issue #07 pdf - Razorcake

multi-millionaire, and he paid me eight fuckingdollars. Even in 1977 dollars, this was notgood.Todd: Was it a big lawn?Al: No, it wasn’t a big lawn, but that’s not thepoint. He could afford more. He grew upworking class in Lynn and he was always acheap sonofabitch. All right, so that’s how Igot to know him, and he said, “Hey Al, if youever want me to back you in a business, I’ll doit.” Flash ahead to about 1994. I had recentlybumped into Sib at the post office just beforelosing my job at the record store I’d worked atfor the last eight years. After a few months ofunemployment and realizing there was nothingelse I wanted to do, I thought of his offerand gave him a call to see if he’d be interestedin backing me in a new store. So that’s how ithappened. He backed me in it financially. Bigmistake for a number of reasons. Biggest one(Martt was in Tex and the Horseheads,Thelonious Monster, and Funeral.)Todd: It was a swing band.Al: Fuck swing. That stuff sucks. I neverunderstood that. I’m a punk zine. Why are yousending me swing stuff? Send it to the BennyGoodman Times or something.Todd: Do you know what Bob Mould hasbeen doing the last couple of years?Al: I have no idea. Why do you ask?Todd: He was writing the dramatic sequencesfor the World Wrestling Federation, but sincethey’ve conglomerated the ECW and WCW,I’m not sure if he still has a job there.Al: I heard he quit there.Todd: He also does the sound to The DailyShow.Al: I wish Bob would strap on his guitar andstart playing again because that’s a guy I likedand respected a great deal. Hüsker Dü wereI think that the stuff they call emo right now hasruined indie rock as much as REM wreckedcollege radio in the ‘80s.is that the guy is mentally unstable. There’s alot of other shit, but I don’t really want to gointo because it was a very painful period of mylife. Trust me. Never go into business withwashed-up rockstars. And he has his own website.He sells a CD for $19.95, plus shipping,but it’s autographed, so I suppose that’s whyit’s more. He sells autographed photos of himselffor $10, plus $5 shipping. I’m glad to seethis guy is still a penny-pinching sonofabitchas he’s always been.Sean: Let’s ask you about other people you’vetalked shit about over the years. You alwaysseem to want to take a stab and Zander Schlosswhenever you can.Al: I guess I did take a few pokes at him. Whatshit did I talk about him? Do you have anyquotes there?Sean: I didn’t write it down. Pretty much, hewas filling in on guitar on a lot of albums inthe early ‘90s and every time he popped up…Al: I just didn’t like his style. I know heplayed bass in the Circle Jerks. He did okay inthere. He played on Joe Strummer’s first solotour and I thought he brought that show down.He played guitar in this one really wretchedband with one of the guys from Repo Man,who I saw open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.What were they called? Too Free Stooges. Itwas around ‘90. I guess he was a punching bagfor me for awhile.Todd: He joined the Circle Jerks, becausewhen they were filming Repo Man, he wasstock boy in the movie. They were looking fora bassist and they found him there. He was insome awful projects like the Sweet and LowOrchestra.Al: That was one of them. Wasn’t it MikeMartt from some hardcore band in that too?definitely one of my favorite bands in the ‘80s.Todd: How many times did you interviewthose guys?Al: I only interviewed them once, around thetime of Metal Circus. I never interviewedthem after that.Todd: But you went to three consecutiveshows?Al: I didn’t go on tour with them. I saw themthree nights in a row in 1984. My crazy weekwith Hüsker Dü, including a small party; 150people at this tiny club, where they playedrequests and that was great. And I played frisbeewith them in western Massachusetts. I wasback at work at eight the next morning eachday. Needless to say, I was a wreck by the endof the week.Todd: Did Bob ever make a pass at you?Al: No… I guess I’m not cute enough. Allthese homophobic assholes go, “Oh, if someguy made a pass at me, I’d be pissed.” Youwant to know something? If some gay guythinks I’m cute, great. I’m totally flattered ifanybody, male or female, thinks that I’mattractive. It means I’ve still got it at my oldage here.Sean: Have you seen the book, AmericanHardcore, yet?Al: Yeah. I think Steve did a pretty good job.There’s some factual errors in there, but that’spar for the course. But as far as the content, thepictures, the flyers, I think he did as good a jobas anyone’s done. It probably – I’d have tothink about it – but I think it’s the most comprehensivetreatment of American hardcoreI’ve seen. I don’t think hardcore necessarilyended in ‘86. I disagree vehemently with thatassessment. I think it may have sucked for along time after that, and I think that hardcore47