Psychostick: pure concentrated humorcore

Psychostick is a band from Phoenix. Singer Rawrb discusses what is essential to the band's music, the recent tour with Nashville Pussy, and with whom he would like to write and record a song.

Complete the sentence. Psychostick is...

Pure concentrated Humorcore.

What is essential to every Psychostick song? What about every Psychostick show?

The Psychostick song formula goes like this: Song idea + laughter + more ideas + procrastination = GOLD. Well, maybe aluminum. Something like that. As for our shows, we strive to keep things flowing with intensity and humor. This sort of combination I find rare in live shows, and while we're not exactly pioneers in this regard, we hope to bring it up to the next level.

Describe your experience touring with Nashville Pussy.

Our touring experiences with Nashville Pussy was enlightening. We made great buddies with their sound guy Mark. Matter of fact, we even hit up a Barcade for drunken video game adventures.

If you could write and perform a song with one artist, who would you choose? Why?

I'd like to write and record something with Weird Al. There's a ton of great metal artists that I'd like to work with, but I've been listening to Weird Al for a long time and he's such an inspirational guy. Maybe someday!

Is the song "Girl Directions" inspired by a true story?

It's based on a plethora of true stories. I first ask for an address. Then they'll usually start giving directions before I get an address. Afterwards I'll ask, "Can I have the address just in case I screw up your directions?" Works every time.

What would you be doing if you weren't making music?

I'd either be building websites or designing video games. I'm probably going to strive for video game design once we decide touring makes us want to vomit all over our feet.

The Saddle Tramps: Kings of Mobile Home Rock

The Saddle Tramps is a five-piece band from Sparks, Nevada, that plays "mobile home rock." Scotty discusses the band's style, the differences between touring the US and touring Europe, and with whom the band would like to share a bill.

Complete the sentence. The Saddle Tramps are...

The Undisputed Kings of Mobile Home Rock

Describe a typical Saddle Tramps song for someone who has never heard the band.

We play corn-fed rock and roll. Some call it cowpunk, whatever you want to call it is fine with us just don't call us for dinner.

You recently returned from a European tour. Tell us about that trip. How does touring in Europe differ from touring in the States?

We did extremely well over there. We're going back for a bit longer stay this August-September. We'll be doing some festivals and some club dates as well. Europeans are still extremely supportive of live music. They're not jaded yet like Americans are. They'll go see a band they don't know just because they think it may be cool. The days of people doing that in America are unfortunately gone. We're too busy Twittering to interact directly with humans anymore.

If you are putting together a bill with just one other artist, who would you choose? Why?

We just played with Civet and they were great. We'll be doing more dates with them hopefully this year. We'd would love to tour with Nashville Pussy and/or Tom Jones. That guy gets more ass I swear.

What would you be doing if you weren't making music?

Leading a coalition to bring back Blue Chip Stamps...duh?!

[Author's note: I haven't heard a Saddle Tramps song that I dislike, but allow me to recommend "What Would Jesus Drink?" "Mexican Hot Rod," and "How Can I Say I Love You (with a Shotgun in My Mouth?"]