The ACBs // The 405 Interview

We're a little bit smitten with The ACBs here at The 405. Indie-pop done well is pretty rare but these guys from Kansas seem to have nailed it perfectly. This was cemented last year when they released the wonderful Stona Rosa, which has been on heavy rotation ever since. We caught up with Konnor Ervin to find out more about the band and their plans for 2011. How are you today? I'm having a great day, thanks. All I have to do is watch my friend's dogs while he's away. Perhaps some music work later. I've hardly gotten out of bed to be honest with you.  Could you talk us through 'Stona Rosa'? How does it differ from your debut release? We wanted to make a rock record, and I had even demoed out a full album that we had been rehearsing. But after trying a couple studios, we were having a hard time getting what we felt was the right sound. On a trip to Oklahoma, heading to the studio where the Flaming Lips record, our van caught on fire. We made it to the studio, but had to return to Kansas City in a u-haul with just a single track, which wasn't outstanding.   At this time, moral was at an all-time low, and when it was announced that a couple band members planned to move, i decided to take a handful of unused pop demos into a friend's studio to re-record them one at a time.  I later brought in some friends to play on it, including Bryan (ACBs). That's how Stona Rosa came about. On the first album we recorded all drums, then all bass, etc, so it was more cohesive in that way from song-to-song. It’s more upbeat for the most part, and more guitar-driven. Stona Rosa is certainly more mellow. We were first introduced to your music by Phil from SSLYBY. He said that you played his wedding. Did you use this opportunity to crack out some Adam Sandler style Wedding Singer moves? Yes, we played at Phil's wedding and it was a blast. We've been big SSLYBY fans for a while, so that was a pretty big deal for us. Unfortunately, we were unable to channel true wedding singer moves, but we did play a couple cover songs.   What's Missouri like as a place for music? Is it supportive? We know some really good bands in Missouri and Kansas (Lawrence) and most of them are very friendly and supportive, and not in a phony way. It's pretty easy to tell a networking bullshitter from a genuine music lover.   What sort of music influences you guys? Everyone in the band listens to tons of music, so it’s hard to say what our influences are. I’m into newer stuff like Surfer Blood, Twin Shadow, Ariel Pink, Tame Impala, but as a songwriter I'm probably more rooted in 60s top 40 (Beach Boys, Beatles, Association), early 90s R&B (SWV, En Vogue, Jade), because that’s what I listened to as a kid. I like the balance of pop structure.   What's wrong with Italian girls? Nothing really. They're pretty. I don't match up well with them. Do you think a lot of kids sneak out of their houses to come see you play, like in the 'Boy Like Me' video? I wish that were the case, but Kansas City doesn't have many all-ages clubs running anymore.   Lastly, can you please come to the UK? We'd love to visit the UK for sure. We'll seriously work on it.  
Stona Rosa is out now