“20 Questions With Verbicide” is an interview series in which an artist is handed a list of more than 100 questions and they select 20 from the list they would like to answer.

Veteran Bay Area punks Nothington recently released their first new album in five years, In the End. The release of their fourth full-length — and second for Red Scare Industries — will be supported with a summer 2017 US tour (dates at the bottom).  But before they can be on their way, guitarist/vocalist Chris Matulich had to play 20 Questions With Verbicide.

Describe your perfect smoothie.

I like to put bananas, blueberries and strawberries. A little chocolate mix makes it better too.

What is your favorite live album?

Social Distortion Live at the Roxy. It’s not only a great album, but the between-songs commentary is pretty hilarious too. It’s not supposed to be, but it just kind of is.

What has been the biggest disappointment in your career?

Discovering that my music career was actually just an expensive hobby. Realizing I was nearly 30 years old and I didn’t have a career in any way shape or form was a little bit of a wake-up call. It’s actually part of the reason Nothington took a few years off from touring and making music. I had never tried to make money in my life, and I was content to make just enough to get by as long as I was playing music. I took some time to get that part of my life aligned, and now I’m glad to be back to playing music with much less stress about my future.

If you could only appear on one late-night television show, which would it be?

David Letterman… Not gonna happen I guess. I always thought he was the funniest, but if my dad were to be impressed by anything, it would be playing on Letterman.

What is your favorite holiday?

I don’t like celebrating.

Which city draws the best crowds for your shows?

Probably Münster, Berlin, and Chicago. It’s hard to say why our popularity is so different from city to city.

What is your absolute oldest memory?

My mother telling me I was going to have a sister. I was two and a half. I don’t even think you are supposed to have memories at that age, but I definitely remember it very clearly. Can children even talk or understand at that age? I guess I could at least understand.

When you die, do you want to be buried, cremated, or stuffed and mounted?

Shot into space. I think being shot into space should be an option in the near future. I don’t need my bones taking up valuable space on Earth, do I? I guess that would make a soul rather lonely. But on the other hand, if souls do exist after a body dies, they probably don’t have to hang around the body, so I’m sure it’s fine to shoot me into space. I also won’t give a shit because I’ll be dead and what happens to my worldly body will be the least of my concerns.

What is the greatest live band you’ve ever seen?

AFI in the ’90s. I bet they still bring it, I just can’t afford to go, and live shows don’t translate to me as well in those big venues. Other good ones to mention are Rancid, Green Day, and The Explosion. Funny I’m naming all these huge bands after I say I’m not a huge fan of big shows and venues, but maybe that’s why they are so huge. Cuz they kick butt at their live shows.

What defunct band or deceased performer would you have loved to have seen, but won’t be able to?

Oasis and Operation Ivy. I don’t know if I would like to see an Op Ivy reunion. There was something special about the sincerity of that band before punk music became mainstream profitable. Some things are just better left in a time and place.

Oasis, on the other hand, I would love to see reunite. They were once young cocky pricks, and now they are just old cocky pricks, and I think a reunion would suit them just fine.

How many pillows do you use?

I like to use two pillows. Or, at least, I like to have the option. I’m weird. Sometimes I just use my arm even though I have two pillows. Depends on how much my neck feels like being elevated that day.

What is one surprising thing about you that most people wouldn’t know?

I am actually an adult human.

What is your favorite film of all time?

Dirty Work starring Norm MacDonald. It’s funny every time I watch it. It’s even funnier to me because I know a lot of it isn’t funny to other people. I think Norm MacDonald is one of the funniest people of all time.

What is the best part of your life?

Being able to travel the world and play music in different countries and all over the US is probably the greatest part of my life. Not everyone gets to do that, and I’m very thankful for the opportunities that have come to me. Aside from that, I have great friends and family. I’m very fortunate to have so many important relationships in my life.

Surfing or snowboarding?

I snowboarded in high school and college, but hardly ever find the time these days. I tried it again a few years ago and it was much harder being in my early 30s than it was when I was 19. I have only surfed a few times, but never enough to get down the muscle memory it takes to become good at it. By now I imagine I’m too old to learn.

Have any hot tips for stock market investing?

No, the last stock I bought is now worth about 54% of what I bought it for. I actually did a lot of research before I made the investment but clearly that did not pay off. Luckily it’s wasn’t enough money to be too devastating.

What is your prized possession?

I’m not a big possessions person. Things can be replaced. The one thing that holds priceless sentimental value to me is my copy of Bad Religion’s album Into the Unknown. It’s a terrible record, but my friend David Jones who passed away two years ago used to play it for me when we’d get really drunk back in the early 2000s. We would just get fucked up and laugh about it to no end, and we secretly both kind of liked some of the songs too. It was his most prized record because it is an original copy, and they stopped printing it and wiped it from their discography for many years. It used to be extremely hard to find back then. I still take it out of it’s frame just to hold it sometimes, just to remember those fun times we had listening to music and laughing.

At what age did you decide you wanted to be a musician?

I decided I wanted to be a musician soon after I discovered I was not going to be big enough or fast enough to be a professional soccer player. I was about 120 pounds until I was a senior in high school and not very fast while everyone else was growing taller and getting faster. To play music, you don’t have to be fast or in shape at all really. I read somewhere that the singer of Weezer had the same realization when he was a kid. He also wanted to be a soccer player, but found a better path in music. I heard his band is doing pretty good these days, so I guess that worked out for him.

What is your favorite restaurant to eat at while on tour?

Sometimes when we are feeling fancy, we’ll seek out an Olive Garden. I used to work at the Olive Garden when I was in college and I could never get tired of pasta. Cheese and pasta. Good stuff.

What is your favorite board game?

I don’t like board games. But chess. I was in the chess club when I was in fifth grade. Unfortunately that’s one of those games that’s only fun to play with someone who is at your same skill level, which is hard to find. At this point, I bet fifth grade chess club me could wipe the floor with current me.

What kind of car was your first car?

It was a 1992 Honda Accord. It was old even when I bought it but that thing lasted until just around three years ago when it finally gave out. It died with a Bouncing Souls sticker on its bumper.

What type of car do you drive now?

Nissan hatchback. It’s pretty lame. But it’s small and good for parking in the city.

What type of car do you wish you drove?

Nissan Z from the 1980s. My earliest memories of driving around with my dad listening to the Beach Boys were in a mid-80’s Z and I just can’t think of a cooler way to get around. It’s not like a car that would turn people’s heads like a fancy sports car, that’s not my style. But it’s just a cool car that is recognizable from a specific time period and has some memories attached to it for me.

Glasses or contacts?

Glasses. I don’t touch my eyeballs. I can’t believe anyone touches their eyeballs. The idea is crazy to me. Get out of here.

How many pairs of blue jeans do you own?

Only one. The rest are black.

How many tattoos do you have?

I have nine tattoos. I’ve always liked tattoos but didn’t start getting tattooed until I was 25 because I was afraid that one day I wouldn’t like “looking different.” At a certain point you realize you are who you are, and you aren’t going to change if you’ve had an appreciation for something your whole life. I love when people tell me, “Those won’t look good when you’re my age.” My answer to that is that I won’t look good when I’m that age either. None of us will. So who cares.

What song really hits you in the feels and makes you cry?

There’s one song on Frank Turner’s album Tape Deck Heart that I can’t listen to. I don’t know the name of it because I never listen to it. It describes the moment he walks away from someone in a break up, that moment where everything changes and paths become separate, and it’s just too real for me, I guess.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

Courteney Cox. I ended up meeting her once a few years ago and didn’t recognize her. She asked me where I was from and I said “Santa Rosa,” to which she replied “Oh, I filmed a movie up there.” The movie Scream was filmed there when I was in high school. I said, “Are you Courtney Cox?” And she said “Yes I am!” She was pretty cool and it was interesting chatting with her.

Nothington on Tour 2017
6/22 Allston, MA @ Great Scott
6/23 Long Branch, NJ @ Brighton Bar
6/24 New York, NY @ Brooklyn Night Bazaar
6/25 Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy
6/27 Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class
6/28 Cincinnati, OH @ Northside Yacht Club
6/29 Detroit, MI @ Small’s
6/30 Grand Rapids, MI @ Corner Record Shop
7/01 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean