When I started this blogging gig, I thought it’d go like this: Surf, stream and share. Turns out it’s more than just an opportunity to muse about what I think a song means or what a band sounds like. Last Friday, I was offered the chance to interview Joey Siara from The Henry Clay People, and I learned that there are human beings (not imaginary superbeings) behind each song.

One of the first things I said to Joey was, “Dude, it’s really hard to dig up dirt on you guys!” He admitted that some effort went into maintaining privacy. At first I thought this would pose a challenge for me, but by the end of our conversation I began to realize something Joey already knew. It’s about the music. We can discuss the details and stories leading up to now, but the fact of the matter is everything we need to know is in the lyrics and on the stage. A mighty refreshing and inspiring notion, that.

But I still got some of the dirt.

Read on to find out more about Joey’s experiences and what it’s like being a Henry Clay Person.

tMiM: You taught your younger brother and fellow bandmate, Andy, to play guitar when he was only in the sixth grade. Did anyone specific teach you or encourage you to become a musician?”

JS: Yeah, my mom’s side of the family is really musical. My grandmother is a pianist and my uncles all play guitar. My grandma taught me to play three chords and it’s the same three chords that make up probably …70% of our songs.

And my dad’s half of the family… they’re music appreciators. So while they may not be the musical side, they’re fans. I feel like at my core, I’m really more a fan of music than a musician.

tMiM: You think so?

JS: Yeah, going back to the three chords — there’s not a whole lot of skill involved in that, but it’s fun. I’d rather be passionate about it than technically proficient.

tMiM: Well, it seems like you guys are more about making connections with your audience anyway. Being relatable. I think in that respect, you’ve been successful.

JS: Thank you.

tMiM: So what’s it like writing music with Andy now?

JS: It’s good! Actually, we just spent the last couple of days working on songs together. I consider him my chief editor. He’ll tell me what sucks and what he likes.

tMiM: Any sibling rivalry between you two?

JS: No, I don’t think so. I think when it comes to the way the band functions, our personalities fit different parts of the band. He’s more the business side of things and more responsible. Like, he’d be better at knowing he had an interview at 11:30, for example.

tMiM: Ah! I got the wrong brother!

JS: Right! But yeah, he lets me be flighty and “out there.” I do more of the creative stuff and he does a little more of the nitty-gritty.

tMiM: So you balance each other out.

JS: Right.

tMiM: Cool.

tMiM: It sounds like you guys went through several names and settled on The Henry Clay People, because it was the least offensive of the “bad” band names. So now I have to ask – what were some of the offensive, bad names?

JS: Well, they weren’t offensive like – grotesque offensive.

tMiM: So not crude – just really bad.

JS: Right. One of them was The Forgotten Presidency of Chester A. Arthur. I’m pretty sure if we had kept that name our band would have lasted about two weeks. Then, we were really close to being called The Elk, but our old bass player refused to be part of a band called The Elk. We had to keep going back to the drawing board and I guess at the end of it, we came to the realization that the band name wasn’t that important… it’s the music.

tMiM: It’s been written and said countless times that you have a strong ‘70s and punk rock sound to your music. Are there any other musical influences that the average listener might not detect?

JS: Well, I think you are what you listen to… and I tend to really like music from the ‘60s and ‘70s. I don’t really have any jazz fusion or anything that I’m just aching to get out. I think the ‘70s stuff is just where we’re at right now. Kind of Neil Young and Springsteen.

tMiM: So do you see a vision of where you would like to progress to?

JS: Oh yeah, I want to try different things and be able to make a record where people don’t necessarily say, “Oh yeah, this is classic rock.” Someday I’d like to make something weirder and more challenging. Maybe someday I’ll make my uncompromising crazy man record.

tMiM: I read a recent interview you gave in Austin, and you said that LCD Soundsystem’s This is Happening is the best record so far this year.

JS: Oh yeah, I love that record.

tMiM: I don’t really want to ask what the worst record may be – but maybe you could divulge some guilty pleasures?

JS: Hmm … Well, I have been on a Bangles kick. And I won’t change the station if a Toto song comes on.

tMiM: Toto and the Bangles.

JS: Well, and Kelly Clarkson ain’t so bad either.

tMiM: Nice. You said a couple years back that the band stopped letting you book shows because you always book bad ones. What were some of the worst?

JS: I played an ice skating rink once while there were 20 people skating in a circle. And playing instruments in the cold just makes it that much easier to break strings. I broke a string, Andy broke a string … Yeah, that was pretty lame. Also played a couple of juice bars. It eventually got to the point where the guys weren’t so excited to play my gigs.

tMiM: So they revoked your booking privileges?

JS: Yeah, Andy was better at contacting promoters and people that were legit.

tMiM: Since you say that you’re more of an appreciator, what was the last live show you went to where you weren’t performing but were there as a normal spectator?

JS: I have a bunch of friends’ bands I go see, but the last band I paid money to go see was Springsteen play at LA Sports Arena. I’ll happily throw down money to see Bruce Springsteen play. And I just saw the band Girls play in Orange County.

tMiM: You’ve performed at a number of music festivals. Which festival has been your favorite?

JS: Lolla and ACL were awesome, even though it was raining both of the days we were playing. But the Sasquatch Festival was probably the most beautiful of any of the venues we’ve played. There were only three stages, so it was less overwhelming. But – we had a blast playing all of them.

tMiM: Even though it was raining?

JS: Yeah, that made it more like “Ooh, it’s raining. Let’s get crazy!”

tMiM: We noticed that you had a pretty whirlwind SXSW schedule. Did you find that it was worth all the running around and so many shows?

JS: That’s what I don’t know. It was like running a marathon and I don’t know if I’ve been that tired, ever. It was like the Iron Man competition, you really get to see what your breaking point is.

tMiM: After SXSW, Esquire named you The Most Intoxicated Band in Austin. Care to fill us in?

JS: Yeah … that was a couple years ago and there was no reason for us to be as hammered at 12:30 as we were. I’m embarrassed for my grandparents. Every once in awhile they’ll do a Google search and they’ll find that one. But you know what, it was fun.

tMiM: Do you think the Palladium show will be that crazy?

JS: Oh, I’ve settled down my crazy ways in the last couple of years.

tMiM: Gotcha. Just a couple more questions … I’ll come clean and admit that I couldn’t get through the video for “Your Famous Friends.” I have a real phobia against creepy masks, dolls, clowns, etc. But I heard it seemed pretty slap-dash. Was there any prior preparation that went into it or was it just spur of the moment “Let’s record a video today” kind of thing?

JS: Yeah, we had all these masks from a Halloween show we did where we had a funny guest singer like Saddam Hussein doing something like “American Girl” or Richard Nixon doing “Pyscho Killer.” And we had this idea that we would just chase our friend around. The main chasing scene had to be one take, because we were dousing him in flour and water and we didn’t plan to bring an extra change of clothing or anything. So yeah, it was totally guerrilla filmmaking. It took us three hours to do on a Saturday morning.

tMiM: That’s awesome. But still creepy! So final question: Where do you see the music industry in ten years?”

JS: I don’t know, but I can tell you where I’d like it to go. I want it to get to the point where people don’t trust what they’re hearing anymore, so they have to go out to shows and decide for themselves. I want to see people get back to watching bands again. What I think is going to happen is the opposite. I think that people’s attention span for music will continue to shrink and we’ll wake up some day with songs that are a minute and change long. Quantity over quality.

Let’s hope not, Joey!

The Henry Clay People are opening for Against Me! and Silversun Pickups at The Palladium Ballroom this Wednesday. Get your tickets now! I can only imagine how much fun it’ll be to see them get crazy (even the “toned down” version) on stage.

Meanwhile, I’ll re-post that video for people who are less wimpy than myself. Like Patrick.