303 InterviewAlthough none of the artists in this month’s feature–303’s Master Mix–are unaccustomed to the interview process, Yonnas of The Pirate Signal took the idea of interview pressure to whole new level when Hayley Helmricks of Snake Rattle Rattle Snake interviewed him while he received a tattoo on his neck at Rebellion Tattooing. Check out what made it to print, as well as the highlights that didn’t that you can read below. Or, just let Yonnas and Hayley speak for themselves and see the interview here, courtesy of Karla Rodriguez of Eleven 11 Productions. And, scroll to the bottom to see The Pirate Signal and Snake Rattle Rattle Snake upcoming show dates, aside from TODAY’S SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL, of course.

303 Magazine presents Snake Rattle Rattle Rattle Snake interviews Pirate Signal from Karla Rodriguez for Eleven11 Productions on Vimeo.

SRRS: Okay, how does the reality of being a musician compare to the fantasy?
PS: Well, I think the fantasy is a reality for some people, you know, just to be rich, but that is a fantasy. The reality of the situation is that music is a lot of fun. I love my life. I mean, in reality, it’s pretty good, I’m not rich, but I’m working on it.
SRRS: I work at the library. Going back to work at the library yesterday and today [after SWSW where both The Pirate Signal and Snake Rattle Rattle Snake played] was a little bit of a fast comedown after a good weekend.

SRRS: What’s the best song to listen to on a road trip?
PS: I like reggae, old school reggae. It’s calming, the slow and steady beats, you know.
SRRS: It obviously works, since you made it back; you made it from Austin to Denver in eleven hours.

PS: We didn’t listen to that much reggae. I wanted to;

The Pirate Signal

I tried to put it on, and they were like, yeah right. But we did listen to, ah, whats his name? Lou Reed‘s first album. [sings] That was dope. The whole album was dope. So, that was cool. That was like an hour.

SRRS: Okay, create an all-star band, with no more than four members, who you would like to see perform live? Funny or serious.
PS: That would never work out. Well, you’ve got the lead singer/vocalist as Ghostface Killah. And then maybe I would get Bootsy Collins on bass and then, what is his name, the guitarist for The Stooges that just died, Ron, I can’t remember; he was the guitarist for The Stooges. And John Bonham. So, it would be funky and heavy, pretty good.

SRRS: So, what are you listening to now? Locally and nationally?
PS: Well, as far as hip-hop, I listen to a lot of Drake. I love Drake. Jay Electronica. Those are like my two favorites right now. And then a lot of old school metal and stuff; I like Pentagram and Sleep and shit… I like Kelp a lot. Locally, I like Pictureplane a lot. I really like his stuff. As far as hip-hop artists, Gyp Da Hip, who makes crazy beats, is dope; he’s the man. And, you know, like the people I surround myself with, I listen to all of their stuff.

SRRS: What do you think about the current state of the music industry?
PS: I think it’s in shambles. I think it’s like the legal sector. It’s harder to get a job; it makes competition tougher, but it makes the work better. I guess, to me, it just seems like survival of the fittest. It’s like a post-apocalypse kind of thing. Those are just my terms.

SRRS: What do you do other than music? How do you fill your days?
PS: I go to the gym every day. I run three miles.
SRRS: Training for the marathon. What marathon?
PS: I don’t know, the Colfax marathon. Yeah, that’s it.

SRRS: How do you feel about pirating music?
PS: Uh, I feel, again, like it’s a necessary evil, you know? It’s hard to quantify value in music. But, also, more importantly than that, I guess it helps. If they really do love it, they end up supporting you, you know? A dollar now, a dollar later, I mean I can think of so many bands that wouldn’t give a shit if I stole their music. If someone were stealing my music, as long as they liked it, I don’t think I would care.
SRRS: That’s kind of how I feel. I’m all about people getting their hands on it, in some way. I don’t know. At this phase in the game it doesn’t really affect me anyway, except if it gets people to come to your shows.

SRRS: Okay, this will be the last question and then you can go back to your tattoo zone. What’s the dream scenario, at this point? If you could set a plan and things would work out perfectly for you and The Pirate Signal, what would it be?
PS: I would like, I mean, I’m not like a huge fan of the music, but have you ever heard of this label called Rhymesayers Entertainment? Like Atmosphere? You’ve never heard of it? They’re like one of the most successful independent hip-hop labels, well one of them, definitely, definitely. And, they’ve stood the test of time, and they’re really successful. And they did it themselves. Everything is on their terms.  And, whenever I think about a dream sequence, I honestly always think about the way they have it. I’d like to start my own label one day, you know what I mean? And put out the art I love and make sure it’s successful, you know? As far as the corporate machine, I can’t see myself ever plugging in, you know? I just scream local. I can never see myself as some bigwig putting out Lil’ Wayne records. But, that wouldn’t be bad either. I’m being realistic, and my dream is still kind of realistic, to be independent and successful. Wealthy on my terms, you know? I just want to continue to be independent. I just want to make more money than I’m making now. I’m pretty happy with everything else.