goosestep around das fountain
ve vill have everything soon
miserable schwindel
make graves mit jedermann
meine hand rocks der cradle
das charming mensch
still schlecht
der hand in a black leather glove
vhat difference doest it make?
Ich don't owe you anything!
suffer everyone
Neville, it ist really neinthing
these things vill not take time
how soon ist now?!
handsome deiwel
heaven knows i'm miserable
der nacht hat opened France's eyes
accept me!
Europe afraid
back to the old sudentland
bitte, bitte, bitte, let mir let mir let mir get vhat i vant this time
das fuhrer ritual
reichstag ruffians
I vant everything I can't have
vhat she said angered mich
dis ist naht einen joke
Poland fast!
vell I Vonder
barbarism begins auf home
meat ist murder...this is just living space
der queens and kings sind tot
frankly, herr franklin
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
death from consumption
documenting spending money in 2011.
Silkwom-Firewater double lp
Tim Midgett put what I believe to be the remaining Silkworm records in his possession up for sale on the Silkworm website a few weeks ago. I do not believe there are any left. This was their first record for Matador. It has been one of my favorites for a very long time. I'm glad to own the vinyl release. The artwork by Hiroshi Kimura is creepy. I don't want to gush too much, but this record is wonderful. My mom said a few of these songs remind her of Neil Young. Silkworm built these lyrical worlds for us to dick around in. They quote the Replacements and Bob Dylan in the same song. There are fast songs. There are slow songs. There are songs about weird historical shit. There are songs about touring. There are songs about divorces. There are a bunch of great songs. They made a video for the song Wet Firecracker. The surviving members of Silkworm play in a band called Bottomless Pit. I saw them a few months ago. Their records are just as good as Silkworm records. I listened to the first track on their new record for an hour or so when I first got it in the mail.
James Ellroy-Blood's A Rover paperback novel
This is the final book in Ellroy's Underworld USA trilogy. I meant to buy it a bunch of times last year, but didn't. I was at Borders to buy the new Kid Rock cd for my father for Christmas (my dad fucking loves Kid Rock) and I saw it on a shelf. I ripped through it in three days. Like most of Ellroy's stuff I've read, it's a fast read. He writes in a sort of police blotter, train of thought, "just the facts ma'am" style. The trilogy retells American history from 1958 through 1972. He uses made up characters who deal with the real conspiracies and historical insanity going on during that time period. The fictionalized folks blur with historical figures. The whole scene is a trip. J. Edgar Hoover, Richard Nixon, and Howard Hughes are all main characters in this book. They drive the actions of the made up characters. Hoover goes even crazier than he was in the first two novels as he covets and hordes as much seedy information as he can. Hughes grows his delusional recluse beard and talks about getting STD's from America's sweethearts. Nixon calls JFK a cocksucker and plays puppet for the mob. As absurd and outlandishly wicked some of the scenes are, none of it is unbelievable. I wouldn't blink an eye if I was told that everything recorded in these books happened. I prefer the first two books because they deal with a series of events I'm more interested in (Fidel in Cuba, JFK, RFK, and Martin Luther King), but this new one is written just as well as them. People always talk about HBO doing a series based on this trilogy. If they do it right, it will be better than The Wire. This is Ellroy talking about his book. I think he might be kind of a dick.
Silkwom-Firewater double lp
Tim Midgett put what I believe to be the remaining Silkworm records in his possession up for sale on the Silkworm website a few weeks ago. I do not believe there are any left. This was their first record for Matador. It has been one of my favorites for a very long time. I'm glad to own the vinyl release. The artwork by Hiroshi Kimura is creepy. I don't want to gush too much, but this record is wonderful. My mom said a few of these songs remind her of Neil Young. Silkworm built these lyrical worlds for us to dick around in. They quote the Replacements and Bob Dylan in the same song. There are fast songs. There are slow songs. There are songs about weird historical shit. There are songs about touring. There are songs about divorces. There are a bunch of great songs. They made a video for the song Wet Firecracker. The surviving members of Silkworm play in a band called Bottomless Pit. I saw them a few months ago. Their records are just as good as Silkworm records. I listened to the first track on their new record for an hour or so when I first got it in the mail.
James Ellroy-Blood's A Rover paperback novel
This is the final book in Ellroy's Underworld USA trilogy. I meant to buy it a bunch of times last year, but didn't. I was at Borders to buy the new Kid Rock cd for my father for Christmas (my dad fucking loves Kid Rock) and I saw it on a shelf. I ripped through it in three days. Like most of Ellroy's stuff I've read, it's a fast read. He writes in a sort of police blotter, train of thought, "just the facts ma'am" style. The trilogy retells American history from 1958 through 1972. He uses made up characters who deal with the real conspiracies and historical insanity going on during that time period. The fictionalized folks blur with historical figures. The whole scene is a trip. J. Edgar Hoover, Richard Nixon, and Howard Hughes are all main characters in this book. They drive the actions of the made up characters. Hoover goes even crazier than he was in the first two novels as he covets and hordes as much seedy information as he can. Hughes grows his delusional recluse beard and talks about getting STD's from America's sweethearts. Nixon calls JFK a cocksucker and plays puppet for the mob. As absurd and outlandishly wicked some of the scenes are, none of it is unbelievable. I wouldn't blink an eye if I was told that everything recorded in these books happened. I prefer the first two books because they deal with a series of events I'm more interested in (Fidel in Cuba, JFK, RFK, and Martin Luther King), but this new one is written just as well as them. People always talk about HBO doing a series based on this trilogy. If they do it right, it will be better than The Wire. This is Ellroy talking about his book. I think he might be kind of a dick.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
letters that are fun to imagine existing
dear mr. biafra,
do you mind adding a few "don't"s, or "let's not"s to that one song where you repeatedly say "kill, kill, kill, kill, kill the poor."?
sincerely,
the poor
do you mind adding a few "don't"s, or "let's not"s to that one song where you repeatedly say "kill, kill, kill, kill, kill the poor."?
sincerely,
the poor
Friday, November 5, 2010
real kids games
American Sports Moments Retold By Monty From Major League
Team USA won last night.
They're going to let a fella named Jackie Robinson play baseball.
The Jets won the super bowl.
Branca hung one, Thompson took him deep.
Fly ball to Willie Mays, caught.
Notre Dame beat Army 12-6.
Wilt Chamberlain is very good. The Knicks are not.
John Wooden won games.
Don Larsen gets the "W".
Doug Flutie drops back, throws, the ball is caught.
Joseph Montana threw the american football to Dwight Clark. Clark caught it.
Franco Harris records the touchdown reception.
Ray Knight scores, Mookie reaches first safely.
Desmond Howard scores.
David Tyree on the catch, that's good for a first down.
Csonka drops the ball. Edwards scores.
Team USA lost last night.
Team USA won last night.
They're going to let a fella named Jackie Robinson play baseball.
The Jets won the super bowl.
Branca hung one, Thompson took him deep.
Fly ball to Willie Mays, caught.
Notre Dame beat Army 12-6.
Wilt Chamberlain is very good. The Knicks are not.
John Wooden won games.
Don Larsen gets the "W".
Doug Flutie drops back, throws, the ball is caught.
Joseph Montana threw the american football to Dwight Clark. Clark caught it.
Franco Harris records the touchdown reception.
Ray Knight scores, Mookie reaches first safely.
Desmond Howard scores.
David Tyree on the catch, that's good for a first down.
Csonka drops the ball. Edwards scores.
Team USA lost last night.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
letters that are fun to imagine existing
Dear David James Havok,
I'm sorry you're always burning.
Miss you,
Matthew
I'm sorry you're always burning.
Miss you,
Matthew
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
letters that are fun to imagine existing
Dear Joey,
We're going to dispense with the pleasantries on this one...cutting right to the ol' chase here. We've done a lot of shit over the years. We've really messed some folks up. We're not exactly a publicist's dream. We have an agenda. We're sticking to it, come what may. We're up to our necks in bad vibes and jail time from things we've actually done. We don't need false accusations flying in our faces on top of everything else. We did not, nor will we ever try to take your baby away. It's not our damned fault your long haired buddy sweet talked your girlfriend. It's got nothing to do with us.
Sincerely,
The KKK
We're going to dispense with the pleasantries on this one...cutting right to the ol' chase here. We've done a lot of shit over the years. We've really messed some folks up. We're not exactly a publicist's dream. We have an agenda. We're sticking to it, come what may. We're up to our necks in bad vibes and jail time from things we've actually done. We don't need false accusations flying in our faces on top of everything else. We did not, nor will we ever try to take your baby away. It's not our damned fault your long haired buddy sweet talked your girlfriend. It's got nothing to do with us.
Sincerely,
The KKK
Monday, September 6, 2010
everything sucks interview
A fella named Vova interviewed me via email for a zine he's doing in Russia. It was an interesting little thing to do. I'd like to see the translated version at some point.
Introduce you and your band at first.
My name is Matthew. I sing in the band. Our bass player's name is Chris. Burt plays guitar. Darren plays drums.
Where did you get your name?
The name of our band comes from a record by a band called The Descendents. They have an album called Everything Sucks. It has always been one of my favorites since I first heard it, and as a phrase on its own I think "everything sucks" sums up many aspects of life nicely. It's negative, but in such a way that it's almost comical I feel.
How old are you?
I am 27 years old. I will be 28 soon. All the band members are around my age, Burt is a few years older.
Do you go to school?
I am back in college after a long time off. I spent four years taking care of my grandparents and working full time management positions. After they passed away, I quit my job to go back to school full time.
Do you Skate?
I am terrible at skating, but a lot of folks I know are great at it. I know a lot of people get into punk and hardcore through skateboard culture. Darren is a highly accomplished roller blader. He always wants to play hockey.
When you are decided to come together and start to play? when was first repetition and how it was? Did you play in any other bands before ES.
Darren and I had been friends for a long time. We played in a band called Legs Up together. Legs Up almost toured a few times, but problems with our van and our regular lives prevented us from doing so full time. After Legs Up broke up, Darren and I kept talking about wanting to do another band. I had met Burt in a Shakespeare's tragedies english class at community college. Burt was in a band called Irony of Lightfoot when he was very young. One of the first shows I remember going to was to see Irony of Lightfoot play. Chris was my younger brother's best friend. I also worked with Chris at a record store. Darren and I asked Burt to come and jam with us. We invited Chris also. It was odd at first, trying to channel the ideas we had in our heads about what the band should sound like into actual songs. Burt got frustrated and started hammering out this pretty cool riff. Darren started playing along with it. Before we knew it...we had our first song. We quickly wrote a few more that incorporated different musical ideas and influences.
Tell about your and other members music tastes.
We're all into a lot of different bands and performers. Burt's favorite singer is Bjork. Burt and I have gone to see Morrissey together a number of times. Chris is a big fan of a lot of melodic hardcore and pop punk bands. He also likes a great deal of indie rock from the '90s such as Pavement and Archers of Loaf. Darren is very knowledgeable when it comes to old school hip hop. He used to have a hip hop group in high school. They performed at my eighteenth birthday party. Lately I have been listening to Silkworm, The Future of the Left, Ink and Dagger, The Silver Jews, and the soundtrack to the film La Bamba. I just recently got the Pavement vinyl reissue of Brighten the Corners with so many extra tracks on it. It's awesome. I enjoy a lot of early "rock and roll" groups...doo wop and r & b singers. The Clash are one of my favorite bands. Burt and I are big nerds about The Smiths and Pulp. Darren and Chris make fun of us for it. Everyone in the band really enjoys the releases from Dischord Records. Darren and I love Black Flag. We all have been going to shows on Long Island for years as well. There are a ton of great bands that have been from here in the last 20 years.
What sort of books are you interested in?
I am a fairly big reader. I am going to school to become an English teacher. Some of my favorite authors would be considered "post modern." My favorite book is V by Thomas Pynchon. I am not a big fan of some of his other books, but V to me has something very worthwhile to say. It also uses many references to film, music, and culture to create something new out of those references. It takes place during a time period I have studied a lot. 1950's America. I am fascinated by the idea of collage, the use of two or more ideas, objects, or pieces, to make something new that has a different meaning than the original pieces.
where does ES rehearse? you have your own plase or you go to rehearsal base?
We split our rehearsal time between my basement and a "pay by the hour" spot nearby where Darren lives in Queens near New York City.
Who are writting the lyrics, and who make the music?
I write the lyrics. The boys come up with the music. I usually have notebooks with a few lines here or there and then I figure out what fits best where on new songs the band writes
Which of ES song is most important for you, that has the lot of meaning? And have you got a song that now nothing means to you?
The most important song to me I would say is World War Three. I am proud of the fact that I was able to express certain feelings about being confused with what to do with my life in a way that others have told me they relate to. I also tried some sort of collage with images of watching different television shows in an attempt to demonstrate aimlessness, frustration, and boredom. World War Three itself is a reference to one of my favorite songs "paranoid chant" by the Minutemen. I took some lyrics from that song and changed them around to reflect how I feel about similar things. If you get a chance, you should really check out The Minutemen. They were all over the place musically and very intelligent and heartfelt lyrically. One of the truly innovative bands of the early american hardcore movement.
There aren't any songs that mean nothing to me, but the meanings have changed over the years. Although I may have thought of one thing when originally writing the song, playing it a certain amount of times, perhaps changing a word or phrase around changes how I feel about it.
Do you thing that in your lyrics and also in music you put all that you want, your thought and feelings?
I try to. I try to come off as genuine as I can in writing lyrics. There are a lot of topics I have not touched on, and our new songs will certainly touch on some of those ideas.
Something about your concerts. How often? What was the best for you? How many people visit it? Maybe you want to tell about some band that was playing with you. Have you got a tour in USA, maybe you going to europe?
We play roughly once a month. Usually they are with bands we are friends with. Some of my favorite bands to play with are the Weed Hounds, Iron Chic, Bastard Cut, Jonesin', the Fellow Project and Speed Speed Speed. One of my favorite shows was one I booked a few years ago. A good friend of the band's mother had died. We set up a show at a bar and a hundred and twenty people came to help our friend out and pay for the show. I was able to hand him all of the money we made at the door to help his family out. It felt good to be able to use this little scene of people into music to help someone out. Usually I like to bring snacks to the shows we play. It's a fun thing to do and a good way to make up for the fact that we might not be very good. One time I bought pizza for everyone who came to our show. That was fun. I really enjoy playing our friend Mike's house. He clears his living room out for bands to play in and it's always a real fun time. Mike is one of the best fellas around. He runs the record label Dead Broke Rekerds. He helped put our new record out. We all love Mike. As far as touring. We would love to be able to play a few shows outside of Long Island and New York City, but we all have pretty serious jobs, relationships, and family obligations. If everything worked out where we could go to Europe and have a few folks feed us and give us places to play we would do it in a heartbeat.
What is hardcore for you? And what is Everything Sucks for you?
Hardcore for me is just a word. I love so many bands that folks might call hardcore, but I try to just think of it in terms of "music I like." I don't like to put a stamp on something because there are so many things that come to mind when people say the word "hardcore" and not all of them are good things. I don't wish to be a part of those negative aspects. Also, I love so many things that have nothing to do with hardcore the way most people see it. I find about different bands every day and fall in love with them. Some of them are very heavy. Some of them aren't. Some of them are weird. Some of them aren't.
Everything Sucks is a good time for me. I get to write about my life and then shout what I've written at people. Some folks shout my words back at me. It's a cool feeling to see and hear that. It doesn't happen that often, but when it does...it means a great deal to me. It's interesting to hear what the boys come up with musically as well. I get to dance around like an idiot when we play too. I'm kind of an awkward, odd, lame guy and I get to be as odd and lame as I want when I have a microphone.
Have you ever think, that you have missed something in your life?
I said before I spent years living with my grandparents. I miss my grandmother practically every second. She was a wonderful lady. She lived her life laughing and that is something I attempt to do. I would like to write much more about her, but I fear I won't do her justice just shouting about shit while loud music plays.
"...than to join the balding uncle brigade…sitting around bitching about everything."
what did you mean under balding uncle brigade?
and "sitting around bitching about everything" I understand as - people sitting in front of tv most of time and all the time tell bullshit about some of their surrounding. So that?
"balding uncle brigade" pretty much means just that: an army of middle aged uncles who maybe didn't amount to much in their own lives just sitting around talking bullshit about how they think people should act, or the country should be run, or their surroundings, or anything like that. the image is not based on anyone personally as all my uncles are pretty great fellas, but i do have this fear/vision that we can all become "balding uncles" if we're not careful. i don't know if that makes things any clearer, or confuses the matter more.
Maybe any member of ES is straightedge or vegetarian? how do you feel about sxe and vegi?
Darren is straight edge. None of us are vegetarian. I feel that both are choices that should be made for the right reasons. I don't believe in doing drugs and drinking just because all of my friends are doing it. I also don't believe in not doing drugs and not drinking just because all of my friends are doing it. I eat meat, but I've had a lot of friends who do not. I've learned to make a few vegan friendly meals. There are all vegetarian places to eat which are delicious as well.
Tell something about scene in NY, it relationship and about hc\punk crew.
The scene is interesting. There are so many different styles of music being played almost every night in both New York City and Long Island. The variety and diversity is great, but it can also be frustrating and depressing that the diversity isn't all happening at the same show, or that folks can be close minded to just how many different, great things are going on.
What do you feel about merch? Do you plan to make T-shirts, hoodies or longsleeves?
I think merch can be fun. We try to have fun designs on our shirts. We recently made a shirt of two rich fat cats eating hot dogs, which is a reference to one of our lyrics. It's a funny image, but it does sum up one of our songs nicely. Also, Darren's awesome girlfriend Charlotte designed it. She is one of my best friends and it's always nice to have good friends involved with helping your band. We don't plan on mass producing fifteen different shirt designs because I feel that sort of takes away from the band as a creative entity. We're not looking to cash in on selling shirts, we just want to make back the money we put into them. In order to keep the prices somewhat low, we don't put that much money into making different designs. If we invested in five different shirt designs, we would have to sell them for more money to make our money back. I'd much rather put my money into making another record, or feeding my dog.
What about - Star Wars by Matthew Brennan? I look up it at ES store. It is incarnation of your idea of collage, showing Star Wars on the other hand?
Star Wars was a zine I put out when the band first started compiling our lyrics, random lyrics we hadn't used yet, a few odd little stories, and some other writings. I called it Star Wars because we all thought it would be funny to have a little book called Star Wars that had nothing to do with the science fiction films. Also, growing up I was obsessed with Star Wars and still know way too much about the original movies than any grown man should. I keep meaning to do a new one with some of my friends doing illustrations for some story ideas I have, but I tend to get lazy about things sometimes.
And say a few words for Russian hc\punk kids please.
Hello Russian kids. I'm very glad to hear from your friend Vova. I think it's a great thing that you folks are into all sorts of music. Keep looking into different bands. Keep reading, keep listening, keep making your own music too. Good luck.
Introduce you and your band at first.
My name is Matthew. I sing in the band. Our bass player's name is Chris. Burt plays guitar. Darren plays drums.
Where did you get your name?
The name of our band comes from a record by a band called The Descendents. They have an album called Everything Sucks. It has always been one of my favorites since I first heard it, and as a phrase on its own I think "everything sucks" sums up many aspects of life nicely. It's negative, but in such a way that it's almost comical I feel.
How old are you?
I am 27 years old. I will be 28 soon. All the band members are around my age, Burt is a few years older.
Do you go to school?
I am back in college after a long time off. I spent four years taking care of my grandparents and working full time management positions. After they passed away, I quit my job to go back to school full time.
Do you Skate?
I am terrible at skating, but a lot of folks I know are great at it. I know a lot of people get into punk and hardcore through skateboard culture. Darren is a highly accomplished roller blader. He always wants to play hockey.
When you are decided to come together and start to play? when was first repetition and how it was? Did you play in any other bands before ES.
Darren and I had been friends for a long time. We played in a band called Legs Up together. Legs Up almost toured a few times, but problems with our van and our regular lives prevented us from doing so full time. After Legs Up broke up, Darren and I kept talking about wanting to do another band. I had met Burt in a Shakespeare's tragedies english class at community college. Burt was in a band called Irony of Lightfoot when he was very young. One of the first shows I remember going to was to see Irony of Lightfoot play. Chris was my younger brother's best friend. I also worked with Chris at a record store. Darren and I asked Burt to come and jam with us. We invited Chris also. It was odd at first, trying to channel the ideas we had in our heads about what the band should sound like into actual songs. Burt got frustrated and started hammering out this pretty cool riff. Darren started playing along with it. Before we knew it...we had our first song. We quickly wrote a few more that incorporated different musical ideas and influences.
Tell about your and other members music tastes.
We're all into a lot of different bands and performers. Burt's favorite singer is Bjork. Burt and I have gone to see Morrissey together a number of times. Chris is a big fan of a lot of melodic hardcore and pop punk bands. He also likes a great deal of indie rock from the '90s such as Pavement and Archers of Loaf. Darren is very knowledgeable when it comes to old school hip hop. He used to have a hip hop group in high school. They performed at my eighteenth birthday party. Lately I have been listening to Silkworm, The Future of the Left, Ink and Dagger, The Silver Jews, and the soundtrack to the film La Bamba. I just recently got the Pavement vinyl reissue of Brighten the Corners with so many extra tracks on it. It's awesome. I enjoy a lot of early "rock and roll" groups...doo wop and r & b singers. The Clash are one of my favorite bands. Burt and I are big nerds about The Smiths and Pulp. Darren and Chris make fun of us for it. Everyone in the band really enjoys the releases from Dischord Records. Darren and I love Black Flag. We all have been going to shows on Long Island for years as well. There are a ton of great bands that have been from here in the last 20 years.
What sort of books are you interested in?
I am a fairly big reader. I am going to school to become an English teacher. Some of my favorite authors would be considered "post modern." My favorite book is V by Thomas Pynchon. I am not a big fan of some of his other books, but V to me has something very worthwhile to say. It also uses many references to film, music, and culture to create something new out of those references. It takes place during a time period I have studied a lot. 1950's America. I am fascinated by the idea of collage, the use of two or more ideas, objects, or pieces, to make something new that has a different meaning than the original pieces.
where does ES rehearse? you have your own plase or you go to rehearsal base?
We split our rehearsal time between my basement and a "pay by the hour" spot nearby where Darren lives in Queens near New York City.
Who are writting the lyrics, and who make the music?
I write the lyrics. The boys come up with the music. I usually have notebooks with a few lines here or there and then I figure out what fits best where on new songs the band writes
Which of ES song is most important for you, that has the lot of meaning? And have you got a song that now nothing means to you?
The most important song to me I would say is World War Three. I am proud of the fact that I was able to express certain feelings about being confused with what to do with my life in a way that others have told me they relate to. I also tried some sort of collage with images of watching different television shows in an attempt to demonstrate aimlessness, frustration, and boredom. World War Three itself is a reference to one of my favorite songs "paranoid chant" by the Minutemen. I took some lyrics from that song and changed them around to reflect how I feel about similar things. If you get a chance, you should really check out The Minutemen. They were all over the place musically and very intelligent and heartfelt lyrically. One of the truly innovative bands of the early american hardcore movement.
There aren't any songs that mean nothing to me, but the meanings have changed over the years. Although I may have thought of one thing when originally writing the song, playing it a certain amount of times, perhaps changing a word or phrase around changes how I feel about it.
Do you thing that in your lyrics and also in music you put all that you want, your thought and feelings?
I try to. I try to come off as genuine as I can in writing lyrics. There are a lot of topics I have not touched on, and our new songs will certainly touch on some of those ideas.
Something about your concerts. How often? What was the best for you? How many people visit it? Maybe you want to tell about some band that was playing with you. Have you got a tour in USA, maybe you going to europe?
We play roughly once a month. Usually they are with bands we are friends with. Some of my favorite bands to play with are the Weed Hounds, Iron Chic, Bastard Cut, Jonesin', the Fellow Project and Speed Speed Speed. One of my favorite shows was one I booked a few years ago. A good friend of the band's mother had died. We set up a show at a bar and a hundred and twenty people came to help our friend out and pay for the show. I was able to hand him all of the money we made at the door to help his family out. It felt good to be able to use this little scene of people into music to help someone out. Usually I like to bring snacks to the shows we play. It's a fun thing to do and a good way to make up for the fact that we might not be very good. One time I bought pizza for everyone who came to our show. That was fun. I really enjoy playing our friend Mike's house. He clears his living room out for bands to play in and it's always a real fun time. Mike is one of the best fellas around. He runs the record label Dead Broke Rekerds. He helped put our new record out. We all love Mike. As far as touring. We would love to be able to play a few shows outside of Long Island and New York City, but we all have pretty serious jobs, relationships, and family obligations. If everything worked out where we could go to Europe and have a few folks feed us and give us places to play we would do it in a heartbeat.
What is hardcore for you? And what is Everything Sucks for you?
Hardcore for me is just a word. I love so many bands that folks might call hardcore, but I try to just think of it in terms of "music I like." I don't like to put a stamp on something because there are so many things that come to mind when people say the word "hardcore" and not all of them are good things. I don't wish to be a part of those negative aspects. Also, I love so many things that have nothing to do with hardcore the way most people see it. I find about different bands every day and fall in love with them. Some of them are very heavy. Some of them aren't. Some of them are weird. Some of them aren't.
Everything Sucks is a good time for me. I get to write about my life and then shout what I've written at people. Some folks shout my words back at me. It's a cool feeling to see and hear that. It doesn't happen that often, but when it does...it means a great deal to me. It's interesting to hear what the boys come up with musically as well. I get to dance around like an idiot when we play too. I'm kind of an awkward, odd, lame guy and I get to be as odd and lame as I want when I have a microphone.
Have you ever think, that you have missed something in your life?
I said before I spent years living with my grandparents. I miss my grandmother practically every second. She was a wonderful lady. She lived her life laughing and that is something I attempt to do. I would like to write much more about her, but I fear I won't do her justice just shouting about shit while loud music plays.
"...than to join the balding uncle brigade…sitting around bitching about everything."
what did you mean under balding uncle brigade?
and "sitting around bitching about everything" I understand as - people sitting in front of tv most of time and all the time tell bullshit about some of their surrounding. So that?
"balding uncle brigade" pretty much means just that: an army of middle aged uncles who maybe didn't amount to much in their own lives just sitting around talking bullshit about how they think people should act, or the country should be run, or their surroundings, or anything like that. the image is not based on anyone personally as all my uncles are pretty great fellas, but i do have this fear/vision that we can all become "balding uncles" if we're not careful. i don't know if that makes things any clearer, or confuses the matter more.
Maybe any member of ES is straightedge or vegetarian? how do you feel about sxe and vegi?
Darren is straight edge. None of us are vegetarian. I feel that both are choices that should be made for the right reasons. I don't believe in doing drugs and drinking just because all of my friends are doing it. I also don't believe in not doing drugs and not drinking just because all of my friends are doing it. I eat meat, but I've had a lot of friends who do not. I've learned to make a few vegan friendly meals. There are all vegetarian places to eat which are delicious as well.
Tell something about scene in NY, it relationship and about hc\punk crew.
The scene is interesting. There are so many different styles of music being played almost every night in both New York City and Long Island. The variety and diversity is great, but it can also be frustrating and depressing that the diversity isn't all happening at the same show, or that folks can be close minded to just how many different, great things are going on.
What do you feel about merch? Do you plan to make T-shirts, hoodies or longsleeves?
I think merch can be fun. We try to have fun designs on our shirts. We recently made a shirt of two rich fat cats eating hot dogs, which is a reference to one of our lyrics. It's a funny image, but it does sum up one of our songs nicely. Also, Darren's awesome girlfriend Charlotte designed it. She is one of my best friends and it's always nice to have good friends involved with helping your band. We don't plan on mass producing fifteen different shirt designs because I feel that sort of takes away from the band as a creative entity. We're not looking to cash in on selling shirts, we just want to make back the money we put into them. In order to keep the prices somewhat low, we don't put that much money into making different designs. If we invested in five different shirt designs, we would have to sell them for more money to make our money back. I'd much rather put my money into making another record, or feeding my dog.
What about - Star Wars by Matthew Brennan? I look up it at ES store. It is incarnation of your idea of collage, showing Star Wars on the other hand?
Star Wars was a zine I put out when the band first started compiling our lyrics, random lyrics we hadn't used yet, a few odd little stories, and some other writings. I called it Star Wars because we all thought it would be funny to have a little book called Star Wars that had nothing to do with the science fiction films. Also, growing up I was obsessed with Star Wars and still know way too much about the original movies than any grown man should. I keep meaning to do a new one with some of my friends doing illustrations for some story ideas I have, but I tend to get lazy about things sometimes.
And say a few words for Russian hc\punk kids please.
Hello Russian kids. I'm very glad to hear from your friend Vova. I think it's a great thing that you folks are into all sorts of music. Keep looking into different bands. Keep reading, keep listening, keep making your own music too. Good luck.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
