|
Took a bit of effort
to get this interview done. We were at the gig they did
with No Use For A Name in Glasgow, but by the time we had
spoken to No use, and Marko about My Records, we ran out of
tape. I was due to go down London the following day, so we
went via Leeds and eventually had a chat with
Darius.
We've been around for a
long time, this line-up since '92, but we started in '88 so
we've been around for ten years. Now we've got Marko on
bass, because our old bass player left. I guess he got sick
of the band and now he's a teacher. We have two full-length
albums out, 'The Streets of San Francisco' on New Red
Archives and 'A Juvenile Product of the Working Class' on
Fat. I don't know how many 45's, probably 7 or 8. We have
another CD called 'Sounds Wrong' which is pretty impossible
to find because the company went under. The company was
called IFA. They released some really good stuff and then
went under. If you can find any shit on that label, it's
all good. There's another one on Side One Records called
'More Scared' which was a nine song album and was one of our
first releases in '92 or something.
P101-How did you end
up on Fat? Because you aren't a typical Fat band.
We were looking around
for a label and Fat were around the top of our list. Then
Max met Fat Mike and he was like 'Yeah, we should do a
single'. It was like 'Okay. . .' because at first we
didn't think we'd get signed because we aren't a typical Fat
band, but he liked it. He took it without a demo, and just
signed us. He didn't even like our first record that much,
he said so, but he just kinda trusted us.
P101-Who would you say
influenced the way you do sound?
Mostly it tends to be
70's punk just like everybody else, although we do listen to
a crazy, huge variety of music. A lot of British stuff:
Stiff Little Fingers, Clash, the Pogues. The Pogues are a
huge influence.
P101-When you've
toured in Britain have you got to see laces you know or have
seen through punk? Being in whoever's hometown, that kinda
thing.
It's really cool, our
first European show ever was in Bristol with Rancid in this
little pub (Fleece and Firkin, Sep. '95). We got such a
good response in the UK. We were worried we'd get laughed
at, because in the States people have made fun of us, saying
'You wish you were English!' I mean, what the fuck are they
talking about?
P101-So was the song
'London Drunk' based on that tour?
Yeah, I wrote it on the
plane on the way home. I mixed up Glasgow with Birmingham
somehow. I puked all over myself and got drunk and this and
that. Chaos (from Chaos UK) was raging drunk that night.
It's just a little nostalgic thing.
P101-Do you generally
write on the road?
Occasionally, lyrics
mainly. The tune usually comes with the lyrics, so I'll
keep it in my head. Then when I look at the lyrics I'll
rememer the tune to write.
P101-Changing the
subject a little, do you agree that it is healthy for the
punk scene for a few bands to get really big?
Totally. I don't think
there is anything wrong with it. I don't understand why
people think there is something wrong with that. Jesus,
it's just a form of music. If the bands don't get big,
they're gonna be fucking broke and break up, then
everybody's pissed off. I'd love to make some money. We
don't make shit, we can't make a living from it.
P101-So what do you do
when you're off tour?
I fucking work.
Construction, I deliver pizzas, whatever.
P101-It seems really
strange to me that bands coming over here that I consider
big bands, someone like Ten Foot Pole, on a label like
Epitaph, with people getting autographs have to work day
jobs. It seems wrong that there isn't enough money in punk
for bands to get by.
I always thought that was
weird before I was in a band. It just kinda sucks.
P101-Especially when
you consider what a huge commercial, popular culture thing
punk was in the 70's.
Look at the Sex Pistols.
I don't know what all these people are nagging about selling
out. . . they're totally full of shit. I mean, they're
probably listening to the Ramones, and the Clash, the
fucking Sex Pistols, all major label bands. Some of 'em
huge, rich fucking millionaires and that's how it all
started. After the first wave died down it seemed to get
much more Do It Yourself, which is great. But then people
got all these politically correct views about everything.
They're fucking assholes. I don't like hearing that shit at
all, it doesn't make any sense to me. They're really happy
if a band doesn't make any money. Like 'it's the spirit,
man!' It's like, 'fuck you, hippie!'
P101-Did you get any
reaction when you went onto Fat?
Not really, I was
expecting some, but once in a while you'll get someone going
'I can't believe you signed to Fat'. It's like 'What are
you talking about? It's a better label than we were on, now
you can find our records.'
P101-Does being in a
band ever feel like a job?
Totally, you don't feel
like playing, but you've got to because that's what you're
here for. It's a good job though.
P101-Do you think of
your music as being political? In that is there any message
you are trying to get across?
Not really through my
music. I'm pretty political. I'm more like a moderate
anarchist, if anything. I don't vote, though I probably
should. I just registered for the first time about a year
ago. I still wouldn't vote for the fucking President or
anuything. It's bullshit. I don't think it really makes a
difference. I think they are all fucking criminals. I'm
totally not into politicians at all. I would feel like a
journalist (if I wrote about politics), and I can't do that.
I think of it more as poetry set to music. . .
|
