Interview with Underground Junction
by Christian Lamitschka for Country Music News International Magazine & Radio Show
Lamitschka: Music has many new fans throughout Europe who may be hearing about you for the first time.
Steven Bauer: Glenn and I have been playing and recording together for a long time but this is the first group of recording we ever released and I am glad we waited.
Glenn Goss: It was much harder in the past because you were subject to record companies and their approval..
Steven Bauer: …but because of the internet and websites like yours, it really comes down to let the people decide what they like, and that’s fine with us.
Lamitschka: How would you describe yourself and the music you play to someone who has never seen or heard you?
Steven Bauer: Passion to play. Before I ever started to act, my first love was music. This music is pure and organic and when I am on stage with the band, the energy is amazing. It feels right and the crowd can feel it too.
Lamitschka: Do you write the songs yourself? If not, how do you go about finding the songs for your CD?
Steven Bauer: Yes, but I also like to cover songs that I have admired for years. I never wrote a song until I hooked up with my musical partner Glenn. He sold me a guitar one time and we used to sit around and played songs of the Beatles and The Stones when he looked at me and said: ‘man it’s time to start writing. Glenn was a published songwriter and he had a song called “Hanging on A Heartbeat” out with the Hooters and their first record was doing very well at the time. Our very first song we wrote together was “Crumble and Fall”. In fact we have recorded several versions through the years and when we were recording this new CD, we felt that it was perfect for the new cd. “Crumble and Fall” can also be heard in the end credits of one of my new movies called “The Last Gamble” and we recorded “Bitter Pill” on this Cd a song Glenn had written with Billy Idol and Eric Bazilian, the founder of the Hooters. My feeling is, that if it’s a well written song and it fits Underground Junction, we will do the song.
Lamitschka: Please tell us about the songs on your album (influences, etc).
Steven Bauer: That’s always a hard question to answer.
Glenn Goss: Our songs are influenced by life. When Steven and I get together to write, the words usually come fairly easy. Our sense of melodies differ in a way that’s why we complement each other. If Steven hears something major, I hear something minor or the other way around. We have such a strong connection to the music that it really just flows.
Steven Bauer: The coolest thing about our relationship is, that Glenn will come up with something on his own and says: ‘hey chief, I wrote this one for you, will do it as duet, like “The Hole”. It’s not an ego thing, it’s what’s right for the music and in this case what’s right for Underground Junction.
Glenn Goss: Steven is also writing more and more on his own. We were really under the gun to release this cd at the New York international film festival for the movie “The Last Gamble” and then a week later at the Blu Ray “Scarface” event in Los Angeles. I think we both feel that the best is yet to come.
Lamitschka: Who inspires you musically and how deep do your musical roots run?
Steven Bauer: One minute it is Bob Dylan next its U2, the Stones and on and on. I love music and I guess as deep as roots can go.
Glenn Goss: Steven is like a radio. He knows the words to every song on the radio, mind blowing.
Lamitschka: What do you think about today’s music scene?
Steven Bauer: The music scene is different today because of the way people hear and buy music. The internet has changed everything, it’s more of an internet scene but what is the same is that when something special comes along. Nothing is different, the crème always rises to the top. Glen and I have talked about why bands become successful and we always come up with the same answer: its intangible.
Glenn Goss: Something you can’t quite put your finger on and all of a sudden there is a scene.
Lamitschka: Where do you see it going in the future? What do you think about today’s music industry?
Steven Bauer: I feel this is just the beginning for Underground Junction and I don’t think about the music industry. For me one day, I am off doing a movie and the next I am on stage or recording or writing – that’s enough to think about.
Lamitschka: What moments in your career stand out in your memory as highlights and achievements which you are proud of?
Steven Bauer: Well, obviously “Scarface” but there have been many more since that, probably to many to mention, and my sons Dylan and Alexander. I am really proud of those two moments when they were born.
Glenn Goss: If I had to pick one I would say when I did the David Letterman show with Joan Osborne and Taj Majal but it wasn’t that I played with them, it was that it was in the Ed Sullivan theater where so many amazing musicians took that stage. Other than that this were the fastest 3 minutes of my life.
Lamitschka: When you get time off, how do you like to relax?
Steven Bauer: We do not get much time off these days. I am either working on a film or working on the music and I don’t think Glenn even sleeps. (Steven laughs) We love what we do, so we do it all the time.
Lamitschka: What message would you like to send your European fans?
Steven Bauer: We cant wait to play for you and we love you. Any news and tour dates will be posted on our web site www.undergroundjunction.net and on the band facebook page.
Christian Lamitschka ( Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de )