 "Photo: Courtesy Photo")
Gnarlemagne is:
Alex Brenneman - Trumpet, UNH Senior Mike Kulik - Trumpet Matt Francoeur - Saxophone, UNH Senior Ian Katz - Trombone, First-Year UNH Grad Student Alex Koffler - Bass, UNH Senior Jed Allen - Drums, UNH Senior Stu Dias - Guitar/Vocals, UNH Junior
TNH: Firstly, how do you pronounce your band's name, and can you explain it?
Stu: Nar-le-main, after the first Roman Emperor -- sometimes pronounced nag-la-mar. * Note: Editors in our News section suggest the name actually plays off of "Charlamagne," founder and ruler of the Frankish Kingdom (presently France), and son of Pepin the Short.
TNH: How and when did Gnarlemagne get started?
Stu: I'd say it started sort of as a Blues project about two-and-a-half years ago. Me and Jed were in a Blues class together, and we were talking about starting a band. He actually didn't think he could play drums - he thought he was going to play guitar - and we just sort of jammed one day in the dorms. [Long story follows concerning other six members. Basically, they jammed one day, then the next, and the next].
TNH: What do you guys hope listeners will get out of your live sets?
Stu: Fun.
Matt: Dancing. Funkadelic orgasm.
Stu: Definitely fun and dancing . . . we try to make sure that people are having as much fun as we're having.
TNH: How often do you guys play to an audience, and do you play more house shows than sets at clubs? Stu: about once a week. Now that we live here [the Gnarl House], we'll be playing a lot more shows here.
TNH: Why did you want me to see your house show on Friday, rather than your show at Mojitos the night before? Stu: Our thing is crowd feedback, like if the crowd is good, man, then we can really rock it, you know? And at a party it's very, very easy to get into the crowd . . . at the bar, it's more of a setup job, like there's a lot of things to watch out for. Down here, if we need to fix something, we have all the tools that we need very, very close.
TNH: Sound guys, notoriously, are just going to f*** you up. Gnarl: Ha, ha - YEAH.
TNH: [Ignoring the list on your band's Myspace page], who would you say are your biggest musical influences, and do your covers reflect that list?
Stu: Well, I think the way it works is that each of us has our own set of musical influences, and we just bring it together and see what happens. I'm really into old soul, hip-hop and jazz, and that's what I bring into the mix, and all these guys listen to way different stuff, and they bring what they got - and that's what makes our sound.
TNH: Ever since last year's guerilla-ad-campaign-turned-bomb-scare in Boston, the topic of hairstyles has literally dominated public discourse. Who's got the best hair in the band?
Gnarl: Ian doesn't. Ian: I remember we were at one show - we were in the audience - and someone actually asked Stu what shampoo he uses because his hair is so shiny.
Alex K: The other day in my Psych class, some girl I've never seen before in my life was like, "I love you guys!," and I was like, "I'm just one person," and then she [said], "not to make you uncomfortable, but, like, three of my friends are like, totally hot for your hair."
TNH: Stu, why did you think it was cool of you to request a beer from my photographer mid-set? Stu: I've talked to these guys about it - my throat was really, really dry, so I asked him for a sip of his [beer], and he, being a really nice guy, whipped out a whole beer. And by the time he handed it to me I had to sing anyway, so I had to wait for the end of the next verse to take a sip. Tell him I say thanks.
TNH: Somebody make an excursive speech about the importance of music for the health of the human soul. Matt: I think that without this band, I would definitely not know Allex Koffler, Jed, probably Mike Kulik, definitely not Alex [B.] - I definitely wouldn't know any of these guys half as well as I do . . . we've hit our rough patches, and we work it all out because we're committed to the music, to the fun, to the high positive energy.
Matt: I think that I have improved as a saxophonist more in the past two and a half years of playing with these guys than, f***ing, I have in the past 11 years [of playing]. It's not about reading the music and playing the notes - it's about soul." Stu: This doesn't even feel like a band to me - it feels like an outlet. If I didn't have this band, I would just be in so much worse shape. You got all this anger and energy that you gotta get out of yourself, and I'd way rather get it out through the band than [through] anything else.
TNH: There isn't a single female in your seven-piece band. Honestly, how sexist is that? Jed: We hear it from my girlfriend all the time. Stu: There's been no female interest in joining the band. Actually, we were talking about playing "Son of a Preacher Man," and we would need a female singer for that. TNH: I can do falsetto. Ian: But you have a [male part]. TNH: But I can tuck.
TNH: Has Gnarlemagne officially endorsed a Presidential candidate? (Referring to very vocal user with the handle, "Gnarlemagne" on Ron Paul's campaign site). Anonymous Whisperer: RON PAUL! Alex K: Could we do Gravel? Because he's really funny. He makes me laugh. Stu: James Brown for President.
TNH: Any closing thoughts to impart to readers? Ian: Mass suicide - you and me. Stu: We're available as a band, and as seven personal escorts. TNH: That's really all I was going for.
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