BAG OF TOYS INTERVIEW
(L to R: Robert Tait, Steve Cowgill, Joe Schewe & Robert Stadler)
San Francisco's Bag of Toys is about to enter the studio to record the follow-up to its immensely popular debut album Nooner. The band took a quick break from crafting its perfect acoustic summertime music to answer some probing Pier questions.
The Pier: So tell us about being in Bag of Toys. Is it a full-time commitment for you guys?
Bag of Toys: No, not yet. That's definitely the goal, but right now we all have full time jobs. We also only have one album out with just over 3 years under our belt. But our hopes are that with the release of our second album and some regional touring in 2008 we can take it full time from there. We really want to hit the east coast and we still owe the northwest some love.
The Pier: How did that huge Summerfest Show at Slims (San Francisco) go back at the end of July?
Bag of Toys: It was off the hook. By far our best show all things considered. We worked with an outside promoter who helped us with stage production and promotion. We handed out leis and CD samplers with songs from each band to the first 100 people. The opening bands rocked and we played ok ourselves, debuting three new tunes that you'll hear on the next album. The biggest thing for us was to see four months of very hard work payoff with over 400 happy smiling faces in the crowd. A great success for the Bag.
The Pier: That’s cool. You have had the pleasure of opening for some pretty cool bands like Fishbone and The Expendables. Were they really good experiences?
Bag of Toys: Absolutely. It's always a huge thrill to share a stage with other bands that we all listen to and admire because we get to meet them and hang out a little, not to mention catch their show.
The Pier: So who would you like to play with given the chance?
Bag of Toys: I would love to play with Bedouin Soundclash. Those guys are so talented and write great tunes. The Beautiful Girls also come to mind or ALO, Bob Schneider, Mike Doughty and G Love. There are a bunch.
The Pier: I understand you have received a great response to your debut album, Nooner. Must be pretty happy with how it has done?
Bag of Toys: Extremely happy. We knew when we were writing and recording the album that we were putting together a CD that had some potential to reach an audience because the music was fairly accessible, but we never thought that it would get the type of response that it has.
Being together for about 6 months at the time we started recording, we were pretty much diving in with the mindset of "yeah, these tunes are pretty cool, we should record them" and that's about it. We would have been happy to make it for ourselves, had fun with it, and leave it at that. We didn't go into it planning to actually sell more than a small handful considering we wrote, recorded, and produced the entire CD ourselves in Tait's apartment. But the word-of-mouth growth from Nooner has been so surprising and that it helped us realize what potential we have for the future.
The Pier: Your song Share was featured on the Microsoft Zune MP3 player commercial. How did that come about?
Bag of Toys: Oddly enough, an advertising agency working for Microsoft found the song on iTunes. Apparently they were looking for a song which helped convey the idea of sharing music. They stumbled upon the song and it fit perfectly. We were very fortunate.
The Pier: You are about to go into the studio to record your sophomore album soon. Must be excited?
Bag of Toys: We are extremely excited. We've been spending the last few weeks determining the ultimate arrangements for the songs that will be going onto the album and they are sounding great so far. Writing and playing are always fun and it makes all the boring but necessary business aspects of being in a band, like booking shows or lugging equipment, completely worth it.
The Pier: What can you tell us about the songs you have written for it? Any that you are really eager to lay down in the studio?
Bag of Toys: Nooner, our first album, was largely comprised of songs that Tait had written over the years. The rest of us basically stepped in and added our parts and shifted a few things here or there. For this next album, while Tait is still the primary songwriter, it's much more of a collaboration. Steve Cowgill, the lead guitarist, has contributed to the new album quite a bit with some new songs. We're even letting him sing one.
A few of the songs we had written around the time Nooner was released so they have been hanging around a while. Many of them have been floating around as ideas for the last year or so but have just recently come together as a complete song. All in all, the new album will have that acoustic surf rock sound that is on Nooner, but there are a few new touches of some Latin rhythms, straight rock, and funk because of the increased group effort this time around.
The Pier: Any other details you can share about the upcoming recording session?
Bag of Toys: We're recording with engineer/producer Andy Zenczak down at Gadgetbox Studios in Santa Cruz in November and December. We're looking forward to it. Andy is great to work with and we know, no matter what we do as a band, he will make sure the new album sounds as good as can be. We hope to have something out early next year when all is said and done.
The Pier: So is anyone in the band a keen surfer? What's your favorite beach to surf and where would you like to go and check out where you haven't been before?
Bag of Toys: That'd probably be me (Tait). I'm a fairly avid surfer and I try to get out whenever I have a chance, but the more gigs we play and the busier we get, the smaller my windows get to get out there and get wet. I tend to surf Ocean Beach (in San Francisco) and Pacifica the most, but I've surfed all over the area from Santa Cruz up the coast to SF. Ocean Beach can be incredible and offer up crazy long rides, but it can also offer up the absolute beating of your life.
I haven't surfed anywhere in California where the waves seemed to pack nearly that kind of power. I'd like to surf just about anywhere, especially where I can escape having to wear a wetsuit year round like you have to up in San Francisco. I look forward to hitting the road as a band more (especially to coastal places) so I can get out there and hopefully catch a few rides between shows, so I'm open to surfing anywhere new... just as long as the asshole factor is low at that particular break.
Haha yeah, sweet. Thanks to Bag of Toys for dropping by. To find out more about the band check out: