Local Band Interview: Howling Boil

 Howling Boil at the Midway Cafe, 12/4/12

Portsmouth-based Howling Boil makes power pop-inspired rock n' roll. Band members Tyler Agnew, Ryan Agnew, and Mike Luz discuss the “resurrection of American rock music,” their apple beer-infused songwriting, and the (dubious) Leonard Cohen/Bob Dylan debate:

 
How did the five of you meet?

Tyler: It’s actually six of us – a clean half-dozen, or five and a half depending on who your sources are. I met Ryan at the hospital shortly after he was born. Mike and Andy were childhood chums from Milford, NH. Mike and I met a few days into our freshman year at college. [Chris] Liquori was a classmate of Ryan’s and was introduced to the rest of us through him. Dan was introduced to us through a mutual friend.

Mike: That’s the official story. The truth is we were co(s)mically conceived by a demon named Howl and an angel named Boil doing the dirty on a bed of galaxies. It’s like Moby said, “we’re all made of stars.”

Tyler: It’s like Gary Glitter said...

Ryan: Lest we forget the wee bit Shaolin O'Boyle. There are really several governing bodies of Howling Boil and we're truly blessed for each of them.

 
When did you start playing music?

Tyler: All of us had been playing together two or three at a time for years. Mike and I had a band going on in 2010 called “Luz and Agnew” and Andy and Mike had a group called “Group Dynamics”. They were both strictly recording endeavors, so we came up with Howling Boil to be involved in a more collective atmosphere and start actually recreating our music live.

Mike: Howling Boil is the perpetual (re)culmination of all of our musical aspirations and visions by and through which our long-standing individual drives to succeed are being actualized. Like Kid Rock said, “we’re an American band.”

Ryan: Mike, Tyler and I all played in a band together for about a month in the spring of 2007. The origin of Howling Boil is somehow deeply seated in the year 2011.

 
With so many band members, what is your writing process like? To what extent is it collaborative? Is there a primary songwriter or lyricist?

Tyler: It’s a lot of fun. The majority of the songs that we play right now started from one of us bringing a part, or a part originating from a jam, and the others finishing it up and seeing it through. Durations of writing phases have lasted from a single night (“Malcolm”) to a few months (“Second Chorus”). Mike is the sole lyricist – he writes nice words and sings ‘em quite good if I do say so myself.

Mike: Right away writing as HB was clearly the most exciting way to produce music I’d ever been involved in, largely because its telos was nothing short of the resurrection of American rock music, i.e., sluggin’ mad beers.

Ryan: It's a very collaborative process. I'm really satisfied with the fact that, when I listen to our songs I don't remember who wrote which part. I think we've really only had one significant period of writing as a band, so I’m very eager for what will come of the next phase.

 
How did you come up with the name Howling Boil?

Tyler: Ummm…see soo.

Mike: See, see, see soo.

Ryan: Believe it or not, the name was born out of an infatuation with cleanliness. It's like Billy Corgan said...or was it Marc Summers?

 
Your sound incorporates elements of psych rock, power pop, and classic rock. What are your biggest influences? Do you all have a similar musical sensibility?

Tyler: We actually do have quite a similar palette among the members which makes it really easy when you’re trying to get a 70’s soft rock part or a black metal sound or something and the others get the frame of reference right away.

Mike: I think the fact that me and Andy grew up together, and Tyler and Ryan grew up together, and remained close and continued to push each other and influence each other, has really set the stage for how fluidly we are now able to actualize our sound-visions. It’s also trust; we do have variations of preference (favorite albums of particular artists, etc.), but at the end of the day we all believe in each other’s abilities to stand and deliver, regardless.

Ryan: I feel like no matter what music I'm interested at the time, either Tyler or Mike will know where I'm coming from. We all listen to a lot of different music and I think we naturally synthesize those sounds. I used to worry about whether the songs were too disparate sounding, now I think they really make sense in the context of one another.

 
"Green Under Glasses" is one of my favorite songs of yours: it starts off an intense, somewhat eerie rock song and somehow segues seamlessly into Del Shannon's "Runaway." What was writing this song like? How did you decide to sample this golden oldie?

Tyler: That’s one of the original “Pure Iconics” songs from the last phase of the “Luz and Agnew” project – it was recorded on hefty amounts of apple beer in my bedroom.

Mike: I actually recorded a version of “Runaway” under the name Disunicorps around the time HB was starting, so I was really living that song for about a week (apart from it being an all-time favorite), and Green Under was in the works, and that bridge, I always thought it had an early-60s rock vibe, and so one time playing it I just started singing Del’s part over it and VOILA. 12 months later we recorded it.

Ryan: This song was written before I was playing with these guys. But I really like the way the recording came out. It will always remind me of the end of the summer. Al Pacino really shines on this take.

 
What side do you take in the Bob Dylan/Leonard Cohen debate? Are the band members united in their stance?

Tyler: The band has no official stance on this. I personally dig ‘em both and I’m seeing Mr. Cohen soon.

Mike: Just saw Mr. Dylan in Boston. Love ‘em both. Debate?

Ryan: I've had the 'Songs of Leonard Cohen' CD playing every night for the last week and a half. I think I'm still leaning towards Bob Dylan. But would also like to suggest Neil Young as an alternative in the debate. I think 'On The Beach' is the best record any of them ever have made. Though, that might be a knee jerk reaction from having listened to it yesterday.

 
What are you guys listening to now?
 
Tyler: Mike and I are overdosing on the Chameleons U.K. right now. This band from New Orleans called Belong has been in my cd player at least once a week for about two years now. An old Portland, OR band named Hazel and Maurice Ravel are also in heavy rotation. We all tend to go on major tilts of listening to certain bands or artists at the same time – it’s cute.

Mike: CHAMELEONS. These guys are not to be underestimated. Also, Rebel Meets Rebel, Jessica Pratt, and I also finally somehow got into The Cure’s “Disintegration” this Fall.

Ryan: My entire September and October were consumed by David Bowie. Predominantly the 'Aladdin Sane' album. Specifically 'Drive-In Saturday' from that album. The song 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' is blowing my mind right now too. I'm really looking forward to the new Mark Mulcahy album.

 
What's up next for HB?

Tyler: Our first record “Maiden America” will be out in early 2013 – we are finishing it up as we speak. Beyond that we are setting up HB Headquarters Part II, writing and planning a Spring tour.

Mike: New space, new music. Tour. Let's go.

Ryan: I predict a fair amount of infinitelooping scenes from 90s films and trying to derive melodies from that. Most importantly I'm interested in the new music we'll be beginning to write soon.


This interview also appears in WZBC's zine.