Launched in 2019, and with a hiatus in 2021, Chicago’s T1 Fest returns for their fourth event this weekend (tix and info HERE). The festival aims to raise awareness and funds for Type-1 Diabetes research, features a great line up of acts. Performing on Saturday night is Capgun Heroes, which features Joe Costanzo who is also the fest co-founder. TGEFM caught up with Joe for a round of Roll of the Dice. We rolled a SEVEN.
1) So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how pumped are you for T1 Fest 2023?
That’s easy. A 10. Being involved in helping put T1 together is something I’m really proud of. And this year I feel we have worked hard to put together a killer lineup.
2) Will you be in attendance all three nights, or just Saturday (the night of your performance)? Which acts are you most pumped to see live, and are there any you haven’t seen before that you’re really looking forward to?
I’ll be there all three days. Someone’s got to keep an eye on Space Age Zeros.
I’m most pumped to see the group set featuring Dan Vapid, Kody and Phil and Keith from Teen Idols. Growing up in the 90s. The Riverdales, Teen Idols, and Lillingtons are some of my favorites.
As for bands, I haven’t seen before. The Stephens are definitely the band I’m looking forward to seeing for the first time.
3) I joked with Space Age Zeros about how the plural of “zero” can either be just an ‘s’ at the end, or an ‘es’ at the end. But Merriam-Webster tells us that the plural of “hero” should always have an “es” at the end. Why do you think that is?
That’s because everybody wants more Heroes than Zeros. I mean if you take Nathan, Tom, Steve and Brian out of SPAZ would anyone really want more Jason’s.
4) Earlier this year you released The Naked Raygun EP featuring three NR covers. They were all pretty early songs in the band’s library. If you had to pick on more NR song to cover, what would it be?
It’s hard as it’s Raygun and there are so many songs. I would say Soldiers Requiem.
5) Capgun Heroes has been releasing singles and that aforementioned cover EP, but your last studio release was Last Call for Adderall in 2021. Got anything up your sleeves for the near future?
Things have been a little crazy over the last year with everyones work schedules. That being said, We will have a new full length out in 2024.
6) Tell us a bit about what brought Capgun Heroes together.
It’s funny, but Capgun Heroes was never part of the plan. Matt, Joe and myself were all in a band together in the 90s called Cancer Merchants. We started getting together to hang and just jam and one thing lead to another. We added Scott on Drums and started writing some songs thst We gave Nate from Hey Pizza Records to check out and next thing you know we’re back it recording and playing shows. It’s been a blast to do this again.
7) Part of TGEFM’s mission is to cover bands big and small, but mostly to give a leg up to the up-and-coming bands. What are some bands you can thing of that TGEFM readers may not have on their radar, but should be paying attention to.
The Stephens for sure. And the Winks as well. They are from St. Louis and feature Dillon from Dan Vapid and the cheats on lead vocals and guitar. They write songs that are a great mix of pop rock and punk.
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.
the white drew carey (aka – Jeff Sorley) is the founder and head editor of TGEFM. He’s lived (outside of) Chicago, Madison WI, (ugh) Penn State, Lyon FR, Oxford UK, central New Jersey, and now within earshot of SFO in the Bay Area. When not scouring the web for more great bands and labels to post about, he also spends time drawing (mostly) silly sci-fi and anime stuff under the name Asplenia Studios.
