market your band and how to write an email formally. Those things go a long way when you approach people professionally. For a festival and your own bands that helps quite a bit. I went to school for business, all I give a fuck about is music. I meshed the two and that is how Dust Presents came to be. We do utilize that in our own bands.
M: You also learn to respect peoples time. There's so many people who just want to run you around and this way you realize peoples times is worth something.
How have you felt about the SXSW thus far?
S: It's great. It's hard to give a full opinion since we haven't been downtown. We're at the outside events where it's all people in our crowd, but I can see where people get tired of it. It's our first experience here and we're having an awesome time.
M: I get that it's maybe not what it used to be but from an outside perspective we are fortunate to be even able to complain about that. It's awesome there is something of this magnitude that caters to our type of music. I don't see us being turned off by the chaos. It's unique to have this many musicians regardless of genre in one city.
S: It's an awesome place to meet people even if you are not playing shows.
It's surreal... you were one of 4 festival promoters I met yesterday!
S: It's pretty crazy how the scene is growing. I'm doing it because I love music and want to share that.
M: It would be a much sadder state of affairs if people just complained and things like this didn't exist. Having people here and drinking a beer is so valuable.
Why is stoner rock this unifying thing?
M: I think, at least for me, I remember growing up that if you said you had a 'rock band' it had a butt rock-y connotation. To be able to be a part of something that is rock and roll to its core... people enjoy that. You have bands like 3 Doors Down when you're a kid and that's bullshit. To have something like tis where people are enjoying true rock and roll and getting behind it...
S: Everyone always loves true rock and roll. It's all blues influenced heavy rock and roll.
M: But all the shit you liked would be on the classic rock station, the rock station blasted shitty music. It's a catchy sound and if you're new to heavy music then it's a lot easier to get in to. That has helped a good deal. In a broader sense it's kind of a part of a group of people our age who are for whatever reason, be it discontent, a desire to reach back into the past or whatever... it's easy to be nostalgic about. There's so many cool things about the 70s and it's kind of appealing. You see so many bands playing with that sound and the fact that it's in right now doesn't hurt.
S: The stoner rock thing is getting old already, we have to find a niche within that. We try to stay weird or different or more metally. That being said I don't hate on any bands for doing the generic stoner rock sound because it's fun. It's groovy and bluesy!
M: This isn't a statement on our band or any other band but it's cool right now to like Black Sabbath and do that whole thing and if you were to try and approach a scene that wasn't as accepting it would be different.
S: At the root of it it's cool because it's fucking good music. Sometimes it takes a whole movement for everyone to realize it.