Welcome to the latest installation of the 5 Questions with MoB feature–this time around I caught up with the cool cats of Gentleman Auction House, and instead of the standard 5 Q&A routine, we scored big with 5 Q’s and 35 A’s! Well, I guess that’s how this collaborative septet of indie pop rockers roll, with everyone contributing to the bigger picture . . .

Could you lend some information on the recording process of The Book of Matches EP? Where and how was it recorded, and were there any lessons learned towards future recording sessions?

STEPHEN: Think about how much time it’ll take 7 people to record 12 songs.

RYAN: As for the recording process, I’ll try to avoid adding to the deluge of information you’re sure to get. I’ll say that we recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Washington D.C. and it was mixed and mastered at Silver Sonya Studios, also in Washington, D.C. We worked with the lovely Devin Ocampo, and Chad Clark, who did a stellar job. They deserve recognition for their excellent work.

STEVE: The first three songs on the EP are from the session we did at Silver Sonya Studios in D.C., the first two of which will be on Alphabet Graveyard. We weren’t even planning on putting an EP out until the AG release was pushed back and we felt like we needed something new to sell on tour. We spent a weekend scrambling to finish “Sunken Land”, which was a bare-bones demo that Eric had started, and “Parting Shot”, which we had started during the TRWHD sessions back in ‘06. In the end we were really happy with how the disc turned out as a whole, being as it was such a last-minute idea. I also don’t really feel like there’s a significantly discernible disconnect in the production value between the Silver Sonya tracks and the ones we did ourselves, which is encouraging not only in the sense that the flow of the record isn’t interrupted, but that it also serves as an inspiration for us to view self-recording as a viable option again for future projects.

KILEY: I think with 7 of us in the band, its important for each of us to know what we are all playing in any song before we go in the studio and find out something doesn’t work.

ERIC E: Every recording project teaches you something, either through your successes or failures. I will forever amplify keyboards from here on out, despite how much quicker and “cleaner” it might be to plug right in. No more of that business. Also, pad thai is essential.

MIKE: I think that we all learned a lot through the recording process for TBOM/AG. As a whole it was an expensive yet essential way for us to find out what we could accomplish as a band if you removed all of the “microscopes” that a band uses when recording itself. We learned a lot about our roles in not only each individual song but also in the band as a whole, and at least to me, that education was invaluable.

ERIC H: This does not answer the question, but NPR did a report on this “avant-garde” clothier earlier today, and it would have been great to have been wearing this line in D.C. You can now look trendy AND be safe at the same time.

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Who would you like to hear cover a night’s worth of your material? On the flip side, if you were to play an entire set of someone else’s songs, whose would you choose and/or enjoy playing the most?

RYAN: Pass. I’ll only embarrass the rest of the band with my answer.

KILEY: I’d like to hear N.E.R.D. cover us. I think itd be really interesting to hear Pharrel sing our songs and hear how he and Chad would treat the instrumentation. As far as who we could cover, I’d like us to do a set of Talking Heads.

ERIC H: With complete sincerity, I would love to see Tom Waits do a dramatic reading of the lyrics to each song. To hear Mr. Waits bellow, “We set the fire that stalked a town, We set the fire that burnt it down,” would be nothing less than brilliant. Although he would not be able to charge $150 per ticket doing Auction House cover songs.

ERIC E: I’d love to be covered by Erlend Oye. Every time he sings, he seems to spin gold. As far as covering another artist, I would reciprocate. I love his songs and would love to sing them. Even just in my basement.

MIKE: I think it would be kind of neat to go one of those overblown rock-radio festivals like the “95.7 XFM & Scott’s Tissue Present: The Fall Into Softness Tour” and see someone like Staind or Incubus playing one of our songs. Or really any band with a djembe for that matter… Basically, any band that would be completely out of context playing one of our songs.

STEPHEN: Sparkling Mike and the Sparkling Mike Band. I would enjoy playing anything from Soul Coughing’s record El Oso, or Self.

STEVE: I want to have our songs covered by an all-star cast of late 80’s/early 90’s popstars: Jane Child, T’Pau, Maxi Priest, Bananarama, Color Me Badd, Bell Biv DeVoe, the group that did “Hands to Heaven”…Breathe, I think. And I’d love for us to take a stab at a set of all their songs. At a benefit concert. Hosted by Bobby Brown.

We’re always looking to uncover new favorite artists, are there any band(s)/record(s) that you could recommend to our readers?

KILEY: Hawksley Workman, especially Delicious Wolves.

ERIC E: I am really loving the new Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin record, Pershing. Not super underground or anything, but that’s what just popped into my head. It’s perfect summer driving pop. Meant for those days when you’ve gotta go windows down.

STEVE: Our labelmates Bald Eagle, Foundry Field Recordings, and Sinkane, and our citymates The Hibernauts, Jumbling Towers, So Many Dynamos, and Jon Hardy & The Public. They’re all great in their own special way and I would love it if you would take them home with you.

STEPHEN: I don’t know anything about music. You already know everything I know.

ERIC H: I have two; the first is a French chanteuse named Camille. She has a record that came out two or three years ago (and still not available in the states!) called Le Fil. Each song was built around a constant B note, and each song is spectacular. I also have a great album by Manu Chao that is a summer favorite of mine called, “Sibérie m’était contéee.” However, he does a strange thing by using the same backing tracks for different songs and only changing the melodies, so you could probably take a chance with any record of his.

RYAN: I’ve gotten to see some incredible music by working here in the St. Louis scene, so I’ll keep my answers local. There’s a lot of talent here, so I’ll try to restrict my response to five answers: Theodore, Shame Club, Kentucky Knife Fight, 7 Shot Screamers, Victoria

MIKE: We have so made many great friends on the road these last few years. I definitely find that spend a great deal of time listening to bands that we have connected with more so than bands I don’t know personally. I.E. Colourmusic, Bound Stems, Yea Big + Kid Static, Elsinore, Headlights, The Orange Opera, etc.

With your upcoming tour are there any particular cities or venues that you’re particularly looking forward to playing? Are there any past tourdates that have been especially enjoyable or memorable?

RYAN: I’m looking forward to playing everywhere we haven’t played yet. After every show and in every city we’ve been fortunate enough to make a ton of great friends, both onstage and off. - Great cities have been Champaign, Illinois, and Stillwater, Oklahoma. (That is the one response that might be agreed upon by all members of the band.)

MIKE: Stillwater, OK and Champaign, IL are definitely are homes away from home although we have had a ton of fun in places like Albuquerque, NM, Bloomington, IN, Tucson, AZ, Columbia, MO, Springfield, MO, Chicago, IL, Ypsilanti, MI, and so on. I have learned from our past tourdates that most of the times it is the show that you least expect that turns into the most insane night on the whole tour. That is how Stillwater, OK has been for us. We played there for the first time on a Monday night during the summer and were greeted by the biggest dance party we have ever played for. You just sometimes just never know how something will turn out but I think that we are learning to not set unreal expectations beforehand. Playing with Mates of State in St. Louis was definitely a highlight for me this year.

STEVE: We’re going to be hitting my hometown of Des Moines, IA, for the first time this summer, so I’m excited about that.

STEPHEN: Stillwater, OK is rad. Every date good or bad is memorable because I’m doing what I’ve altered every other aspect of my life for.

KILEY: I’m looking forward to playing New York. We’ve always enjoyed playing Stillwater, OK, and Austin is just… There’s a good energy there, it’s nice to say we’ve played there.

ERIC E: I’m looking forward to visiting friends in New York, most notably ye olde BFF. Also meeting my lady in Philadelphia on her way back from Europe. So excited. Grrr. Playing to an interactive handful of Rowdy Roddy Pipers in an armory in Arkansas was pretty ridiculous.

ERIC H: Really, I am just waiting for the European tour.

The internet has dramatically altered the way artists can reach an audience. With things like blogs/MySpace/etc, what are your thoughts on the power of the internet in terms of helping (or hurting) your music?

ERIC H: This is the aforementioned technical question I promised to leave to those who care about such things.

STEVE: It’s certainly helped level the playing field between majors and indies, and labels and artists as well. I think there are bands that really utilize the opportunity for exposure, and I think that’s great, but I start to worry that it’s kind of becoming a musical oversaturation. There’s a daunting amount of music out there that’s readily available, and I think the effect of that will be two-fold: I think it will perpetuate the flavor-of-the-week bands that ping around the blogosphere, and I think it will put a lot influential power into the hands of critics, since people might become intimidated by how much is out there, and kind of want someone to sift through it for them. It’s hard, because on one hand I feel like we’re getting to the point where we need some quality-control gatekeepers, but on the other hand, shouldn’t everyone be able to decide what music they like on their own?

MIKE: I definitely think that the internet has been invaluable for us as a band. As much as social networking tools are getting a little out of control, there are not many places other than Myspace that you can check a venue’s calendar, find, listen to, and message local bands in other cities, and publicize your own band, all on the same site. It really is kind of nuts to think of how much information is at our fingertips. Some people are pretty ridiculous though with all of the themes and stuff that you can spiff up your page with. Maybe my Powerbook is getting on the old side but it just tends to freeze when I’m trying to surf through that stuff.

RYAN: The internet has made it possible for our music to be heard by an unbelievable amount of people very quickly. I can’t imagine a better thing than getting our tunes into people’s hands. You can’t beat the internet for that.

KILEY: I think it’s kind of like papparazzi, you can use it how want to. You can have the exposure and be smart about it, but it can also turn on you - overexposure, album leaks, etc. Its a love/hate relationship.

STEPHEN: I rarely use myspace or blogs so for me it’s not a big deal but there are some die hard bloggers that I think make a difference but like with anything there are many ways to accomplish the same goal.

ERIC E: It can be a bit gross but honestly I think I love it. Eww. That whole instant gratification thing can be quite alluring. Bingo!

Myspace: Gentleman Auction House