What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences and are they the same as when you started out?
Jason: I had always wanted a band name that referenced Star Wars. When we first formed the band, we made a list of 75-100 names and Hyperspace won the battle. It was Star Wars related and it sounded vague enough that we could pretty much play any genre of music and not have to change the name. My influences tend to be a little strange: Weezer, Green Day, Matthew Sweet, Nirvana, Nada Surf, Superdrag, Sebadoh, Nerf Herder, Sugar, Fountains of Wayne, and Fugazi.
Ryan: My influences, to name a few, are Unwritten Law, Goldfinger, Hum, Blink 182, Rancid, NOFX, Local H, The Atari’s, Social Distortion, Bad Religion.
Kayvan: My earliest influences were early Metallica and Black Sabbath; although, I don’t really think my playing style is necessarily indicative of them. I’ve found so many artists influential over so many genres, so it’s tough to say; I guess the ones that have crept into my playing over the years are mostly Black Flag, Misfits, Ramones, Rancid, Joy Division, The Cure, The Jam, and even the early melodic playing from guys like Gene Simmons and Sir Paul McCartney.
How do you approach songwriting?
Jason: The inspiration for most of my song ideas come from pop culture, comic books, and Star Wars. It could be a movie, a song by another band, a video game, or sometimes it’s just a thought – hey, no one has written a song about this subject before. But other times it just comes out of nowhere. If we start playing a riff or Ryan is messing around with a drum beat, I just start playing some chords and singing whatever comes to mind.
Ryan: Lyrics wise, I leave that responsibility to Jason and Kayvan. That’s not to say I haven’t added some inspiration to a few of our tracks. For instance our song “Halle Berry” is centered on my obsession with the classic movie Swordfish. Despite its 25% Rotten Tomatoes score, its music soundtrack redeemed some of the cheesier acting, and the cherry on top was Halle Berry’s au natural cinematic debut.
Kayvan: More often than not, the music comes first and lyrics are added later based on its flow; sometimes there might be a cool idea or a concept that I want to convey, and then I write music based on that vibe. My songs usually have been about people I’ve known, nostalgia or longing for something, or maybe based on something I’ve read about. It could be allegorical though; for example, “Do or Do Not” might reference Star Wars and Yoda’s teachings, but it’s really more so about “you” the listener and is a nod to the positive lyrics of bands like Gorilla Biscuits, Youth Of Today, and Sick Of It All.
How do you approach songwriting?
Jason: The inspiration for most of my song ideas come from pop culture, comic books, and Star Wars. It could be a movie, a song by another band, a video game, or sometimes it’s just a thought – hey, no one has written a song about this subject before. But other times it just comes out of nowhere. If we start playing a riff or Ryan is messing around with a drum beat, I just start playing some chords and singing whatever comes to mind.
Ryan: Lyrics wise, I leave that responsibility to Jason and Kayvan. That’s not to say I haven’t added some inspiration to a few of our tracks. For instance our song “Halle Berry” is centered on my obsession with the classic movie Swordfish. Despite its 25% Rotten Tomatoes score, its music soundtrack redeemed some of the cheesier acting, and the cherry on top was Halle Berry’s au natural cinematic debut.
Kayvan: More often than not, the music comes first and lyrics are added later based on its flow; sometimes there might be a cool idea or a concept that I want to convey, and then I write music based on that vibe. My songs usually have been about people I’ve known, nostalgia or longing for something, or maybe based on something I’ve read about. It could be allegorical though; for example, “Do or Do Not” might reference Star Wars and Yoda’s teachings, but it’s really more so about “you” the listener and is a nod to the positive lyrics of bands like Gorilla Biscuits, Youth Of Today, and Sick Of It All.
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
Jason: I was a big fan of Green Day and Weezer. When I heard Weezer singing about Kitty Pryde and the X-men, I had the idea to sing punk rock songs about Star Wars.
Ryan: When the SoCal pop-punk scene exploded in the 90’s, combining that with Top Skater and Tony Hawk’s Pro-Skater line of video games, I instantly gravitated towards faster, distorted sounding music.
Kayvan: I think it’s really just a natural extension of what we’ve listened to over the years; those influences come through in the writing. And then of course we’re all into the usual nerdy and geeky stuff, so there you have it. For me personally, I’m just always trying to capture that same feeling of listening to all those bands I loved over the years. It’s very much a “feel” thing with me.
How do you decide what songs to perform live?
Jason: We try to put on a fun energetic show every time we perform, so the songs in the set list tend to be upbeat and fast. We also listen to people’s request and see how fans react to new songs live to see if we’ll continue playing them in concert.
Ryan: Speed to me equates happiness – if it’s above 100 bpm, I’m happy!
Kayvan: As Jason mentioned, our kind of music is best served with energetic shows. It’s fun to pull out one of our odd tunes now and then, but we generally try to arrange a list of songs that bring the most fun out. We like all of our material, but certain songs work better in a live context. But I can imagine certain shows going for a quieter vibe, and that could be cool too.
How do you decide what songs to perform live?
Jason: We try to put on a fun energetic show every time we perform, so the songs in the set list tend to be upbeat and fast. We also listen to people’s request and see how fans react to new songs live to see if we’ll continue playing them in concert.
Ryan: Speed to me equates happiness – if it’s above 100 bpm, I’m happy!
Kayvan: As Jason mentioned, our kind of music is best served with energetic shows. It’s fun to pull out one of our odd tunes now and then, but we generally try to arrange a list of songs that bring the most fun out. We like all of our material, but certain songs work better in a live context. But I can imagine certain shows going for a quieter vibe, and that could be cool too.
What plans do you have for the future?
Jason: We’re currently working on new material and hope to record and release it later this year. We’re also booking shows and will announce those soon.
Ryan: I’m excited about the new material and we have several songs already, maybe enough for a small EP and an album. We’re also looking into whether or not a label can bring any good opportunities.
Kayvan: We have a lot of new material, so maybe an EP to start and then an album; we just have to get everything recorded and see what works best. Who knows? Aside from recording, we’re looking deeper into the world of booking and seeing what booking agents or labels could bring to the table.