Razorcake Issue #19

Don’t move.” We stop and look out and therecords were kinda crushed, but the thingwas we still sold them. They were still sellable.Little do the people know – tire trackson their record.Paddy: “Screen printed, man.”Brad: “We fuckin’ ran over every one ofthem individually.”Todd: So, what’s been the big holdup withreleasing stuff? You’ve been a band forthree and a half years, is that correct?Nate: We take our time, man.Todd: You have seven songs on vinyl – onetrack on the No Hold Back, All Attack comp.So that’s, on average, roughly one songevery six months.Zach: That’s a lot better than we do in reallife. We’re slow with the writing process.I’m pretty picky about what we even playlive.Brad: It’s got a lot to do with different peoplebeing out of town at different times. I’mnot in Minneapolis that much. I’m here, onaverage, seven months out of theyear.Paddy: Even when you’re here,you’re not really here. I’ve seen youmore than enough times with a beerbottle in you hand and you don’teven know who I am.Todd: Name an influence you can’tdeny that is in your music.Zach: Screeching Weasel.Nate: Pinhead Gunpowder… Dee-Lite.Zach: Shit, I don’t know, man.Simple Plan.Nate: Bowling For Soup. It’s kind ofsad that it’s come to the point whereit’s third generation Blink 182,where they’re ripping off NewFound Glory. They’re ripping off asong – their hit single is this song fora community college in Minneapolis.Zach: That National AmericanUniversity tune. “One day, one night.Saturday’s all right. My mom’s justfine.”Nate: And their hit single is that song.Zach: And they don’t live here. Whatthe fuck?Paddy: Actually, it’s funny becauseyou bring up what I always find interestingwith you guys. If I put youguys in anything, the first thing Iwould bring up would beCrimpshrine, Screeching Weasel, butI’ve realized in the last couple yearsthat it’s a hard time bringing that up.It conjures up different connotationsbecause for the better part of the ‘90s,there were shitty bands who werelumped with that but they didn’t actuallysound like that.Zach: It’s really shitty when someonesays your band sounds like ScreechingWeasel and The Queers. Even if youdo, it’s a shitty thing to say.Paddy: What do you think you guyspicked up from that that was so rightthat literally thousands of bands throughthe ‘90s somehow picked up on but somehowpicked up all the wrong aspects?Zach: You can’t base your band around asong like “Totally.” It’s a good song, butfuckin’-a, dude. There’s so much more topop punk, and particularly ScreechingWeasel.Brad: For me growing up, I loved all thatpop punk shit. I’d go through MRR andread their reviews and stuff would say“Screeching Weasel, Queers,” and generally,back then, I would buy it. Then I’d belike, “What the fuck is this? This soundslike the Parasites.” Lyrically, especially. Itseemed like people were associatingScreeching Weasel with a sound morethan something other than that. For me, Iwas always more into The Vindictives andScreeching Weasel than The Queers. Iliked The Queers musically and I grew upliking them, but Screeching Weasel andThe Vindictives, actually did somethingfor me. Their lyrics are good.Nate: Bowling For Soup, the result is sobad.Zach: “I want to be sedated. All I wantedwas to see her naked.”Brad: I’ll fuckin’ belt fight them any fuckin’day.Nate: But that’s what they take out of it. I’massuming that they grew up on ScreechingWeasel and The Queers, the same bands wedid, and the result that pop culture gets isthese hit singles that are bad and generic.Todd: So, what did you guys pull out of itthat other people are unable to? I’ll admit,the first time I listened to your 7”, I was like,“Ah, that’s pretty good.” But sitting downand listening to it over and over again, it gotaddictive.Nate: Screeching Weasel, at least lyrically,take “It’s All in My Head” vs. “Totally.”There’s a certain dark, cool side to theirsongs.Brad: I’ve always liked songsthat somehow, in a way, documenta certain thing in a periodof time where the person writingit lives in. That’s why I loveWoody Guthrie. That’s why I likefolk music. That’s what I thinkpunk rock should be. Even hardcorebands, they’ll write aboutpolitical things in some othercountry that really doesn’t relateto them and that’s fine and goodand some bands pull it off, but Ireally like stuff that’s very specificto their place and time. I thinkMinneapolis is really fortunatewith a lot of bands that pull thatoff. I didn’t like hardcore at allwhen I heard Man Afraid andthey, along with Born Against,made me realize that there’s actuallysomething to a lot of thesehardcore bands. It’s not somethingI was into originally, musically,but then I got really into it. I thinka lot of people bought the BornAgainst/Screeching Weasel splitand they either liked BornAgainst or they liked ScreechingWeasel, but, for me, it was a brilliantidea. I like both bands. Itmade sense.Todd: What is “Never Three ona Match”?Brad: The song title is just adumb thing that comes from anold navy, sailor thing. Whenthey’re on a ship, you could lighta match to light a cigarette. Youcould light two cigarettes with it,but if you light three, you werein danger of being seen from theflame.Paddy: I actually grew up withthat, too. I remember when I wasa kid, that was bad luck.45