Nnamdi Ogbonnaya is a super talented dude who performs in several diverse music projects. He takes that whole side project junk to the next next level. Pretty much, you can’t not like this guy, he’s the coolest. He’s a fun dude that says some smart stuff! Check out all of his bands through the links at the end, and support the shit you dig.
I’m Nnamdi AKA ShootyMcSitBack, AKA Goon Sherrif AKA Dat Nig, AKA Darrel AKA Nnamdi. I play drums in The Para-medics, Itto, and Pisces at the Animal Fair, bass in Water House and Nervous Passenger, and I’m in the Sooper SWAG Project. And I have my own solo shit.
Hey ShootyMcSitBack! So in the world of math rock/emo/post-whatever it isn’t uncommon for band members to have side projects that operate on the backburner while a main project takes precedence. In your case, it seems like all of your projects receive as much attention as they demand. Would you say that being in so many projects is difficult or that it just comes naturally for you?
Nnamdi: I don’t think it’s hard because it’s the only thing I enjoy doing. Everything else in life seems like a nuisance because it gets in the way of music.
You recently posted on facebook “Fuck a scene mang. I’m gonna do my own thing forever.” Was there any one thing in particular that made you say that? Is it more of just an attitude that has developed over time? Or is this a quote from a Drake song?
ShootyMcSitBack: I actually ghost write for Drake. Haha. Nah. I wish. I just don’t want to be associated with anything except being the best me there is. I don’t want to be categorized with other people. This is not a dig on supporting local artist and going to shows and shit because not only is that ridiculously fun, it also helps friends and people you know that play in bands grow. Building a sense of community in music is great and has definitely changed the lives of people including myself, but there is a stigma with the word scene that I never really enjoyed. When things start getting clicky and highschool I don’t want to be a part of it. I would rather just be by myself and if people start to get interested in what I do as an individual that’s the coolest thing to me.
Aside from being in more bands than I can remember, you also are a resident at The Legendary Swerp Mansion in Chicago IL. Tell me about some shows you guys have had there, out of those which one was your favorite? Also, could say some stuff about what’s going on in the DIY scene in Chicago? That would be dope!
Goon Sherrif: Hahaha “Legendary”. We had a pretty good run until the PO PO GANKED OUR SHIT. My favorite show by far was when Birthmark played. Nate Kinsella is one of my favorite musicians and the performance was damn near perfect. The whole room was in silent awe and it was amazing. Also our first show with Capillary Action and Paper Mice was probably the best first show we could have asked for. I don’t really know what’s going on in the “DIY scene.” I’m out of the loop. I go hang out at shows occasionally but honestly I spend most of my time in my room reading text books, writing songs or watching Harvey Birdman.
Out of the many cool things you are a part of, I think I am most intrigued by the solo rap-hop stuff that you make while out on the road. I know that a majority of my time in the van is spent asleep or acting a fool with the dudes. Is writing/recording a song everyday something that demands attention or is it more fun than anything else? Also what are your views on DIY touring? Is it something that all bands should do?
Dat Nig: Thanks mang! For the songs I wrote in the van, some songs were more time consuming than others. While everyone else is in the van playing videogames or sleeping, I would be in the beat seat working on some jams. I think it’s rewarding to try and force yourself to do something even when there seems to be another more immediately fulfilling activity you could be partaking in. With forcing yourself to sit down and write, your end result might not be as good as if you would have planned it out or it may be better than you expected. If you practice even at times when you don’t want to, you are going to get better at whatever it is. That’s how it goes with most things. I think it just helps my songwriting techniques in general. It is also very fun for me.
Darrel (on DIY touring): I fucking love it. Hanging out with new people all the time and just being gross and smelly. It’s the best. I do think all bands should do it starting off. Well, if you start off getting paid hella money and don’t need to plan shit out yourself and sleep on strangers beds I can understand why you would choose that route, but there is an excitement in touring like that can’t be compared to anything else. Not that I don’t want to sleep in fancy hotels and have VIP shit (Because I totally do. LAWL.)
What is the meanest thing someone has said to you about any of your bands (ex. a drunk guy at a show, a jerk-off neighbor, ex-girlfriend or whatever)?
Nnamdi: I don’t know if anyone has said anything mean to me. On the internet for my solo stuff I get people saying, “This can’t be serious” a lot which is weird to me, because first of all WHO CARES and second of all I don’t even take into consideration seriousness when I write, I just do whatever I feel like doing at the time. Also, I think people are just scared to tell me when I suck.. like they think I’ll get offended, but I always know when I perform badly or when a song I write is really dumb or there are notes out of key.
That one P-meds vid got like a hundred thousand views, that’s pretty cool. I think it’s mostly the funny face/noise you make in the beginning. In future videos are you gonna make more funny faces and sounds in order to get more views?
Nnamdi: I’m gonna be showing a lot more than that in future videos. Wink* wink*. (I’m talking about my penis.) WINKWINKWINK*
Could you see Nnamdi Ogbonnaya ever being a household name?
Nnamdi: If that means “HELLA RICH”, then Yeah.
If you died and Jesus was like “hey man, welcome to heaven. Its p dope, butttttt… you can only eat one thing for the rest of eternity.” What would you eat?
Goon Sherrif: Some Type of Cheese on Some type of Starch.
You can check out Nnamdi in some of these thangs, they’re all fucking great! Sooper SWAG’s latest stuff is gold.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Para-medics/114824818534628
(The Para-medics) bass tapping/muttonchops/mathrock
http://pataf.bandcamp.com/
(Pisces at the Animal Fair) mathrock/pieceful
http://ittochicago.bandcamp.com/
(Itto) scramz/hella riffs
http://waterhaus.bandcamp.com/
(Water House) folk/twinkle
http://nervouspassenger.bandcamp.com/
(Nervous Passenger) fun/punk
http://sooperswagproject.tumblr.com/swag
(The Sooper SWAG Project) based as fuk/rap
http://nnamdiogbonnaya.bandcamp.com/
(Solo Stuff) rap-hop/campbells soup
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