BRIAN GORSEGNER “ WIRED”
EDITOR
Jason Bolduc
COPY EDITOR Naomi Kelly
PHOTOGRAPHERS Jason Bolduc Mike Marshall
COLUMNISTS
THE TOWER
Hamilton's Anarchist Social Centre 281 Cannon St. E Hamilton, ON L8L 2B4 Hours: Sundays 11am-5pm* Mondays 2-6pm* Thursdays 12-5pm* http://the-tower.ca/
Jason Bolduc Jim Smith Juana Luck Mike Marshall
REVIEWS
Jason Bolduc Mike Mccarthy
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Mike Magee/Stomp Records Melanie Racette / Stomp Records Melanie Kaye PR Sacha Miller/Erin Caroll/ AB Co. PR Epitaph Records Kieth Marlowe Photography/Night Birds My Fingers My Brain Reords Paper and Plastick Records
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NIGHTBIRDS /BRIAN GORSEGNER
NO HOLDING BACK
THE BRAINS/RENE D LA MUERTE
17
ON “OUT IN THE DARK” BOIDS/ PATRIZIO
29
SUPERBAFRANGO
38
GROWING UP 17
48
MUSIC REVIEWS
NIGHT BIRD BRIAN GORSEGNER /NO HOLDING BACK
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WITHIN PUNK ZINE INTERVIEW WITH
BRIAN GORSEGNER @THE OLD LAUREL
OCTOBER 24 ,2015 COURTESY OF
MELANIE KAYE PR
BRIAN / PHOTO J.B
J.B: Hey, it’s Within caught up with Brian Gorsegner vocalist of the ever so amazing NIGHT BIRDS! How’s it going my friend? BRIAN: It’s going good, exhausting but good! It’s the end of a very long day! J.B: And what a day it is but hey! NIGHT BIRDS it’s got to have a nocturnal meaning right? BRIAN: NO! Quite the opposite (Laughing) I don’t party, I’m a day bird. J.B: Well that’s strange because on Mutiny at Muscle Beach you have the late night channel surfing? BRIAN: I wish it was like that! In a way that would make sense but I wanted something at the beginning of the record that you could instantly hear and recognize as an album. There’s just certain things you hear right away on an album and you’re like, ‘I know which album this is’ within the first two seconds. I was like, I don’t want to open with drums and guitar, I wanted to open it with something cool so we already had little sound clips in the middle of the album. I was like, let’s open it with a TV turning on and then off to kind of tie it all together. And we have that song “Agents of the TV” on there so, we like TV! J.B: Late night TV is the best programming anyway it’s either something weird ass on the shopping network or it’s some kind of weird shit! BRIAN: YA! Like some super religious crazy people shit and giving them money and “Halleluiah” and all that shit! J.B: Hey like Jim and Tammy Faye “Send your Pennies to Jesus”! J.B: So your lyrical content is mostly about Wrestling, Suburbia, Choices, and Horror movies and hard times. What gives you the inspiration on writing? BRIAN: I don’t know pretty much those things, they are inspirational on their own with their own merit. Something like Mick Foley - a guy who completely annihilated himself for the love of his craft. You know he just didn’t care and he just did it because he loved it, and he got out there and just did it and he destroyed himself for the enjoyment of others and he did for that and not for waking up tomorrow and going “Ah I’m going to feel this” he didn’t give a shit it was just fun. And he just ruined himself for other people’s enjoyment and I don’t know I think that’s just fucking beautiful.
“ At the end of the day we are a punk rock band and that’s where it all started”
J.B: So you really wanna say that “Mankind” was the best wrestler? Cause “If you don’t like it you better learn to love it Whew ” (J.B doing his Rick Flair) Emmmmm YAAAAAAAA! BRIAN: (Laughing) what was the question there? I heard the end part was there a question in there? (Laughing) J.B: THE MACHO WANTS TO KNOW EMMM YA! (Laughing) Ya old school
JOE / PHOTO J.B
wrestlers you know Jimmy S BRIAN: I have to admit I’m t just not too familiar with the era. Pre racist banter but it k J.B: And also on lyrical conte neighbour’s house was exact BRIAN: That’s fucked up tho Scared Stupid” and I’m man to go” and my friends still bu the toilet at that kid - well at time and I saw that at my gra time and just kind of keep lo lins with the toilet scene I ca J.B: No “Ghoulies” All about BRIAN: Fuck your right! J.B: Big Horror fan! So comin Mutiny on Muscle Beach you some elements of surf still in BRIAN: Ah at the end of the and some of the stuff that yo like “Boom! Boom! Boom!” know it makes you want to g know. From top to bottom y and its fucking punk rock bu carries a tune and D.I and lik means so many things but at
“Like some super religious crazy people luiah” and all that shit! “
bands like “The Dictators” and would just write a good tune and that’s all we are J.B: So do you think the new formula is working out? You guys had that surf thin and then “Born to Die In Suburbia” and had the beginnings of that hardcore earl your face here we go! BRIAN: You know I can’t even pinpoint where we changed we had a very similar that’s what brings the four of us together. We love that early eighties sound and w stuff and Joe is into Jazz and stuff and you can see it when he plays bass. And we - where is the interest in that? And every now and then something will come out will be like well you know you guys just sound like “The Dead Kennedys” and stu
Snooka, Koko B Ware, and Iron Sheik? the worst the only NIGHT BIRD not into wrestling - a huge Mick Foley fan e wrestlers. Like I watched it in the mid-eighties like Ultimate Warrior, Hogan kind of ended there with like my thumb fingers. ent - Horror movies? For me it was Amityville Horror at age seven because my tly like it and I used to go out the back door all the time to avoid it. ose are really scary movies though I had to ask my dad to leave during “Earnest enough to say that but we went to see it and I was like “This is too Scary I want ust my chops about that. And that movie Critters where that thing jumps out of least I think it was “Critters”. And that scared the shit out of me for the longest andmother’s house and I couldn’t sit on the shitter I had to sort of hover all the ooking back. So yeah all fucked up from “Critters”. Fuck was it Critters or Greman’t remember? t Johnathon’s House Warming parties till it goes all wrong!
ng back with Suburbia and you have that West Coast Hardcore sound, then on u have a mixture of old school Adolescents with some Street punk sound with n there. What was the influence coming into this album? e day we like all stuff you know some melodies and aggressive music and stuff ou were talking about like Naked Raygun it was fast and it was hard and it was but it could carry a tune stuff like “The Damned” and Machine Gun Edict you go out and throw garbage cans but it also makes you carry it’s so musical you you know. So anything that falls within that realm you know like “The Ramones ut it carries a tune and stuff like the Dickies. So yeah all that aggression and ke all these bands. All these people like to call it melodic hardcore but it’s 2015 it t the end of the day we are a punk rock band and that’s where it all started with
e shit and giving them money and “Halle-
trying to do, just write a catchy good song. ng going on with Monster Surf and then into The Other Side of Darkness lier works and then full into it with Mutiny at Muscle Beach” with that “Ah” in
r formula from the get go really, there’s definitely surf elements in there still and we love the Dwarves and New Bomb Turks but the Adolescents and Garage-y don’t try and go out and say okay we are going to sound like “Ramones Core” t and it sounds cool but then it’s just usually a glob of stuff out and then people uff. But we are influenced by twenty five years of punk rock you know so thirty
years of stuff. J.B: So - positivity from negativity? BRIAN: Turning something bad into something good you mean? J.B: Exactly! BRIAN: I think it’s important. As a teenager I played in bands and that’s what I used to get it out I think everybody needs some kind of outlet, whether it’s karate or soccer or wrestling or skateboarding or you paint or whatever you just need some kind of out. It just an outlet to get it out you know, everybody goes to work every day and everybody’s got there bullshit responsibilities at the end of the day. I don’t know it’s what unwinds me you know, it’s what I crave. J.B: So you ended the European tour in 2013 and then just did smaller tours after that because of the new awesome family, do you find it harder to go on larger tours now? BRIAN: No it’s awesome now we ended that 2013 tour because my wife was pregnant and the due date was too close to when we would be in Europe and I wanted to be there two months before and two months after just because the last thing I wanted was to be 200 hundred miles away. So now my wife is very understanding, she does her thing I do my thing and we are very understanding with each other, and she’s an artist and she went to Europe this year to see a bunch of Museums. And I stayed home with my kid and a lot of parents now think kids are errands and that’s it. But if you have aspirations in your life, make your child an extension of that not a stop sign you know. And I love my daughter she’s not a chore she’s big piece of my life, you know? There’s people out there that are like, ‘well it’s time to have kids well it’s time to get married, well it’s time to do this’! And that’s why the world is full of so many fucking idiots, just stop! There’s so many fucking shitty parents and so many fucking shitty kids, that’s why it’s Suburbia! J.B: So big time fans of John Carpenter’s? BRIAN: Yeah I think we’re tapped out on the whole Escape from New York thing but we did a really cool Mel Brooks cover on the 7 inch surf we did, but I got to say we love Snake! J.B: Fat Wreck Chords family? BRIAN: It’s cool we did the Fat Wreck Chords 25th Anniversary tour in San Fran and we are the new guys - there’s a couple of them and we are one of them and going out there they are all super tight and they know each other for like twenty years and stuff and I was like “holy shit” but they were cool they would come up and say ‘hey I liked your set’ and stuff and that was super cool. It’s cool, they let us do whatever
P.J PHOTO J.B
we want you know it’s a punk rock label run by punk rock people and you know i 2015 and it’s still a DYI kind of label with all their heart and it’s extremely hard to a profit now but they do it because they love it you know. J.B: And on the Fat Wreck comp “Going Nowhere Fast” was the song “In the mid Did you pick it? BRIAN: We recorded a song just for the comp and Fat Mike was like NO! I want t one this is the best song on the album I want this one! And I was like really? Appa ently everybody thinks that’s the best one on there but I don’t think it’s the best on but when you spend so much time recording and mastering it you get desensitize to it and your like fuck I don’t know if people are going to like it or not! I don’t kn what the fuck it sounds like because we put it together and now my ears are shit, I don’t fucking know what people think, but it’s nice to give it to him and be like, h you’ve been doing this for years and you know better and are successful at this so guess I will take your word for it. I guess people like it so that’s good. J.B: So you have that crazy video for “Mutiny at Muscle Beach” any other plans fo another video? BRIAN: Yeah we’re doing another video that will be out like maybe next week or after for “I’m Wired” and one of the first things I got into when I was a punk was Punk sort of skate videos and throughout the video there’s ton of great punk band playing in them. So we hooked up with our friend Greg Harbor and he’s a profess al skateboarder and we went out to San Francisco for the 25th anniversary tour an the day before the show we went to book the Fillmore and then we went out to th Berkley Park and did this video out there. Essentially it’s an old school skate video kind of looks like an old Vision Skate wear thing! J.B: Psycho Stick Hell Yes! You also have the Jack Torrance Ripper shirt and dam i only a limited edition to Fest? Like come on man you’re killing me here! BRIAN: Yeah we’re going to keep that one going we love to keep you guys well stocked J.B: So Derek on this album as usual is a beast on the drums. I can definitely tell h fan of Bill Stevenson. BRIAN: Yeah Derek’s has tattoos on his legs and grew up worshipping All and he’ sessed with everything to do with All and Descendants and you can tell that influ it really shines through he defiantly has a Bill style. And Joe also grew up around influence also and is also a huge follower of it so it’s great to have that rhythm sec tion behind me it makes it easier. And yeah he is a machine, I’ve known him for l fifteen years and he was always one of my favorite drummers and he followed us
“There’s so many good bands out there n and going strong!”
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DARICK / PHOTO J.B
now, you know. It’s awesome, it’s alive
in 2010 around touring with us but he lived in Maryland and we lived in Jersey, but now it’s easier with the Fat wreck thing. J.B: So let’s talk about the hardcore scene. Where do you think it’s at? BRIAN: Ah man there’s so many good bands out there now, you know. It’s awesome, it’s alive and going strong. We’ve been a band for six years so we’re not completely new - well new to Fat but we’re not new. This is the scene we came up with, bands like Government Warning, Career Suicide, Direct Control, Cloak Dagger, Deep Sleep and The Omegas or Give or Violent Reaction there will always be an awesome hardcore scene you just have to dig. J.B: So we always end with a famous book or quote that inspired your life anything come to mind? BRIAN: “Here’s to those who wish us well and those who don’t can go to hell” and that’s Elaine Benes and that’s from Seinfeld. J.B: And there you have it!
RENE D LA MUERTE 17
WITHIN PUNK ZINE INTERVIEW WITH
THE BRAINS / RENE D LA MUERTE BY PHONE
OCTOBER 21 ,2015 COURTESY OF
MELANIE KAYE PR
J.B: This is J.B from Within Punk Zine and I am sitting here with the Montreal legendary Rene D La Muerte. How goes it my friend? RENE: It’s going good, got out of practice so you know it’s mostly just playing having some drinks and fine tuning some things, having fun, you know… J.B: So let’s get into it you are releasing “Out In The Dark” on October 30th which conventionally is known as Devils Night but actually you play at Midnight which would be technically known in Pagan Rituals as “Samhain”. And more of a weird anomaly the fact that this release celebrates your 13 years of The Brains, do you think these things through or is it just black magic of some sort? RENE: (Laughing) Well you know we always like to do something for Halloween but for this one it’s different it just so happens to be perfectly in line and the album actually was ready on December 14th of last year. And we were just holding onto it to get it mastered by the right person and we found the right person so here it is ready to go on you know. J.B: The cover art on this one you have the same logo as “The Monster Within” but its album art is in the shadows and a really dark feel. Kind of like the feel of the album? RENE: It really has to do with the Brains going back to the roots you know way back with “No Brain No Pain” it has that same type of energy you know. So with the last couple of albums it’s been about movies and Horror and stuff this one is more about human nature. It goes a little bit more in depth like “Out In the Dark” it can be viewed in different ways you know it can be represented by something dark, something always lurking you know? Or it can be that you’re not feeling really well in your head, you know? I think all of us have that there’s always something
COL
LIN THE DEAD / PHOTO MIKE MARSHALL
that’s in there that holds us back or something. There’s the song “Need you now” th are some real monsters out there lurking you know, in the dark. J.B: The Monster Within I felt started to touch base on that subjectively but was hid this one different, more personal? RENE: It is. Every album has to do with where we live or life on the road and prett been producing this band now for thirteen years and all the recordings and on this we have in it. J.B: The Bear in the new clip for the video “Out In The Dark” what’s that about? RENE: That’s what we wanted to go to you know for us. The Brains have been work Why record it that way in the beginning? Well because there was nobody doing it b into the band and now he does all the merch and design and stuff. And then we ha he’s the one taking care of video and web and all the internet social media stuff. An Animation and Bis Films and actually has my daughter in it actually. J.B: It’s not controversial or anything like “Take What I Want” was and getting bann RENE: Well you know here’s the whole thing on that we always love to get a reactio
PHIL THE BEAST / PHOTO MIKE MARSHALL
hat talks about alcohol addiction and some people have that you know so there
dden more by the Horror theme of the inspiration of Lovecraft and Rituals and is
ty much how we are, but this time we really wanted to make it sound the best. I’ve s one after 13 years you can hear how far we have come and how much dedication
king for thirteen years nonstop trying to be self-sufficient in a way you know. back then and we built on that and did the studio you know, then Collin comes ave Phil which has been the drummer for a while now - “Phil The Beast” - and nd also the new video that is coming out for “Out In The Dark” was by Wolfgang
ned by Much Music? on from the people you know? That’s the first thing we try to do is get the reaction
and that’s what we want The Brains to be sort of known for you know. So in that tone when we did “Take What I Want” we wanted to show violence but not violence against women we wanted to show violence that we close our eyes to you know? There’s some serious violence towards women right now even as it was back in the day like the fifties you know. If you see a guy that is taking a girl that is free to do whatever she wants you know and this girl is super sexy super awesome and smart and just trying to hangout and then she gets taken by this guy and killed you know, then the same thing you have this girl working at a punk bar and goes outside for a smoke and gets killed you know. Then you have the last one that is a woman just hanging out with friends doing her thing - which is actually my longtime girlfriend - and she ends up killed by this guy also. So what I’m trying to push on this subject is we need to not close our eyes to this violence that happens against women and change that and in the end of the video you see that woman get up with evil in her eyes and maybe she’s going to get some vengeance to the person who did this to her for a sort of conviction. And most of all it’s really about getting that reaction and how people respond to it just like the video “Screaming” which about people getting killed. That video was shot about rich people paying people to get killed and watching it and it’s called snuff movies. So when you see the video for “Take What I Want” you see how people are and that is what I wanted to portray in that and from there we can move forward and go positive on it. On this whole new video you are really going to see where we are going with this and what this whole album is about human behaviour and the monsters you know “Out In The Dark”.
“After 13 years you can hear how far we have come and how much dedication we have in it. J.B: Obviously what I heard on this album was homage to your roots but also faster and more refined. So let’s talk about that familiar sound that is The Brains and by that I mean your Gretsch! So is it a ‘64 Chet Atkins Tennessean or is it a Chet remake of the Setzer model? RENE: I got that Gretsch when I was seventeen and I really like the “Stray Cats” and there was nowhere to really get a Gretsch around here at that time. So I went to this bar with some fake ID from the university - this girl made it for me that was in University. So I get to this bar and this band is playing all these Stray Cats except for “Rock This Town” so I asked them to play it over and
over again. So finally the singer is like listen we will only play it if you get up on stage and sing it. And I was so scared and was like “Oh My God” and I got up on stage no tattoos or anything, this young seventeen year old kid and let it go, I noticed all these people were up on the tables dancing and stuff and the guy said I had a really great voice. So I asked him where I could get a Gretsch and he said “I have two” and I was like ‘wow, two?’ So he said ‘listen for you I will sell you one for $800’. And for a seventeen year old with a score like that because they are way more expensive now I thought that was the coolest thing ever and I did whatever jobs I could do to pay for it like painting apartments and washing dishes. When I went to see it he pulled out a Chet Akins and a ’63 65 anniversary edition, charcoal - with my eyes lighting up and from that day on that is the one I’ve been using for all the recordings. So since then I have bought another one that has been modified and twerked out with pickups and custom knobs but that is a different model - the Electromatic, which I painted flat black to be a clone of the original, it’s amazing though how much that guitar is pretty much the heart of the Brains you know? I also have this Vulture pedal that is like the Roland 301 pre amp section so he started making a pedal that had a these crazy pre amps. If you look in the middle of the system of the Stray Cats setup he has this old Fender Bass man Amp and this Space Echo 301 so he kept his distortion and overdrive from the pre amp section of the Roland. So this guy made a pedal of it at Nocturne and he came up to me a couple of years ago was like hey I like your sound and everything want to try this pedal? And I was like yeah for sure! And then I heard that Brian Seltzer has one and all these other really cool guitar players that I respect and look up to all have his pedals and that is what I use, is a Bill Brain Nocturne. J.B: Not to mention Chet Akins was the birth of Rockabilly, vocalists, and record producers talk about reincarnation? RENE: (Laughing) J.B: So the Witch? RENE: “The Witch” was the first main song on the album actually, I don’t know if I mentioned this before but Colin was the one who wrote all of the lyrics on this album. And why that is on this one and also what the song “The Witch” is about. On this Album he wrote everything because it’s like this when you are in a band, you try to stay alive and you don’t want to repeat the same thing over and over again. So you want to do something different than the last album and
“In order to do this you have to excel at becoming a better writer and lyricist”
RENE D LA MUERT / PHOTO MIKE MARSHALL
in order to do this you have to excel at becoming a better writer and lyricist. A couple of years ago when I started doing that my ideas in English were not coming out right because my natural language is French, Spanish and English. So when I try and say something in English sometimes from French it gets mixed up sometimes so Colin is really good with that so he wrote all the lyrics. So what I did is I wrote all the riffs and actually wrote it all on piano. So I went over to the piano and got in touch, started playing again and it’s been years since I did that. And it was different working it that way you know I was more in tune with it and it came out that way because that is how I felt or thought of the song. So he was like okay let me get back to you and he was like okay what about this and I was like, no it’s not cool and it wasn’t positive. I went somewhere else when I listened to the song and that is how I felt the album should be. So The Witch is one of those songs that when he wrote it - that is what was in his head and all that stuff which it is cool but for me it’s something different. To me the song is about sarcasm. Again it comes back to how some guys always say the girl is different and burn the witch and how ridiculous it is and all that you know. So it all depends on how you view it so conventionally though the song is just made to kick ass! (Laughing) J.B: Did you have any classical training with the Latin heritage? RENE: No not officially I came from Chile in ‘73 when there was a big war going on over there, so I got shipped here and we got to Montreal we didn’t have much money at all and our family was very far away so as a kid I had to start doing something, so I had to relearn language because I only knew Spanish. So of course that language was French, I eventually learned English and so, parents try and keep you happy so they knew I wanted to play music, so we went to a community centre and learned a little bit of piano. And ever since I was a kid I can remember every little melody and piece of music and I have a really good ear and fast learning for that. I use that for recording and writing and because I have a Latin back ground I can work with these traditional Spanish beats and rhythms you know with those fast beats and smooth lyrics. So that is what I bring to The Brains - that and punk rock so we have this basic core of rock ‘n roll you know? J.B: Not to mention that Colin keeps getting faster and faster on that Bass! I don’t think he’s human anymore! RENE: (Laughing) God! He is truly going to defy gravity someday! Collin is such a great bass player so yeah that’s one of things we did when we were in the studio for “The Monster Within”. We were like
picking letters kind of like the scales and the alphabet right! You know like EGBD and go from there to kind of write the songs and “Misery” is one of those songs! much time doing nothing and they were like “Boo”! And we are always making f had some songs recorded but I had everything setup you know, the drums, the b couple of days and then started hearing songs flowing and usually with bass lines we recorded a couple songs live and it turned out really exciting and interesting a feel and just play the whole song and don’t stop till we get it super tight you know ment that got recorded and that is why I think it sounds awesome, at one point I okay! And on the songs “Need you now” and “The Witch” you can hear that sound, it’s cians that can push themselves more than what you expect! J.B: Do you find it hard to be a producer and not be influenced by other bands yo RENE: No you know it’s all part of the mastering and finishing for example when it in stereo and then I restart again and do it over again and I do that about three ple of years and that energy we had. So on this album I said okay I’m going to jus needed you know. So I have a little bit of systems here and there and not go crazy buzz and I called Colin and was like, ‘I feel like puking’! And that’s the thing abo Should I put a compressor in there or a delay and on and on, little details to mak ables in there. J.B: Any possibility of another covers E.P? ‘Cause dam that “Rebel Yell” was amaz RENE: YA there’s always a possibility because it’s just time and things always com J.B: Tour wise, a brief tour across Canada with label mate Kung Fu Monkeys and RENE: Yeah Kung Fu Monkeys is from Mexico. I love Mexico! I would love for t Mexico I heard it’s quite big up there. It’s cool meeting new bands especially shar that way because it’s intimate. I know you said it’s a small tour but when you give wear you down. With every night that way and with everybody it’s not a small to was in Europe for over a month and Canada for almost a month and so that one I have kids. My daughter you know she understands what I do and there’s never
“I pushed the guys to the limit but it’s aw push themselves more than what you ex
stuff but it’s hard because you have to be supportive and also there at the same tim if it’s every night, right? As a dad that’s awesome as a musician maybe not so muc has accepted it so whatever it takes for what we have, we will do and that’s pretty we lived it everything is there, it’s a nucleus - the three of us is there and we expa part of it from Lilly being in “Out in the dark” to my girlfriend being in several v the one who painted the cover art of the new album “Out In The Dark”. J.B: So my favorite album has to be “Drunk Not Dead” because it’s fast and full o
DF on sheet music? So we would randomly just blurp out a letter like “B” or “D” So on “Out in the Dark” I said ‘two weeks, guys that’s it!’ Last time we spent so fun of each other and that’s the fun you know. So we got to the studio we already bass and guitar ready to go and just started going at it! And we did that for a s we record part by part so that way it sounds really tight. On “Monster Within” and on this album I try to capture that. I always try and get that moment and that w. So when you play back “Out In The Dark” you have this energy and this moI was like I’m happy with it and Collin is like “No not good enough” again! Well
s so tight you know! I pushed the guys to the limit but it’s awesome to have musi-
ou work with? n I do the final mix it’s done when I feel it’s awesome, I stay and print it so I have e or four times. But my years of producing it always comes back to that first coust do one mix and sit on it and expand and just take out extra shit that is just not y with an album like “Drunk not Dead”. I did so many mixes it made my head out producing because the brain is thinking about so many variables at that point. ke it super entertaining for the ears, because there’s over a hundred thousand vari-
zing! me out maybe a rockabilly version of The Brains. d on some dates East End Radicals? them to invite us up there sometime and cruise around doing some shows up in ring stuff and being on the whole tour you know you really get to know people e it your all every 110 percent, everything that you have you know it can really our you know? It’s so much time you start to view it as time, it’s so consuming. I made almost go insane. It was a big problem being away from my family because going to be like, ‘dad sucks’ you know! They are always going to be proud and
wesome to have musicians that can xpect!”
me so if a tour is only three weeks, it’s three weeks that’s an alright tour especially ch but it’s our lives and it’s more important to us. So I’ve accepted and my family y much how it is you know, so what I do is production and music. And you know anded from there and we’ve been around a long time. So the family is also a big videos “Turn Around” and “Take What I Want” and also she’s a painter and she’s
of energy. What is your favorite over the years?
RENE: Well I definitely would have to say “Zombie Nation” J.B: Oh yeah why is that? RENE: I like Zombie Nation because it’s the new direction of The Brains and “No Brain No Pain” because that was the beginning of this whole adventure! But it didn’t capture it, the white album didn’t capture it then it clicked on “Zombie Nation” and the drums are more metal and used a lot more technology and the intro of the second guitarist. So Zombie Nation because of the change but also “Out in the Dark”. J.B: We always end with a famous book or a famous quote that inspired your life anything come to mind? RENE: Never give up! Always go further and stay true to yourself!
AVAILABLE
OCTOBER 30,2015
PATRIZIO ON SUPERBAFRANGO AND WHAT BOIDS ARE
29
WITHIN PUNK ZINE INTERVIEW WITH
THE BOIDS / PAT MCLELLAND @ THE HARDLUCK BAR TORONTO,ON
OCTOBER 23 ,2015 COURTESY OF
MEL RACETTE/STOMP RECORDS
J.B: Hey I’m sitting here with Pat, guitarist for the legendary Montreal punk quartet BOIDS. How goes it my friend? PAT: It’s going really good actually. J.B: So let’s talk about the actual name BOIDS because I came up with the acronym Bent over in Deep Shit! Even though some other people think it’s something else. PAT: Okay alright! Well okay it’s not an acronym but if it were it would be Boys of Intelligent Design Style! So what was it bent over in Shit? J.B: Bent Over In Deep Shit! PAT: Lol that’s a good one! I like the one where we come out handsome but this is good too! J.B: So what’s the birth of Skully? I didn’t see him out in Merch? PAT: Yeah he’s out in Merch he’s holding down the fort out there, he’s a prop we bought for our first video just before we went on tour for the first time. So we brought him to a show and he ended sneaking his skully way back into the van and he’s been with us ever since kissing all the boys and girls on the road. J.B: He’s the groupie? PAT: Yeah tour manager, bookie, gear technician he’s all that and more! That’s why he’s the boss! J.B: You guys have that combination sound of some older hardcore roots to a melodic punk and school of Ramones and Ben Weasel sound. On the last one it had some experimentation on it also so it seems you are open to new ideas and sound? PAT:I think we are four guys that don’t see eye to eye musically so what we end up doing is meeting somewhere in the middle. There are guys that like the more hardcore stuff and I’m personally a big pop punk sucker. So what ends up happening is we just end up trying to bridge the
PATRIZIO / PHOTO J.B
gap between the two and makes for an interesting experiment for sure. J.B: On some of the tracks you have that sound that is reminiscent of the NO MEANS NO with the time signatures and the tempo shifts. PAT: A little bit more technical yeah! J.B: “We stalk each other like animals” do you guys really do that run around late at night with some tapetum lucidum.in there that allows you to see in the dark and shit? PAT: Maybe? J.B: But that album was amazing and also the cover art after the “Jungle Book” and now you have “Superbrafango” cover art, which is more ‘graphic novel’. PAT: Yeah the last one was “Jungle Book” and this one is Graphic Art and I fucking love it if I may say so myself. Our drummer Mike’s sister Liz did it. We kind had a vague idea of doing a photo and then the idea of the foam dome and the guns came in and we were like well let’s get her to draw it and she’ll figure it out. And she took it and she really ran with it we only gave her the core elements of it and she just took off with it and really came through on it. J.B: Did you ask specifically for the snub nose 45’s to be on there? PAT: Yep! Like specifically the snub noses! J.B: “Love letter” sounds like “Back in my arms”? PAT: Yeah it’s got that heart tugged feel to them. J.B: So does that have to do with personal relationships and stuff?
PAT: Yeah! Very deeply in someone’s personal experiences! Can’t say who though! J.B: And Gogama does that have to do with the trail derailment and explosion? PAT: Yes! That is the source of inspiration of the song the train derailment, we don’t lie to be serious about stuff and we like to poke fun at things. There’s a certain way of presenting something as horrific or sinister as a train derailment or train explosion you know? So we presented it as more of the governments making an evil monster and it’s loose in the world you know? So I think that’s the BOIDS classic way of dealing with shit! J.B: So talking about evil monsters let’s talk about “Mole People” it’s got that trauma film movie factor to it but more meaning of course? PAT: Yeah it’s got that Horror movie feel to it right? Like an oldschool B horror movie! But that song is actually about the cops in Montreal.
PHOTO J.B
J.B: The Cops in Montreal? PAT: Yeah the cops in Montreal! The cops in the subway and stuff and shaking people down and just being really shady. So we wrote a song about how they are just kind of really shady and lack of a better word Mole people! J.B: I noticed when I was there at Pouzza they had cops on the corners with military fatigues on? PAT: Yeah you were this year? Ever since 2012 they’ve been pretty ramped up and aggravated so that’s another discussion all together. J.B: Is it illegal to drink on the sidewalks in Montreal because I see people walking around all the time with booze? PAT: Yeah there’s a bylaw but if you are eating something you can drink! So if you’re sitting on a park bench with a beer and a
bag of potato chips it’s totally legal. J.B: So “Bless this mess” is a more straight forward hang on here we go straight forward punk rock. Because of the mixture of sounds on this one, what is the direction of the BOIDS or do you like having that mixture of it all? PAT: Because there’s that mixture of Hardcore and pop punk I think we came up with a sound that is Hardcore pop punk that adage that we came up with and we are sticking with it, I wouldn’t want to write something stale and derivative you know? J.B: So what inspires your lyrical content? PAT: I guess for all of us it deals with our personal experiences “Bless this mess” deals with the obscurity of being on tour, so we rip off each other so I think that’s the source of it all. For inspiration that’s a tough one I think old nursery rhymes and dirty jokes! J.B: (Laughing) how can you go wrong with that inspiration? So how’s it going
on the tour with the toe injury? PAT: Yeah I sprained my toe and I thought I broke it which would have been way more rock n roll, almost lost a finger nail but I’m alright! We figure we did about maybe fourteen thousand kilometers! We drove out to Kamloops to start it because Rob is from Vancouver right! So then turned around went all the way out to Cape Breton then turned the van around and headed our way back out west. And when that’s done we will be in Vancouver and have to drive our asses all the way back to Montreal again. J.B: And then all the way back to the East coast again that’s crazy sporadic? PAT: Yeah it’s insanely sporadic and crazy logistics but it’s worth PHOTO J.B it and no one in the band would argue with that! Its 66 hours from Halifax to Vancouver just remember it’s just 66 hours and that’s nonstop driving. So when we did Kamloops we drove from Halifax to Thunder Bay which is 22 hours straight, we slept for six hours and then got up and drove to Calgary 24 hours straight and then Kamloops is 10 hours and its four drivers so it’s not bad you know it’s comfy. J.B: Stop off in Chilliwack and hang with the Sasquatch’s? PAT: OR Chilliwack the band? J.B: So Stomp Records? PAT: Yeah we have been on several different bands with them and this is just the continuation of that and they are solid dudes celebrating their twentieth year. It’s a solid family over there and I wouldn’t want it any other way you know? It’s not easy having an indie label live twenty years you know and they are great group of people and they are great to us. J.B: Tour wise, is Gob more relaxed and older now not as much antics or strange tour behaviour? PAT: Yeah they are great guys they are starting to break down we are wearing them down getting them into it, we are like in the fourth day in now and the ice is broken antics wise. Maybe not a lot of stuff I would publish but we are always
goofing off and having a good time. J.B: So we always finish with a famous book or quote that inspires you. Anything come to mind? PAT: Ah fuck I wish you gave me notice on that can I say “NO”? J.B: You can say whatever you want to? PAT: I got to think about this for a second? An inspiring book? What about Alligator Pie by Dennis Lee! That’s such a good question!
MIKEY BEDBUGS/PHOTO J.B
AGGROLITESBCASABEATDOWNBOIDSANN BAR RETTABEDOUIN SOUNDCLASHBIG D AND THE KIDS TABLEBELEVADEREBUCKONINEBRAINSBROADCASTERCAPTAIN EVERYTHINGCEREMONIAL SNIPSCREEPSHOWDANNY REBEL&THE K.G.BDEATHBYSTEREODIG IT UPDOWN BY LAWDREADNOUGHTSEAST END RADICALSEQUINOXERIC PANICEXPOSFIRE NEXT TIMEFIFTY NUTZFLATFOOT 56FLASHLIGHT BROWNFUNDAMENTALSGANGSTER POLITICSGENERAL RUDIEGLEN MATLOCKHELLBOUND HEPCATSHUNTERSHYPNOPHONICSISOTOPESJESSE JAMESJFK& THE CONSIPIRATORSJAH CUTTAJOHNSTONESK MAN &THE 45’SKOFFIN KATSLOST LOVELES SOIREES STOMPMIRACLESMORGANMEN O STEELMISCONDUCTMOTEL RAPHAELMUSTARD PLUGNEW YORK SKA JAZZ ENSEMBLENICOTINEOPEN SEASONONE NIGHT BANDPAUL CARGNELLOPENSKE FILEPENELOPE PLANET SMASHERSRANDOM HANDRESETRAYGUN COWBOYSREAL DEALREAL MCKENZIESRENT TO KILLRESIGNATORSRIPCORDZRUDE CITY RIOTSKAVENJAHSAINT ALVIASAINTE CATHERINESSARAH BLACKWOOD SKAVENJAHSNITCHSAINTE CATHERINESSKINNYSUBBSNUFFSURBURBAN LEGENDSTHE OFFENDERSTOTAL CHAOSTURBO A.C’STHE FLATLINERSTHE FRENTICSTHE KINGPINSTHE KNOW HOWTHE NEW CITY GAMBLERSTHE PEACOCKSTHE RESISTENCETHE RIPTIDESTHE STOMP ALL STARSTOASTERSV/A COMPILATIONSVIDEO DEADWESTBOUND TRAINWHOLE LOTTA MIKA Stomp - Union 2112 - Mayday 1223 Blvd. Saint-Laurent Suite 305 Montreal, Quebec H2X 2S6 Canada
“GROWING UP 17” BY JUANA LUCK/POWER THROUGH KNOWLEDGE
I recently finished my M.A. major research paper titled “Growing Up 17” which basically handles the topic of content produced for the popular teenage girl magazine Seventeen. Seventeen has been in business for more than 70 years and what I can say for certain is that Seventeen is like a lone tree in a wide open field: it shifts to from wherever the wind blows the strongest. While it gave great advice to teenage girls during the third wave of feminism during the late 60s and early 70s it is now radically possessed with ideas of fashion and makeup advice. In fact, content has basically reversed from articles that stand in line with feminist values to the opposite: how to feel better by looking better. The ideas and hopes expressed by the magazine editor at its founding are barely found throughout the contemporary version. Even in the 1990s the magazine was more of what it once was, as the editing manager writes: “The editorial purpose is to inform, entertain and give teenage girls all the information they need to make sound choices in their lives”, with the beauty and fashion advice columns helping girls to “feel good about themselves” . This standpoint is thoughtfully omitted now as it holds little current value. Topics of interest that would help readers make sound choices in their lives such as gender equality, career advice (other than biographies of superstars) or political issues are rarely touched upon anymore while the magazine did used to print these issues more frequently during its more citizen serving times. Articles such as “TV is Unfair to Women” (December 1977) or “The Loneliness of Being Black (July 1971) make a strong point for Seventeen being on top of social and political change, however, the pages allocated to content such as this has been dramatically decreased and replaced with superficial values the magazine is focusing on now: pop-stars, fashion trends and boy-hunting. To be real, one thing has (seemingly) irrevocably changed since the start of Seventeen’s game: girls are encouraged to seek out boys not to profit off of them financially anymore (marriage, house, kids etc) but to be “knowledgeable consumers” of them who could potentially enrich their lives by bringing romance. A strong point made Kate Peirce, “A Feminist Theoretical Perspective on the Socialization of Teenage Girls Through Seventeen Magazine.” Sex Roles 23, no. 9/10 (1990): 497. Kirsten Firminger, “Is He Boyfriend Material? Representation of Males in Teenage Girl’s Magazine.” Men and Masculinities, 8 no. 3 (2006): 298.
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MY FINGERS! MY BRAIN! RECORDS
“MUTINY AT MUSCLE BEACH” AVAILABLE NOW www.fatwreck.com
“LETTERS TO MEMAW” AVAILABLE NOW @ www.fatwreck.com
THE BRAINS
“OUT IN THE DARK” AVAILABLE NOW @
“SUPERBAFRANGO”
AVAILABLE NOW @
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS
“HOME”
AVAILABLE NOW ON
NEW
NOISE http://undertipper.bandcamp.com/album/ barely-making-cents
http://sofpunk.bandcamp.com/album/broken-knuckles-2
The john fished two twenties from a wallet that Becky noticed was still comfortably full. “You do understand, don’t you? You, me, all this—we are all fulfilling God’s destiny, even if we don’t know what he has in mind for us. Faith is not believing that God can, but believing that God will!” His eyes burned with the fury of a thousand suns. “Whatever you say, pal,” said Becky, tucking the money away and reaching forward to unzip the trick’s pants. To her surprise, he was already rock hard. She quickly unrolled a condom over his cock, thinking that maybe this wouldn’t be so difficult after all. “REPENT!” roared the trick as Becky worked her magic. “GOD’S HELP IS ONLY A PRAYER AWAY!” Becky worked faster, split lip reopening, a small amount of blood running down her chin. The trick was very modestly endowed, and her bloody bottom lip made contact with his white briefs with each rapid bob of her head. For one horrifying second, the bloodstain bore an uncanny resemblance to Jesus, but when she looked again the crimson mark was just a blob. She kept going, certain that the freak would spurt his holy juice into the condom at any moment. There was nothing like the love of Jesus to bring a man over the edge.
AVAILABLE NOW
“Classic straight forward fast pace punk rock to the core” A whole new meaning to the Ramones school of punk rock meets NoMeansNo school of hardcore. BOIDS latest release Superbrafango is one of those albums that will grow in the back of your head leaving to you somewhere down the line to nod hastily with a cynical look of deranged madness smirking across your lips either enticing others to follow suit or quickly move bus seats. This would probably best describe the fantastic graphic artwork for the cover indicating what appears to be a beer hat but two loaded snub noses ready to go off just like their intro track “Human Time Bomb”. It has that old-school sound that is reminiscent of the earlier glory punk days, guaranteed to be the beer chugger at the live show. The BOIDS have toured with The Brains and sounds on this release have that familiar influence with that twangy slide work and straight chords. The song “Mole People” has the Trauma Horror theme of underground dwellers with the classic Riverdales and Ramone sound. Diving right back into your face things get start to get wet again with beer flying anthem like “Bless This Mess” a fast paced straight chorus, ‘here we go’. Then back to the Ben Weasel influence with the heart string puller Valois Love letter one of the clearer sounding paths of the album. Then into “Gogama” that song that gets you nodding along the way for another cold one that’s reminiscent again of earlier punk classics. The BOIDS have been long time fans of “NO MEANS NO” and that shines through on the technical side of this release. “MONTREAL PUNKERS “ BOIDS “BRING THAT CLASSIC HARDCORE POP PUNK BACK FULL ON WITH “SUPERBAFRANGO”.
“MUST BE SOME HIDDEN BACKWARDS MESSAGES IN THERE SOMEWHERE CAN’T STOP LISTENING TO IT”
AVAILABLE NOW
“An Deeply well crafted piece of pyscobilly/rockabilly meets street punk that redefines the genre”. A must have to add to any worthy collection. For some people the number thirteen is unlucky for others that dwell on its symbolic nature it’s a sign of luck and mystery, for the Montreal legends The Brains it’s been a road well-travelled. Just after you think The Brains couldn’t get any faster of better than their last two amazing albums “Drunk not dead” and The Monster Within” this release is full on classic brains revamped and highly the tightest production yet to date with the seventh studio release. Conventionally speaking front man Rene D La Muerte use to be the lyricist behind the haunting songs that resonated deep within striking relevance to our personal experiences and beliefs. On this release “Out in the dark” long time bandmate Collin take’s over diving deep into the human physique and experiences that border our deepest fears and demons to our beliefs and injustices of some rights and freedoms of equality. Well known for that specific latin tempo and Gretsch twang with blistering snare and symbol beats from Beast and the sonic defiance of Colins upright Bass lines along with Rene’s vocal range and talented catchy guitar work this album really shines through. Out in the dark as usual is produced by Rene D La muerte but mastered by outsourced mastered which gives it that clear well defined sound not from an over produced perspective but a true well-tuned tight performance in sync with each other that shows age and discipline of extensive dedication to their craft. The overall sound and feel of this album brings it back to their roots and anyone that is familiar with the brains earlier works will definitely agree this is that specific sound that The Brains are known for but well refined. The title track “Out in the Dark” is the main single for this release and for a good reason which gives the overall feel of the direction of The Brains. A lyrical masterpiece of facing demons and the monsters that lurk within us and coming to term with them. The Witch is fast upbeat bass gallop that resonates to what the brains have been known for fast snare work and fast slapping bass lines that has some deep meaning to women’s rights. “Break” and “Watch out” has that classic “No Brain No Pain” feel that will keep you wanting more and hitting the repeat button with chorus chants and catchy rhythms. “Wolfman” captures The Brains live performance feel well known for their energy and spirit redefining the term “Tight”.
UPCOMING RELEASES
MALFUNCTION “Fear of Failure”
BRIDGE NINE RECORDS NOVEMBER 20,2015
THE DWARVES
“How to win friends and influence people” Reissue
REPTILLIAN NOVEMBER 20,2015
YOUTH BRIGADE
“COMPLETE FIRST DEMO”
DISCHORD RECORDS NOVEMBER 23,2015
LEFTOVER CRACK
“CONSTRUCTS OF THE STATE”
FATWRECK CHORDS NOVEMBER 27,2015
DANZIG
“SKELETONS”
NUCLEAR BLAST NOVEMBER 27,2015
RANCID
“OUT COMES THE WOLVES”REISSUE
EPITAPH RECORDS NOVEMBER 27,2015
DEATH BY STEREO “DAY OF THE DEATH”
INDESCISION RECORDS NOVEMBER 27,2015
UPCOMING TOURS/SHOWS
https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/979309?utm_medium=bks