I did an interview with Vista Blue's Mike Patton a couple of years ago which went down pretty well and as I've not done one for a while and Vista Blue have an interesting project in the works I thought it might be a good idea to have another chat. The first interview is here if anyone wants it :
https://justsomepunksongs.blogspot.com/2016/02/an-interview-with-mike-patton-vista.html
Now here's the new one :
Hi Mike, has anyone ever mentioned you share a name with the singer in Faith No More?
Wait, really? Never heard of him!
What's the current line up of Vista Blue?
We've had the same basic lineup for four years. Live, it's me, Mark on bass, and Reese on drums.
Todd lives in Cincinnati and is very busy with two young sons. He still contributes songs, and we're recording at least a couple of his tracks this year at some point. He'll record a track with me from time to time if I need him to. When we played in Cincy a few months ago, Mark couldn't make the trip, so Todd played bass. We grew up playing music together, so he can jump in whenever and wherever needed.
On our upcoming 7-inch, we'll be adding my friend Richard Bates (Sally Stitches, The Hons) on lead guitar to give us a little more of a power pop sound.
When I started this project, I was always open to having friends contribute at various points. We've had a lot of different guests join us on recordings, and you'll probably see more of that in the future.
Whenever I play your songs on the show they split the chatroom with some people liking them but others not being fans as they prefer something a little heavier. Do you consider yourselves as a punk band? Or a power pop band or maybe something straddling both genres? How would you describe your audience and does not being easy to pigeonhole you into a certain genre maybe make you outcasts to some degree?
This is spot on. Coming up in New Orleans, anyone who knew us called us a punk band. Not because of our sound, but because that's what we were. We were booking shows, we were giving all the money to the touring bands, we were doing community benefit shows, and mostly, we just fit in with that scene. So even though our music sounded more like the Beatles than hardcore punk, all the punk bands accepted us, and many of them actually "got" it.
But then reviews would always be mixed, which holds true to this day. For some reason, the Loblaws got a pass, I guess because we were on Mutant Pop. But put those same exact recordings on any other label, and no one is calling them punk.
Yet, on the other hand, so many of the power pop guys dismiss us as well for being too "punk," which is just absurd.
I can totally understand people listening to your show and not liking our music. But anyone who really understands the history of Buddy Holly/Chuck Berry to the Beatles/Beach Boys to the Ramones and then to Lookout Records and beyond knows that our sound does fit somewhere in there.
Of course, if people don't like us, it's fine. I come across people all the time who don't like The Zombies or The Carpenters or The Smiths or Pulp and on and on. All of that is crazy to me, but it also shows me that music is really just an individual, personal thing.
Your output is prolific and you have loads of digital releases available through bandcamp....
One thing people can never say about us is that we don't work hard. Physical releases and comp appearances aside, we had 28 digital releases in our first four years as a band. Again, this project was all about having fun from the moment I started it. My goal was to do whatever we wanted to do whenever we wanted to do it. And it really has been so much fun.You're too power pop for the punks and too punk for the power pop fans, which other modern day bands would you compare yourselves with?
I never know who to compare us to! I love Parasite Diet. I think they're great. Hopefully I'll play with them eventually if I ever have the time and we can make it work. I love Neon Bone. The Riptides. The Travoltas, of course. Again, I don't know if we sound a ton like those bands, but I like to think we all share some of the same pop sensibilities.
Do you never get tempted to put out a hardcore punk ep under a false name just to see what the reaction is of the people who don't think you're proper punks?
We joke about a lot of things, and that's definitely something we've joked about. But the thing is, I know that's not even something I could do well enough to make it a proper joke.
Again, people like what they like. As long as they don't make it personal, we really shouldn't be concerned about someone not liking our music or anyone else's music. You know, I have actually supported A LOT of bands in the past that didn't have one song that I liked. As long as we remember that punk is more about the community than the notes being played or the speed at which they're being played, it's totally fine. You can't please everyone!
Tell me about Radiant Radish Records
Back in New Orleans, starting around 2001, the Radiant Radish was a collective of friends who booked shows, hosted events, and just hung out a lot. We released all the Robinsons stuff on CD-Rs, along with a few other local bands. Right before Hurricane Katrina, we started setting up our first real CD release, but the storm wiped that out. Over the last few years, we've revived the Radiant Radish to distribute digital stuff and released our first 7-inch last year. I'd love to do more with it, but it comes down to money of course.
You released your debut 12" (Seasons) on Something To Do Records. There was also a split 7" with The Zambonis. Are vinyl releases something you want to do more of? How much more difficult is putting out vinyl compared with digital (or even cd) releases?
The coolest thing about Vista Blue is that, no matter how much I say this is all about having fun, new awesome things keep happening.
Our first vinyl release was the split with PEARS. We wrote a song for our friends' NOLA record store (Sisters in Christ), and they put out the 7-inch with PEARS covering our song on Side A and our version on Side B.
Then yes, Something To Do put out the first 12-inch I've ever had. Matthew is doing some really cool things with that label, and I feel like people are sleeping on it. But it's seriously an honor to be on that roster, and we have more releases coming up with them.
The split with The Zambonis was another cool thing that just sort of happened. I'd been a Zambonis fan for years, and they were one of my biggest inspirations when I started this band with the idea of doing themed releases. I joked on Facebook about doing a curling record for the 2018 Olympics and tagged Dave Zamboni. Next thing I knew, I was on the phone with one of my favorite songwriters discussing our options. In the end, we had to put it out ourselves, making it the first vinyl release I've done on my own, but we're so glad to have it in our collection.
I would LOVE to do more vinyl releases if I could generate the money to do so. The curling record barely broke even. But the vinyl releases are just so much fun. Of course, I've been lucky to have guys like Tim at Mutant Pop and Rami at Killer Records who have done vinyl for us, which is obviously such a huge financial commitment.
Is it hard finding the right label to release your music?
Honestly, I've just about given up on trying to find labels at this point. We have a great relationship with Something To Do. Other than that, I think it goes back to what you said about your show. The punk labels won't touch us cause we're really not punk. But we're too DIY (and unknown) for anything bigger.
The weird thing is that I feel like I have friends who run some of these labels, so it's not a personality conflict. And if I can move 250 records about curling by myself, imagine what a decent label could have done with it! We don't tour, and I'm a terrible salesman. But in the end, if I need to do it myself, I will.
The weird thing is that I feel like I have friends who run some of these labels, so it's not a personality conflict. And if I can move 250 records about curling by myself, imagine what a decent label could have done with it! We don't tour, and I'm a terrible salesman. But in the end, if I need to do it myself, I will.
Is this why you've launched the new Kickstarter campaign?
Exactly. I know I'm not Dr. Frank or Joe Queer. I don't plan to be doing this when I'm 50, at least nowhere near as active. So I'm starting to look at the final things I want to accomplish before thinking about shutting things down.
Last summer, I went to Memphis and got to interview Jody Stephens of Big Star for my Nashville radio show. It was such an amazing experience. I couldn't believe I was in that building with the drummer from one of my all-time favorite bands. Afterward, we talked about Vista Blue coming in to record, and the guys in the band were really into it, of course.
I'd also been talking a little bit to Perry from the Travoltas, who is also just a great guy that I've learned so much from over the years. In the fall I wrote a Travoltas-ish song called "Don't Go Out With Judy (She'll Break Your Heart)," and I sent it over to Perry. He felt like he could really help us with mixing and mastering on a release, so we decided we'd do it as soon as the right project came up.
So this is definitely something that I wanted to do before Vista Blue was done. We don't have a strict deadline, but July works best for all of us to make it over to Memphis at the same time. So we launched the kickstarter now to have it wrapped up in time for the summer, and hopefully this will all work out.
I understand crowdfunding is not ideal, and I don't even have the added marketing punch of the Zambonis on this one. So it's going to be tough. But I feel like we've been as supportive as we could be to all our friends over the years, so we'll just see what happens.
What else does Vista Blue have planned?
We have a digital single coming out on Something To Do on May 1st. It's one of our favorite songs, actually, but it's a little different, so it'll be interesting to see how it's received. I can tell you that we had it in our live sets in the fall, and it went over really well.
We'll likely do at least a baseball single this spring. I don't know if it will be out for Opening Day, and I know it definitely won't be a nine-track release like the last two years. Those releases really took a toll on me, especially the last one (End of the Season), which was a concept release that I worked on for four months straight, writing the story, the character arcs, and of course, the songs. But we've had at least one baseball release each year, so we'll do something for 2019.
We're doing another covers EP soon, probably in the next month or so. And then those tracks will go on a CD we're putting out on Radiant Radish called "Around the World," which will also feature songs by The Barbecuties, The Screaming Dogs, and Los Padrinos!
After that, it all depends on what happens with the kickstarter.
We'll likely do at least a baseball single this spring. I don't know if it will be out for Opening Day, and I know it definitely won't be a nine-track release like the last two years. Those releases really took a toll on me, especially the last one (End of the Season), which was a concept release that I worked on for four months straight, writing the story, the character arcs, and of course, the songs. But we've had at least one baseball release each year, so we'll do something for 2019.
We're doing another covers EP soon, probably in the next month or so. And then those tracks will go on a CD we're putting out on Radiant Radish called "Around the World," which will also feature songs by The Barbecuties, The Screaming Dogs, and Los Padrinos!
After that, it all depends on what happens with the kickstarter.
How do you think the proposed hit the floor 7" will differ from your previous material and do you think if it's a success crowd funding is something you'd do again in future?
This 7-inch will be a little different. I don't think you go to Ardent Studios to make a record that sounds like the Queers, especially when we already rehearse at Drastic Sounds, where so many great pop punk records have been made!
We're bringing in my buddy Richard Bates on this project to add a second guitar. If anyone is familiar with my New Orleans project Sally Stitches, Richard was in that band, which is the only real band I've been in with two guitars. So you could probably expect something closer to Sally Stitches, to be honest. We have 4-5 songs on the table and will likely choose 3 of them. One for sure is a cover of a really great song by an old school New Orleans band, which I'm sure most of our fans have never even heard.
We're bringing in my buddy Richard Bates on this project to add a second guitar. If anyone is familiar with my New Orleans project Sally Stitches, Richard was in that band, which is the only real band I've been in with two guitars. So you could probably expect something closer to Sally Stitches, to be honest. We have 4-5 songs on the table and will likely choose 3 of them. One for sure is a cover of a really great song by an old school New Orleans band, which I'm sure most of our fans have never even heard.
As for crowdfunding, I really hope this is it! I hate it so much. I am SO thankful for the people who have supported the other two campaigns I've done (our horror zine in 2013 and the curling record campaign in 2017). Like I said, this could end up being one of our last vinyl releases anyway, aside from whatever we can do with Something To Do.
The main thing that I hope people take away is that the "pre-order" level should serve as just that. If 130 people chose that level, that's all we'd need. But it doesn't happen that way, so I'll be promoting the thing for two months. People do like test pressings and some of the other rewards we have, so I'm pretty confident that we'll make it. But again, I am fully aware that it truly takes a community to make something like this work.
In the end, I never say never. I could end up doing it again if it were for something else I considered to be a cool accomplishment. But if I never crowdfund again, I'm totally fine with that as well!
The main thing that I hope people take away is that the "pre-order" level should serve as just that. If 130 people chose that level, that's all we'd need. But it doesn't happen that way, so I'll be promoting the thing for two months. People do like test pressings and some of the other rewards we have, so I'm pretty confident that we'll make it. But again, I am fully aware that it truly takes a community to make something like this work.
In the end, I never say never. I could end up doing it again if it were for something else I considered to be a cool accomplishment. But if I never crowdfund again, I'm totally fine with that as well!
