To say that Bob and Greta are an unlikely match is an
understatement. Bob favors rock guitar, while Greta is a fan of classical piano
— somehow, it works for the two founders of the Hush Sound, an indie band from
Three albums after they met at the movies, the Hush Sound is on tour with Panic
at the Disco, Motion City Soundtrack and Phantom Planet. When I arrived at the
venue, it was hours before the show and over 90 degrees outside. But Greta
Salpeter took some time to chat with me in the air-conditioned cool of her tour
bus.
The Guardian: How did The Hush Sound first start out?
Greta Salpeter: Well, Bob [Morris] and I met through mutual
friends when I was maybe 13 and he was 17. He and I just ended up gravitating
toward each other and we started to just write songs together for fun. We would
sit around and make up these stories like “A guy comes into a bank with a gun”
and then I would play really low on the piano like dun dun dun. It was just a
whole lot of messing around. So anyway, we started doing that for fun —
actually, when he got signed to his other band he told me that, “Now that I’m a
signed musician, I’m not going to be able to record music with you because I’m
contractually obligated to the other band.” That lasted about two weeks and
finally Bob was like, “You know, screw it, let’s just make this work.” Very
soon after, we found Darren [
our drummer and Chris [Faller] our bass player.
TG: And then, how were you discovered by Ryan Ross from
Panic at the Disco and signed?
GS: Okay, I’ve never actually talked to Ryan about it, which
is funny. I probably should know this story better, but apparently Ryan heard
us on the Internet when we were streaming our first record. Ryan heard it and
e-mailed Pete Wentz and said “Hey Pete, there’s this band from
you should check out called the Hush Sound. […] Anyways, so Pete listened to
it and he sent us a message from his Sidekick that had very bad grammar and it
said, “I am Pete from band Fall Out Boy. What band are you up to?” He basically
came over, met with us, said he’d like to sign us and we were so impressed with
the Fueled By Ramen family and just how warm and enthusiastic they were so we
just said, “yes.”
TG: What are the perks of being on tour?
GS: The perks, I mean, first of all just meeting so many
incredible bands on tour and getting all these new influences. It’s just
learning as much as you can about other people and then, obviously, playing a
show and being able to play the music live and connect with the people who are
at the shows. (In a low voice) You know, the chicks. The chicks and the
champagne. (Laughs)
TG: Did your parents ever discourage you from pursuing music
growing up?
GS: No! They were a little hesitant at first because it’s so
easy to get taken advantage of in the music industry, but we were fortunate
enough to immediately fall into good hands. I remember it was the day that I
took the ACT, I was a junior in high school and when I came home Pete came over
to my house and just sat down and talked to my parents and was very well spoken
and very intelligent. He immediately impressed my parents and they thought it
was a good idea.
TG: It’s like he was asking you out on a date or something.
GS: I know!
TG: Would you rather be on the cover of Rolling Stone or
Time magazine?
GS: Oh, I don’t know. I don’t read Time magazine. It’s a
really conservative magazine, isn’t it? Rolling Stone or Time? I would rather
be on Rolling Stone.
Chris Faller: Now? Rolling Stone is lame, I gotta say.
GS: True. Lindsay Lohan’s been on the cover of Rolling
Stone.
TG: Backstreet Boys or *NSYNC?
GS: *NSYNC. Oh yeah. That was my first concert.
TG: Would you rather play a large arena concert or a small
venue?
GS: It depends. I prefer smaller clubs because you can
actually see who you’re playing for and the sound is just so much better. When
you play in an arena, while it’s very exciting with that many people, you can’t
hear anything and they can’t really hear you … I know from when I saw *NSYNC
when I was 10 that I wish I was closer to the action.
TG: Would you rather be a polar bear or a grizzly bear?
GS: The polar bear’s environment is rapidly being destroyed
so I’d rather be a grizzly bear in Yellowstone Park.
TG: Get even or get over it?
GS: Oh, definitely get over it. I just have this idea that,
well, everyone’s going to die anyways. Let’s just live our lives in peace.
