Tickle Me Pink

Angel share’s an e-mail exchange with Stefan Runstrom (drummer / band co-founder)

Hi guys, I just wanted to start by thanking you for taking the time to fill out this ‘questionnaire’.  It’s certainly not the standard form of interview but the advantage of being an online publication is that it allows us the opportunity to utilize various methods to get to those artists we feel it important to feature; and after having listened to Madeline, I feel that Tickle Me Pink is part those artists we want to share with our readers, so thank you.

Question: To start, we always like to ask artists we interview to give us a quick run-through of how each of you discovered music, how the band was formed as well as what your journey to this point in your career has been like…  in as many (or as little) words  as you see fit…

Answer: The band was formed while we were all still in high school. Sean and I actually met at our high school talent show and it was all downhill from there… We had always grown up around music and all had older siblings who played instruments or introduced to “cool” music. Without such cool parents, I doubt this band would exist.

Question: This is a question you likely get on a continuous basis but for those readers who are unfamiliar with your band, why the name Tickle Me Pink?  Where does the name come from?  And how does it reflect your genre?

Answer: Well, I certainly hope the name doesn’t reflect our perceived “genre” in any way.  The name came about as a complete joke. We didn’t really care for having a deeper meaning behind the name. We wanted something that was memorable, and somehow Tickle Me Pink was the only thing we could agree on at the time. If I could go back, I’d probably put more thought into it….

Question: Your debut full-length album is being released today (October 14^th, 2008) and is said to explore “morality, drug use, suicide, loss, brutal breakups and the trappings of suburbia.”  Could you share with us a little bit of the creative process that went into putting this album together?  Going from writing to getting it on the shelves…

Answer: We have always been adamant songwriters, which is good because you always have plenty of material to work with. The only downside is that you’re often forced to sift through the bad ideas. For every one good idea you come up with, there are ten bad ones. It really came down to everyone in the room agreeing on what that good idea was. Luckily we had a great producer (Lee Miles) to help us figure that out.

Question: You touch on very serious subject matters in these new songs – matters that one could assume draw on personal experience to varying degrees.  What has sharing these experiences with the world brought you?

Answer: I’ve found that empathizing with someone is often the best remedy for whatever pain you’re going through. One interesting example of this was when we ran across a fan of ours in San Antonio. She had served in Iraq and her best friend at the time (who was also serving in Iraq) had turned her on to our music. Apparently, he was planning on coming out to the show, but he had been killed in battle. It gave me chills to hear her talk about him. The fact that someone else has dealt with a loss of someone so close to them was very reassuring to hear. We should feel honored that he was able to take pleasure from our music during the last days he spent alive.

Question: You worked with Lee Miles (Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Puddle of Mudd) during the recording process of Madeline.  How did that relationship come about?  And can you describe what a typical day in the studio was like was you?

Answer: We met Lee while he was with Puddle of Mudd at the Blasting Room in Fort Collins. Johnny, our old bassist, was an engineer there at the time and he showed Lee our demo’s that we had recently completed. He loved it and wanted to meet us and give us the proposal of doing a full-length with him. Seeing as we were completely broke at the time, we had to get clever. Instead, we decided to have Lee film a live video of us playing in my basement and just send that off to various record labels. It seems so ridiculous when I think about it now, I still get a good laugh every time I watch that video… After no response from any of the labels, we decided to raise some money and go into the blasting room. We were so poor, I remember the Blasting Room let us frame some of their old photos in exchange for studio time.

We were in the studio for most of March 2007. It’s always a lengthy process, filled with cigarettes, coffee, and ridiculously late nights. Let’s just say we were stoked to see it through to the end. And there’s no way it could’ve been down without our producer Lee and our engineers Jason Livermore & Andrew Berlin.

Question: With the album finished and being released today, what are your goals and aspirations for the success of Madeline?

Answer: Record sales! A tour bus would be nice too…

Question: We read in your biography of the recent passing of guitarist and bassist Johnny Schou and would like to extend our condolences to all of you.   You have been faced with loss and tragedy at such a young age and stage in your career, how do you move on from this point?

Answer: It’s never easy to just “move on” from such a tragic loss. He was a huge driving force in this band, and will always continue to be. We’ve found that going on these tours has really helped us out. It keeps us distracted and busy. Luckily, Joey, our new guitarist, is equally as amazing of a musician. Without him, we would have had to cancel all these tours.

Question: What legacy has Johnny left the band (and if not to personal) you as individuals?

Answer: I think Johnny has imparted his many traits to all of us in different ways. He was an incredible person, and I am so lucky to have shared what little time I had with him.

Question: Next week you are kicking off a tour with Hawthorne Heights that will take you across America for quite a few months.  What can fans of HH expect to discover from TMP if they are unfamiliar with you?

Answer: Ideally, their new favorite band… If nothing else, we always like to hang out with fans after shows. The economy sucks right now, and as a result, less and less people are coming out to shows and buying merchandise. It’s important to make a connection personally so kids will come back out to our show next time we come around.

Question: What are you most looking forward to about going out on the road on this tour?

Answer: We have mapped out the best BBQ in every city… Stoked.

Question: Similarly, what are you looking forward to the least?

Answer: Getting sick is always a nightmare on the road.  This tour goes into the winter season, so one (if not all) of us is screwed.

CONFRONT Five Questions

There is a series of five quick fire questions we ask all the artists we interview and they are as follows:

1)      First & Last album purchased

First: Zeppelin I

Last: Kings of Leon

2)      First & Last concert attended

First: John Mellencamp

Last: Muse, which was amazing

3)      CONFRONT has a section called Daily Urges where artists, readers and the staff can share some of the artists or bands they feel people should take notice of or rediscover.  What are some of your Daily Urges?

We just finished a tour with Finch, a band I grew up listening to. They definitely deserve some attention. They are an incredible live band and continue to write incredible songs.

4)      Should all the stars align and everything go according to plan, where do you see TMP in ten years?

Hopefully out of this van….

5)      What would you like your legacy to be to the world of music?

haha… I feel like The Beatles could answer this question much better than I ever could.

So there you have it.  Thank you again and I wish you all the best for the release as well as the upcoming tour and hope to see you in Montreal soon.

a.

To learn more about Tickle Me Pink visit their website: www.ticklemepinkrock.com

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