. 10 Questions with The Programme's Max Porter 1. How did the Programme begin? Who are the members, and what role does each play? I am Max Porter, and I play guitar, keyboard, and glockenspiel; Mark Chronister plays guitar and keyboard; Jed Skalnik plays drums, and Travis Loafman plays bass. Mark, Jed, and I were in a band called Everyday Value, and we all just wanted to try something different. We wanted to write songs that had no rules, where we could do anything we wanted within a song and it would be OK. Travis was in a band called Unsung Hero, in which he played guitar. He and I became friends and he had expressed interest in playing bass in a band, and we needed a bass player, so we asked him to join. We never really intended for it to be an instrumental band, it just kind of ended up that way because most of our songs would be almost impossible to put lyrics to. 2. How did you get the name, and what’s up with the British spelling? Our name originated from a conversation that Mark and I had with a couple members of another band. I don't really remember exactly how it came up, but I do know that the the phrase "Get with the program" was involved. As far as the British spelling goes, we realized that there was already a band that was called The Program, and we liked the name a lot, so rather than completely change our name, we just added the "me" to the end. Plus, it sounds a little more artsy. But don't be confused, we are not from Great Britain, we are from Oklahoma. 3. How would you describe your music? One thing that I really like about our band is that we all have such a wide variety of musical tastes. Because of this, all of our songs have their own identity. I don't think that we would be able to stand it if all of our songs sounded alike. We try to switch it up in every song. Some of our songs are pretty straightforward and keep the same feel throughout the song, and other may switch time signature and key several times. We are influenced by so many bands. I'd say that U2, American Football, Coldplay, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, Unwed Sailor, Further Seems Forever, The Who, The Beatles, and Jimmy Eat World have all had pretty big influences on our music. Also, one thing that I think really defines our music is the dichotomy between my guitar playing, which I would consider a more rock and indie style, and Mark's style, which is more avant garde because he uses a delay pedal constanly. Also, the fact that Jed pretty much listens strictly to metal makes his drumming pretty unique for the kind of music that we play. 4. What is the songwriting process like? Usually, Mark and I will get together, and we both will usually have written some guitar parts already. We will show each other what we've been working on, and depending on what we have, we may make the whole skeleton for a song. Other times, we may end up with nothing but the riff we started with. Then, when we all practice together, the song usually kind of takes a new shape. Everyone pitches in as far as arrangement goes, and in practice, we usually will come up with something else to add to the song that Mark and I would have never thought of without Jed and Travis. One thing that I find amusing about our songwriting process is that sometimes we'll have a part that is (usually unintentionally) a blatant ripoff of another band and we usually don't notice it until later, but because our songs are so diverse, I think that most people don't notice it. 5. What do you like most about instrumental music? Well, it has pros and cons, I guess. It makes the songwriting process work much more smoothly, and if you don't have lyrics, you don't have to worry about whether your lyrics are stupid or cheesy. It makes it a lot harder to connect with your audience though. I think that non-musicians would probably find our live shows a little boring, and for that reason, we are trying to find some way to weave a storyline into our songs without lyrics. 6. What can be done to improve the local music scene? I think that to improve the scene, no matter what you want to do, it all boils down to people coming to shows. If more people come to shows, more local bands will start, venues will make more money, new venues will open, and bigger name acts will come more often. 7. How does one “get with the Programme”? Well, you must first come and experience The Programme live. Then, you must like our music once you hear it. That's about it. 8. What lineup, in your opinion, would make the perfect concert (may include any artists past or present, living or dead, but no more than five)? With quality of music and quality of live performance both being factors, I would say U2, Radiohead, The Who (with Keith Moon), Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix. 9. Make up a question, and answer it yourself. Has anyone been to every single show that The Programme has played? Well, actually, not including the members of the band, only one person has been to every single Programme concert (as of 11-12-04), and that person is Jared MacIlvaine. Your music is sweet. Do you have a CD? We're going to record in a few weeks. At the moment we have 10 songs, which is enough to make a full length CD, and hopefully we can get all 10 songs recorded. 10. Any closing remarks? I can't wait to get with the Copy Copy in December.