The Smoking Section steams up Willy's Pub
Last week, the Thresher snuck backstage following The Smoking Section's crowd-slaying show at Willy's Pub to hang out with the band and bask in the glow of their fame while asking them deep and soul-searching questions. The conversation covered everything from jorts to, of course, spirit animals.Rice Thresher: So how long have you guys been playing together?
Page Robinson (vocals): Freshman year, we drank a lot of bourbon and then I told Erik [Tanner] we needed to sing the blues and, gradually, we became a band.
Mark Hoffman (percussion): Erik and Page started playing together, and then they approached me because they heard I played the drums. [Daniel Hays] knew Austin [Edwards] from school and also joined on drums because we decided it would be good to have two influences. Also, I was busy for our first show.
Erik Tanner (guitar): Austin actually joined the band three days before our first show.
MH:: MK [Quinn] is a longtime friend of all of us because we're all at the same college.
ET:: When Page and I started playing together, MK would join us because she's got a great ear for harmony. Then we started out and it would be me on guitar and the two of them singing.
MH:: Stuart [Nelson] joined right around the time we exploded into stardom.
Stuart Nelson (vocals): I really started playing with you guys about the beginning of this year.
RT: So you guys play blues, and I heard you guys tonight and at Jamfest last year play a lot of covers. Do you have any original songs?
SN:: We played about four tonight: "Livin' in your Lovin'," "Keystone Blues," "The Film" and "Gone Gone Gone."
RT: What was the best show you guys have ever played before, and what made it great?
ET:: I'd say first time we played at Pub. We had a really good crowd because nobody had any work due; they were happy to be back and were geting ready for the first weekend.
Austin Edwards: There was sex. I can attest to that. I saw it.
ET:: We also played at Martel during eer Bike.
AE:: I remember you were wearing your cutoff jorts.
RT: One of my friends in high school had a pretty mean pair of jorts that were short enough to where his pockets came past the edge of his jorts.
MH:: We both have jorts, but I think Erik's are the only ones that go past the pocket.
PR: Lieutenant Dangle. You know what I'm talking about.
RT: How often do you guys practice?
ET:: Page and I practice on a fairly regular basis and test out a lot of material, and so we find what we've written that works the best or ideas that we've had, but today was the first time we've practiced as a band in a month, and that was two hours before the show.
RT: You're all seniors, right? What's the plan for next year?
PR: Law school.
MH:: Nah, we're gonna stick around and play Pub.
AE:: We get a $15 bar tab each, plus free Bud Light.
SN:: We're thinking of switching to electronic music and sending each other parts.
AE:: Like the Postal Service.
ET:: Yeah, we might start some side projects and expand a little.
RT: Do you guys have a MySpace or Facebook?
MH:: We have a Facebook page. It's got a picture of an ashtray and we use it to send messages whenever we have shows on campus.
RT: What is your spirit animal and why?
SN:: Dude, I just found mine like two days ago, and it's established firmly. It's a mayna bird. It's like a black bird. You've probably never heard of it.
PR: Everyone, pick the spirit animal of the person sitting to your right.
SN:: Erik is a stray cat.
PR: Mark is a golden retriever.
MH:: I actually get that a lot, but I'm like a really smart one that you can take hunting.
SN:: MK is a lemur.
MH:: Austin is like a sheepdog that you cherish and that has been part of the family for a long time that sits at the table and that you can train to go to the bathroom in the toilet.
MK Quinn (keyboard): And go on runs in the snow.
AE:: Yeah, except I'm from Florida ...
ET:: Page is Mother Earth. Gaea.
SN:: Lioness.
PR: Except I don't really have a mane.
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