Nathan Winneke of HORSE the band
Any band with a name as unconventional as HORSE the band must be on to something. Any band named HORSE the band taking on the logistically daunting task of venturing out on an earth tour— attempting to book shows in the world’s least toured countries, such as India, must have something special going on. Sure enough HORSE the band do, armed with the self proclaimed style of Nintendo-core and the creative breadth to write four songs about pizza, they are a band that is actually— excuse the cliché— unique.
What is your name, and what do you play?
My name is Nathan and I am the vocalist for HORSE the band.
So, HORSE the band is a pretty interesting name, is there a story behind it?
It’s actually lost in the mists of time. The band was formed by the guitar player, and the keyboard player while they were in high school, and it was probably a series of long inside jokes that eventually became, not so much a name, but this grand title that a lot of people think is kind of silly, but I think is like really bold and dynamic. It’s definitely memorable, but it’s kind of plain, yet original at the same time. Honestly, I’ve heard so many random stories, that the truth behind it – they [guitarist, David Isen and keyboardist, Erik Engstrom] don’t even know anymore. So, it’s enigmatic.
So, on the poster for this show it says “What is Nintendo-core? Come and find out!”, so tell me, what is Nintendo-core?
It is hardcore inspired music with huge keyboards that are inspired by classic 8 bit video games.
So what’s your favourite video game?
I mean there is no better video game than The Legend of Zelda classic, but Mega Man 2 was probably my favourite game as a kid, and then Bionic Commando was the first game I ever beat. But surprisingly enough, video games have less to do with us than actually the music [from videogames] itself which is inspiring. The games themselves aren’t really a topic for — you know, they’re not emotionally motivating. I definitely have made at least three references to games as metaphors in our songs, because our keyboards sound so much like video games.
In what way are they metaphors?
Well, there is “Cutsman”, which was about a kid I grew up with who was my best friend as a kid. That started when we started to do the –“Oh we sound like Nintendo-core!” I wrote “Cutsman” and it was kind of about my friend who became a little bastard as we got older, cause he just became really manipulative, and kind of like a hipster, and didn’t really stay true to our friendship. Since I was making a Nintendo reference about the keyboards — me and him were total video game dorks as kids — so that it related. The character in the game is actually “Cutman”, but we grew up calling him “Cutsman”. I was writing a song about how much I hated him, and at the same time I was trying to acknowledge our new keyboard sound, so it became that — and that was something that we related to. He heard “Cutsman” and was like ‘Why did you write that about me?”
Then there is “Birdo” — or actually the second song [with Videogame references] on R. Borlax was “Pol’s Voice”, and it was written on the same day almost, but it was about how much I hated hearing my own voice when I started singing for the band. If you listen to it you can hear that that is what the metaphor is. And then on our second album, we were like “Should we acknowledge the Nintendo thing?” and like “Only if it kind of comes up” We were going to write a song about eggs, cause when I was a kid – this is kind of dark— when I was a kid, my step-dad, who was a U.S. marine , he would always force me to eat eggs, and he would get really pissed if I didn’t eat them. So the song was going to be called “Eggs” and it’s about him beating my mum and saying that I was going to grow up and be a pussy, cause he would literally beat on her if I didn’t eat eggs. So it was going to be a song called “Eggs”. I looked at Erik one day, -- we were at a hamburger place — and I was like “What if we had a song and it was like ‘bird, tsh tsh tsh tsh [hammering noise], ahhhhh!’” That thus became the last Nintendo reference we even made. A lot of people took it too far, I still feel it only really applies to the keyboards, some people are like “Oh is this song about this game, oh is this song about that game?” — that wasn’t really the case, but definitely I feel that we are inspired by the music. I’ve only made three metaphorical references, and they’re all about pretty dark shit.
Which of your songs is your favourite?
Wow. I have two favourites I think. The last song on The Mechanical Hand is called “The Black Hole”, and that song is about the rest of the songs on the album. If you read the lyrics, they reference every other song, and it kind of ties the album together, as kind of like a unifying theme. And then my other favourite is on our new album and its called “The Startling Secret of Super Sapphire” and I love that song for unexplainable reasons — the lyrics are unexplainable and it was something I wrote randomly and then they [the rest of the band] showed me the song, and what I had written just landed right on the song flawlessly, and it was the kind of weird – like almost an epiphany. I heard the music and I looked at these lyrics and it all happened — and it was like that was what it was meant to be. I like what I do on it and its just fun to play live.
What bands have you been influenced by?
My absolute lyrical hero is Nick Cave of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and Peter Murphy who was in Bauhaus, and also soloed at the same time. Cedric from At the Drive-In slash The Mars Volta — I really love “At the Drive-In” more — he’s got a really abstract creative style. Those are the big three, but they’ve all got unique styles. I’d say R. Borlax was very Cedric/ Peter Murphy— like abstract images that paint a picture, almost impressionistic, it’s not linear, but all these different ideas that are there have the concept in them, if you look at the whole thing. On A Natural Death I kind of went the way of Nick Cave, and went with the story telling angle. Every song, you know what it’s about but it’s a story with a symbolic meaning to it — if that sense. I’ve been getting more into the story telling style, but still I always like to have a double meaning, because I like to have an emotional background to a song. But since we are a fun, entertainment, band I don’t like to be really preachy and dark, so I get these kind of whimsical metaphors so the songs don’t have to take you to a dark place but they still have that freaking kick behind them. They can be just fun and something entertaining to listen to, and have a good time. I don’t really like to get political, but I definitely like to have some kind of emotional base usually, but I kind of like to obscure it because I want to be more entertaining, even though I dabble in both— humor and emotional straight forward expressions— it goes both ways. A lot of people just hear a little joke here and there and they’re like “Oh you’re funny all the time!” I feel like we’re like apples and oranges, but people are like “It’s all oranges!”
I’ve heard that “A Natural Death” is based on one concept, is that true?
Yeah. There was a very open ended theme behind it, before it even had the name “A Natural Death” How do I explain this with out being totally stupid? On “Mechanical Hand” the basic theme behind all the songs is gold versus the void, the good parts of me versus the ban parts. If you keep on reading the lyrics it keeps on referencing gold and darkness — like happy versus sad, and where they meet, and the balance in all things. With “A Natural Death” the theme was – I called it “The Empty Plain Theme” -- which was like a giant empty field that looks barren but there are a million tiny beauties inside of it. Kind of like life, when it seems like there is nothing there are always little wonders everyday. So there are all these nature themes, and if you read the lyrics it references the empty plains a lot, and the little awesomeness that is always there in life no matter how dark it is. There was an actual song – it’s a b side — called “Empty Plain” that actually tied it all together, but it was so not us — it was almost like a Depeche Mode song — so we opted not to use it. That was the basic underlying theme — nature tied with nothing with everything in it. You could have a boring day, but all this little stuff happens that you might remember for the rest of your life. It kind of holds true, especially for me, who is a kind of self defeating, low self esteem kind of guy. It’s like this always struggle to define what is actually awesome that is there every single day that you kind of take for granted sometimes. And it’s not like outright, I’m not the kind of person to be like “Look! There’s something awesome just beneath the surface!”, so it’s all these little stories that kind of paint the picture. Like I said it’s supposed to be fun, it’s supposed to be entertaining. Like “Sex Raptor”, it’s obviously hilarious.
You’re on your Earth Tour and you’re stopping off in 45 countries. Where were you before you came here?
Korea! South Korea. It was immensely better than anticipated — it was awesome. We had a really good time. The guy who brought us there was a really nice guy, the show was good, we just love the adventure. We love playing music, but we also love the adventure even more. So far the only downer was — sorry guys — New Zealand was a downer. The people that brought us there were cool, and the landscape was cool, but we didn’t really have any form of crazy adventure, or nothing to surprise us. It was just kind of like playing another city in the U.S. – and I hate to even say that because everybody was so cool. But so far, in comparison to Korea and Japan — sorry guys.
Who did you play with in Korea?
Honestly, the names of the bands escape me. One of them was a Korean Grammy winner, oh god I wish I could remember their names, I didn’t get a demo, or a CD out of them, like I watched them play. We play with so many bands — I can’t remember their names, and I feel like a douche bag for it. They both kicked ass — names are so hard — and one of them was in broken English, so it’s even more awkward.
Where are you going Next?
Tomorrow — we’re going to Bangkok.
Tomorrow? How long have you been here?
We got here yesterday.
Have you seen anything yet?
All last night we walked around. Then this morning I got to do a one man mission through downtown. I’m not much of a solo act when I go cruising around town, I like to hang out with my friends, but I just went around, had sushi. I wrote a song to my grandma about traveling through Hong Kong.
Did you send it?
Oh she’s — she’s passed away.
Oh.. sorry…
She raised me, and I don’t think my grandparents ever anticipated me going to Hong Kong. So it was like a weird open ended letter saying “How the hell did I get here? Aren’t you surprised?” kind of thing. It won’t be a Horse the band song, I write a lot of stuff that Horse the band would never use.
Where are you most excited to play?
My number one was Australia — cause that’s where Nick Cave’s from. I got to go to his personal art exhibit there, which was like “ahhhh!” Like all the other guys went through in like three seconds and I’m still at the first thing going “oooooooohhh!” And then Japan has been my life goal for a couple of years, and I think the rest of the tour – not to bash Hong Kong, I just didn’t know much about Hong Kong so I didn’t know what to expect. Everybody just makes it out to be this crazy sailor port, and its actually just like a huge awesome metropolis.— I really want to see Italy. I really want to see more of Germany, I’ve got a friend I’ve known since kindergarten who lives there now, and so I’m excited to see her and her daughter. Her daughter — the last time we saw her she was eight — came up on stage and did “Cutsman” with us, little eight year old girl doing “Cutsman” like — she is going to be a superstar. And then Russia, which I think will be awesome— and that’s not to demean anywhere else — those are just places I have a personal invested interest in checking out.
Where are you playing in Russia?
I don’t know. I’m kind of a go with the flow kind of guy— I didn’t book the tour I just knew that we were going. I do my part and say my words. Dave and Erik—who started the band — they booked the whole tour, it’s their psychotic genius plan.
It must have been pretty hard to organize.
Yeah I know that they weren’t even pleasant to talk to while organizing it, because they were so stressed out.
Are you guys playing in India? I saw it on your website.
I think it fell through… its possible. There was a preliminary list, and then a bunch of places got dropped that we couldn’t make work out. So I think its possible, but off the top of my head I don’t know what actually is on the list or not. I’m just really traveling a circle around the world, unsure of where I’m going every other day. Being a man whose life struggle is to face my fears, I’m doing a pretty damn good job, because I’m terrified, I don’t know what to expect. The only place I’m really scared to play now is Tel Aviv, cause every family member is like “It’s going to be crazy!” Our old bass player lives there, and he’s kind of a happy-go-lucky- guy, and I can’t imagine him being that gnarly.
Israel has so many bands!
Then it won’t be a big deal. You personally, just erased any concern I had. Like the fact that our old bass player lives there, if it was scary he couldn’t be there, cause he is kind of like “Hey guys!” and then just hearing that from you, there there’s a huge music scene, that’s all that matters to me. I think the only other place that is scary is like Serbia or something that just burnt down the U.S. embassy. That might be sketchy. I’m just going to say I’m Canadian.
What are the top five bands you’ve been listening to on this tour?
Well, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. I’ve been listening to a lot of Old Man Gloom” When I mentioned Bauhaus earlier— I just got excited because they released their first album in like twenty years, so I’ve been listening to them a lot again. We have a friend band called The Fall of Troy, they’re awesome. I hate liking them ‘cause the singer is so freaking arrogant, but damn they’re good! I can’t help it! He’s so full of himself, but with good reason! They’re all such cool guys. I was listening to Sting the other day – sorry, I don’t know where that came from; he’s just kind of a genius.
So what bands do you like touring with most?
Heavy Heavy Low Low, period. They understand that life is too important to take too seriously. So many bands want to be like so “We’re so professional! We’ve earned what we’re doing!” but seriously, to be in the position we’re in— it’s so rare, you’ve just got to love it. You’ve got to take it for what it’s worth, and just have a great time and smile, and enjoy yourself, and have fun! So many people just want to — they go straight to the venue, sit on their laptop “Deh deh deh deh deh. Oh guys did you see what uh— blah blah blah,” You know like. They’re the people who, even though they’re crazy and kind of self destructive, understand the values of enjoying themselves. And also now I’d have to say, “The Number Twelve Looks Like You”— who we’re borrowing their drummer— they were some guys who seem to take themselves seriously, but beyond what you read in a magazine, we’re more like them than anyone would ever guess. We all have such similar tastes— we represent ourselves differently to the public I guess. The Fall of Troy too, they’re awesome guys. Those are my three bands that I feel like I really relate to. I feel like I’m friends with those bands. We’ve all toured with each other interchangeably, but never simultaneously.I would love to have us all on one tour, but I think anybody that has been to one of the shows with two of us has probably seen all of us at one point or another.
Any funny touring stories?
I got arrested in Canada for having a cap gun. I spent a night in jail ‘cause they through I tried to murder somebody. I didn’t. It was a toy. One night I drank a little too much and I caved in Heavy Heavy Low Low’s trailer, while telling them it was because of science. Oh what other silly things have I done in life? There are some that are just a little too filthy to bring up; I’d just like to forget them. But they’re all pretty funny. There’s been nothing too absurd from this tour. We’ve been too busy trying to not get arrested in a foreign country, or cause too much of a ruckus. I think we’re all getting a little bit older now too. Oh! Two tours back, I poked out my own eye while giving somebody the finger, that was pretty funny! I was like “ahhhh!” and I was just trying to make a joke, and I literally cut my cornea open. I owe over two thousand dollars in medical bills. I went to all these eye doctors, and like one of them— I had a flap of skin hanging off my eye, and a medical student was like “Um, theres like— this like— um skin— like on your eye— but like— it won’t heal— unless I like—“ yoink! And she pulled it off with a pair of tweezers. I went to another doctor who was like “You some how made a perfect triangle in your cornea. That’s weird.” So yeah, I learnt my lesson. Control yourself, period.
So you have a lot of songs about pizza, what’s your favourite pizza?
Fuck pizza. I really wish we never would have done that album. The songs are good, but when they sat me down and were like “Alright, write four songs about pizza.” I nearly had a seizure. I’m sorry to the people who love those songs, I love them too, but from a person who really takes pride in his lyrics writing about pizza is kind of kicking myself in the nuts. Seriously— a creative challenge well met. I wrote four different creative songs about pizza. I think we’re trying to get away from being completely ridiculous like that. Like it was fun, it was an E.P., it was supposed to be just the vinyl with the picture disc—it was a rad idea— and then record label was like “No, we want to do a CD.” And we were like “Fine…:”They didn’t even make the CD case anything like a pizza box. We have an actual vinyl record with a picture disc, and it comes in a pizza box that opens up, and that was all it was supposed to be. But because we have a record label, they were entitled to make a CD. It was supposed to be a limited edition — it was supposed to be 7, 500, and then they printed twenty some odd thousand, and they’re still selling them. So that kind of sucks. For a bunch of guys who really love their music and just want to make awesome songs, that kind of just kicked our selves in the ass. People really like it, and I think we’re going to start playing that song “Pizza Knife” again ‘cause we get a lot of requests for it. They are really whimsical songs, they were all just for fun, and they’re meant to be listened to while you’re with your friends eating pizza and drinking or whatever. That’s cool as long as people don’t think we’re a “Pizza-core” band or something. I personally love Round Table Pizza -- it’s a chain in the U.S. – and they’re building one down the street from my house. I’m ecstatic. My friend that I wrote “Cutsman” about, me and him used to get roundtables as kids.
(c) Rebecca Martyn, 2008
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