The scene was swarthy and one of musical mischief at The Pirate's Cove recently, as one should expect from that venerable swash-buckling institution of Indie, when Cleveland's The Confidence Interval took to the stage in support of Chicago's The Cougars as they wound down their tour and prepared to head home after a month on the road. The Cougars put on an awesome show--imagine the post-rock of Andrew W.K. fused with the horn section of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, led by a younger and funnier Jon Spencer (Just J.S., not the Blues Explosion), all eight members crammed onto The Pirate's Cove stage and dressed like a pitstop crew at the Indy 500, ready to change the oil of every female in the place. The Confidence Interval's short set prepped everyone by sonically removing any ear wax that may have accumulated over the summer. I walked into the bar as the quartet was adjusting the atmosphere by scraping it clean with the Sonic Youth/Pixies etc. flavored rock of Rotor from their upcoming debut. Some nice bits of distortion and a pale wash of feedback and cacophony from drummer Art Koch, bassist Billy Kotchkoski, and guitarist Chris Purcell enabled singer Mike Koch to kneel down into the mic, much like he was managing a small tsunami on stage. This was no shipwreck, of course, but intentional and good stereophonic theatrics from the two-year old outfit; these lads are pretty much seasoned pros in the Cleveland scene, having collectively played in bands like Chump, Shotgun, Curmudgeon, and The Milk & Honey, while present and accounted for not only in T.C.I. but also in Electric Wings and The Atomic Crash. A rising crescendo of sound, that sweet ringing in your ears like a golden hoop from days of yore, and the band crashed in on itself like an ocean wave finished scarring the shore. Cool Cleveland correspondent Daiv Whaley spoke with them about their take on the Cleveland music scene.
Cool Cleveland: The Confidence Interval is a rather unusual moniker for a band. Any significance to the name?
Mike Koch: Billy's stat teacher at CWRU thought it would be a cool name for a band because it's a stats term. Then it just grew on us, and I found this explanation: The term confidence interval is defined in statistical texts as an interval from sample data, calculated in such a way that there is a prescribed probability - usually 90 or 95 percent - that the interval will contain the population value. The interval can be expressed as 500 ±50 or as 450 - 550. For instance, in political polling, usually the margin of error reported is for a 95-percent confidence interval. Often, the pollsters give one margin of error for the poll, rather than a margin of error calculated specifically for each estimate. For a typical poll, a candidate favored by 50 percent of the sample polled might have a margin of error of ±3 and a 95-percent confidence interval of 50 ±3 or 47 - 53 percent.
How long has the band been together, and are you playing out much?
MK: As of this month, we've been together 2 years. At this time we don't have any shows lined up, we're hoping to get on WRUW's Studio-A-Rama all day music festival. You can check the web site for all previous shows.
You were in Chump with the oft-sited Miss Melvis. Is Confidence Interval the next “logical” progression for you musically in terms of your development? How does the new band differ from Chump?
Yes, I do feel it is the next logical progression for myself. TCI is more pop, less "heavy" then Chump was. Although I do feel that TCI has that same sense of adventure that Chump had...we're not afraid to take a chance.
I really like the vocal treatments on the recorded material I’ve heard so far. I hear some X and some Steve Miller (of all things!) and a bunch of cool NYC bands from the punk days. Is that all you on vocals? Are you double or triple tracking your voice, or are the other band members chiming in?
I could hear the X reference, but Steve Miller!! That's cool; Billy and Chris sing a lot of back-up on the recording and live. I try to get everyone in on the chorus. I do double up vocals on the recordings a lot (even in Chump), I'm trying to get away from that. On the new recording they limited me to 3 vocal tracks and that includes back-up vocals! I think it worked out because we still have to mix, and it's what I needed. Keep it simple. Simplify.
Your set before The Cougars was pretty sonic, but I gotta give those Chicagoans props for their stage presence and antics. They seemed to own the place by the time they were done. The Confidence Interval sounds a lot more complex and smart in terms of your song constructions. I’m curious as to your perception of your band in terms of being a studio group or a predominantly live band?
We enjoy both recording and performing live, but we live to play live...love it! Love to rock out on stage. It's awesome when everyone is 100% on and you have no tech problems. Then there are times when you're struggling with the sound on stage, like volume and monitors, strings break, equipment problems, or colds. Things happen, and you make the best of it; that's Rock-N-Roll.
Speaking of the studio, you guys are in the process of recording presently, right? Are you at work on an EP or a full-length, or what?
We are currently working on putting out our first full length. It's taking longer then we thought, but we're hoping the wait will be worth it.
It’s got to be fairly time-consuming, trying to capture “your sound” to satisfaction. Like any artist, I imagine there are some days when you’re really satisfied with what you’ve recorded, and other days when it just doesn’t seem to coalesce?
The stars seem to be aligning with this recording, maybe it's because we've been playing with our current drummer, who is my brother, for a solid year now. Also, Billy, Chris, and myself have been playing most of the songs for almost 2 years. We are recording with Adam Biagianti who is a student through a joint recording program between CWRU and CIM. Adam is doing a great job of capturing the sounds we're looking for..
Does The Confidence Interval endorse any specific recording studio in the Cleveland area, or do you record elsewhere?
We're basically a DIY [do it yourself] type band. Most of the previous TCI recordings were recorded by Chris on his 8 track; Chris once recorded us at Lakeland Community College where he was taking a recording class. Right now he is going to Akron University for audio/media.
Your song, Coffee, Phlegm & Cigarettes has a really interesting cadence to it, and those keyboards are great. The way the vocals kind of roll along, and then you’ll hit those higher parts...I’m wondering which bands influence you guys musically?
X, Sonic Youth, Rocket From The Tombs, Pere Ubu, Nirvana, Pixies, Guided By Voices....
Bet the Farm is fantastic! It has a surprising extended jam at the end that's pretty delicious; all that sonic threnody and guitar exploration. Can we expect to hear more of that kind of experimental virtuosity from you guys, and are you headed towards becoming a Sonic Youth jam band?
No full time jam band! We try to keep the songs short and sweet, but sometimes songs take on a life of their own. I'm more for the short pop songs. Billy will get more "adventurous" with songs, on Bet the Farm, Chris wrote the music for the verse/chorus and Billy came up with the extended jam ending. We get a lot of compliments on that song.
As a “seasoned” performer in Cleveland, I’m wondering what your opinion is on the music scene here? Vital? Active? Hackneyed? Is there cross-pollination going on between bands and an open atmosphere or is everyone kind of their own little island trying to make it their way?
Cleveland has been a great place for me to write/perform original music. Cleveland has always been a place for innovative music. I like to think that Cleveland sets the trend and all these other cities cash in on it! Cleveland has a ton of hard working bands. Lately it seems I'm hearing more and more Cleveland/Akron bands getting signed to independent labels and hitting the road. As far as TCI goes, I don't know where we fit in; at this very moment I don't feel part of any scene/clique. Maybe that will change when our CD comes out.
What do you think it would take to make Cleveland a bona fide “scene” at this point? Do we even have what it takes to become an Athens, Seattle or Milwaukee?
If you could get a couple of Cleveland bands from the same "scene" to sell a couple million records, you might have that. We could be the next Detroit, or Seattle. Sure, why not Cleveland?
Do you think those other “scenes” I mentioned are even legitimate? I mean, how much of that apparent syncretistic activity that escalates a bunch of bands in to the national limelight comes from the bands, and how much is generated by media hype? We’ve all heard stories of labels and journalists looking for the ‘next big thing in rock,’ and maybe trying to tweak or spin a particular area so that it become LEGIT.
Those scenes are legit, they paint a picture in my head of sounds/landscapes. If you get that right combination of bands/fans/media.....BOOM!! There it is!
Are there some other bands in Cleveland that you really like to check out and watch, bands that maybe inspire you to keep working on your craft as well?
Cobra Verde, Machine Go Boom, Red Giant, The Flat Can Co., Sounder, Kiddo, The Atomic Crash.
Do you feel there are enough venues for rock bands these days? Maybe too many?
There are plenty of places to play in Cleveland, no complaints here! Lots of variety.
Have you released any recordings that the public can purchase, and where can they be purchased?
Right now you can download some MP3s from our website free of charge. Our CD should be out in a couple of months.
Does The Confidence Interval have a website where people can check out your activities?
Yes, everyone can surf to http://www.theconfidenceinterval.com
Lastly, if you guys had an opportunity to travel with a band you really respect and appreciate, obscure or renowned, and open for them, who would that band be? Who should be opening for YOU?
I would love to open for the Pixies or X. And I think the newly formed Guns-N-Roses should be opening for us!!
Anything else you would like to say to the Cool Cleveland audience?
Just stay cool...
Interview by Daiv Whaley
Image from The Confidence Interval
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