Originally published in Verbicide issue #3

Out there are punks. Good luck finding a definition for the word, or the genre, or the personality type, but out there are people who like a solid dose of energy. Musically, there are hundreds of bands that play their distressed guitars and sing songs about everything under the sun. Some of these bands have a widespread following, some of them are just trying to get by. I was lucky enough to fly home from school in Maryland on November 7th to see one of the bigger bands, Rancid, in one of the most memorable shows of my life. That’s hardly a story though; what was more inspiring was the small group of guys passing out CDs as we left. I grabbed one, popped it in, and loved it. I refuse to try and describe it, or them. Maybe another writer for Scissor Press will have a review of the CD, titled Trust Is Obsolete, but no way do I want to. Every musical group has to stand on their own, and this is no exception. Lucky for me, they agreed to do an email interview, and Robbie, the band’s singer, answered some basic, not so basic, plain old weird, and the occasionally obscure, questions.

First of all, are those quotes in the CD from a movie? Where’d ya get them?
I usually like to keep my sources somewhat on the “DL” but I suppose I can shed some light on the samples. The opening clip is from the Conan O’Brien show. The clip during “As All Eyes Squint in Perplexed Mendacity” is from Street Fighter: The Movie. The clip before “Combover Guy” is from Rookie of the Year. The clips in [tracks] seven through 11 are from Garbage Pail Kids: The Movie. And the sample at the end is from the “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” TV show.

What kind of guitars, drum sets, recording equipment did you use? Did you do it on your own or in a studio?
Greg (lead guitar) uses a Les Paul guitar, a Peavey 5150 head, and a Red Bear 4×12 cab. Adam (second guitar) uses a Steinberger Guitar, like the ones Billand& Ted had, and some sort of amp. Nick (bass) uses a Fender American Jazz bass, a Gallien Krueger head, and some sort of cab. Derek uses some pretty crappy drums that are held together with Jam’n 94.5 (a bad Boston hip hop station) stickers.

We recorded at Supersonic Studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We recorded on an analog 24-track, I believe. I prefer the sound of analog recording to digital, and they do a really good job for not much money, if you go at the right time. Both times we recorded there, we recorded from midnight to 8 a.m. Pretty physically draining, but cheap.

How about influences, can you name any that specifically affected your music?
We’re all into a lot of different types of bands. As far as bands that directly influence our music, some would be The F.U.’s, The Freeze, Minor Threat, AFI, Dillinger 4, Violent Society, 7 Seconds, Avail, and a ton of others. We all like a lot of music, including a lot of music that other members of the band don’t like much. Fighting during the songwriting process usually results in our best songs.

What sort of local bands are you into? Is there any sort of cohesive group of bands that play together?
The local bands that I really loved are broken up now. I used to love to go see the Pinkerton Thugs, Showcase Showdown, and the Pissed Officers. Beyond Authority are doing some really good old-school style thrashy hardcore. There are some other good bands around now; most of the bands that get all the hype never seem to excite me much. A lot of bands are involved in cohesive groups that they play with. I guess we’re sort of loners. Since we are from all over Massachusetts, we don’t really have a hometown crowd. We have played with Disaster Strikes and Beyond Authority a lot lately.

How is Boston for this sort of thing? Is it an easy city to play in? Where else have you played?
Boston is really hard on new bands. It’s impossible to get shows in the city, because none of the clubs really do all ages shows anymore. And to get on any of the bigger shows, you pretty much have to know someone. Most of our shows are in the ‘burbs. Some people don’t book us because they either do hardcore shows and think we are too punk, or they do punk shows and think we are too hardcore. It’s pretty lame, but that’s how it goes I guess. We’ve played in Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York City (at CBGB’s), D.C. (at the Wilson Center), and some other cities on the East Coast.

What’s the scene like? Is it receptive to new bands these days? Is there a lot of quality stuff or is it kind of saturated?
Like I just said, Boston is pretty hard on new bands; I’m not sure if I would have the motivation to start a new band now. We’ve been together for about two years, and it’s still pretty hard. I tend to get cynical and think bands are way overrated, but I won’t name names, as tempted as I am.

What was your favorite show you saw?
Hmm, that’s tough. It’d probably be a toss-up between when I saw The Pist in 1995 at the Rat in Boston, or the first time I saw AFI in Worcester. AFI is my favorite band.

What was your favorite show you played?
Probably in New York City at CBGB’s with The Nerve Agents, Kill Your Idols, American Nightmare, Damage, and Inhuman. It was really crazy playing on the same stage as so many legendary bands.

How do the kids you’re around at these shows feel, if you could generalize? What’s the scenario?
Fuzzy and huggable; I’m not quite sure what you mean by that, actually.

What’re your long-term plans?
I’m moving to Cleveland to be with my lovely fiancee, Brooke, for a year or so, then we are moving back to Boston. The band is staying together, though. We plan to play shows in between Ohio and Massachusetts, and meet there. Maybe in a couple years after everyone is done with college we’ll be able to tour more extensively.

Would you watch a movie titled Monster Monster Kim Bazamm?
Absofuckinglutly.

What’s the biggest obstacle facing a band like yours?
Not really fitting into one genre, and not being able to really reach the kids that would enjoy us the most.

What’s the biggest reward?
Feeling like I am doing something fairly original, and having the band as such a great outlet. Someday maybe we’ll break even and be out of debt, that would be a great reward.