Tuesday, February 15, 2005
It's a Reminder of the that Truth We All Face
In a sincere effort to bring up the thrash content of this site I present to you an interview I did (via email) with Kill the Man Who Questions from Philadelphia. The interview took place in October of 2002 so that explains why the answers may seem a bit dated. I don't really have an excuse for why my questions seem a tad naive. When I was living in Banff and feeling incredibly disconnected not only from the punk scene, but people in general, I took inspiration from Kill the Man Who Questions. In no way did they reinvent the wheel, but their music helped get me through a few rough periods. When I decided to do a zine I knew right away who I wanted to interview and thankfully they agreed. The zine never came out, but here's the interview:
I'll start off with some introductory questions: Who's in the band?
Andrew: Joe and Beau - guitars
Andrew - bass
Mike - singin
Jeremy - drummin
How did Kill the Man Who Questions form?
Andrew: Well, some of us were living together in a house around the corner from Stalag 13 and we were all playing in different bands, so we wanted to all start a band together. I was playing in DisSucks, Mike was in F80 and Rizzo Machine. Mike, and I started out with our roomate John(from the band Vile Horrendous) on drums, and Pat(from Manual Seven) on guitar. Then after a little while I left and Beau came in, and Niki came in as well. Then John left and was replaced by Jeremy, who Mike was already playing with in F80. Eventually a year later, I came back in the band, because Beau left as the bass player on a tour, so i filled in. Beau came back in the band a few months later to play guitar when Pat left. On our European tour, Mike Thorn (from Inept/ Maximum Rock 'n Roll coordinator) came in played guitar for us since we were for a short while without a guitarist. In the summer, Mike Thorn also played guitar for us as a second guitar player and we liked the way that sounded, so when he moved out to california, we replaced him with our friend Joe (from Sound of Failure). And thats where we are today.
What's the significance of the name Kill the Man Who Questions? How did it come about
Mike: The name of the band was actually lifted from the name of ashort-lived project that never made it out of the basement that involved me and some friends of mine in a band called I Hate You back when I was in college (1994-5 I think). When Andrew and I started playing together, we were trying to fill a gap we saw in Philly's little punk scene (which was really booming at the time and had a lot of other bases very well covered), I just thought, "I know a great name for us..." I always thought of the name in the tradition of sarcastic, critical punk band names, with the dominant attitude in society (or in any subculture it seems) seems to be that it's none too appreciated when people rock the boat or challenge the status quo.
What activities/projects (musical and otherwise) are you involved in besides KTMWQ?
Andrew: Well, i'm also in Limp Wrist, and we have a 7" and an LP out. We have toured just a little bit, because we are just a project band. The band was started by some friends and we live all over the place (east and west coast). Outside of the band, I work as a waiter, and have for the last 2 years or so, and it has proven to a very good job for me-- its both very flexible with hours and easy to get my shifts covered when we have shows. But its just a job to pay the bills! But it allows me to do what I do. Mike and I are also starting a label together.
Mike: I work a day-to-day job as the managing editor of an indie music magazine, which I like because the daily work is fun, laid-back and there's a little challenge with each issue, and from time to time I get to feel like I'm helping some deserving artists get some coverage that they want to get. But, it's essentially part of the indie music industry, which is something I'm not terribly interested in on a passionate level--it's just a business like any other and there are the occassions where I get disappointed to find that some of "my guitar heroes" are self-absorbed, liberal and boring, rather than "taking punk" to some "new level."
I'm involved with an organization here in Philadelphia called Books Through Bars which sends free, educational reading material to prisoners across the country. I've organized numerous benefit concerts and events for the group and been involved in answering letters and filling book requests, and it's an experience I'm really grateful for.
Any plans to find another singer to replace Niki?
Andrew: We were very unsure of how to proceed when Niki was first losing interest in the band, and then when she finally left officially, we were unsure of if to proceed at all. But after regrouping ourselves and thinking about it very extensively, we have decided not to replace Niki. If we had someone who was very interested in the band, that we all got along with, it might work out, but we just dont know of such a person right now.
What are your plans for the new year for the band as well as the label? Will the upcoming album be on the new label?
Andrew: For the band, our plans are to put out first a discography CD of all of our vinyl-only releases, and compilation tracks. Alot of this stuff is unaccessible to people (only vinyl, and also some of it never came out (compilations, argh!) So basically everything except for the Coalition Records album. This will be released on our new label. Our first release on the new label will be a great band from Philly, called The Great Clearing Off, and it will be their first 7". The new album, we arent really sure what is going to happen with that yet. We have a few ideas, and it might come out on the new label, but we are not sure if we will be able to afford it, when its ready to come out. We might need help from another label to do this.
Has it been hard organizing shows, recording, and practices while having members play in bands like xLimp Wristx, Sound of Failure, and Rambo?
Joe: It can get hectic at times, but for me, playing music is what I do. Being in 2 bands just allows me to do what I like more often.
Mike: Limpwrist has always maintained a sort of 'project' status just by the sheer force of their geography (Martin lives in LA, Paul and Mark in upstate NY, etc). Up until recently, they've only played the east coast and midwest, so we often played with them, or followed them like fawning teenyboppers. Everyone's been in bands and is pretty serious about music, so we've all eventually learned how to avoid double-booking and are simply respectful of each others' schedules.
What's your idea of an ideal show? Do you find it that people are generally receptive to what you say on stage? Or do you feel like a soundtrack to somebody's own personal macho 'Foot Loose' more often than not?
Mike: We have some heavy language in one or two of our songs-or our explanations to songs--that assert how we're not into the whole "shut up and play" mentality, and we're not. But, at this point, I think there's a certain niche within the larger hc/punk world where we tend to operate, and within that, there's an expectation that people are coming out for more than just 'killer jams' (which we, no doubt provide). This is due, in a large part, to a long history of bands who didn't have it quite so comfortable. Los Crudos is one band I think who in recent punk history really laid it down in terms of this sort of thing, and I know it wasn't always easy for them. But, we all benefit from the things they did. At the same time, bands working from the Riot Grrrl and Queercore side of things really knocked down a lot of barriers for people, in terms of what is accepted at shows; what emotions are kosher to discuss, etc. So, for that, a band like ours is lucky. We don't feel like the soundtrack to anyone's macho posturing because we aren't. That kind of thing can be a challenge to deal with, but it is possible and it is necessary and I have little patience for bands who "wash their hands" of what 'their crowds' do at shows to disrespect and hurt other people. That kind of cop out just bugs.
In the lyrics for the song, 'Study in Elitism' you talk about how hardcore points "the finger while contributing so less to fixing the problems it decries" do you think that if one wants to get 'serious' about political and social change one has to leave behind or work outside the punk/hardcore scene to affect any real or lasting change? ie to do more overtly political work does one need to operate outside the punk ghetto? To Mike specifically; Why is a group like Books Through Bars important and their work with prisoners and prison reform important?
Mike: I think punk or hardcore, or any type of community--however someone defines it for themselves--is a really useful tool and a really natural resource for people to draw from. I don't follow the line of thinking that supposes punk is a phase we're all expected to zoom through, collect the flashcards and then toss off like an old habit. Punk has never been a limiting category for me, it's a word I use to describe--and not entirely arbitrarily either--the sorts of things that keep me alive. I've never felt a burning need to break it down into a really quantified definition, but it has something to do with my personal sense of righteousness, and a righteousness I feel I share with my friends and with the people music has granted me lasting relationships with--and this righteousness, for me and my friends, is framed with a lot of fun memories of being goofy and also being passionate about our creativity, which has taken the form for lots of us as music and visual art and writing.
Part of what I feel I've internalized through punk, is a sense that I am ultimately responsible for my own perception of and my own effect upon the world in which me and my friends--and everyone else lives. Through long talks, late night drives, dramatic fanzine essays, casual education, and YEARS of bottomless patience from friends and acquaintences in my town, I
owe a lot of where my head is to my involvement in punk. I wonder if I'd be as interested in politics, or social justice--or feel as though I had anything to offer if it weren't for punk.
I could no more easily tell someone why Books Through Bars is important than I could explain why punk is important. Depending on your opinion, it might very well not seem important at all. But, I have my reasons for thinking these things are important and I'm interested in being directly, personally engaged in the things that I feel strongly about.
As you grow older how do you keep punk and hardcore relevaant to yourselves? How do you still make the punk community a place where you fit in?
Joe: The older I get, the less I can relate to my older friends who have moved on to the "rockabilly retirement plan" or the "Strokes retirement plan." They seem content to languish in bars getting hammered and hitting on everything that moves. I'd rather be out seeing new bands and being exposed to new ideas. Being around "the kids" is cool because it seems alot of people my age are slowing down creatively. I feel like I'm still all there mentally. I'm still a creative person. I'm still alive. I ride bikes...blahblahblah.
Mike: I have older friends and friends who are getting older who I think sometimes look to punk with desperate eyes, thinking "this is my last chance, this is the last year punk has a chance to be my life and make everything fall into place." Which, to me, is about as productive as hoping you're going to win the lottery. Punk, like anything else in life, is simply enough what you make it. If punk is going to mean something to many people as they continue to get older, obviously it needs to be seen with a little elasticity. What inspires me about punk now, in many ways is what attracted me to punk and amazed me about it in the first place--but at the same time, it manifests itself in different ways. A lot of the 'signifiers' and ritual have been digested and encountered again and again, so much that they're just static to me. But, the power of an idea, and the passion of someone actively trying to engage life is an intense thing to experience in any situation. I'm lucky that I have so many friends with whom I still share these types of experiences, and that we all live in a city where people have built this neat, little niche (this "hive" we love, to paraphrase the newly re-configured power trio, Q and Not U) where we feel included, respected and mutually fuel each other. I don't know if there's a formula for that, other than always following what really amazes you--and that, we all know, is not going to take every one of us to the same place.
A theme throughout many of your songs seems to be the employer/employee relationship. Is it important for each of you to find jobs that are an extension of yourselves and that do not force you to make unwanted compromises? Or is it more necessary and immediate to find a job that pays well, allows you to live comfortably, and allows you the time and luxury to participate in activities that you are more passionate about? What experiences have shaped your views on jobs/work/careers?
Joe: I work full time. I support myself and I'm proud of that. I come from a working class family and those are the sort of values Iwas raised with; to take care of yourself, because nobody else will. None of that doesn't mean I work and I'm miserable, I like my job. I'm lucky. I work for a video company, doing editing, duplication, dvd and film transfers. I mean it does suck at times,it's a job, but I get health insurance, Ican pay my rent. I get alot of leeway as far as time off for shows (not paid of course) I know if we tour for 3 months I will have a job when I get home. Not everybody has it like that, but personally I know I've had a lot of jobs I could give a fuck about. I was just there for the money, but you gotta do something, you know? Nobody went out and hunted and gathered for early man, he had to do something, and it probably wasn't fun, but he would starve.Everybody has to eat shit to a certain extent, you just have to work yourself into a favorable position. You can't live without a certain amount of compromise, you just have to create a situation where the compromise is minimalized. The "fuck work" ethic doesn't really work for me, because we all need things that cost money...not just the things we want, we need food, we need clothes. Nobody is gonna hand you that shit forever, at some point you are gonna have to become self sufficient, so you best prepare for it.
In the wake of the events of Sept 11 and the introduction of laws and measures that clamp down on civil liberties what effect do you feel this will have on protesting and activism in general, and specifically this summer's G-8 meeting and locally in the activist scene of Philadelphia?
Mike: I think it will take some time to see what the 'lasting effects' will be. But, clearly, the effect throughout the majority of our country--and that stretches well into the punk scene--so far has been that people are willing to curtail their own civil liberties, along with those of their neighbors in order to stay in line as dutiful citizens. To quote our friends in Rambo, "All the assholes are heroes now." By the same token, activists--despite whatever shaky rep they may have had before--are now clearly anti-american.
The 'war on terrorism' has had a rather chilling effect on the idea of healthy dissent. Obviously, there are still people--many, many people--who are still committed to the work they were involved in before Sept. 11th, and I think these people deserve support and respect.
Any chance of making it to Canada any time soon? or have stricter borders made this much more difficult than it would have been in the past?
Border policy can't hold us back from our Northern neighbors! No immediate travel plans for now, though.
In 'Good Cop Bad Cop' you sing about accepting the standard fare that Hollywood routinely dishes out (sort of similar to Public Enemy's 'Burn Hollywood Burn'). Do you feel there is an increased market for jingoistic films and films that exude the value of patriotism since Sept. 11?
Mike: The creators of BlackHawk Down seem to think so...The media is proving an exceptionally loyal lapdog to corporate, capitalist, western interests. "Closer to the stateside point of view and further from the truth" said Chumbawumba.
Any last words? Contact?
"Last words" is a fitting invite, actually. In the midst of this interview, the band broke up. Following an impromptu discussion after one of our practices, we all asked ourselves how confident we were that this band, as the five of us doing what we do, would continue to deliver the full amount of passion and intensity that we believe--in our idealistic hearts--that a punk band ought to deliver. When we found our answers to be not 100% confident, we decided it was best to let the band stand as it is now, and move on to other projects. We're extremely proud of everything we've done, and we're glad that that's the way it's going to stay. All the same, we're all very active in our other bands and in the Philly punk community and still welcome coorespondence. Also, all our releases and shirts, paraphenelia, junk, is still available directly through us. Thanks very much for +5 years. We'll see you soon.
end
In the same vein, you may want to check out
Jeff Kraft's (ex-Fucked Up Kid/The Attack) new site :
Distorted Riff and Circle Pits
In a sincere effort to bring up the thrash content of this site I present to you an interview I did (via email) with Kill the Man Who Questions from Philadelphia. The interview took place in October of 2002 so that explains why the answers may seem a bit dated. I don't really have an excuse for why my questions seem a tad naive. When I was living in Banff and feeling incredibly disconnected not only from the punk scene, but people in general, I took inspiration from Kill the Man Who Questions. In no way did they reinvent the wheel, but their music helped get me through a few rough periods. When I decided to do a zine I knew right away who I wanted to interview and thankfully they agreed. The zine never came out, but here's the interview:
I'll start off with some introductory questions: Who's in the band?
Andrew: Joe and Beau - guitars
Andrew - bass
Mike - singin
Jeremy - drummin
How did Kill the Man Who Questions form?
Andrew: Well, some of us were living together in a house around the corner from Stalag 13 and we were all playing in different bands, so we wanted to all start a band together. I was playing in DisSucks, Mike was in F80 and Rizzo Machine. Mike, and I started out with our roomate John(from the band Vile Horrendous) on drums, and Pat(from Manual Seven) on guitar. Then after a little while I left and Beau came in, and Niki came in as well. Then John left and was replaced by Jeremy, who Mike was already playing with in F80. Eventually a year later, I came back in the band, because Beau left as the bass player on a tour, so i filled in. Beau came back in the band a few months later to play guitar when Pat left. On our European tour, Mike Thorn (from Inept/ Maximum Rock 'n Roll coordinator) came in played guitar for us since we were for a short while without a guitarist. In the summer, Mike Thorn also played guitar for us as a second guitar player and we liked the way that sounded, so when he moved out to california, we replaced him with our friend Joe (from Sound of Failure). And thats where we are today.
What's the significance of the name Kill the Man Who Questions? How did it come about
Mike: The name of the band was actually lifted from the name of ashort-lived project that never made it out of the basement that involved me and some friends of mine in a band called I Hate You back when I was in college (1994-5 I think). When Andrew and I started playing together, we were trying to fill a gap we saw in Philly's little punk scene (which was really booming at the time and had a lot of other bases very well covered), I just thought, "I know a great name for us..." I always thought of the name in the tradition of sarcastic, critical punk band names, with the dominant attitude in society (or in any subculture it seems) seems to be that it's none too appreciated when people rock the boat or challenge the status quo.
What activities/projects (musical and otherwise) are you involved in besides KTMWQ?
Andrew: Well, i'm also in Limp Wrist, and we have a 7" and an LP out. We have toured just a little bit, because we are just a project band. The band was started by some friends and we live all over the place (east and west coast). Outside of the band, I work as a waiter, and have for the last 2 years or so, and it has proven to a very good job for me-- its both very flexible with hours and easy to get my shifts covered when we have shows. But its just a job to pay the bills! But it allows me to do what I do. Mike and I are also starting a label together.
Mike: I work a day-to-day job as the managing editor of an indie music magazine, which I like because the daily work is fun, laid-back and there's a little challenge with each issue, and from time to time I get to feel like I'm helping some deserving artists get some coverage that they want to get. But, it's essentially part of the indie music industry, which is something I'm not terribly interested in on a passionate level--it's just a business like any other and there are the occassions where I get disappointed to find that some of "my guitar heroes" are self-absorbed, liberal and boring, rather than "taking punk" to some "new level."
I'm involved with an organization here in Philadelphia called Books Through Bars which sends free, educational reading material to prisoners across the country. I've organized numerous benefit concerts and events for the group and been involved in answering letters and filling book requests, and it's an experience I'm really grateful for.
Any plans to find another singer to replace Niki?
Andrew: We were very unsure of how to proceed when Niki was first losing interest in the band, and then when she finally left officially, we were unsure of if to proceed at all. But after regrouping ourselves and thinking about it very extensively, we have decided not to replace Niki. If we had someone who was very interested in the band, that we all got along with, it might work out, but we just dont know of such a person right now.
What are your plans for the new year for the band as well as the label? Will the upcoming album be on the new label?
Andrew: For the band, our plans are to put out first a discography CD of all of our vinyl-only releases, and compilation tracks. Alot of this stuff is unaccessible to people (only vinyl, and also some of it never came out (compilations, argh!) So basically everything except for the Coalition Records album. This will be released on our new label. Our first release on the new label will be a great band from Philly, called The Great Clearing Off, and it will be their first 7". The new album, we arent really sure what is going to happen with that yet. We have a few ideas, and it might come out on the new label, but we are not sure if we will be able to afford it, when its ready to come out. We might need help from another label to do this.
Has it been hard organizing shows, recording, and practices while having members play in bands like xLimp Wristx, Sound of Failure, and Rambo?
Joe: It can get hectic at times, but for me, playing music is what I do. Being in 2 bands just allows me to do what I like more often.
Mike: Limpwrist has always maintained a sort of 'project' status just by the sheer force of their geography (Martin lives in LA, Paul and Mark in upstate NY, etc). Up until recently, they've only played the east coast and midwest, so we often played with them, or followed them like fawning teenyboppers. Everyone's been in bands and is pretty serious about music, so we've all eventually learned how to avoid double-booking and are simply respectful of each others' schedules.
What's your idea of an ideal show? Do you find it that people are generally receptive to what you say on stage? Or do you feel like a soundtrack to somebody's own personal macho 'Foot Loose' more often than not?
Mike: We have some heavy language in one or two of our songs-or our explanations to songs--that assert how we're not into the whole "shut up and play" mentality, and we're not. But, at this point, I think there's a certain niche within the larger hc/punk world where we tend to operate, and within that, there's an expectation that people are coming out for more than just 'killer jams' (which we, no doubt provide). This is due, in a large part, to a long history of bands who didn't have it quite so comfortable. Los Crudos is one band I think who in recent punk history really laid it down in terms of this sort of thing, and I know it wasn't always easy for them. But, we all benefit from the things they did. At the same time, bands working from the Riot Grrrl and Queercore side of things really knocked down a lot of barriers for people, in terms of what is accepted at shows; what emotions are kosher to discuss, etc. So, for that, a band like ours is lucky. We don't feel like the soundtrack to anyone's macho posturing because we aren't. That kind of thing can be a challenge to deal with, but it is possible and it is necessary and I have little patience for bands who "wash their hands" of what 'their crowds' do at shows to disrespect and hurt other people. That kind of cop out just bugs.
In the lyrics for the song, 'Study in Elitism' you talk about how hardcore points "the finger while contributing so less to fixing the problems it decries" do you think that if one wants to get 'serious' about political and social change one has to leave behind or work outside the punk/hardcore scene to affect any real or lasting change? ie to do more overtly political work does one need to operate outside the punk ghetto? To Mike specifically; Why is a group like Books Through Bars important and their work with prisoners and prison reform important?
Mike: I think punk or hardcore, or any type of community--however someone defines it for themselves--is a really useful tool and a really natural resource for people to draw from. I don't follow the line of thinking that supposes punk is a phase we're all expected to zoom through, collect the flashcards and then toss off like an old habit. Punk has never been a limiting category for me, it's a word I use to describe--and not entirely arbitrarily either--the sorts of things that keep me alive. I've never felt a burning need to break it down into a really quantified definition, but it has something to do with my personal sense of righteousness, and a righteousness I feel I share with my friends and with the people music has granted me lasting relationships with--and this righteousness, for me and my friends, is framed with a lot of fun memories of being goofy and also being passionate about our creativity, which has taken the form for lots of us as music and visual art and writing.
Part of what I feel I've internalized through punk, is a sense that I am ultimately responsible for my own perception of and my own effect upon the world in which me and my friends--and everyone else lives. Through long talks, late night drives, dramatic fanzine essays, casual education, and YEARS of bottomless patience from friends and acquaintences in my town, I
owe a lot of where my head is to my involvement in punk. I wonder if I'd be as interested in politics, or social justice--or feel as though I had anything to offer if it weren't for punk.
I could no more easily tell someone why Books Through Bars is important than I could explain why punk is important. Depending on your opinion, it might very well not seem important at all. But, I have my reasons for thinking these things are important and I'm interested in being directly, personally engaged in the things that I feel strongly about.
As you grow older how do you keep punk and hardcore relevaant to yourselves? How do you still make the punk community a place where you fit in?
Joe: The older I get, the less I can relate to my older friends who have moved on to the "rockabilly retirement plan" or the "Strokes retirement plan." They seem content to languish in bars getting hammered and hitting on everything that moves. I'd rather be out seeing new bands and being exposed to new ideas. Being around "the kids" is cool because it seems alot of people my age are slowing down creatively. I feel like I'm still all there mentally. I'm still a creative person. I'm still alive. I ride bikes...blahblahblah.
Mike: I have older friends and friends who are getting older who I think sometimes look to punk with desperate eyes, thinking "this is my last chance, this is the last year punk has a chance to be my life and make everything fall into place." Which, to me, is about as productive as hoping you're going to win the lottery. Punk, like anything else in life, is simply enough what you make it. If punk is going to mean something to many people as they continue to get older, obviously it needs to be seen with a little elasticity. What inspires me about punk now, in many ways is what attracted me to punk and amazed me about it in the first place--but at the same time, it manifests itself in different ways. A lot of the 'signifiers' and ritual have been digested and encountered again and again, so much that they're just static to me. But, the power of an idea, and the passion of someone actively trying to engage life is an intense thing to experience in any situation. I'm lucky that I have so many friends with whom I still share these types of experiences, and that we all live in a city where people have built this neat, little niche (this "hive" we love, to paraphrase the newly re-configured power trio, Q and Not U) where we feel included, respected and mutually fuel each other. I don't know if there's a formula for that, other than always following what really amazes you--and that, we all know, is not going to take every one of us to the same place.
A theme throughout many of your songs seems to be the employer/employee relationship. Is it important for each of you to find jobs that are an extension of yourselves and that do not force you to make unwanted compromises? Or is it more necessary and immediate to find a job that pays well, allows you to live comfortably, and allows you the time and luxury to participate in activities that you are more passionate about? What experiences have shaped your views on jobs/work/careers?
Joe: I work full time. I support myself and I'm proud of that. I come from a working class family and those are the sort of values Iwas raised with; to take care of yourself, because nobody else will. None of that doesn't mean I work and I'm miserable, I like my job. I'm lucky. I work for a video company, doing editing, duplication, dvd and film transfers. I mean it does suck at times,it's a job, but I get health insurance, Ican pay my rent. I get alot of leeway as far as time off for shows (not paid of course) I know if we tour for 3 months I will have a job when I get home. Not everybody has it like that, but personally I know I've had a lot of jobs I could give a fuck about. I was just there for the money, but you gotta do something, you know? Nobody went out and hunted and gathered for early man, he had to do something, and it probably wasn't fun, but he would starve.Everybody has to eat shit to a certain extent, you just have to work yourself into a favorable position. You can't live without a certain amount of compromise, you just have to create a situation where the compromise is minimalized. The "fuck work" ethic doesn't really work for me, because we all need things that cost money...not just the things we want, we need food, we need clothes. Nobody is gonna hand you that shit forever, at some point you are gonna have to become self sufficient, so you best prepare for it.
In the wake of the events of Sept 11 and the introduction of laws and measures that clamp down on civil liberties what effect do you feel this will have on protesting and activism in general, and specifically this summer's G-8 meeting and locally in the activist scene of Philadelphia?
Mike: I think it will take some time to see what the 'lasting effects' will be. But, clearly, the effect throughout the majority of our country--and that stretches well into the punk scene--so far has been that people are willing to curtail their own civil liberties, along with those of their neighbors in order to stay in line as dutiful citizens. To quote our friends in Rambo, "All the assholes are heroes now." By the same token, activists--despite whatever shaky rep they may have had before--are now clearly anti-american.
The 'war on terrorism' has had a rather chilling effect on the idea of healthy dissent. Obviously, there are still people--many, many people--who are still committed to the work they were involved in before Sept. 11th, and I think these people deserve support and respect.
Any chance of making it to Canada any time soon? or have stricter borders made this much more difficult than it would have been in the past?
Border policy can't hold us back from our Northern neighbors! No immediate travel plans for now, though.
In 'Good Cop Bad Cop' you sing about accepting the standard fare that Hollywood routinely dishes out (sort of similar to Public Enemy's 'Burn Hollywood Burn'). Do you feel there is an increased market for jingoistic films and films that exude the value of patriotism since Sept. 11?
Mike: The creators of BlackHawk Down seem to think so...The media is proving an exceptionally loyal lapdog to corporate, capitalist, western interests. "Closer to the stateside point of view and further from the truth" said Chumbawumba.
Any last words? Contact?
"Last words" is a fitting invite, actually. In the midst of this interview, the band broke up. Following an impromptu discussion after one of our practices, we all asked ourselves how confident we were that this band, as the five of us doing what we do, would continue to deliver the full amount of passion and intensity that we believe--in our idealistic hearts--that a punk band ought to deliver. When we found our answers to be not 100% confident, we decided it was best to let the band stand as it is now, and move on to other projects. We're extremely proud of everything we've done, and we're glad that that's the way it's going to stay. All the same, we're all very active in our other bands and in the Philly punk community and still welcome coorespondence. Also, all our releases and shirts, paraphenelia, junk, is still available directly through us. Thanks very much for +5 years. We'll see you soon.
end
In the same vein, you may want to check out
Jeff Kraft's (ex-Fucked Up Kid/The Attack) new site :
Distorted Riff and Circle Pits
This album cover looks way more interesting than anything put out by these dorks:
What the Fuck Did I do?!
Unicorns and Alcoholics have Feelings Too
I was telling Lachie today about the sometimes bizarro results you get from AltaVista's Babelfish translation tool. What I did was insert a piece of text from a random blog/online journal and translated it from English to Spanish and then from the translated Spanish back to English. It's apparent that some things get 'lost in translation' (bwahaha).
this can sound corny, but if there is a thing which I have learned to be delirious it I am PLURR. peace, love, unit, the respect and resposibility. make the peace with each one, the violence and hatred only drags under and others try to also demonstrate love to all the things, very little if any thing is totally bad or totally good all we have ours strenghts and attempt of the weaknesses to be a part of the lives that you affect, because all the relations are a part of you, if you have taste of her or the separation of a connection tends to damage the implied respect both parts to the demonstration by each one, those you one even feels does not deserve it being respectful somebody that wishes damage him, in the end you you will also gain his respect takes resposibility for his actions. if you offend to somebody, reconózcalo and to the their best one to make things right is exceptions there of course, but it uniforms then it is rarely to of one the concepts above an abusive relation by the example that takes off temporarily can be the best line of conduct, but more continues demonstrating that the love and to respect and she will become to you that also you wanted to need that they do not go the respect and the confidence hand in hand freely let somebody gain their respect, but they let them gain its confidence. if they fail, trátelos anyway affluent, as soon as they do not trust them in if somebody it breaks his heart, respételos, but déjelos to recover its love. if you loved them in the first place were something cannot there be denied coverall, she does not leave his way to create a conflict or to cause damage to any person, if she happens that responsibility of the then taking let it be hope of i that this one reaches at least to a person who carries out a certain meaning for, if even makes needed i not to say it for me.
I searched google for any mentions of "Peace Love Unity Respect" on diaryland.com thinking I would get something pretty funny, intentional or otherwise. I was going to post about this girl whose big dilemna was that the two boys she liked were both dating other girls.
The original is here. Despite its mention of PLURR, it's not very funny at all.
Unicorns and Alcoholics have Feelings Too
I was telling Lachie today about the sometimes bizarro results you get from AltaVista's Babelfish translation tool. What I did was insert a piece of text from a random blog/online journal and translated it from English to Spanish and then from the translated Spanish back to English. It's apparent that some things get 'lost in translation' (bwahaha).
I searched google for any mentions of "Peace Love Unity Respect" on diaryland.com thinking I would get something pretty funny, intentional or otherwise. I was going to post about this girl whose big dilemna was that the two boys she liked were both dating other girls.
The original is here. Despite its mention of PLURR, it's not very funny at all.
Nannies are great for a lot of things, most of all they're great for serving biscuits. They're not great for having cable. Show me a nanny with cable and I'll show you a nanny who wears denim.
Today's 'Of The Week' is Biscuit* of the Week
*Not in any way to be confused with the bodyguard of the New Kids on the Block who sports the same moniker.
Today's 'Of The Week' is Biscuit* of the Week
*Not in any way to be confused with the bodyguard of the New Kids on the Block who sports the same moniker.
