Eddie Baranek
The Sights
By Christopher Duda-Buzzin with Sugar magazine
(SugarBuzz Toronto)
SugarBuzz Magazine
Frequent comparisons to The Creation/The Jam or the whole mod scene seem to follow The Sights. Were these bands even on your radar when you initially formed?
Yes, The Jam got me through my high school days! While Timmy and Billy were listening to Limp Bizkit and Red Hot Chili Peppers, I was obsessing over The Jam’s Setting Sons and Sound Affects LPs and looking like London 1966. I’d got into The Jam from my sister-- she had the Live Jam disc and I had taped a copy onto a cassette and listened to that every night before I went to bed. I loved the way Weller’s guitar wasn’t all muscle, or the perfect tone. It was there, but it was in the background. It was the songs that mattered. As for The Creation, we opened for them in 2002! They were great. You see, when we first started out, we put those references in to set us apart from all the other crap going on. And here I am, 10 years later, still talking about it.
Are you an avid vinyl 
collector?
Of course. As I sit here typing this, I look to my left and there is a wall of vinyl. Playing on the turntable is a Carole King record, a gift from Dave Lawson (bass player in The Sights). I am so glad I got into music before mp3s. Music isn’t clicking on a mouse to get a file. Music is tangible-- a record in your hand with the artwork, the smell, and the senses.
Motown, 60’s pop and Garage records were said to be your infatuation early on. Of these genres what albums would you say helped you develop your sound and or musical direction?
Back then, when I said Motown, I meant the song writing. I meant the songs everybody knew. My mother would sing that stuff to me-- it was always around the house. It wasn’t like I was digging up the rare tracks. What I mean is that I grew up with the Motown songs; a childhood with an education like that is priceless. As for the 60’s pop, same thing. Those were songs-- 2-3 minutes of pure joy or sorrow. It’s what they call ‘oldies radio’ now, but for me it was exciting. When I hear the Young Rascals, it’s great. Then I looked up the Olympics-- it all keeps going back, and you keep searching. I am never satisfied; I need to know the source.
How did James Iha come to hear The Sights and sign them to his own record label (Scratchie Records)?
James caught us opening for The Datsuns or The Dirtbombs, I can’t remember... but it was at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC in 2002 or 2003. And I remember he bought a t-shirt and our records. Then months later we heard from him and his record label. And the rest, as they say, turned out to be a great record that nobody heard.
Any memorable stories from your tours or
bands you played with in the past? (Robert Plant, Donnas etc).
Well, err, I will say that we seemed to be the eternal support group for tours-- The Datsuns, The Dirtbombs, The Greenhornes, The Kills, The Donnas, Robert Plant, The Caesars, Guided By Voices... and it was great, because we got to play inside some of the best theatres/clubs in the world. We were young punks, and if we didn’t care for the band we were opening for’s music, then we did not talk to them. We just weren’t nice. A lot of times we’d see how fake people were to their fans, and they’d say the same shit from the stage every single night. Their set would be the same every single night. There was no room for error, no originality. We didn’t respect them if they didn’t respect others. Tour stories? All the clichés happened, believe me.
What is the current state of Detroit like musically? How does the actual landscape (physical or financial) effect what is being outputted from the Motorcity or does it?
Detroit is always going to be a rock ‘n’ roll town-- there are basements in the houses we rent out. Detroiters don’t really live in apartments. A few do, but mostly they live in houses in the city or the suburbs. And these houses provide a basement to play music and create in. So Detroit will always have that creative space with it. But talking about ‘the current state of Detroit’ is like talking/reading about ‘Detroit Garage Rock’. SOOOOOOO boring to me at this point.
Does being from Detroit and knowing it’s rich musical history effect you and the music you make in any sense?
Oh yeah! Motown, The Rationals, The Gories, MC5, SRC, etc we’ve all 
seen these names before. I’d rather be from Detroit than Cleveland, you know? It’s pretty crazy, but if you dig beneath the initial Motown/MC5 surface, there is a ton of great music. The Ric-Tic soul label, The Hentchmen, the list is endless. It’s great to be from Detroit.
How did you come to be on Alive Records?
We had a list of about half a dozen record labels that we could see ourselves on, and Alive was atop that list. The Scott Morgan record on Alive had just come out, and I sang and played some guitar on it. So I asked some of the guys who helped get that record going-- Scott, Willy Wilson, Matt Smith, Jim Diamond about Alive Records. It seems they put a good word in and I just called Alive on the phone. Forty minutes later The Sights are on Alive Records! Again, being on Alive is liking being from Detroit: it feels like home, and I am proud to be there.
The Sights seem to have revolving members. Why is this? Is the current line up a keeper?
Ha! Back when The Sights began I thought it would be the 3 of us til death, but of course life has to get in the way and muck it up for everybody. The truth is I can’t ask anyone to be in this band forever-- people have lives outside of this band, you know? That said, I am SO HAPPY with the current line-up. There’s pure talent drenched in 3 part harmonies with a guys who can play any instrument. There’s loyalty, commitment, and drive. It’s raw and it’s great.
Seems everyone from Detroit has a Jack White story (good or bad!)…Do you?
I’ve never talked about
him in the press, so why now?
Is there any current band that you would like to share a stage with?
We just shared a stage with Alejandro Escovedo, and I got to play the encore of “Beast of Burden” on guitar with him. It was fucking fantastic. That said, I wouldn’t mind if the Faces got back together with me on bass. I think I could manage Plonk’s parts.
Are you happy with the current release? In hindsight would there be anything you would like to change?
Are you kidding!? I am very pleased with our new record. I am very proud of our record, my work. I stand by every note.
Do you have plans to tour this release heavily?
Yup. We just did Chicago and St. Louis, and in a few days we’ll be in Cleveland, NYC, and Brooklyn. January/February 2011 has us in Atlanta, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Toronto, etc. We hit anything east of the Mississippi on Thursday/Friday/Saturday at the moment. It works out well for us.
Are you already working on new material?
Always. Got 4 new 
songs ready to go. Look for another record in late 2011.
Who did the artwork for the front cover?
Laura Dolan. We found her when she did great art for the Brian Olive (Alive Records) release. It looked like this Nina Simone record I have, along with the She & Him record. I loved the color. So Patrick at Alive hooked up that connection-- and I am very pleased with how it turned out.
Do you get
anything for joining The Sights army?
Safety in the knowledge that you’re in the shelter of our arms.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH4kp-9dOZI