Who are you, what do you play and how are you doing?

Josh Lambo (vocals, guitar): I'm great, thanks for asking.

Peter Devins (vocals, guitar): I am the son of Mr. and Mrs. Devins, a skinny Irish boy, an underserving young man and founding member of the band Speakerphone. I play just about anything you put in front of me whether that be a guitar, bass, drums or styrofoam cup. I also tend to play with myse....uhm next question. I am doing better than I deserve and currently I'm exceptionally tired after a full weekend in Lansing.

Why do you play in Speakerphone?

Josh: Det synes til meg at Josh Lambert appellerer til kvinnene.

Peter: Well, why does someone write a novel, cook or paint? Why does anyone do anything which is artistic/ creative in some form or function? Simply put, I play in a band because I love music and I feel compelled to create it. I'm in Speakerphone specifically because with Josh I found a "kindred spirit" of sorts, we clicked musically and our friendship came about as a result although we'd known each other for quite some time before we started the band. With Speakerphone a need is fulfilled to create and express myself in that particular fashion...and it's a LOT of fun so there you have it.

What do you want Speakerphone to contribute to the music community?

Peter: What I want to do with Speakerphone is include the noise we make to the collective musical consciousness of the masses for today and ages to come. That's the heady answer that will make people think me a total wanker. Honestly though, I think I have something significant to contribute. That may sound arrogant but being in a band, doing shows, wanting people to hear your music does have a grain of egotism to it if you think about it, "HEY! Listen to this, look what we're doing". Besides, I've been given these gifts and abilities so I'm going to do my utmost to use them to the fullest. Other than that I think what I would like to remind people of is that most, though not all, great music has soul, it has flesh and blood. With Speakerphone I want to give people that "feeling" that I get when I listen to Doves or Otis Redding or Beethoven. The one that makes you "get it" instantly and connect when you listen to the music. If I can do that with the music then I will count us as a success. I also have this fantasy and extreme drive to be a "rock" band that get's through to the the hip hop and R&B crowd. I want to one day hear or see some black teenage girls singing and dancing along to Speakerphones music. How's that for a quirky ambition! Excuse me but I've got to go write some better songs now.

Very interesting - what is it about your band that does/will/should appeal to people, be they R&B/hip hop fans, classical fans, indie fans, etc?

Peter: This is a bit more of a difficult question to answer because how can you know what does, will and should appeal to a listener regardless of their particular musical preference. If I can be so bold as to quote/paraphrase Ray Davies and what he said about The Kinks music and having number one hits, "It's pop because it's popular now but it's (our music) expression. It's got to be orginal, it's got to be sincere....you've got to have what the kids want and what they want's our sound right now". I agree that you've got to be original and sincere cos a lot of people have a fairly decent bullshite detector intact and will see right through any false pretense in music. That being said, I haven't the slightest idea why people listen to garbage like Britney Spears, Nickelback or R. Kelly other than there is good art and bad art and for some reason there are those that create and enjoy bad art. I just hope that I can do my best to not compromise myself and my art for the sake of the masses and their fickle interests. In the same breathe though I have to concede to the statement I made earlier that in being in a band there is an egotism to it that wants peoples attention and wants to have lots of people interested in what you do as a band............and it's fun to have people shake their fannies to your music as well.

How does being a part of Rexrode Records fit your vision, if at all?

Peter: Being a part of Rexrode Records is an honour. Pretty much from the first time I met the crew with Rexrode I felt like championing the bands and the label. I was telling nearly everyone I knew about both so it's nice to officially be involved. I also believe in the ideas and sensibilities that are at the fulcrum of Rexrode Records and would like to help bring these ideas into fruition any way that I can. Ultimately it's important to me to be involved with people who I share a mutual understanding and trust with. Except for those guys in Flatfoot....I don't trust them one bit ha ha.

When it comes down to it, most bands are stronger live or in the studio. They may be good at both, but they are better/ more comfortable in one or the other. Where does Speakerphone's strength lie?

Peter: Well Speakerphone started primarily as a studio band as it was just Josh and myself for the first 2 years. So we are definitely comfortable in the studio, at least I am. Josh has said that when recording he get's really stressed out cos the creative wheels start turning and he essentially becomes overwhelmed because he wants to attempt to implement all of the ideas he's having in response to what we're doing. Whereas I'm a bit of a studio geek cos I love recording and engineering; mics, preamps and and other recording gear... I love it! I get as excited about the process as I do the product. I've heard it said though that we are better live than on record and although I appreciate that and want that to be the case, I also fully realize that all of our recordings to date have been done under some constraint which prohibits the process to some degree whether that be my lack of knowledge, abilities or tools at the time or lack of actual time! However there is something to be said about the wonderful ecstasy, the violent display and pure release of playing live. There's a reason that the Rolling Stones are still playing live some 40 years down the road and it's not just the money. So where does Speakerphones strength lie? I'd like to think that we're in the gym, as it were, training to be strong all over.