If you've been around underground punk and rock shows in Denver in the past two years, chances are you've run into twin brothers Seth and Spencer Stone. You could have seen them in the crowd or performing with their bands — Wombmates, a defunct group made up of two sets of twins, or Knife Fight. The latter act became the Dirty Few early last year.
Seth and Spencer, who moved to Denver from Nashville in 2010, bring a certain excitement and enthusiasm that translates directly to their music. When they moved here, the amiable brothers established immediate and enduring friendships — and last summer, when they found themselves without a bass player, their roommate, drummer Justin Trujillo, stepped in, trying his hand at playing a stringed instrument, in a style of music very different from his work in Adai and To Be Eaten. We spoke with the guys in advance of the release of their debut album, Get Loose Have Fun.
Westword: "Moped Mo' Problems" has a sample at the beginning. What is that?
Seth Stone: That was my moped, and we brought it to Black in Bluhm and made it die. We used to be in a moped club called Black Black out of Denver. But mopeds are just not that reliable, and we kind of made a joke about it.
Justin Trujillo: All the lyrics in the song are about mopeds failing.
How did you get started playing drums instead of another instrument, Seth?
SS: I went to military school. While I was there, my brother Spencer joined a band playing drums but didn't really play drums. I messed around and was all right, and when I got out, he switched to guitar, and that's when I started playing drums. I got $1,000 for graduation money and bought a drum set, and I played every single day for two years.
You and your brother Spencer are bike messengers and you ride fixed-gear bikes. Why do you prefer that setup?
SS: There's more control over the bicycle.
JT: It's like the difference between having an automatic or manual transmission, and you want to have a manual to have more control.
SS: It's way better to have a fixed gear in the snow. You can slow it down instead of testing the brake. Sometimes the brakes will freeze up and you can't even brake in the winter.
Whether you guys are on stage or off stage in the crowd, you never lack enthusiasm. What other artists got you excited earlier in your life?
SS: I remember going to Black Lips shows and seeing them go crazy — their guitar player doing a back flip and kids getting super-nutty. "Yes! This is what it's about!" Our first show was Green Day, when we were like nine years old. It was for the Dookie tour. I remember taking off my shirt and waving it around and howling. So I started at a young age getting rowdy.