An Interview with Emma Goldman Sachs
Emma Goldman Sachs is a lofi garage rock two piece based out of Oklahoma by Nick Rauscher and Dalton Eckroat. Their music is reminiscent of cult surfer rock and nu-60s counter culture that screams anti-establishment. Nick answers some questions about their style and influence. This blog post features their “Bay of Pigs” release that debuted in February 2024.
Who are the members of the band and what do they play?
Nick Rauscher: guitar and vocals, Dalton Eckroat: drums, and (somtimes) Mickey Pistol: Bass
How long have you all played together?
Dalton and I (Nick) have played in bands together for years. Since about 2016 or so. Mickey just started playing with us a few months ago after she learned our songs while we were on tour with Diet Riot, but she has a couple of projects of her own in LA, Halfwit Heroes and Lost Cat, so she just plays with us when she’s available. Otherwise we usually still play as a two-piece.
How can people find you?
Spotify - Instagram - Bandcamp
Can you share the story behind the formation of your band?
Yeah I guess technically we started in 2018 since that’s when we put out the first ep. It was originally just a recording project for me when I was playing in another band called Bad Jokes, that was kind of like a diy indie pop band. At the time I was obsessed with The Fat White Family’s Champagne Holocaust album and like everything from The King Khan and BBQ Show and really just any music that was really catchy yet grimy and sounded like it was made on a forty dollar budget (I still am btw). I wrote one song and recorded everything to it with a Rock Band mic for Xbox and was actually really happy with how it came out, so I decided to do an ep. Back then for me it was just practice doing other things than playing guitar like recording, mixing, playing drums, and singing. Dalton had played in Bad Jokes with me but left the band and was living in Colorado and would come back to visit and we’d jam those songs and hang out. While I was tracking some of it he was in town and recorded the drums to the second song on the ep and then I did the rest of it and put it out and forgot about it. Fast forward a few years and we’re both playing in another band called Call Boys and we had a show booked but our singer had some health problems and couldn’t make it. Our friend who booked the show talked us into doing a one off as Emma Goldman Sachs to fill in. So we threw a set together in like a week and played it as a four piece, with Bryce and Brad from Blue Morrison playing guitar and bass with us. Not long after that Call Boys kind of fizzled out and me and Dalton decided to make this our full time project.
What influences have played significant roles in shaping your sound?
Oh man there’s a lot. I don’t know how much we sound like any of them but off the top of my head I’d say Fat White Family, Jay Reatard, Country Teasers, Bleached, King Khan and BBQ, The Dicks, Shannon and the Clams, The Kinks, Daniel Johnston, X, Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees. Stuff like that.
How does the music writing process work for your band? Who writes what? How do you produce?
Usually I’ll write a song on guitar and write some lyrics and stuff and bring it to dalton and he’ll put drums to it. That’s how it goes the majority of the time but sometimes I’ll demo a whole song out and show it to him and he’ll redo the drums, and sometimes he’ll have an idea on guitar and a vocal melody and we’ll write a song off that. Once we’ve played it enough and we’re ready to record it we just track it at my house. Our last album we tracked the drums with two mics, an avatone cv-12 and an sm58, onto cassette on a four track tascam portastudio, and then sent that to GarageBand and tracked all the guitars, bass and vocals on GarageBand with the avatone and a focusrite. The stuff we’re working on now we’re using four mics on the drums and ditching the cassette, but we might use cassette again in the future. It’s a pain in the ass but it sounds good.
What are you listening too lately?
The last three days I’ve been listening to Michael and His Slipper Tree by The Equals over and over again on repeat lol. But also Diet Riot’s Soda Singles, Et Moi Et Moi Et Moi buy Jacques Dutronc, Gee Tee’s Chromo-Zone ep, Pet Mosquito’s live in Memphis, Wesley and the Boys’s Internet Punk, Ausmteants, Being Dead, Sex Mex, Christ Dillinger, Judy and the Jerks, Pleasants, The Modern Lovers, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, I could go on for a while lol.
Who is your current favorite Oklahoma act right now?
If I can only name one it’d have to be Diet Riot but there’s a lot of bands I love from Oklahoma. For the sake of brevity though I’ll leave it with them. I’m not just saying that because I play in Diet Riot sometimes either, I really just love all of their songs.
What do you like about making music and what has your experience been playing live?
I’m really not even sure how to answer that question to be honest. I’ve been playing music since I was eight and I’ve played in bands since I was like twelve or thirteen and I’m twenty nine now, so at this point i really just don’t know else to do with myself lol.
And to answer the second part of your question our experience live has been great! We always have a great time playing live. We’ve definitely had a few rough sets here and there but that’s inevitable when you play a lot. We try to just focus on having a good time.
What do you see happening in the Norman and OKC music scenes? Where do you see it going?
I don’t know, it’s a tough thing to answer because I see a lot of positives and a lot of negatives. There’s a lot of talent in Oklahoma and a lot of awesome people making sick shit but since Covid things have been really fractured. At least on our level. I think in general there’s been a better response to it in Norman than OKC. I think what y’all have done coming together and making a cooperative out of The Opolis is a good example of that. Maybe it’s because there’s so many venues so close together but the scene in Norman feels more like a community. OKC kind of just feels like a city that has different venues and bands in it I suppose. I love a lot of OKC venues and I love playing OKC but I think the boundaries of the cliques are more well defined and walled off in than in Norman.
What are some things you’ve experience in the music scene that stand out to you? Memorable experiences, relationships with venues, studios, etc.
The thing that sticks out the most is probably how many great people we’ve met! Ninety percent of the people in bands or working at venues in OKC and Norman are great people who do what they do for no other reason than the fact that they love music. I think there’s a much lower percentage of dickheads and social climbers (not that we don’t have our fair share) in Oklahoma than in bigger places. Theres no scouts from Universal or Sub Pop or whatever coming to your shows here. There’s no major music industry outside of country really to be found at all in Oklahoma, so most of the people you come across are doing what they do simply because they love it, and that’s a really cool thing.
What insight or advice would you share to younger artists trying to establish themselves in music?
Say yes to things, play a lot of shows, and play on the road as much as you can. You need to be willing to play a lot of shows where you have to drive for hours, there’s only two people in the crowd, and you make no money. A lot of the best people we’ve met and biggest opportunities we’ve gotten came from playing tiny ass shows that a lot of bands I know would’ve turned down. Also if you’re really serious about being a musician maybe get good at couponing, or watch shows like extreme cheapskates and adopt all of their habits because you’re going to be perpetually broke lol.
Can you share your first impression of the Opolis or an experience you had here that you would like to share?
I don’t know if I even remember my first Opolis experience. I want to say it was seeing Shane Mauss do stand up years and years ago when he was touring and smoking dmt all the time lol. But I’ve had so many good times at the Opolis I can’t choose just one. We had one of the best sets we’ve ever played last year at Opolis for NMF, we played with Vintage Crop from Australia and had a blast drinking with them on the back patio for hours, we had our album release for Bay of Pigs at Opolis in January, and I met my girlfriend after an Opolis show four years ago. It’s a place that holds a special place in my heart.
Is there anything you want people to know about supporting musicians?
We’re all broke as fuck and put waaaaaay more into it financially than we’ll ever get out, so if you like a band and you can make it to a show go, and if you can afford to buy a shirt or tape or record do it, because it helps the bands you like a lot more than you realize.
You’ll be able to see Emma Goldman Sachs at the Opolis on Friday May 31st at 8PM for the venue’s second listening room experience called Opolis Sessions. Tickets are available online and at the door. Seating limited to 40 people.