Pitchfork

Photo by Stefano Giovannini

Having just finished a three-week tour in support of Arctic Monkeys, teenage rampagers Be Your Own Pet will head back to the studio in June to record their second album with Steve McDonald, who also produced their self-titled debut.

BYOP guitarist Jonas Stein spoke to Pitchfork recently about the album, which they hope to release sometime in September. "We have about 15 songs written right now, but we'll probably try to kick out a couple more jams for the hell of it."

As for the title of the record, Stein said, "It might have been [bassist] Nathan [Vasquez]'s idea-- I don't remember-- but I thought it would be kind of funny to call it II."

Stein also said the sound of the record "might be a little more colorful" than the debut, meaning it will have "a little bit more variety. There's some really raunchy stuff, and there's some really poppy stuff. There's definitely going to be songs you get stuck in your head. There's definitely going to be songs you can listen to and go freak out to. Everyone's musical tastes have gotten deeper. I've been into the Kinks. Nathan's been digging on the Misfits a lot lately. We've been listening to some T. Rex, and we really like Animal Collective a lot."

Titles of the songs that may go on the new album include "Bummer Time" ("it's got some gang vocals in it"), "The Kelly Affair", "Blow Your Mind", "Becky", "Free the Beast", "Zombie Beach Party", "Food Fight", and "Twisted Nerve". Stein said most of the titles have come from singer Jemina Pearl because she has written most of the lyrics herself. "Being a singer, it's easier to sing what she wants to sing or what she feels rather than getting handed someone else's lyrics."

While touring with Arctic Monkeys, Stein noticed a difference in the way the two bands write. "Arctic Monkeys [take] really long sound checks, and they'll work on songs at the end of their sound checks. We don't really have the luxury of doing that yet. For us, we have to be plugged into amps and have loud noise going on for it to work. We can't just do it really quietly. In the beginning, as far where a riff comes from, that can be anything: acoustic guitar, whatever. But when it comes down to all four of us being in a room, getting a song finished, we need a vacation. [For] most of our writing, we have to cut out time and work on it at home."

Stein's other band, Turbo Fruits (with BYOP drummer John Eatherly and a bassist named Turbo Max), will release their own self-titled debut on July 17 via Ecstatic Peace! (UK residents will get the album on Ark Recordings.) Stein said the Turbo Fruits album differs from Be Your Own Pet in that it's "not quite as spastic, maybe a little bit more classic rock oriented, maybe has a little more of a Southern vibe going on. [It's] still rowdy, but some of the songs are definitely more chilled out than some of the Be Your Own Pet songs."

Stein also sounded off on a few other topics, including partying with the Arctics, meeting Thurston Moore and Sonic Youth, and being such a young touring band.

Pitchfork: Are there any particularly memorable moments of your tour with Arctic Monkeys?

Jonas Stein: We went to a strip club in Minneapolis for the drummer of Arctic Monkeys' 21st birthday. We went to Déjà Vu. There's one in Nashville too, but this was the first one I went to. It was fun. I probably don't need to go again, but I had a good time. It was a little weird and creepy, but that's what I expected, to feel kind of sleazy sitting in that place, to have a bunch of girls dance around on the stage. It was just kind of what I expected.

Pitchfork: Was it a challenge to fit your set into a support slot, or was it pretty easy since a lot of the songs are pretty short to begin with?

JS: One thing about it is you don't have as much room to be upset at the crowd if they're not into you, because you're the support act for this band. If you get a crowd, that's awesome, but if not, it's no big deal because you're just the support act. But if it's one of our own shows and we get a bad audience, shit's going to go down between the band and audience, because that's how our chemistry is as a band.

Pitchfork: What kind of shit goes down in that scenario?

JS: The crowd may get yelled at, or, not yelled at, but they might get kind of scoured at a little bit. Usually it's good, but sometimes on a bad night shit just doesn't go well at all. Not me personally, but some people try to get off the stage as quickly as possible.

Pitchfork: With Thurston Moore as the head of your label, I'm curious to know if any of you were big Sonic Youth fans before meeting him.

JS: Yeah, mostly Nathan. He was a big Sonic Youth fan, but I hadn't fully checked them out. Sometimes when you listen to a band, it doesn't really click right away, but now I totally feel it and I'm totally into it, mostly after seeing them live and listening to some of their records I hadn't heard.

Pitchfork: Was it strange meeting them for the first time?

JS: I think it was more shocking for Nathan, because he had been a huge fan since he was really young. For me, it was fun rolling around. I got to go record shopping with them, and then we went and picked up Nathan and didn't tell him that Thurston was going to be with us. I think he had a Sonic Youth record playing when we got to his house. He had to run inside and turn it off before Thurston came in.

Pitchfork: Was it weird to become a national touring act so quickly out of-- or during-- high school?

JS: Yeah, it was weird. It's also good though, because I didn't know what I wanted to do. So it just kind of fell in place. It can still be overwhelming. At first it was like, "Oh shit, I'm really doing this. I'm in this rock n roll hole. I don't have any other options." Fortunately, it's a fucking really fun job to have. I wouldn't even really call it a job. It's a weird career, but it's really fun. And it's unlike anything else.

Pitchfork: Do you get worried at all? Like, "Oh man, what if people don't like this album or this tour doesn't go well? It could all be over."

JS: I used to, [but] I've already gone through the best and the worst. That's what I think so far, but that can all change. I've definitely been down in the slums before and didn't think it was going to get any better, but then a week later on tour you have a good night and things really change for you. That's the thing I noticed about touring. Unlike a day job, [which] is always just kind of mediocre-- you go, you get paid, whatever-- this is like you can have some of the best times of your life and some of the shittiest times of your life. There's not too much in between.