BRIEF ENCOUNTER WITH....  

		ERROR TYPE:11
				    BY ED WATERS

Always the idealist, Ed Waters corners lead singer Artie Shepherd for a few fleeting 
moments. I had absolutely no idea what was in store for me when I decided to meet 
with one of the members of Error Type: 11, a group that has tickled my fancy. Their 
name is based on a common Macintosh error message which most Mac users are 
familiar with. It may imply this group is somewhat mechanical based but it is truly 
organic. Members singer/guitarist Artie Shepherd, Phil Hanratty, Erik Matheu, and 
Scott Martin, have been together just under a year but they're about to make a big 
splash. Associations with World's Fastest Car and Mind Over Matter aside, The world 
will be lapping at their heels once this group hits every single mainframe, like a virus 
eating away at my hard drive.

IndieCent: Ok, last I heard. World's Fastest Car was about to make their mark.
You came out of Mind Over Matter and Walter, from his most recent stint in
the defunct Quicksand. But then Quicksand reformed which left things
unfinished with WFC. Is Error Type: 11 a continuation of what WFC was
beginning to do?  

Artie Shepherd: (laughs) Worlds Fastest Car was a couple of years ago already. 
Actually, World's Fastest Car ended before anything else began, but I don't see 
Error Type: 11 as a continuation of it, I see it more as a reaction to it. Playing with 
Walter, I don't know if he realizes it, but he affects those around him. Playing with 
him made me want to push myself. Things ended because we had so many 
problems in WFC, some of the people we were bringing in didn't meet our expectations.
Error and World's are two different things completely even though they are musically similar.

IndieCent: Your self-titled debut doesn't let up, it's high-octane; charged with 
a strong fix on melody. Do you feel some people may be put off by it, it is a change 
from the more hardcore oriented Mind Over Matter?

Artie Shepherd: Again Mind Over Matter was something completely different,   
George (Reynolds) was handling vocals and his singing is so much different than my own. 
I have a love of melody and I wanted to do something different, I just hope everyone likes 
it. I don't think we had many fans to begin with in Mind Over Matter (laughs). I mean 
musically Error Type'.11 is part of the growing process. It's more "mature."

IndieCent: One reason why I ask is because so many people either try to challenge 
someone's sincerity when they do something more creative. I tend to think, "If there is 
no change, there is stagnation."  What's the response you've been getting?

Artie Shepherd: I don't think there will be too many people saying we've sold out, so far 
the response has been good. So many people have come to the few shows that we've 
played so far, some new and some old. We played a WFC song at one show and I saw 
a couple of kids singing along to it and I'm just like "how the hell do you know that song?" 
WFC only played a few shows. But, one thing I've learned is that generally people aren't 
happy for people, there is this underlining jealousy, that some people have. I remember 
when I heard George put together a new group (Day In The Life), I was so happy for 
them. I was glad he was still going to play. I mean, he's my best friend so of course I'm 
going to be happy for him no matter what.

IndieCent: There is certainly more "commercial potential" for Error Type: 11.

Artie Shepherd: The way I see it, you shouldn't set boundaries for yourself. One thing that I got out
of playing in World's Fastest Car was, we recorded in every studio in NYC. I was able to hear how 
everything we were recording sounded in different settings.  But yeah, this record may have some 
potential but I'm not going to hold my breath, to be able to sell a lot of records on an independent
label would be great but it happens so rarely.

IndieCent: Do you see yourself moving further away from the NYHC or any scene in particular?

Artie Shepherd: Probably through the natural progression of things, I don't know that we were
so much a part of it but if someone gets into hardcore or Mind Over Matter through Error Type: 11,
that's great. Someone picking up old Wreck-age recordings would hear the development from
group to group.

IndieCent: Have you thought about where Error Type: 11 will be five years from now?

Artie Shepherd: (laughs) That's a tough one, I don't really try to think that far ahead. I don't
know; either we'll still be able to keep doing this or we'll be broken up. Either way, I'll be happy.


												indiecent - issue #3 - 1998