Ain't Nothing Little About It

With their new release, A Real Good One, The Little Killers are keeping that raw rock and roll spirit alive. There are not many bands that are able to tap the past without getting shit from today’s music critics, but The Little Killers have managed to impress just about everyone. On this second release, Andy Maltz (singer/guitar), Sara Nelson (bass), and Kari Boden (drums) sharpen their teeth a bit and hone their skills, putting forth an album worth some focused attention, so quit multi-tasking for a half hour and give them a listen.

Andy Maltz was kind enough to answer a few questions for us, despite our lack of seriousness. Enjoy reading and then go enjoy their music.

The Crutch: Could you kick The Killers’ asses?
Andy: The Killers? Jeeez, c'mon we can kick Motorhead's ass. I think Sara and Kari could show the Killers a thing or two about applying eye make-up. Honestly I've never heard The Killers. I'm sure they're great.

People have said you sound like this or that band, but what do you think you would sound like, collectively, if you were all drunk at 4am, discussing Nietzsche?
Probably sound like a bunch of fools, drunk at 4am or stone cold sober at noon.

Why the jump from Crypt to Gern Blandsten?
We still love Tim at Crypt but he's busy with other things and we wanted to get an album recorded. Right about the time where were gonna start asking around, Charles from GB called. He's an old friend of mine from waaaaaay back. He asked if we'd be interested in doing something with him. Sara and I met him at a bar and he filled us in on what he had in mind. We all left feeling like it was a great idea. A month later we were in the studio.

And do you know why I can hardly find anything on the Gern Blandsten website about you and A Real Good One?
We didn't really wanna do the whole big "checkoutourwebsitedude" thing, ever. I really don't think band websites are interesting at all. We don't have one except for the page that was on the crypt site and the one that Rupert Murdoch owns. Just listen to the record. Everything you need to know about us is on the record.

Are you old enough to remember the Mister Microphone commercials?
I'm old enough to remember Mr. Microphone's mother and father. They were good people.

Entertainment Weekly gave your debut album an A-. What grade would you give Entertainment Weekly as a publication?
I would give them an A minus minus. The extra minus is for adding a minus to our grade. I hate the idea of grading records. It makes them seem like homework assignments. I thought this was supposed to be about having fun. How can I have any fun if I worry about what grade I'm gonna get? Consequently, I don't really care to much.

Does the sun revolve around New York City or does New York City revolve around the sun?
I was never very good at science, I don't know. The sun revolves around Uranus. Hahahaha...

Instead of me telling everyone what I think you learned or developed in the time between your first and second record, what do YOU think you learned or developed in that time?
I think we learned to trust ourselves. I think that through sheer hard work we became great at what we do.

In relation to your personalities, what cartoon characters would you be, or choose to represent you?
The three robotic stooges.

Did you ever feel uneasiness, having such little experience as musicians or as a band when you recorded your first album? Or was there confidence and belief from the beginning?
Oh no, we were always confident that what were doing was good from the get go.

What’s the last book you read?
I always read about five or six books at a time. The last couple I finished were a history of Turkey, and a Hank Williams biography.

*Thanks, Andy!

The Little Killers - Been So Long (A Real Good One - Gern Blandsten)
The Little Killers - Volume (The Little Killers - Crypt)