Utter Trash--Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start

Playing Games

An interview with Steve Poponi of Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start

By Eddie Fleisher

With what may well be the longest band name in rock, New Jersey's Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start have been playing their brand of indie rock since September of 1999. The band consists of Steve Poponi, John Masino, Dave Damm, and Scott Rumble.

Eddie Fleisher: How long has Up Up Down Down.... been together, and how did you guys hook up?
Steve Poponi: We’ve been together about 4 years (the drummer and I). We were in a band together before Up Up Down Down and after it broke up we started this jammer up. The other guys are 3^rd generation players, but have both been in the band for a while. Dave for 3 years and John for about a year.

EF: The name is sweet. Did you guys play a lot of 8 bit Nintendo as kids?
SP: So much, nerd.

EF: Did you beat that water level in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game? That shit was hard, I finally did, but my friend doesn't believe me. He only beat it with that cop out, the Game Genie.
SP: Hahahaha. I hated T.M.N.T, it was too hard, like ET for Atari.

EF: Do people ever confuse the name, and how annoying is that?
SP: People always tell us that we are wrong, that it has more B A's, or a select. The fact of the matter is that we used the one player code and the 2 player is the one everyone thinks we use, so hence the B A B A select start. The annoying thing is that people yell at us in between songs while we are playing. Its like they think we didn’t do any research on the name to make sure we had it right. Oh well. Did I really just type all that?

EF: Yes, you did. You used some cool stuff like cellos and violins on the EP, is that something you've always wanted to incorporate into your music?
SP: Uh..sorta. We are all about "serving the song," which I guess means using whatever you can (instrument-wise) to make the song sound how you envisioned it. The strings, flutes, and keys were something that we had the opportunity to use and it really helped the 2 songs we used it on.

EF: If you could tour with one band, who would it be, and why?
SP: Jeez....Pink Floyd in 1982, so we could play behind "the wall" and shit.

EF: Who, if anyone, are you rooting for, for president in 2004?
SP: John McCain. I’ll write that shit in. We need a crazy in office.

EF: I think we already have one. Lastly, when are you coming to Cleveland?
SP: Cleveland hasn’t been good to us. I can never find a promoter to host us. If you know one, tell em to email us, and we’ll come out in a second.

(Interviewers Note: I asked Steve how he felt about Elliott Smith’s death. He answered the question rather insensitively, and I would prefer not to actually print it. I would like to take this moment to remind people that depression is an illness. Suicide is a tragic thing, and should not be treated as “stupidity.” For those who feel that way, I urge you to research the issue. -Eddie)

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start’s latest EP, ‘Perris, Ca’ is available now on Limekiln Records.