2K Beats

Straight from Craig Finn and Tad Kubler:

Bobby Drake, Drummer: “He’s a real salt of the earth guy. He’s an auto mechanic. On the road he’s real commando style. He doesn’t get out of his clothes. A lot of sleeping in the van. Ready for action. On our last tour, he barely drove, but then on this really scary stretch of the Canadian Rockies, he took over. He’s up for that. That’s him.”

Galen Polivka, Bass: “We call him ‘Top Shelf.’ Affable guy. Bartender by trade. In the band, in some ways, that’s kind of his role. Chat people up. He’s real friendly. Good bass player. You don’t get any drama out of Galen. Real solid.”

Franz Nicolay, Keyboards: “Real musical. He’s got sort of a punk rock thing. Definitely more European than us. But at the same time not politically correct. And he likes baseball.”

Tad Kubler, Guitar: “Out of control. One of my favorite guitar players ever. We call him the Janesville Jammer. [Tad is from Janesville Wisconsin] After the show, the Koob [pronounced Kooooooooooob] can get a little fuzzy. There might be a disappearance.” (The Koob also sends out Bulletins on the band’s Myspace page and answers email. Amongst 41 million other duties.]

"Craig Finn didn’t mention himself. But he’s the singer guy. You know him.“

Boys and Girls in America sounds like five guys playing music together. I’d say the less is more thing is the strength. There were a couple songs where I said, “I’m not gonna play on the first verse of this song.” Some places we ended up taking some guitars out when we were mixing. This seems like it’s probably the most personal record I’ve ever heard Craig write lyrically. I speak as a fan of Craig’s. He and I never discuss his lyrics—I don’t want to because it might take some of the mystique away—I like to listen to him as much as anybody else does. There were a couple of times when we were mixing and mastering, where I was like “Wow. I’ve never heard him say that before!”

One thing I’ve noticed as we grow as a band—this sounds cheesy—but everybody really takes care of each other well. As much as we can bicker and fight—you spend that much time in a van with anybody and tensions run a little high—everybody’s really good at watching out for one another. It’s because we hang out together. If you are at Hi-Fi on a Friday evening, chances are you’re gonna catch all of us in the bar at the same time. It’s hard to tell when hanging out ends and work starts, or vice versa.

The Hold Steady was selected for the MLB 2K8 Soundtrack by Pitchfork Media.

Credit:
"Stuck Between Stations" Performed by The Hold Steady
Courtesy of Vagrant Records
Written by Craig Finn, Franz Nicolay, and Tad Jason Kubler
Published by Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company (ASCAP) / Dimensional Music of 1901 (ASCAP) / Muy Interesante Music (ASCAP) / Key Hits (ASCAP) / Eggshell Armor Music (ASCAP)
Administered by Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.