While on tour in Italy with Millencolin and Anti Flag, I got the chance to go see the show and interview the Donots. I talked for more that half an nour with Ingo, the singer, a very nice and funny guy, who made me love Donots even more. Guido, the guitar player, the guy on the cover of “Pocketrock”, is the funniest guy Ihave ever met. He did not take part in the interview really, but he gave us some names of his favourite bands ever. I encourage everybody to go check out the Donots, this band put up the best and most energic show I ever saw!!! They are also on the second Truepunk.com compilation called “Empty Hearts, Broken Bottles.”
Carlo:So we are here in Milan, and you are touging with Millencolin and Anti Flag - where have you been before this date in Milan?
Ingo:We’ve been touring around the whole Europe, UK, Germany, France, Portugal, Spain and then…well… I do not remember exactly…
Carlo:And where will you go after today ?
Ingo:Tomorrow we will still be here in Italy, in Rome, while after that date we will go to Switzerland and Austria, and then we should be back home.
Carlo:You are touring with Millencolin and Anti Flag: what do you think of them ?
Ingo:I think that Millencolin is an awesome rock band and a lot of kids like them, and Anti Flag… is Anti Flag….
Carlo:For the people who do not know you very well, would you explain what the name “Donots” mean ?
Ingo:It is just a joke actually … some years ago a friend of ours was designing our logo and wrote Donots with a couple of “O”’s and that was horrible….so we took Do Nots. There is not a real meaning, let’s just say that it was a kind of way of saying we do not wanna do anything: do not. And the “s” is because we are five….also the name comes from The Simpson, we all loved the thing that Homer ate, you know, the donuts…
Carlo:So you are five lazy boys…
Ingo:Definitely.
Carlo:Your latest record is “Pocketrock” , can you tell us more about it ?
Ingo:Oh yeah - that albums was released more than a year ago on Gun/Supersonic Records in Germany and went pretty well, then it was re-released by Burning Heart all over Europe because Brett from Bad Religion heard the record and liked it.
Carlo:Do you have any singles or videos from “Pocketrock”?
Ingo:Yes we have four singles and videos, like “I Quit”, “Whatever Happened to the 80’s”,”Today” and “Room With A View”… they are on German televisions…
Carlo:But are you on BHR or on GUN Records ?
Ingo:GUN is our official record label in Germany, whil for the rest of Europe we are on BHR.
Carlo:And what about the US ?
Ingo:We do not have our record out outside Europe, so not even in the US, but we heard some people from outher countries like Australia and New Zeland, who bought the record thru big mailorders, and so, we know that some people know us also outside Europe.
Carlo:Yeah in fact I think in the US you becoming are quite famous…
Ingo:Really ? That’s cool, we hope we will be there to tour…
Carlo:Have you ever benn to the US ?
Ingo:Oh no, we have toured only in Europe.
Carlo:What about other Euro bands on Epitaph, what’s your releationship with them ?
Ingo:I think there are some good bands, like The Beatsteaks, De Heideroosjes, and Terrorgruppe, who were dropped by the label… but I know now they have one new live album out…and then Burning Heads, who are on Victory or something now….
Carlo:And do you like Undeclinable ?
Ingo:I know them, we toured with them just a little, I did not hear a lot from them but they are five good guys.
Carlo:Some people say you sound like The Beatsteaks but I do not see all these things in common…what do you about this comparison ?
Ingo:I think people say we sound like Beatsteaks only because we both come from Germany… I mean, we are friends but I do not think we sound like them.
Carlo:You have been around since 1994, what do you think has changed in your band ?
Ingo:At the beginning we just wanted to rock and have fun . We started with cover but we really sucked. Then we played our own songs but they were like 6 minutes long, and they were to difficult to remember, so, that’s what we do now, we try to keep songs simple, with a lot of melody and easy to remember, so that everyone can follow the structure and sing along.
Carlo:So you would you define your music as…
Ingo:Rock. We play rock music, of course we have some punk or pop punk influence, call it how you want, but we wanna play fucking rock n roll.
Carlo:Can you tell us some of your influences ?
Ingo:I could tell you a lot of names, from The Jam to Face To Face to Jawbreaker, Samiam, Midtown…I mean, the things I listen to do not necesarely influence our music…
Guido: Naphalm Death!!!
Carlo:And what’s in your stereo right now ? Have you heard the new from FTF ?
Ingo:Oh yes, it is their best record ever, very rocking, those guys play great rock music.
Guido:I am listening to…Naphalm Death!!!
Carlo:I saw your name in the thanklist of Midtown new record…why ?
Ingo:That’s because we toured with Midtown here in Euorpe and they opened for us and had good times, so they said that they will bring us with them touring in the US, wherever we will be able to tour in USA.
Carlo:Which are your future plans ?
Ingo:We will finish this tour and then we will tour again. Maybe we will do the Deconstruction Tour, at leats in the date in Italy, but we are not sure yet, everything has to be confirmed…and then we have a new record coming out on GUN Records for Germany, it is called “Amplify the Good Times” and it will rock !!! We already have a single on German TV …we’ll see…
Carlo:Do you know if it will be on BHR too ?
Ingo:No I don’t, I hope so, and I hope also it will be sold in the USA .
Carlo:One last question: what do you think of fanzines and webzines ? Are they important for bands like you or you just dont know/care?
Ingo:I think they are very very important, because they give exposure also to small and indie bands and labels that are not covered by bigger medias, like TV’s and big magazines . I think your work is precious for bands like Donots and I hope you will not quit.
Carlo:Alright, I thank you a lot for the time for this interview, have a great show !
Ingo:Thanks to you ! Take care !
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many thanks and hello’s go to : Teo & Vanessa (you know who you are), Donnie - cool tour manager from Anti Flag, Wiebke and Nanette at Fat, Roberto from For I Am Blind, Francesco from Nh-N Records, Chris#2 from Anti Flag, Mathias and Erik from Millencolin, Ingo, Guido and the whole Donots - you guys rule!!!
I do not even think there is any need o introduce who or what Less Than Jake is, as they are quite famous all over the world. After some albums on major label Capitol, they released a full length album on Fat Wreck Chords, and now they are releasing their “new” album of b-sides, out-takes and rare stuff called “Good Bye Blue & White” on Fueled By Ramen Records. I talked with JR about some of the things that are happening to the band right now and he was kind enough to answer.
Carlo:Your new album “Goodbye Blue & White” is coming out soon, can you tell us how you decide to release a kind of “greatest hits” or “rarest songs” album ?
JR:Well, we had released “GB&W” as a mail-order item only, but then decided to actually have a release on FBR, since we never had an official release. So, the songs were pretty much already all there….we removed a few and added a few, but they were pretty much all b-sides and things that we never officially released. So, in answering your question, we pretty much look and see what we haven’t releasewd and go from there.
Carlo:You will release the new album of Fueled By Ramen, althought your are on Fat Wreck Chords … how did Fat Mike react ? Seriously, why did you choose FBR ?
JR:Fat Mike reacted with a loud “HA!” and then a resounding “HO-HO!!” and told us he hated us; then we had a drink and it was fine. No, seriously though, we decided to do it on FBR because, like I said, it is Vinnie’s label and it only made sense to do it there because we never released anything on it prior. And because Vinnie has a nicer butt than Fatty helped, too.
Carlo:I know this question is old and everything, but, why did you reject a major label for an indie like FAT ?
JR:We didn’t reject the majors,man…they rejected us!!! And besides, The staff at Fat is MUCH better looking that the staff at Crapitol…and they let us throw parties at the office!
Carlo:So, talking of actual stuff, I heard “blue and white” is referred to your first van ? Do you now have to say goodbye to it ? Why ?
JR:Yes. We have to say goodbye to it because the piece of shit broke down. It has been replace by “The Grey Ghost”, which is a bit newer and actually…um…runs.
Carlo:When it comes to define the music of a band, a lot of new bands mention “Less Than Jake” as an influence … are you proud of this ? What would you say to these bands who name you as influence ?
JR:Proud is a good word to describe it, but weird is a good word as well. When you start a band, I don’t think you ever expect to influence others (If you do expect that, that means you’re gonna break up soon) so when people in bands or just people in general say that, it’s about the highest complement ever and we, the band of funny guys, are quite humbled. I’m never quite sure what to say these people, but “Thank you” comes to mind .
Carlo:I noticed that your live shows are very powerufl and someway funny … do you hate so much “regular” live shows ?
JR:OK. Here it is: as a fan myself, when I take the time to buy the records, get the tickets, drive an hour and a half to and from the show, stand out in the cold waiting to get in and spend $50 in merch and $70 at the bar, if the motherfucker on stage decides to do his best impersonation of Michelangelo’s “David” and stand there…I’m not a fan anymore. Screw that. Some of the bands I’ve seen stand up there, look at the floor, don’t talk between songs and when they do they sound like idiots; basically want to play and bail. I say fuck that noise. ENTERTAIN ME, YOU JADED BASTARD!!!!! All we want is for those kids who bought the records, and the shirts, and stood out in the cold to walk away feeling like they had a great time. If that happens, then we did our job.
Carlo:Are you going to tour for supporting your new album, even tough it is a kind of “greatest hits”?
JR:Yes. we are currently touring with Hot Water Music and Bad Religion in the US in support and we will be playing fetivals and club dates in June in Europe.
Carlo:Are you gonna take part to the Vans Warped 2002 ?
JR:No. Not this summer. Maybe next summer.
Carlo:I sometimes ask this to every band I interview, are there some bands you are listening to right now that you would recommend us ? I mean, what’s in your stereo right now ? Have you got some bands to recommend us ?
JR:Yeah, a few. Right now, in no particaular order:
Recover - “Rodeos and Picassos” , the new one from Whippersnapper , The Damn Personals - “Driver,Driver”, The MC5 - “Greatest hits” and then Kiss - “Unmasked”.
Carlo:Talking of Vinnie’s label, Fueled By Ramen, can you tell us how this label was born and grew up and if you think it is one of the best around ? I do.
JR:Vinnie and his partner (not life partner, mind you) “Quad J” Jon, were fans of music and wanted a medium to release it on…enter FBR. I think that there are some really good acts on the label and I’ll tell him you think the same.
Carlo:Which are the bands on FBR you like the most ?
JR:The Stereo, Jersey, Cadillac Blindside, Recover, Whippersnapper…basically the bands I’ve seen live the most. Pollen is very good, as well.
Carlo:And which are the bands of the punk/underground music scene you like ?
JR:The Damn Personals, Lost City Angels (Both are from Boston, MA). That’s about it.
Carlo:I know you played with Bon Jovi and other mainstream artists : which is the expirience or moment you remember as the funniest or the best ? and what about the worst ?
JR:The best experince was heraing Jon Bon Jovi use the word “pussy” in a conversation with us…that also is the funniest; that was like the best tour ever and those guys rule. The worst was getting denied a meeting of Marilyn Manson at a club after an awards show because he is a big pussy . The funny thing was, his security guard who was protecting him asked me for my autograph, so fuck that lanky, washed up, half-a-homo.
Carlo:I know two years ago you had to play at the Euro Deconstruction Tour : I went to the show in Milan, Italy, but you were not there … what happened ?
JR:The van broke down…we were tired and there was no way to get there from where we were. So we went home, but we’ll be back soon, promise.
Carlo:Your music is somewhat funny and happy, and most of the time your lyrics are too: do you see music as a good way to have fun and pass the time ? What do you think of political bands ?
JR:We see music as our career, though sometimes it may seem that we don’t. As much fun as we have, we are equally just as serious about what we do. Our music and our fans are the most important things to us because without them, Less Than Jake would not exist. Political bands are what they are…we don’t like to preach our beliefs or values to others because that’s a human beings own choice to find what they are for themselves…if they listen to someone and can’t figure it out and think for themselves, they are just following another trend. People should think for themsleves and not let others push them into the machine. So, to sum up, yes…it’s more fun to play music than to work in an office, but it’s not all fun and games all the time.
Carlo:Any final comments ?
JR:Yes. Your mother!
Carlo:Ok, I really thank you a lot, thanks for your time and I hope to see you soon . take care.
Garrison has just released on Revelation Records their new album “Be A Criminal” , one of the most intense rock album heard lately, with a lot of harmonies, intense lyrics and powerful chords. I was able to ask some questions to J.Morrisette, the drummer for the band, and he told me a lot of interesting things on the band ( also, where they get their name from ), their music and also some really funny tour-stories. Not to mention, he is real fun and he gave me the most “unexpected” answer … just read the first question and you’ll get it.
Garrison: Webster’s American English Dictionary defines “up” as follows: 1 a (1) : in or into a higher position or level; especially : away from the center of the earth (2) :from beneath the ground or water to the surface (3) : from below the horizon (4) : UPSTREAM (5) : in or into an upright position <sit up>; especially : out of bed b : upward from the ground or surface <pull up a daisy> c : so as to expose a particular surface 2 : with greater intensity <speak up> 3 a : in or into a better or more advanced state b :at an end <your time is up> c : in or into a state of greater intensity or excitement d : in a continual sequence : in continuance from a point or to a point <from third grade up> <at prices of $10 and up> <up until now> 4 a (1) : into existence, evidence, prominence, or
prevalence <put up several new buildings> (2) : into operation or practical form b : into consideration or attention <bring up for discussion>.
Carlo: Can you tell us a bit more about Garrison ? How you formed, started playing and got signed to Revelation Records ?
Garrison:Joe and Ed, old friends, started the band as both of thier previous bands had started to disintergrate. After sending a demo to Revelation and getting some guidance from Brian McTernan, Rev took interest and signed the band.
Carlo: You have just released your new record on Revelation Records, “Be A Criminal”. How do you feel about it ? Do you think it is your best ever ?
Garrison:This is by far the best record we have done. It is far more focussed and less self indulgent than previous efforts.
Carlo: Is your new record different in any way from the older album “A Mile In Cold Water”? Did you have the same approch in writing the music and the lyrics ?
Garrison:Everything about it is different. First, the rythem section is different. With the new rythem section came a more unified idea about the direction that the song writing should take. The lyrics are still written by Joe and Ed but they bear a more politcal overtone than before.
Carlo: I think your old record was much more “hardcore”, while this new one is more “rock” or “pop”, some one would call it “emo”. Do you agree with this ?
Garrison:The general concecus is that the new record is definitely more “rock” and some say more “pop” but it is definitely NOT more “emo”. Almost every review has talked about how much more focussed and less emo it is. Many have compaired it to the Pixies and the Foo Fighters.
Carlo: You are releasing stuff on Revelation records, which is one of the most important punk/hardcore label in the world. How do you feel about this ?Would you ever leave it ?
Garrison:Releasing records on Rev has been great. But it is also hard sometimes because many of the Rev fans expect you to be hardcore in the way that “Gorilla Biscuits” was or like “Drowningman” is. These are some of our favorite bands and we are honored to be on the same label. But sometimes it is hard when people are so closed minded that they pan what you do because the are stuck on one genre. If Rev and Garrison mutually fealt that another label would be a better channel for getting our stuff out there, then we would consider leaving. But as it is we are currently working well with Rev and they are pleased with the results.
Carlo: I saw The Movielife left revelation to go to Drive Thru Records. What do you think of what they did ?
Garrison:Drive Thru was a good option for The Movielife. They fit well with the other Drive Thru bands. Keep in mind that they did not just “leave” Rev. Rev, Drive Thru and the Movielife worked out an arangement that was mutually beneficial for all parties- and for the people that want to see the Movielife.
Carlo: Which are your main influences, where do you get your ispiration from ?
Garrison:We draw inspiration from everything. From all experiences and situations. As for musical
influences, we have a wide variety of interests. Between all the members of the band we have just about everything covered- from Converge to Death Cab for Cutie, from Miles Davis to Jeff Buckley, from The Breaders to The Wu Tang Clan- we like alot of music and draw influence from it all.
Carlo: Are you a staright edge band ? Or is some of the member of Garrison a sxe?
Garrison:Garrison is a long way from straight edge. Although I personally don’t do too much, I can’t speak for everyone. I mean… everybody has got their hang ups. I think if you were to classify each member of the band, Ed’s a degenerate, Joe is a pervert, Ethan is a sleaze and I’m an asshole. You can draw your own conclusions about what those things mean.
Carlo:What do you think of being staright edge ? I ask you this cuz there are (or there were ) some staright edge bands on Revelation …
Garrison:Straight edge? I mean… do what you want, but get off of my ass. Really… grow the fuck up. If you have family issues and want to stay away from drugs- great for you- really that’s great, it’s admirable- but don’t even try to talk to me about what I do. It’s my fuckin business what I put in my body. I really don’t need the rhetoric. How about I give a lecture for some militant straight edge vegans? Stop drinking Coke and synthetic Sneakers and Taco Bell bean burritos. Coke support slave labor; Sneaker synthetics are made from petroleum products and thereby fuel middle eastern strife; and Pepsico, who owns Taco Bell, is involved in wide scale deculturalization and monoculture. Please please don’t lecture me- I already know the story- I know it well.
Carlo: What are the latest albums/bands you heard and liked ? Have you got any kind of advice ?
Garrison:The new albums from Fugazi, Converge, Rival Schools and Burning Airlines are fenominal. Advice? Open your mind. Do your best to appreciate quality music from all genres. Whether you like Burning Airlines and Converge or not, you should do your best to appreciate the quality in both bands. Don’t tell me they suck when your definition of good is limited to Floor Punch and Charles Bronsen.
Carlo: Have you already started touring ? If so, with whom and where ?
Garrison:We have been touring for the past month for this album. And previously we have toured the US several times and Europe. We have played shows and festivals with Burning Airlines, Boy Sets Fire, Bane, Converge, Cave In, The Movie Life, New Found Glory, Piebald, Battery, New End Original, Hot Water Music, Blue Tip, Rival Schools, Hip Tanaka, Soul Brains- there are far too many to list.
Carlo: Which is the funniest or the most weird episode that happeend to you while on tour ?
Garrison:So we were playing a show in Detroit and this girl that I sometimes see up there had come to the show. I’m not sure if she came to the show to see the band, hit on me, or buy some blow from Ed. So she’s sitting at a table talking with Ed while I’m setting up my drums and this other guy sits down next to her and strikes up a conversation. This guy totally knows that I am with this girl but grabs the oportunity anyways while I’m busy. I have to admit, I kinda find it amusing when some guy hits on a girl that I am with, especially when I know he aint got a chance- and besides, I’m always good for a fight. So I walk up to the guy and smack him on the back of the head. He turns and is like, “what the fuck?!” So I laughed in his face. Ed’s like, “dude what the fuck are you doing?” So I say, “me and cock boy got some business outside.” Ed puts his head in his hands and me and this guy walk outside. As soon as we hit the sidewalk I grab the guy by the ear, headbutt his face, knee him in the balls and toss him between two parked cars. I think he hit his head on the bumper on the way down. Anyway, he wasn’t moving alot so I went back inside. Ed walks up to me and he’s pissed. He’s like, “Dude, that guy was about to buy an 8 ball off me! I need the fuckin money asshole!”. So the moral of the story is, before you kick the crap out of some chump, make sure your guitar player gets his money first.
Carlo:How would you describe your sound and music to a person that never heard of Garrison?
Garrison:It’s rock. Plain and simple. When playing live we are energetic and loud.
Carlo: Where do you take your name ( Garrison ) from ? It sounds a lot like the name of a person, has it got some hidden meaning ?
Garrison:The name Garrison comes from a kind of belt. Joe’s grandfather used to hit his kids with a “Garrison” style belt.
Carlo: What do you think of music videos ? Have you ever made any of them ?
Garrison:Music video is a really great medium. We have not made one yet but I look forward to it.
Carlo: Which is your relationship with technology ? Do you use internet and stuff, like downloading mp3’s of your favourite bands ?
Garrison:I’m a computer technician so I am around technology all the time. I have many MP3’s but I find the sound quality of most MP3’s not to be very good. I also believe that if you are grabbing MP3’s but not purchasing the artists work eventually then you are stealing. I think MP3’s are really great for getting music out there, but you really should buy the acual albums.
Carlo: Last question : which advice would you give to a band that is starting to play and want to get heard ?
Garrison:This is a hard business. If you are doing it for money, you will be dissapointed unless you are very lucky. If you are doing it because you love to play, good luck and have fun.
Carlo: Any final comments - is there something you want to say to the people out there ?
Garrison:Get out, support independent music.
Carlo:I really thank you so much for your time, I hope I can see you some time at one show! Thanks for all!
Probably not a lot of people out there know who Forty Winks are. They are a local band out of my hometown in Italy and their new record “To the Lonely Hearts” sounds so good that I could hardly believe this band was from place so close to me: great guitar riffs, harmonies, choruses and a lot of melodies. The band is made up of four shy young guys and I had the chance to ask some question to Sandro, lead singer and guitarist for the band and he was so cool to answer my questions. Here what he had to tell me.
Carlo: Can you present yourself in the band, your ages and some stuff you want to say about you ?
Forty Winks:We’re four shy guys, we’re all around 21.
Carlo: How did you meet and come up with the idea of playing in a band ?
Forty Winks:We haunted the same school, and we all played something…so after a grunge-nirvana-wanna-be period we made up our minds and became real punks.
Carlo: Did you have some line-up changes in your carrer as a band?
Forty Winks:It happened about 3 years ago that robby, our bass player, decided to take a 10 months break to recover his best form through ganja…then re-joined the band,stronger than ever. Here goes a big thanx to luke, who replaced him and gave us the inspiration and will have to go on anyway…from then on it has been rock’n'roll.More or less.
Carlo: What does the name “Forty Winks” refer to ? Does it have a secret meaning, I mean, I know it’s like to ask to Blink182 why they chose that number, but why “forty”…
Forty Winks:Forty winks is nothing but a way to say you’re about to sleep…actually when you drink or smoke too much…I think you don’t need futher explanations…
Carlo: What do you consider as your musical influences, or where do you take inspiration from ? What bands/records are you playing in your radio right now ?
Forty Winks:We like to mix different influences in our music, and I think the most significant ones - in this album - go from Unwritten Law to The Ataris ,from MxPx to Homegrown, from Midtown to the good old cal punk bands. These days our radio is playing Midtown, Social distortion, Snoop Dogg, NFG ,ALL ,Sublime and some reggae vibes…
Carlo: Talking of your new album, from the title, it is already clear it deals a lot with love, broken hearts and girls … do your experiences with the female genre ended up so badly?
Forty Winks:Not really; it’s all about pleasing the ladies. Far-sighted self-pity.
Carlo: Although you play a genre that is known for the loss of “fanatsy” or “diveristy”, the songs on “To the Lonely Hearts” sound more or less all different: how did you get that ? Just naturally ?
Forty Winks:I think all genres got this “loss of diversity”…it depends on how deep you are involved in that…you have to learn recognizing different styles in the same genre…as you can do that’s why you’re saying our songs sounds different o each other…many others would say our songs are all the same crap. And we get this crap naturally.
Carlo: Which songs off your new record you enjoy the most, I mean, both when you hear them and when you play them live, which songs do you like best? I like a lot “One Time, Two Times”…
Forty Winks:”One time,Two times” is one of the elders ,but we like to play it live…then “Anchor”,”Is This all that love’s about?”, “Who sets the rules”…lots of fun.
Carlo: “Til the Moonlight comes”, who wrote that lyric ? Can you tell us what it’s about ?
Forty Winks:No comment.
Carlo: What are your plans for the future? Will you tours, do some records or be on some compilations?
Forty Winkss:Tour, tour and tour,I hope. We should tour the States in early 2002…then we’re gonna set some gigs in Italy and we’ll probably sign for Agitato Records…our CD will be released in the U.s. for End Records before December 1st…we put one song in “The Beginning of the End” comp.(www.end-records.com) and another one in “Do Not Disturbia” for HeyDisturbiaRecords…(www.heydisturbiarecords.com) Also Asian Man Records will release a 7 inch with a couple of songs from the full lenght in early 2002…that’s it.
Carlo: On which record label are you now ? I know you signed for End Records from the U.S…what about the rest of the world?
Forty Winks:End records for USA and Canada, Agitato Records for Italy.
Carlo: As far as I know, you played as suppport of a lot of bands, like Midtown … what is the expirience you remember as the best or the funniest? Have you got some tour-stories ?
Forty Winks:The show with Midtown was cool ,even if there wasn’t a great turnout of people. The funniest experiences are always linked to our old van, a ‘67 Volkswagen…but believe me…this is another story…
Carlo: Do you think you will make a video off “To the Lonely Hearts”? I think some songs are so catchy and also radio-friendly that you could get a lot of airplay on TRL…
Forty Winks:It would be cool…but we need the money to pay it and promote it…would you?
Carlo: What do you think of the local italian scene ? are there a lot of bands and enough places to play ?
Forty Winks:I really don’t believe in any italian scene.I don’t think there’s unity or something; we got lots of friends who play in bands that rock, and hope to meet more in the future…that’s enough. The important thing to us is to keep on doing our way , playing what we like.
Carlo: Last questions, if a guy would like to buy your record, how should he do ? I mean, it is not easy to find it…
Forty Winks:Yeah, I know…the only thing that I can say is to be patient just for a while; End Records will release our full length in the US , and Agitato Records will do it in Italy…in the meanwhile this is where you can find us for anything: fortywinks_@hotmail.com
Carlo: Final comments ?Forty Winks:Thanks to everyone who support us ,we really appreciate it,and we won’t disappoint you…
Me First & The Gimme Gimmes need no introduction. They are not a band, they are a super band,they do play cover songs of other non-punk artists…the band features Fat Mike from NOFX on bass, Spike Slawson from the Swingin’ Utters on vocals, Joey Cape from Lagwagon on guitar, Dave Raun from Lagwagon on drums and on the other guitar Chris Schiflett from No Use For A Name…oh, I forgot, he plays in Foo Fighters now…I taked with Chris Shiflet ( or “Jake Jackson”, call him how you want) about some Me First & the Gimme Gimmes stuff. Their latest album “Blow In The Wind” is out, it has 13 songs and it is their best record so far. Read on to learn more about this band…
Carlo:So, “Blow In The Wind” is your third full-length record… how do you feel about this ? Think this is the best one ( I do ) ?
Chris:I’m very happy with this record. I think we all are.
Carlo:By the way, which songs did you cover ? From the sixties ? Why?
Chris:Sixties hits lend themselves really well to punk rock.
Carlo:You covered songs from the sixtes, from the seventees and from movies…have you already an idea on what you will cover next ?I know this is a weird question…
Chris:I can’t give away our secrets. It would screw up the surprise.
Carlo:Who of the members come up with the idea of what songs or artists covering ? And what about the arrangments ? Who “decides” them ?
Chris:Fatty and Joey come up with the songs and we all sit down and figure ‘em out and arrange ‘em.
Carlo: About the covers of your CD’s ( not the songs, the covers), there are all photos of you in some weird poses… am especially thinking of “Are A Drag”…who comes up with the idea of the picture ( or the artwork) in general?
Chris:You should see the unreleased X-rated photos that we did. They’re very sensual.
Carlo:In 1999 you released “Elton”, “Garf” and “In Your Barcalounger”; in 1997 you released “Paul”, “Diamond”, and “Barry”; in this year you are releasing “Shannon” … do your fans have to expect some other 7 inches from you this year ?
Chris:I think so. Fatty would know best.
Carlo:Kung Fu, Hopeless, Byo, Honest Dons, Fat, Epitaph, Alternative Tentacles,Lookout!…the next labels on which you are gunna put out a new seven inch ?
Chris:Same answer as above… Fatty would know best.
Carlo:When will you release the famous set box of all the seven inches you ever released ? I ask you this because there is around this voice and who better than you can tell us ?
Chris:Probably not for a few more years. We have to let the legend grow.
Carlo:Chris, you are still in the band and play for Foo Fighters too now,have you still time to practice? Are you a Foo too?
Chris:I still have time for the Gimmes cuz we don’t ever practice unless we’re doing shows or recording (which is very rare). Yes, I am a Foo too.
Carlo: Are you planning to go on tour ? apart the Warped …
Chris:The band is definitely doing the Warped Tour but I’ll probably be recording with the Foo’s.
Carlo: What did you tour apart from the USA ?I heard about Japan … will you ever come to Europe ?
Chris:We’ve never been to Japan but we did go to Hawaii for a week. That was great. We also did a four day tour of Europe (Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, London) in 1998.
Carlo: In your new record there is the cover of Bob Dylan’s “Blow In The Wind” … how did you come put with Bob Dylan ?
Chris:He’s really quite famous so we’d all heard of him.
Carlo: Apart from playing in Me First & The Gimme Gimmes you all do different stuff, like playing in other bands … do you consider Me First And The Gimme Gimmes as a kind of side-project or do you take it seriously ?
Chris:We’re hoping that the Gimmes will grow from being our side project to being our full time rock and roll adventure.
Carlo:Who was the first guy who came out with the idea pf playing covers and of the Me First ?
Chris:That would be Mr. Joey Cape.
Carlo:Which is your favourite pastime? Drinking, bowling, golf…what else?
Chris:That pretty much covers it.
Carlo:Will you be featured on the Fat Club seven inches ?May you tell me some other bands on the Fat Club?
Chris:I don’t know. I’m in the dark on this one.
Carlo:Have you got some supertitious sign before playing live ?
Chris:We all pray together.
Carlo:Last question: which is the favourite quote of each member of Me First And The Gimme Gimmes ?
Chris:”Smoke up Johnny!”
Carlo:Alright, I thank you for your time for this interview , see you next time and rock on!!!
The new Mad Caddies record “Rock the Plank” is the third full-length album the band released and it is probably their best one. The record has everything: punk, ska, swing, reggae, hardcore, and even polka.If you haven’t done it yet, read the reviews for this record and you’ll have a small idea. In the meantime, I had teh luck to ask some question to one of the caddies, Carter, the guitarist and vocalist of the band. He talked about how the bands developed their sound, about the DIY Blowling Tournament, his favourite records and this interview is the first one in which they say that some of the Caddies ( Derrick, Sascha, Chuck and Carter himself), they have some songs with a side band called “Sweet Action”, so, this deserves a read.
Interview with Carter, guitarist and singer.
1. How many Mad Caddies are there? I mean, are you still in seven like on
the other records or you changed something?
Carter: Yeah, we still have 7.
2. Do you consider yourself “ska” as Less than Jake or Reel Big Fish ?
’cause once I read in a interview you said you played with a punkrock
attitude, while the 2 bands I mentoned were just…ska…
Carter: I don’t know, we’ve all got ska inluences for sure, but we’re a lot
different from each other.
3.How would you define yourself and your music to a person that has
never heard of you ?
Carter: Reggae and Dixieland inluenced California softcore punk.
4. I heard that the you were kicked out of the DIY bowling tournament in
Vegas because you cheated and turned all their scores into
strikes…what happened ? Who won the tournament?
Carter: Yeah, we got drunk and changed the scores for fun. A lot of people
thought we were serious. Punk rock bowling? I guess…
5. You changed your name from “The Ivy League” to “Mad Caddies”…but
how did this name come to your mind ? I think it’s a kind of weird name
…isn’t it?
Carter: Yeah, our name sucks. We changed it really quick and we were all drunk.
6. Can you tell us shortly how you got intouch with Fat Mike, Honest
Dons and Fat Wreck?
Carter:Joey from Lagwagon heard our first CD and gave it to Mike.
7. By the way, you passed from Honest Dons to Fat Wreck . Everyone says
they are the same label , but did you notice some difference ?
Carter:They are different names and have different rosters, but they are
basically the same.
8. I think your “Rock The Plank” is your best record …do you agree?
What makes it better that the previus ones ?
Carter: I like it the best. I think it rocks harder than our others.
9. On the new CD I heard more “punk/hardcore” or heavy stuff than
horns…are you getting angryer or are you tired of ska ?Like the song
“Bridges “, it’s political and heavy in someway…
Carter:Everybody is tired of ska, but I think we’ll do more now that it isn’t
cool anymore.
10.So, what’s the deal with pirate-core ? Did you invent a new genre?
Carter: Not really, but it sounds kinda cool.
11. On your new record ( and on “The Holiday…”) you have been helped
by Derrick Plourde , ex-Lagwgon…how was working with him?
Carter:Good. He’s a good drummer and a good person to hang out with. His
experience helps this band a lot. He is a great musician as well as
drummer and that helps him a lot I think.
12. The last song “All American Badass” reminded me of a NOFX polka song
…did you take inspiration from them or it is just a case ?
Carter: No. We thought of it first. They recorded it first. I don’t think
either one of us knew we were going to do a polka song.
13. Talkin in general, what are the new songs about ? more or less…
Carter:Being away from home (girlfriends), breaking up with girlfriends or
thinking about breaking up as a band OR we are totally making fun of music.
14. What is your relationship with technology ? ( Computers, Internet,
Napster,etc…) Do you use it , hate it …?
Carter:I use technology and I hate technology. I like Napster but I like
getting paid on records too.
15. WHat are you listening to right now ? what is in your stereo ?
Carter: Dillinger 4 - Versus God
Hot Snakes - Automatic Midnight
Tom Petty - Wildflowers
A burned copy of Armchair Martian / Bad Astronaut spilt EP (look for it
on My Records!)
Beastie Boys - Paul’s Boutique
Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
16. Have you got a favourite record, movie, book …
Carter:I love all kinds of movies. The Mad Caddies don’t read many books and
it shows.
17. Are you gonna take part on some compilations , if so, which ones?
Carter:Uhh. A bunch. There will be other bands on the comps I bet.
18. Last but not least : how do you write your songs? Do you write the
lyrics before and then the music? Do you do all together or someone
comes in with the songs and you play it ? By the way,do you write songs when on
tour? If so, have you already written some new songs ?
Carter:Music then lyrics. We have three songwriters (Chuck, Sascha and
myself). I usually get the song done with the drummer first and then show everybody
their parts. Sascha usually writes with the whole band and Chuck does
it somewhere in between. Yes, we write on tour. Yes we have new songs.
We have a bunch of songs with a side band that Derrick, Sascha, Chuck and I
have called Sweet Action. This is the first interview we have told
anybody about this in.
19. Thanks so much guys . hope to see you live again, after The
Deconstruction Tour2000…rock on!!!.
What do Britney Spears, Motley Crue, Blink182, Christina Aguilera, Mtv, Hollywood, Jawbreaker, Picasso, Alyssia Milano in common ? The answer couldn’t be easier : Diesel Boy!!! And in particular Diesel Dave, the singer/guitarist that is guilty for writing the songs. Truepunk.com talked with him about some things mentioned above, so, if you are curious you must read this interview…if you aren’t curious, well, you should be.
By: Carlo Gironi
Carlo: So, from the title of your new record I understand you like horses and horse races;why do you like horses and why this title?
Dave:Just cuz we put horses on the cover doesn’t mean I like ‘em. I mean I do like ‘em ok- but not any more than say a giraffe or a kangaroo or a hippo.”Rode Hard and Put Away Wet” is an old horse racing term- so we put horses on the cover. Its as simple as that.
Carlo: Musically I think “Rode Hard And Put Away Wet” sounds allot like a mix of your three previous albums: which one of these three do you like best and why?
Dave:As a whole I think I like “Sofa King Cool” the best- but there’s songs on all our records that I like. I just think “Sofa King Cool” is the most solid the whole way thru. From start to finish I like nearly every song.
Carlo: Diesel Boy is one of the first band that started playing what is today commonly called pop punk; now there are a lot of bands that play this genre ( see Blink182, A New Found Glory, the Ataris…) do you like them or do you think they just copy what older bands did? Do you like someone in particular?
Dave:I don’t think Diesel Boy is one of the first bands to play pop-punk. Check out the Descendents or the Buzzcocks or the Stiff Little Fingers or the Ramones or Bad Religion… I like some of those bands you mentioned. Do I think they copy what older bands did?- Yeah. But so does Diesel Boy. I think the good bands put their new spin on the old style- but I think most pop punk bands, Diesel Boy included, are pretty derivitave.
Carlo: Is that true that pop punk bands are all about love, girls and parties?I don’t think you are about that…only…
Dave:I’ve never seen the pop-punk rule book- but I’m pretty sure you can write about whatever you want to. Propagandhi and Anti-Flag sure aint singing about love and girls and parties. But I guess Diesel Boy sings a lot about that stuff. That just happens to be what inspires me. I’m not very political. I write about stuff I know well- relationships, girls, friends, etc.
Carlo:In you new album there is a song called “Emo Boy” in which you sing about some boy that reads reviews, listen to Jawbreaker and Jets To Brazil…what do you think about “Emo bands” ? By the way, do you consider yourself “Emo” ?
Dave:I like Emo. And I like Jawbreaker and Jets to Brazil. Some emo’s good. Some of it sucks. I don’t think I really know what makes someone “emo”- so I guess I don’t really consider myself that. But I do wear glasses, have been called “sensitive”, and enjoy a good conversation every now and again. So take that for what its worth.
Carlo: In the new songs “About A Girl Who Don’t Want Me” and “65″ you talk about girls in kind of two different ways…in the first song the girl does not want the boy, in the second it seems the boy wants the girl but he cares about her past and how many dicks she “met”…which of these two is the worse situation for a boy? Have you got some real life expirience of any of these 2 kind of relationships?
Dave:In both situations the boy wants the girl. I don’t know which is worse. They’re different. You can’t really compare them like that. But both situations suck. And yes, I do have experience with both kinds of relationships. Both of those songs are about girls I’ve known.
Carlo: If you couldn’t notice, I like Diesel Boy, but mostly I like your lyrics - do you smoke something before writing or it all comes out of
your mind in a natural way ?
Dave:Sometimes I smoke while I’m writing. But what I write when I’m high is pretty different than what I write when I’m not. I’m much more abstract in my lyrics when I’m stoned. And not particularly witty. I can’t say I prefer one to the other. I think its more fun to write music stoned than it is to write lyrics. I think my brain writes words better when I’m sober.
Carlo: Referring to such tunes as “From The Used Bin” or “True Drew”, in the new CD there is a song ( “Stroking My Cat”) about some famous girls, like Alyssia Milano, Drew Barrimore, Carmen Elektra,the girls from Bevery Hills 90210, etc…do you like making fun of Mtv and Hollywood ( or should I say “Holy Wood” ) stars ? May I ask you why? ( of course its fun…)
Dave:I love MTV and Hollywood and movie stars. And I love pop culture. I think its fun to poke fun at that kinda stuff. None of the girls in those songs would ever consider sleeping with a dork like me- so what have I got to lose by writing about ‘em? Those kind of songs tend to be aimed at the male teenage Diesel Boy fans. At least that’s the kind of stuff I liked when I was 15. Its fun to play the part of an obnoxious teenager sometimes.
Carlo:Which is the last record you bought ( or stole ) that you like ?
Dave:”Pink Moon” by Nick Drake.
Carlo: Some weeks ago came out the news you wanted to leave Honest Dons and then you said it was all a fake cuz it was a jackass that put around the news…how is your relationship with Don, would you like to go to Fat Wreck like Mad Caddies did ?
Dave:Our relationship with Honest Don’s is great. That stuff about us wanting to leave was bullshit. We have no desire to be on Fat. They’ve always treated us how we think we should be treated. They took a chance on us when no one else would. I have nothing but good things to say. As far as I can tell, the only difference between the two labels is the name on the back of the record. They’re both Fat Mike incorporated.
Carlo: Which are the bands you like touring most?
Dave:The Vandals, Good Riddance, BigWig, Ataris.
Carlo: And the bands with whom you’d never tour?
Dave:Beatles, Nirvana, Descendents, Screeching Weasel, NOFX, Weezer, Bad Religion, Iron Maiden, Green Day, Radiohead, Metallica.
Carlo: You covered a Motley Crue song for the “Punk goes metal” compilation…have you got a metal knowledge of some metal culture ?
Dave:Yeah- in high school I was a total hesher. Long hair and metal T-shirts to school everyday. I used to love all that stuff. I loved the Crue. Saw ‘em in concert with Faster Pussycat. Great show. Girls, Girls, Girls tour I think. I wish I still had the shirt with all the tour dates on the back. I learned to play guitar listening to the Scorpions and Metallica and Motley Crue.
Carlo: Have you got an opinion about what is called new-metal or rap-metal,such acts like Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach or even Marylin Manson, even if he doesnt rap? Will you ever write a song about them?
Dave:I’m not a big fan of that stuff. There’s a handful of those bands that really stand out- namely the Deftones, but most of it I’m not really into. I think its like new glam rock. In ten years we’re gunna look back at those weird, tattooed, pierced angry young men and laugh at how silly all that stuff was.
Carlo: If I tell you Eminem, what does it come to your mind for first?
Dave:Hype.
Carlo: Have you got a favourite Mtv artist ?<
Dave:Green Day or Radiohead.
Carlo: What do you think of Blink182 ? are they “sellouts” ? ( everyone calls them this way )-
Dave:Blink-182 are not sellouts. They’ve been playing the exact same masturbation and fart themed punk rock for years. Their music’s the same as its always been. Their major label record’s may sound better than their indie releases, but the songs seem the same to me. To paraphrase BigWig, selling out is when the music’s in your pocket and not your heart. I still believe that Blink’s music is coming from the same place it always has- their crotch.
Carlo:The cover of your record “Venus Envy” was a painting by a dude called Botticelli, but you didn’t write he was him who made it…do you think he may be angry for this?
Dave:I’m guessing not. He’s been dead for quite a while. But maybe when I get up to heaven he’ll be right there waiting for me. And before they let me in, I’ll be asked to cough up some dough for royalties.
Carlo: Talking seriously, do you like that kind of art, like paintings and that old stuff - you also mention Van Gough…have you got a favourite painter/artist?<
Dave:I don’t know a whole lot about art. I could tell you what I like and what I don’t- but I couldn’t tell you why one piece was good and why another was bad. I love Picasso. And I like photography a lot.
Carlo: One last thing that racks my generation: who is better, Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera ? hey, you didn’t metion this one in your record…she may get offended!
Dave:Its hard to say. Christina is definitely the better singer- but I really get into the way Britney’s been marketing herself latley as a slut. I’m not sure I’d feel the same way if I had a 12 year old daughter, but as a 27 year old man, I’m digging Britney lately. Christina’s yet to go for the daisy dukes and bikini top, but she’ll have to get sluttier if she wants to keep up with Brit
Carlo: Thanks a bunch Dave and good luck for everything !
Dave:You’re welcome.
After the latest studio album “When All Else Fails”, which did not get a lot of attention, the Californian quartet is back with the second issue of “Live In A Dive” series from Fat Wreck Chords. The record features a lot of old stuff, and it was a pity not having more time to pick their brains about it. Well at least they took time to tell us about their situation as a band and their plans for the future, is addition to saying they love me.
Hello , how are you doing?
We’re doing okay. Angelo has a bad cold.
Your new live album is coming out, it has a lot of songs and it is a very well done live recording, how do you feel about it ?
We are really happy with the live album. It sounds good, it has all the extra enhanced stuff. Not as exciting as a real new record, but we’ll start working on that sometime soon too.
Can you sum up a short story of how Bracket members met, got together, started playing and ended up on Fat?
Marty, Ray, Zack, and Larry (the old guitar player) met when they were kids. They went to high school together and played old cover songs. Then in 1992, they started writing their own songs and got a name…Bracket. Angelo is Marty’s younger cousin and was a Bracket fan and knew all the guys. So when Laryy left the band in 1998, Angelo filled in. It’s been that way ever since.
Your record is the second in the Fat Wreck “Live In A Dive” series; when did you know you had to take part in this series of albums ?
Probably in about early 1999, Fat Mike approached us about doing a live record. It sounded fun, so we practiced A LOT for a few months in advance, and recorded it in August of that year at a show in San Francisco. I don’t think the series/comic book thing was planned at that point.
I asked that because I read in the booklet that you recorded the songs in something like 1999 … were you already preparing the “Live In A Dive” record, or the idea of the live series started with Bracket ? ‘Cause, you know, we’ve been hearing since a long time that Bracket had to release a live record…
Yeah, so we thought Fat was just putting out a live Bracket cd. Then we heard it was a series. Then the whole comic book/enhanced cd thing came about. Then they recorded No Use’s live thing, and wanted to put their’s out first to have a bigger name be the first one. Then ours came out in February of 2002. Almost three years later. That’s why it took so long.
You have seventeen songs on the album, most of them are older, from out of print stuff, before you were on Fat; how did you decide the songs to play ?
Fat Mike callled us with a list of songs he thought would be good. We played most of those and a few others. It turned out good because now we get to release a lot of songs that are now unavailable.
Have you ever thought of re-issue your old albums on your new record label ? I think you could make happy a lot of fans …
We would love to do that, but our old still owns those two first albums.They are out of print, but they want alot of money for the rights to them.Fat wanted to re-issue them, but were asked to pay a ridiculous amount of money for them. It sucks.
Talking of your music career on Fat Wreck Chords, how do you fell about being on this label? Are you satisfied ?
We’re happy where we are. We feel pretty lucky because we have a label that basically puts out our records because they like our music. We’re not big moneymakers, we don’t tour to support our releases. We have jobs. And they pay for us to record and put out records. It’s a good deal we think.
I once read in an interview with Fat Mike that he was kind of complaining about how Bracket was a good band but unluckily they ( you ) did not sell as many records as the other bands on the label : do you know anything about this ?
Yeah, it’s a pretty widely understood thing. Mike likes our band and is a fan, which is probably why we still get to make records. If we toured, we would sell more. But we can’t. So that’s it.
Your most recent studio album is “When All Else Fails”, of the year 2000. Do you think you will release a studio album soon ?
We have just pretty much finished building our own recording studio, which we’ve been working on for over a year and a half. So we’ll start working on new songs very soon. But it might be a while before a new album comes out.
I think that among your older albums, “Novelty Forever” is the most under rated pop punk album ever…do you agree with this or do you think there are other under rated bands and records?
Talking of other bands and records, may I ask you what you are listening to right now ? Have you got some albums playing on your stereo ?
We feel like it was a little underappreciated, just because the songs were slower and it didn’t sound like typical pop punk. But we’re used to it. And a lot of other bands are underrated. There was a band called Thin Lizard Dawn that put out two records in the late ninties that no one really heard, and they’re really good. And they were on a major. Dont get why people didn’t get their music. It’s weird. Zack is listening to Ozzy, Judas Priest, and Weezer. Ray always listens to Tom Petty. Angelo is listening to ELO, Bad Astronaut, and Phantom Planet. Marty is listening to The Beach Boys, Jellyfish, and Johnny Winter. We’re too punk for you.
You are labelled and considered a “pop punk” band ; do you agree with this ? What do you think of the pop punk bands in general ? Have you got some favourite ones ? What do you think of Blink182 and Sum41 ?
We got that label a long time ago and would like to shake it because it is too confining. Blink 182 and mxpx are called pop punk and I don’t think we have that much in common with their music. We’ll really push the boundaries on the next record, don’t worry. We don’t really listen to much pop punk. Nofx, Lagwagon, No Use, Weezer kind of are. None of us are fans of Sum 41 or Blink. Nothing against them, but not really what we’re into.
In an interview with Serge from Limp, he told me about how lucky they were to mett Marty and Bracket that made them sign to Honest Don’s: what’s your side of that story ?
We’ll stick with Serge’s story. He’s a good guy.
Coming back to your new live record, like the previous No Use For A Name live CD, it has a nice comic book, that is about a funny story ? Would you tell to the readers how the story starts and goes on ?
In the comic book, Bracket is not only a band, but also a team of superheros. We try to save the world from Punk Rock and all the sound alike bands.
Talking of live shows, do you have a story about a tour or a show that you gladly remember ?
That one show where a lot of people came but didn’t flip us off. That was fun.
Final Comments ?
Thanks for taking the time to ask us these questions.Our website is www.surf.to/bracket, come visit us.
Thank you so much for the interview, hope to see you soon live . Take care!
Antifreeze is the latest band to have signed to Kung Fu Records and their release “Four Letter Word” is the latest release from the label. I had the chance to ask some questions to the band about them, their new album, their favourite music, and some other things too, so , here what they said…
1.Antifreeze: why this name ? Do you like fire or do you hate ice?
Neither. Actually the name doesn’t mean anything specific. Jon and Derek
just thought it sounded cool when they started the band. After that the name
just stuck.
2. How did you get involved with the guys from the Ataris and Kung Fu ?
The short story is we saw the Ataris and gave them a demo. The Ataris put in
a good word for us. Later we met Joe Escalante and everybody at Kung Fu
while on tour in California. They signed us an hour after the meeting.
3. How old are you and where do you come from ?
Tim is the oldest at 23. Then it goes Mason 22, Derek 21, and Jon 20. We
are all from Appleton, WI.
4. How is the punk scene in your town and in WI in general ?
Well, we are always impressed with our turnout in our town with a population
of only 67,000. The scene in WI is actually pretty good for the small amount
of people that live here.
5. What are your musical influences?
That could be a long answer but some of the major ones are: Weezer, Blink
182, Green Day, and The Ataris.
6. What are you listening to right now ? I am listening to your record…
All four of us listen to different things. We all have different tastes in
music and it makes our own songwriting more diverse.
7. In your song “Bunkruptcy” you talk about the money you spend for a
girl…did this thing happen really to one of you ? By the way, if I were in
the same situation, have you got some advice for me , to stop spending money
without losing the girl ?
Actually the song is about the emotional price you pay for falling in love
with somebody. The stuff about money is a metaphor. As for advice… we’re
the last guys you should ask for advice about relationships.
8. In general, the lyrics of your songs, are about something that happened
really to you ? I am thinking of “Is He Your Boyfriend?” or even “Cyber
Sweetie”…
Our songs are about things that happen in our lives. Sometimes the songs are
not about a specific event that happened, but the stories are used to convey
our feelings nonetheless. “Cyber Sweetie” is about an online relationship
that Jon had, but “Is He…” is more of a fictional event.
9. Will you tour or are you touring right now ? I heard you should tour with
The Ataris …
Right now we are about to start touring alone. We would love to tour with
the Ataris but they’re pretty busy guys. We haven’t had any tour offers yet,
but we’re not going to sit and wait for the perfect tour. We just want to
get on the road and meet our fans.
10. With which bands would you like touring ?
Anybody who will take us. Honestly.
11. This is your first record…did you find it difficult to record and that
stuff?
Yes and no. Everything didn’t go exactly as planned. It took a little
longer then we had thought to record the record. But in the end it all came
together and we’re very happy with the result.
12. The title “Four Letter Words”…what does it refer to ? I mean, you wrote
some songs as “Love”, “Hate”, “Care” on the cover …but there are also some
bad worse with 4 letters, like “S*it”…why did you chose this title…
We were comparing those words “love, care, feel…” to the dirty ones…
sometimes love can be a dirty word too.
13. By the way, why is the cover almost all black ? Don’t you think there is
a kind of opposition with being antifreeze ?
We wanted it to be black because the title and subject matter isn’t very
happy. The cover really wouldn’t have gone with the subject matter if the
cover was yellow with polka dots.
14. One last thing before I go: have you got a favourite quote and something
to sya to the kids out there ?
We don’t have a quote, but we’d like to thank all of our fans for their
support. We are constantly amazed by the reactions we get from our fans.
It’s still weird to think that we even have fans. It’s really a great
feeling to write a piece of music that is special to you, and then have other
people enjoy what you’ve created.
15. Thanks a whole lot - hope to see you soon at the show … bye…
No problem. We’re always happy to answer questions!
Davey Havok, front man of punk legends AFI, takes some time out of his hectic schedule to tell truepunk.com about life, the constant touring, and “punk rock summer camp”.
BY: MELINDA DALTON
Melinda:
So how did you guys get on Sno Jam?
Davey:
Well we’ve done so many of our shows with [Greenland Promotions] and then we did Sno jam two years ago and it was really fun. So last time we played in Montreal Patch from Greenland said that he’d be interested in having us on Sno Jam again.
Melinda:
There’s an amazing line-up this year
Davey:
Yeah it is a really good line-up. It’s great.
Melinda:
There’s a really wide range of bands on Sno Jam this year. There’s two ska bands, punk bands like Ann Beratta, and the more hardcore bands like AFI and Death by Stereo. Has there been a good crowd reaction since there is so much diversity on this tour?
Davey:
Oh yeah, It’s been really good every night. Last night was the first night of the new line up. The beginning of the tour was Nicotine (from Japan), Zero Down, Death By Stereo, Planet Smashers and us. All of that went very, very well. Same with last night in Toronto.
Melinda:
Do you prefer playing tours with a wider range of bands, or would you rather play with bands closer to your genre?
Davey:
Well, we don’t really fit in with any type of music what so ever, so it’s not like we’ve ever toured with a bunch of bands who sound exactly like us. It’s cool, I mean we’ve played with punk bands, we’ve played with rock bands, and we’ve played with hardcore bands. It’s all good.
Melinda:
I just saw the new video “Days Of The Phoenix”, who comes up with the ideas for the videos?
Davey:
Well as far as the “Days of the Phoenix” video, we first wanted it to be a concept video, but we really didn’t have the budget to do that. The producer, Mark Webb, he was like ‘Well, with the budget we have we can either do a bad concept video, or a good performance video’ and we wanted a good preformance video. So we just showed up and played and he took care of the rest. I’m really happy with it. I think it’s the best video we’ve ever done and the shoot was really fun. We got a bunch of kids who hung out and worked with us all day and listened to that song over and over again. They pretended to crazy over and over again. So it was really good. At the end we played an actual live set for them.
Melinda:
Where was it filmed?
Davey:
It was filmed in Santa Monica. In one very, very long day. We showed up at seven in the morning and we left for the airport at seven- thirty at night. The other videos we did in a day, but they were less intense. There was less involved.
Melinda:
Are you planning another video for this album?
Davey:
I think, if for some reason another single picked up, then we would do a video. If not then we’ll just wait till the next album.
Melinda:
Do you feel the intense touring that you’ve been doing and the different bands you’ve played with have influenced your musical style?
Davey:
Everything influences us. Touring with bands, listening to bands, bands we like, bands we hate, the weather, our interactions with people, they all influence us. There’s no one particular band. It’s not like ‘we toured with this band and they totally inspired us’. It’s not really like that, but we’re really ever changing.
Melinda:
How has the constant touring changed your life, for better or worse?
Davey:
I love it, I love it more than anything. We’ve been on the road for years now and I’ve been touring since I was about 18 or 19, so it’s really all I know. I’m more comfortable on the road than I am at home. We’re very busy. It seems now, even when we are at home we’ve got tons of stuff to do band related. The past year has really been non-stop for us. We’re lucky in that respect because at least things are happening.
Melinda:
Can you tell me a bit about the cover art from your albums?
Davey:
I met [the artist who designs the last three album covers] Allen Forbes though his wife Carrie. I have always been a fan of his poster artwork. I just happened to be talking to this girl working at a store which had his poster up and she was like ‘Oh, that’s my husband’.
She said ‘Aren’t you in a band?’ and it turned out that they both liked our band. So I asked if Allen would be interested in do anything with us. She said ‘yes’, I called him, and the rest is history. He is such a great guy and an amazing artist. We were really lucky to be able to work with him for the past three releases. He’s extremely talented and really cool to us, he really helps us out. It’s just great.
Melinda:
The cover art has become the signature of AFI albums. Have you seen the amount of Allen Forbes tattoos?
Davey:
I know, it’s really, really cool, all the tattoos I’ve seen.
Melinda:
I know you just released an album, but do you have any plans for the next one?
Davey:
We’ve started to write a little bit. I don’t think the next album will be coming out as quick as the last one. We have to tour so extensively for this one and I don’t think we’ll be finished touring until November. Putting us in the studio, at the earliest, March. SO we’re probably talking about a year from this summer for the next release. I’m really excited to do another one. I’m not exactly sure what it’s going to be. I have a feeling the difference between this album and the last album will be comparable to the difference between “Shut Your Mouth” and “Black Sails”.
Melinda:
Did you expect this much exposure from the Offspring cover of your song “Total Immoral” from the “Me, Myself, and Irene” soundtrack?
Davey:
No, we didn’t expect that at all. When they asked us to cover our song, no one had any idea that it was going to get any kind of radio air-play. The radio just happened to pick it up and played it because it was the new Offspring song. It’s not like it was AFI, so it’s not like we got the exposure. The focus was on the Offspring, so it wasn’t that big of a deal, but we were so flattered that they asked us to do it. It was great.
Melinda:
Do you guys still play the Misfits cover live?
Davey:
We used to, but we haven’t done it in awhile. We played it so much, so we’re pretty much over it.
Melinda:
What was your favorite show so far on this tour?
Davey:
Last night, Toronto was amazing. Edmonton was really good too, but last night was just so intense. Because of the lay out of the club last night, it was more “condusive” to the higher energy than the place we played in Edmonton.
Melinda:
So you’re headlining a tour in Europe after you’re finished with Sno Jam?
Davey:
Well, just the U.K.. We’re bringing a band from the U.K. with us.
Melinda:
Do you feel pressure being the headliners on a tour?
Davey:
Well not on Sno Jam, because I don’t really feel like we’re the headliners. I just kinda feel like we’re playing last. In England, not really, we’re used to it. We’ve done a ton of headlining tours, we’ve done a ton of support tours and we’ve done a ton of opening tours.
Melinda:
If you could take any band on tour with you, who would it be?
Davey:
There’s so many bands we’d love to bring with us; Death by Stereo, The Explosion, Hot Water Music, The Nerve Agents, The Distillers, those are just some of the bands we’d want to take with us.
Melinda:
You’re doing the full Warped Tour this year. Do you find it a different experience from tours like Sno Jam?
Davey:
It’s a completely different experience from any touring experience I’ve ever had and I love it. It’s really fun and really grueling. I mean, there’s thirty or forty bands and it’s all day long. You get there at seven in the morning and you leave at eleven at night and you drive in between. It’s just a fun experience. I don’t really like playing in the day time and I don’t really like playing outside generally speaking, but it was so fun on Warped Tour. All the bands were really cool. There is no egos on the tour, everyone hangs out. It’s like camp, it’s like summer camp for bands. Last year was so fun because before even going into the tour we were friends with eight or nine of the bands. It’s just hanging out with your friends all summer and it’s just fun. Really tiring and the sun sucks, but it’s great. I can’t wait. Last year was the first time I’ve ever even gone to Warped Tour. The first show we played on the tour was the first time I’ve ever been. We’re all just so excited to be apart of it again.
Melinda:
Thanks a lot for your time. Good luck with all the future plans and I’ll see you at Warped Tour!
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