Be Your Own Pet

By Cameron Reed

Sunday October 15, 2006

Battleship Is Old School.

It’s pretty cute talking to young rock stars. When you really break it down it’s like talking to your kid nephew. All they want to do is talk about summer camp and all you want to do is buy them beer. Be Your Own Pet reminds me of an awesome garage band playing a high school talent show, because that’s what they are. Jonas is the guitar player for BYOP and he turns 19 a couple days before their show in Vancouver. Buy him a beer.

ONLY: What’s it like being on Thurston Moore’s label?

Jonas: It’s awesome. It’s cool to work with those dudes. They’ve been really good to us. There are a lot of people we could have worked with that I’m glad we aren’t.

ONLY: Like you guys could have been working with Universal Records or some other major label?

J: You know that [Ecstatic Peace] is connected to Universal, right?

ONLY: Oh fuck! I didn’t. Well, it shows how much research I did.

J: I know what you mean, though. That is sort of how I think about it. It’s the best of both worlds, you know. Artistically we get to work with some of the coolest people I know and then we have Universal’s financial support.

ONLY: Any cool things happen on the road so far?

J: I got to go by the High Times offices in New York a few days ago. That was pretty rad. Instead of coffee breaks they have spliff breaks and they have a keg in their break room.

ONLY: How are you guys killing time in the van?

J: My headphones broke so I have to listen to other people talk or the windshield wipers scrape. We got the game Battleship! It’s old school.

ONLY: So you’re in North Carolina right now? Have you ever been there?

J: Yeah, I have. I went to summer camp here a long time ago.

ONLY: Summer camp seems like an American thing, I didn’t know too many people that ever went to summer camp.

J: I guess it is sort of part of American culture. It was fun as hell though. I went for three weeks in 3rd or 4th grade. I remember it was the first time I had been away from my parents for that long. It helped me get used to being away from home when I was that young.

ONLY: Did you have competitions against rival camps across the lake?

J: No, nothing like that. I remember the first time I ever danced with a girl was at summer camp, though. They combined the all-boys camp with the all-girls camp for a big dance. It was a pretty big deal.

ONLY: Do you guys have girlfriends or boyfriends at home that you have to leave?

J: Not me, I roll solo. Jemina [the singer] has a boyfriend that sometimes she has to leave, but a lot of the time she brings him on the road.

ONLY: How’s that? Do you guys fight with him?

J: [Pause] No. It’s just kind of a nuisance.

ONLY: Do you wanna talk some shit? We can talk some shit?

J: [Laughs] No man, I probably shouldn’t get into it.

BYOP just cancelled their show @ Richard’s on Richards on Oct 27, 2006. Bullshit!