FANTOMAS - March 2005

Originally published in: Chord Magazine

Random thoughts: In celebration of Faith No More's recent reformation and killer set at the Download Festival, here's one of my all-time favorite articles--an interview with Mike Patton about Fantomas. Truth is, I was on cloud nine talking to Patton, but, like all of my "heroes," he was genuine and easy to talk to.

Fantomas
The mad genius strikes again

By Jason Schreurs

Fantomas leader Mike Patton has been in some great bands over the years. Need a list? Okay, Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, collaborations with The Dillinger Escape Plan, John Zorn, Merzbow, not to mention a variety of solo projects. But none of these could possibly be as entertaining as Fantomas, featuring King Buzzo (Melvins), Dave Lombardo (Slayer), and Trevor Dunn (ex-Mr. Bungle). Stretching the ever-extendable boundaries of Patton’s overactive imagination must be a bundle of fun.
“It’s…,” pauses Patton, “ya, I would say that Fantomas is pretty fun. It’s also very disciplined, but I think the fun in it, for me, is watching these guys pull this stuff off. Writing something that is acrobatic, and insane, and full of twists and turns, and watching them pull it off, is very satisfying. Also knowing whatever I write, these guys can rise to the challenge and spit it right back at me; that is rewarding and makes me feel invincible. It makes me want to write a concerto or something for them.”
A fourth Fantomas album, Suspended Animation, on Patton’s own Ipecac imprint, is the latest entry in a sonic journal of the truly weird. Of course, the man has worked with some jaw-dropping musicians, but he must just look around at Fantomas rehearsals, astounded, and think, “This is the drummer for Slayer and the guitar player from Melvins!”
“I still have those moments, yeah,” admits Patton. “Especially on stage sometimes. The way we set up, I face directly across the stage at Dave [Lombardo], so I get to ooh and aaah at him…”
The myth surrounding Patton and his handpicked Fantomas crew is he is a slave-driver, constantly challenging them to the brink. Judging by their chaotic fury, in all of its experimental, strange glory, the demented ringleader image certainly fits. But Patton is quick to laugh off any dictator-like scenarios.
“Put it this way, I’ve got the Angel of Death on drums. Who’s going to slave-drive that guy? We’re talking about a guy who sold his soul to the devil. How can I compete with that?”
The truth is Patton did mastermind this bizarre group, and albums like 2001’s Director’s Cut (an homage to film) and last year’s Delirium Cordia {a 74-minute, one-song nightmare) were written entirely by him, so it’s pretty obvious who’s in control here.
“The only reason people might paint that portrait is because it’s my music and I know the way it should sound and…,” Patton pauses again, “I don’t have to crack any whips, really. I just explain to them what I want and we hammer it out.”
Make no mistake; this is not easy stuff to play. Even with perhaps the most loose-limbed drummer around (Lombardo), an amazing guitar player (Buzzo), and a workhorse bassist (Dunn), things can get a little complicated.
“Unfortunately, there’s no easy way of learning it. The only way we end up getting it down is by going over and over and over, through repetition in the rehearsal room. And we all make little cheat notes and have our own little tricks that we play in our minds to actually remember this stuff. It’s a real pain in the ass to play. Not that it’s technically difficult, but more-so it’s hard to remember what’s coming next.”
Themed around the wacky month of April, Suspended Animation also expresses an outright fascination with cartoons and children’s playthings. Samples of possessed toys and warped Saturday morning sound-effects are intermingled with Patton’s genius hardcore herky-jerk. If Barney the Dinosaur, Bugs Bunny, and Elmo got in league with Satan for some death metal action, this is what they would sound like.
For such a bizarre choice of sounds, packaging for this release was going to be a difficult task. The solution? None other than Japanese pop art icon Yoshitomo Nara.
“I contacted [Nara] and told him what kind of a record I was going to make,” begins Patton. “I had no idea if he knew me from… Eddie Vedder, or anybody else. I just kind of wrote him out of the blue and said, ‘I think your artwork would be great for this record and I would love if you would create some original stuff for it. Whatever you want.’”
“And he wrote me back saying it sounded great. I sent him some of our records and he loved them. He gave me 30 drawings,” he marvels, “most of which are original to use on this thing. So I was overwhelmed. I thought I would get two or three.”
Patton took the Nara originals and worked them into a calendar for April, the month with the silliest holidays (“That Sucks Day,” believe it or not, is April 15). A limited-edition of the CD is a full-on calendar, ready to hang on the wall. One last thing though, how is Ipecac going to afford to ship those things out?
“Ya,” chuckles Patton wildly, “don’t ask!”

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NOTE - And another piece from the same interview for Caustic Truths Magazine.

Fantomas
Mike Patton invents another genre: Kiddie-core

By Jason Schreurs

I wish Mike Patton could witness my kids’ reaction when I crank up the latest Fantomas CD, Suspended Animation. I think he’d get a kick out of seeing them do this weird sort of interpretative dance while they make bizarre faces; perhaps the ideal reaction to Patton’s latest creation, a truly strange ode to cartoons and the wacky month of April. I’ll explain what this all means in a bit, but first Patton’s reaction to putting joy into the lives of slightly off-kilter children.
“Oh man, see,” laughs Patton, “these are the people I want to play for! Fuck all of these middle-aged hipsters; these are the real fans, man!”
For those living on planet Zyborg, Patton is the guy who once fronted Faith No More and Mr. Bungle, and now Tomahawk and Fantomas, as well as constantly creating solo CDs around his chronically experimental vocal chords. So with all of the musical genres Patton has invented (and often destroyed in the process), he must have ventured into the territory of children’s music before, right?
“Well, I sort of flirted with some elements like that,” he explains. “Mr. Bungle did a lot of fooling around with that kind of a thing, but I’ve never explored it deeply like I did on this record. I never incorporated it into a musical language, so to speak.”
Suspended Animation, a 30-track theme album on Patton’s own Ipecac Records, is built around each day in the month of April, extravagantly packaged and artistically rendered by Japanese pop art icon Yoshitomo Nara.
The songs are a sonic maelstrom of sampled kids playthings, like scrambled messages from the toy graveyard, egged on by the drumming insanity of Slayer’s Dave Lombardo, bass-work of Trevor Dunn (longtime Patton collaborator in Mr. Bungle), and King Buzzo, guitar god from The Melvins. Basically, the songs on this CD are like a gruesomely entertaining version of what parents have to listen to on a day-to-day basis.
“Dave [Lombardo] said that too, at a certain point when we were recording,” laughs Patton. “Because he’s the kind of guy that wakes up early, deals with his kids, and then he’d come out and rehearse for eight hours, or something ridiculous like that, and he’d say, ‘Jesus, I can’t escape! This is the soundtrack to my life. Every morning, now it’s in my rehearsal!’”
“It was driving him nuts,” says Patton with a demented cackle.
The new album was actually recorded during the same session as Fantomas’ last CD, Delirium Corda, a single, 74-minute track of challenging darkness and precision. With that particular piece of Fantomas weirdness being so moody and intense, it must have been nice to blow off some steam with the decidedly more wacky and way out there Suspended Animation.
“Well, it didn’t really work out like that,” laments Patton. “In fact, I think we recorded the cartoony, fun Suspended Animation stuff first. So it’s like we ate our dessert before the main meal.”
Back to the kiddies. I’ve gotta thank Patton, again, for doing one that the kids can enjoy. In fact, they adore it. They literally freak out when they hear any of the 30 tracks on Suspended Animation. And my kids don’t often like dad’s music, so it’s nice to be able to put on a CD and say, “Here’s one for you, kids. Go for it!”
“Very good,” says Patton with a sparkle. “I was telling the guys that maybe this time instead of playing sweaty, stinky rock clubs we should play daycare centres and comedy clubs [laughs]… Detention halls!”
Then Patton lets out a bellow: “Grown-ups suck! That’s the theme of this record.”

For more info, go to www.myspace.com/fantomasband

BATTLES - March 2007

Originally published in: Chord Magazine

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Random thoughts: Talking to John Stanier from Battles was awesome. Mostly because he used to drum in Helmet, but also because he was a smart, funny guy. Love his quote about the hard times in his previous band.

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BATTLES

By Jason Schreurs

Describing New York quartet Battles to an unsuspecting fan of “average” music is almost impossible. Between the blips and bleeps, syncopated poly-rhythms, and high crescendo vocal emissions, this sentence might as well be written in Swahili. Listening to Battles’ latest, Mirrored, it’s hard not to wonder what the hell is going on. One thing’s for certain, they aren’t an “average” band.
“In a nutshell, we’re trying to have fun and do something new,” explains drummer John Stanier. “The cool thing about Battles is it literally was started with a 100 percent genuine blank slate. There were no preconceptions on what was going to happen or what we wanted to do. It was truly something from the absolute bottom up.”
Battles were formed by guitarist Ian Williams (ex-Don Caballero) and Tyondai Braxton (an avant-jazz solo musician who has worked with Prefuse 73), and were joined by bassist Dave Konopka (ex-Lynx), and Stanier (ex-Helmet, currently in Tomahawk).
Within a few years, Battles have astounded with heralded EPs and an undisputed live show. When Prefuse took them on tour recently they had already turned enough heads to get signed to the same record label—Warp Records—and it’s been a great pairing.
“Warp is the absolute perfect match for us,” says Stanier. “I could not be happier; it just makes so much sense. As a label they totally stick to their guns, even if it’s obviously, blatantly non-commercial stuff.”
As for the band’s evolution, it’s from a noteworthy recipe. “It was four different people from different backgrounds and age groups, and from different parts of the country, getting together and throwing all their ideas into this big pot,” says Stanier. “I use the words ‘musical economy’ a lot. It’s almost as hard to arrange the songs as it is to write them. We exercise control very well and we all realized it early on.”
Musical economy? The next stage of math rock? Like, taking mathematical musical ideas and instead of trying to punch them into constricted formulas, looking at the production, distribution, and consumption of those musical ideas? Or perhaps Stanier has a more straightforward explanation.
“Economy is just knowing what to play, when, and when not to play something,” he obliges. “Like when to stop painting, you know? That whole theory. Think about all the bands with four really good players, but it just sounds like a total wank-fest jam band. We all respect each other so much, so we’re all more interested in the end result, and every song has a life of its own. We all understood those credos from day one.”
Mirrored is their first full-length and they sound in perfect synch on its 11 tracks. But they weren’t always a well-honed machine. According to Stanier, when Williams and Braxton approached him, Battles were “very loose and unfocused.”
“It took weeks to even start tossing ideas back and forth, and then slowly and surely it started to gel. At first it didn’t seem like a real band, then the next thing you know we’re touring and releasing records,” recalls Stanier.
Hard to believe such a self-indulgent band could garner such adoration. Wait, back up… self-indulgent? “You seriously think it’s self-indulgent?” asks Stanier, leaving an awkward silence to hang in the balance. Well, these guys are out to please themselves first, and that’s what they set out to do. Just saying…
“Yeah, no, I know. You’re kind of right,” says Stanier. “I don’t know if it’s self-indulgence, but you can’t be concerned with who’s going to like your stuff. Luckily, we have elements of so many different kinds of music that we’ve been able to reach out to a wide array of people, and you can’t ask for anything better than that. That’s the ultimate goal, right there.”
A desire to create something interesting, new, and, let’s say, self-rewarding was the impetus for Battles, and Mirrored marks the apex of their work to date. After Stanier’s time in Helmet and Williams’ in Don Caballero, a collaborative and rewarding band was a necessity.
“To be honest, both Ian and I had pretty bad experiences in our past bands and I certainly don’t want to dwell on that, but everyone really wanted to do something totally new,” says Stanier.
For now Battles are stepping back to really look at the album they’ve created, and how they’ve progressed into something Stanier says “constantly amazes him every day.”
“And it’s not in a pretentious way, at all,” he’s quick to point out. “We’re not trying to do this new kind of music, or make it ‘progressive rock.’ We’re just doing what we do, we’re having fun doing it, and we hope people like it… And I know that’s a vague, stupid comment to make, but it’s true.”

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For more info, go to: www.bttls.com

LUNGFISH - April 2003

Originally published in: Monday Magazine

Random thoughts: I remember being exceptionally excited about this one, a rare interview with one of the Dischord Records bands.

Stickin’ to their Lungs
No giving out, or giving up, or giving in…

By Jason Schreurs

Music without compromise. For most bands slogging away under the music industry umbrella, this isn’t just a dream; it’s an unattainable fantasy. But for Baltimore’s Lungfish, the past 15 years have been spent making music own their own terms, completely outside the mainstream spectrum.
“It's really just in a different orbit,” says bass player Sean Meadows. “Our music isn't about other things, we aren't selling it at the same markets… so we don't have to compromise it in any way because we aren't trying to trade our music for something else.”
Must be nice. In an industry where most groups feel compelled to take blind leaps of faith into the music machine, Lungfish is content to remain underground. Since 1988 they’ve created nine albums of compelling, authentic, emotional indie rock. Their fans, as varied as the band’s nine albums (2000’s Necrophones is the latest), are eagerly awaiting a recently completed tenth record.
“There are certain people who hear Lungfish music and find a connection,” notes Meadows. “Other people have heard the same music and hear static and make no connection. Usually people who find the music are searching for it, since the records are put out on a small scale without all this media explosiveness that seems to be so pervasive in every aspect of our culture.”
Meadows logs time in other indie notables Everlasting the Way and Red House Blues, and was a member of the sadly missed June of ’44. He recently made his return to Lungfish (after an initial stint in ‘95-’96); a reunion he couldn’t be more thrilled about.
“I always felt like I was in the band and that we would make music together again. I was so delighted when they asked me to help them with the new record,” he beams. “It was a really amazing dream come true, and it came true twice…”
Behind every truly independent band is a supportive record label, and Lungfish have one of the best. Dischord Records exist to document the Washington, DC underground music scene and their relationship with Lungfish has been like family, says Meadows.
“There is a ton of respect in the Lungfish camp for Dischord; the way they operate, the individual people that they are, and the collective ideal within music that they represent. It's all been said before, but there really aren't enough good things you can say about Dischord. It's been amazing for me to have an opportunity to work with them making records...”

For more info, go to: www.myspace.com/lungfishmusic

GOD FORBID - July 2005

Originally published in: Chord Magazine

Album: IV: Constitution of Treason (Century Media)

Random thoughts: Geez, I barely remember this interview.

God Forbid
All Eyes to the Future

By Jason Schreurs

Hands up those who like epic thrash metal like Metallica’s Ride the Lightning. For the shy few who’ve never heard one of metal’s classics, imagine six-minute thundering songs with cool intros/outros that stick until the wee hours. Or, better yet, get the latest from New Jersey metallers God Forbid, IV: Constitution of Treason, out September 20 on Century Media.
“We’re really about being dynamic, building things up, bringing things down, and trying to create that negative space,” says guitarist Doc Coyle. “We could write a three-minute thrash metal song but, for us, it would lack depth.”
On their fourth album, God Forbid raise the ante and deliver a dark, dramatic album that strengthens the foundation of their upper-tier metalcore/thrash. Often they get lumped in with fellow American metalheads like Shadows Fall, but with IV they are hoping to break out of the shadows.
“We’ve created more of a sonic environment as opposed to just, ‘Here are these metal songs,’ which is more of what our last album [Gone Forever] was; just raw, to the point, no intros, no outros, here’s nine thrash metal songs, which is great, but we wanted to do something that required a little more thought this time.”
The epic thrash is enhanced by a lyrical concept that includes a Coyle-penned short story in the CD booklet. Although it wasn’t preconceived as a theme album, the title of IV was decided early on and set the tone for a post-apocalyptic tale of morality and hope.
“The story starts in current times and, through the vicious cycle of war, eventually our society is destroyed,” explains Coyle. “It takes you through the journey of one man who tries to help rebuild things with the ideals of how humanity should be, about freedom, about choice, about living your life and not being greedy, and not all of this bullshit that’s going on now.”
Definitely reflective of the state of our world, and how near to complete annihilation our existence seems, Coyle uses the familiar setting of post-apocalypse to prove the moral of his story.
“It’s about how we keep making the same mistakes over and over again, now matter how bad shit gets. It’s about not repeating those same mistakes, and at some point people just putting their foot down.”
Sure, it shares startling similarities with well-known stories like Stephen King’s The Stand and the Mad Max movies, but Coyle’s not claiming to reinvent the wheel.
“It’s not the most original story in the world, but I definitely think it’s something different in our genre of bands, so hopefully it’s something that will set us apart and give the album another layer of depth.”
Those looking for depth need look no further than God Forbid’s triple vocal attack. While Coyle and his brother, Dallas, scream and sing away in the background, one of the best lead vocalists in metal, Byron Davis, grabs listeners by the face and forces them to listen. Davis spent many hours in the studio raising his performance level through the roof, including his first forays into clean singing, with tremendous results.
“Byron definitely is very emotional,” relates Coyle. “When he writes lyrics and goes in there and performs them, he’s very into it. It’s not, just scream here, growl low here; there’s just a lot of raw emotion. I think the biggest improvement on this album from our last is in the vocals.”
With the two brothers in God Forbid as principle songwriters, Coyle’s quick to admit a sibling rivalry has carried into the band.
“We have become more individual in our songwriting styles so we butt heads a lot, and we argue a lot,” he stresses. “It’s definitely a power struggle, so it’s bittersweet because there’s certain ways that we connect because we’re brothers, but then again there’s also a big battle going on between what he sees and what I see. Hopefully, the place in the middle is where we end up.”
And what about the issue most articles on God Forbid tend to skirt? Not many metal bands feature predominately black members.
“I think it’s become less and less of an issue, because we’ve been around, we’re established. Now it’s either the music is good, or it’s not good… In a way, it does set us apart, and if anything I hope we can just destroy conventional stereotypes of what people think.”
Coyle admits he doesn’t see a lot of black fans at the band’s shows. But there are always some, and that’s encouraging for the band.
“There’s not a lot, but at least for those kids who are African-American who are into it, it can make them not feel so isolated.”
“If we could end up being one of the biggest bands doing this that would be crazy, because, you know,” and Coyle’s sense of humor kicks in, “we took over basketball, football, you know what I’m sayin’… we took over golf! Now we’re coming after heavy metal!”

For more info, go to: www.godforbid1.com

D.R.I. - December 2004

Originally appeared at: www.flexyourhead.net

Random thoughts: Unfortunately, this was an e-mail interview. Still, quite a thrill to be interviewing one of the bands who introduced me to punk, hardcore, and metal. Back then they called it Crossover!

D.R.I.

Anyone who grew up on the uncompromising hardcore/punk/metal of D.R.I. (a.k.a. Dirty Rotten Imbeciles) understands how, in 1987, they came to coin a new genre called “crossover.” Today, with punk/hardcore and metal meshing together into phenomenal new sub-genres (okay, and some not-so-phenomenal), a lot of credit needs to be given to D.R.I. Although they aren’t as prolific these days, with band members living across the sea from each other, fans still clamor for their series of re-releases (2004 brought D.R.I. and Dealing with It, while Live at CBGB’s and Crossover are due in 2005). And I’m sure every D.R.I. fan is hanging on the possibility of some new material from the band. Their new label, Beer City Records, is doing their best to make that happen. So here’s hoping.

Jason Schreurs interviewed D.R.I. singer Kurt Brecht by email from his home in Italy in early December, 2004, on the same night that Dimebag Darrell (ex-Pantera) was shot in Columbus, Ohio.

I know you get this a lot, but when can fans expect some new material from D.R.I.?
Not sure, we are busy re-releasing our old stuff as enhanced CDs on Beer City right now.

Which of your old CDs are still be worked on for re-release?
Crossover and everything after that.

You guys must look back fondly at your past. Can you tell me a little bit about how you feel about D.R.I.'s history?
It's been like a dream come true! Very rough in the beginning, though. It's still so much fun and I feel really lucky to have a job I like, and one with which I can travel the world, making people happy. It's still a real privilege!

Do you guys ever feel the pressure to put new stuff out? I know the D.R.I. fans are pretty demanding sometimes. Does it make you panic a little, or are you able to take your time with your music without feeling that pressure?
We keep busy touring, and playing live is more important to us than studio work.

Yes, but you must feel a bit of pressure from the fans for new stuff. Even your website commented on "tons of emails asking us about new songs." Does that drive you to write new stuff?
With bands who have been around as long as we have, most people are happy just hearing the old stuff.

It must be hard for you guys to get together to write songs though, eh? I'm assuming all of the members are busy with other things?
I live in Italy, drummer [Rob Rampy] lives in Florida and the others [guitarist and other founding member Spike Cassidy, and new bassist Harald Oimoen] live in California. We don't even practice together anymore.

What about these four new songs you mentioned on the website. Any further plans to release them?
Beer City wants to get us in the studio as soon as possible, but first we have to get the Live at CBGB’s CD and DVD out and the re-release of Crossover.

Some hints on what the new stuff will sound like?
Not really, we'll have to wait and see! But I would say more hardcore than metal.

That's interesting. So do you guys consider yourselves a hardcore band or a metal band? Or somewhere in between? Does the term crossover still describe you these days?
We are in between. I've seen us mentioned lately in books about metal, and other books about hardcore. Yes, crossover still fits us pretty well.

What do you think of the current trend of metalcore? Is that today's version of crossover?
Many of those bands might list D.R.I. as an influence.

How did you feel about the re-release CDs that came out last year? Were you happy with the final products?
Yes! Beer City kicks ass as a record company!

Obviously D.R.I. is a very political band, and has had some very important things to say over the years. How do you feel your messages have changed and adapted since the "Reaganomics" days? Or have you stayed pretty much the same in your outlook?
My outlook is the same, but D.R.I. is four very different guys, so you'd have to get all of our opinions.

Your opinions on the re-election of Bush?
A sad, sad situation.

What can a politically aware American do now that they have another four years of Bush to look forward to (besides moving to Canada, ha ha)?
I don't have any answers on that subject. I watch the news and try to make sense of it all. It all scares me.

What was it like working on the Probot project with Dave Grohl? Were you happy with the way the song “Silent Spring" turned out?
It was nice to get back in the studio and the first time I'd ever written a song with anyone outside of D.R.I. Made me want to get back in the studio with my guys! Yes, I'm happy with how it turned out. The whole album kicks ass.

The lyrics to “Silent Spring” on the Probot CD are awesome. Tell me about the inspiration behind them.
I knew a lot of people would read the lyrics, so I wanted to say something worthwhile. The title is from a book by Rachel Carlson about the damage the human race has inflicted on our earth in the last hundred years or so.

What was your reaction to the shooting of Dimebag Darrell?
What can I say? This makes no sense. Sad, sad...

For more info, go to: www.dirtyrottenimbeciles.com

NOMEANSNO - May 2004

Originally published in: Monday Magazine

Album: The People's Choice (Ipecac)

Random thoughts: One of my all-time favourite bands, this was a thrill and a half. And Tom Holliston was a really genuine, funny guy.

The Beginning of the End (as such)?
Not if Nomeansno can help it

By Jason Schreurs

Like countless fanatics around the world, I dread the day Nomeansno calls it quits. But, more than 25 years is a damn long life span for any band, so the unavoidable question arises: Is the end near?
“Well, I don’t know, would you ask the same question to John Lee Hooker?” quips guitarist Tom Holliston. “A big mistake for bands is to announce to the world, ‘Oh, we’re breaking up!’ It’s just so brazen in the first place and it’s also really silly. Nobody has to break up, ever. Maybe you stop doing stuff for awhile and just have an option open. But why would anybody just get rid of their options?”
Despite keeping the porch light burning, the masters of prog-punk (the middle ground between The Ramones and Yes) are slowing down. Touring relentlessly around the world, and juggling the band with family life has taken its toll on Holliston and brothers John and Rob Wright (who formed the band here in Victoria in the late ‘70s). So much so that their last of many jaunts to Europe had them contemplating early retirement options.
“On that tour everybody was sort of only half-joking, asking each other how much money we had in our pension funds and what we were going to do if we were looking for steady work,” chuckles Holliston.
And while Holliston believes the band is “going to take a break for awhile” after a tour through Western Canada (including a stop here Saturday night), another handful in Europe this year, and a new studio album, he says interest in the band has never been more fervent.
Remember those fanatics I was talking about earlier? They aren’t letting up, and they’re getting younger and hipper by the day. “None of us keep up with our fans. None of us at all make any effort whatsoever to keep up on what’s new in music,” says Holliston. “Basically, it doesn’t mean shit because five percent of what’s released in a year is good and 95 percent is crap. It’s a waste of time trying to keep up. Like somebody comes along and puts out a good record and then by the end of the week there’s 50 other bands just like them. Case in point is bands like The Hellacopters and The Hives and The Strokes, and then there’s suddenly thousands of pieces of spaghetti that are being thrown at the wall. I mean, who wants to keep track of that?”
Not even their fans, it seems, who are too busy delving through the massive Nomeansno back catalog (currently being re-released through Southern Records in Europe as well as select titles in North America by Mike Patton’s label, Ipecac). Those who follow the band just can’t get enough of their dark, twisted, sarcastic, socially relevant… uh, party rock?
“The band goes out to play as well as possible, to have fun and to rock, and get out some of the kinks that are the result of sitting in a van for a long period of time everyday, driving,” explains Holliston. “I don’t think we protest any more than anybody else. Everybody out there is kicking and screaming against something and so are we. I don’t think the message of Nomeansno, if there is a message, is any more important than just… sometimes things aren’t very good. I mean, we don’t have a solution and neither do you.”
So, do they consider themselves a political band? Well, definitely not in the traditional punk rock protest song sense.
“Anybody can walk on the stage and say clear-cutting is bad or Bush is an asshole. Ya?” he says, making it sound like “Duh?” “But do you really want to be in a room with a whole bunch of people who feel exactly like you do? Do you really want to pat yourself on the back and say, ‘Boy, I really preached to the converted really loudly and strongly tonight.’ So, who cares? You haven’t done anything.”
Okay, they’re getting on in years and they’re slowing things down a little, but the best thing about Nomeansno is their undying ability to push themselves forward with their patented sound and poke fun at themselves at the same time.
Case in point is their latest release, a greatest hits set entitled The People’s Choice, adorned with some band room graffiti from a 1994 show in Austria. “Give it up Grand-dads. How fucken old are Nomeansno?” it says. Ten years later, they’re that much older.
“Ya, I know,” Holliston says, giving a belly laugh, “that makes it even funnier!”

For more info, go to: www.nomeanswhatever.com

HOT WATER MUSIC - July 2004

Originally published in: Caustic Truths

Album: The New What Next (Epitaph)

Random thoughts: A couple of Hot Water Music pieces here, inexplicably they were written on the same day. Talk about a quick flipover. Was great talking to this dude though.

Hot Water Music
Learning to love The New What Next

By Jason Schreurs

So what do you do when one of your favorite bands releases a new album and you just can’t seem to get into it? Well, for starters you listen to that damn thing non-stop and force yourself to appreciate it. And, if you have the opportunity to talk to someone in the band about it, as I did with Jason Black of Hot Water Music about their latest, The New What Next, maybe you can even push for an explanation.
“We just wanted to do some different stuff and break it up a little bit more,” explains Black. “Everyone was really happy with Caution [their previous release] but it kinda got to the point where we were starting to do the same thing on every record and we didn’t really want to fall into that trap. It might be selfish of us, but it gets really boring.”
Out of the 12 songs on Hot Water Music’s new album, only about four or five stick with me after countless listens, but each time I put on this record, another tune starts to seep into my psyche. So, I’m starting to think The New What Next might be a real grower.
“It might be… It might be,” ponders Black. “It’s hard for me because I’m just so surrounded by the damn thing by the time we get it done, that it’s just like, ‘I like it or I wouldn’t have put it out,’ you know what I mean?”
Formed in Gainesville, Florida more than decade ago, with a handful of releases on the No Idea label, they were one of the bands who epitomized the emo scene in the mid-to-late ‘90s. With The New What Next, their third album for Epitaph, the band is almost coming full circle with their sound, although in much more mature way.
“We haven’t done any songs this slow or mellow in a few records, we haven’t done anything this slow and heavy in a few records either,” claims Black. “On the older records, there are a lot of different grooves on all the songs. We just wanted to try to make a record where there’s one of every type of song we can do on there, and it’s the best one we’ve got.”
At this point in their lifespan, Hot Water Music are so established in the punk/emo scene they don’t need to pander to their audience as much anymore. But considering how varied this record is, and how different it sounds than their previous two, exactly how much did the band keep their audience in mind while writing it?
“Kinda not at all,” states Black. “Only to the point where we’d call bullshit on ourselves, where we would never play anything like that, you know? But mostly we’ll try anything and it just has to feel good and work, and still sound like us.”
With the amount of experimentation and creative juices flowing with longtime producer Brian McTernan (Cave In, Snapcase, Thrice, etc.), it’s obvious this album was the result of a positive creative process for the band.
“This record was a lot of fun to make,” confirms Black. “We rewrote a lot of it in pre-production and, working with McTernan again, we kinda let go of everything once we went in this time and said, ‘Alright dude, here’s our songs. What should we do with them?’”
Okay, so they had fun making it and they think it’s one of their best albums, so that should be enough to make me sit down with this thing and learn to love it, right? Hey, anything’s possible over time, I guess.
“I think it will come,” reaffirms Black. “I think it will come.”

Originally published in: Chord Magazine

Getting Political With…
Hot Water Music?

By Jason Schreurs

When normally apolitical bands like Hot Water Music decide to spout off against the government, you know one hell of an awful President is running the country.
“This is probably one of the only things we’ve ever released that actually has some very vague political commentary on it,” says bassist Jason Black of The New What Next, their third album for Epitaph (out Sept. 21). “We try not to get political because that’s not the kind of band we are. Not that we aren’t as people, but we’ve never really wanted to be pigeonholed in any category, especially that one.”
With a nutcase like Dubya running the show, is it a necessity for bands of all genres, including hirsute emo bands from the state of Florida (where this big mess all began), to step up and make a stand?
“I think it is,” admits Black. “To us, it’s more just common sense than politics. I don’t think we are being political by saying things are pretty fucked right now. That’s just the truth.”
With every punk, hardcore, and metal release these days including at least one song about Bush and his maladjusted version of US foreign policy (heck, some bands, like Philly’s Anti-Flag write whole albums about it), it’s not a surprise to see Hot Water Music getting into the act a bit.
“I think it’s probably the first thing politically since we’ve been a band that’s pissed anybody in the band off enough to actually write about,” says Black.
“We’ve only been a band during Clinton and Bush. Clinton, I thought he was just kinda funny, for the most part,” he chuckles. “But it’s a sad state of things going on right now and traveling worldwide, which we’re privileged enough to be able to do, it’s really fucking things up everywhere. Things are fucked and it’s mostly his fault. It’s pretty insane.”
The New What Next, in addition to including some politics, also makes a brief jump into a music genre once defined by political action: reggae.
“We’ve always wanted to do a reggae song, but we’ve just never really had the balls to do it,” admits Black. “You listen to The Clash or you hear NOFX doing it… and I know we’re not really in the same world as either of one of those bands, but we were like, ‘Fuck it, let’s give it a shot.’”
“We were just fooling around and came up with that chord progression and it kinda worked,” he says with glee. “It didn’t feel too reggae, like, ‘Jesus Christ, Hot Water’s playing a reggae song?!’ But it just had a good groove to it when we got cooking on it, so we’re all pretty happy with that one.”
The album, again helmed by producer Brian McTernan (Cave In, Thrice) also found the band in perfect synch this time around. “I think everybody’s actually in a good place, for once. I think this is the first record we’ve made where we’re all in the same space, and it’s a pretty good one.”
So, politics and that dummy-head Bush aside, is The New What Next Hot Water’s happy record then? “This is our happy record,” he beams, “Ya, it is.”

For more info, go to: http://www.hotwatermusic.com/