Do people still listen to Muzak? An Interview with LA based band "Muzak"

Cover by: Morgan Epps

Interview Conducted by: Emma Sikes

I had the pleasure of conversing with Muzak’s own Evan Cieplik ahead of the New York leg of their summer spread (tour). We discussed his shocking reading habits, the inevitable PBR sponsorship, and the difference between music and muzak (I painstakingly listened as a man regurgitated the storied history of the army general who invented muzak as a scientifically proven method for motivating workers with 15-minute segments of energetic background music.) I fact-checked him, obviously, and found him to be mostly right. Enjoy my interview with Muzak! 

Emma Sikes: How strange is it for people to know and sing your lyrics back to you? Does it throw you off, turn you on, or does it do a weird third thing? 

Muzak: It’s cool. I like it. I’ve been in bands where I’ve been told people like what we’re doing, and that makes sense to me, because objectively and from an outside perspective, we are a great band. With Muzak, because it’s my own lyrics, it’s just funny, and greatly appreciated, and creepy, but I also don’t want it to stop. 

Emma Sikes: Do you listen to your own music?

Muzak:  Very frequently, mostly because I miss my band, all the time, every day. I think if we were playing together on a weekly basis, I wouldn't feel the need, but after four minutes and seven seconds of pure nostalgia rattles the dashboard of my car so hard the rolling tray I have perched up there rolls off, I tend to feel much better. (Groopy is the song referenced above, enjoy loud and in a car.)

Emma Sikes: How many of your songs are about people in your life? Do they know? 

Muzak: As a songwriter who’s not “classically trained,” I don’t set out to write songs about specific stuff; I just write about random things, whatever comes. Most of the lyrics I write in some capacity are reflections about shit that has happened to me. Every one of my songs has something to do with somebody in my life. My friends are good fodder for my art, and I do not feel bad for using the oddly specific things they say with no credit, ever! 

Emma here. I must confess, Evan “Muzak” Cieplik did not use the word fodder. But he…should have. Not everything you read is true. Stay curious, hoes! 

Emma Sikes: Is merch a means to an end, or do you like people spreading the good word for you? 

Muzak: Dude, merch is the only way you can make money as an independent band. Merch makes the world go ‘round; merch is awesome, merch is cool. Bassist for Muzak, Simon Deery, designed the last batch for us. I dug the t-shirt he made. I’d love to sell more articles of clothing…sweatshirts are cool; people still wear those, right? 

Emma Sikes: I have seen people in them, yes. May I suggest moving into the intimate clothing items space? Boxers with the word “Groopy” across the butt? 

Muzak: Word of dick rather than word of mouth. I’m pro-merch. 

Emma again, he really did say that. Word. of. Dick. 

Emma Sikes: What’s the most non-rockstar thing about you? 

Muzak: I love to wake up early, like six am. If I could wake up at six am every day of my life, I would. Sometimes it’s just not physically possible. I also love to practice, exercise, and read Bach. If I could read Bach while exercising at six am, every day, I would. 

Emma Sikes: What is an brand that would never sponsor you because of your rock-star lifestyle?

Muzak: I don’t think about brand sponsorship very often, but when I do, I reach for a crisp PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) and jones for the day when Heinz reaches out to offer me baked beans for life.  

Emma Sikes: If you had to be stuck in a hot, cramped elevator with two people, dead or alive, who would you choose? 

Muzak: This one is easy: Jerry Garcia, and professional bodybuilder, author, and philosopher, Mike Mentzer. 

Question from a fan, Maggie G asks: When you write songs, do you think about how mosh-able they will be? Does that influence the way you create your music? 

Muzak: We absolutely consider the moshability of the songs we play, you know, can people move to this? The way we do music is fast, loud, and with a lot of yelling. Shoutout to the fans, keep being curious, and don’t hesitate to start following me around. Seriously, my fans tend to be super nonchalant; we have to fix that. 

Emma Sikes: Touring is notoriously unglamourous. Give me a rough estimate of the number of couches you’ve surfed in your lifetime. 

Muzak: Thirty to fifty couches, and floors don’t count. 

Emma Sikes: Does fashion impact the way you sound? Or the way you sound to some people? i.e., Would cooler, more hip people listen to you play if you dressed better/differently? 

Muzak: I think there is an aspect to it, truly, when you see a band that’s really poorly dressed on stage; they have to give a really encapsulating performance to combat their bad look. Live music is a visual medium, and we’re shallow, visual creatures. If you look cool onstage, or have a distinctive overall style, it helps to get people to stand around and bob their heads a little longer, for sure. I must admit, we’re not the coolest-dressed band. I’m usually wearing a cut-off t-shirt and jeans, but I am willing to try something drastic…Like, I dunno matching fedoras or something? 

Fans of music, baked beans, and dancing should absolutely come to the Muzak x Makeout Palace x Kevin Wulf x Wulfer show at Cobra Club in Brooklyn, NY, on July 1st. Music starts at eight, be there or be square, and remember: never fact-check me, please (it hurts my feelings!).