Q&A with Temporary Basement

Why did you all get started in music? How long have you all been performing?

MIKE: I grew up on lots of new wave bands and the Beach Boys while I was living in the Philippines, so it was almost inevitable. I always wanted to be part of the world that I loved, so we all started writing songs to try to let those ideas out.

EMIL: Because we love it and without music we’d have just ordinary lives.Not that there’s anything wrong with that :) We’ve been performing on and offfor the past five years because of college and such.

DAVID: For me, listening to the Michael Jackson Thriller album got me into music. I tried to imitate him as much as possible. But I’ve been performing since I was six. I was selected multiple times to festival choir and orchestra. There was a point where I stopped performing for while, but I picked up guitar in college have been rocking out ever since.

What is the best show you’ve ever played and why?

EMIL: Luna Bean in North Carolina last January. We played with this band, The Scenic, who is currently signed to Capitol Records.We played an amazing show where we sold a lot of CDs and at the end of the performance everyone wanted to talk to us. Till this day it still gives us hope that it’s possible for us to make it.

DAVID: Along with Luna Bean I’d say Meridian Coffeehouse in Williamsburg, Virginia. It was an intimate venue and the crowd was awesome. I’ve never sweated so much in my life.

Where do you all see yourselves and your music careers in 10 years?

EMIL: Hopefully signed, touring the country, and making music that continues to be better than when we first stated.

MIKE: Making a comfortable living writing our songs and maybe producing other projects.

DAVID: Yeah, what they said.

Where do you get your inspiration for your songs?

MIKE: I read this thing from Tom Petty a while back, where he was like, he doesn’t really write songs as pull them out of the sky with an antenna, where he’s just open to letting these songs come down from the heavens. I like that idea the best I think.

EMIL: Have to say other songs. We listen to a wide array of music so we mostly draw from that.

DAVID: I’m going to be THAT guy and say that my inspiration is girls. I know its cliché, but it’s kinda true. Ha ha, woops.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to book a show?

EMIL: Travel to the venue and wait for the owner of the place to come back because he wouldn’t return my calls.

MIKE: We went to a rock show in the ghetto to try to talk to a booker, and then afterwards got lost. We ended up having to get directions from a drug dealer, but not before he tried to sell me some crack first.

If Temporary Basement was trapped on a deserted island with no food – which one of you all would you eat first to survive?

EMIL: Probably Mike, I don’t know lol.Strange question ha ha.

MIKE: Yeah, I got nothin’ on this one. Probably not Emil. He runs a lot. Nasty stringy meat.

DAVID: I’ll just starve. I can’t eat my homies, man. We’re a three piece band… not much flexibility there. I guess you could eat me, ya’ll and substitute me with a Mac book :(

What’s your favorite cereal and why?

EMIL: Reese’s cereal ’cause its almost like desert.

MIKE: I prefer Cap’n Crunch Peanut Butter myself. A little stronger in milk, ha!

DAVID: GO LEAN! cereal. 13 grams of protein, baby.