Joe Carragher

How the did started with all this??

I started playing  guitar when i was 8 or so.. a little later around 12 or 13 I figured out that a dual deck tape recorder with a mic input could work as a rudimentary multi-tracking device then by 14 or 15 I had a little home studio set up with a tascam 4-track an Alesis SR-16 drum machine and a sort of "my first Roland" type blue Roland synth..  Since then I've been building and adding to my set-ups.. 

What's your method at the time of writting a song??

Personally I start with a beat then build.. usually.. But in this day with sweet DAW systems its easy to start anywhere.. any riff or melody or bass line can easily be built up into a full on fleshed out groove then to a song.. But usually I start with a beat..

Which is your music influences??

I really like musicians who try to do new and original stuff with music.  I think Gorillaz are interesting with their whole concept.. I like Kutiman's Thru-you.com, there are some guys out in Seattle that run a site called illuminatedsounds.com, they have a lot of really cool circuit bent gear and a great site..  As far as music I really enjoy the dubstep coming out of the UK, Skream and Burial specifically..  Aphex Twin and Squarepusher always.. I also have really liked since I lived there an independent Chilean musician named Shogun.  His music is hard to find unless you are in Chile though.. 

What plans do you have for the future??

I have a few licensing gigs working out..I'd like to do more of that stuff.. There is a possible movie coming up that I'll be composing for hopefully more of those as well..  I'm a founding member of an electronic music collective out of Seattle called Evelyn Bosker, I've thought it'd be cool to start up a Bosker faction here in NYC then have Evelyn Bosker east coast and Evelyn Bosker west coast... and of course meanwhile I'll still be recording and producing my own projects..

Which has been the funniest prank you have been or took part while on tour or after a show??

I can't really say that I've taken part in to many pranks.. as a solo act its not like I'm wrapping my own toilet seat with cellophane or anything.. But sometimes when I perform, between songs while I'm prepping for the next I'll play a TV theme song on whatever is convenient usually my Casio SK-1 and quickly sample it and play it back reversed or something trippy to fill silence.  I love to play The Simpsons riff mostly because I love them so much.. and its recognizable..  i don't know if its the same guy every time.. but whenever I play that riff.. there is always a lone "HA!" from the audience..   Like that one guy is telling me "Yeah I recognize that.. its Simpsons"    

If you were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour. The help is 65 miles away from where you and your band (If any) are, ¿Who would you send to look for help? And if while the rest wait, there's no food and the only way to feed yourself is by eating each other, ¿Who would you eat first?

Again as a solo act, I'd be sort of screwed.. I'd have to start trekking out by myself with all my gear in the desert or whatever.. (why I'm performing in the desert.. who knows..)  I probably wouldn't be alone for too long.. vultures would see me a mile away.. I guess I  could try eating one of them.. throw some batteries at one maybe..  probably sort of stringy meat though..

Which country you would love to play?

I'd love to play anywhere in the UK.. Belgium and Germany would be awesome too.. Any place where electronic music is big.  Iceland would be awesome same with Argentina.. I hear Goa India is an awesome party.. Cape Town South Africa too.. my pal DJ Bus says Toronto is pretty sweet.. 

With which bands you would love to share stage??

I have a lot of friends that do beats, I'd love to start a huge fest of my friends projects, DJ Bus, Owlform, Dubamor, Evelyn Bosker.  As for more well known acts, any group off of Warp Records anyone off of Hyperdub.  I'm really enjoying Caribou's live performance as well..

Are you OK, with the direction the band is going actually?

I'm very happy with the direction I'm taking..  Since moving to NYC I've gotten way more opportunities than ever.. and personally I think opportunities in NYC hold more sway than a lot of other places..  As an independent musician I couldn't have asked for anything easier than modern digital distribution deals too. Good stuff all around.

For more check me out on www.myspace.com/jaimejose666

and look for my album Homebrew by Jaime Jose on iTunes.