Punk Rock Quotes

Posted on 12th September 2011 in Punk Rock Interviews

“Don’t give up fighting ’til nothing else stands in your way. Don’t give up talking until there’s nothing left to say. But no matter what you do.
Don’t ever compromise what you believe.”
-the ataris – losing streak

“No trust can be given freely, its’ a valuable commodity”
-afi – he who laughs last
“So when you’re feeling down just take a look around and look at all you have and you’ll see that things really aren’t that bad”
-home grown – all that you have     ”So stop the hate, Don’t segregate, Stop the fighting we’re all dying, Stop the preaching and start the teaching, Pull together, make the system better”
-bigwig – falling down

“Cant change the future when living in the past, so do what you want, I’ll decide my own history”
-no use for a name – pride     ”Nothing good can ever seem to last but it’s goodness that delivers us our past”
-fenix tx – philosophy

“Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction”
-bad religion – stranger than fiction
“The words are forming, but the words are nothing if they don’t have meaning”
-whippersnapper – the long walk

“Talkin shit is so bad for your health”
-no use for a name – feeding the fire

“Fear memories are all that lie ahead”
-afi – a single second
“When you’re feeling too close to the bottom You know who it is you can count on Someone will pick you up again we can conquer anything together All of us are bonded forever if you die I die that’s the way it is”
-pennywise – bro hymn

“There’s more to life than being in a band,
Your friends are what will matter in the end.
I just want the chance to keep those promises I made There’s got to be better way.”
-ataris – better way
“Life’s to short to wonder why, get on with your life”
-pennywise – waste of time     ”Time grabs me by the shoulders, no one knows how it feels to move over”
-a new found glory – 3rd and long

“Dont fight if you dont believe”
-unsung zeros – draft

“Could you ever write what you call wrong”
-lagwagon – know it all

“Sometimes it’s hard to admit you dont know the goal, like you’re stuck down in a hole and you’ve lost all control”
-bounder – another introspective song

“Bodies on display, get one today. Much to show not much to say, cupid’s arrow got broke on the way.”
-trouble is – cupid’s broken arrow
“I dont need the music scene to tell me who I am.”
-catch 22 – day in day out

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Flogging Molly

Posted on 2nd August 2011 in Punk Rock Interviews

Flogging Molly is LA-based, right? Did you grow up there as well?
No, I grew up in Dublin, in Ireland!

Oh yeah? I should have guessed that!
I moved to LA about ten years ago, though.

Ten years ago? So where’d you meet the rest of the band?
At a place called Molly Malone’s, it’s an Irish Bar.

“Molly”, did you say?
Molly Malone’s, yeah.

So is that where the name came from?
Yeah. We got this band together, and we felt like we were flogging it to death, y’know? So we called it Flogging Molly.

So what did you grow up listening to that influenced the Flogging Molly sound?
Well, the first band I really got into in Ireland was a band called Horslrts (did I spell that right?), and they were like the first band I saw that mixed traditional Irish music with rock music. And, it really blew me away when I was a kid. Then, I got into bands like T-Rex and Bowie and all that, and I sorta had this rock edge as well. I loved rock. I really did. I loved punk, I loved glam, I loved everything.

Have you ever heard of a band, a Canadian band actually, from Newfoundland, they’re called Great Big Sea?
… no.

They’re cool. They kinda do that Celtic rock sound. They wouldn’t really be punk influenced, but they’re a fun band too.
Yeah, I think it’s great music! It’s very energetic, and it’s very lively. And it’s not out there to tell people what to do or anything. It’s just about having a good time.

Yeah, I’ve liked that Celtic sound for years. So what kind of an audience gathers at a conventional Flogging Molly show, like in LA?
A range, a huge range of people, from people in their 50′s and 60′s to 15 year-old punks. It always amazed me to see all the 15 year-old punks down in the front, absolutely insane, and down back, the somewhat more, how to describe them, sedated, type of crowd, y’know? And that’s what’s amazed me, this vast type of audience that we have. We did the Warped Tour this year, you know?

Yeah, I was going to ask about it!
And that was pretty amazing, because we didn’t know how our music could be handled. Know what I mean? ‘Cause we’re going on with all these bands like Green Day, and nofx, and mxpx, and stuff like that.

And Snapcase. Hardcore.
And Snapcase, yeah! And … the crowd loved it!

Yeah, well I imagine it wouldn’t be too tough for the crowd to get into it, because Warped Tour has always been pretty diverse.
Yeah, it’s a really good show. It really is. It was a great showcase for the bands, y’know? The hardest thing about the Warped Tour is playing in the daytime. We’re more of a night time band. You know, have a pint of Guinness and away we go.

*laughs* I know…
It’s pretty hard to have a pint of Guinness when you’re in the middle of nowhere at twelve o’clock in the afternoon.

What song would you say best got the kids moving on the Warped Tour?
Ummmm… I would have to say songs like, “Salty Dog” … “Black Friday Rule”. Uhhh, “Delilah”. We do a cover of Tom Jones’, “Delilah” and we really pump that one up. Those were some of the songs they really got into. You can really rock and have an acoustic guitar, know what I mean?

Definitely.
‘Cause, punk to me… it’s an attitude. Know what I mean? It doesn’t matter what you are or what you do, if you got fuckin’ attitude, or a passion about what you do, you’re a punk like anybody.

Absolutely! I couldn’t agree more.
It’s the one thing I learned being in this band, to be honest with you, is … we can be standing up there with seven people and an accordion, and tin whistles, and a fiddle, and all that, but we’ve got fuckin’ attitude. And the kids can see that.

How did you get hooked up with Side One Dummy, a punk label as well?
Actually our accordion player, Matt, was friends with Joe who is one of the co-owners of Side One. We had been going through several record deals at the time. We had several companies that were basically interested, but it never quite hit the ink. So, Matt called Joe and said why don’t you come check out the band. And he came down and checked out the show, and he loved it! We wanted to go with them, because Flogging Molly didn’t even do a tour at that stage. We needed somebody who was gonna put us out on the road, and we’ll take care of the rest. And that’s what they’ve done. They’re a great street label and I love being with them. You can call them up at any fuckin’ time, y’know… “wanna go out for a beer” … it’s not like a “record company” type of thing. Which I’m really fuckin’ fed up with…

*laughs* yeah…
It’s so stupid! We were in LA, playing for two and a half years before we got a record deal. And as soon as we get the deal with Side One Dummy, and start to sell records, we start gettin’ calls from everybody. … It’s like, “you guys are selling CD’s … we have to talk … blah blah blah”. It’s bullshit, y’know? It’s like they want other people, like Side One Dummy, to do the work for them, then they’ll take the cream off the top, which I’m not really into.

So now that you’re back from the Warped Tour, what’s up next?
A couple of us have gone back to Ireland for a little while. Then we’re gonna go on tour with the Mighty. Mighty Bosstones, from September through to November. We have a few shows lined up before that, but they’re west coast dates, just to keep us in tact before the Bosstones tour. I’m really looking forward to going on tour with the Bosstones. They’re a great bunch of guys, and we have a great time with them. And after that, I couldn’t tell ya! Haven’t a clue!

 

Alright. Well … that’s about it! Thanks for the interview, and I’ll try to get down to Seattle to check you guys out when you’re with the Bosstones!

 



Interview by : Tim Krysko : CTRL-ALT-DEL

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Bouncing Souls

Posted on 6th July 2011 in Punk Rock Interviews

Here is an interview I did with the Bouncing Souls on Friday, October 20th outside of the Masquerade in Tampa, FL.


Who are you guys?
I’m Bryan and I play bass, I’m Pete and I play guitar, Rob – Merchandise!

How many records have you guys put out?
Pete : We’ve got four full-lengths. We have a live ep and a whole lot of seven inches.
Bryan : Four full-lengths… plus the Bad, the Worse, and the Out of Print. That’s an hour long.

What label was that out on?
Bryan : Chunksaah Records

Is that your label?
Pete : That’s our own label.

Do you have any future plans with that?
Bryan : Yea. I have a compilation called “East Coast Fuck You” and Im trying to put together. That’s our latest endeavor man. After putting out, The Bad, The Worse, and The Out of Print, now its like we got a little office out in Asbury Park, NJ. So far its like a mailorder place ya know? We sell all our merchandise through there, shirts and out of print shit. We would like to make it a real label ya know? Add other bands someday but it takes a lot of time and money. Well, we did actually put out, sort of co-put out, a NJ punk band called Worthless on Chunksaah Records so check that out.

How long have The Bouncing Souls been making music?
Pete : Probably about 11 years, 12 years. I don’t know anymore.
Bryan : That’s what happens with age, you start to forget.

Has their been any lineup changes in the last 12 years?
Bryan : Yes, one. One lineup change just last year.

Your drummer. How’s the new drummer?
Bryan : He rocks!
Pete : He’s great.
Bryan : He kinda looks like Spock. Spock Rock.

I hear you guys have a new record coming out in 2001?
Pete : Yea, April.
Bryan : April, maybe May.

That means December in music terms.
Bryan : No no! This is totally… this is a real thing. We are recording next month, in November. We already have a title for it, its called “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” because it is how we spent our summer vacation.

Does that have any relation to The Ataris?
Bryan : Why, what did they do?

They have a song called “How I Spent My Summer Vacation.”
Bryan : Oh, jeez. No, no relation at all.

So what is the downlow on the new record?
Bryan : Well the purpose for this little tour is really to rock the new songs in front of people. We do like five a night, ya know mix it in with the rest of the set. And, it rocks. It rocks hard. Its like a little faster then Hopeless Romantic and if you like Maniacal Laughter, its got that edge but its as melodic as Hopeless Romantic. So we’ve just improved on things, I think, this is like the best stuff we have done.

Greg (vocals) : Hi, Im Greg, and Im late.

So new record, 2001, what kind of tour do you think you will have following that?
Greg : A lot.
Bryan : A lot of touring man.
Greg : Just a whole cycle of touring. America, Europe, Italy, Australia maybe. Starting in the summer.
Bryan : Maybe the Warped Tour. A couple times around the US.
Pete : The usual.
Bryan : The usual. Hit Europe a couple times, if we can. We’ll try to go to Japan this year, we’ve never been to Japan. We’d be psyched if we could go there.

How many international tours have you done?
Pete : 5… maybe more.
Greg : 2 to Australia, 3 to Europe. Does Canada count?
Bryan : Not really. Its like going to Minnesota but dealing with the border.

US tours… what has been the craziest?
Bryan : Well… each one has its own particular flavor depending on the lineup of bands that are touring together ya know? We toured with Youth Brigade and 7 Seconds and that was a lot of drinking and we just did the US last year with the Dropkick Murphys and that had kind of a skinhead flavor. A lot of men standing around, a lot of big men. A lot of dudes.

Greg : Sausage.
Bryan : Dudes! Until we played, and then it was all chicks.
Pete : The Pietasters tour was fun, they are a fun bunch of guys.

How long has this tour been going on? [w/ Youth Brigade, Mustard Plug, and Inspector 7]
Bryan : Like two days.
Greg : Three days or something.
Pete : Its like less than two weeks, we just want to go out and play the new songs a little bit before we record them.

Do you have any regrets today?
Greg : Ummm…. No I don’t.
Bryan : He wishes he could say that but he cant!
Greg : If I did I would figure out why and I would do something about it.

Is there any reason why your drummer left?
Bryan : Well we wont get deep and personal but in general he is probably happier now not being in the band, I think. It was a long time being in a band and living this kind of lifestyle is not necessarily for everyone ya know?
Greg : That is a good way or saying it in short.

Who is your favorite member of your own band?
Bryan : I dunno man, I cant really pick. Its soo hard, I love them all.
Pete : Yea that’s no fun, that’s not a fair question.

Which songs get the biggest crowd reaction?
Bryan : That’s a good question.
Greg : There’s a couple. “Kate”…
Bryan : “Kate” is great. “Say Anything”… “Here We Go”. “Here We Go” is like a crowd song, its for everyone in the room to get involved in. Its cool if you can write a song that way, sing-a-longs and chants an stuff that involve everybody.

I’m sure being around for as long as you guys have been there have been some mishaps and what not. What is some of the weirdest stuff that has happened at a show?
Pete : I shit myself once on stage. I ate too many eggs.
Greg : Tell him what you were wearing.
Pete : I was wearing fishnet stockings and a nurses outfit.

Where was that at?
Pete : Salt Lake City… a long time ago.

Has that changed the turnout since?
[Laughter]
Pete : We lost a whole crowd pretty much.
Bryan : Kids with knees and elbows out the door.

What’s your favorite Bouncing Souls song?
Greg : We got a whole bunch of new ones so they are always fun.
Pete : We have a couple of new favorites because they’re new.
Bryan : And that always happens when you’re in a band because you get the most excited about your most recent stuff. But there are some songs I like, I really like “Night On Earth” from Hopeless Romantic. That is my favorite song off of that record. I can say that.

How do you think the new stuff compares to some of the older stuff?
Pete : Well with the new drummer it has kinda changed a little bit.
Bryan : I think we are tighter ya know? Having developed as musicians from the very start together, we all have learned how to play together it made us more determined. It was the first time I as a bass player had played with a new drummer and it kind of made me try harder. The new record is going to be tighter I think. It’s a bit sharper and tougher. That is a big difference I think, especially compared to Hopeless [Romantic] it’s like a little less fluffy, like music to get rad to ya know? Definitely to get rad to.

How do the vocals sound?
Greg : Umm… I am always trying to sing better ya know? High.
[Laughter]
Bryan : It’s true man. They are pretty high in some of the songs, Greg sings pretty high.
Pete : We’re challenging Gregs vocal range on this record.

What influences your unique sound?
Bryan : That’s a good question. It’s just like who we are, what we’re into, and how we write songs. I think our emotional reactions to things that happen to us in our lives, whatever that is it comes out in the music.

Who does most of the song writing?
Bryan : It’s pretty even actually… we all do.

If you weren’t in the Bouncing Souls what do you think you’d be doing?
Pete : That is something that I have thought about a lot actually lately. I keep asking myself “what would I be doing if I wasn’t in this band” and I don’t have an answer.

Bryan : We’d be in a box factory making boxes maybe. That was always our joke.

What are some of your hobbies outside of music?
Bryan : I like riding my bike. I just got a motorcycle so I am kind of excited about that.
Greg : I like to surf when I get to the beach.

Do you guys have any favorite movies?
Bryan : Yea tons of ‘em.
Pete : We like all sorts of movies.
Bryan : I like John Cusak’s movies like “Say Anything” and “Grosse Point Blank.” I like Audrey Hepburn too.
Pete : There is so many different movies…
Bryan : I like Clint Eastwood and Kung-Fu movies and James Bond movies.
Greg : Yea I’ve been into Kung-Fu movies lately.

What takes up van time from city to city?
Pete : Chip parties.
Bryan : Yea we have chip parties. We go to convenient stores and everybody buys fucked up chips and like bean dips and shit.
Greg : We sample various chips.
Bryan : Last night after the gig we drove a half hour and stopped at a gas station/convenient store and I got Chili Cheese Fritos and Frito Lay Bean Dip.

Pete : I got Baha Pecan Doritos and Jalapeno Chedder Dip.
Bryan : And we all sat around in a circle.
Greg : I was not in the chip party last night because my ice cream cone would not work with the chips.
Bryan : You cant really fix that up, you go in one direction or the other.

So you guys did that Fear of a Punk Planet show… what was that like?
All : It was cool.
Bryan : Doing anything with the Vandals is cool. Warren and Joe are really funny people, really cool people.
Greg : Yea they are great.

What is your favorite beer?
Bryan : That changes too… depending on the mood.
Pete : Corona right now.
Greg : It’s nice with the lime.
Bryan : Guinness is like, if you didn’t get a chance to eat before you get to the bar ya drink a Guinness. Start off with a Guinness or two and then you lighten up with something like that.

Are you guys planning on voting this election?
Bryan : I kind of was but I missed the registration day.
Greg : Yea I missed it too. Its like when I’m on tour I slack.
Pete : Im going to try and get an absentee ballet when I get home.

Who would you have voted for?
Bryan : I would have voted for Nader if I voted.
Greg : Yea Nader… or Gore.

What’s your favorite record of all time?
Bryan : Ah shit! A lot of favorites questions. The answer is I cant narrow it down to one ya know?

What is some of the stuff that you grew up on?
Bryan : I like the Damned a lot… still. They were one of my favorite bands in high school. The Who.
Greg : The Replacements.
Bryan : Yea The Replacements, they were cool. I like the US Bombs. I like that record US Bombs – The World… that’s an awesome record. Have you heard of this band “The Explosion”?
Yea.
Bryan : We got a cd called “Flash, Flash, Flash”, it’s like a demo or something.
Pete : They are on Jade Tree. Anyways… they rock.

So what is some of the new stuff that you have been listening to?
Pete : I like the new Anti-Flag record a lot.
Bryan : Yea.
Pete : They are a good band.
Greg : I like some of those new Green Day songs.

Which ones?
Greg : I don’t have the whole record yet.
Bryan : Church On Sunday, I like that song. And there is a couple of really good songs on there.

When you think of Green Day does the word “punk” come to mind?
Bryan : Yes
Greg : Definitely

What has the fan changes been like in the past 10 years?
Bryan : That’s a good question. It is pretty drastic, the fan changes, definitely in the last 10 years.

What about the punk scene in general?
Bryan : We have seen it kinda go from being almost dead, in the late 80′s, to umm… everything that came and passed. There was a few years where emo got big in the early 90′s and everybody started wearing like work jackets and like backpacks, there was a whole PC kind of thing going on where everybody was getting very very PC. And then Rancid got big and it brought out a lot of mohawks and stuff and then there was a lot of “your not punk”, “no your not punk, you’re a sellout!” and everybody was a sellout and nobody was punk enough and everybody was punker then them. And then ska got really big, and then ska died.

Greg : And then the mainstream thing happened and tons of people that weren’t “punk” starting coming to shows and everything so you had a reaction, for me I thought it was cool because it was just expanding like the whole thing ya know.

Bryan : Bands like Green Day are like the wide end of a funnel ya know? They brought so many peripheral, maybe go this direction or that. And these kids love Green Day and then they wonder what Green Day likes and what influences them and they go deeper into it and discover punk rock that way.

What are your views on MTV? I know you have an anti-mtv logo logo on The Good, The Bad, The Argyle.
Bryan : I just don’t like it. I choose not put videos on it.
Greg : There’s not much to it really worth watching.
Pete : We just choose not to be a part of it ya know?

Have you ever been approached by them?
Bryan : Yes, we have had a few different opportunities to be on it. I remember once on the Warped Tour…
Greg : They interviewed me. There was a bunch of guys with a camera and they started to interview me and then they were like “Are you sure you want to do this?” and I said “Whats the matter?” and they go “We’re from MTV” and I said “Oh…” because there was a bunch of people interviewing ya know and I was like “Ahhh maybe I shouldn’t.” They knew about us and they knew about our shirts and everything but some of the people from MTV bought our t-shirts.

Bryan : Yea they liked them. And we played with Green Day and they were all psyched about the no MTV shirts and they really liked them and we gave them the no MTV shirts and I remember that day someone said “Oh yea I saw those guys getting into the MTV limo” and we were opening that show and Green Day was wearing those shirts and they got into the big MTV limo with those shirts on.

What do you guys think of the candy punk stuff like A New Found Glory?
Bryan : I have listened to that New Found Glory record and it didn’t really do too much for me. I cant say because I don’t really listen to that stuff that much.

Pete : I never really listen to it that much but I know a lot of those bands are from Jersey so they cant be all that bad.
Bryan : Yea it’s true, Jersey kicks.

Are you guys going to stick with the same old Bouncing Souls that you have had since BYO, do you see any big changes coming up?
Bryan : Same old Bouncing Souls… in what way?

Bouncing Souls is unique in its own, ya know, you guys don’t plan on changing anything too much do you?
Greg : Whenever we write songs it ends up just having that Bouncing Souls sound, I think, so that sound is just us, its going to be that way, whatever that is.

Bryan : It is just us being ourselves and we don’t ever plan to change that. That doesn’t mean that we are going to keep writing the same song over and over again, we’ll write whatever is on our mind, but like Greg said it, it does end up having that Bouncing Souls feel but that is just because of the players.

Why did you leave BYO?
Bryan : We had a contract for two records with those guys and it was up and we were kind of free agents as it were, quote unquote, and that’s when Brett from Epitaph approached us and sat down with us for two hours and told us about the label and how he runs it and we were impressed and were like “wow that’s sounds really cool” and it sounded like a really cool place so we went out and visited it, everybody was psyched to be there, it was a great vibe, and we were like “oh this is cool, lets do this.”

Is the new record going to be on Epitaph?
Bryan : Yea. We are happy with Epitaph, they are cool people.

How do you feel about “punk”?
Bryan : I have my own personal experience with it, ya know, and my own personal feelings like probably Greg has his own experience and feelings to. How I feel about it like I guess it is sort of part of me, and always will be. It has been a giant part of my life, it changed my life, and it brought me to where I am now so its got a big place in my heart and always will. And it is music that I like too ya know?

Pete : Yea it’s a personal thing ya know, like I am into music and the whole scene so it’s a part of me and what I have been doing for years and how I have grown up and seen shit. It has opened my mind to a lot of shit and closed my mind to a lot of stuff to, just like the weird shit in the scene that is just bullshit and you think its kinda dumb… I dunno.

Greg : Yea… those guys said it pretty well. Music and punk music has become my life, I guess, to a certain degree. It is a living and music is something that expands and you do what you want to do and that can be for anybody, not just someone in a band.

What is your favorite part of the band?
Bryan : The shows man. Like a big show where everybody is into it and it is just like everyone gets on the same wavelength and its soo powerful. Something that is created at a show, when everyone is into it and singing along, everyone’s dancing, ya know the whole thing and the activity and everyone being into it is one of the greatest things I have ever experienced, still to this day. I love it.

What is the weirdest thing you have done for money?
Pete : Worked.
Bryan : Stealing. We have done some crazy jobs.
Greg : I had a job once where I had to sit in a dunk tank and they would throw the ball at the thing and water would splash all over me, all day… that was my job all day. $9 an hour or something. Pete dressed up as a shark.

Bryan : We used to all work for this weird company, a party rental company, and people would have bar mitzvahs or whatever and they would call this company and we would go to the warehouse and load all this shit into a box truck and drive out to wherever, unload all this shit and sometimes we would have to dress up and be part of the theme ya know? There was like game booths that we would have to work or like a two-man donkey suit or we would dress up as a dinosaur an stand out on the road and wave outside of a gas station. I mean you name it we had to do it man. It was a weird gig. Everyone in the band had the same job and we would all go work two nights in a row, like a 16 hour shift, and we would all work these big crazy work weeks and everyone would have to take their paycheck and contribute at least half of it, sometimes all of it, depending on what the band needed ya know? and that is how we funded the Bouncing Souls for a long time.

How do you feel about Napster?
Bryan : I think that’s like “How do you feel about the weather?” ya know its just there, it happens. It has changed music, it is permanent and you have to embrace it.

Pete : I think it is going to change the way music is sold and how it is bought and heard but I don’t think that is a bad thing. The music industry is pretty fucked up anyway and it needs to be fucked with.

Do you think it hurts you guys in any way?
Greg : No. I think it is great, free advertising. Being in a band like us, people in Europe came up to us and were like “I heard about you guys so I got your song from Napster and then I came to see your show.”

Pete : Its like they download a song and then go out and buy the whole record. People want the product like to look at and read along to and shit, I don’t think that’s ever gonna change. I don’t feel threatened by it, as a guy in a band or anything.

Bryan : The people that I think are most threatened are major labels and I think that’s great because their structure has been the kind that sort of made us grow to kind of hate that whole industry where it just keeps bands down, it keeps everyone down with money ya know? its hard enough being a musician and now everyone can get their songs available to everyone. You don’t have to get signed to Epic ya know, you’re based on your merits and on your music, it’s a great equalizer.

Greg : It threatens the control of the people on the major labels that decide everything because everyone has access to music and can decide what they like right away on Napster, instead of being fed this on the radio and like “this is what’s cool” and theres nothing else for me to find ya know, because that is how it seems to work. People aren’t gonna go out of their way to search out music, there are very few people that really do that, most people are like “cool its on the radio, im gonna go buy it.”

Pete : I think the internet makes anyone able to put music out to population, it is no longer going to be controlled by the record labels who have all the money and control over the whole fucking world, ya know, the internet is just like free and anyone can use it. It is a whole new world.

If you could change anything in the world, what would it be?
Greg : The amazing thing is the world is pretty perfect as it is.
Bryan : If you think about changing one thing, think about how it would affect everything.
Greg : It seems fucked up but its kinda gotta shit itself out, its workin itself out as it is.
Bryan : Its like the same thing with the past, its like the no regrets thing, you look back and you’re like “what would I change” and then your like “fuck” when I really think about it I wouldn’t change anything because I’m happy right now so everything else led to it. Everything in the past is perfect, I believe everything is perfect.

What do you think of Britney Spears?
Bryan : She’s pretty cute.
Pete : She’s cute.
Greg : Yea, she’s cute!

Do you guys plan on playing with her some time?
Bryan : In what way? I could think about that.
Pete : My friend Todd, he used to play bass for the Pietasters, is playing bass for her now.

 

Interview by : Josh Stern   josh@punkinterviews.com

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Caught Inside

Posted on 26th June 2011 in Punk Rock Interviews

On Febuary 23, 2000 Andy from the punk band Caught Inside emailed me back his answers to my questions. If you have never heard of Caught Inside they recently signed with the awesome label drive thru records. Check out the new Drive Thru records sampler to hear two killer songs from Caught Inside.

Caught Inside’s website: www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/club/2627

 

Can you give a brief history of Caught Inside including when you formed, the current members, and how you got your name?

Caught Inside began in December of ’94 in Miami, FL. The current lineup is Andy on vocals, buster on guitar, justin on bass, and shane on drums. “Caught Inside” is a surfing term and originally, back in day with the old lineup, 3 of the 4 of us surfed so that’s all there was to that. But now with the new lineup, I am the only one who surfs, so “caught inside” serves as a reminder NOT to be “caught inside” society’s predetermined roles and make your own future.

What’s up next for the band?

Our new album on drive thru records should be out around mid June, then about 6 weeks to 2 months of touring, then another semester of school and then its anyone’s guess.

Is there one show that sticks out in your mind as being the best?

Nah, not any 1 show. I could probably pick out 7 to 10 shows that stick out as being our best shows.

How did Caught Inside get signed to drive thru and did you have any offers from other labels?

Drive thru saw an interview of ours in rational inquirer and checked out our website and signed our guestbook. I emailed them, started talking, they loved our stuff and they signed us. we didn’t have any offers from any other labels.

Do you have any interesting tour stories?

Oh my lord yes, way too many to pick out just one. There’s stories of masturbation, fornication, defication, general nudity, close calls with hitch hikers, times that were way too hot, times that were way too cold, times we slept in very odd and very dirty places, very odd and interesting people we’ve met, etc. The usual tour stuff.

How would describe the sound of Caught Inside?

poppy aggression, loud guitars, powerful hooks.

Does the band fight a lot while on tour or in the studio?

Very rarely on tour. Maybe a little more in the studio, but no more than any other band I would assume.  

What is the best and worst part of being in Caught Inside?

The best part is enjoying the modest, but hard earned successes we’ve achieved. The worst is never being able to practice and write new songs cuz we live so far from one another.

Who are your favorite bands at the moment and who are your favorite bands of all time?

Not speaking for the rest of the band, the bands I’ve been listening to most recently are the ataris, foolproof, and poison the well. Some of my favorite bands of all time are lagwagon, pennywise, gorilla biscuits, and quicksand.

What are your views on Straight Edge?

Well I am straight edge so I guess i have kind of a bias but I do not advocate violence or prejudice toward anyone based on their decision to drink or whatever. I believe people should decide for themselves what is right for them, and if that means identifying oneself as straight edge, then that’s awesome. If not, that’s rad too.

How did you get in to music like punk, hardcore, and ska?

My cousin got me into alot of stuff when I was younger as did older kids in my high school when I was a freshman and sophomore. As you begin to learn more and start reading zines, going to shows, and buying records, you start being able to stand on your own 2 feet and start getting into new music on your own.

How would you define punk?

Punk, to me, is developing your own social norms and values for how you believe society and relationships should work and standing by those beliefs while. At the same time respecting the beliefs and values of those around you.

What is the dumbest thing you have ever done for money?

Richard, one of the owners of drive thru records, has paid me a dollar on 2 seperate occasions to lick the comforter on a hotel bed.

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Hopefully 10 years from now, I will have accomplished everything I wanted to do before I turned 30 and I’ll be relaxing on the beach in Costa Rica.

What would you be doing if you were not in a band?

Alot more surfing, alot more skating. Probably would have built some shit. I’d be counting the days till I finished school and then would probably live in costa rica.

If you could have call a dead person on the phone and have 1 conversation with them who would it be and why?

My dad cuz I miss him.

What sucks and what rocks?

People who don’t respect others suck. close minded people suck. I’ve decided that when it comes to the continental U.S., living anywhere but Florida or California sucks. Music rocks. Friendly people rock. Touring rocks. Working 9-5 sucks.

What do you think of Britney Spears?

She’s pretty cool I guess. I’d like to play with her boobs. I’d also like to get paid a lot of money to sing someone else’s songs, as long as it didn’t mean I couldn’t play my own.


Interview by : Daniel daniel@acornweb.com

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Me First And The Gimme Gimmes

Posted on 1st June 2011 in Punk Rock Interviews

Q: The question remains. Why?
Mike: You know why? Because we wanted to be in a band a lot more fun than our other bands.

Q: What type of selection process do you have for this band?
Joey: You have to drink a lot of alcohol to be in this and,
Mike: At least half a six pack.

Q: So who’s in the band now? Give me your name and your title.
Mike: I’m Fat Mike, human pez dispenser.
Dave: ..[struggling]…I’m Dave,
Joey: He’s our drummer.
Spike: I’m Spike, ear, nose, and throat.
Joey: I’m Joey. I’m the untightness coordinator of the band. I take care of the, you know, sloppy ends of the band.
Spike: When you want something sloppy, Joey gets the job done.
Joey: That’s why they got me. They didn’t want to look too good. They say the key to every
really good alternative band is having one really poor musician in the band and that’s me.

Q: What are the worst conditions you ever played under? Either venue, personal or audience?
Joey: It was Berlin at the Franklin.
Spike: We didn’t play there, we did drugs there.
Mike: Yeah, we did a four date European tour and between the coke and the Valiums, and the Vicadins and the Bushmills…
Spike: And the wine…
Mike: I think we did our best show.

Q: The music that you cover, is that homage or satire?
Mike: Homage
Joey: It’s Amish actually.
Mike: Our new album is show tunes.
Spike: How many people are going to rock out to show tunes?
Mike: You can never rock out to show tunes. What we are doing is bridging the generation gap from kids to grandparents. Parents and kids will have something to talk about. They can relate to the show tunes.

Q: So you are like musical diplomats?
Mike: Exactly right.

Q: You are like the U.N.?
Mike: We are bridging the generation gap.

Q: OK, what was the band that inspired this band?
Mike: Years ago, I thought, Man, I would love to do old Neil Diamond songs and old folk guitar songs and make them punk – that’d be great. And Joey thought the same thing.
Joey: I was living with our other guitar player, who’s not here right now, and we had a list on our refrigerator of all these cheezy ’70′s on our refrigerator that would thought would be cool to do punk rock and then Mike came up and stole our idea telepathically. It was really kind of a drag and now he is sort of the leader, which I think is really unfair. Jake Jackson should be the leader of this affair. In all seriousness, I think the reason that we agreed on is that we both write songs in our bands, and I think the idea is that any good song comes out in formatting and style. You could take a good song that would make people cringe, but if you put it in a format or a style that people would enjoy….
Mike: Nobody wants to hear Barry Manilow’s “Mandy” but it is a great song.

Q: Now they do!
Mike: Now they do. We’re easing them into it. We’re making people realize. We’re visionary.

Q: Have you ever thought of rewriting a song, in the middle of a song, like a chorus?
Mike: We do. A lot. We do “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”. It doesn’t have enough choruses so we through in three choruses.
Dave: Sometimes when we play live, I’ll just personally decide to put a stop in a song but I won’t tell them, I’ll just stop.
Joey: It is like a guitar break. A lot of improvisation. That’s when the best type of stuff happens.

Q: How many times, total have you played?
Spike: I’d say fourteen or fifteen.
Joey: No, that is wrong. I would say twelve.
Dave: Only one that I could remember.
Mike: I’m the leader and I say it was fourteen.

Q: What activity have people done while listening to your music that you were kind of astonished by?
Joey: What about those two guys in the front row at the Berlin show? They were like, doing it. That was pretty weird.
Joey: Dry, no lubricant.
Spike: Once these people were beating the shit out of people, and it was a Barry Manilow song. If you can make a fucking Barry Manilow song to drive people to beat other people up, then you’re doing something right.
Mike: Do you know what is going to happen? In about five years, some band is going to come along and do what we do and sell it to radio and MTV and get huge doing it.
Joey: They will burn our whole deal.

Q: Any future concepts for albums?
Joey: A Skrewdriver cover album. One side’s the Subhumans, the other’s Skrewdriver. Killer.

Q: In the style of?
Mike: Bar-b-que-style.



Interview by : Todd at Fat Wreck – Smash Music Magazine – May 1999, Issue 5 Vol. 2

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Guttermouth

Posted on 21st May 2011 in Punk Rock Interviews

On Sunday July 23rd I interviewed Guttermouth vocalist Mark Adkins in St. Petersburg, FL.


How long have you guys been Guttermouth?
We’ve been Guttermouth for 11 years.

Did you do anything before that?
Yea I did all kinds of stuff before that. Like lots of different little garage bands and stuff with all my friends from high school and everything. I have been playing with Scott since 1982. So we have been playing a long time.

Have you had any lineup changes?
Just the bass players have changed. Bass players are very unstable people. I don’t know what it is but I think that because it is easy to play bass, it is only four strings, their mental capacity is far lower then those that play six strings or drums or anything like that. So yea, bass players are generally retarded.

Is that the only change?
Yes.

How many bass players have you had?
This is our third. Except this bass player used to play drums. The Captain as we call him used to play drums but he graduated to bass so we hired a retarded child to play drums.

What is your favorite Guttermouth record?
Musical Monkey, no question.

So whats up with the label change?
Umm… nothing really. We put out six records on Nitro and we thought “well lets try something new, it sounds exciting. Why not?” so we went to Epitaph.

Is it any different?
Oh, I don’t know. We don’t know yet, we don’t have a record out yet so we have no idea. But we wanted to try something new and we got bored doing the same thing over and over again. They do a good job there but we just wanted to try something else.

What are your plans for a new record?
We are making it right when we get home. We got home from this tour tomorrow (7/24), tonight is the last show, and we start in the studio at midnight Monday night (7/24).

How many songs?
I dunno. Who knows? It just depends how everything comes out. We don’t really plan ahead too much. We are a punk band, we don’t have to. Nothing matters, its all easy.

Have you ever been faced with any lawsuits?
Not in a long time. But yes, I have been busted for assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer. Assaulting security, insighting a riot, and exposing myself in front of a bunch of moms. I got arrested in Canada for getting naked on stage and got asked to leave the country. I was kicked out of the whole country for two years and I just got a lawyer and I just got back in so now I can go back, I have to be fully clothed at all times. We just did our first show there last month and over 3,000 people came to see us. Quebec City, it was soo good.

I got an email about an outside show you guys played and asked everybody to rush in and when that happened things got really control, what’s the deal with that?
It was a stupid setup. It was at a place that like Bob Segar would play, ya know like an outdoor shed/arena type place. And they had a punk show there, like a big festival in southern California. And we went on when the sun started to go down and people were starting to get a little more rowdy. Everyone was drinking all day, they were serving beer to minors, and it got pretty out of control so they busted me saying that I caused it. It never even went to court, they didn’t have a case, it was retarded and it wasted all of our time and money, a pretty typical police move. From what I have learned, what the police do is point the blame at somebody to make themselves look good for the immediate press release the follows such an incident as a riot or whatever and they blame blame blame you you you and then the story dies down and it makes them look good. And it’s all forgotten and my attorney explained all that to me. Its scary because police can charge you with anything they want, whether its true or not, and take you into custody.

Who is on the cover of “Gorgeous”?
My friend Wayne. Wayne is a transvestite, part time. He has a regular job and stuff but he dresses up as a woman sometimes like on Wednesdays and Thursdays he has his places he goes to.

Is there an overall message that you are trying to convey through music?
No, not at all. Messages through music, to me, are a waste of time because you an interpret things in so many different ways. We like to leave people a little bit confused.

What motivates your lyrics?
I dunno. A bringing I guess, a coming. Jamie and I write all the lyrics and its just whatever we are thinking about at the time. There are no real interesting stories behind it at all.

What does your mom say about the band?
My mom doesn’t take knowledge of the band. She would rather me stayed in school.

How far along in school did you get?
Just to my second year in college.

Well you have a career now soo…”
Yea I guess you could say that. It has its good points and its bad points.

Is there anything you would rather be doing right now?
I’d rather be at home with my girlfriend right now. Its hard being away for weeks at a time, it sucks.

Is there any reason why you guys didn’t do Warped Tour?
No. We decided to make a record instead and everything was about timing. There is only 12 months in a year but it feels like there is 4, you’re always so busy.

What did you listen to growing up?
All kinds of stuff. Everything from my parents disco to… my parents were total disco heads. When I was 9 or 10 they used to have big parties at our house, it was weird. They would have like a jukebox and just these huge parties and they would get drunk it was creepy. Me and my two brothers would peek in and watch all these drunk folks dancing and it was so freaky watching that. So then you got to know that music, whether you wanted to or not you learned it. That is what I listened to the most when I was like a little kid.

What made you chose to be a punk band, how did you get into that?
I dunno, I have no idea it just happened. I cant even explain it, if it’s a good thing or bad thing I dunno.

How old are you now?
33. I’ve been doing this a long time.

What was the biggest tour you have been on?
We have done so many big ones. We have supported Offspring several times, we have supported NOFX several times. We just got back from Europe with NOFX, The Bosstones, Snapcase, Good Riddance, and Terrorgruppe, and a bunch of other bands. We played a couple of shows with like 11,000+, it is great. It is such a rush to do that. We played this show in Australia it was like a Woodstock where everyone camped out for three days. And the drinking age was 18 so it was just chaos.

If you could change one thing in society what would it be?
The racist issues, those bug me. They bug me a lot, I don’t understand it. Ya know, its like… I have a Japanese girlfriend, she is great.

How long have you guys been together?
For about 6 months.

Is “Lipstick” a true story?
NOOO!!! No, not at all. I make up tons of stories.

What do you think of Britney Spears?
I think she is pretty hot, her appearance. Yea she’s a dish, I enjoy looking at her.

Would you like to play with her one day?
In private. Yea I would, who wouldn’t? If anyone says they wouldn’t they are lying.

Interview by : Josh Stern : josh@punkinterviews.com

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NOFX Interview

Posted on 19th May 2011 in Punk Rock Interviews

OK, I know what you’re thinking. How the hell could Moisst get this interview hooked up? They don’t do interviews anymore with anyone.. No video interviews, magazine interviews, nothing! Well I’ll tell ya… Moisst has been around long enough that we were able to conduct an interview with the elusive Fat Mike of NOFX before they decided they had, had enough of the same old. Sure this was a little dated but what the hell. Everything in this interview has little to nothing to do with what NOFX is now it is dedicated more directly with what NOFX are about in the grey area. If you want to find out about new releases or new inspiration check the FAT WRECK CHORD page on the internet and forget you ever saw this interview.

MOISST: Where are you playing after the states on this tour?
MIKE: Germany.

MOISST: Do you like the fraulines? The sweet Germans with the hairy legs?
MIKE: No I like the Dominatrics, actually I’m married, so you know how that goes.

MOISST: I don’t believe that shit.(At this point Mike whips out a photo of a beautiful woman from his wallet)
MIKE: That’s her really,

MOISST: Are you sure you didn’t dig that up out of a Victoria Secret catalog?
MIKE: No that’s really her.

MOISST: OK, What’s the difference from doing the tours you used to do in the cleaning van and now with the gigantor touring bus?
MIKE: The difference is, well were just stoked you know. Actually the difference is you can jack off in there.

MOISST: And no one is going to get shot in the eye.
MIKE: Exactly.

MOISST: How do you get along with the road crew. A long time ago you had the moron brothers with you when you would come through town and they were fucking insane with the spit gobs and mouthful of beer fights during the show. Now they’re no where to be found now.
MIKE: Our whole road crew, they are like our best friends. We like everyone on the bus. If we didn’t they, wouldn’t be there. We have a great time together.

MOISST: No leeching at each others throats?
MIKE: No, not really.

MOISST: Any crazy pranks pulled you can recall.
MIKE: Pranks? I can tell you what we did to Chad from Face to Face. It was his birthday and we were out in Ottawa Canada. Anyway, it was cold as shit when we were there. What we did was we duck taped him to a telephone pole. There were a bunch of kids hanging out when it happened and it was hilarious. We left him outside for a while.

MOISST: How many illegitimate kids do you have floating around?
MIKE: I don’t have any, I’m sterile.

MOISST: Was the Bad News Bears life better for El Heffe or is NOFX?
MIKE: Well, he blew all the money he made off that movie on drugs. So I guess he had no choice but to join NOFX.

MOISST: Did your parents force you to drink Ovaltine as a child?
MIKE: No, but my mom once told me that If I was going to smoke pot I had to smoke it with her. I didn’t smoke pot till I was twenty one.

MOISST: Have you ever dreamt about livestock, or specifically having any sexual relations with livestock?
MIKE: No, no. I like leather and shit but not the cows in that kind of way.

MOISST: What about life size Barbies?
MIKE: To tell you the truth I really don’t like that shit.

MOISST: What do you guys do to kill time when your not on stage?
MIKE: Favorite pastime? Well we all suck each other off. We play the circle game. If you can break the circle you get sucked.

MOISST: What bands do you like that you’ve played with recently? Are they all on Fat Wreck Chords?
MIKE: Lagwagon and Propaghandi. They’re good and that’s all it takes! I think all the bands on my label are good. Like I had a chance to sign 7 Year Bitch when they were making some noise, but they suck. You know they sold a lot of records but they still suck. You can sign a lot of bands and make a lot of money, but I just want good bands I really like on the label.

MOISST: How long have you had the label Fat Wreck Chords?
MIKE: Seven years now.

MOISST: What’s next for NOFX?
MIKE: Same old shit.

MOISST: Are you going to play Phoenix any time soon?
MIKE: Never, well O.K. Next month maybe. We just didn’t do Phoenix on this tour because we’ve got to go home and get into the studio.

MOISST: Was the horn thing for El Heffe a childhood thing?
MIKE: He played in marching band as an infant.

MOISST: What’s you favorite Glam Rock band?
MIKE: Hanoi Rocks. (At this point Mike pauses to sign some gals underwear. He’s been signing various article through out the interview. Mike tells us this is the first time he’s ever signed underwear.)

MOISST: What’s your favorite porno?
MIKE: We got this one on the bus call “Please Mistress”. It’s some S&M Lesbian shit. It’s goooood!!!

MOISST: Have you ever heard of Life In The Fat Lane part 2″ the porno?
MIKE: You know I don’t watch porno’s with dicks in them. I really hate seeing cock shots. I am more into bondage, whips, leather and lesbians.

MOISST: On that note I say thanks for the time and good luck with the tour.
MIKE: No problem!

And with that Mike staggered back into the club with his breast beer mug waiving!

 



Interview by : Moisst Underground Noise : http://www.moisst.com

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Catch 22 Interview

Posted on 11th May 2011 in Punk Rock Interviews

Jeff Davidson of Catch 22 recently sat down with The United Front and had a heart to heart talk about the band and other big issues in music today.  Their new album, “Alone In The Crowd”, has already won them countless new fans across the country.  These guys are primed to explode.

 

The United Front: Ok start off by introducing yourself to everyone.

Jeff: I’m Jeff Davidson, I sing vocals.

The United Front: So I heard you talking about how great Chicago is.

Jeff: Yah, its seriously our home away from home. Everyone is so good when we come here. Its always been very receptive.

The United Front: You ever gotten the chance to play anywhere else in Chicago?

Jeff: We’ve played at the Fireside a bunch of times, that was fun. We also played at House of Blues once.

 

The United Front: What bands did you like the best that you’ve toured with so far?

Jeff: Theres always different levels with that-theres the nicest people, theres the people who have helped us out a lot, and then there is the overall people like The Suicide Machines. Regardless of what people are saying like how they’ve sold out, whatever, The Suicide Machines are the nicest people, it doesn’t matter who your are, if you’re some local band, or for any other band they’ll take care of you. Their tour manager acts like your tour manger.

The United Front: With your new release “Alone In A Crowd”, do you feel anything stands out about it that makes it different from past releases?

Jeff: I think that if anything it evolved and morphed into something different and we finally figured out what we were going to do with song writing, and who was ganna do what and the whole process. I think that its something that people were not expecting, the way it came out, either people were expecting us to be completely different or a step in the direction of the “Washed Up” EP.

The United Front: So how were you able to sign on to Victory Records? Are they treating you good?

Jeff: Excellent. No complaints whatsoever. The band (before I was in it) sent a demo to a label called Toy Box Records and the guy who owns Toy Box Records used to work at Victory and he played the tape, and the guy who owns Victory basically heard it through a wall. The next day they got in touch with Catch 22 and they were signed.

 

The United Front: Do you feel different or somewhat intimidated being on a mostly hardcore label?

Jeff: Not at all. The people at Victory and even the bands are all open minded. Nobody has ever had a problem with our style of music being on Victory. All the bands who we’ve been on tour with who are signed to Victory are all very nice and support us. At this point right now we’re very comfortable with our situation. I don’t think anyone is ignorant and hates us because of our style of music. When you sign to Victory everyone treats you like family.

The United Front: In the band you have a wide variety of ages. How do you get it to work? Do you usually get along well?

Jeff: Yah, we all get along great. The reason why we get all along is because we all have the same common goal in mind, we all love what we do and we love music. I don’t think age has anything to do with ANYTHING, EVER, as long as there is a common interest in the music. When it comes down to it, we’re all little kids. We’re all 13 year olds at heart, you know? If you ever were to hang out with us, you could never tell we were all different ages.

The United Front: Are there any bands in particular who has influenced you the most?

Jeff: No because we all listen to different music and we’re open to everything. In a way, we listen to all the same things, and we also listen to all different things. My personally, I’m very personally influenced by reggae music. When it comes to punk, I’d have to say Rancid. It just all depends because again theres always different ways to look at it. Bands influence you in different ways by song writing, bands can influence you by ethics, and their stories. I’m a very inspirational guy. I mean every time I hear the Kurt Kobain story, that’s just amazing to me, hes in my heart. Tim Armstrong and his story and songwriting as well, I think that’s what does it more for me. Theres so many different sides of music. Theres the music, and then theres the life of people involved with the music. That’s me, personally, I mean everyone in the band is different. When it all comes down to it though, we all come together, but we all listen to different things, and I think that’s what makes it so great, that we can come together.

The United Front: What do you think of Napster and what that brings to the table? Is it a good thing or bad thing to you?

Jeff: I’m very indifferent about it. I think it’s a good thing for a lot of reasons. The only bad thing that I think of Napster is that it takes away from the hype and excitement of a new album. That’s the only thing that really bothers me about it. I mean people have new albums coming out, and everybody’s getting all excited about it and waiting for it to come out and then someone comes up to you and is like “I got the new album by….” and its like “You do, already?” It gives people something to call their own when it comes down to it saying how they have it first, but when you are in a band, and you have something coming up, and you’re building the hype, and then you find out people have it before it came out it takes the excitement out of it. I’m down with people getting music for free, I don’t have a problem with it at all, I think it’s a great thing for bands who are singed. I mean we were luckier than anything. Its all luck, its all who you know, With people getting new exposure of bands by just having a computer, and converting files, that’s just all amazing to me. I still don’t know if it’ll change everything, but I think it will.

 

The United Front: Any last comments you want to say?

Jeff: Of course please check our our website at http://www.njcatch22.com  If anything though, I want to say that everyone whos stood behind us regardless of anything, and kept an open mind, and hasn’t been doubtful, we appreciate that, COMPLETELY. It hasn’t gone unnoticed. I mean anyone whos came up and said “Great show!” we appreciate that, and don’t feel intimidated to say that, because it keeps us going.


Interview by : United Front Webzine

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Dashboard Confessional

Posted on 1st May 2011 in Punk Rock Interviews

This is an interview I did with Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional on Sat. December 16th, 2000 in St. Petersburg, FL.


How long have you been Dashboard Confessional?
I recorded last year and released it but I didn’t play any shows or anything like that, I played just a few select shows like I played with Saves The Day because they talked me into it and then I played a couple of coffee house shows but then I didn’t do anything because I was in another band for a few months and the record still sold pretty well so I thought I should go out and try and do something to support it so I have been on tour now for 2 and a half months. And now its over… tomorrow is the last show and then I get to go home and see my mom.

How long have you been writing music?
Umm.. well… a long time. I really don’t know when I wrote my first song but… a long time.

And you said you have been in a few bands…?
Yea, I was in a band called Further Seems Forever most recently. I was in The Agency, they are on Fiddler Records, Further Seems Forever was on Tooth & Nail. And I was in Vacant Endings (spelling) and they are on Fiddler Records also but I am not in those bands right now.

Do you plan on staying solo?
No, it was never supposed to be just me that is why it is called Dashboard Confessional and not Chris Carrabba. That’s why tonights show had my friend Dan who played bass and an instrument called the “mellotica” (spelling) because it is supposed to for my friends that are free or don’t have to work or are on hiatus with their bands are welcome to come along and play. The crowd is always a big big part of it with their singing along and everything so I never really thought of it as a solo project. I am gonna take a drummer out on the next tour or the tour after that for sure.

What made you decide to do something as original as this?
As opposed to just a standard band? These are just the songs I was writing and I wanted to be in the studio again and do something in the studio and be productive. I was also in a band that, as bands are, very regimented ya know standard, the same guys all the time which I enjoyed, I love the guys but I had all these other friends who were in bands and I was like “well wouldn’t it be great if I had something that whenever they were around they could play with me” and like I said ya know when my friends bands were home and if I have a show somewhere and they could come with me and play whatever instrument they play. So that was kind of the initial plan for doing it this way but sometimes I like to be up there all by myself too, because it’s scary and fun.

How do you feel about “Swiss Army Romance”?
I am very proud of the record but it is just kind of insighted to where I was at that particular point of my life I guess, I write from the heart so you can kind of tell what I am feeling when you listen to those songs. I never really listen to it but ya know I play those songs every night so its like it brings me back to where I was when I wrote those songs so I am fond of it for memory sake and I think it’s a solid record so, I like it.

The name Dashboard Confessional, how did you think of that?
Well, I wasn’t sure like at one point I was like “well its just me for now so I guess I am supposed to call it Chris Carrabba” but then I felt really uncomfortable doing that for various reasons, I felt really vein so I had written a song called “The Sharp Hint Of New Tears” which at that point wasn’t called “The Sharp Hint Of New Tears” and in the song it says “on the way home, this car hears my confessions.” So that name kind of popped into my head, Dashboard Confessional, and I thought that would be a good name for the tune but then I was like “well that sounds like a band name” so I was like “well im gonna save it incase I start another band” and then I was like “well why cant I just call this band Dashboard Confessional, and so that’s kind of a long winded answer.

I think it fits really well because, well I listen to the record in the car and like when you’re in a car and your by yourself you think about your feelings and think about how you relate, and its just all around a perfect name.
Well seriously Josh, that’s actually a really solid capture of where I came up with the name. Because it had to do with that line and then I started thinking about it and I was like “ya know, I do a lot of driving” especially being in a band and I break cd players from listening to them soo much and like, you lose the outside world and become really introspective, and try not to crash, but and that’s kind like, it was very appropo to what I was doing.

I read that you were a pre-school teacher?
I used to be a pre-school teacher and I am an administrator at a elementary school now for about seven years I have been. Total seven years I have been doing it because I was in high school when I started the pre-school.

Do the parents ever get a little worried because of the tattoos?
Well, to be honest with you the parents don’t really see the tattoos very often because I wear long sleeve shirts but then again the local newspapers have done a few articles and one of them was the cover of the entertainment section. Ya know the parents read that newspaper so they were like “oh so you have lots of tattoos” and I don’t keep it secret. It’s funny, all the kids know, they just notice if the shirt sleeve comes up a little but they don’t care at all. And the parents, I gotta give them credit, they don’t seem to care much at all.

That’s very surprising, you know how parents are, especially in elementary school.
It is surprising, and I think its because they got to know me first and know that I care for the kids first before I care about my tattoos or whatever and so since they knew me well it didn’t bother them when they found out. But I guess if I walked in there with a short sleeve shirt and asked for a job and my first day came in with my tattoos blazin’ or whatever I don’t know that I would make to many fans among the parents. But Im on a sabbatical right now, Im at a leave of absence for about a year to try and tour full time.

Do they all know about Dashboard Confessional?
Yea, my family there at the school is incredibly supportive as a matter of fact I even thanked Mrs. Noush, who is my vice principal and everyone at JC Mitchell, which is the elementary school that I work at. I thanked them, they are incredibly supportive. I have a young staff, because what I do, Im in charge of the day care and so I have about 12 counselors that work for me and they all come out to my shows and stuff, a lot of the teachers come out to my shows. You wouldn’t expect it, even when I was in heavier bands before, they like this better, but when I was in heavier bands they still came out and its really cool.

What do you listen to?
I listen to the Movie Life, I love the Movie Life. I listen to the Rocking Horse Winner, that’s the girl who sings on my record’s band. And then I listen to the old standards like I listen to a lot of the Beach Boys, I listen to Hot Rod Circuit, I listen to a lot of Tom Petty and I dunno, I could go on for a long time. We drive sometimes 17 hours so we listen to lots of music.

Swiss Army Romance, the song, I can relate that to pretty much every person I know. Was there a particular person in your life at that time that you wrote the song about or was it about a group of people?
Well yea there is a particular person in my life that I wrote that about, or that I started to write that about, and then I realized after I wrote the first verse that that person was indictive of a lot of people. Or that trait in that person was in a lot of people, and myself too sometimes I think, and everyone frankly. It was initially about one person and eventually about a lot of people that I know and its not meant to be derogatory, and I don’t think it is because I know its about me too. As a matter of fact theres a line in there that says “you’re dying to look smooth in your tattoos but you’re searching just like everyone, you could be anyone.” That is as much about me as it is anyone else.

What do you think, in you, brings out the way you are able to vocalize your emotions?
Well I think that I am not the best singer in the world and I think that I am not the best guitarist in the world but I really know what I feel, I guess. I used to dress it up a little more and then eventually I was just like ya know what, theres nothing wrong with saying what I truly feel. So that’s it. And if other people can relate to it, that wasn’t my intention, obviously to alienate people, but it wasn’t my intention to do something that everybody can relate to or that I was trying to speak for a whole group of people, that wasn’t my intention at all. But the fact that so many people can relate to it is kinda telling, it must be kind of basic feelings that people have and I was lucky enough to capture that, I don’t think that I intended to.

What is your personal favorite song on the record?
Umm, I dunno, that’s a weird question because I don’t really listen to my own record. I guess my favorite song changes every night depending on if somebody asks me to play a song, the fact that they knew it and knew it by name its my favorite song that night. It means that somebody cared enough to pay attention to the song title, which I don’t even always do. There is some of my favorite bands and I would go to the show and want them to play a song really bad and just be like “track 6!!”

Is there any songs that you really don’t like on the record?
No because like I said they are like a real snapshot of where I was. However, that is kind of a lie. “The Sharp Hint Of New Tears” is really painful for me to sing, like it really… all those songs dredge up something to me every night when I play them I really feel whatever it is, I remember exactly what it was and exactly how bad it felt, or how good it felt, and that song felt particularly bad, or I felt particularly bad at the time when I wrote that song. And so it makes me feel band, I don’t play it very often.

So how has the tour been with River City High, Midtown, and New Found Glory?
Its been awesome, especially considering that I am definitely the odd man out. I play an acoustic guitar, its been strange like the nights that I have to play first if there’s no local band or whatever if its just my turn to play first I get really nervous if the kids are ravenous for punk rock like I said and they have been standing in line and they get up there and they see my silly guitar and me sitting on a stool, they are like “what are we in for with this??”.But I have to give the kids the most credit, well I have to give credit to all the bands for having the guts to take me out, like New Found Glory didn’t have to suggest me for this tour, but they like it so they suggested it and I am really grateful for that. And Midtown has taken me out before, just like a month before this tour, and they same goes for them. But I have to give credit to the kids because you would think that they would only, I even think that they’re not gonna like it. I don’t give them enough credit sometimes, I just initially think they’re gonna hate me. But they don’t. They may not all like me, but a good amount of them are really receptive so its been an incredible tour to be on, just to have my eyes open. Like, because Im a punk rock kid but I like music like this. I like to listen to singer/songwriter stuff like Pedro The Lion. Obviously I am not alone, in that. Its been really neat, Ive loved this tour and plus its been an incredibly cool tour because New Found Glory and I, well the guys in NFG and me have been friends for a long time. My old band Vacant Endings went out with them on their first before anybody was anything. And the guys in Midtown have become my really good friends over the past year. And I have been able to become really good friends with Hot Rod Circuit and River City High, and the Movie Life, and everybody that has been involved at any point on this tour. I have never been on any tour where there was not any competition at all. I have been on other tours with other big bands, and I wont name names, when I was in my other bands that were really competing for each others fans and each other sales. But like were out there pushing each others records. I can tell you that every night I hear the guy from New Found Glory say “go check out the dash stuff” and every night I say “check out the video for sale at the Midtown table”, CRVM check it out, its got lots of cool stuff on it.

What do you do in your spare time?
If I ever had any spare time I suppose I would skateboard and write songs. I write songs more then I skateboard these days because it seems necessary for me to have fresh songs when Im out on the road because I have to play them every single night. And I enjoy reading and seeing my friends which I never get to do anymore.

Do you read many books?
Yea, I read constantly. This tour has been strange, I haven’t been able to read very much because drives have been long but my favorite author is John Irving. He wrote “A Prayer For Owen Meany” and “The Cider House Rules”. He is very inspiring to me. Every book that John Irving wrote is absolutely well worth purchasing.

What do you like listening to?
Well we have been listening to those cds but in general I like listening to things that have really pretty lyrics. Like The Weakerthans is a band that when we were in CA we stayed with Darren from Hopeless Records and he was kind enough to give me a Weakerthans cd. Initially I heard it and was like “this is fairly good, I kind of enjoy it” and then I listened to the lyrics more and I was so floored that I started calling my friends and was like “you have to go out and buy this record.” Its just phenomenal.

What or who has been your biggest influence?
My mother has been the biggest influence on me. Strongest person I’ve ever, even now being an adult and being in the world not under her wing, I still think shes the strongest person. Ive never met anyone who is as strong and capable as she is, and she is a big influence on my music to. She is a singer and pianist and is phenomenal at both, much better then I will ever be at what I do. And she always encourages it forever, and she never discouraged me when I wanted to take time of college. I mean she was never happy that I wanted to take a break from school but she understood, shes great.

Being from Florida, what do you think of the election?
Well whats funny was that I left and realized that I didn’t register to vote and the fact is I would have voted for Nader anyway, but I felt like a hypocrite. I cant remember what state I was in, somewhere really cold though, I can remember that much, when the election blew up. I was kinda making jokes and then they were like “palm beach county” and I didn’t even vote so I cant be makin cracks so I felt pretty stupid, I was really disappointed in myself so I cant knock the voting system when I wasn’t even a part of it this time. But it was weird because at one point I was in Connecticut, which was where I grew up. I moved here when I was in my sophomore year of High School, and like they were making fun of me they were like “yea you moved to Florida, you should move back here look at they blew the election.” It really could have just happened anywhere, they were really close in a lot of places.

What do you think of Napster?
Now the people at my label would probably shoot me for saying this, but I think Napster is the greatest thing ever. I think Napster has a lot to do with the fact that people know my lyrics, Im a big proponent of it and I really believe, I guess I think differently, but I really believe that if they are gonna like the record they are gonna buy the record because they might wanna read the lyrics, and read the thank yous, and see the pretty artwork. Im selling a lot of CD’s a night and those kids already know the words so I really believe that it works. And ya know, I don’t own a computer. I don’t go on Napster, I’ve never been on Napster, but I’ve had people make me mix tapes and people hand me a pavement tape that they copied from their cd. And I might not buy it that week because I have that tape to listen to but eventually Im gonna go out and buy it, and I do. Sometimes the sponsor tours too.

What do you think of Britney Spears?
I’ll tell you my honest truth. I used to not like her very much. I used to think she was not as pretty as everybody says but now shes getting older and she is just ridiculously hot. So I’m a big fan, of her music to. We listen to it a lot because you can only hear so much punk rock and when you are on tour for two and a half months with punk or various punk rock bands you have to listen to Britney Spears every now and again for you’ll lose your mind.

Is there anything else you’d like to say?
Listen to the Movie Life.

 

 Interview by : Josh Stern – josh@punkinterviews.com

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Yellowcard

Posted on 15th April 2011 in Punk Rock Interviews

Interview with Yellowcard on May 19th, 2001.


Ben : Hi my name is Ben from Yellowcard, how are you today?
Ryan : I am Ryan from Yellowcard too, I’m good today. Thanks for asking Ben.
Ben : No problem Ryan.

J : How long have you guys been together?
B : Ok, technically Yellowcard has been together since the end of ’97, maybe middle of ’97. But Ryan has only been in the band since last…
R : March 10th, 2000. A year and a couple months.
B : So basically it is kinda new to us, the songs and all that stuff.
J : How is Ryan’s addition different from the old Yellowcard?
R : Well, I dunno. I was hired as a songwriter for the band. I don’t know if I want to say that’s like what it was lacking before but it was… the songs are just like more structured now and more focused on melody as opposed to technicality.
B : It’s still got the same rockingness… well… no it’s not the same, at all.
R : It’s not the same and it was a drastic change and so a lot of people were getting mad and we’re like “you guys are emo” and blah blah blah but I listen to a lot of emo-rock music and I don’t think that we are anywhere, even in the same ballpark… I think the lines are all blurred these days anyways but so yea it was a drastic change. The old stuff had a lot harder edge and was more of a kinda in your face punk rock and now it is kinda straight forward rock ‘n roll.
J : Where are you guys from?
R : Well, we are originally from Jacksonville, FL but now we have to claim Thousand Oaks, California.
B : Thousand Oaks!
R : Because we are permanent residents.
J : Why did you guys move?
R : Umm… better market. There’s more people…
B : More people. There is 9 million people there and there is 1 million people in Jacksonville.
R : The scene is really really receptive there, the kids just love new music. The clubs there are just where it’s happening. It wasn’t to like bail on our bands from home or our hometown it was just to kinda like expand our horizons and go for it.
B : To go for it. We left everything we had, at home.
R : A lot of people have a problem with it, I’d like to say to those people, ya know people who say that we think we’re rockstars and we sold out and we moved to CA… I work a day job for 12 hours a day when I’m not on tour, you know what I mean? I have not sold out in any way, I am just trying to be successful at making music. And there is a better chance of getting more people to hear our music by playing out there.
B : And instead of waiting for bands to come through…
R : Totally. Instead of waiting in Jacksonville and competing with every other band in town to play with a band that is coming through, you just get to pick which one you want to play with out there. You know, which club you want to play and with what band. There is always shows, every night, somewhere.
B : We would recommend every band to move out there, because it has done nothing but good for us.
R : It’s not easy at all, it’s the hardest thing I have ever done, but it’s definitely a good career move is this is really what you want to do.
J : How do you guys feel about the new record?
R : I am totally stoked with it.
B : I can’t stop listening to it.
R : Yea, I can’t stop listening to it.
B : Our produced was soo rad. He was Pennywise’s producer, Darrien Rindell.
R : Yea he was such a cool guy, it was a great learning experience. Basically we all found out that we were all horrible musicians and that we need to practice.
B : He made us feel like we were 2 inches off the ground when we came in there 6 feet tall.
R : Yea we came in just thinking we were hot shit and we found out we weren’t hot shit at all.
B : He let us know whats up. We learned more in that 4 weeks…
R : Yea I learned more in that 4 weeks then I have learned in like my whole career and I’m stoked on it. I’m stoked on like the emotion it is pulling out of kids, ya know the response we’re getting it’s not just like a ‘yea its cool’ like we are getting some intense response by it, like kids who are just really really changed by our music which is exactly what I do it for.
J : How did you guys get on Lobster?
B : Gosh… we have been dealing with Lobster for years. We have been sending them all our records. We originally heard about them because Shawn Dewey of course from Lagwagon started it…
R : And Warren’s (bassist) older brother used to roadie for Lagwagon and he was actually one of the guys who helped start Lobster with Steve Lombarski, the guy that runs it now.
B : They were one of the only labels that we actually knew. And we wanted to work with them because it was on a personal level.
R : We tried to go with everyone, you know, we talked to everyone we could. And Lobster was just like family. We knew we could trust them and everything they were gonna do for us was in the best interest of both the people, and not just one-sided. There was going to be an equal amount of give from each side of the relationship, you know. They’re great guys. They don’t have millions of dollars to throw around but they work really heard with what they have, they are really resourceful.
B : Good people.
R : Yea totally, just good people. If they told us tomorrow that we could never put out another record, like I would still stay with them on this one just because of how good they are, to us.
B : And like, they let us break the bank. They had faith in us enough to let us just spend their money and it came out great. We are happy and we are going to keep on doing it.
J : What are your plans for the summer?
B : Tour, tour, tour, tour, tour…
R : We are going home, next month, for the month. And next month it is pending that we are going to Canada with Slick Shoes. We aren’t sure yet but it is possible. And then in August we are starting the tour in Birmingham, AL at Furnace Fest, which is a big thing that Takehold Records does every year with bands like Dynamite Boy and Dashboard and Further Seems Forever and all them are playing, and we’re gonna play that. And then we’re gonna do the northeast with Inspection 12, and that is our plans for the summer.
J : What inspired you to write music?
R : I dunno man, I picked up a guitar when I was 13 and I just kinda fiddled around, started a band. It was never my main thing in high school but I always wanted it to be, but my parents always had a real hard time with it. And then, finally with this one it just worked.
B : Music inspired me to play music. It’s just like you hear something that inspires you so much that you want to be able to do that.
R : I dunno, I’m a real cheese ball emo freak so this is the best way to just get it out in rage.
B : Yea we all have frantic personalities, so this is a good thing for all of us.
R : Yea, you have to be extreme to be a good musician, you have to be an extreme person because it’s gotta be more extreme then what everyone else is so that they can be attracted to it.
B : So they watch you, and they want to be a part of it. And we are all 110%, I really think for every band out there that if you go 110%, you give all you have and more, and nothing can go wrong. You are only gonna get good and you’re only gonna write good songs.
J : So Ryan, I understand you have a pretty musical past.
R : Well, I dunno I am kind of a band slut. I was in a band in high school, but I got out of that band…
B : Modern Amusement.
R : Yea, Modern Amusement was my high school band, and then I tried to do some college stuff and I wasn’t into it so I ended up moving west in ’99 to Santa Cruz, CA to play with Craig’s Brother, who were previously on Tooth & Nail Records. I played with them, toured with them for like 4 months, lived with them for almost year. And then, artistic differences I guess, and I was just broke and hungry and tired and I had to come back home. And I was actually originally coming back home and was going to play with Inspection 12 but then they got their record contract and it was kind of a legality thing with the original members of the band were gonna come back home from school and get in the band so I was kinda left without a band. I tried to start some other stuff and then went back to college and then magically I somehow ended up in Yellowcard. Spring Break of that year, they lost their singer. But yea, I’ve been around and done the thing. Like that tour, that summer of ’99, was the biggest experience I’ve had. We went everywhere. We went almost to the Atlantic Ocean in Canada, that’s how far north we went. And all over the US, I’ve been everywhere now. Which is crazy just to think that I’ve done that already, and like we’re just gonna keep doing it over and over again now. But yea it’s been a bumpy road but it is nice to finally be like settled in, ya know?
B : And with Craig’s Brother, he was kind of like learning songs already written. Even though he was still creating new Craig’s Brother songs, now it is his songs, Ryan’s songs. You see it in him and he plays it and I think deep down Ryan has always wanted that. He had it with Modern Amusement but now it is another level because he came with a bunch of experienced people and he is experienced and it just clicked. And we all happened to go to the same high school together, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, it’s a great school. Plug that… Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. And yea… I heard you went there.
R : Yea, I went the other day. I gave everyone cd’s and posters and stuff.
B : Did you see Casper dude?
R : No, he only works part time now. He got married, he’s got a kid on the way and stuff.
B : That was our guitar teacher.
J : How old is everyone?
R : I’m 21, Sean is 22, Warren is 21, LP is 21 and Ben…
B : Is 10.
R : Is 20, but he is a 10yr old, in a 20yr olds body.
B : Not really, don’t tell that ’cause the girls wont date me.
R : Oh yea, he wont get chicks if you print that. But he might if you print it like that though… see, if you do it like that.
B : Tell Shay that I said hi in this interview. And tell JJ that Ryan said hi.
R : Yea, I’d be down with that.
J : So what was life like at DA?
R : It was amazing dude, I would do high school over again without a doubt dude. My senior, I had 2 academic classes and 5 art classes. I was in the theatre department, not the music department. Everyone respected each other for being there because you had to audition to get and everyone loved everyone.
B : No clicks, no jocks. My brother went to public school, your sister goes to public school and we hear the horror stories or public school and we respect our high school and nobody that goes to public school respects their high school.
R : Yea and it was amazing. Everyone came to everything like everyone went to all the art galleries, everyone went to all the theatre shows, everyone went to all the symphonies… like everyone went to see everyone, even if you didn’t know anyone in that department. It was a really cool community of people. I’m really bummed that it’s over actually, even though it’s been over for 3 years.
B : The teachers are like your mentors ya know? Like my guitar teacher taught me a lot about practicing. You have to bust your ass in your bedroom to bust your ass on stage.
J : What was your childhood dream?
R : I wanted to be an actor. I wanted to be Tom Cruise in Top Gun, that’s what I wanted to be when I was a kid.
B : I drew a lot, I wanted to be an artist. I was a drawer and that kind of thing and now my mom is like “you always wanted to be an artist, la la la” I dunno.
R : I saw Top Gun when I was 6, it changed my life. I wanted to be an actor ever since I saw it. I’d still be down to do it someday, I did it my whole life. Even when I went to college, that’s what I went to college for.
J : Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
B : Putting out more records. 5 years is nothing.
R : Yea totally. I don’t want it to come out wrong but I hope that we’re just playing stadiums, just rocking everyone’s life. Just rocking.
B : But still the same people.
R : Yea just still just knocking each other over on stage ’cause we’re going off so hard.
B : In 5 years we’re only gonna be better. We have only been writing these songs for a year. Think about bands like Tool, think about bands like Weezer, like Green Day… we have only just begun.
J : What do you guys think of Napster?
R : Oh, I’m soo torn bro. At the level that we are at, I will tell you honestly that it has hurt our record sales.
B : But it is also promoting us.
R : But it’s also promoting us, so it is a win – lost situation.
B : Bands like Metallica… it doesn’t matter. Think about it…
R : Yea that was dumb… that was stupid. That whole thing was stupid because you know if you go download all the Metallica songs off their new record, if they come out with one, you’re still gonna go buy it, it’s Metallica. Or Green Day or Weezer, anybody like that. If I would have gone and downloaded all the Weezer songs it would have just been so I could have it before I got the cd. But when you have a band like Yellowcard, at the level that we are at. You download it, you burn the disc, and that’s your disc. And you don’t go buy it. I know it hurt record sales, I know it did. But at the same time I don’t want to sound like I give to much of a shit about record sales, like that is what we’re all about because it’s not. I just want the kids to hear our music. But I’m really torn on it, it hurts you and it helps you so, I dunno.
B : Same thing. Personally, I don’t even have the time mess with it. I’ve heard a lot of good Napster discs, like a bunch of mixed songs, that’s pretty cool. But the whole stealing records shit has got to go. Fix it buddies, that’s all I gotta say.
R : There is a way to do it, there is a way to fix it. We just need to figure it out.
J : If you could change one thing in the world what would you change?
LP (drums) : I don’t know.
R : Boy bands.
LP : Yea, that’s what I was gonna say.
B : Fake music. Manufactured music.
R : I know that’s a cheesy answer but I am really serious about it, I would get rid of the boy bands dude. If I could do anything.
B : Dude it’s a serious thing. Think about the articles in the newspaper when the boy bands come to town.
R : Shouldn’t we say we would stop world hunger?
B : I am going to be environment for my mother. If I ever could I would do that. Just the way they bust down trees for strip malls, she wants me to get rid of that. But don’t print that, that’s pretty hippy.
R : Yea that is pretty hippy, you are a hippy.
J : What is your favorite boy band?
R : New Kids on the Block dude, ’cause they are OG. They did their own thing. New Kids on the Block started it and they rocked and all the little kids rocked to them. Like little kids rocked New Kids on the Block. Now it’s like 25 yr. old men go to watch these bands that aren’t even… it’s not a band! It’s a broadway show you are going to watch. But NKOTB ’till I die, that’s my favorite boy band.
J : What is in your cd player now?
B : Tool, the new Tool. And the new Weezer.
R : No, the new Tool record is in the van right now actually.
LP : No, Fetch is in the van.
R : Yea that’s right, Fetch from Tallahassee is in there right now. They rock.
LP : Their drummer rocks.
B : They are from Tally and they rock, one of the best bands we’ve played with.
R : That’s funny how it took us 3 different discs to figure out which.
B : Yea we’ve been listening to the new Tool and Weezer and Further Seems Forever, because we’re into Dashboard.
LP : Yea double thumbs up to Dashboard.
B : Chris Carrabba… we’re gonna get you buddy.
R : I just wanna play with him you know.
J : What are some of your favorite movies?
R : Top Gun.
LP : Preadator… and Aliens.
R : No, Top Gun dude, end of story. You don’t need to hear anymore.
J : When you guys aren’t workin’ hard or touring what do you do?
B : We don’t know yet because we are gonna start touring forever.
R : No, what do we do like at home when we’re not…
B : I dunno, Ryan plays guitar a lot. You’d think he gets sick of it but dude doesn’t ever stop.
R : Yea, I sit in my room and play guitar, I’m a dork. I dunno dude I spend most of my time pining over this chick that I’m like in love with right now.
B : Warren books tours.
R : Yea, Warren is always on the phone.
B : Or with his Fiancee Mandy.
LP : And I’m doing whatever the band’s doing.
B : LP’s just hangin’ out, ready to play shows.
R : We are really social people, we like to hang out with a lot of people.
B : We hang dude. Good conversationalists ists ists ists.
LP : We definitely put in a lot of hard work for what we are doing right now. We work full time also and to do both and get everything the way we want is a lot of hard work, and takes a lot of time and we’ve put it through. Like moving to California and just like doing the whole California thing and getting into the scene was tough in itself but we got it all down ya know, so it’s straight.
J : What do you guys thing of Britney Spears?
R : Oh she’s hot.
B : God, she’s hot.
LP : I love the woman. I wanna marry her.
B : Dude, but!
R : Super Bowl…. she was soo hot on that.
B : Dude and she is only gonna get hotter.
R : But, I still have a problem with that whole scene of music.
B : I wanna play a show with Britney.
LP : I have a problem with the music because the vocals are all lip sung and the music is all like in the back ya know.
R : It’s not all lip sung but I just have a problem with just how big, and how it’s taking over the world and it’s not dead yet. But rock is coming back dude. I’m telling you the new Weezer record is like revolutionary, they’re gonna go huge again and rock’s coming back dude. It’s the whole grunge rock thing coming back in a different way like it did in the early 90′s, it’s gonna be rock and roll. So it’s on it’s way back. But Britney Spears is definitely hot, definitely.
J : Anything else?
B : Twankle n’ Glistenin’.
R : Twankle n’ Glistenin’.
B : Scott.
R : Scott McRae Shad. We love him. He passed away on the 6th of March, this year, 2001. Buy the new Inspection 12 record, on Honest Dons.

Interview by : Josh Stern – www.punkinterviews.com

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