MUSIC MONDAY: How a favor for a friend turned into a signed band
Interchangeable Dad playing at The 906, a Mount Pleasant home that hosts months house shows on Nov. 22, 2015. | Photo by Austin Grinnell
In the middle of his band’s performance, Ben Crane slung his bass guitar behind his back, lifted hair clippers and shaved his friend’s head until hair coated the floor.
The band didn’t pause their performance as the long, blond strands hit the vibrating living room floor.
Crane, a Central Michigan University alumnus and the bass guitarist of Interchangeable Dad, said this spring 2015 show was just one of the craziest performances of the band.
The band, consisting of two CMU alumni and one current CMU student, is currently signed with Moore Media Records.
Central Michigan Life caught up with the band member to discuss Interchangeable Dad's ambiguous genre and turning basements into the ideal "grudge dungeon" to perform in.
CM LIFE: How did you get the name Interchangeable Dad?
CRANE: We had a long list on a notebook paper with words we paired together after flipping through a dictionary. It came down to Interchangeable Dad or Slow Motion Platypus Bird. Then there were the raunchy ones that won’t make the paper. It was just us being goofballs.
When did you decide to become a band?
We all lived together, and one roommate was part of the Broadcasting and Cinematic Arts program. He had to record a local band for a class and said “I’m screwed unless you start writing some songs.” He was kind of our motive. He also got us our first free set of recorded songs in Moore Media Studios.
How would you describe Interchangeable Dad's genre?
We boogie. If we were to fit into a genre, it would be ‘aggressive funky boogie rock.’ We like to fit a lot of genres into every song and change it up to keep us guessing. We don't rule anything out.
What’s your favorite kind of venue to perform at?
Grunge dungeon basements or people’s living rooms. We’ve played in bars, in casinos and at a music festival. But those are more of an intimate experience. People go there for live music, not for anything else.
How do you get ready for a show?
We don’t really rehearse because we always lose the set list. We just play by the seed of our pants and make sure it has power. Sometimes we duck-tape pillows to the windows to keep the sound from getting out to keep the police away. The people who go out and listen to music are actually less of a rowdy bunch because the focus is music. The sole purpose isn’t to see who can get the drunkest.
What do you hope people get out of your music?
I want everyone to have a good time. It’s always great to see people dance and shove each other around. I want them to have an experience with the band, not just listening to bad music through bad speakers.
