Bands!

I am very bored at work today so I decided to take this free time to update this blawwwg. So, I was wondering if any readers are in bands? If so, please send me an email or link me to your stuff. I would love to hear some new music.

Afternoon Bong Hit

Another fucking great band that gets completely overlooked.

The Boys in Town Are Being Passed Around and It Ain't No Seven Year Itch

God I love Suzi Quatro. Joan Jett sucks and completel ripped her off. Don't get me wrong I love the Runaways but Joan is my least favorite in the band. I do however love Lita Ford and Cherrie Currie.

Dignity Is Valuable, But Our Lives' Are Valuable Too

I have not been feeling very inspired lately, I wonder if it has anything to do with the weather. I go through phases where I get sick of listening to music. When this happens I tend to only listen to reggae, Bowie, and The Dead. I have been listening to the Trojan Calypso, Dancehall, and Ganja box sets constantly the last 2 weeks. I think that reggae is the perfect music. Also, I am a huge sucker for bass and reggae has some of the best lines. Some of my favorite reggae artists are Max Romeo, Gregory Isaacs, John Holt, Big Youth, Congos, Black Uhuru,Burning Spear and more that I can't think of right now. My mind always goes blank when talking about music.

I could probably write a book on how much I love Bowie. My sister's friend Jay made it his mission to get me into him when I was either 11 or 12. For this, I am eternally grateful. His music has followed me through middle school, high school, and even helped me through my misery during a brief stint in college. I love all of his albums up until Scary Monster, which I think is his last great one. I really don't have much interest in anything after that. Anyhow, Lodger and Station to Station have been on heavy rotation lately. I was watching a VH1 special on the making of Duran Duran's "Rio"(which is another album I love, "The Chauffeur" and "Last Chance on the Stairway" ahhh so good). So before I go off topic Nick Rhodes was saying how he wanted the beginning of "Rio" to sound like those weird chords in the beginning of "Station to Station," I thought that was really great.

My oldest sister was and is a deadhead (she is 15 years older than me. She used to follow the them all over the US in a huge white van with a Grateful Dead mural painted on it (total hippies).I always hated them because I was forced to listen to them as a child.Her and her boyfriend would pick me up from school in this huge hippie mobile, I would be mortified. As I got older and started to understand them I understood how great they really were. Unlike most "deadheads" I prefer their studio albums to their live stuff. Terrapin Station, Blues for Allah, Steal Your Face, Aoxomoxoa, Reckoning, Shakedown street are all great ones. I was very lucky as a kid to have 3 older sisters who were all into different music. Erika was a thrash metalhead, Bianca was into old school rap, and Kristin was into everything from The Dead to Judas Priest to Maiden. I really lucked out and believe that is what shaped my tastes.

When I worked in a record store as a teen I once heard a guy say "I'm into everything from Cannibal Corpse to Kylie Minogue." I thought that was great because thats exactly how I felt and still feel (though I am not a huge fan of Cannibal Corpse).

Morning Bong Hits

Wow I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted. I thought I would be able to post more but things have been very hectic lately. I am trying to line up some more interviews to keep this going so hopefully I will have some new stuff up soon. a band I have been listening to a lot of music lately, my most recent favorites are:

Redd Kross- Neurotica
Plimsouls- Plimsouls...Plus
Flamin Groovies- Teenage Head
Dream Syndicate- Days of Wine and Roses
Todd Rundgren- Something/Anything

Keith Morris of the Circle Jerks

-Illustration by Jose Pombeiro


This Keith Morris interview was done sometime in early 2007. He agreed to a phone interview but the only time we could talk was during the day while I was working at my old job. So I had to interview him on my lunch break in one of our empty conference rooms. I was trying to be as discreet as possible which was very difficult due to the fact that Keith is a very funny guy. Also there was a slight technical difficulty with my recorder. Anyhow everything turned out fine and it was a really fun interview to do. I'm glad Keith took the time to speak to me because I have been a Circle Jerks fan
for many years. Enjoy kiddies!

DE: Hi is this Keith?

KM: Yes this is.

DE: Hello?

KM: Um yes. Did my manager contact you and explain to you that I don't do interviews unless there's been a check sent in advance?

DE: Um ok...

KM: Yeah I get $500 to do interviews.

DE: Ok then..

KM: (Laughing) Hello, I'm just kidding.

DE: Jerk!

KM: That's right. I am a jerk.

DE: Thanks for doing this interview.

KM: Yes but don't forget the $500 check.

DE: I'll have someone send that out to you right away.

KM: The sooner the better. The thing is that you can't publish the interview until I receive the check.

DE: Okay, do I have to speak to your lawyer about this?

KM: Yeah..I'm in front of my computer now and I'll give you his number. What you can do is hang up, call him and then call me back. Your gonna have to talk to Greg Hetson and Steve Kravac because they are the owners of Porterhouse(the label that puts out a couple of our records). Then you will have to talk to Andy Somers who is the president of the Agency Group on the west coast. He's our booking agent, so your going to have to get his permission. My mom lives in Tucson and what I'm going to do is give you her number so you can call her and get her permission. The lawyers name is Joe Sofio and he is at Universal Studios. Um what we should do is uh maybe do photos of the interview (once everything is cleared). We can do a photo shoot at Universal Studios because I really like to get my photo taken in front of the shark from JAWS.

DE: That photo shoot sounds like a fantastic idea. So how long have you been playing with the Circle Jerks?

KM: The correct answer to that question before the buzzer goes off is too long. Probably around 25 years or something like that. I would have to go home because like above my bed I chalk off each day until my sentence is up and I get to leave.

DE: So what happens when the sentence is up? What are you going to do?

KM: I'm going to dress like Prince Charming. I'm going to rent a white horse and ride the white horse all over Los Angeles. Then I am going to get the horse up to racing speed and jump off the Santa Monica pier.

DE: Wow that is really beautiful!

KM: Yes as the sun is setting! Either that or I will dress like a Viking and lay down in a little boat. What I'll do is cross my arms over my chest and close my eyes. They can set the boat on fire and push me out to the ocean or push me out in the harbor of Marina del Ray.

DE: How much longer do you have?

KM: 6 weeks, 6 years,and 10days. I'm going to have to put you on hold for one second. I'm at work right now, hold on one sec.

DE: So where do you work?

KM: I work for V2 records but we've been bought out by a larger monstrosity. They decided that instead of being a record company, they were going to go around and buy smaller independent labels and mass the world's largest music catalog.

DE: How do you like working for a record label?

KM: While we were doing V2 it was a blast because I got to work with some really amazing bands. I worked with the Icarus Line, Burning Brides, Gosling, started to work with the Alkaline Trio, and the Adored.

DE: So what's happening now?

KM: We were bought out about two years ago. We worked for them but they never told us what they wanted to do with the label. So consequently we were working, getting paid, listening to bands, sending them bands, and they weren't signing anything.

Is this all because of internet downloading?

KM: All these record companies are panicking because people are on the internet now. They are not going into stores and they aren't buying hard things like cd's, vinyl, cassettes, reel to reel, 8 tracks, mini cassettes, or mini cd's. They are going on the computer and buying one song for .99 cents, which is all fine and wonderful. You don't get to see what the band looks like, you don't get to read the lyrics, you don't get to hold anything in your hand, and it kind of defeats the purpose of why we like music. What's happening now is that all of a sudden we have these bands putting all of this music out saying "hey watch us live Saturday night on your computer!" Like what the fuck? I want to go be in a big hot sweaty room. I want to see people jumping around. I want to slip on the floor where somebody spilled a beer. I want to stomp my foot in some vomit. I want to experience a live party where the band is so horrible that people who are at the party are throwing the band's equipment into the swimming pool while still being plugged in.

DE: How is the business side of the industry?

KM: You mean the amount of money I'm making? My bank account is getting so large that I'm going to have to hire a maid to clean the house I just purchased in Beverly Hills. I'm renting it out for adult film shoots and wild DJ parties on Saturday nights. When like 5,000 kids show up and the swimming pool is filled with champagne, Jello, food dye, and shampoo. And I have to pay off the Beverly Hills police and the mayor gets his bag of cocaine once a week. Can we get back to the original question? The business side is horrible. If your smart you try to keep your nose in your business. We try to tell this to all the bands we work with but at the same time there are a lot of people in bands who could care less. All they want to do is be in bands, get laid, do drugs, and stay out until 7am.

DE: What bands do you like? Any new bands?

KM: No they are all horrible. Yeah I hate all of them. Some of the bands I really hate are the Explosion, the Distillers, Fucked Up, and I really hate 400 Blows. There are just so many bands that I hate. The bands I really like are Train and Maroon 5. I really love Maroon 5 they are one of my favorites. Who else do I like? Pete Yorn and Peter Borg or whoever the fuck they are.

DE: I don't even think I have ever heard Pete Borg, I will have to check them out. I do love Maroon 5 though. (laughing)

KM: No you don't want to hear them because you will like them so much. Not only are you going to buy a cd for your car, you will also buy one for your house, office, and for all the neighbors who live on your block. So far you have bought a hundred of their cds. Then you figure that since you bought all of those, your going to buy some more for Christmas gifts. Your parents would like one, their dog, your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

DE: I did that with the Fall Out Boy cd.

KM: I really really love Fall Out Boy! They are the best band out there right now. I like Fall Out Boy more than I like Maroon 5. What has Rob Thomas been up to lately?

DE: I don't know but I really love Matchbox 20.

KM: Not only do I love his voice but the guys in his band look like really hardcore rockin guys. They definitely fall under that rock band look; scuzzy, tattoos, needle mark arms, unshaven, and scraggly. I'm sure they listen to Johnny Thunders and Turbonegro. I'm sure they are big fans of the MC5 and the Stooges. Ok I got to put you on hold for one second.

DE: Okay

KM: You still there? I'm surprised, I would have hung up. I'm diabetic and have to wiz occasionally. I have been stowing up three ice teas. All sarcasm aside, now we need to get back to product and all that fun stuff. Or are we going to move onto another subject?

DE: We can put the business talk aside for now. What was your first concert?

KM: I was fortunate as a youngster to have people around me who were interested in music. So my aunt decided that she was going to throw a party in her backyard in Redondo Beach. She had a band called Smokestack Lightening play and they were horrible. I remember to this day how horrible they were. So yeah my aunt took the bathtub out of the bathroom and put it in the backyard. Then she filled it with Kool Aid and spiked it with acid. Everybody was really happy about that and they were all having a good time with a smile on their faces. My grandparents were dancing to Smokestack Lightening. I also got to see Arthur Lee and Love and also the Barbarians.

This is when my cell phone breaks and can't hear anything Keith is saying. Fortunately I call him back from another phone and we resume the interview.

DE: Hey Keith, so sorry about that. All I could hear was that your parents were dancing to Smokestack Lightning.

KM: Yeah because they were high on acid.

DE: (Laughing) I didn't get that part, so they were high on acid?

KM: Uh huh, I think I was too young too understand.

DE: What was your first album you bought with your own money?

KM: That would be Jimi Hendrix Experience "Are You Experienced" and the first Led Zepplin album.

DE: So are you sick of all the generic interview questions?

KM: Actually what happens is that you come to point where you realize that it comes with the territory,

DE: Do you enjoy playing live?

KM: That's my favorite part about all of this. It's more important than the interviews and more important than the rehearsals. I like playing live. It's a challenge because I'm at an age where I'm doing something that maybe I shouldn't be doing. People are still coming out and still appreciate the fact that we're doing it.

DE: Do you have a lot of young fans?

KM: Yes we do actually. It's kind of like Beatle mania with lots of screaming 11 and 12 year old girls. The great thing is that we just played some shows on the Warped Tour. We try to play as many all ages shows that we possibly can. A lot of places that we play don't allow all ages. Say you go to Salt Lake City, which is divided into adults and kids. There is no place in between which is really sad. That's just the way it is. Sometimes we upset people but that is okay. We learn from that.

DE: How do you feel about the current state of music?

KM: I'm really excited about it, it's insanely great right now. I don't think we can have enough bands that sound like Interpol. I'm not dissing Interpol because I actually like them. Back when the Circle Jerks started there were 800 bands, now there are 800 million bands. Everybody is in a band. You go to a restaurant and the busboy is in a band with his dog. His dog is the lead vocalist.

DE: Who is the most interesting person you've collaborated with?

KM: Myself! I have a way of being able to amuse myself and I'm really quite genius, I don't have a favorite person that I have collaborated with. Greg Hetson is good, Kevin Fitzgerald is good, the Snake is good, and so is Lucky Lehrer.

DE: What's going on with the Circle Jerks now? Are you writing new stuff?

KM: Why would we want to do something new and fresh? I am in the process of writing lyrics. The guys in the band are like "We've got to record a new album We have to for our career and our business so that we can make more money." I'm in no hurry to do this.

DE: Do you feel pressure to keep making new records?

KM: No. We didn't want to be part of the competition and contest. We didn't want to be one of these groups on a continuous hamster wheel.

DE: Do you still talk to any of the guys from Black Flag?

KM: I actually converse over the internet with Chuck the Duke. I've always like Chuck Dukowski and we are both anti government. We're hoping that people become a bit more aware. It's time for them to put their foot down and say "you work for us, we don't work for you." That's for all the people who think they are in charge and who are making all of these decisions for us. I do a little bit of conversing on the phone with Raymond Pettibon. The last time I say Robo was when he was playing with the Misfits.

DE: Those guys seems bitter about the Circle Jerks stealing songs from Black Flag.

KM: If they still are then it's really too bad. The fact of the matter is that when we started the band I had a bunch of lyrics but we didn't have a lot of songs. I went to the guys in the band and said "look is there anything that you wrote when you were in these other bands? If you wrote them then they are partially yours." I didn't look at it as like going around and ripping off all of these bands. It really doesn't matter when you look at it over the course of time. It fueled some anger and maybe made some people write more songs. The fact of the matter is that we are older guys. There is no reason for us to be harboring old beefs and hatred. We've got other things to be angry and spiteful towards.

Eric Avery of Jane's Addiction

When I started Dark Entries in 2007 I made a list of all of my favorite musicians that I wanted to interview. Eric Avery happened to be on the top of that list, but never did I think that I would get the opportunity to speak with him. When he responded to my email and agreed to an interview I could not have been happier. I have been a huge Jane's Addiction fan since I was about 11 years old when I stole my older sister's copy of Ritual de lo Habitual. Both Ritual and Nothing Shocking are favorites of mine till this day and still stand the test of time. Just to fill you in Eric did not play on that horrid Jane's album "Strays." This interview was conducted over the telephone in either the end of 2007 or very early 2008 (sorry if this is so outdated). Eric has obviously rejoined Jane's and is now touring with them and NIN. I had the opportunity to go see Jane's last month ( I never got to see the original line-up) and it was amazing. I wouldn't even go see them when they had Flea playing with them because it just wasn't the same (no offense to Flea, I think he is a fantastic bassist). So anyway I saw them last month and was blown away. They sounded perfect. I want to thank Eric who was gracious enough to grant me this interview and also for being such a nice guy to talk with.



DE: How old were you when you started playing bass?

EA: I was probably about 13 years old.

DE: What was the first album you bought with your own money?

EA: I'm not certain which one I bought first. The first album I stole was KISS "Alive." The first one I bought was either Elton John's greatest hits or David Bowie's "Pin-Ups." I was probably 11 or 12 and couldn't tell the difference between Elton John and David Bowie.

DE: First Concert?

EA: Blue Oyster Cult, which is odd to me that this was my first concert experience. I think it was because I knew the song "Don't Fear the Reaper."

DE: What music influenced you to start playing?

EA: Well I started off playing guitar. My dad had an acoustic guitar. I was a bored and lonely kid so I would tinker around on it. I started playing bass in grammar school. My friend put a band together and needed a bass player. I think we played Aerosmith covers.

DE: Who is your favorite bassist?

EA: Hands down Peter Hook. He was definitely the most influential. He took bass out of the realm of playing the route note, Peter Hook was sort of like a rhythm guitar player. Also, I like the guy from the Cure.

DE: What music are you listening to now?

EA: I have an eclectic taste in music. I'm listening to Royksopp, Serge Gainsbourg, Velvet Underground, Nick Cave's "Tender Prey," Silversun Pickups, and Blonde Redhead.

DE: What is your band Polar Bear up to?

EA: I recently just got up snow cap modules for Polar Bear's Myspace page, so now you can buy and download tracks. We didn't put the record out, we printed them out for ourselves for when we played. Right now I am working on my solo thing. My solo record "Help Wanted," comes out in January. I also finished music for a new documentary called the 11th Hour. It's an environmental documentary with smart and interesting people. It's directed by two women I've known since high school.

DE: What else do you do besides play music?

EA: Surf, which is something I have done since I was a wee lad. I am interested in everything; science, astronomy, film, chess,and Ancient Rome. It keeps me busy. I also take classes, the last one I took was Calculus. You have to keep your brain moving.

DE: Who is your favorite musician that you've collaborated with?

EA: Probably Perry for creative output. They say that the combination of styles also creates fights. It was also interesting to watch Butch Vig while I was touring with Garbage. He is smart, interesting, and also a great guy.

DE: What was it like touring with Peter Murphy in 2000?

EA: Great! It was really exciting. I'm forever a Bauhaus fan. I just spoke to Kevin Haskins today. He is a really great person. It was great touring with Peter and Kevin on that tour. I spoke to Peter recently and I definitely got like a giddy schoolgirl.
I asked him where he was and he said (imitating Peter Murphy) AN-A-TO-LIA.

DE: What is your favorite album of all time?

EA: That's a tough one. I can always listen to the first Velvet Underground album. It's evocative of my youth and never sounds dated to me.

DE: You have a very loyal fan base. Your fans have a lot of respect for you because you never rejoined Jane's Addiction for personal gain. It seems like so many people I respect end up making terrible decisions for the sake of money. It's great to see that you have maintained your dignity and went against all of that. Do you ever get sick of talking about Jane's Addiction?

EA: I really don't. Peers of mine like Glenn Danzig would want to hit people if they asked him about the Misfits. I'm really proud of the work I did with Jane's Addiction. I think it's the most interesting stuff I've ever done.

DE: Is Polar Bear going to do a tour?

EA: If it makes sense then I will do one. I don't want to do 30 shows in 40 days in a van if it doesn't make sense. We will have to see. Maybe a NY, LA, Boston, and Chicago tour.


Thank You Eric Avery!

Morning Bong Hit

The Wizard of Gore

Q&A with Herschell Gordon Lewis from 2008


"I see filmmaking as a business and pity anyone who regards it as art form"-Herschell Gordon Lewis


Herschell Gordon Lewis is a pioneer of horror films. His low budget film "Blood Feast" (1963) was the first "gore" or "splatter" film to ever be made. It was also the first film to ever show people dying with their eyes open. He started a whole new genre of film and created a new approach to filmmaking with little budget. Herschell paved the way for films such as "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Dawn of the Dead," and "Evil Dead." Sure the effects may come across as cheap,funny, or unrealistic (especially the mannequin heads) but you have to remember that no one else was doing anything remotely close to this in the 1960's. It is unfortunate that he does not get the credit he deserves but he does have a very loyal fan base. His latest film "Grim Fairytale" is currently in post production and stars Lloyd Kaufman of Troma fame. If you are not familiar with his work then I recommend watching "Blood Feast," "2000 Maniacs," "Wizard of Gore," or "Something Weird."



DE: So have you ever had an Egyptian Feast?

HGL: That is a cute question! Not have I never had an Egyptian Feast, but although I have been to Egypt four times, I never have seen a restaurant advertising one.


DE: How was the idea approached for the 2007 "Wizard of Gore" remake? What are your feelings about the rendition?

HGL: Jeremy Kasden (who directed that remake)is a bright and and talented film-maker. I had no part whatever in the remake, which saddens me a bit; but certainly it's an honor to have a film regarded as worthy of a remake.(The 2007 version has little relationship with the original)


DE: Which film of yours are you most proud of?

HGL: My personal favorite was and is "Two Thousand Maniacs."


DE: Who are some of your favorite filmmakers? Do you have any current favorites?

HGL: That really is an unfair question. As an outsider I have no way of gauging how many clever touches and how many gaffes stem from the director. Some directors have made both brilliant films and ridiculous films. A comment from me is irrelevant though because I am privy to international negotiations. Example: "Transformers," which I regard as a stupendous waste.


DE: Can you recommend any films for the diehard Herschell Gordon Lewis fan?

HGL: Check back a few years for a film titled "Short Circuit." That one has charm and wit. On a more contemporary level, "The Last King of Scotland" had it all, although it wasn't a "splatter" film.


DE: What is your all time favorite movie?

HGL: You may regard this as silly: The original "King Solomon's Mines" which starred Stewart Granger.


DE: Do you plan on working with John Waters again?

HGL: John and I are good friends. He always can have a role in any film I make, if he is available.


DE: Who is your all time favorite actor/actress?

HGL: Helen Mirren is a powerful talent. The late Burt Lancaster, although difficult to work with, could handle any role.


DE: What do you like to do in your spare time?

HGL: I play tennis, scuba dive, read, travel and write magazine articles on the subject of marketing.

Joey Keithley from D.O.A. 2008

-Photo by Kevin Statham



Joey Keithley had to have been one of the best interviews I did for Dark Entries. He was extremely friendly and easy to talk with. There were no awkward moments and I wanted to be friends with him after the interview. This was conducted over the phone sometime last year so it is a little outdated but still a fun read. Enjoy!



DE: Hi it's Marisa is it okay to talk?

JK: Yeah hang on one second, okay how you doing?


DE: Very well thanks. I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to do this. So how long has it been since you started D.O.A.?

JK: Uh well it's getting close, next year will be our 30th anniversary. We started in February of 1978. I guess we run pretty well continuously. We broke up for about 20 months in the end of 1990 to mid 1992.


DE: What is the current line-up?

JK: Me on guitar, Randy Rampage (original bass player) on bass, and we have a new drummer named James Hayden.


DE: Cool are you guys recording and new stuff?

JK: Well we will start recording in December or January for our new album next year. Then we'll probably do a big tour: Canada, the States, and Europe. In the meantime we're just working on songs and have a tour in Australia lined up in October.


DE: Are you excited about that?

JK: Yeah! I've been busy too. I recently put out a solo record which is called "Band of Rebels," and that just came out a couple of months ago. We haven't really haven't played live. It sounds like ska/roots and punkabilly. It's got a lot of energy but doesn't sound like D.O.A..


DE: Awesome! So how is your label "Sudden Death" going?

JK: It's going good. It is not the easiest time to sell records. I just think we're going back to...our label is doing well because we're picking out the right things to do. I mean not every record, of course. You put out records that go absolutely nowhere
and you pull your hair out and ring your hands and say "why the fuck did we do that!" type of thing, ya know? (Laughing) But hey you can't think everything through that way right? Yeah...so we have about 75 releases out and that's going well. I think culture in Western society, Europe, and North America is changing. So is what people are looking for and what they will buy. There are a lot of reasons for it.


DE: So how do you feel about current music?


JK: Well.. I guess there are good underground bands right? Some you probably never heard of that may or may not catch a break. What the public sees is not totally prefab but mostly prefab, take it from pop on down. I think we are in a period now where it's almost like back in the 1950's. I'm talking about the mass public, not the underground
punk scene, or a kind of alternative thing. For the main public it's all about making singles and not making albums. If you think back to the 1950's, it was all pop records like Frank Sinatra, Frankie Avalon, Elvis and stuff like that. People really didn't make great albums right? When the Beatles came along in the 1960's (followed by the Who and Rolling Stones) then people started making great albums. Now record companies won't put money into this, it's all singles. This has really accentuated the publics desire, infatuation, or brainwashing with stuff like reality shows and "American Idol." People aren't really going for 15 minutes of fame they are now going for 3 or 4 minutes.


DE: I agree, so yeah what else?

JK: That was a very long winded answer! (Laughing)


DE: It sure was! So are you listening to any other bands?


JK: I don't know, what was the last thing I heard that was pretty good? A band called "Raised by Wolves," but yeah they'll probably never be big. They are a kind of a garage, punk, rockabilly type of thing. Um I just kind of listen to you know, um what was the last show I went to? I just saw ZZ Top the other night.


DE: Oh yeah? I'm sure they were great.

JK: It was really great, I was amazed! I mean one out of my three favorite guitar players and I was totally thrilled to sit up close. What I'm saying by mentioning that is that I like a lot of styles. I like jazz, I like rock,I like some original metal. I like punk rock and hey I like Tom Jones and Willie Nelson! For every type of music there is 10% good, 30% pure shit, and 60% mediocre. It's always around that line right? (Laughs)


DE: What made you want to start playing music? What
were you influenced by?

JK: Well shit, I grew up in the early 1970's and was in high school back then. In those days I was influenced by Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix. A big influence early on was listening to folk music with my family. We listened to Leadbelly, Bob Dylan, The Weavers, and stuff like that. I think that's where my politics came from. Later on when I got out of school, around 18 or 19, we kind of had a rock band that was completely hopeless. We would do Led Zepplin covers and stuff like that.


DE: You've got to start somewhere!

JK: Exactly! We were conscious of Iggy Pop and the New York Dolls and thought "yeah this is pretty cool stuff," but we really didn't know much about it. This is around 1973 or 1974 right? Then the Ramones came along. They had a big influence on our attitude. People would always say that D.O.A. are more influence by the Clash sound wise. I think that is true but not completely. There is also a tinge of Iggy Pop in D.O.A.. The Ramones came along and played this one show in Vancouver, where nobody knew who they were. They could not sell tickets and the place held about a thousand people. The radio station said to come down and get free tickets. About two hundred of us who were vaguely familiar with the Ramones showed up. They played their first album and... thats all they played! We walked out of there saying "holy fuck that was great!" There were a couple of punk bands in Vancouver and we started the Skulls (not to be confused with the Skulls from LA) around 1977. The reason I got into punk is because it represents what rock music is supposed to be, it's alive and involves rebellion. I didn't see that happening out of rock in the mid 1970's. Big bands were like Foghat, Fleetwood Mac, and disco. Music was at one of it's all time lows, it may be at another one right now. I'm not very optimistic. I mean back in the 1960's and 70's you would look at the top 10 chart and there would be one or two cool albums. I have a hard time seeing that at all now.


DE: I haven't heard anything new that I really liked in a long time.

JK: I go to clubs and hear vocal bands and they usually sound pretty good. It's hard because you are usually imitating someone you like right? We did the same thing when we were kids. You can find one sort of aspect that's original in your sound. I guess what I am saying to younger bands is to stick with it. That will make you unique and if you are any good you will get a following.


DE: I want to talk about your autobiography "I, Shithead."

JK: Sure.



DE: I read it about a year ago and loved it. Where did your DIY ethic come from?

JK: When we were putting out our first record "Disco Sucks," Biscuits, Randy, and I had a conversation. The conversation was that everybody hates us, nobody will sign us, so we may as well just put out our own record right? It's not like today where you can use a home studio, burn some CD's, and put it on Myspace. If you are lucky you'll get it on iTunes or some derivative thereof.. So we got some money from unemployment insurance and we used the money from that to book the studio time and press the records. Then we would drive around town to the 6 different record stores and drop them off there. Then we would go to the record stores in Vancouver. We didn't have any money to buy the rock magazines so we would look at them in the store. We would then copy down addresses and mail people records. People who would sell D.O.A. records or put on a D.O.A. show. So yeah I realized that when ... well "Sudden Death," started in 1978 and we did about 6 singles. It wasn't really a record company, just a name that we put on the record. When I started "Sudden Death" ten years ago, I realized that if I run my own record label and I could be my own boss. I can make the decisions about what I think is good music and what's not. Of course, not every decision I make is right or popular, hence you have CD's in the warehouse with a big pile of dust on them! (Laughs) My philosophy is to be your own boss, think for yourself, and try to affect some positive change in this world. This is one of my ways of doing it. It allows me to keep playing and being involved in music.


DE: Thats great. Do you still enjoy playing
live?

JK: Yeah, it's a real thrill because every time you get up there it could be your first or last time playing that town. Also there is a new group of people. You got to go out there and try to knock them out. That's what good rock n roll is all about right? You try to give them the knock out blow with some great songs and a really shit kicking performance. It's working out pretty well, we're having a good time. We get along pretty well. Randy and I are like...I mean he started when he was seventeen.


DE: When did he leave the band? Pretty early on right?

JK:Yeah he was in it for the first four years. He played on the first two albums and then came back a while in 2001. He also came back again in 2006.


DE: Do you ever talk to Chuck Biscuits?

JK: Yeah a little bit. He is doing alright. He doesn't seem to have too much interest in playing music and I can understand that. It can be a pretty rough ride at times. You think you are doing well but end up being ripped off. It's pretty easy to be cynical about it in a sense. So yeah, he's a good guy and an absolutely fabulous drummer that's for sure.


DE: After reading your book, I was wondering how you remembered everything. You were very detailed, did you keep some sort of journal?

JK: No, not really, we had tour schedules. Basically, the book kind of started when we would be traveling around in the D.O.A. van. I would start telling stories to someone new in the crew or somebody new in the band. I would have my top five stories in the first tier, fifteen or twenty in the second, and maybe another twenty or so in the third tier. I started to write down what I thought were the main funniest stories right? I actually put them into perspective because I couldn't quite think "was that in 1981 or 82?" So then I realized the way to do it was to go back and look at the old tour posters and tour schedules which are in chronological order. That's how I wrote the book in linear fashion. As I put the skeleton together I remembered other things that went on at the time.


DE: Would you ever do another book?

JK: I have a couple in mind. I've written a sketch for one and I've got a pretty good start on another. I just got to get the time. I've been really busy with the label, my new album "Band of Rebels," and I'm writing songs for the new D.O.A. album. I will but I don't know when. I'll probably have one next year because it will be our 30th anniversary. It won't be the same though. It will have elements of "I, Shithead," but won't be a band story or an autobiography part 2.


DE: So how was your experience doing "American Hardcore," how did you get involved?

JK: They just phoned us up, it was pretty natural. We didn't think of the term but we popularized it. What happened was that we were going to record our second album. We saw an article in a rock magazine in San Francisco and the author said "this is a new type of music on the west coast of North America." I forget the author's name but he called it "Hardcore," and that is what he called bands like Dead Kennedy's, D.O.A., Black Flag, The Dils, and The Circle Jerks. So then our manager Ken said that would be a great name for a title. We recorded the album and called it "Hardcore 81." It kind of fit with Black Flag and 7 seconds. Then we did the "Hardcore 81" tour around North America for two months which kind of put the term on the map. So when they went to do the film it was obvious you had to include D.O.A., even though it was "American" Hardcore. We were the only Canadian band in there right! (Laughing) When they showed it at the Toronto Film Festival, my friends came up to me and said "that's a great film but where the fuck are the rest of the Canadian bands?" If you noticed it's not called "North American Hardcore!" It was a good film but not perfect,obviously not having the Dead Kennedy's in there.


DE: So you still jamming with Bachman Turner Overdrive?

JK: I'm still friends with Randy Bachman. They really don't play around anymore. They kind of do the reunion thing. There is a great tape. It was a TV special on Much Music and it was like a national broadcast. It was D.O.A. and B.T.O. playing in a maximum security prison in Saskatchewan.(Both laughing) It was fucking great! The concert almost got canceled and I personally talked to the warden into extending the hours so that the guys could be out in the yard.


DE: That sounds amazing. Where can you see it?


JK: You can't, it's in the much Music archives. We have a couple of songs on tape that we'll probably put on a DVD some time or other. Oh yeah here's the new thing we have coming out. I might as well mention it because it's coming out now. It's called "Smash The State," which is a DVD of D.O.A. from 1978-81.


DE: Awesome

JK: You can find it at "SuddenDeath.com." It's cool, it's like some interview stuff and the band mostly playing around the San Francisco and Bay area


DE: Sounds great. Thank you so much!

On the Day When I Was Born Daddy Sat Down And Cried.

Promises Promises! I know I promised to post those interviews I have just been really busy the last few days. I swear I will be posting more. Be patient

Afternoon Bong Hits

Before You See The Light You Must Die

This song makes me want to punch someone in the face!

We'd Be As Rich As The Stones If Only We'd Sold As Many Records As Them.

Wow! Most of Bad News and More Bad News is on You Tube. This is one of my favorite movies ever. It's Adrian Edmondson, Rik Mayall, and Nigel Planer from "The Young Ones." It also has Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French from "Absolutely Fabulous." The concept is like Spinal Tap but it's definitely original. If you love "The Young Ones" or "Bottom," then I urge you to watch this. In fact watch this and then follow it up with "Spinal Tap," for some guaranteed funny time.



Rik Mayall as Colin Grigson is the best!

Morning Bong Hits

How's Your Second Head? Is It The First One You Started Out With?

I apologize for not posting any interviews yet. I have been busy at work but I promise to start putting them up this weekend. I was a little worried being that they are a year old but I don't think that is too outdated. Anyhow I am going to try and start getting some new interviews soon so I can keep this blog updated. If you or anyone you know are doing anything interesting musically hit me up. It seems like lately I have been only listening to old stuff but am always open to new music.

So I was just thinking about all the old NYC venues I used to hit up back when I was a teen in the 90's. Long gone are the days of smoking clove cigarettes at The Cooler, Tramps, Brownies, and Coney Island High. I can't tell you how many times I saw The Make-Up, Unwound, and many many terrible bands that are all slipping my mind. I spent so many of my teenage hours listening to Huggybear, Bikini Kill, Bratmobile,Beat Happening, Unrest,Nation Of Ulysses,Unwound, Peechees, Tuscadero etc.I loved Kill Rock Stars, K, Lookout, Teenbeat, and Wiija records. I think I would cringe if I listened to some of this stuff now. Although I downloaded both NOU albums a few months back and they still sound good.If anyone has any old pictures please send them to me! I have to go through my stuff as well and see if I still have anything left. Unfortunately I threw away almost all of my old 7inches and sold most of my record collection to Princeton Record Exchange when I was 18 or 19 because I felt that I grew out of my youth. I remember my first zine was called "Glamour Tramp." What a terrible name! The A in Glamour was written out like an anarchy sign. I used to worship Sonic Youth as well and remember replicating the cover of "Goo" in my 8th grade art class. The highlight of my summer going into high school was going to see Sonic Youth and Pavement at Lollapalooza. I felt this music was mine and remember getting angry when they played "Rebel Girl" on Roseanne. Ha! Well that is enough nostalgia for the moment! Next time I will talk about all the metal that I listened to as a child.

The Ugly Duck Is Starting To Smile

I would like to take a moment to talk about a few great bands that I feel are completely underrated (I could go on for hours about bands that I think are overrated but that will be another post). The first band I would like to talk about are the dB's. The more I listen to "Stands for Decibels," the more I fall in love with songs like "Bad Reputation," "Living a Lie," "The Fight," and "Neverland."I think some of these songs are perfect. It's really catchy music and it's a shame you hardly ever hear of this band. One of the founders Chris Stamey played with Alex Chilton and Television before forming this band. It makes me upset that REM get all the credit for this type of music. I will say that the first few REM albums are great but they should have broken up before they became the terrible mess they are today. If you like The dB's then also check out The Feelies(terrible band name) album "Crazy Rythms." This album took a while to grow on me but now I love it. Another great band that I think happens goes greatly unnoticed is Cockney Rebel, a fantastic glam rock group formed and fronted by Steve Harley. If you love Roxy Music, Sweet, Bowie, T Rex or Slade then you must listen to Cockney Rebel. I wold recommend their albums "Human Menagerie," "Psychomodo," and "The Best Years of Our Lives." Also I have been into another glam rock singer named Jobriath. He was the first openly gay singer in the 70's and unfortunately this was the death of his career. .He dropped out and became a cabaret singer sadly he died of AIDS in 1983. Morrissey reissued his 2 albums that were out of print.

The dB's


Cockney Rebel


Jobriath

I'm not crazy about the Bobby Digital album but this is one of my favorite cuts off it.

Witchcraft Destroys Minds

About a year ago I started a zine called Dark Entries. The reason I started this zine was because I needed an outlet to write about music. I decided to be old fashioned and go back to my teenage roots. Also, I was working a boring office job and was using all of their resources. Well I ended up getting laid off and was too broke to publish it. I decided to embrace these modern times and do a blog instead. Eventually I will publish all of the interviews that I did last year for your reading enjoyment. I have been against doing this ever since my friend Stephanie said that the word blog sounds like throw up. Times are tough my friends and I cannot afford to make cute little zines that will most likely be thrown away before being read. So I hope you enjoy my rants and opinions on music and please feel free to leave any comments, complaints, or death threats (actually ixnay on the death threats). Also I will try and post new entries daily, so keep checking in everyday.Thanks!