New York City by way of Boston-based band HOORAY FOR EARTH formed in 2005 and self-released a full-length, self-titled album in 2006.  When band leader Noel Heroux moved to New York City in the summer of 2007, the band took a brief hiatus, but quickly reconnected.  Traveling back and forth between Boston and New York, Hooray For Earth continued to build its fan base in its home city, but also started to gain recognition in the New York City/Brooklyn music scene.  In 2009, Hooray For Earth started recording what would eventually become the EP Momo.  Momo will be release in June 2010 on Dovecote Records. Indie rock quartet Hooray for Earth had its beginnings in 1996, when bass player Chris Principe asked singer Noel Heroux to join his band in high school. But it was not until 2003 that the two added drummer Seth Kasper, with keyboardist/guitarist Gary Benacquista joining in 2004, as the band embarked on recording its first album. That album, self-titled and self-released, appeared on August 23, 2006. The band then signed to Dopamine Records, which released the EP Cellphone on February 26, 2008, and reissued a revised version of the first album on January 13, 2009. That same year, Kasper left the group and was replaced by new drummer Joseph Ciampini. 2010 saw the release of the Momo EP.

Your debut EP, Momo, is short and sweet. Were you debating adding more content to it upon release or just trying to keep it simple?The EP was put together specifically to suit the eMusic scenario, it just made sense as a whole, at thatExactly what the heck is a Momo?Momo is short for Moomoo, and also the Japanese word for "peach", which is a pleasant fruit to think about.You managed to create a beautifully original sound here. What exactly were you aiming for when you stepped into the studio?That's a very nice compliment! The songs were born straight into the sonic landscape they live in now, there wasn't much fiddling around to try and "make" a sound, other than emulate the sound i heard in the brain.What became of the puppets used in you "Surrounded by your Friends" video? Cool effects, by the way, but I think I almost had a seizure at the end there.The video was directed by Johnny Woods and the puppets were created specifically for the video by Leslie Rogers. The puppets are in her care. I loved being in that car with them - and Johnny created such wonderful worlds within the video.What influences are involved in your music production?I try to just take the song/production idea straight out of my head and put it to tape quickly and directly before it gets muddled with outside influence. There are of course times when post production happens, in which case i often like to start with just noise and then work inward from there. Also once in a while we just kill a bottle of vodka and record shit.How do you handle diverging creative ideas?The EP was produced by Josh Ascalon and I. Everyone lays down parts on various instruments - I handle all the songwriting and initial production ideas though so it's pretty easy to keep on track creatively. Also, vodka.How long have you been playing together? How did the band form from both NY and MA? The band formed in Boston in 2005, but after plugging away for a couple years there I just completely lost interest. I moved to NYC in 2007, and Joe joined last year - he's in Brooklyn. Chris and Gary reside in Cambridge, MA but are constantly down here in NY.Did you each have previous bands in another life?Chris and I have been in different bands together from high school through to the early years of this band, which I totally consider a "previous life". Gary had a couple bands, Joe's been in a few... the usual.How did you get involved with eMusic's Selects program?eMusic just contacted us one day - I thought it was a spam email. After a quick chat with them we came up with the EP, which we had been working on uncertain of how it would be released, and it just rolled from there. We couldn't have planned it any better; eMusic was great to us.Where does the artwork for your album cover and website come from?The website is just from whatever I have laying around, photos or digital video mistakes. The cover art for the Emusic version of Momo was created by Johnny Woods.Favorite touring moment?We were in Pittsburg on an off day and spent mid-afternoon through to the next morning in a weird pub drinking green Coors. For whatever reason I have a very fond memory of this.What's your dream car? How many of them will you buy once you make millions with platinum albums?If I'm fortunate enough to have money to spend on vehicles I'd probably replace my old car - I had a couple Buicks (Park Ave and a LeSabre) that I really miss. I'd have to move to Brooklyn though so I could park somewhere. I always wanted a Grand National, too. These aren't environmentally sound cars though, so unfortunately I'll probably end up in a lame Prius. Actually, in the spirit of wasting rock n roll money, I could commission someone to build an environmentally friendly Grand National hybrid.Post-rock, punk rock or classic rock? What music did you listen to growing up?In my early years I remember so much classical music - but I also soaked up a lot of Roxy Music and things like this. There was plenty of Enya in both my parents' households, and Nirvana exploded when I was around 8. My parents were Beatles fans but I somehow managed to completely miss the boat - I bought my first Beatles record (Revolver) in 2007.What is your dream concert line-up and venue?Too hard. I don't think Hooray for Earth would necessarily belong in my dream lineup.What equipment do you use?We're pretty loose on equipment except for my "no goofy digital shit" policy. Gary's a lefty so for guitars he's stuck with whatever's around - although he recently found a nice old Lefty Gibson SG. Chris has a Peavey Hooray for EarthDate of Interview: 2/10/10 P-bass copy and I have a few parts-guitars that I made. Drums and percussion are whatever we've got or can borrow. They synths are either homemade sampled and programmed via midi, or a Juno-esque Roland or MS-20. We used a Crumar Orchestrator during a lot of the EP recording. Then you get into the noise toys and field recording stuff, tape recorders, and contact mic, blah, blah, etc.Downtime pastimes?Drinks and food? Laying down.What does the future behold for Hooray for Earth?I have a real answer and a joke answer:A) We're grateful just to have had the chance to release this EP, receive a bit critical recognition and hear that at least a good handful of people are really enjoying it. I'm going to keep creating new music and hopefully continue on doing this without getting buried by a day job.B) I don't know what the future holds but I hope the future has some oven mits...oh SNAP!