Allegory Gets Us Hot: Times New Viking Talks Hoops, Ohio

When the Cavs made their big trade last week, we knew there was only one man to turn to for analysis: Adam Elliot, former varsity basketball player and drummer/vocalist of Ohio lo-fi/noise-pop/shitgaze heroes Times New Viking. Even if most of the interview took place before the trade ever happened and he was in Canada at the time.

FreeDarko: You mentioned [in an email] that Lebron is "the savior of pro sports/America." Is your love for Lebron based more in Ohio pride or just a general admiration for his basketball abilities?

Times New Viking: First, it is great to have a living legend play for your pro team. Lebron is a savior for Ohio in many ways. He is young, he is forward thinking, and he can take over shit. Did you see the Eastern Conference finals last year? Un-fucking-believable.

FD: How do you feel about Lebron's eagerness to turn himself into a multinational corporation?

TNV: Why not? Our band just turned down some contract because it didn't make sense for us. But why wouldn't what Lebron agrees to make sense for a young basketball megastar?

FD: Are you worried that Lebron's going to leave Ohio for New York?

TNV: Fuck no. Cleveland will get that point guard in the next couple of years.

FD: What do you think about the big trade? Is Delonte West that point guard? Do Ben Wallace and Big Z make sense as a frontcourt?

TNV: We are currently in Montreal so all it is is hockey. Been trying to figure out the exact trade in French. But fucking Ben Wallace is the shit. One of my all time faves for the NBA. The Cavs are a force.

FD: Would Times New Viking ever consider leaving Ohio for New York?

TNV: Fuck no.

FD: Are you guys into Ohio State hoops at all? Were you excited by the Greg Oden Era, or was it too fleeting to really make an impact?

TNV: I am an Indiana Hoosier fan at heart. But Oden and Conley were something to watch. Conley/Oden are also the future of the sport. Conley simply does not make mistakes, and Oden is effective in so many ways.

FD: Are you sports fans in general, or just basketball? If the latter, what is the reason for basketball's unique appeal?

TNV: I love sports. I love paying attention. For me though, basketball is first, baseball second. I grew up on Hoosiers/Reds. I always wanted to be a basketball coach that got to play in a Creedence cover band on the side when I was in middle school. As far as basketball, Tark, Coach K, Bobby Knight, they all made me feel a sense of tradition that has been lost on most of my generation.

FD: Do you run across many other people in bands who are into basketball? Any surprises?

TNV: Sometimes. I know Hart from The Hunches almost cried when I knew about the mid 90's Blue Devils.

FD: That's the second time you've mentioned Duke or Coach K. You're not a Duke fan, are you?

TNV: Fuck Duke. Hate them. I am a Hoosier/Bobby Knight fan growing up. Or University of Dayton. Western Kentucky. Any of these over Duke. Even Vanderbilt.

FD: What is your take on the NME "shitgaze" article? Do you feel an affinity with the other bands mentioned? Are you afraid the notorious British music press is going to hype you up like the Strokes or whoever?

TNV: All of those bands are our best friends and friends of friends. If they hype us, so what? We will show up just like Lebron did in the Finals. If we lose four in a row, at least we got there.

FD: In the early 90's, people were always talking about how "post-modern" Pavement was and how they were "deconstructing" pop music by ripping off The Fall or Buddy Holly. By referencing Pavement, the Clean, and the Fall on your MySpace and naming your newest album "Rip It Off," you're opening yourselves up to the same kind of criticism. Are you just playing with these ideas, or is there more serious commentary behind it?

TNV: Not so serious. We take plagiarism serious. We take postmodernism serious, but we don't take ourselves serious. Comments are simply that, not statements.

FD: Have you ever talked sports with Gerard Cosloy? Do you read his blog?

TNV: I have talked baseball with him, and sports. But he is a Mets fan. No comment.

FD: Do you know if the guys in the Clean are Sean Marks fans?

TNV: Not sure, I know they dig sport.

FD: I read on Wikipedia that during a Lollapalooza, Guided by Voices beat the Beastie Boys and Billy Corgan in basketball. Have you ever seen Bob Pollard play? Do you think Times New Viking could take GBV in their prime in 3-on-3?

TNV: I suppose. If we could get Ron House from the Slave Apts., definitely. Jared and I are both lefties and play a mean 2 on 2 match. Pollard's brother played my father. That is pretty fucking old school.

FD: Bethelem Shoals, FreeDarko's most prolific writer, once wrote that the guys who write for our site were "born under the dueling style signs of hip-hop and indie rock." Are any of you into hip-hop at all? I'm specifically wondering about the Scribble Jam scene, which seems to have attracted a large number of arty Midwesterners.

TNV: Luckily I work hip hop night in Columbus. Good fucking deejays. We are into hip hop being observational, fucking real life. But in many ways, I don't get underground hip hop so much. Talking shit about people not being positive isn't exactly positive either, but in Columbus this doesn't happen. Hip hop kids/punk rock kids all get together and deal with how boring our town is. No pretension.