FRINGE 2016 | Page 9

Q&A with SPORTS Their name is Sports and they hail from Gambier, OH. Lead by vocalist & guitarist Carmen Perry, the band crafts personal lyrics that depict adolescent struggles of love, loss, & shrinking your clothes in the wash. While sweet, the pop-punk anthems are far from saccharine. They have all the head-nodding, table-drumming qualities you’d look for in a tune- perfect for belting out in the car, shower, or at your next open mic. I want everyone to love Sports as much as me, so I requested an interview and (lucky me) they accepted! Well, 3/5 of them, at least. This is Carmen, Catherine, and Jack. Thanks again for having us! So I read that you all went to Kenyon College together. But how exactly did the band form? We did! Jack is actually still at Kenyon. Benji and I (Carmen) lived next door to each other freshman year, and we were friends with James and Catherine (who is a year older than us), so we all just started playing together. Jack joined the band when Catherine graduated. Though now they're both in the band. The songs on (your sophomore album) All of Something are so damn catchy. I could- and have- listen to them repeatedly without getting bored. What sort of intention went into planning the album? Thank you! Yeah, we were definitely aware of keeping the songs and the album concise. Hopefully that makes it more approachable and encourages people to return to it. The Midwest has a distinctive music scene. Does that play into your identity as artists? Not really. There are definitely a ton of great bands from Ohio (and other the rest of the Midwest), but none of us are from the Midwest, and going to a small, insular college in the middle of Ohio wasn’t the most immersive experience. What activities (besides making music) give you the most creative inspiration? Watching TV Best, worst or most significant gig you've played? I think one of the most significant gigs we’ve played was the “Indie Pop Prom” at Baby’s All Right in February of 2015. It was the first time we played outside of Ohio, so it was pretty important for us. One food to describe your music? French fries Most overrated and underrated social media platforms? Tinder. Twitter is properly rated. If you could collaborate with any other artist, who would it be? Cher What can fans expect from you in the future? We are working on some new material and will be doing some touring this summer!   Anything else you want readers to know? We are still a band.