Razorcake Issue #19

from the scene. Not too much, but everyone’strying to do their own thing. Thebands are getting better, though.Jim: Yeah, everyone’s really helpful witheach other. They really look out for eachother. I agree with Robert. In my mind,scenes go in cycles and this a really goodpart of the cycle. All the bands are young,they look out for each other, and it’s reallyexciting because everyone’s in it together.But sometimes, as bands record, it drawsthem away.Robert: At first we were all playing together,then they started getting offered stuffand being more selective about their shows.Jim: There gets to be a little bit of a competitionfor shows.necessarily how much we can get paid,‘cause we don’t make shit.Robert: It’s also important that differentpeople see us as much as possible.Jim: Yeah. In that case, we could’ve stayedin Buffalo and played to the same 200 peopleat every show.Robert: You want us to name bands?Jim: Well, I don’t want to forget anyone.Petite: Fuck it. If there’s good bands, namethem so people can get a head’s up.I’d at least like to know.Jim: My favorite Chicago band is theFunctional Blackouts. They’re really good,like the Pagans meet the Germs but realcatchy. We play with them a lot. By far,pursue that. We want to play to other peopleand we want to play to kids who are active.I’d rather play to a kid in a basement who’sgoing to be excited about seeing somethingnew than to someone in their late twentieswho’s just going to drink a beer and theshow’s just something that’s going on.Robert: Yeah, like they don’t care that it’sTexas Terri who’s just playing bad covers.Jim: We definitely pursue those kinds ofoptions. When some says, “Hey you guysare cool. I do this or that.” I think, “Wow,that sounds fun.” There’s a definite goodscene in Chicago in this area called Pilsen.It’s mostly Mexican and they have all thesecrazy hardcore shows and we get invited toplay them.Petite: Is that something you guys stayaway from? Not being picky or pretentious?Jim: I guess. We’re picky, but at the sametime we’ll play a party in someone’s basementif we think it’s the fun thing to do. Wejust played a mustache party in a guy’sbasement.Petite: What’s that?Jim: Everyone had to have a mustache tobe at the party.Robert: And we’ll play basement shows‘cause it’s a good thing for us to do.Jim: We’re picky, in a way, of what we dobut not based on whether it’s a career moveor how much we’re going to get paid.Picky, as in we’re only going to play once amonth so people don’t get sick of us. Wewant it to be the best time we can have, notthough, there’s a lot of really good Chicagobands. Our scene encompasses a lot of differentsounds. A lot of people in our sceneare older, like twenty-five and up. ThePonys are really good; they’re going to beon In The Red. The Hot Machines, a bandcalled VD that are good, a band called theDirges who’ve got a Baseball Fury in theband and Ross from the Brides, the Worst,and an all-girl band called the Manhandlers.Robert: There’s a lot of bands and everyonewill hear them.Jim: For some reason, hardcore kids like usas well and we get invited to play a lot ofhardcore shows, which those other bands inour scene don’t get asked to play.Petite: Why do you think that happens?Jim: I think the other bands are a little toogaragey and more of “a thing.” Also, weRobert: They have these weird spacesthey find where they do shows.Jim: And the kids are really cool and veryactive.Robert: We played with a cool Mexicanhardcore band.Jim: There’s a lot of scenes and we’relucky we’ve branched out to a couple ofthem. It’s nice playing to people you don’tknow. I always think it’s kind of weirdwhen I see someone with a Tyrades pinwho I don’t know. I almost want to belike, “Who are you? Let’s be friends,” Orlike, “What’s wrong with you? Is that myfriend’s jacket? Did you steal that?”Frank: “What mistakes have you made inlife?”Petite: How’s the transition been for you,Frank, moving from Atlanta to Chicago?