BOBBLE TIKI: MORE WITH MR. GNOME >>>

In the most recent issue of the Weekly Volcano, Bobble Tiki interviewed Nicole Barille and Sam Meister, who collectively make up Cleveland’s Mr. Gnome. The two piece rock and roll band will play Le Voyeur in Olympia on Saturday, May 31.

If you’ve never heard of Mr. Gnome, let Bobble Tiki be the first to fill you in: these guys throw down with the best of them. Earlier this year the band released Deliver This Creature, and Bobble Tiki hasn’t been the only lover of rock to take note. Critics far and wide have been lauding Mr. Gnome.

Bobble Tiki also interviewed the Tacoma Gnome in this week’s issue of the WV - it only seemed appropriate. Unfortunately, this means Bobble Tiki only had space for a portion of the interview he did Barille and Meister. Below is the full interview. Check out the Spew tomorrow for the complete transcript of Bobble Tiki’s interview with the Tacoma Gnome.

Bobble Tiki: Let's start by talking about Deliver This Creature. Has it been fulfilling to get a debut full-length out on the street? How has the reaction been so far?

Meister: This album really came out of nowhere for us.  When we threw our stuff into storage last summer and hit the road, we weren't really sure where we were going or what we were trying to accomplish.   We ended up having a few weeks off between tours and got introduced to both Wavelab and Jackpot Studios and decided it was the right time and place to attempt a full-length album.  We jumped in there with a limited budget and very limited time, crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. 
Barille: Yeah, we feel really fortunate to have had the chance to work at WaveLab, Jackpot and Smart Studios (which is where the album was mixed).  We pretty much spent our life savings on this record and it's a culmination of our time on the road last year. The reaction has been overwhelming positive and we're quite flattered by all of the positive press.

BT: What's the writing and recording process like for you guys? Is there a formula or do you guys tend to wing it?

Meister: The writing and recording process are 2 completely different beasts.  Our writing process isn't very formulaic. We seem to write music in all different fashions.  Sometimes Nicole will already have pieces and bring them to me, sometimes we'll get something off of jamming, and sometimes a little song bird sings beautiful melodies into my ear.  Then I kill him...but I don't eat him, Nicole does.
Barille: I didn't want to eat him...we're poor and I was sick of Ramen noodles...

BT: Why does Mr. Gnome work? What are the benefits of a two person band? Any negatives?

Meister:  Mr. Gnome works for us because we're both crazy.  We cry a lot and Nicole cuts herself.
Barille: We're definitely both crazy but who isn't nowadays?  I think the reason we never added any other members to the band was because the writing process came so naturally for us.  We can tell each other what we like and don't like without worrying about hurting each other's feelings.  Sam cries a lot.  I know he says we both do but he's definitely the sensitive one.  I think the only negative of being a two-piece is the fear of repeating ourselves because of limited instrumentation. Our goal is to constantly evolve but that's not something you can force. It’s gotta come naturally.

BT: You're in the midst of a tour. How do you guys travel? Sleeping on floors and long hours in a dirty van, or are you guys more high class than that?

Meister:  I guess we're your standard dirty rock band.  Traveling in a minivan, sleeping wherever we can.  You gotta love it, or it'll eat you alive.
Barille:  Oh man...our van is so gross right now.  It smells like garbage, feet, cigarettes, and poop.  There's nothing high class about our traveling arrangements.

BT: Why Mr. Gnome?

Meister: Acid + picking your future band name = Mr. Gnome.  Garden gnomes on LSD can be very beautiful, provocative creatures.  So playful.  So soft. But don't squeeze them too hard, they can't breathe when you do that.

BT: There's a solid amount of Mr. Gnome buzz at the moment. Do you guys pay attention to any of it?

Meister:  We try not to, but sometimes it's unavoidable.  We are very flattered that people are interested in what we do.  And even more flattered when we connect with people through our music.  But you know, with buzz comes positives and negatives.  You get people who love what you do and people who think it's complete shit.  That's all part of the game. 
Barille: We're just really flattered that people give a shit about our music.  The music scene is so over-saturated right now because of Myspace and the Internet in general so the fact that people actually pay attention to what we do, it means a lot.