I Was Totally Destroying It has become quite a noteworthy act over the past year.  Not only within the Triangle music scene, but throughout the country.  A Chapel Hill-born group, the members include Curtis Armstead (guitar), John Booker (vocals/guitar), Rachel Hirsh (vocals/guitar/keyboard), Joe Mazzitelli (bass) and James Helper (vocals/drums).

The band’s sophomore full-length, Horror Vacui, was released in October on Greyday Records.

I sat down with James Helper to find out more about IWTDI.

“I Was Totally Destroying It” – what’s the story behind the name?

It’s one of those names that kinda starts as a joke and then finds its way into reality. I have a theory that every seven seconds in America someone says “That would make a great band name!”  Ours came about during a discussion that John was having years ago with former band mates about how it’s fun to smash stuff (John likes to call this “the cathartic nature of destruction” because it sounds all brainy but we all know it’s just plain ole fun to destroy things).  He was talking about how he was using a jackhammer to break apart a slate walkway or something, and said “I Was Totally Destroying It” – and DING – “that would make a great band name!”

Fast forward a few years, and the jury is still out as to whether it’s great, but it definitely is a band name.

You’ve won a lot of praise for your covers of U2 tracks.  How did that come about?  And why U2?

The people who run Tir Na Nog approached us last spring and just asked if we’d like to do a U2 cover project.  I guess you could say we were commissioned to put together a U2 tribute.  John and I grew up loving and listening to U2, and the other members were more or less game, so we agreed.  And thank goodness for that, because tribute bands fare consistently better than original bands, so we’ve actually come to partially fund our original records with the revenue from the U2 stuff.  We work really hard at it, and we feel that our experience learning those songs has made us better musicians and live performers.

You opened for Joan Jett & The Blackhearts at Raleigh Downtown Live in July.  What was that like?

Breathtaking!  Our love for Joan Jett’s music aside, to get the chance to perform in front of 15,000 people is something that bands like us dream of doing on the regular.  Most bands never even come close to that goal.  To get a taste of it really helped us to focus on being the best band we can be so that maybe someday we’re the ones drawing those huge crowds.

Also, it was a great test of our stage presence.  We were either going to succumb to the anxiety of being in front of that many people and bomb, or we were going to soak the energy in and radiate it right back out to the audience.  I really think that we did the latter.  Everyone in the band stepped it up, and I think we put our best foot forward.  For all we know that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but it inspired in us the will to strive for that brass ring.

Offstage, you guys are noticeably levelheaded and approachable.  That’s not always the case in this business.  Is keeping that kind of good-natured, personable character important to the band?

Absolutely.  EVERYONE in this band is easy to get along with and eager to make friends and talk with the people who are kind enough to come to our shows and support our efforts.  We value our relationships with other bands, with radio DJs, with club owners and bookers, with writers and critics, and with fans for a few simple reasons.

First, the more love you spread, the more love is out there, and it always comes right back to you.  Second, our relationships will endure long after we hang up our instruments.  Third, being nice just makes good business sense, not as in “be nice and people buy things,” but rather, “be nice, punctual, professional, and respectful, and club owners will book you again, fans will come back, bands will continue to play with you, etc.”

The bottom line is, you do this long enough and you always come across people who have lost their perspective on what this is all about.  I’ve heard every member of this band say out loud, “Let’s never be like that.”  And it’s perhaps the main reason why we enjoy doing this and why we will look back on these days fondly no matter how successful the band becomes.

What’s the band most looking forward to over the next couple of months?

Taking a break!  We’re just about to hit our three-year anniversary, we’ve put out two full length records and a dual-EP, toured across the US twice, played numerous shows in and around NC, and with this U2 thing, we’ve seen each other four to seven days a week every week since March.  We’re looking forward to a month or so when we can rest, refill the rock and roll gas tanks, and then push this new record some more and maybe get to work on the next one.  As fun as it is, it can be grueling, and it’s all too common for things to get too business-like, routine.

Some time off will put some of the novelty back into the process, hopefully!  Or maybe I’m just saying all this because I’m old and worn out.  You decide!

If you could share the stage with any artist/band in the world, who would it be?  And at what venue?

Wow, this is a tough one.  I mean, I’m not even sure which criteria I should use to answer that!  If I want to go the “superstar who brings countless people out and who has inspired me greatly” route, I would say someone like Bruce Springsteen or U2 in a venue like Wembley Stadium or better yet, Central Park like Paul Simon did back in 1991.

Or I could go the “largely influential smaller band in an intimate setting” route and say it would have been amazing to play with some of those great CBGB era bands like Blondie, Velvet Underground, Talking Heads.

Then there’s the whole “famous concerts of history” thing, like I would have killed to be a part of The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus back in 1968, one of the greatest and most under-appreciated rock events of all time, or Live-Aid, or of course Woodstock.  Those are great fantasies because I don’t think we’ll ever see stuff like that again.  In fact, maybe it says something about me that with all of the bands I’ve listed I didn’t mention a single band that formed later than the 70′s.  Clearly I have a wide nostalgic streak.

Favorite track off the new album?

Hooboy, even tougher.  It’s like asking who your favorite child is.  I’ve gravitated towards the slower, more delicate tracks like “Cup of Tea,” “Evergreen,” “Turn My Grave,” and “The Ocean,” but looking back on the recording process and the way songs initially hit me, “Come Out, Come Out” was just a blast to work on.  So in the end, I think my favorite track has to be “Come Out, Come Out.”  But I love them all!

Check out I Was Totally Destroying It tonight at The Pour House Music Hall with The Monologue Bombs and The Small Ponds.  Doors open at 8 p.m. and show starts at 10 p.m.