Interview: Aqueduct
White guys rapping! Ganster rap? The most instantly lovable band SFist has encountered is Aqueduct, who do, in fact, mix in a little of the rap into their set. It takes a certain mix of moxy and cheer to bop your way through some hard core lyrics-- Aqueduct's ability to do so while grinning is only part of their appeal. Songs riffing on Guns and Roses lyrics, and a hint of the Beach Boys combine for a show that is fun, and a cd we can't stop playing. You can check Aqueduct out tonight at Cafe du Nord. David Terry, Aqueduct's lead was kind enough to answer a few questions en route to San Francisco
Is being a rock star all it's cracked up to be?
Am I a rock star? If you say so.
What is your favorite Guns and Roses Song?
Patience. But it's more of a code by which to live your life.
Your rendition of "Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangster" wins best performance of the year in our book, what inspired it?
Aqueduct's cover of "Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangster", comes from my adoration of all things Gangsta Rap. That song in particular, I think, is such a feel good song. It makes you just want to move and have a good time pitted against the backdrop off some pretty f***ed-up, explicit, demoralizing and demeaning lyrics. That is definitely an Aqueduct theme, minus some of the aforementioned adjectives, to take somewhat dark subject matter and cleverly disguise it with an upbeat catchy song. Due to the overwhelming amount of requests to release our version of that song, it most likely will be headed your way soon. I'll probably release a 7" only version to thwart "that backwards baseball hat guy" who thought we were covering "that song from Office Space".
Photo by Michael Buckner from Aqueduct’s Website
Name
Aqueduct
Introduce yourself in one sentence
Aqueduct is from Seattle, WA, but my heart belongs to Oklahoma.
Age and Occupation
27 - Alleged Rock Star
Home Town
Tulsa, Oklahoma
How much time have you spent in the Bay Area?
I have spent sometime here in SF. My brother has lived here for several years so I've made it out to visit a bunch of times.
Best Band or Musician to come out of the Bay Area
Steve Perry/Journey is there any question? JEEEZ!!! Oh, plus everyone else. I'm a bit of a Beulah man actually.
Where's your favorite venue to perform?
We have played a lot of venues on our soon to be three month tour, most of them cities we've never played before, so it's going to be hard to pick one. Really anywhere there are people. It doesn't matter if they've ever seen us before or even heard of us for that matter. It's more of a challenge that way. Our Noisepop show at Slim's was a perfect example of that.
Besides San Francisco, where are the best audiences to play for?
We've had really great shows in smaller cities where maybe people don't have as many entertainment options available to them. So, for whatever reason they end up at our show. Highlights from this tour have been playing packed shows in Omaha on a Monday, Minneapolis on a Wednesday, Baton Rouge, La. Shows like that. Who would have thought?
When you played at Noisepop, you warmed the crowd up in a way that Indie bands are rarely known to do-- with your "all the ladies in the house love Aqueduct!" start... do you always start shows like that?
Does it work well? (we quite liked it). It does seem to work well. We like to start our shows by throwing people who've never seen or heard us for loop. It's a real head turner for three normal looking doods to be nonchalantly setting up their shit on stage and then all of the sudden bust in to a self-aggrandizing rap song. If people aren't paying attention you better believe they will after that.