Interviews

Suburban Legends

Interview with Chris on Nov 30, 1999 by Archive Bot

This interview was done November 1, 2001 outside of the Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA. I would like to thank Chris from Suburban Legends for taking the time to talk to me. There aren't a lot of bands playing ska these days and even fewer who are as dedicated to putting on such an entertaining live show (which includes some pyrotechnics). You can catch Suburban Legends on tour with Reel Big Fish if you live on the West coast, to check out the tour dates go to www.suburbanlegends.com. You can also pick up their CD that's out on We the People Records at www.wethepeoplerecords.com.

PB: So, tell the people who you are and what you do.
Chris: I'm Chris Batstone and I'm the lead singer for Suburban Legends.

PB: So, what's it like to be in a ska band now that ska is not as popular as it once was?
Chris: It's kind of tough to take yourself seriously as a band when there is so much outside negativity. Like when you tell people "hey come see my band" and they are like "cool, what kind of music?" and when you tell theM SKA they freak out and tell you they won't come to your show. It's kind of disheartening. But we are very proud of what we do. It's just fun, that's what we do.

PB: You look like you have fun.
Chris: Well, yeah. I am having fun! And so its all about entertainment and we aren't taking ourselves too seriously. It's just like "Yeah we are having fun! and hugs! Hugs! Yay." You can quote me on that, YAY.

PB: How did you hook up with We the People Records? I heard that you were their first band.
Chris: How did we hook up with them? They were working with the band before I joined really.

PB: They had a band without a singer?
Chris: No, they had an old singer. I'm the second singer.

PB: How did your voice influence the band? I'm sure it did, you have a pretty unique voice.
Chris: It's very theatrical.

PB: That's a very good word to describe your voice.
Chris: I grew up doing theater so that's how I sing. And after I joined the ska band I became a big fan of Oingo Boingo and some people say that I'm influenced by Danny Elfman. And I admire Danny Elfman immensely but I was already singing like this before I really got into him. So, we're sort of starting to take the band more in that direction. More of an Oingo Boingo, kind of silly, rockish, ska, mixed with funk. It's going to be great. 

PB: What's with all the outfit changes and what made you guys want to have choreographed dance routines?
Chris: Again, its very theatrical. Being entertaining. Being an entertaining entity. Just giving people a show. Like we're going to put on a show, but we're not just going to play the music. I mean you could play the CD at home. But we are going to give you A SHOW! Free.

PB: Well, its not really free.
Chris: Well, most people just play the music. But we give you a show for free.

PB: So you pay for the music and you give them the show for free.
Chris: yeah.

PB: How do kids react when you play outside of your hometown? Kids who have never seen you before?
Chris: So far we've done one tour and the kids reacted wonderfully and loved it. They would come up to us and be like when are you going to come back?

PB: Do you have more tour plans coming up?
Chris: We are actually going on tour with Reel Big Fish starting November 5th. It's going to start in San Diego and go to Santa Cruz, Petaluma, Washington, Oregon, Tucson. (Go to their website for the dates.)

PB: Aren't some of you still in school?
Chris: Yeah.

PB: So do you balance the band and school?
Chris: Not very well, but we make sacrifices.

PB: Do you think that soon the band will take over and school will have to be put on the backburner?
Chris: Perhaps, we'll see how it goes. 

PB: Is that something you look forward to?
Chris: Well, I'm not in school anymore. But I'm the only one in the band. So I look forward to it, but the rest of the band maybe not. So, we'll see. We still have two guys that are in high school, juniors in high school.

PB: Juniors! And their parents are letting them miss a week of school?
Chris: Three and a half weeks.

PB: How do you guys always get along? Because there are 8 OF you.
Chris: Sometimes it's tough. But every now and then we have what we call bitch sessions and we tell each other how much we hate each other and it gets everything out and then its big hugs afterwards.

PB: How long has the band been around?
Chris: The bands been around almost four years. But I joined a year and a half ago and the current configuration, with everyone that's in it today, a year.

PB: What bands inspire you to play the music you do?
Chris: Reel Big Fish, of course.

PB: So you guys are pretty stoked about the tour then?
Chris: Oh Yeah. But then I also love Oingo Boingo and Prince. I saw Prince in concert and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

PB: What can people expect when they see you live?
Chris: Consistently, a great time.