In a relatively short time, and with a lot of touring hours logged in vans and onstage, Plain White T’s has managed to amass quite a recorded output. Formed in the Chicago area in 1997, the band has released three full albums since 2001, the latest being their major label debut, Every Second Counts. Accurately described with such adjectives as “exuberant,” “freewheeling” and “infectious,” the group is pure power-pop that should be the toast of the mainstream, but the five-piece is luckily — for the moment, anyway — still our secret.
It nearly broke the mtvU Hot Seat, but we squeezed singer Tom Higgenson, bassist Mike Retondo and guitarist Tim Lopez in and had our way with them.
Q: Tell us about your craziest touring experience.
Tom: Well, from blizzards in California to fireworks in Miami, we’ve seen a lot of cool and crazy things. We have some loyal fans who do crazy things for us, but we dont get too crazy. We’re nice boys.
Mike: I think our craziest touring experience would have to be the time we were robbed. Almost all our gear and a bunch of personal stuff was stolen from us, and it was definitely messed up. I had taken my father’s bass that he bought brand new in 1976 out on the road without him really knowing, and it was one of the things that got stolen.
Tim: Me and Demar were drunk and we were eating at buffalo wild wings and I was playing a video game called Big Buck Hunter. For those of you who don’t know the game, it’s a game where you kill deer. And just as I was heavily involved in the game, Demar decided that it was time to go and he pulled the entire arcade game away from the wall and unplugged it. What followed was two drunken idiots brawling and screaming through the restaurant.
Q: What type of college class would you most want to take and why?
Tom: Music, so I could learn how to play it! Ha, no, I’d probably take some kind of film class. I love movies. I kind of miss school. Kind of.
Mike: I would probably take some kind of science or technology class, ’cause I’m a nerd and into that kind of stuff.
Tim: I took a song writing class when I was going to school at Santa Barbara City College and I thought it was pretty helpful when I was just starting out. In the class you are forced to write several songs a semester and then perform them in front of the class. If I had time, I would love to go back and take the advanced class.
Q: What city in America is the most fun to visit and why?
Tom: I love LA. Like I said before, I love music and movies and LA is the center of all that. Being out there is exciting. There’s magic in the air. No wait, that’s just smog.
Mike: The most fun and awesome city in the U.S. is Chicago — and I say that with an extreme bias, having been raised there.
Tim: Santa Barbara, Calif., because we never go and that’s where all my family lives.
Q: What’s some of the best advice you were ever given?
Tom: When I first started writing songs, I gave a demo to the singer of a band I really liked. At their next show he said “Hey aren’t you the kid who gave me that tape?” Shocked he remembered me, I said “Yeah, did you listen?” He said “I listened to it the next day with my dad. It was really cool stuff, man. If you sit in your room with your guitar for a year, you’ll be there.” I took his advice and ten years later, I’m almost there.
Mike: Pursue your dreams.
Q: What’s in heavy rotation in your mp3/CD player right now?
Tom: The Beatles. Always.
Mike: Music, mostly! The last thing I listened to was By the Way by Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Tim: This is not a new release but I have been listening to Ryan Adams Love is Hell a lot on this tour.
Q: The last good book you read or TV show you’re addicted to?
Tom: Funny question because I don’t read or watch tv. I always start books and never finish them. And TV just annoys me. I do like The Simpsons and Seinfeld though, does that count?
Mike: Currently reading Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut, it’s pretty damn good.
Tim: Me and my wife are addicted to both 24 and Prison Break, however I miss most of them when I’m out on tour since our bus gets poor satellite reception.
Q: What’s the first concert you ever saw and how was it?
Tom: Pearl Jam. It was amazing. I was obsessed with them so it was a big deal! My second concert was Weezer back in the Blue Album days. That was life-changing!
Mike: One of the first concerts I ever went to was Lollapalooza in 1994… Me and a bunch of my friends went and it was amazing.
Tim: My first concert was Face To Face and that was the night that I met my wife, so it was memorable in a lot of ways.
Q: What are three items you can’t live without on tour?
Tom: My phone, my iPod, and my contacts/glasses. I’m blind as a bat! Oh and I have a weird obsession with cool socks and underwear. Sometimes I match the two…
Mike: My cell phone, the Internet and music.
Tim: My iPod, Craig Tiede (our tour manager) and cell phone.
Q: Who are your major musical influences?
Tom: The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Alanis Morissette, Jimmy Eat World and The Strokes
Mike: Beethoven, the Beatles and the last 30-40 years of popular music.
Tim: Mike Cambell of Tom Petty and the heartbreakers, U2, and Guns ‘N Roses.
Q: Any random messages or tips you’d like to give to mtvU watchers?
Tom: Live well. Live young. Live true. I’m out!!
Mike: Drink some water! Avoid hangovers!
