Propagandhi

Less Than Jake

Cobra Skulls

Brendan Kelly

Banner Pilot

Interview with Fat Mike of NOFX

Fat Mike, the old punk who won’t lie down, tells Truepunk about success-hungry kids, the Scarface of Ecuador and NOFX’s new old-school album Coaster.

NOFX – May 2009 By Steve Tauschke

Hi Mike, are you guys still only touring about three or months a year these days?
“Yeah although it just so happens I went to Japan last week and I have to go to Europe tomorrow so I’m only home for seven days. But we rarely do that but there’s a couple of really big festivals we had to take so ..”

Japan – do you enjoy it there?
“It’s probably my favourite place in the whole world to go but not for normal reasons, my festish-y weird reasons. They’ve got some really weird creepy bars there that I love going to. There’s a place called Osaka Jail I like to frequent, your basic bar with a dominatrix and you get a good tie-up and some needles through your tits, that kind of thing.”

I imagine your new DVD Backstage Passport chronicles such footage from your travels.
”Yeah, there’s some footage from Osaka Jail in the DVD actually. It’s hard when you’re in places liken Singapore or Indonesia finding some creepy places because the countries is so creepy already that you really don’t want to find the underbelly. But we did, we went to our share of cool places. Once in Ecuador, which is a pretty poor country, we played a show at a country club and we asked ‘who’s the richest kid in town – let’s have a party at his house!’ So we had an after-party at his house and that was awesome. He was like the Scarface of Ecuador.”

You mentioned last time we spoke how CD piracy pretty much generated your tours of various third world countries given your albums aren’t officially available in these places.
”Right, it’s all word of mouth and kids giving it to each other somehow. But when we used to tour Europe in the 80s we didn’t have distribution there either and kids still knew who we were and knew our songs. Back then it was cassettes tapes from person to person and now it’s a lot easier.”

Having flogged yourself across US and Europe so many times, it must be fun to play to new audiences?
”It sounds stupid but it was really exciting and fun for us because it had been really long time since we got off an plane and were thrown into a culture that you’re like ‘what the fuck is going on here?’. We got off the plane in the Philippines and it was weird.”

You’ve sold six million albums without mainstream promotion and yet you advise young bands against pursuing the whole DIY thing these days. Why?
“I just don’t think kids these days have the stomach for it. The first six years we were touring no-one liked us and there was no hope of ever getting bigger. But it’s fine for us because we’re alcoholics and we really like being on the road. But kids today they want to make it, they don’t want to play in garages for six years like us with no hope. They want to get in a band and within two years they want to be big and if it doesn’t work out for them then they’ll start a new band. They’re worried about their career rather than having good times. You see them gang up on one band member for being too drunk one night. I’m like ‘are you fucking serious – this is rock n’ roll and it’s about fun and excess. Fuck moderation!’.”

Is that a generation Y instant gratification attitude?
“Absolutely! Instant gratification! So if you’re in band and get a major label opportunity then go for it because those labels will be going under within a year or two anyway. I mean with the record industry, our depression started four years ago.”

People are still buying records though.
“It’s not like it’s totally dried up. I don’t think people can just live off songs, a single here and a single there. People still for a long time will want an album. Bands put 12 or 15 songs on one album for a reason, because the songs belong together. It’s a point in your life that you can remember, an album you were listening to, whereas you don’t really remember just a song you were listening to.”

So how do you look back on your 90s albums such as Punk In Drublic?
”I think White Trash Two Heebs and A Bean is really our first listenable record, that I can listen to. And Punk In Drublic is our biggest but at the time it wasn’t a big deal at all, it wasn’t like that album came out and we got huge. It happened slowly and we’ve held onto it. And I’m just really stoked and flattered and couldn’t be happier that the attendance of NOFX shows hasn’t gone down at all.”

Not bad for a band that recently celebrated its 25th anniversary!
“Yeah it’s pretty crazy. We did I think make a really good move in the mid-90s when a lot of our friends were making videos and signing to majors but we thought ‘you know what – I’d rather have a long career. Let’s just go with what we do and play clubs and not fuck with success’.”

There’s nothing flashy about new album Coaster .. it has that consistency we’ve come to expect.
“I think we’ve made a record that I would have enjoyed when I was 14 more than any other record because it does kind of have an old school sound. NOFX started from hardcore and we got more melodic whereas with this record it’s more of a throwback to ‘81/82 LA punk rock. It’s slower and kind of more manic and the sound is a lot cleaner.”

Producer Bill Stevenson must have helped there?
“You can’t go wrong with Bill and Jason because they’ll give you the sound that they want and they know how to get it. You’re not going to get bad-sounding record with them. And Bill, he listens to old punk every day, he’s obsessed with it and if he’s not listening to it he’s talking about some old Black Flag story. He made us listen to this Suburban Lawns song every single day and we watched the video called I’m A Janitor and I can actually hear some of the influence of that song on our record.”

www.nofxofficialwebsite.com

www.myspace.com/nofx

Snuff

UK punk gov’nors Snuff discuss disposable income, hangover cures and “rocking like little donkeys on a footpath”.

Interview by Steve Tauschke with vocalist-drummer Duncan Redmonds.

You’ve just toured Japan… any interesting stories to share with us?
“We’ve eaten rotten squid in its own guts, pig colon, fish testicles. Lee impersonated the WALK signal nearly killing the promoter who stepped out thinking it was the real thing and Jerry heard the doorbell and answered the phone.”

Are the Club Quattro’s uniform throughout Japan?
“Not really, they have different capacities and layouts.”

Last year, you covered the Pirates of The Caribbean jingle from the famous ride at Disneyland for a Japanese compilation. Have you noticed more adults than children at Disneyland?
“I’ve never been to Disneyland so I can`t really say. But grown-ups do like to revisit their childhood.”

Can you recall the most pathetic lyric you’ve ever written?
“Rhyming ‘pray with day’. And many, many more that never made it because they were written at the end of a drinking session and were complete drunken nonsense.”

What’s your favorite Snuff record and why?
“The next one, because the process of writing is the most rewarding.”

You’ve called the new album Disposable Income .. what’s the silliest thing you’ve
ever wasted money on?
“A wind-up plastic SUMO on a skateboard.”

The album is distributed in the through Canada’s Union Label Group. What
happened with Fat?
“Fat are a great label and were interested in picking up the next record, but we wanted to do it ourselves. There is no bad blood and the door is open for future projects should we change our minds.”
”
So will your side project Guns n’ Wankers be resurfacing considering Axl Rose’s reappearance?
“The truth is that we only got our name because the drummer refused to be known as Cunts and Wankers. It was an accident; we never meant to parody Guns & Roses. It`s unlikely we will get together but it`s not impossible.”

What are fellow Englishmen Consumed up to?
“We just did a tour with them, and they`re still bloody great if not a bit smelly. And fuck me, do they whinge – and they can`t play cricket. But their record rocks like little donkeys on the footpath!”

Does Snuff have anything in common with the 80s cult film Withnail & I?
“Not really but Lee will happily recite the script when asked.”

What’s your most effective hangover cure?
“Cup of tea and a wank.”

Did you weep when Joe Strummer died?
“Yes, it is a sad loss. The Clash were a great band and a big influence. R.I.P JOE.”

Interview with No Use for a Name

INTERVIEW WITH NO USE FOR A NAME

Interview by Carlo Gironi (carlo@staff.truepunk.com) with Tony Sly.

Hi! Can you introduce yourself and what you do play in No Use For A Name?
TONY. SINGER/GUITAR.

How is 2007 treating No Use For A Name? How have you been doing lately?
WRITING SONGS AND WRITING SONGS PRETTY MUCH. WE’RE GOING ON TOUR SOON.

Your new album “All The Best Songs” is coming out on Fat Wreck Chords: it is a kind of greatest hits songs but with remastered songs and two bonus tracks. Would you describe it to the fans and to people who never heard of No Use For A Name before?
WELL, IT’S PROBABLY OUR BEST RECORD SO FAR. NO JUST KIDDING. YOU GET LIKE 26 SONGS PLUS BONUS SONGS AND IT HAS A COOL BOOKLET INSIDE. I THINK THE RECORS SUMS IT ALL UP , UP TO NOW.

I also read on the Fat site that the CD will come with an extensive booklet with liner notes. Will you have something special for your fans?

WELL, WE ARE DOING SOME GIVEAWAYS ON OUR SITE AND THROUGH FAT, THE WHOLE BOOKLET WAS WRITTEN SO THAT FANS CAN HAVE SOME INSIGHT INTO THE BAND. THIS REALLY IS FOR THE FANS, AS CLICHÉ AS THAT SOUNDS. IT SOUNDS REALLY CLICHÉ, I KNOW.

How did you decide the tracklist for the album? Did you choose the songs you liked the most or asked the fans, as Pennywise and No Fun At All did some years ago?
YES A BIT. BUT WE ALSO HAD TO ALL AGREE. WE’D MAKE A LIST OF SONGS AND WHICHEVER WERE ON EVERYONES LIST WERE KEPT. THE OTHERS WERE DECIDED OF A PERIOD OF LIKE 5 MONTHS. THAT PART WAS SO HARD. IT ALL HAD TO BE UNDER 76 MINUTES, THAT WAS ACTUALLY TOUGH.

I heard the songs remastered and they all sound awesome: did you ever think to remaster your early albums as “Incognito” and “Don’t Miss The Train”? Because I own them and they do not sound very good at all, at least not as good as the new songs.
I DON’T KNOW, I KNOW PEOPLE LIKE THOSE RECORDS AND THEY SERVE A PURPOSE BUT I AM NOT TO KEEN ON THEM. I MEAN I’M PROUD OF THEM, IT’S JUST THAT I HAVE A HARD TIME LISTENING TO THEM. MY VOICE BACK THEN SOUNDS MUFFLED, IT ANNOYS ME. IT’S LIKE I AM SINGING WITH A DONUT IN MY MOUTH OR SOMETHING. I CAN’T REALLY EXPLAIN.

Your last studio record “Keep Them Confused” came out a long time ago: did you release this greatest hits as a teaser for the fans that are waiting for your new album? And by the way, when will you release a brand new record?
2008. HOPEFULLY IN THE EARLY PART OF THE YEAR. I’M EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW MATERIAL. AND NO, IT’S MORE OF A 20 YEAR ANNIVERSARY THING. WE NEVER THOUGHT WE SHOULD MAKE A BEST OF UNTIL WE TURNED 20.

With the passing of the years I saw you left fast songs for slower ones: how did this happen? I always loved albums like “Leche Con Carne” and “Making Friends”, which had a ton of fast melodies.
I GUESS IT JUST HAPPENED, I DON’T KNOW. THE NEXT RECORD IS A LOT OF FAST STUFF.THE NEW ONE THAT IS.

Among the new unreleased songs, “Stunt Double” was played acoustic by Tony Sly on the split album with Joey Cape: did you re-record it?
YEAH , DURING THE KTC SESSIONS. WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE COOL TO PLAY THAT SONG LOW AND SLOW. WHATEVER.

In the latest years I saw how mainstream “emo” bands became quite big and a lot of melodic punk rock bands have disappeared. But I think punk bands think they’re not trendy anymore for a bad reason, because I know a lot of kids still listen to 90’s punk rock bands. What do you think and how do you relate to this new wave of “emo punk”?
I DON’T KNOW. I DON’T REALLY RELATE. THERE IS GOOD MUSIC AND BAD MUSIC YOU KNOW? A LOT OF TODAYS “PUNK” BANDS ARE TERRIBLE. THERE ARE SOME GOOD ONES. I THINK THAT IMAGE HAS BECOME SUCH A FOCUS THAT PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY FORGETTING ABOUT MUSIC. IT’S LIKE PARIS HILTON; ALWAYS ON TV, ALWAYS IN MAGAZINES, DOES ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING FOR A LIVING BUT SHOW UP EVERYWHERE. HUSTLING IS THE NEW TRYING.

One question that does not have to do strictly with your band: whatever happened to Ryan Greene? I saw a lot of Fat Wreck Chords bands always worked with him on their best records (he made some your albums, a lot of Lagwagon, NOFX, Strung Out records, and more) but now it looks like Fat bands work with other producers: NOFX and Lagwagon work with Bill Stevenson, Strung Out work with Matt Hyde, etc… Whatever happened to him, will you work again with him, because I loved the albums he produced.
RYAN IS MY GOOD FRIEND, ALWAYS WILL BE. WE DID KTC WITH HIM, BUT WHO KNOWS WHAT WE’LL DO FOR THE NEXT RECORD. I HAVEN’T EVEN CHECKED OUT RYANS NEW STUDIO YET. I DON’T KNOW. I THINK BILL STEVENSON IS GREAT TOO. I HAVE TO DEMO MORE SONGS AND GET A VIBE FOR IT.

Are you still in touch with the guys from Ten Foot Pole? I never totally got the joke inside the “Making Friends” CD artwork, with the emails and such. Would you please explain it?
I CAN’T EXPLAIN BECAUSE I DON’T REMEMBER. I THINK IT WAS JUST BACK AND FORTH E-MAILS ABOUT CHRIS TO CONFUSE PEOPLE REALLY. TOTALLY RANDOM.

I miss the times when you released “Making Friends”, Ten Foot Pole played “Unleashed”, Face To Face was still around and a lot of punk rock was going on: what happened to the scene, if there ever was one? 
WELL, A LOT OF THAT FEELING , I THINK, IS BECAUSE OF A CERTAIN TIME AND PLACE. AN AGE WHEN WE WERE LESS RESPONSIBLE. BUT FOR ME, I CAN’T STOP WRITING THESE KIND OF SONGS THAT JUST SOUND LIKE NO USE. PLUS ALL THOSE PEOPL WERE SO YOUNG THEN. I DON’T KNOW WHY PUNK DOESN’T HAVE THE LONGEVITY THAT THE ROLLING STONES HAVE OR BIG ROCK ACTS. MAYBE IT’S BECAUSE EVERYTHING IN PUNK IS SUPPOSED TO BE SHORT; LIKE HAIR, SONGS, AND SHOWS. IF ANYTHING BANDS IN OUR GENRE HAVE GONE ON SO MUCH LONGER THAN TYPICAL PUNK BANDS. TODAY BANDS MAKE 2-3 RECORDS AND THEN BREAK UP.

In the “More Betterness” album artwork I saw you had a copy of Bad Religion’s “No Substance” on the table: but seriously, how bad was that album?
I THINK IT WAS JUST THERE AT THE PRACTICE SPACE. I NEVER GOT INTO THAT RECORD TOO MUCH.

What are the latest albums you have listened to? Have you got some new bands to suggest to our readers?
ALL MY NEW CD’S ARE BY OLD BANDS. LIKE THE NEW NEUROSIS, IT’S AWESOME. I REALLY TRY TO BRANCH OUT BUT MAN YOU GOTTA GO THROUGH SO MUCH CRAP TO FIND SOMETHING GOOD. OH THE BANDS WE ARE TOURING WITH ARE GOOD. WHOLE WHEAT BREAD AND THE FLATLINERS. THEY’RE NEW.

What are the future plans for No Use For A Name? I read you will be starting a tour in small clubs. Will you come to Europe too?
NOT EUROPE RIGHT AWAY. IT’S BETTER FOR US TO HAVE OUR NEW RECORD OUT. AT THAT POINT WE WILL HOPEFULLY GO TO EUROPE TWICE IN THE FIRST YEAR OF RELEASE.

Thank you so much for taking time to answer my questions.
THANKS, TONY

Rise Against

There’s a palpable sense of adventure on Chicago four piece Rise Against’s 2006 album The Sufferer & The Witness. Having recently defected from Californian indie label Fat to major label Geffen, the band’s exploratory song structures and dynamic directional shift has brought a maturation to the sound few could have predicted.
Interview by By Steve Tauschke

Certainly, the addition of a string quartet to the mix has raised the collective eyebrow of the group’s loyal hardcore supports.

“When we first started using strings people were asking if we were afraid our fans would call us sell-outs because we’re incorporating classical instruments but we don’t see if that way,” explains bassist Joe Principe from San Francisco where Rise Against is touring with Thursday. “Something we’ve always been a really big fan of are string instruments and when tastefully done it’s effective. It compliments the song Roadside very well.

“We actually performed it last night with a string section for the very first time and I think the fans responded really well to it – they got something a little different. I don’t think bands should be afraid to try new things as long as you’re sincere and true to your heart as far as song writing goes then there’s nothing wrong with venturing into new territory. I think any band that wants to grow and have lasting stability has to keep things interesting.”

Inspired by this year’s progressive albums from AFI and The Killers, The Sufferer & Witness was, on the advice of their punk rock friends from Good Riddance, recorded at drummer/producer Bill Stevenson’s increasingly popular Blasting Room studios in Colorado, the studio of choice lately for many punk and hardcore acts.

“Bill understands aggressive punk rock, really melodic punk rock and obviously being in the Descendents and Black Flag he’s got the best of both worlds,” says Principe, formerly of 88 Fingers Louie. “He really paid attention to the grit behind our music and he wanted all the tones to be really big sounding and aggressive and I think he captured that. I think my bass sound on the record is one of the best that I’ve done.”

Stevenson, songwriter/drummer with punk-pop veterans Descendents and ALL, worked on the band’s previous album, 2004′s Siren Song Of The Counter Culture hence it’s certainly no major label compromise.

“If anything I think we’ve grown as a band together, whether we were on Fat or Epitaph or Geffen, it didn’t matter,” reasons Principe. “The Suffering & the Witness is just a product of us maturing as musicians and people.”

Rise Against

Interview by Carlo Gironi | carlo@staff.truepunk.com | with Tim of Rise Against.

Hello Tim! How are things going with you and Rise Against in 2006?
Couldn’t be better. The White Sox won the world series. Britney Spears had a baby, you know, what else could you ask for in a good year?

Your sophomore major label album “The Sufferer And The Witness” is coming out these days. How would you describe it and how does the band feel about it? Is it your best effort yet?
Right now I feel that “The Sufferer & The Witness” is our best effort yet. I feel great about the way it came out. It was one of those things where everything that we wanted to happen on this record actually happened. The songs are all entities of their own, making the record really diverse. We were ecstatic to be working with Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore again. They really helped bring this record to life.

I noticed that on your previous album “Siren Songs Of The Counter Culture” you hadn’t been influenced by the fact that you were on a major label, after you left indie Fat Wreck Chords. So, was it difficult to work on your own or did you have to convince some big boss you were doing something you wanted?
There was no convincing really. I think the label was a little hesitant to send us to a producer that exists outside of the whole major industry, but they’ve come to trust us as a band and we went to the Blasting Room with their blessing. In retrospect, it was the best decision we’ve ever made and there’s a lot of people in the rock world that are being blown away by Bill & Jason’s work right now.

Musically, I think your new album is even harder than your previous releases, with songs like “Chamber the Cartridge” and “Bricks” that are really hardcore punk. Was this a personal choice or you decided to have more aggressive hooks on the new album?
Our songs are never really choices, we just write what we feel. I never sit down and say “I’m going to write a fast punk song” or “I’m going to write a slow acoustic song”, I just write whatever comes to me. I’m glad that we are still capable of bringing some traditional fast punk to the table at this point in our career.

From the point of view of the production, did you still work with Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore? How was to work with them and how long did it take to write, record and everything?
We wrote the bulk of the songs in a three week period in January of 06. Two song were written in the fall of 05, and one song was written in the studio. ?Roadside? was actually written years ago, but its potential wasn’t fully realized until this record. Working with Bill and Jason is like hanging out with friends. You don’t see it as work at all. They are really capable of lighting a fire under our asses and getting the best performance out of each of us.

Lately that duo of producers worked on some amazing bands like A Wilhelm Scream and it looks like NOFX left Ryan Greene production for Bill Stevenson. Are they really so great at stressing the bands’ talent?
Yes. They are the best. They are going to take over the production world, people are just waking up now to what an amazing place the Blasting Room is.

Will you have any b-sides or bonus tracks for the new disc? I know that when major labels publish the disc in UK or Japan, they always throw in some extra tracks. Will you have them, and if so, what are the titles of these tunes?
We did a couple cover songs for B-Sides. We did a Sick Of It All song and a Lifetime song. We also have one extra song that will be an additional B-side.

For the original soundtrack of Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland You covered the song “Fix Me” by the Black Flag. What do you consider your major musical influences for Rise Against?
Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Religion, Fugazi, Bad Brains, Refused, At The Drive In, Pennywise, Descendents…

Speaking of your old record label Fat Wreck Chords, are you still in touch with Mike? And how do you see the label growing up from the outside?
We still talk to Mike and hang out whenever we’re in the same town. We visit the Fat office whenever we are in SF and usually have lunch with everyone and steal CDs from them. We recently re-mixed and re-mastered our first record, so we’ve been in especially close contact with them this year. The people at Fat are family, and will always be.

I’ve been really impressed with the new bands on Fat. Strike Anywhere, Western Addiction, Dead To Me, Love Equals Death, and a bunch more. They have a great thing going and they are slowly re-inventing themselves, which is awesome.

What would it be for Rise Against to be still on Fat? I mean, is being on a major label really different from being on an indie one? I ask you this because I read of indie bands that said they will never go on a major because major labels do not understand how to work with punk bands. What are your opinions?
It’s funny, because I guess the proof that being on Geffen has helped us is certainly there. Our band is much bigger. We outgrew Fat. We have more fans, we sold about eight times as many records, our shows are bigger, and we were able to tap into outlets like radio and TV. Internationally, we’ve branched into places that we never did well in before. What’s funny about radio, is that our two big singles were years old before they even went to radio! “Give It All” came out on the Rock Against Bush comp, and “Swing Life Away” came out on a Fearless comp, both prior to the release of “Siren Song.” Obviously, they needed the extra boost that our label now was able to provide. But more importantly, any success that we’ve found in the last two years has come on our own terms. We did it all without bending to anyone’s whims or sacrificing anything along the way, and I’m real proud of that.

I’m not saying that all major labels are good, but it certainly follows that not all majors are bad either. The same can be said for independent labels. I have friends on independent labels that were sent back to the studio write “radio singles” or were encouraged to work with “professional songwriters”. I have friends on independent labels who wouldn’t print lyrics to save money on packaging. That sucks. That happens in the indie world and the major world. The music industry is in a pretty bad place these days and desperate times are unfortunately calling for desperate measures sometimes.

I think that the issues with labels are more complex than people realize. Labels are just that, labels. They are names attached to a group of people. It’s like calling the Misfits the Misfits these days. The members are different, but they still use the same name. When you say you like the Misfits, you have to be a little more specific than that. The same goes for labels. The Geffen that dropped Jawbreaker ten years ago was an entirely different Geffen that we work with today and will probably be an entirely different Geffen in five years. There are probably bands on Geffen that absolutely hate Geffen right now, and that can be for a number of reasons. Maybe their band sucks and they need someone to blame. Maybe they are arrogant assholes and non one wants to take their call. What I’ve found is if you treat people the way you want to be treated, you will find what you are looking for.

You guys in Rise Against all played in some indie bands of the Chicago music scene: the first question about it is, which do you consider the main difference from the 88 Fingers Louie times and today? Both in music, bands, scene and lyrical themes? Are today bands more relaxed and calm?
I think punk is certainly more accessible than it was when I was growing up. Punk was a little more obscure, and little harder to find, and lot more dangerous. Punk was also informative. Punk bands spoke their minds. All of those aspects made it more special.

Now, you have to sift through a lot of bullshit and cell-phone commercials and mock-punk bands to find the real stuff underneath. It doesn’t mean that punk is dead. People who say punk is dead are trying to justify the fact that they gave up on it. It’s just a bit harder to find.

The second question about the Chicago scene (and in general the American indie scene), from the outside it looks like the best bands are still under-rated. I mean, I don’t care about the 100th Fat band that sound like NOFX, when I can hear bands like Holy Roman Empire that really plays something new.

Chicago has always had an amazing scene and probably always will. I will admit that I am perhaps not the most qualified person to comment on the present state of the scene, seeing as the band keeps me on the road 9 months out of the year. But certainly bands like The Methadones, Holy Roman Empire, Much The Same, Pelican and so many more are keeping it real in Chi-Town.

What are your future projects? I know you will be on the whole Warped Tour. Will you tour elsewhere and with whom? Any plans to come to Europe?
We will be in Europe with Wilhelm Scream and Berri Txarrak this fall. We can’t fucking wait. Then we will be doing a co-headlining tour of the States, Japanese/ Australian tour, followed by a Canadian tour.

Any final comments? Things you want to say?
We just finished our video for “Ready To Fall”, we have an acoustic version of “Everchangin” on the new Warped comp, the record comes out on the Fourth Of July, and thanks to all of our fans who been with us for so long!

Next Page »