Intro:
Art Institute is the anti-band of rock and roll. They hate the typical band bios and band promo pics. They are “M.I.L.F. Rock", an exciting new genre of rock and roll. The cover of their new album, “People Like It When You Fail” states: "File Under: M.I.L.F. Rock".

When talking to Paul Chavez, I felt like I was talking to John Lydon – you never get a straight answer, and the answer you do get is often confusing, but always entertaining. Kinda like the band itself…

EC: Tell me about the formation of the band.

Paul: The band was started by Ken (drums) – who had placed an ad in the Houston Post stating: “EXPD. ROCK & Roll drummer looking for org. grp. doing soft & hard music.” By happenstance, Paul (guitar/synths/vocals) had placed an ad in the exact same issue stating: IM TROY. I PLAY A 8 STRING. I WANNA JAM. CALL ME. I JAM METAL. And yeah, it was printed in all caps. Both Ken and Paul contacted each other – just to be ironic – but as it turned out, they had similar tastes in older styles of new wave and post punk such as Durutti Column, Husker Du, Magazine, Van Halen and Tubeway Army. A few weeks later, Ken noticed an ad in the Zoo Animals Seeking Musicians section of the Houston Post with the cryptic message: “Hi, my name is Billy the Bear. Call Me.” When Ken called the number, it turned out to be Tyler (bass). And voila… a new band was formed. The group needed a familiar, yet ironic name... so the guys…

EC: I've gotta ask about the band name - how did Art Institute become your name?

Paul: Good question – I was about to answer that! So the band had come up with a series of names that reflected its love of funk, new wave, punk and “other” styles. Nothing was really clicking until Ken mentioned Art Institute – as a pisstake on people who go to college to become “serious” artists… but achieving nothing more than a certificate to hold a paint brush. It wasn’t until we were a few shows into our thing when a girl with the words “Awsome Tits” scrawled across her chest drunkenly pointed out that there was an actual art school of the same name. [NOTE: girl with “Awsome Tits” scrawled on her chest did not have awesome tits. They were more like sad balloons.] We were pretty bummed out by the strange twist of fate. Especially since we…

EC: Is there any affiliation with the Art Institute schools? Or is the name meant to confuse people?

Paul: Okay – you want to settle down there? I was about to answer that too. Short answer: No. However, we aim to confuse… so we decided to keep the name and continue chugging along. However, as more people because our “friends” on Facebook and MySpace – we noticed an interesting trend. Many of these people were students from the …

EC: Have there been any problems using the name Art Institute? I imagine that a website would be a problem. Or do you actually have an agreement with that institute of higher artistic learning?

Paul: What the fuck?! Would you let me talk?! So anyway… ummm… where was I? Oh yeah… so we had accumulated all these “friends” on Facebook who were students of the Art Institute. It was amusing until we got locked out of our account. Apparently THE Art Institute complained to Facebook that we were misleading their students into thinking we were affiliated with the school. We have to file a dispute with Facebook and (basically) beg to have access to our account again… if nothing else, for the contacts and photos and such. Facebook finally responded saying that we could have access to our account – but that the name on the account had to change to a legal name. That’s why our Facebook page says Paul Chavez and not Art Institute.

EC: How would YOU describe the music of Art Institute?

Paul: Confusing and free of interruptions.

EC: Ha ha, like my questions?

EC: Your album is titled, "People Like It When You Fail" - What does the title mean? Is it a veiled reference to someone?

Paul: The term was originally aimed at someone in particular, but over time – it became a general truth. All the songs on the album and some of the items on the insert have something to do with celebrating failure.

EC: Why the decision to do a 12" vinyl album and how did the album cover art by Raymond Pettibon come about?

Paul: CDs are too easy… we like taking the hard road. Likewise, the Pettibon artwork falls in line with this thinking. It was a total shot in the dark as we were 100% certain he/his agent would say no. In a way, we were hoping his agent would say no because THAT rejection note would have been the album cover. But his agent was super nice and professional. We have no idea if Pettibon has seen our finished cover – but we have not received a cease-and-desist order. So I guess that means something in the legal world.

EC: I love the tongue in cheek band bio on the album insert. Is this a sarcastic parody of band's taking themselves too seriously?

Paul: As Bob Mould would say… that’s not a tongue in your cheek!

EC: Are the songwriting credits shared in the band? Is it a total collaborating effort?

Paul: Possibly maybe.

EC: "Caste Away" has a creepy drone effect - is that a sitar?!

Paul: Close… it’s a tanpura – which is kind of like the bass guitar version of the sitar. We also used a harmonium in the studio on that song to help fill out the sound.

EC: Why aren't the lyrics included on the album insert?

Paul: I didn’t see a need for it. Our next album will have a booklet… so there will be plenty to read – although I can’t promise that it will be written in English.

EC: Has Alisa Preisler taken out a restraining order on Art Institute? [A little explanation here: a humorous e-mail conversation with Alisa, a music agent, is included in the liner notes]

Paul: She’s so awesome. I can’t wait to fuck her up the asshole.

EC: The cover says, "File Under: M.I.L.F. Rock" - what is M.I.L.F. Rock? Is it the music of the future?

Paul: It is the sound of now. Milfs are wonderful creatures with deep pockets and a soft spot for nostalgia. They are THE target audience of bands today.

EC: The mannequin photo - is this another sarcastic jab at bands that take themselves too serious when it comes to band pictures?

Paul: Yeah… for the most part. They are a reflection of the plastic personalities of musicians and artists.

EC: Will there be any videos from "People Like It When You Fail"?

Paul: People have shot videos of us playing live… but I don’t know what happened to the footage. If we did a video – it would be shot on Betamax and feature Billy the Bear, Troy, Sweetums Van Halen and Kim Jung il.

EC: Now that you have released a live cassette, CDRs, online downloads, a vinyl album and a vinyl single - will there be a 78rpm?

Paul: No, but do you mind if I grab a quick snack? And hey… how about I ask YOU a question?! What are your thoughts on the word “strife” and the name “William Campbell”?

EC: “Strife is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”! Wasn’t William Campbell the double who replaced George Harrison when he died in a flash fire in a waterbed shop? Or was he the playboy heir of the Campbell Soup Dynasty?

EC: What are your memories of worst gigs or best gigs?

Paul: Best: Pissing off the audience in Corpus with our Selena jokes.
Worst: Any Houston gig. Except the one where that bourbon whore started throwing ice cubes at Tyler. That was hilarious!

EC: Is it better to confuse or piss off an audience?

Paul: Either – since both indicate they are paying attention. If you hate us, it will be worth it.

EC: What is your ultimate goal for Art Institute?

Paul: What we do is secret.