The Spies have some nerve
To air the revolt on TV
We all want to see

The Spies are: Mark Matkevich, Leo Francis, Adrian Barrio, and Dylan Giagni
Names do not correspond with picture above, The Spies wish to remain a mystery
Explain to us the title of your album, Televolution?
LF: The idea for the title came as a response to an old spoken word piece by Gil Scott Heron called ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’. Now, when it was written, the sentiment was that it was directed to the underground. The individual thinkers were not the people who sat in front of the evening news, they wanted to know what was really going on. They wanted to affect real change. But with the advent of the internet and independent media, they could then use these technologies as an effective tool. In our culture today, everything is televised and covered by media. Every little move we make is tweeted and blogged about and posted on Facebook immediately. I began thinking that today, the title may have been ‘The Revolution Will Be Televised’. Then I just pushed the words together to make it catchy.
Leo and Mark, you both moved to LA from Philadelphia, what was reasoning behind that decision?
LF: Warmer weather and hot girls in bikinis. Seriously. Also, I heard that there are many a music and acting scene here.
MM: I actually moved from Philly to NYC, where I lived for 3 years, then to LA. I was flying to LA to audition a lot, my lease was up in New York, so I moved. So, I guess the answer is acting…and homelessness .
What song seems to get the best crowd response live?
MM: I would say 2 songs. “You Got Some Nerve,” which gets the dance groove going, and “National Pastime.” Craig Finn of The Hold Steady once said that their “songs are sing along songs” so is “National Pastime.”
AB: “Shatterproof” or “You Got Some Nerve”
Mark, you recently got out of acting, what was your favorite acting experience?
MM: Haha. You make it sound like I escaped from Rikers Island. I’d have to say my first TV gig I guess, which was on Law and Order: SVU. It was a scene with Chris Meloni. It was their first season, and he was fresh off of shooting Oz for HBO. I guess he was still holding on to that character’s prison mentality, because he kicked my ass in an interrogation scene. I was like wait, I’ve taken a stage combat class, and you’re not supposed to really hit people! It was great. Three cheers for method acting.
In the 90s boy bands, there was always the sexy one, the baby, the goofy one, and the smart/sensitive one in a band, what role are the members of The Spies?
MM: I would say Dylan is the Tin Man, Adrian is BA Baracus, Leo is Luke Skywalker, and I am of course, Bill Murray.
LF: Mark is the sexy one, Adrian is the goofy one, Dylan is the baby, and I guess that leaves me as the smart sensitive one….though I am not sure anyone else would use that to describe me…except my mother. I’m more like the edgy one….like that one Backstreet Boy that was allowed to grow a beard and get his ears pierced, or maybe it’s more like we are all the goofy one.
Have you ever been mistaken for Russian spies?
LF: Not since we changed our names from Sergei, Boris, Stalin and Lenin, and stopped calling everyone ‘Ruskie’.
DG: Only once, but by the Russians. Apparently I look a lot like one of their operatives. They were actually very gentle about the whole mix up.
What was the craziest thing you ever saw that you weren’t supposed to see?
MM: The Philadelphia Phillies winning the 2008 World Series. Awesome.
AB: A prehistoric flying turkey in Philadelphia, on tour.
DG: Don’t tell him I said this, but I saw Leo changing out of his super hero costume.
What 3 personalized tools would you each have on your Swiss army knife?
DG: A drum key, a salt shaker filled with Lawry’s salt, and a Japanese kataha saw.
LF: Guitar tuner, guitar pick, and my Netflix account.
MM: Adrian Barrio, Leo Francis, and Dylan Giagni. But only if I could be a tool on theirs. Ok, now this interview is getting weird.
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