I got Bobby Toher, lead singer of the band Apse, on the phone the other day for a quick interview, and came away with some priceless answers!  His music is as sharp as ever, and recently released his third studio album, Climb Up, in 2009.  For the full interview, check out the MP3 below, or just read the short version.  Enjoy!

Interview Audio – Apse

the WILD honey pie: So you’re from Connecticut, not too far from my home city of New York! Is there a city in Connecticut that that has the best crowds? Describe your ideal audience.
Bobby Toher: Connecticut’s kind of a drag for live shows. The best stuff happens in New Haven. Hartford’s kind of a bust. I did like a certain canteen around Newtown and Danbury. In the 90s it was very active. The best crowd you’ll get is in New Haven, but it’s still Connecticut. Ideal crowd? People who are generally passionate about the music and intimate and energetic. People who move to it dispute it maybe not being dance music or necessarily what would be written as danceable. I like when people get really into it. I like to interact with the crowd.

the WILD honey pie: You know how dogs can get away with humping people’s legs just because they’re dogs? If you were a dog for a day, who would you try to hump?
Bobby Toher: (Laugh) I don’t know man. Maybe Jay Spaceman from Spacemen 3. Probably no pop artists. I’m not really interested in that.

the WILD honey pie: I’m very close with my grandfather, who’s a big music fan. He never stops mentioning how great the music of the 40s was though. If your band was transported back to the 40s to play a gig, how do you think the audience would react?
Bobby Toher: I don’t think that they would get it at all, and I think we’d probably be thrown off stage.

the WILD honey pie: You know how all sorts of commercials foods have corny catch phrases? What would a good one be for your music?
Bobby Toher: “Try it again and again, over and over again, and you’ll eventually like it.”

the WILD honey pie: How much money would it take to get you to sing a duet with either Ke$ha, Miley Cirus, or Lindsey Lohan? Which of those artists would you refuse to work with?
Bobby Toher: I’d probably refuse all of them, but if money’s on the table. Maybe $100,000 would be fine.

the WILD honey pie: Who would you rather, Ms. Pac-Man (don’t worry, Pac-Man won’t find out) or the Sunmade Raisin girl?
Bobby Toher: How young is the raisin girl? I’ll go with Ms. Pac-Man.

the WILD honey pie: Your last album was the most well-received yet. Any secret tricks?
Bobby Toher: I can’t imagine how many cheap bottles of wine. There were a lot of piss bottles by the end of the recording studio.

the WILD honey pie: Who in Apse farts the most? Any funny stories from the road?
Bobby Toher: I’m not gonna name names. Everyone has their own body stuff. That can always be hard. All the stories are long. Someone going home with someone. Waking up 3 hours late from when we were supposed to leave. Driving across all of Norway and Sweden to get to Stockholm where the police were waiting for us, and gave our drive a breathalyzer without consent. Then we missed the ferry to Helsinki. Just because somebody went home with a girl and her English sort of went away the next day.

the WILD honey pie: I went to college in Boulder, Colorado. Hippy capitol of the world! Any of you guys vegan? What’s your favorite vegetarian food?
Bobby Toher: None of us are vegan. We’re selective about where our produce and meats come from and how they were treated. My favorite vegetarian meal? I like tempeh, tofu, falafel, and all that kind of stuff.

the WILD honey pie: If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing? Got any strange hobbies that we may not expect?
Bobby Toher: I’d be homeless! My degree’s in typography so I’d probably be doing design work full-time.

the WILD honey pie: As you can tell, the WILD honey pie’s mascot is a bee. All the writers have “bee” pen names as well. If you were a part of our site, what would your “bee” name be?
Bobby Toher: ADHD Bee!

the WILD honey pie: Anything you wanna say to your fans listening to this?
Bobby Toher: Surfs up!

The Age – Apse

Blown Doors – Apse