Rocket Pop 

Magstatic has a rock & roll history, at least as far as Salt Lake City is concerned.

Terrance DH, on vocals and guitar, is a veteran of local bands Season of the Spring, the Stench and Bad Yodelers. Drummer Joe Patterson used to pound skins for Mayberry. Rounding out this SLC “supergroup” is Pete Lindgren on bass. They probably ran into him in a bar, and the emo-core/power-punk/hard-rock sonics of Magstatic were hatched.

The trio talked to City Weekly about their new full-length album, Wristrockets & Rollercoasters (Guapo Records), and also tackled some of the more important philosophical questions about life, such as, “Will our van Maggy make it to the next show?” “Who’s buying the next beer?” and “Will this CD ever actually see the light of day?”

City Weekly: What’s different about the new album, as opposed to last year’s Cruiseliner?

Joe: It seems like there’s quite a bit more experimentation involved, and there are a lot of keyboard parts.

Pete: I like the sounds we’ve gotten. Terrance did a good job mixing it. It’s a different direction than we went last time. It’s a little more rocking, not quite as pop, yet there’s a catchy pop sense about it with great melodies and lots of hooks.

Joe: Some of the lyrics are really funny. That’s probably my favorite thing about the CD.

Terrance: We pretty much got to do whatever we wanted. It was just the three of us, and I was running the board and playing guitar at the same time. I need to give a shout out to Counterpoint Studios for letting us do what we do. It’s an awesome studio and I think we all had a better time recording than we ever have before.

CW: Any upcoming tour plans?

Joe: Well, we’ve been waiting almost eight months for this new album to come out. It’s taken forever and it’s killing us. Our tour plans have been delayed so much that now we’re not sure if we’ll tour until after winter. We don’t want to go without our new album being ready.

Pete: We were all looking forward to touring a few months ago, but now it’s looking like a good snowboarding season. Who would want to leave?

Terrance: Our van “Maggy” really hates to drive on wet roads. She’s like 50 feet long, a big old sled.

Joe: Touring these days is harder than ever, but our favorite town to play is Seattle.

Pete: Seattle, for sure. We have lots of friends up there, and Sub Pop [the label that released Magstatic’s first 7-inch single] will usually do a buy-out so the place is packed.

CW: Who’s the coolest band you’ve been on the road with?

Joe: My favorite band that we’ve toured with is MK Ultra. They rule.

Terrance: Mine’s gotta be Gloritone. When they played Salt Lake, I think they played a cowboy bar on State Street. They’re a band with what should be a hit record, but no one knows about it. They’re great guys, and they’re so funny onstage and they don’t even mean to be. We seemed to keep their spirits up when we arrived at their show in San Francisco with a tow truck pulling our van—with us still inside.

CW: What’s the best thing about touring?

Pete: Being able to drink beer and play music every night.

Joe: Not going to work and drinking beer every night.

Terrance: Watching Joe night after night. He can sleep with a ghetto box on his stomach blasting GBH in a van that’s moving. He’ll only wake up for cigarettes. We made a video of our tour last year, and I’m seriously considering trying to sell it because it’s so funny.

CW: How are the CDs selling?

Pete: The CDs are going a bit slow actually, we really need to hit the road. Oh well, we’re having a good time. We get together three or so times a week and rock. I guess as long as we’re happy, that’s all that matters. Lord knows if we’re out on tour playing for 10 or so people it doesn’t make us happy. A lot of times it seems like we’re wasting our time.

Joe: Yeah, like we just played this show in the South Towne Mall parking lot for some Coke and Olympics thing. The only person who watched us also asked if we could turn it down.

Terrance: When we got to the stage to play, they had this huge movie screen behind us showing Olympic moments, and then this giant “MAGSTATIC” came on the screen. It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. I yelled at Joe to turn around and we all laughed for a while. We played real quietly so we could talk. I’d never heard Joe play the drums so quietly; it looked like he was really struggling.

CW: What’s your take on the music scene in SLC, as compared to other major cities?

Joe: Ogden is actually hipper than Salt Lake—more punks, tattoos and parties. We love to play at Beatniks up there.

Terrance: I don’t understand why there’s so much competition between bands in this town. No one’s going anywhere, no one’s going to get picked up by a big label, and even if we don’t have the best scene in the world, we sure as hell have the best snow.

Pete: I think things are getting better all the time. There are a few great magazines, quite a few great local bands, one good all-ages venue, two great health-food markets, a few great recording studios and great touring bands coming through all the time.

CW: Any last words?

Terrance: If you would like to buy a CD, please visit www.Magstatic.com. Also, check out my new solo record, Yard Sale. I’m starving.

Joe: Dear Uinta Brewery, we would love to represent you. We’re huge fans.

Pete: If my bass equipment breaks one more time, I’m quitting the band.

Magstatic plays a benefit for the homeless at Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West (320-9887), on Saturday, Dec. 16, 8:30 p.m. Wristrockets & Rollercoasters will be available soon through www.Magstatic.com and local record stores. u