please introduce yourself/yourselves...

my name is patrick.. i play guitar and sing a bit. there's also robb who sings a lot and plays guitar, justin on the bass, and matthew rocks the drums and percussion.

so how did the band get started?

our dads played softball together. we all had a love of rock music.

where does the name 'limbeck' come from?

1978 world series. milwaukee brewers vs. the montreal expos. game 3 of the series, Don LIMBECK of the Brewers hits 5 homeruns to help win the game. afterwards he hops on a plane to head to Las Vegas to celebrate and he dies in a plane crash. our band helps his legacy move on... in a completely unrelated field. they do play music at baseball games though, right?

how would you describe limbeck to someone who hasn't heard your music?

roots-rock. alt-country. with some damn good hooks. fun. good times. all of that.

your new album takes the band in a new, almost alt-country direction, was this a concious decision or did it just happen?

it just kinda happened. we all started listening to stuff like Bob Dylan, the Old 97's, Wilco, Big Star, Superdrag, Tom Petty... and it came out in our music quite a bit. we're very happy where we're at musically. it's a very comfortable place. for us. i know country music makes some people uncomfortable.. but we're really not THAT country. just some hot guitar stuff, good lyrics, and a good rhythm section. we like it. consciously.

are you happy with how the new record turned out? is there anything you ould change if you could?

we're are incredibly happy with how the record turned out. Ed Rose, our producer, was very helpful in gettin us where we wanted to be... gettin the right guitar tones, drum sounds, etc. he's amazing. the only thing i would change, is if we could've had some more time with percussion. we cut that time pretty short. other than that, 100% happy.

so what can we expect from the next limbeck release?

lotsa hot jams. an evolution from the HI EVERYTHING'S GREAT record. we've got a lot of stuff planned... some johnny cash - type country songs.. some replacements-y rock songs... gosh, it's hard to say. it's gonna be fun. we're really excited to make a new record. but we still need to tour more. OH! in the meantime, we're doing a split 7" with Motion City Soundtrack, where each of us cover eachothers songs. one each actually. the recording is all done. we had a blast doing it. we did a version of their "perfect teeth", and they did "the sun woke the whole state".

who are your main influences musically?

too many to name really... but a few... tom petty, bob dylan, the old 97's, ryan adams, wilco, big star, replacements, jon cougar mellencamp, gram parsons, the byrds, johnny cash... etc. etc. etc.

what is your favourite limbeck song, and why?

i really dig "honk & wave". it just came out way over my expectations before we recorded it. and i got to play this really nice old Rickenbacker 12 string electric guitar on it... which was awesome. it's a fun song. i think it came across that way.

what are the main themes of your lyrics?

a lot of the HI EVERYTHING'S GREAT lyrics are based on nostalgic days, places, and people on tours, or just in our lives. we have a few songs that are tributes to friends of ours. we love to travel, we love to meet people, we love to see new places and take them in. i think that comes across in the lyrics. specifically in a line from "silver things"... 'little things, they tend to mean a lot to me..."

whats good about being in limbeck?

everything. playing music with my friends, meeting amazing people, being on tour, recording, seein the world, making friends. everything.

whats bad about being in limbeck?

missing my girlfriend.

what do you think you'd be doing if you weren't in the band?

seriously, not even possible to think about it. but, i might be working at disneyland.

what are your live shows like? why should people come see a limbeck show?

a good time. we like our shows to be pretty open between the audience and us on stage. we like to talk to people. there's no real separation between the stage and the people. lotsa hand-clapping, we like that, during songs. people should come out cuz it's a gooooood rock show. not some crazy big production. just a damn good time.

how was the all-american rejects / motion city soundtrack tour?

AMAZING. we've been lucky enough to tour with both bands in the US, but never all three of us at the same time. and in europe. it was just unreal. they're some of our best friends ever, so it was crazy/weird/amazing to be playin rock shows, hangin out, being tourists, all of that, in a place completely different. too good. it was tooo good.

who would you most like to tour/play with (past or present)?

wilco, old 97's, bob dylan, big star.... the format, lucero....

do you have any interesting tour/show stories?

in portsmouth, we played at the Pyramids... it's like a big convention center room with a nice thick carpeted floor. so a bunch of us took our shoes off, made a ball out of tape and had this HUGE baseball game right on the floor of the venue. we almost broke some stuff on the bar a few times.. and Andy (of the rejects camp) broke some of the ceiling. we played around 7 innings. it was the best time ever.

favourite records at the moment?

kathleen edwards - "Failer" , the Format - "interventions & lullabies" , Motion City Soundtrack-"i am the movie", the Thrills- "so much for the city"...

favourite record to seduce the ladies?

that Thrills record is pretty hot. right?

an album you couldnt live without?

the old 97's- "too far to care" . i love the state of Texas, and this record reminds me of my favorite places there. plus, this band is amazing.

anything to add?

please come out and say hi, or email us! we love meeting new people, hangin out, runnin around. and thanks matt, for the interview!!!

thanks goes out to patrick and limbeck.

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