Pittsburgh's 5th-wave emo outfit Short Fictions are about embark on a tour in support of Their / They're / There and have just released “Wasting, a brand new single from Lauren Records. They will also be performing at this year's edition of Camp Punksvylvania. To celebrate both of these huge steps forward in growing the band, Short Fictions rolled the dice and joined TGEFM in our latest interview series.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congrats on the upcoming single “Wasting.” What can you tell us about Short Fictions and your sound for readers just discovering the band?
We kinda sound like if Bruce Springsteen was an emo band from Pittsburgh. Lots of songs about the struggle and charm of the working class. Fat riffs and hooks but sweet piano and glockenspiel parts as well. We have a real DIY ethos and none of us are particularly talented (except Nick). We have a lot of heart.
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the Catalyst?
I think the first band that made me think that I could write and record my own songs was Operation Ivy. Not a band that we sound like whatsoever but I remember hearing that album and being like, “wow this sounds horrible but the songs are really catchy.” I also need to thank the band Perfect Future which is a less known Count Your Lucky Stars band that had shows in their house around the time that I was in highschool. Never once considered up to that point that you could have a show outside of a real, professionally licensed venue, and that absolutely rewired my brain chemistry, as it were. Got to see a lot of bands that went on to become household names on their very earliest tours that way. I don't think that at the time I believed that I could ever ascend to DIY stardom like that (I would say that stardom still very much eludes) but at least I knew it was possible.
We've all got a few, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn't take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?
I would say at this point in my life I have more regrets than things that I felt worked out well. But imagine how boring life would be if everything always went exactly as you planned. Firstly I regret not better learning how to record music before we recorded our first three releases haha. Or perhaps I regret not recording them in a professional setting. Usually, and especially at that time, we didn't really have money to get things recorded in a studio anyway, so I can't kick myself too hard for that but I should have at least asked for more help. I think that's applicable to life a lot of times too: if you want something done right you have to do it together.
I also deeply regret attempting to buy a van instead of just renting one. We've probably put a total of like, $20,000 into vans and van repair (that we're still very much in debt for) and they never lasted us more than a few months at a time.
I also regret any instance where devoting time to being in a band ever took precedence over relationships in my personal life. That's a can of worms that I probably don't want to expand on but if you know you know.
“Wasting” has a much bigger sound than your previous work. What brought about that progression and do you expect the band to continue in this more polished direction or to alternate with the Midwestern Emo roots you'd shown on “Every Moment of Every Day”?
Yeah I think this is about as polished and big as any album can sound. In this case a lot of it has to do with us lucking out on getting a really good engineer and mastering artist this time around. Don't get me wrong I think the last album sounds incredible but the guy that mastered the new single works in like, a $1,000,000+ sound studio; he literally mastered the soundtrack to the Bob's Burgers movie. That's the absolute top of the line for all intents and purposes haha. Additionally, like you said, the last album had more of an emo, jangly feel whereas this one is a little more pop oriented and I think that that gonna make an album feel a lot smoother regardless of how it's recorded.
You are making your way out on tour this month with Their / They're /There, which of your songs are you most excited to bring to audiences? What can the US fans expect from a Short Fictions show? What's the state of the live scene in light of the last few years?
I'm usually most excited to play any of the songs that are really technical or heavy. Anything with a breakdown or a blastbeat is fun. The new song should be out by then too so we're planning on playing that. We never play unreleased songs on account of no one will know them and it feels less engaging so, it's nice to have something new in the set for the first time in a while.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?
I think more people should listen to Glen Cambell. You can usually find his albums at Goodwill.
Now that the world has its hands on “Wasting”, what's next for Short Fictions?
I never know what all I'm allowed to reveal haha but suffice it to say there will always be more music eventually.
What do you wish I asked about or that you had more of an opportunity to speak about during this interview?
Stream our records, buy our merch, tell your friends about us. Call your mom if you have a good relationship with your mom. You can pretty much always be drinking more water, it's ok to steal from major corporations, always wear sunscreen, the universe conspires for your happiness.
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed's musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he's self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
