FearlessRadio

**FearlessRadio** is an American music radio station founded in 2004. It has been known for the popular radio show New Music Binge, which regularly features interviews with various artists and bands. Mars Argo and Titanic Sinclair did an interview with the company in promotion for the band's Lincoln Hall live performance. Audio of the interview is available online.

## February 17, 2012

***Full transcription of the interview is missing, please help.***

**Mars Argo here on Fearless Radio, the New Music Binge. If you like what you've just heard, you can check them out, they've got a show at Lincoln Hall on February 24th here in the city. Guys, thanks a lot for joining us here at Fearless Radio today.**

**Sinclair:** Thank you. Thanks a lot for having us.

**Argo:** Thank you.

**Um, before we get started, let's get some introductions. Your name and what you do for the band.**

**Sinclair:** Go for it, little lady.

**Argo:** Um, my name is Mars Argo, and I am the lead singer of the band.

**Sinclair:** You write too.

**Argo:** Of course, yeah.

**Sinclair:** I'm Titanic Sinclair. I play the instruments and record them, and we write the songs together.

**Now you guys are based out of Chicago, let's say you had a friend who's coming to the city, who'd never been to Chicago before. Give them some recommendations on how to spend a weekend here in Chicago.**

**Argo:** Oh man.

**Sinclair:** We don't really leave the house very much.

**Argo:** Tacos. Cheap tacos are always good.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, we live in Pilsen right now, so tacos are like our forte. I would say you've gotta, there's like a special spot where we go to take photographs all the time, out by the pier. I don't know what it's called but it's really cool looking.

**Argo:** It's like, by the aquarium.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, the aquarium's cool. I've never been inside, but...

**Argo:** It depends on if it's Winter or if it's Summer. It really depends.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, so when are they coming? Like right now, right now?

**Yeah, they're coming right now. Let's say, what if they wanted to go see some live music? Where would you guys take them?**

**Argo:** Oh, we're like the last people you should ask for that.

**Sinclair:** I don't know, we just played the Subterranean and that was really cool.

**Did you play there before?**

**Argo:** We've never been there before.

**Sinclair:** I've never been there.

**Argo:** Yeah.

**Sinclair:** I mean that was like our first actual show.

**How much fun was that load-in?**

**Sinclair:** Yeah, my back still hurts. Yeah, luckily we have small amplifiers.

**Argo:** The guys took care of that for me, so.

**Have you been to or played at Lincoln Hall yet?**

**Argo:** No.

**Sinclair:** No, I hear it's awesome. I heard like, Wilco, their sound system is like the sound system there. I don't know if that's true.

**You guys have a pretty interesting story on how you guys crossed paths. Would you care to share?**

**Sinclair:** Yeah. You wanna...?

**Argo:** We met on Myspace.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, this website. You might have heard of it like fifty years ago. Yeah we just um- She had this really cool photo, her user photo, it was like a horse.

**Argo:** He was like a total creep and sent me an anonymous message like "I really like your photo" or something, and like "okay"?

**Sinclair:** So, um, yeah we started just like making videos together and then we were like "Well, you know, maybe we should move to the city where things are actually happening." So we moved to Chicago and we just started a YouTube channel and we wanted to, we started doing like, um, art films, basically. And we wanted to put music in them, but like we couldn't afford to licence the songs we wanted to use so we were like "I guess we'll have to make our own music". And then a bunch of people we like "Hey, is this on iTunes?" and so, we put it on iTunes and then, that's pretty much it.

**Were you both in Saginaw when you contacted her via Myspace?**

**Argo:** I was in Alma, and he was in Saginaw. It was like forty-five minutes away, I was staying with my grandparents for a while.

**Sinclair:** It's a really cool little town. She was literally, like, in the middle of nowhere, like this super cool artsy chick. And she's going to this, like, really lame school.

**Argo:** I like the schools, just in the middle of nowhere.

**Sinclair:** But her grandparents are there and-

**Argo:** I was a bio student.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, she was studying biology. I was working, doing video stuff, and, we just decided to do this.

**So you're going to be in Lincoln Hall on the 24th, what can people find you guys doing before you go on stage, are you like warming up, shaking out the nerves? I know, some people might like to have a drink or two. What are you guys doing?**

**Sinclair:** She does her vocal warm-ups.

**Argo:** I do my warm-ups and I drink a lot of water... I don't drink.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, she started doing this vocal coach thing and it's pretty intense. She can't have coffee...

**Argo:** Before the show- Let me rephrase, I don't drink before the show.

**Sinclair:** Yeah. Once we get off stage, that's when the real fun happens.

**Mars:** Sort of.

**Well what about after show? 'Cause I know sometimes some people like to be alone after they get done on stage, and other people are right back out talking to their fans at the merch table. What are you guys doing?**

**Sinclair:** I think it's really cool to interact with people.

**Argo:** Well I hope we're at the merch table. We have some new shirts, and I hope people come check them out.

**Sinclair:** So, I mean, yeah, it's weird. I always get really turned off by people who, like artists like you go see them and they're trying to be this kind of Christ-like figure, and it's like, you know we're- The coolest part about making music like this and like the whole Internet thing is, you know, we kind of have these friendships with people all around the world, and, you know, it's just cool now that there's the live element that we can actually meet these people, and it's not just like Facebook messages and stuff.

**Argo:** Yeah, it's really neat.

**2012 has kind of been dubbed the year of the death of the CD. Everything's going digital, whether it be digital download cards or albums on USB ports or something like that. Do you guys think about this at all when you're making music? Do you think that, what's the point of making a CD if they're gonna be, you know, done? For at the end of the year, how do you think is this gonna affect you guys, you know, being in a band?**

**Sinclair:** Hmm... That's a good question.

**Argo:** Well we did digital downloads at first, and that was easier for us, it was a lot more affordable. But now we're doing, like a limited number of handmade handpressed DVDs- oh wait, CDs. We're gonna do DVDs too, of like unreleased footage, but that's later.

**Sinclair:** I think as far as pop music and stuff goes, people have seen the success from like Lady Gaga, and she was kind of doing the single thing, and it's like I've never actually heard her album all the way through, I probably should.

**Argo:** You mean you didn't buy it and listen to it?

**Sinclair:** No, no. But I think, I have a feeling that people are gonna start making albums again, you know, start to finish, and-

**Well that's interesting you say that because just about everyone else that comes in here is worried about the concept of an album dying with the CD.**

**Sinclair:** Yeah. I don't know, definitely I think most people think that, but I just don't see that happening. People are always gonna make albums, you know? And I think that the format, you know, it's been vinyl, 8-track, cassette, CD. It's just taking a new form, but-

**Well then vinyl's making a huge comeback. I mean, vinyl outsold CDs last year, which is a big deal. It went digital-vinyl-CDs.**

**Sinclair:** Oh, I didn't know that.

**Well, another point. Are you gonna miss CDs? Like, I mean you go into, even a BestBuy now, CDs used to be the focal point of that place and now there's two racks buried in the middle of everything.**

**Sinclair:** Yeah, it's sad, isn't it?

**Argo:** I'm going to miss the event of going and getting a CD. Or I guess going to a record store too, but.

**Sinclair:** I'm not going to miss putting a CD in your car and it just skips the whole thing. You're like getting to the best part of the song.

**Again, Mars Argo here in the studio for the New Music Binge, you can check them out at Lincoln Hall on February 24th. Do we know what time you guys are gonna be on or what time the doors are?**

**Sinclair:** Um, I think doors are at seven, but we're in at 10:30.

**Argo:** Yeah, 10:30 for us.

**Is there a band van? How are you guys getting to and from shows and practices?**

**Argo:** We have a 1999 GMC Yukon.

**Has it been named?**

**Argo:** She doesn't have a name, but she has no hub caps and she doesn't start all time, and at the Subterranean actually, she died after we loaded the car, so.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, it was like reggae night at the Subterranean so like there's just all these people just like waiting in line to get in, just like, laughing at us.

**Well what was the last music played in the vehicle before you guys got to Fearless today?**

**Sinclair:** Ooh, good question. That would have been-

**Argo:** Oh, we had the radio on.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, I'm a really big radio fan, but I think this last CD we listened to was actually Oasis, definitely maybe.

**Again, Mars Argo here in the studio. If people want to stay up to date with you guys, new shows, new music, where can they find you at on the Internet?**

**Argo:** Oh man.

**Sinclair:** 'Facebook.com/marsargo'. Um, but we have a YouTube channel, which is 'grocerybagdottv', and we've got over forty videos now, and yeah. If you're bored tonight, you can probably kill a lot of time watching the videos.

**If they do go out watching the videos, what are they gonna be watching?**

**Argo:** Um, silliness.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, just intoxicated youngans.

**Argo:** We have like music videos and acoustic performances and then we do like these 'Computer Shows' where we just kind of have fun.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, and just talk about pop culture stuff, basically, for fun.

**Any favorite TV shows you guys like to watch when you get the chance?**

**Argo:** Madmen.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, Madmen's really good. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. We don't have a TV but we do have-

**Argo:** We have Netflix.

**Sinclair:** Netflix and an HD projector.

**That's awesome.**

**Sinclair:** Yeah, it's breathtaking.

**If you guys don't have a TV but have Netflix, you were probably affected by the Netflix price change that happened six months ago where they split the actual DVD and the streaming. What are you guys' opinions on that?**

**Argo:** We only do streaming 'cause it's the cheapest.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, we only did streaming but when they did the price hike I was so upset by it, but then I saw that they were gonna release Beavis and Butthead.

**Have you guys checked out the Netflix original series that was put up?**

**Sinclair:** No.

**It's called Lilyhammer, it was the first series that's been produced, paid for, everything by Netflix. Uh, what about websites? Whenever you get a chance to sit down, check out the websites, what are you guys looking at?**

**Argo:** I'm really into Japanese fashion, and I'm- I always, I guess, looking for clothes or-

**Sinclair:** Yeah, she follows a lot of really cool people on Tumblr. I'm on Tumblr quite a bit, I don't really use Facebook that much anymore. Our friend Carles has a website. I don't know if you've been to 'hipsterrunoff.com'?

**I haven't. What was it?**

**Sinclair:** 'hipsterrunoff.com'. We had the pleasure of meeting Carles. He was amazing.

**Argo:** He's our friend.

**Sinclair:** We went, what was that place up in Logan Square? Umm... Longman & Eagle?

**Argo:** I don't know, but they had the best homemade pretzels. It has cheese and it was so good and warm, and I can't even.

**We're gonna need to know the name of that place.**

**Sinclair:** It's Long- Longman & Eagle. Longman & Eagle, I think it's called. That place is awesome.

**Argo:** Yeah, and they have a ton of different whiskey. But you have to know your stuff, because they get mad when you're like "Uh, I don't know".

**Any video game players in the band? What are you playing?**

**Sinclair:** Uh, well on the HD projector, Super Smash Bros Melee is pretty amazing.

**Who's your character?**

**Sinclair:** Link all the way. Our bass player is like amazing with Kirby though. He's really good. She, she sucks.

**Argo:** I don't play. When I was younger, my mom- no, my dad got us a Nintendo, and my mom made him take it back, because she thought it distracted from our studies so I didn't really grow up playing video games.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, she really got the shaft. Although she's really good at the new Super Mario Bros that we won.

**Argo:** And then the Zelda. Well, you showed me the Zelda.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, Wind Waker.

**Now here in the backyard of Fearless is McCormick Place, and for the last week or so has been the Chicago Auto Show. I had to go over there with a press pass and look at all kinds of crazy new cars or awesome older cars, and so I've been asking everybody that comes through, what's your dream car?**

**Sinclair:** Uh, I don't know. I really like that '58 Corvette. Or was it a '56 Corvette?

**Argo:** I think it's a '56.

**Sinclair:** I don't know, are we really car people?

**Argo:** We like antique cars but we're not really like super big car people. Maybe later in life.

**Sinclair:** I'd be totally happy right now just with like a Volvo s70. You know, like a 2003 maybe.

**Argo:** Something that's better on gas.

**Sinclair:** Yeah.

**Alright, well I think we're gonna play another song right now. What song are we gonna play next here, guys?**

**Argo:** It's called "Love in Black and White"

**Anything you'd like to say about it before it get's played?**

**Sinclair:** It's gonna get stuck in your head, man.

**Alright, well we'll be back with more Mars Argo here on Fearless Radio, the New Music Binge.**

*["Love in Black and White" plays.]*

**Mars Argo here on Fearless Radio, the New Music Binge. Check them out at Lincoln Hall on February 24th. I have them here at the studio with me right now. Guys thanks again for joining us here in the studio today.**

**Sinclair:** Thank you.

**Argo:** Yeah, thanks for having us.

**Sinclair:** The pleasure is all ours.

**Drinks of choice?**

**Argo:** Scotch and water.

**Sinclair:** I drink an old fashioned.

**Alright, are you guys sticking with the, the mixed drinks or are you dabbling the beer and all?**

**Sinclair:** I drink a good amount of beer.

**Argo:** You drink more than I do.

**Sinclair:** Yeah.

**Any favorite brands?**

**Sinclair:** I mean, Goose Island. Their Matildas and their Sophie is amazing.

**Argo:** Yeah, I like the Sophie.

**Sinclair:** But, uh...

**Were you bummed out at all when Goose Island got sold to Anheuser-Busch last year?**

**Sinclair:** Yeah, you know? I still don't know what to think about that, but, y'know, I like a lot of, like, mass produced beers, y'know.

**Did you hear what about what they were doing with the 312?**

**Sinclair:** No...

**Well, y'know how the 312 is called the 312 because that's the area code here in Chicago?**

**Sinclair:** Yeah...?

**There's also gonna be, like, Pittsburgh is gonna have a 312 with whatever their area code is,**

**Sinclair:** Oh, that's cool.

**and there's gonna be one in Austin, Texas and there's gonna be one in St. Louis.**

**Sinclair:** Crazy.

**There's gonna be like a 312 all over the place.**

**Argo:** Interesting.

**Sinclair:** I'm gonna try them all.

**Now, I have a pretty sweet job here guys. I get to sit here and interview 3–5 bands a day. If you guys took my job and had to go find one band, one artist who you wanna sit down and pick their mind a little bit, who'd you wanna talk to and how do you start off that interview?**

**Argo:** Current artist, or?

**They have to be alive, not current though.**

**Sinclair:** I don't know. I'm leaning towards... I think I'd have to talk to Paul McCartney. I would.. I would assume.

**Argo:** Yeah. Paul McCartney for sure. Um. I wanna meet Madonna.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, Madonna seems awesome.

**Did you guys watch the half-time show with Madonna?**

**Sinclair:** No...

**Argo:** No, 'cause we don't have a TV.

**I'm sure it was on YouTube, a couple of seconds afterwards.**

**Sinclair:** Our Internet was down. I heard about it, though.

**Argo:** I heard something went on a ruckus or something.

**Sinclair:** She's so ripped.

**Yeah, that was a little weird. Anyways, Mars Argo still here in the studio for the new music bands. Check 'em out at Lincoln Hall on February 24th. What time did you guys say that you were going on?**

**Sinclair:** I believe 10:30

**Argo:** Yes.

**Sinclair:** It's gonna be awesome, we got a lot of new stuff.

**With technology there's so many different ways to listen to music. You know, we used to have just the radio and the live shows and we still have those but now we have headphones and iPods and music in cars and vinyl made a huge comeback. So my question is, when you guys go home and get to sit down and like listen to music, what is your preferred way of doing that?**

**Sinclair:** We usually have, um...

**Argo:** We drive, too.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, we drive a lot,

**Argo:** So, in the car is always a great way. Um... And I guess-

**Sinclair:** And of course the Ucan's got a kickin' sound system.

**Argo:** Yeah, right.

**Sinclair:** That stock.

**Argo:** Um... Yeah it depends, I mean if we're working on the computer we'll do that, but um....

**Sinclair:** We usually always have something going on, even if it's just like, background, like, Brian Eno, you know space-y stuff going on. We've been listening to a lot of early Pink Floyd, like "Pipers of the Gates of Dawn".

**Argo:** We listen to our own music sometimes.

**Sinclair:** Yeah. Well I think we're both like, perfectionists, y'know?

**When you go back and listen to your own music, do you hear anything you wish you would have done differently, and you're like buyers remorse with that?**

**Sinclair:** Yeah, usually right after we release it.

**Argo:** Like 'Oh, we should have fixed that part first.'

**Sinclair:** There's something kinda cool about just saying 'This is it.' and 'This is done.' because back in the day with like, tape and vinyl and stuff, you had your take and it was out there and done. Now, it's like, y'know, we have our Bandcamp page and we can, y'know, like I've gone through and replaced like kick drums and stuff and like, turned up the overheads on the snare, y'know? And like, replaced the file that, y'know, certain people have different files.

 **'Linden Place' came out a, almost a year ago. A year ago, next month. How long did the recording take for that?**

**Sinclair:** That actually... That was um... Two weeks maybe?

**Argo:** Yeah, we did it in our bedroom and we always set deadlines so usually it's like cramped until, like, the hour before.

**Sinclair:** Yeah, everything that we have musically-

**Argo:** Released is-

**Sinclair:** Released is homemade, was made on like a laptop.