Q&A with Crafty Bastards Silver Spring Main Stage Performer We Were Pirates

Rock-n-Romp, the awesome kid-friendly indie rock concert series, hosts multi-instrumentalist Mike Boggs and his live band comprised of a rotating cast of friends, as We Were Pirates. Bring the kids to see them play and they can also get a moustache painted on, a cool tattoo and stop at the coloring station to create their own works of art! Moustache painting and coloring books sponsored by Spooky Daddy, Booth #58! Tattoos provided by Craft Mutiny, Booth#56! Get more info at www.rocknromp.com and www.pirateswerewe.com, and check out the kid-friendly set on the Main Stage at Crafty Bastards June 28 at 11:30 am!

- Explain your band/stage name:

I’m one of those guys who is pretty overly sentimental about my childhood and just being a kid in general. I was really into comic books and playing pretend and exploring in the woods and all that. My role model as a kid (and secretly as an adult) was Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. For me, most of the fun of making music is kind of being able to re-connect with that time in my life when creativity was just a constant state of mind and not something that needed to be conjured up. “We Were Pirates” as a solo project is basically me doing just that: sitting in my bedroom by myself with my guitar and casio keyboard making up stories about people and trying to conjure up that state of mind. “We Were Pirates” is kind of an acknowledgement of how much fun it is to play make believe.

- Define your sound:

My music is pretty straight-forward indie-pop.

- What are your influences?

I’m pretty heavily influenced by minimalism in music. I love Yo La Tengo and American Analog Set and Built to Spill. I listened to a lot of Weezer and Beck as a kid and I think they definitely left their mark. Other than that The Pixies, The Kinks, The Flaming Lips… Basically, I’m just a sucker for good pop music.

- Worst equipment experiences?

I don’t want to jinx it, but up until now I haven’t had any really big equipment problems. All of my problems have been really lame and boring, like losing a capo on stage or a tambourine exploding during a song when I guess I was banging it around and shaking it a little too hard. I’ll let you know if I end up getting electrocuted by my amp or a piano falls on me or something a little more interesting.

- What’s your favorite local hangout and best stage you’ve played?

I played a little bar in Nashville called 12th south that was great. We played for free beer and tips and the crowd was just really friendly and laid back. To me there is nothing worse than playing to a crowd full of uptight hipsters that just can’t wait to classify a band as lame and then move on. These people were just there to drink beer and hear a free show. It was an amazing crowd.

I don’t know that I have a favorite local hangout. DC has a lot of great bars and venues. I like different places for different reasons. IOTA is great and The Black Cat is one of my favorite venues. Lost Dog Café is a great place to grab a beer.

- How do you feel about being a Crafty Bastard?

I am very proud to be a crafty bastard. In fact, the guitar I will be playing at the show is a craft project in and of itself. I bought a cheap guitar on craigslist, stripped the old paint off and stained the wood myself and replaced the pickups and put it all back together. Oh and my pedal board is made out of an old briefcase that I got at a thrift store and turned into a pedal board. So, yeah, I’m definitely down with being a crafty bastard. Oh and you can see pictures of both projects on wwp’s myspace blog.

- Where can the adoring public see you next?

Assuming there are no other crazy arsenic attacks, we’re tentatively slated to play Fort Reno, which I’m really excited about.