HOUSTON CALLS

There’s something infectious about Houston Calls. I usually run in the opposite direction when I hear the word Emo but after a few spins in the old iPod the boys debut ‘A Collection Of Short Stories’ grew on me with its earnest charm and Punk Pop sensibilities and has been lathered with considerable praise since it’s release. It’s a well-crafted mix of youthful optimism and struggle that knows how to bury a chorus firmly in your brain. I guess it’s no real surprise then that bassist Jarrett Seltzer (no relation to Brian Seltzer) is such a nice guy.
“We actually reply to all our Myspace messages personally…it may take us a few weeks when we’re touring but we get round to it. It’s really important to us.”
Judging by the number of fans and messages they have on Myspace (including marriage proposals and desperate pledges of teenage love) that shows some dedication.

“I guess that there are two types of bands. The ones that let the record company do everything for them and the ones that take the resources they’re given and use them to their best advantage. We’re definitely a band that really has a hands on approach ”He explains. Adding themselves the ever growing list of bands being born out of the DIY internet age, Houston Calls started by getting the support of the online community as well as touring independently. “Originally we set up a Myspace page but no one knew who we were so we went to the Drive Thru/Rushmore Records page and we would add as many people as we could. We’d call each other up and it was a competition to see how many people we could get to come to our page. It’s great to have that connection with people because after all the fans are the ones that make all this happen.”
This philosophy hasn’t stopped after signing with a label. The band’s website has journals for each of the members as well as links so fans can chat to the guys on IM. ‘It’s awesome to have that connection.’

Having built up a fan, the band eventually signed with Rushmore Records. “They’ve been amazing right from the start. When the album went over budget, they gave us the extra money. We really wanted this company to do the artwork for our album and they paid extra for that as well.”
The band took a slightly more intimate approach when it came to recording the album. Enlisting producer Ed Rose (Get-Up Kids, Motion City Soundtrack) they then shifted to the solitary space of Eudora, Kansas with its population of 5000 people and never ending cornfields. “We chose to record in Eudora cause it was kind of a spontaneous thing to do. There’s nothing there but cornfields so you really have no choice but to hang out at the local diner and play music. It’s a nice contrast to recording in a city like LA. It was also great to work with Ed. We’ve been fans of his work with the Get-Up Kids for a long time and he was amazing.”

Touring across the US constantly and promoting your record must be exhausting but exciting at the same time. What have been the highlights so far? “ I guess the biggest moment for us so far was flying to LA to sign the deal with Rushmore Records. I always had this dream that we as a band would fly in a plane to experience that cliché rockstar lifestyle. We’re just about to go on tour in Japan with Yellowcard before we head to Australia and this is our first international tour. Playing to much larger audiences than we’re used to. It’s pretty exciting playing with a band like Yellowcard. They’ve sold like over 2 million albums and having the opportunity to share shows with them is awesome. I’ve heard that audiences in Japan can be kinda strange. A friend of told me that they can be really quiet but if you try getting off the stage and running from one end of the venue to the other that you’ll never make it. It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit and I can’t believe that were actually playing shows there. We’ve also received a ton of emails from Bands in Australia wanting to play with when we tour.”

Is it difficult playing to so many different audiences? For example, how different are crowds in NY from LA? “ It’s much harder to play shows in LA cause the crowd is a lot tougher and people don’t’ really give music a lot of time but if you go somewhere like Anaheim, there’s heaps more excitement and the kids are more genuine. We’re playing in Long Island at the moment and that’s different again and I guess that’s the great thing about touring. That no matter how difficult one place may be there’s always the next place to go to.”

It looks as if the future for the young lads of Houston Calls is going to be very bright indeed. Bypassing the usual trappings associated with Power Pop and infusing their songs with some insightful storytelling, it’s going to be interesting to see where the future takes them. Are we going to be able to get our hands on another record in the near future? “For the time being we’re gonna tour and just enjoy the whole experience. I love just listening to music and being able to play shows. I’m listening to a lot of Tokyo Rose and Just Surrender at the moment.
I guess we’re just enjoying the moment.”

In closing, I thought I’d go for the jugular with a hard hitting question. Know any dirty jokes?

“I actually paid this bum a dollar and he told me this joke. Why doesn’t Santa Claus have any children?...cause he only cums once a year.”

Come on…my mum can do better than that!