Joanna: Tell everyone your name.

Michael: My name is Michael Jurin.

Joanna: And what do you do in Stellastarr?

Michael: I play guitar and ummm'do some backup vocals.

Joanna: How long has Stellastarr been a band for?

Michael: About five years now, actually. Our first record came out in like, 2003, and now this one's out in 2005. It takes a couple years in New York to get things going.

Joanna: You guys are like an actual 'New York band.'

Michael: Yeah' I guess we are.

Joanna: It seems like it would be tough to be a small band in New York. It's like you either have to be, like, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Interpol, or you're not a band at all.

Michael: Well, there's a ton of clubs ' there's a ton of places to play. It's just, to get noticed ' it's a pain in the ass.

Joanna: When I first heard of you guys, I remember I figured you were going to be some band that wasn't that good but people pretended to like. Then I listened to your self titled record and I remember I was like, 'Wow, they're actually good!' Like there's no obscure meaning behind your music that only select people who wear truckers hats can understand ' it's just catchy and fun without sounding like something cheesy that gets overplayed on the radio.

Michael: A lot of bands care more about being famous than playing good music, and they pump out overproduced radio hits. It makes people forget that pop music can actually be done really well.

Joanna: Well those radio bands should know that your songs make me dance around my loft in my underwear, and like, Matchbox 20 doesn't.

Michael: Hey, it's just my opinion, but I think we do it really well. Anyone else can make up their own minds on anything, and I'm sure those other bands are thinking 'Wow, we're nailing this ' this is exactly what we're going for.'

Joanna: Were you guys discovered by Carson Daly?

Michael: [laughs] Well he really liked us and hooked us up in the beginning. It was cool to see him take on a band that wasn't even signed yet, and actually put it on TV ' that's impressive, so we have a soft spot for him. He's done that for a lot of bands.

Joanna: Yeah, it's funny because his schtik is like being a lame frat boy' but he's actually kind of cool and I know this because we have some mutual friends. It's a good thing no one actually reads the interviews on my porn site, or else I would have just blown his cover.

Michael: [laughs] Yeah' he hosted that show' T-T'I don't know, what's that called?

Joanna: TRL? Oh come on- don't try and seem so oblivious. You've totally seen that show.

Michael: [laughs] I'm on tour all the time! I don't watch TV!

Joanna: So you're on RCA correct?

Michael: Yeah.

Joanna: Do they exploit you in ways that you don't feel comfortable being exploited?

Michael: To be honest, they haven't.

Joanna: Oh. Does it upset you that you don't get exploited as much as the other bands on your label do? Like The Strokes or The Foo Fighters?

Michael: I never really thought about it like that. I should walk into the RCA office and be like COME ON- EXPLOIT US ALREADY!

Joanna: [laughs] I think you guys are better than The Strokes. But I won't lie- I would still sleep with any of them.

Michael: Well' thanks?

Joanna: Perhaps if you were exploited as much as they were, I would have the same feeling about Stellastar. But alas, I just really like your music.

Michael: [laughs]

Joanna: So I just heard your new record and thankfully, I liked it. I was worried' a lot of second records for good bands have tendency to suck. I knew I was getting the CD in the mail because I annoyed everyone at the Cornerstone office until someone agreed to send me one' and when it was finally in transit'. I was worried, you know?

Michael: Yeah, you never know' second records are always a hard one. I'm very happy with it. It took a long time and recording it was basically us, like crash-coursing in a rehearsal studio in Williamsburg in the freezing winter.

Joanna: Do you live in Brooklyn now?

Michael: Yeah, yeah I do.

Joanna: In Williamsburg?

Michael: No, in the middle of nowhere. Down below Williamsburg, above Park Slope, there's this netherlands'the closest train is the G.

Joanna: I see. This explains why you were so late.

Michael: Exactly! I'll tell ya ' the damn G train!

Joanna: How come you don't have music videos on TV like all the other cool New York bands?

Michael: Actually, there was a video for 'In The Walls', the first track off our self titled record.

Joanna: Oh damn it. I never saw it. I am such a poor excuse for a music journalist.

Michael: [laughs] It's all in polaroids that we're developing on a table. So they'd take a picture and then put it down and then they'd speed it all up. But the picture would develop under the camera, and then they'd take the next frame and put it down, so it took a long time to do.

Joanna: No offense, that sounds like it would get boring after a while.

Michael: [laughs] Well we didn't do the whole video like that.

Joanna: Did you go to art school or something?

Michael: All those guys went to Pratt, and I went to Temple University but I did all music and film and video and stuff.

Joanna: Oh, ok, so you guys are all art-school sluts?

Michael: [laughs] Yeah, basically.

Joanna: Well that's cool that I didn't know that. Most people who graduated from art school formulate their entire personalities around it.

Michael: It's cool to be an art fag, but you don't want to scream out 'Hey, I'm an art fag.'

Joanna: No, nobody needs to scream that.

Michael: It's not a good thing to scream.

Joanna: Yeah, that's something that other people are supposed to scream.

Michael: Exactly, they're supposed to scream that at you from across the street, and I'm supposed to confront them about it and be like 'who are you calling an art fag, you faggot!'

Joanna: Exactly. It's important that you cover up your insecurities by acting completely out of character, and yelling something really uneducated. [ laughs ] Uh, so before today when you found out you were being interviewed for BurningAngel and checked out the site briefly, did you ever watch porn?

Michael: Are you serious? Everyone's watched pornography.

Joanna: Do you watch it on a regular basis?

Michael: Regular basis? I don't know about a regular basis. You know, I check out the Internet. It has plenty of that. So if you're bored and you're on the computer, it's a great way to kill time.

Joanna: So you're not a fanatic?

Michael: I'm not a fanatic.

Joanna: You don't go to conventions and wait on line to get Jenna Jameson's autograph?

Michael: No, no.

Joanna: Would you wait on line to get mine?

Michael: Absolutely.

Joanna: WOOOOOOHOOOO! Do you think that you don't watch porn regularly 'cause there's not that much porn out there that is speaking to you, being the sophisticated art school graduate that you are?

Michael: [laughs] Well the good thing about the Internet and everything with pornography is that basically you can run your gamet. You can really find out exactly which zone you want to check out'because, man, they've got something for everybody. [laughs]

Joanna: That wasn't the right answer. Can we try that again?

Michael: Huh?

Joanna: You're supposed to say 'I only find the porn I'm looking for on BurningAngel.'

Michael: [laughs] I looked at it for the first time today, and only for a few minutes. I'm sorry. I promise to look at it more when I get home. I can tell you this much though; I was surprised that the music there is actually quite decent ' not to pull away from the visuals there, but you know, you guys actually have indie bands doing pretty interesting soundtracks, as opposed to your lame 70s funk music. That's kind of been overdone. I think porn needs new soundtracks.

Joanna: I wouldn't even know where to find typical porno music if I looked for it. People are always like, 'Wow, that's so cool that you're doing something different', but I don't know how to not do something different.

Michael: I think all the porn people must hire the same dude to write their soundtracks, who just sits there with like, a keyboard and some drum machine and a peddle, and he plays his guitar and he plays a couple of keyboard keys and he doesn't care how good it is because no one else cares.

Joanna: Man. That was like' one of the most depressing things I've ever heard. I sure hope it's not like that. So what are you guys doing now as a band?

Michael: We're getting ready for tour. We haven't toured in about a year, though.

Joanna: Do you like being home?

Michael: Um, I really like being in New York. It's a great place. Touring is fantastic and all, but it really wears down on you after a while.

Joanna: Some people go really crazy.

Michael: Yeah, it really bugs certain people out.

Joanna: Yeah. So you guys were on tour for a really long time ' do you have any crazy hooker/groupie Motley Crue type tour stories you can tell me?

Michael: Probably none that I would share with everyone' sorry.

Joanna: Oh, you plead the Fifth?

Michael: I'm going to plead the Fifth on this one.

Joanna: Damn it. I ask every band this question and they almost always plead the fifth. It makes me feel like there must something really wrong with the fact that I like telling filthy stories about my personal sex life to everyone.

Michael: No! It has nothing to do with that. But I'm locked into this unit and you have to be a team throughout the whole thing'

Joanna: Oh. Are most of your fans young kids or something?

Michael: Not really ' no. Usually 18-and-over'a lot of people in their twenties.

Joanna: That's good cause it's hard to get people that age to like your band. We're all pretty snotty and don't like much new music.

Michael: Bands who make that 'kid crap' wind up being a passing fad, so that means that we might've actually done something respectable.

Joanna: But people in their twenties ' they don't want to buy things'they want to get on the guest list. Their like, 'Can I have this CD for review?'

Michael: That's such a New York thing, but you fall into it. I almost never pay to get into things. And it's one of those things that you get used to. But I get a reality check every once in a while when some big band will come by that I think I'll be able to get free tickets for, and then I don't. Then I'm like 'Fuck! I should've bought the tickets!'

Joanna: That happened to me with the Strokes.

Michael: [ laughs] Oh really?

Joanna: Yeah. I was like' damn it' how will I ever sleep with Julian if I can't even get into the same building as him?

Michael: [ laughs ].

Joanna:Umm, is there anything else you'd like to say to all these people who took a break from jerking off to porno to read this interview?

Michael: Hmmm' well thank you for taking time out of your busy masturbation schedule to read this. I understand it's a tight schedule, so thank you.