Buddy Shaub’s touring schedule with Less Than Jake sometimes gets the better of him - but he’s taking it all in his stride. The affable trombonist reveals he recently ended another taxing stint on the road with his fellow Floridian ska-punkers, barely leaving time to water the plants and check the mail before heading out again.

Interview by Steve.

“I was basically only home long enough to plug myself into the wall and recharge my battery,” laughs a fast-talking Shaub in an adenoidal voice eerily similar to Steve Buscemi’s ill-fated Tony Blundetto character in the TV drama The Sopranos.

Less Than Jake’s constant state of flux has seen them tour both Europe and the US twice in 2006, with more American dates planned prior to upcoming visits to Australia via Japan to promote their latest album In With The Out Crowd.

The veteran Gainesville quintet are no strangers to Australian shores, having visited several times since their inception in 1992, most recently in late 2005 and most memorably in 1999 as part of the one-off Australian version of the Warped tour.

“That was actually a really fun tour for us,” recalls Shaub. “We crammed ourselves into a little RV and fared better than a lot of other bands who were on communal buses and would then camp with tents. That Warped tour in Australia was very similar to the US one except there was a lot more ska going on back then which was popular at the time.”

Back then, LTJ inadvertently struck a chord with mid-90s ska revivalists on the back of their unavoidably catchy 1997 album Losing Streak, a minor hit.

“It was all kind of a blur because we had just started touring and everything was new and exciting and we were sleeping on people’s floors,” says Shaub. “It was definitely a different time than it is now. As far as that style of music being popular I suppose they were kind of the glory days for our band in that respect.”

Despite getting caught up in the ska-pop hysteria at the time, Shaub insists that across a 15-year career the band has traditionally remained unswayed by passing trends and fickle fashions.

“I think we’ve fared pretty well because a lot of those bands that were popular at the time have died off now and we’re still kicking it out here,” he says. “We’ve managed to stay out of that pigeon-hole of being just a ska-punk band or whatever because I think we play a bunch of different styles of music. Our goal has always been to play to as many people as we possibly can. We never had an idea that we’d sell out if we played to too many people. I want to play to a million people every night but I think the fact that we never really hit it huge kind of does save your band in terms of longevity too.

“Once you get really big and go up the only place you can go is down and sometimes that tears bands apart too. I think everything for us was a just a steady progression from day one. It’s always been baby steps so we were always comfortable in our own shoes. We never really had that awkward moment of not knowing what was next. We’ve kept ourselves grounded with our fans and touring.”

Shaub concedes it would be nice to revisit, albeit briefly, those halcyon neo-ska days.

“I do sometimes hear little influences from that world in other people’s music but I don’t know if it’s in the mainstream,” he muses. “It’s due for another turn around the block I would think, you know, everything kind of happens in cycles. I think our next record might have a little bit more of that ska sound on it. We’ve been thinking that way lately because Losing Streak’s ten year
reunion will happen when we’re on this tour so we’ve been going back and rehearsing all of that album. While we were doing that we thought ‘wow, we should write more songs like this!’.”

For the moment, Less Than Jake are busy promoting In With The Out Crowd, produced by Howard Benson who worked with the band almost a decade ago.

“It was definitely interesting working with him now as opposed to last time in ‘98 because back then he didn’t have any break-out songs by anyone,” says Shaub. “I think we got him back on his feet, we were on a major label at the time and he was all excited to work with us. Pro Tools was just starting to get used and he was kind of learning how to do all that stuff on our record which was pretty funny. Over the last ten years he’s pretty much mastered it.

“He flew in to Gainesville back then whereas this time we went to him and the quality of the recording was far superior to what he had a long time ago. But it kills me, the whole time we did our record in ‘98 he was wearing his sweat pants and an oversized Philadelphia Eagles football jersey literally every day and we were all taking bets on whether he’d be wearing that again. When we got out there sure enough he was wearing the exact same outfit. We couldn’t believe it!

Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida. Originally formed in 1992 as a power pop trio, the band evolved into a hybrid of third-wave ska and punk rock, with added elements of modern rock and even metal. To date, the group has released seven original full-length albums and countless more singles and compilations. The current lineup comprises guitarist/vocalist Chris Demakes, bassist/vocalist Roger Manganelli, drummer/lyricist Vinnie Fiorello, trombonist Buddy Schaub, and saxophonist JR.



In Summer 2007, Less Than Jake embarked on a North American tour with Reel Big Fish, featuring support from Streetlight Manifesto and Against All Authority. Against All Authority was not included on the final leg of the tour.

Interview with Nashville, Tennesse’s SKA/punk band Murdock, by Roya Butler and Hannah Wagner

Roya: Tell us how you met.
Devin: I’ve known Josh (bassist) for a few years and we have always wanted to play music together. He was good friends with FX and we all hooked up and got Wes in on it, and here we are. I would also like to point out that they were all three in another band that broke up and that’s how we decided to form Murdock.
Roya: How is the punk scene in Nashville, and in Tennessee as a whole?
Devin: Unfortunately, not very good; this sucks because there are some really great bands around. Kids here just aren’t into good shit. They like trendy commercialism I guess. (Suckers…). We tour a lot though, so the scene here doesn’t really bother us too much. We still get good draws at shows (and t-shirt orders…)
Roya: What bands have inspired your music?
Devin: I can’t speak for everyone but personally I admire The Germs, The Descendents, Screeching Weasel, The Addicts…just punk rock period…and reggae.
Roya: What inspires your lyrics?
Devin: For awhile, I was absorbed with writing political stuff, but I began to see myself getting too serious and emotional about the lyrics. I was singing, and it really affected my attitude live (going on political rants in between songs). Now I only write songs about silly things or girls and stuff because I want Murdock to be fun… not serious.
Hannah: What’s ‘Flight 216’?
Devin: Flight 216 is a song about breaking up with a girl because of having too much on your plate, if you will. It’s about “”getting on a plane”" and leaving her forever.
Hannah: What’s Murdoc named after?
Devin: Our drummer FX got high and dove into a bonfire.
Roya: How long have you been playing?
Devin: Only a year, but with all that we have accomplished it seems like much longer.
Roya: Can you tell your fans a little about your album and where they can pick it up?
Devin: Well, our album will be available this summer. Its 15 songs and it will be available internationally through Interpunk.com, as well as through indie distributors and at our shows. It’s in the mastering stage so we’re still developing it 6 months down the road. We plan to release an EP immediately after that.
Roya: Any tours planed, National or International?
Devin: Murdock will be doing 4 U.S. tours (covering 4 different regions) this year and possibly a European tour, but that isn’t set in stone.
Hannah: Tell us about the super Nintendo tour.
Devin: It’s the spring tour we’re going on. It should be fun, and we hope to see a lot of kids there. It’s actually called the super ninTRENDo tour, a play on words.
Hannah: One of your show venues says ‘a house maybe’ are most of your shows like that?
Devin: No, not ever hardly. We typically only play venues. All ages I would like to point out. I’m really big on All Ages shows. It’s important to me that younger kids come out to shows because they have the most energy, but to answer your question fully, Murdock doesn’t see very many house shows.
Hannah: Have you heard of the halfway house in Philadelphia? You should play there when you come to Philly on March 3.
Devin: I actually haven’t heard of it. We have some great contacts up there and some bands looking to help us out so we’ll see what happens.
Roya: Anything you’d like to add?
Devin: Thanks for interviewing us… check out http://www.myspace.com/officialmurdock  and check us out on tours in the future.

Mustard Plug tells all about the turbulent ska scene, the stresses of continuous touring and why all they ever wanted was zombies and small bikes. 
 

By: Melinda Dalton | melinda@staff.truepunk.com

Truepunk: You guys just finished your tour in Japan with Nicotine. What was the crowd reaction like over there?
Mustard Plug: It’s super awesome. It’s pretty much the same as over here…except in between songs. They’re all completely silent.

Truepunk: Do you find it strange having 1000 kids who don’t speak the same language as you singing along to all your songs?
Mustard Plug: I’d say initially it’s kind of weird, but in the end it’s just a bunch of kids coming out to have a good time

TruePunk: I know you guys have toured with Nicotine before, but how was this tour arranged?
Mustard Plug: They were doing a few Warped dates and I think they were going to record some songs or something. It just happened that they were going to be here and we needed to make-up some dates [ from a previously cancelled tour], so it just worked out awesome. We didn’t really have to say goodbye for too long from Japan

TruePunk: Do you find the ska scene in Canada a more difficult scene to “win over”?
Mustard Plug: I think it varies depending on where we play in Canada. I mean London [Ontario] has never been really great for us, but in Quebec they go crazy. Toronto is a different story; one tour we’ll do really well and another will be not so good.

TruePunk: The whole “MTV Ska-Wave” is on the decline and Moon Ska Records recently went out of business. Do you think that the ska popularity in general is lessening?
Mustard Plug: It’s just like every other form of music: it has it’s high and low points. I mean punk died a couple years ago didn’t it? Now, at least in some form, it’s gaining again. The big backlash against ska happened about eight months to a year ago and now half the bands have broken up or quit. Recently we played some of our biggest shows in Chicago and Detroit. It’s still really good for the bands that have survived. Kids come to the shows now because they like the band, not just because it’s a ska band.

TruePunk: Do you find it’s handicapped you at all that kids need to recognize a band before they’ll pay their money to see them preform?
Mustard Plug: Yeah for sure. You used to be able to just write “Ska” on the flyer and kids would show up. When we used to tour in the US, each time there would be six new ska bands who ages would range from 16-18 years old. Now there’s very few, if any, young ska bands just popping up. But when we first started playing ska it was a lot smaller than it is now.

TruePunk: A lot of the ska bands that started on smaller labels have moved up to larger ones. Do you have any plans to go that way or are you happy on Hopeless Records?
Mustard Plug: We’re definitely staying on Hopeless. Even the bands that moved on to the bigger labels were dropped after ska wasn’t “MTV popular” anymore. We’re just happy that Hopeless still like us! Look at Less Than Jake…they’re one of the biggest ska bands right now and Capitol just didn’t know what to do with them.

TruePunk: You guys have been touring for a long time now. Do you find it’s a lot easier now to just pick up everything and go on tour or do you still encounter the same stresses?
Mustard Plug: Well we exchanged some stresses for different stresses. I mean we don’t have to worry about if the show is really happening or not anymore, but there will always be other dumb things. The only real stress we have right now is crossing the boarder.

TruePunk: Do you still find excitement in touring?
Mustard Plug: I think we’re mostly happy with touring. I mean everything has it’s ups and downs. We still enjoying playing shows and meeting all the kids.

TruePunk: You’ve played sno-jams and you’ve supported a lot of tours and you’ve headlined many of your own tours. What would you say is your favorite type of tour to play?
Mustard Plug: We like the package tours, like sno-jam, because you get to hang out with a whole bunch of different bands and different people. Keeps it exciting.

TruePunk: My friend Justin here wants to know why you don’t play western Canada
Mustard Plug: Because it’s really far away!

TruePunk: Japan is also really far away!
Mustard Plug: That’s a good point, but we don’t have to drive to Japan!

TruePunk: Pray for Mojo has been out for about two years now. Are you planning a new album?
Mustard Plug: We’re trying to but we’ve never been very good at writing while we’re on tour. We’re barely a home writing band! We’re probably about half way done writing for a new record.

TruePunk: Are you planning a break in the touring to finish writing?
Mustard Plug: I don’t think we’ll tour too much until we have another CD out

TruePunk: I know you guys have two videos. Do you think you’d make another one?
Mustard Plug: I think that kinda goes hand in hand with a new album. We’d definitely do it again though, but I think we’ll try to do it ourselves next time, just have a friend directing and editing. Both of our videos have been done in California when we were on tour. They’re kinda funny for us to watch because we’re not from anywhere close to California. The only thing we ever wanted in our videos was small bikes and zombies. We come up with these ideas and they kinda get taken away from us. When we’re on tour and we’re doing a video we only have one day to film the whole thing. It’s weird in California too where there’s film people everywhere. They all have their own ideas because they want to get into directing or whatever. They definitely have their own opinions of what should happen and they aren’t really concerned with what a ska band from Michigan wants.

TruePunk: Do you find that the touring experience has influenced how you write music?
Mustard Plug: I think some of the bands we’ve played with have influenced us. I think we probably write songs based on a live show maybe not touring in general. When we write songs we’re usually more concerned with how it’s going to sound live rather than how it will sound on the album.

TruePunk: Thanks a lot for your time guys! Good luck with all your future plans!

A normal guy, a little over six feet tall, walked by me wearing a light brown jacket. He was unloading some equipment out of the back of a white van. His bleached hair was starting to grow out and his natural brown hair was beginning to show. Then he turned around. It was Jesse Michaels, you know, that singer guy from Op Ivy? He’s not dead after all. What do you say to a man who has inspired your entire teenage life yet you were only in 1st grade when the inspiration began?

Done by Sean Boggs
Photos by Leah Boeringa and Sean Boggs

I said hello. Then introduced myself. After catching his breath and gathering his thoughts, he realized that we had an interview scheduled with each other. Jesse was here, at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon as part of the Plea for Peace tour. The Plea for Peace tour is about making people aware of issues such as depression and suicide. If you want more information, go to www.takeactiontour.com His band, Common Rider, was scheduled to perform. Common Rider consists of Jesse on the mic and Mass Giorgini and Dan Lumley holding down the rhythm. You may have heard of those two guys, they were both in Screeching Weasel and Squirtgun to name a few bands. After he finished unloading his equipment, Jesse, my photographer Leah, and I headed downstairs to a small pub.

Well, where else do I begin?
We missed you Jesse, welcome back.

Sean - So, Jesse, how does it feel to finally be on tour again?
Jesse Michaels- It feels good. It varies from day to day, but, overall, the
feeling is good. I think everybody in the band is enjoying it.

S - But you’re havin’ fun though, right?
JM - Yeah, yeah. I am just a little exhausted because I just got out of the
car and I haven’t quite decompressed yet. In general, it’s hard work, but,
yeah, it is a lot of fun.

S - Can you remember the last time that you were in Oregon?
JM - Yeah. Hey, I just want a…is this a brewpub or something?
Waiter - It is.
JM - Great, can you recommend a strong beer that is not as stout?
Waiter - Uh, the IPA is very good.
JM - I’ll take the IPA. I’ll take a pint of that. Okay, I am sorry.

S - It’s cool. So, when was the last time that you were in Oregon?
JM - About six months ago with a friend. Why were we out here? Oh, we were
just doing a road trip or something, just hanging out, went to a few shows.
We have a lot of friends out here. Everybody from Berkeley has friends out
here because over the last seven years there has been this massive
immigration to Oregon because it’s cheaper and yet still relatively hip, I
think that is the appeal of it.

Leah - Would you ever consider moving up here?
JM - I would, except for the fact that there is too much rain for me – I get
slightly depressed.

S - It was actually raining here for the last few days, you picked a good
one. It is almost 60 degrees right now – it’s actually hot.

JM - Wow. Cool. Well, it is almost always raining here, I guess I caught a
window.<

S - What do you think of Portland other than the rain? Ever walked around
town?
JM - Yeah, I like Portland, it is very industrial. But it has its problems,
there is a lot of alcoholism in Portland. Cool town though, I have always
liked it up here.

S - What do you think that you bring to the Suicide Prevention table as part
of this year’s Plea for Peace tour?<
JM - Well, I think, if anything, we bring to this particular tour,
continuity from the previous tours. Plea for Peace tours, for a long time,
were very, very – they sort of grew out of the whole ska/punk thing, because
of Asian Man Records involvement. Now, we don’t really stick to that genre,
but we have roots in it. Just because of, well, I have been linked with that
genre for obvious reasons, and so, in a way, we are brining the spirit of
the past tours, though we weren’t on them.

S - What do you want to walk away feeling after this tour is over with?
JM - We are happy to be playing and we love to rock out and stuff, but when
you look back at things, you usually think in terms of the more altruistic
element of what you have done. I hope that, when we are done with this, we
can say that we played good music, we had a good time, but also, we did
something that was an act of service to people, to our fans, or the kids who
come to the shows. Something that actually could have enriched lives, if
that doesn’t sound too high-handed.

S - What is next for Common Rider?
JM - Well, first we will probably take a break. I am gonna try to write more
stuff. We have to make a decision about what we are going to do next. We
haven’t really figured it out, so far this band – oh, this beer is really
strong, so far this band – tastes like a .7 or a 7 or something. Whew. This band primarily moves from one project to the next. Um, we will plan
something; we’ll do it, and then decide the next thing after that. And we
are still in the process of doing things.
Although, we have tentative plans to do very short tours of the UK and
Japan, with Plea for Peace.

S - Oh, you are gonna take the show overseas?
JM - Yeah, but it is gonna be much smaller, like we would be headlining, if
that is imaginable. But, with a couple local bands from wherever we went. I
think that is correct, but I am not sure. That is what we are hoping to do.

L - Do you guys get any response from those people overseas?
JM - Who knows? People may be completely indifferent or there could – I
would imagine it would be much like here, where you’ll get 80 to a 100 kids
who are really into it, a handful more that catch on and a certain
percentage who are like, huh, what the fuck is this?
S - How do you take criticism?
JM - (Long pause) It depends. I haven’t encountered too much of it, but,
when I do, I take it well. I don’t invite it. I am not the kind of person
who enjoys and seeks out criticism. I am pretty secure in my mission in life
and with what I am doing, and I generally don’t cater too much to other
people’s feelings, although I pay attention to them. I do okay with it.

S - 1989 – what music did you listen to back then?

JM - Well, ’89 I can remember very well because that was a period in my life
when I was the most excited about music. Public Enemy was huge, Stiff Little
Fingers, The Buzzcocks, The Clash of course, local East Bay punk bands like
Crimpshine, Neurosis, the early stuff, a lot of hip-hop, Boogie Down
Productions, and a lot of dancehall type reggae, which was in its first wave
back then, stuff like Yellowman.

S - Ever get into the whole grunge scene?
JM - You know, when Nirvana came out, I have to admit, sort of a guilty
pleasure, I was just as blown away by them as everybody else. So I was
really into them. Never really found any of the other bands interesting. I
thought Nirvana was a really, really exceptional band. From the very first
time I heard them, I was pretty blown away. I didn’t think it was much more
than a heavy rock band, I didn’t think it was anything particularly new, but
I though they totally rocked from the beginning.

S - Where were you on September 11th?
JM - September 11th, I was in a recording studio in Lafayette, Indiana, we
were working on the new Common Rider album, and actually Mass called me that
morning and told me what was going on. And, he was all worked up about it,
he’s like, ‘we’re under attack,’ so, totally freaked me out. But, one interesting point about that, was the day before we had recorded
the song Cool This Madness Down for the record and in the song their was
this entire verse that had an extended metaphor about someone working on a
large tower, which sorta represented, you know, a consumerist society, and
every night the person would get done building the tower it would crumble to
the ground. And I am sure you remember the big hoopla after that happened,
everybody was running around changing and taking songs off records and stuff
and I did the same thing. I took that verse out of the song cuz I didn’t
want that verse to be misconstrued as a reference to September 11th. Just kind of a weird, interesting story, it’s like a total coincidence.

L - Did you take it out entirely or just change the words?
JM - Well, I changed it. I changed the words.

S - Did that day inspire any other songs that weren’t recorded yet?
JM - You know, part of my feeling about that event, I don’t mean to downplay
it, is that this is the kind of thing most people in the world live with
every day. So, when it happened here, I don’t consider myself a highly
political person, and I have over the years, had enough of a political
consciousness to know that this is the reality that most people live with
all of the time. So, when it happened here, I was like, ‘okay, this is a
terrible, terrible thing,’ but it’s not something that is out of the blue.
It is not something that is so unpredictable, or so weird. So, in a way, it
had an impact on me, but it didn’t change my view a hundred percent, because
I have always been sort of aware of this kind of thing going on anyway.

S - Big subject change: I hear you love movies.
JM - I do, I love movies.

S - Have you seen any movies recently that have been amazing?
JM - Ah, yes, this is a good question; I like to talk about movies. A recent
movie that I have seen that was good was this amazing movie, people should
try to see this, its called, the Believer, and the Believer is about a
Hasidic Jewish guy who becomes a Nazi skinhead. It sounds crazy, and it is
crazy, but its really, really smart.
The guy is out of his mind.
It is just about his life and the cool thing about this movie is they never
really explain why he is doing it, it’s just about this incredibly
conflicted person.
That was really good. What else have I seen? You know, I love movies, but
most of the ones that I see I don’t think are that good. Its always tough
sorting them out.

S - What are some terrible movies then?
JM - I hated Shallow Grave, that movie made me angry. And I hated Happiness.
I generally hate movies that use extreme violence or gratuitous shock value
in place of having a heart. For example: movies that combine extremely
sadistic violence with humor I find offensive.

L - You’re not a fan of Tarantino then?

JM - Yeah, like, okay, my take on him, these are dangerous questions, I’ll
sit here and run my mouth…

L - Good.
S - That is the point.
JM -…my take on that guy is he is so smart and he is so good that he is
going to make good movies no matter what. However, that element of his
movies where he combines humor and extreme sadism I think is gimmicky and
cheap, and I hate that element of his movies. But, anyone who could watch
Pulp Fiction and say that it doesn’t haven anything good about it is just
crazy. I mean, it’s just so smart and has so many cool homage’s to things
that people who care about movies like, that you can’t entirely hate it.

S - Do your parents ever comment about your days back in Op Ivy?
JM - Not really. You know, Op Ivy wasn’t big when it was around, so the
whole phenomenon has happened afterwards. Both my parents are involved with
academics, so, their main comment has been, oh, this or that student has
come up to them and they told the student that they were related to me, and
the student freaks out. Their main exposure has been on that level. And they
think it’s funny, just like I do.

S - Did you keep any souvenirs along the way?
JM - I didn’t, I have a, you know how some people obsessively collect
things, I obsessively get rid of things. So, I don’t have that much old Op
Ivy stuff.

S - So do you regret anything then?
JM - No, no regrets. I never regret getting rid of things.

S - Do you have any siblings or ever been married?
JM - Yeah, I have a brother and a sister, a younger sister who is named
Louisa and an older brother named Ethan.

S - What is the most extravagant item in your house?
JM - I live very modestly, I’m almost monk-like in some ways. I mean, I
don’t have that much stuff. The most extravagant item in my house might be
my guitar because I do have a guitar that was custom made for me.

S - The GPC?
JM - Yeah, so I would say my guitar and maybe my computer, but my most
people’s standards, that is not very extravagant.
S - Favorite foods?
JM - I’m not a vegetarian, and I like filet minion which is sort of a guilty
pleasure because I have vegetarian leanings. I eat that once in a while, but
generally speaking I like to eat vegetarian things. I really like pasta. I
really like bread with olive oil and garlic and I like salads.

S - Are you a sports fan?
JM - I am really into basketball.
S - Do you like the Lakers, because they are our enemies up here in
Portland?
JM - No, I can’t stand the fucking Lakers. I hate the Lakers. Hate them. And
I hate Phil Jackson. I think that they would have won regardless, but it
bothers me the calls they get sometimes. Any team that Phil Jackson is
coaching gets crazy calls all night long.

S - What teams do you like?
JM - I like Detroit because of Ben Wallace. I really like, uh, for some
reason I can’t remember, I am totally brain farting, uh, the team that Jason
Kidd plays for…

S - The Nets.
JM - …yeah, them, because Jason is an old Berkeley boy, you know, we love
that guy. Oh, I like Sacramento a lot - Bibby. Those guys are great.

S - You haven’t been following the baseball playoffs?
JM - No, I am not a big baseball fan. I mean, I respect it, it’s kind of the
American sport, and I see the beauty and the science of it, but I have just
never taken the time to get into it.

S - There is a lyric in Conscious Burning where you say, ‘When I step down
they’ll retire my mic forever, hang it next to jersey 23 at the United
Center.’ Cannot help but wonder if you are comparing yourself to Michael
Jordan?

JM - Well, (laughs) well, this wasn’t something that I normally do in a
lyric, but the song was supposed to be like a rap or a dancehall reggae
battle motif, so I certainly wasn’t literally comparing myself to him.

S - What are your favorite songs from both Op Ivy and Common Rider?
JM - My favorite songs from Op Ivy are probably Sound System, Take Warning,
the Crowd, pretty much the hits. And from Common Rider I really like
Castaways and I really like, what is that called, Midnight Passenger off the
new one.

S - Are both of those on the set list tonight?
JM - Yes.

S - Good. I love Midnight Passenger.
JM - Right on.

S - Are there any songs that you have recorded that you aren’t happy with?
JM - (Laughing) Yeah, I ton of them. Actually, I never listen to our shit,
most of it I find hard to listen to, even the ones I like. So there is a lot
of stuff that I am not a big fan of, but at the same time I don’t want to
talk a shit about it because I know other people like it, which I am
grateful for.

S - Okay, well, we are both 19, which is the same age you were in Op Ivy, so
do you have any words of wisdom for us so that we can make it to our
thirties?
JM - Yes, yes, the main thing for 19-year-olds out there to remember is that
the early twenties through the mid-twenties are a period of incredible
mental anguish so you have to remember that it is temporary and it goes
away. And as long as you get through it, you are on the winning side.

S - How did the deaths of both Joey and Dee Dee affect you?
JM - Well, I was very sad, I wouldn’t say very sad, I didn’t know them, but
I certainly felt sad.
I think one thing that is sort of sad about the Ramones is that if you think
about the millions and millions of dollars that have been made in punk rock
in the last fifteen years and you think about the fact that they basically
invented it, especially pop-type punk. I mean, they were really the
inventors, and I think that they never quite got their due. Although they
are a respected band and in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so, it just made
me realize that, wow, I hope at some point those guys get what has been
coming to them all along, the surviving members.

S - You brought up the Rock and Roll hall of Fame, do you think that Op Ivy
will ever be considered?
JM - I don’t think so, you know, as big as Op Ivy was and as lucky as we
were, there is still a massive discrepancy between what gets acknowledged in
the mainstream and what is acknowledged by fans. You really have to be
plugged into the machine, to a certain extent, and if this sounds bitter,
it’s not, I am nothing but grateful for everything that has happened with Op
Ivy. But it’s true that unless you are sort of plugged into the industry
slash media slash corporate machine type of aspect of music, in some ways,
you go unrecognized.

S - If you had to walk across the street right now to that record store and
buy two CD’s, which two would you buy?
JM - Oh, wow, that is a tough one. I might check out that new Queens of the
Stone Age, cuz everybody is talking about them.

S - They are playing at the Crystal tomorrow I think.
JM - Yeah, they are following us by a couple of days. At a couple of the
shows our guys have gone over and seen them. I haven’t checked them out. So,
Queens of the Stone Age is one that I have been meaning to get and maybe a
Creation record, I have been wanting to listen to Creation lately.

S - Is there anything else that you would like to say?
JM - Just thanks to all of the people who checked us out and come to the
shows.

S - We are done.
JM - Cool, that was a great interview. You have really original questions.

S - Oh, I have read most of your interviews and the interviewer always asks
the same five damn questions: What have you been up to? Do you talk to Tim?
And it is like, well, I know the answers, why do I want to ask them?
JM - Yeah, I answer those questions about four times a night. That and the
reunion question too. ‘Are you gonna do a reunion tour?’
S - Is Tim here?
L - Can I have his phone number?
JM - (Laughing real hard) Where’s Tim?

FOLLOW UP TO THE INTERVIEW - 11/18/02 - Jesse likes us, he really does, our lives are complete. The Mavs are rocking this year!

Well, the tour is over, ready to do another one?
-Hell no I’m gonna chill for a while..

Anything happen along the way that was interesting?
-Met hundreds of great people. Meeting all the people at the shows was truly
inspiring and reminded me that there is still a tremendous amount of
kindness and intelligence in the world, in spite of everything. Found out
that we shouldn’t open for huge emo bands (Thursday)- they are great, and
couldn’t be nicer, more genuine people; but their fans could care less about
Common Rider. some of the shows were really tough. My two favorite moments
of the entire tour were: Swimming in the pacific in San Diego and then
swimming in the Atlantic at night in Florida- sublime, spiritual moments
that gave me strength for the whole
rest of the trip.

Any plans with Common Rider right now, or just getting some sleep?
I would like to do some music that is really raw, built from the live
experience. Then play shows and record it. Common Rider has functioned thus
far as a studio band that plays live which is the reverse of how to properly write songs. the correct method is that the studio should
capture the live essence, not the other way around. Live and learn. The main
thing is keep going and have fun.

Are the overseas Plea for Peace tours still a possibility?
Yes, but farther in the future than previously planned.

Looks like Jason Kidd has learned to shoot over the summer, what are your
basketball predictions, if any?
Jason Kidd sets up plays. Hence, he’s one of a very few players in history
to lead the nba in assists three years in a row. Add to this his ppg
average, which would be respectable even for a forward, and you have one of the best players in the league..should John Entwhistle have
learned to play guitar solos? However, of course its nice to see him busting
a few heads, as long as he doesn’t start trying to carry the Nets rather than support them..(yawn) Now that I’ve bored everybody, my
prediction is I’ll be watching way fewer games than I’d like because I can’t
afford cable-

Movie question: VHS or DVD?
-Usually technological advances are a mixed bag, but VCRs have always been
slow, clunky and tempermental so I say DVDs all the way. Plus when you’re
watching “The Big Lewbowski” you can fast forward past those unbearably pretentious dream imagery sequences which slow down the whole
fucking movie.

Music question: 7″ or CD? -7″ if you are playing songs for other people, CD if you are listening to
them yourself.

And finally, are you gonna do a reunion tour and do you ever talk to Tim,
Matt and Dave?
-Ha ha ha. Couldn’t resist eh?

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.

Interview by Carlo | carlo@staff.truepunk.com

Carlo:Hello. Are you doing fine?

JR:Hi. Yeah, we’re doing well, thanks.

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.

JR:Thanks to you as well.

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!!!.

Chicago ska-pop septet Blue Meanies celebrate the release of their new album Full Throttle

Interview by Steve Tauschke with Blue Meanies bassist Dave Lund.

So is it true Blue Meanies met at a MotoX race?
“Half of us yes!”

Do you still ride?
“Not so much anymore. We’re on the road so much. I actually wish I didn’t have a bike anymore. It’s an old Honda. We’re just too busy driving around in our van. We’re constantly touring, touring too much. But we love it. We’re getting a little sick of the US so we’re going to Australia and Japan.”

Much has been made of Californian ska bands .. how’s the scene in Chicago?
“It’s great! We have a guy here called Chuck, he’s a local DJ and he pretty much revived the mid-west ska scene with bands like Suicide Machine and Mustard Plug and us, well we don’t really claim to be a ska band. But he kind of really got the scene going again here in the mid-west.”

You have an early EP featuring covers from Motorhead to the Turtles .. there’s a fair gulf between the two stylistically?
“I’m more of a Motorhead fan but I had fun covering the Turtles song. Our keyboard player is the big Turtles fan. We originally did that for a picture disc 10″that we released on our record label here.”

You seem to enjoying toying around with covers versions.
“On our official releases we don’t really put covers on there. Well, I guess there is a couple, I take that back (laughs). The Hot Chips (label) wanted some extra stuff and we had some we’d done for the 10″. We also did another cover called Dummy Room on the album by a Chicago band called The Vindictives.”

What a great band .. are they still kicking around?
“They are a great band. Actually, we had originally recorded that song to do as a 7″ split with a friend’s band but which we never ended up doing. The Vindictives singer Joey has a lot of medical problems. I read an article about all the medical problems he’s had and he’s had some really bad luck. I know he got into a car accident which compounded some of the problems. So they may play a show here or there but not much. Live, we don’t play that many covers. People still want to hear Ace Of Spades or more recently Happy Together but since we got a new guitarist a couple of months back we haven’t learned that yet. But covers are just for fun and everybody takes them that way.”

You must get all types coming to the shows?
“Sure, we get all kinds of people, little girls and boys on up to people in their early 50s, well, not so many of them, haha! But every once in a while you’ll run into somebody who seems a little older and that’s kind of cool because they seem to be able to process it a bit better and talk about it whereas kids just like it because they like it – which is good too.”

I believe one old timer in Neil Diamond saw one of your shows in New Jersey and signed you to a publishing deal?
“Yeah, we’re on Bicycle Music out in Los Angeles, a publishing company started by Neil and another guy. They’re our publishing administrators and they get us all sorts of stuff in movies and commercials and that sort of thing.’

Did you get to meet the great man?
“I didn’t get to meet him. He got hold of something and mailed us and I just heard about it after the fact. I don’t think he was at the show for very long.”

If someone who spoke Spanish came to one of our shows and who’d never seen us before, that’s probably what they’d say when they saw the crowd reacting like crazy people. Interview by Steve Tauschke with VGS trumpet player Joe October 1997.

Joe, trumpet man for LA septet Voodoo Glow Skulls, is on the phone from Sacremento, musing over the translation of Baile De Los Locos, the groups’ latest album and perhaps the decade’s most volatile distillation of the ska and punk.

Voodoo Glow Skulls is a touring animal .. how does that sit with you?
“Well, I better enjoy touring because we tour so much, I’d say about seven months of the year for the last five years.”

Do you find new places to visit each time?
“We usually try to stick to the same markets in the US but each time we try to play at least one or two cities we’ve never played before.”

Does the band have a large Spanish-speaking fan base .. I notice you re-recorded Firme in Spanish.
“Yes, we have a lot of Mexican-America kids who come to see us play and a lot of kids from Mexico who write us letters. When we play border cities like in Texas or Arizona or California a lot of kids from Mexico drive up and see us. And we’ve played Mexico a couple of times and it’s really good for us. Actually, next March we’re doing a six day tour of Mexico, our first actual tour there.”

Do the kids across the border go nuts? I guess the lower drinking would help.
“Yeah, Tijuana, the drinking age is 18 but they never collar anybody anyways so a lot of the college kids or high school kids from California pour down to the border cities. It’s just really wild. But I’ve never been down into the heart of Mexico, a couple of the other guys have but this tour will be my first in Mexico.”

So what came first for VGS, punk or ska?
“Well, the band was formed in 1988 by the three Casillas brothers and they started out playing the same type of music we’re doing now, just without horns. It was Descendents-style punk with a lot of Fishbone and old punk influences. And the horns came around in 91 but a lot of the songs on the three albums were written before then – we just added horns to ‘em. Even on Baile.. the latest album, there are a couple of songs that were written before we were around.”

Which ones?
“Songs like This Aint No Disco, that’s an old song. And Motel Six, that was one of the first songs the band ever wrote. So the band has pretty much had the same style since day one.”

On Firme, you worked with GG Garth .. how did you find him?
“Garth was a real professional and he really knew a lot about recording. When we went into record Firme we really didn’t know anything about recording so it was a good learning experience for us. We went in very green and came out with a lot of knowledge about it. He was a great producer, just look at the works he’s done. He did a good job for us.”

I thought you did a fine job of covering Charlie Brown on the album .. what prompted that choice?
“That’s an old American 1950s classic rock n’ roll hit by The Coasters. All over America there’s classic rock stations and you can hear that song being played almost every day. We’ve all heard it and so one day we decided to cover it.”

Speaking of radio, you guys appeared on KROQ’s Loveline program recently right? How did it go?
“That was cool man. A majority of the calls that came were in fact band questions. According to the radio station we had more calls about the band than any other Loveline they’ve ever done. One out of every five calls would be about love problems and the rest would be kids from around the country asking us questions about the band. It was pretty funny to listen to the love problems and give whatever advice we could. It was a cool experience.”

So no-one vomited in the KROQ studio a la Fletcher from Pennywise?
“Ha! That guy’s always doing something crazy!”