Biography
Spitting Off Tall Buildings are a five-piece from Germany who's guitar-rock dynamics are rooted in pop-punk and early American hardcore, drawing their influences from Pixies, Black Flag, Fugazi, Mclusky and Sonic Youth.
"When we started out, we wanted to generate the greatest amount of energy and thought it could best be done by hammering out the sound at full speed non-stop. But we forgot this type of thing usually gets on people's nerves after 15-20 minutes... and ours too. Then we discovered that loud parts come across better following a quiet part", explains guitarist and part-time singer Paule. This approach particularly characterized their self-titled debut album, released in 2005 on Sanctuary Records.
The time prior to Jana, Paule, Greg, Andre and Niels' first album was spent, like most bands, playing shows, shows and more shows. It didn't matter where or for how many people - the main thing was to keep the band on the road. Each gig was one better than the last and this progression really moved things forward. Hanging around just isn't their thing. "I think it's the healthiest thing for the type of music we do - just to play, to rock all the youth centers who wanted us in order to grow as a band and to get better at playing live. After all, we want to keep doing this for a few more years", says Andre summing it up.
After the release of a self-titled six-song CD-EP they took to the studio with Moses Schneider (Beatsteaks, Tocotronic) and Gordon Raphael (The Strokes). "Fifteen songs in seven to eight days (each, for instruments and vocals - not everything in eight days!!) but it didn't take as long as with most bands", reports singer and actress extraordinaire Jana Pallaske (who achieved celebrity status in her native Germany for her starring role in the edgy movie Alaska.De). "I sang “Questions & Answers” in only one take, Moses and Gorden said, 'That was great!!!' I wasn't so sure at first because the recording started out a bit wrong, but then that's what makes it all the more appealing, it doesn't have to be perfect but it has to sound energetic."
In February 2007 the band hopped on a plane to Chicago to record their sophomore album /Good Night And Good Luck/ with the master himself, Steve Albini. Just one week to record, mix and master this work is once again a reflection of their straight-forward DIY attitude. The underlaying content shows, contrary to the sound, that the birth of the album was accompanied by an all-consuming catharsis to get rid of feelings polluting the songwriter's minds, the relationship between Jana and Paul (which was somewhat responsible for getting the band started) broke up during the hard life on the road and all its difficulties, so Good Night And Good Luck is in many ways a modus operandi of dealing with the pain left over from this experience, and this kind of content usually provokes the most honest and heart-warming of songs. Good Night And Good Luck is a simple but touching album, full of hooklines and honest lyrical content, wrapped up in a direct sound of driving guitars, pumping basslines and straight drumming. All the recordings made at Electrical Audio in Chicago are first or second takes, the whole vocal recordings done in one take - straight through from beginning to the end. That's it! Here you have it! It's made for you! Maybe it takes a while to get used to the 'Spits', they do their own thing and it's just this type of cheeky charm that's magnetic. If the band happens to play your town, get excited and make some noise!