JOE AYOUB - LOW CULTURE

Name: Joe Ayoub

Band: Low Culture

Duty in the band: Guitar, some singin’, some writin’

(I hate every picture of me, so put pictures of Ace Frehley and say its me)

I definitely can’t say that Joe Ayoub and I go way back being buds nor do we ever party, but his connection to El Paso /Las Cruces and various parts of Texas have been with me for a good while since I started playing music back in my freshman high school days. I’ve enjoyed hearing his bands on my record player years before I personally knew him, watching shows he’s played, and being able to play quite a good amount of shows alongside his bands. Joe’s been in a plethora of bands. Some you’ve probably heard about and if you haven’t heard of any then get to it. As someone who crosses the state line often to see/play shows, I know the trek from El Paso to Las Cruces and vice versa is a pain especially if you have early morning work/school, but I wish I saw more people go out because it’s a damn blast and there is always an abundance of touring acts to see.  And a good amount of partying  (if that’s your thing). Exciting things are happening for Joe’s band, Low Culture, so read ahead and check his band out.

Goofy:

Clam chowder or egg drop soup?

I like most soup so it’s a draw, but bad clam chowder is way worse than bad egg drop soup.

Puppies or kittens? 

Kittens!!!

If you had the power to bring back someone from the dead, who would it be? 

My friends.

Favorite smell? 

Pizza.

If you had your own Ben & Jerry’s flavor what would the ingredients consist of?

Caramel, chocolate, pretzels, Heath bar, Reese’s peanut butter cups, almonds, and bacon.

The presidential race of 2012 is _____?

DUMB

What cheers you up the most on a shitty day?

Playing music.

Name some of your top guilty pleasures.

Lifehouse, 70’s pop hits, and current pop hits.

If you were chosen to be on MTV’s Real World reality show, what type of character would people perceive you as? 

The non-gay gay dude that’s really sensitive and girls just want to be friends with him. He’s always in the friend zone and is bitter.

Which career would look more promising for you: being a DJ or a rapper?  

A DJ, because they are mysterious.

If you were a vehicle what would you be?

A jet plane.

Personal:

Last book you read?

It was a graphic novel, the Alcoholic

I know you love Kiss so I have a couple questions dedicated to just that.

Favorite Kiss member?

Ace Frehley and Peter Criss -  tie!

How many times have you seen Kiss?

Only once in real life, many times in my dreams.

If you can purchase/attain any single piece of Kiss memorabilia, what would it be?

Peter Criss, ohhh burn!  I would love an Ace guitar.

What was the first instrument you learned to play and how old were you?

I was 12 or 13 when I started playing bass, and I am fully aware that it does not show now.

Your history in playing with bands is very extensive. Can you briefly go over all the bands you’ve been in? 

Briefly…..I think I was first in a band called Ground although we never called ourselves that for real, then Ellington Blue which was a band for a couple of shows that turned into another band called Sidkister, then Liz n’ Chuy.  Those were all in El Paso.  Then in Denton, I was in Whips and Furs, the Marked Men, Sugar Bears (one show), The Gash, Jojo and the Jetts, Swedish Teens, Potential John’s(toured with them), Vacation (Two Shows), Shang-a-lang, Rats and Birds, Pretty Kitty Committee  (that is my name, don’t steal it), a no name band for a show, Gypsy, Hot Times (never had a show), and Low Culture.

If I’m not mistaken you’ve had 3 main geographic bases where you have formed bands and wrote music. Those being El Paso, Denton, and Las Cruces. Can you say that you prefer any of the 3? How was each one different from one another?

I was 18 when I was in El Paso and I knew nothing about song writing. I loved it because of the innocence of it all.  Looking back I didn’t write very good songs, but  it was a great time for me though.  Denton was great in a lot of ways. I was in that area for 9 years.  I was able to grow a lot and I had great friends who influenced me and taught me how to write songs.  Las Cruces is like a mixture of El Paso and Denton. There is some innocence left but my song writing has improved a lot.  I think being in Las Cruces has helped me open up my song writing and willingness to try things out.  I think that makes sense.  I think in Cruces I have some people who are really like minded with what I want to do right now too.

If you weren’t living in Las Cruces, where would you see yourself at?

Somewhere with a beach, LA, who knows, El Paso

Over the years you’ve played a ton of shows but has there ever been a show where you have opened for a favorite band/a band you thought you’d never have the opportunity to play with?

I think when I started playing shows with Todd C.’s bands like URTC, Toys that Kill, etc.  That was a cool moment.  I always loved FYP so that was a big deal.  I have been lucky, I mostly have just played with friends bands that I think are amazing.  Shang-a-lang played Gilman one time and that was amazing to me, although the show wasn’t that good!  However doing that was awesome!  I have played shows with most of my favorite bands, and that is the best feeling in the world.

Are there any tours that stand out in your mind as the most fun, most horrific, most boring, most (whatever you can think of)?

My first tour was terrible.  I was in a street punk band called Whips and Furs. I actually loved the people who were in the band with me and our roadie, Drew.  Tour was so new to me and it was poorly set up and sort of a train wreck.  In hindsight it was still amazing that we did it though.  We played some really stupid shows in California - one was a backyard where the cops came, and then I think in San Diego where someone got stabbed?  Some tours stand out more than others, but that one will always stand out the most.

Has there ever been a point in your life where you wanted to call it quits in regards to playing music? 

No never, never ever, if anything I want to do it more.

Best/worst thing about being in a band?

Having a jobby job is both the best and worst. Best because I have money, worst because of the lack of time.

Favorite record label when you were growing up?

I didn’t really have one. I think I liked Fat Wreck Chords for a while, but no label really stuck out to me.

Any records you’re currently stoked on/you’re blasting nonstop? 

I was listening a lot to the first two songs on the Dead Dog Lp - Don’t Touch Me.  I have a short attention span so I go through phases.  I like hippie stuff as well as punk stuff and hardcore, now it is warm, so hardcore!

Last book you read?

I am trying to read more, but I mostly read graphic novels. I’m currently reading  Black Hole by Charles Burns. The last book I read was the Alcoholic.

Is there any part of the DIY scene that you can say ticks you off?

I am in my 30’s and I hate it all.  Joking of course, but mostly true.

Low Culture:

How did Low Culture get its name?

Ask Chris, I think it’s the opposite of High Culture.

How exactly did Low Culture come about?

I know it was during a time Shang-a-Lang was nearing the end.

Was Low Culture the new outlet for you and Chris to still play together?

I quit Shang-a-lang, and moved,. At the same time, Chris started a band called Total Jock with Cade, Sam, and James.  James moved, and Chris, Cade and Sam started practicing. I moved back and asked to be in the band….done.  Played our first show the same night Shang-a-lang played its last show, circle of life.

How would you describe the band musically? Internally?

I think we all have a vision, especially Chris and I.  We are pretty particular about things, and that is what is great about this band.  I think we are on the same page, and if we are not we can talk about it and figure some things out.  It is an easy band to be with -  great people , great musicians, everyone is pretty easy to please.

Do you resort to only seeing your band members during practice/shows or do you hang out with them on a regular basis? 

We hang out.  I probably hang out with Chris more, but if I played D and D (Dungeons and Dragons) I would probably hang out with Cade and Sam more.

Last time I spoke to you guys, you said you recorded in Phoenix, AZ. How did that go? Would you say you prefer recording in a studio or doing it yourself on a 4/8 track, tape recorder, etc? 

Recording was great. I like the studio thing actually, it sounds great.  I love the 4/8 track thing too though. Some things we have recorded sound great on the 4/8 track. We decided to go to the studio mostly because we wanted something  that sounded better for us.  In Shang-a-Lang especially, some of the songs suffered due to the recordings, which in some ways add to their charm, but for the Low Culture stuff we wanted to do things different and try something else out.  It was cool to go out of town and record as well. Recording is always different and I know very little about it.  It is not something I geek out about, but I am happy when the final product sounds good.

Are any of the songs that the band recorded the same ones on the demo?

Yeah 2 of them, Georgia and Travel Song.

What’s the music writing process like? Would you say that you all write collectively or is it segmented into members writing riffs and bringing them to practice? 

Chris at this point is the main song writer, but Cade and I also contribute.  It is a process, someone brings in a song, we learn it, and then try to make it better or change it up.  Very few songs are brought and not changed at all. I think we try to challenge ourselves at times with song writing.  I’m really picky about song writing. I just never want things to sound silly or generic.  I think we are all honest and try to add things to songs or switch things up at times.  I am notorious for bringing a song to practice, everyone learning it, then scrapping it because I hate it.

What’s next for Low Culture? Supposedly you guys are coming out with a 7” sometime soon?

We try to not play a lot, but we totally do.  We are playing different things and that’s awesome, we have played El Paso a few times now, we are playing Way out West fest in Tucson, an East Coast tour with Iron Chic that will end up in Ottawa for Ottawa Explosion Festival, recording hopefully in Fort Worth, and Awesome Fest in September…. A lot!

What’s your drunk/sober percentage when playing live?

I have to concentrate when playing guitar, but I am learning to play more drunk. That sounds terrible but I would rather play kind of drunk.

So Low Culture is doing some dates with Iron Chic up in Canada. Excited? Ever played in Canada?  

Marked Men played Toronto and Montreal before. I’m super excited for it all. I really cannot say enough great things about what is going on with that tour.  When Marked Men played Montreal it was weird because everyone spoke French and we felt really dumb.  We were super loud that night, and the cops came and gave the bar a ticket for the noise.  This guy that worked at the bar came up to me and was yelling at me for the noise and said we can’t be so loud.  I was super confused because we were done playing; I apologized and then told the guy we were done. He just looked at me then asked to buy a shirt.

If Low Culture had the opportunity to play overseas, where would you like to perform?

Anywhere

What bands would you like to tour with in the future? 

Any of Todd C.’s bands, the Bananas, Mind Spiders, our friends mostly.

I’m out of questions. If you have any questions for me/shoots, go for it.

What are you doing later?

end!

Check out the Low Culture tracks that will be on their new 7” via Dirt Cult Records  at http://dirtcultrecords.bandcamp.com/album/low-culture-s-t-7.

Chris