[Interview] Super Prime

A few weeks ago, we sat in with none other than Boston’s own, Super Prime. Super Prime discussed with us the DIY aspect of their band, their upcoming tour with Set Your Goals and Cartel, and their upcoming album #FML. You don’t want to miss this interview! Click ‘more’ to check out our interview with Super Prime.

Could you tell us who you are please?
Adam: We’re Super Prime and we are from Boston, Mass.
RTS Nick: Who are you specifically?
Adam: Oh, I’m Adam… I dont do anything important.
Austin: I’m Austin.
Marcus: Marcus.
RTS Nick: You guys have recently played a few one-off shows with the likes of Hawthrone Heights, Patent Pending, and Marky Ramone. I wanted to know how you enjoy playing these one-offs and how has your fan base has grown in the East Coast?
Adam: This band has never been on the road, so the one-offs are to get this band more familiar on the road so we can get comfortable touring. We have to get our logistics down… of getting our gear in, working with other bands, loading up on stage etc. We do have quite a bit more gear than the average band. We find that it can get pretty difficult, so the experience we get for when we go out on tour in March is really important. Plus we get to build up our resume as a band.
Austin: It gives us a chance to meet the people in those bands and it helps get out our name as a band. It helps us network and build our image.
RTS Nick: What band did you enjoy the most at one of these “one-off shows”? Musically and in person…
Marcus: Patent Pending always have all of these tricks live. One minute you’ll see their guitarist soloing on the merch table. That was pretty badass.
Austin: Patent Pending was the only one that we have ever met.
Adam: Yeah, and they are really down to earth people.
Marcus: They chill with their fans all the time.

You mentioned that you were going on tour this March. Is it a national tour and who are you touring with?
Adam: It is a national and we are going on tour with Set Your Goals and Cartel. We are stoked for it. We are playing a stint at SXSW and we are lucky to be on it. The bands and their managers are really accomodating and we will be helping them out with some of the gear that we got. We will make some friends and help some people out. It’s going to be a really good tour.
RTS Nick: Are you opening the bill?
Austin: Yup
RTS Nick: How excited are you to finally open the bill for a “national” tour?
Austin: We’re so excited, man. It’s a great oppertunity to go out there and build our resume as a band and meet and be friends these bands and make a name for ourselves.
Adam: It’s all about helping out and getting our name out there.

The last time I spoke to you guys, you were in the studio recording. What are you guys releasing?
Adam: We’re putting out an LP on March 6th. It’s near completion. Brian Charles of Zipper Recordings is producing it. He’s done some live stuff for Bright Eyes and he works with a ton of local bands. He has a different ear and he doesn’t normally work with Pop-Punk bands.
Austin: It’s nice to have a fresh perspective. He’s a real smart guy. Great producer to work with.
RTS Nick: What’s it going to be called?
Adam: “#FML“. There is artwork being made right now and some merch to go along with it.
RTS Nick: Are you releasing it via a label?
Adam: We’re releasing it ourselves.
RTS Nick: You’re doing the DIY approach?
Adam: It is DIY and it’s not DIY. We get a lot of crap from getting a financial backing and having a lot of stuff, but we opporate on our own and it’s great. Two EPs and one LP that we put out on our own and it’s… pretty cool.
Austin: We pretty much are trying to building up ourselves to represent ourselves and maybe build our own label.
Adam: We can get more control on everything and we can offer that stuff to other bands that we work with.
RTS Nick: Would you like to have some sort of label behind you?
Austin: We don’t to say yes or no, but it all depends on what they can offer. Right now we have it pretty good. The record label likes to take a lot and in our situation, we have full control. We don’t have to “bow” to anybody. There are not a whole lot of labels that can provide or give us a better deals than what we have now. If a label comes to us and gives us a better situation, then we’d take it.
Adam: I think we’ll just operate on our own and do it how we’ve been doing it.

I know we gotta wrap things up, so last question: Can true DIY ethics be backed up with a manager and a publicity team?
Adam: The only things about this band that are not DIY is the fact, is that the band dos not pay for anything. Do we move our own gear? Yeah. Do we hand in our own recordings? Yeah.
Marcus: We write all of our own music. We move all our stuff. We record and schedule our own practices everyday. We’re in charge of everything music. Our manager sets up with promotions.
RTS Nick: Do you live the labeling of DIY to your band?
Adam: In reality, I think that’s the case, but in reality I think the connotation that goes with DIY doesn’t apply with this band.
Austin: It’s politics. At the end of the day, we take home everything.

Alright guys, I think that should wrap it up… Thanks for doing the interview. Best of luck tonight!