No Age - ClashMusic.com Q&A

Something happened in LA this year. Something unexpected. The locals rose up, crossed over – the Atlantic, and into the mainstream. HEALTH wowed crowds at European festivals, Abe Vigoda turned punk all shades of tropicalia, and Mika Miko continued their raucous ascent.

But no LA-scene band made an impact quite like No Age. After a brilliantly received compilation release in 2007, ‘Weirdo Rippers’, the duo of Randy Randall and Dean Spunt unleashed ‘Nouns’ via Sub Pop. The album was an instant critical success, earning superb scores on high-profile music websites and great write-ups in the more switched-on magazines. Its scratchy, lo-fi feel and immediate pop sensibilities combined wonderfully: here was a punk band playing accessible songs for the whole family, rocking out raw when the mood takes but never just for the sake of it.

In short: it was well decent. Bearing this in mind, Clash got hold of Spunt for a quick Q&A session…

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2008 has been a thoroughly decent year for No Age, to say the least… Rewinding to January, could you have any idea that ‘Nouns’ would be so well received?
We really had no idea. We knew we made a record that we liked a lot when it was all finished, but never really anticipated the amount of praise that followed. We are very flattered… wow.

You’ve visited the UK a fair few times this year – is there one show that stands out? Do you have a favourite show of the year, a true stand out moment from anywhere in the world?
The last time we played in London, we played this awesome show at the Electric Ballroom, and it was packed. Then after, (London promoters) Upset The Rhythm threw us an afterparty across the street, where maybe 100 people could fit in, and it was bananas! Like a proper sweaty US basement party. It was very inspiring.

You’ve played festivals, too – any that you’ve really enjoyed? Did you get to spend time as punters at any festivals? If so, did you spot any bands that were new to you, who you’d recommend to Clash readers?
I enjoyed playing Primavera Sound in Barcelona, that was great. ATP was incredible. In reality we don’t get a lot of time to actually hang and see things, as we are always running around so much. Some old stuff that was great, though – The Meat Puppets at ATP, Bob Mould at Primavera doing Hüsker Dü songs.

You appeared at the Sub Pop anniversary bash in Seattle… what was that like, being part of musical history?
Yeah, that was so much fun. Green River played, and we hung with Chad Channing! Signing to Sub Pop was great – it’s a label that really sticks to its guns and stuff. We have a lot of respect for them as a label, and as people.

How amazing is it to do this full-time now? You do this full-time now, right…?
Yes, we do this full time now. Also I run a label and Randy runs a small production company, so we are busy all the time.

Any preference between playing live and working in the studio?
I would say we are artists all the way around. Recording is as important as playing live, but they are very different – you have to put on different hats. It really is amazing and we can’t stop now, we have so many ideas to get through!

Touch wood, a handful of other LA bands will follow in your footsteps – HEALTH and Abe Vigoda are two going the right way about things. Any other LA acts to look for?
Well yeah, obviously Mika Miko are amazing. They are really one of the great LA bands. A band called Risidual Echo’s, they fucking shred… Infinite Body is beautiful noise that is so, so good. Jon Weise… LA is great right now.

What plans do you have for 2009, so far?
Sleep! Well, writing new stuff, putting out more records on my label, Post Present Medium, working on non-musical art and things like that. And LIVING IN LA.

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‘Nouns’ is out now via Sub Pop. No Age are on tour in the US – check MySpace for details.