1 - Tell us how your project(s) were started.
As ridiculous as
it sounds our band started out as a Misfits cover band. A few years ago some
friends of ours who did house shows put on a benefit for ABC No Rio. The benefit
actually was sort of a Halloween party as well and the theme was 80s punk and
hardcore. The line-up was pretty historic; Minor Threat, Social D, and, of course,
the Misfits. We did full make-up, made fake coffins, threw out bat and witch
shaped confetti. We also put our own political spin on things. Instead of simply
playing 'I Turned Into A Martian,' we did 'I Turned Into A Marxist.' We also
changed around some of those old, tired, sexist lyrics and turned them into
revolutionary anthems.
We played a few more shows as the Misfits and starting our own band sort of
seemed like the next logical step. We also liked the idea of dressing up for
shows and bringing some theatrics banck to punk and hardcore. For a few years
we wore make-up, sleeveless mesh shirts and pleather pants-black and tight.
After a while the make-up and capes got pretty old. We're still sticking to
the darker aesthetic, at least musically and lyrically, but now we just come
to the show how we're dressed and thrash as honest and true as we can.
2 - What does music, in it's entirety, mean to you?
Music seems to
be one of those eternal human truths. People from all periods of history from
every corner of the earth have made music in one form or another. Not to get
too intellectual, but I think music is of the most basic and necessary expressions
of our humanity. Music, art, literature, theatre- all these things have been
present in various cultures and societies from the jump.
Music, like all the arts, to me is yet another indicator that we're not so different
after all. It points to the common thread of humanity. If we hear a rocking
beat from another country we might not be able to speak the language or understand
the culture but we sure as shit can tap our foot and bob our head.
3 - What does art, in it's entirety, mean to you?
Same shit as question 2, yo.
4 - Who is your favorite author, and why?
Wow, this is a
really hard one to answer for a lot of reasons. I predominantly read history
and politics and it's hard to consider some of my favorite folks as authors
in a traditional sense. Yes, Lenin "authored" several books and pamphlets
that I think are amazing, but he was so much more than just an "author."
I think the best I can do is give you a top ten list of my current favorite
books (in no particular order.)
1. Pages From A Worker's Life by William Z. Foster
2. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
3. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
4. The Selected Writings of James Connolly by James Connolly
5. Left-Wing Communism; An Infantile Disorder by VI Lenin
6. The Irish Hunger Strike by Thomas Collins
7. Labor's Untold Story by Richard Boyer and Herbert Morais
8. Blood In My Eye by George Jackson
9. Malcolm X by Alex Haley
10. We Be Here When Morning Comes by I can't fucking remember...
5 - As your best friend, describe yourself.
Dave is just a good guy; honest, down to earth, considerate, friendly, caring, sensitive.
6 - As your worst enemy, describe yourself.
That guy is a fucking dick!
7 - If you were immortalized as a cartoon character, who would it be?
Snuffy Smith 'cos I'm from the mountains of western North Carolina.
8 - Do you think there are conspiracies against the "everyday person"?
I would not describe
our social and economic sytem as a conspiracy but there is no doubt that the
cards are stacked against what you call the "everyday person." For
instance, the fact that our economic system (capitalism) works in such a way
that employers pay the lowest possible wage and perpetually hold the threat
of what Marx called "the army of the unemployed" over the heads of
"everyday people" (ie: working people - as if somehow because we're
punks or hardcore kids that we are exempt from being "everyday people")
to drive down wages and working conditions holds a certain amount intrigue and
backroom dealing to it.
One could certainly imagine obese suit-clad men with curly mustaches and glass
eyes wheeling and dealing in some smoke filled hidden board room atop a midtown
highrise. The fact is though there are no illusions, no such pleasantries as
a conspiracy. Our economic and social system supports profit over the needs
of people, capital over labor, property over life and there are no apologies
for it. No, there are no conspiracies. They're just going to fuck us over because
that is what they do.
9 - What do you do with your spare or free time?
I write for a few different magazines; Slave and HaC, read a lot, practice my accordion, drink beer with my friends and comrades, watch movies with my roomates, throw the baseball around with Benji, run.
10 - Please give us your interpretation of "the meaning of life".
For all my high fallutin' political mumbo-jumbo "the meaning of life" is pretty simple for me; help folks out whenever you can, try to do the right thing and try the be the best person you can be. We're all stuck here and we might as well try to be cool to each other and make sure everybody has what they need to live.
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