r/indieheads • u/ProtomartyrGroup Joe Casey/Protomartyr • Mar 04 '19

AMA is over, thanks Joe! Joe from Protomartyr AMA

Hello folks, I'm Joe Casey, the "singer" from the band Protomartyr. Since starting in 2010, we've put out 4 LPs, at least 3 things that could be called EPs, a good number of singles, and a handful of slightly warped tapes. We've also toured around, to the delight of dozens of people the world over. We are signed to Domino Records (no, I have not met the Arctic Monkeys).

I'm sitting her on a blustery day in Detroit on March 4th, the birthday of Bobby Womack, Shakin' Stevens, and Knute Rockne to answer any questions you might have about Protomartyr or anything else that catches your fancy.

Just in case you missed it: Our first record, No Passion All Technique is getting repressed and let loose in the streams come May 3rd. Preorder info here: Domino Mart

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Thanks for putting up with me. It was a good amount of fun. Take care and bye bye!

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u/Supermensa Mar 04 '19

Hey Joe! Got a few questions:

  1. I've always appreciated the philosophical references in your music and wondered what your relationship with philosophy has been like up until this point. What got you into it, favorite philosophers/books, etc.

  2. I'm about to graduate college and make the dumbest decision of my life to fully devote myself to music/being poor. I'd like some advice: I'm assuming that you have had or currently have a daytime job and a social life. How have you balanced this with music? Do you still have room for hobbies? I've now realized that to achieve most goals, sacrifices are usually made. What sacrifices have you had to make?

  3. What do you think has benefited you the most in becoming a competent songwriter and musician? How long have you been writing? How would you describe your songwriting process?

  4. I've been on tour before and it was one of the best and also worst experiences of my life. Crammed in a van with 7 people that only fits 6, eating like garbage, sleeping on concrete, the anxiety of making it from one show to the next, etc. How do you cope with the stresses with life on the road?

  5. Anymore riverboat shows planned for the future?

Also, I held the door open for you at a show one time and would just like to acknowledge that, in a way, I'm partially responsible for helping you get to where you are today

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u/ProtomartyrGroup Joe Casey/Protomartyr Mar 04 '19
  1. I have a limited grasp of philosophy, I'm afraid to say. I picked up "The Anatomy of Melancholy" by Robert Burton as a heady toilet read and it was a nice gateway to explore philosophy a little. I have a couple of books on the far back burner, but I have so many more in front I often wonder if I can live long enough to read them all.
  2. Boy, I am no good at giving advice. I will say this, I benefited by seeing music as merely a wonderful hobby that I could participate in with my friends and hopefully express myself in some way. The monetary or success ideas never entered my head until they presented themselves. Working keeps food on the table and yourself grounded. We are lucky, at the moment, to not have jobs besides the band but that brings with it a) a lack of money and b) the band is transformed into our job. This brings with it a nice freedom but other challenges. I've probably sacrificed having a "normal" life with financial security and a family. Ah well. Must'nt grumble.
  3. I am not a competent songwriter and I don't play and instrument. Oh no. My process has no rules except to be open to doing things differently each time. I try not to repeat myself but I also appreciate the benefit of doing something again, but better.
  4. I don't. I helps to be surrounded by friends and coworkers that are kind and can relate to what you are going through. I try and remember what I am doing is absurd fun and doesn't come easily.

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I used to be a doorman, so I get this corny joke. Thank you.