STRFKR are perfectly happy with their contradictions, thank you very much.





Indeed, much has been made of STRFKR's proclivity for making music that's by turns cerebral and aggressively danceable. The group, after all, have been deftly playing that balancing act for ten years now. Time and time again, STRFKR has proven adroit at making two seemingly opposite impulses appear perfectly congruent.





Their newest offering, Vault Vol. 2 is the second of three planned installments featuring rare and unreleased tracks that span the band's decade-long history. It's an intriguing look at leader Joshua Hodges creative process, one that highlights his knack for melody, even when the songs are nothing more than bare-bones stems of an idea.





With a show coming up at Emo's on July 3rd with Reptaliens, we asked STRFKR's Joshua Hodges about old songs finally seeing the light of day, his first memories of the Internet, why he doesn't like Led Zeppelin, and more.





















Do512: The last time we spoke, I told you I was calling you from a Porta Potty as an icebreaker. You didn't think it was funny, though. Is it kind of funny to think about now?





STRFKR: Yeah, I mean some of the most important things happen in Porta Potties. I've had a lot of fun bathroom times on tour. Those moments where I ask myself what I'm doing with my life.









You've just released volume two of Vault, which contains songs that are up to a decade old. What is it like revisiting that? Do you feel like it's a different version of yourself who wrote those song?





STRFKR: I'm kind of always writing stuff, so I have this pool of unfinished songs that I'll go through when I'm trying to make an album. Or some of the other members will go through them and say "Oh, this one's cool. Let's finish this!" So, it wasn't like I was that unfamiliar with those songs. I think they have some charm on their own so I figured we'd put them out, rather than they never get heard at all.





Is their a song in particular that you're stoked to finally see the light of day?





STRFKR: I don't know, I think they mostly work altogether. It sounds like it's own thing. The whole series is kind of like a peek into the writing process for me.





What's your first memory of the Internet?





STRFKR: Probably either porn or music related, I'm sure. I had a friend who was really into the Internet early on, his whole family had computers and stuff before anyone else.









STRFKR, Vault Vol. 2 | Photo Credit: STRFKR Facebook









What have you tried once that you would not try again?





STRFKR: There's drugs I've tried more than once that I don't want to try again. Acid, I think I've done enough of that. It was really great for a time but now I can't have a good time on it...





Renting a car in Croatia without researching how corrupt it is. It's a beautiful country, but it's super corrupt, so you need to bring cash to bribe the police, which I didn't know at the time. It actually worked out in my favor because they let me go for the little bit of cash I had.





What's a song you love from a band you're not a fan of?





STRFKR: There's Led Zeppelin songs I like, but I'm not a fan of that band. I'll hear something on the radio and like it, but I'd never put on an album by them. It's kinda too glammy for me, and the lyrics are kind of silly. It was never my thing growing up, I always liked Neil Young and Steely Dan and stuff.





What's your favorite thing you've ever dressed up as for Halloween?





STRFKR: The whole band dressed up as Cobra Kai from The Karate Kid and that was pretty fun. It's a good group costume.



What is the scariest nightmare you've ever had?





STRFKR: I just had like three last night, that's really weird that you asked me that. I always have nightmares where I do something fucked up and killed somebody on accident and I'm like, "Oh my GOD I have to live with this." Those are the worst for me. The permanence of doing some kind of fucked up thing you can't take back.









STRFKR | Photo Credit: Cara Robbins









What are you tired of people complaining about?





STRFKR: Words that people use. Like everyone getting mad at Bill Maher for saying the n-word, I think is pretty stupid. I don't think that white people should say that either, but I also don't think that's why we have racism in this country or that people should get fired for saying shit. Like Colbert saying that Trump's mouth is Putin's cock holster. My old racist landlord out in Joshua Tree got really mad about that and I just thought, "Y'all don't really care about that. You're just looking for something to complain about."





What is your favorite song that's not in English?





STRFKR: It's a South Korean psychedelic guy... Kim Jung Me. He has this kind of famous album that he produced and played with Shin Joong Hyun called, The Sun.





If someone was sitting down and writing the STRFKR biography right now, what would this chapter be called?





STRFKR: "I Should Probably Adopt a Dog"





Is there a particular dog you're fond of?





STRFKR: All of them, pretty much. But I like the bigger ones like labs and golden retrievers. I live in a tiny place so we have a weight restriction, so I'm trying to figure out if I should wait to get a bigger place or just get a tiny dog I can take on tour with me. That would be pretty sweet. A little long haired wiener that could sleep in my bunk would be amazing.





If the universe had a suggestion box, what would you put into it?





STRFKR: Just be nice.











