Kill Your Scene

MXPX are a punk rock band from Washington in the United States and Mike Herrera is about to hop on that plane and head down here to Australia. He will be bringing a few mates from Switzerland that currently play in a band called CANCER and they call themselves The MXPX All Stars.

MXPX are known as a Christians, however don’t like to be called a Christian band as he told us way back in the year 2000 via ABC. “We are Christian. It’s not a cult or something. It’s part of our story and I guess it’s different and controversial. But it’s a personal thing. It’s what we choose to believe. That’s all there is to it. We don’t preach to anyone.”

They haven’t toured at all this year so here in Australia, we’re blessed with the first run for 2013.

Hey Mike, how is things?

Great. I’m really looking forward to coming down to Australia. I’m currently in the middle of releasing a live bootleg type record for my other band Tumbledown. I’m currently on holidays at the moment and haven’t really done much, so now I’m cramming everything down in preparation for tour to Australia.

Are you planning on hitting the studio soon for a new MXPX album?

Writing a lot right now actually and I have a recording studio in the basement. Trying to get stuff going but not quite doing full days in the studio yet. I’ve mainly been producing other bands, so that takes up some time.

So I hear you have an All Stars band with the Cancer boys in Europe, and in the Tumbledown boys in the US.

Yeah, I’m actually going to bring the Cancer guys to Australia because we’re going to Europe straight after that for a tour, so I want have have the same band with me for this tour. I’ve played with those guys heaps before and we only usually do one rehearsal, so it’s good.

Any possibility you’re going to set-up an All Stars band for Australia in the near future?

You know, I have never thought of that but it’s a great idea! That’ll be amazing… I think, um… You know what, hahaha, now that I think about it I should! Why not? You’ve given me an idea and I think it’s time to talk to some of my Australian buddies. I’ll pick someone hopefully established. I mean they don’t have to be, just need to be cool, play well and also interact with people very well because they’ll be representing MXPX when they’re up on the stage.

So five shows down here soon. Any secret shows our readers could know about.

There is actually something is happening in the afternoon on the 9th of March. The Forest Edge Music Festival and I think were doing an added show on that day… I don’t know any information which is funny because you’d think they’d tell the band members. Yeah, it’s a secret show I don’t even know about.

What is your most memorable show from Australia?

I definitely remember bits and pieces of shows in the past but the one that springs to mind is the No Fun At All tour and we got to go to hanging rock and other really cool places around the country. We did All Stars tour with The Ataris in Melbourne and that was a really fun show for me. Where are you located at?

I’m in Sydney.

Oh the roundhouse, yeah I have so many good memories from playing shows at the roundhouse. It’s always so hot in there though. This time we’ll be in the Manning Bar which is legendary for shows.

You have also been down here quite recently with John from Goldfinger as a fill-in. How was that?

Yeah, man I had a great time and it was really cool to be able to do something different for a while. Getting to play bass for Goldfinger was a very cool notch to have in my belt. It was fun getting to hang with those guys and I’d do it again any time.

Well, our time is up so congratulations with your new daughter Mike, and thanks for the chat. See you soon.

Thank you and I’ll be seeing you soon.

Check out MXPX All Stars this March! If you’re reading from Europe then they’re coming from you next.

“Our shows are selling out in Australia but there are a few tickets left and the last thing I want to see is people missing out.”

CHECK MXPX TOUR DATES HERE!

A Wilhelm Scream, a name that divides the film world and the music world. Some think of the classic scream sample that we hear in so many films, other think of music that will leave you foaming at the mouth like some crazy fuckwit with rabies. A Wilhelm Scream, a band that are all about the shits and giggles and when this one called Nuno to give him the good old Aussie interrogation about Hits and Pits Festival, all I got was “man, I’m playing call of duty with my kid attached to me and I just got this sick headshot.”

>Oh yeah, Black Ops 2?

“Of course… I’m holidays at the moment so I have some time to myself.”

Nuno was raised like all of the greats, skating away to tunes from Bad Religion, Propagandhi, Pennywise, Black Flag and pretending to be as awesome as the real greats in what we call now old school skate videos. “I still remember listening to Propagandhi and the other bands in high school, which is funny because now we’ve played with most of the bands we listened to back then. It is a real privileged and I for one feel very lucky, because I only knew these bands from Records and CDs.” Says Nuno.

The boys hailing from New Bedford, Massachusetts are the type of clowns you don’t want at your kids party. The drunken gentlemen are a melodic hardcore band that wipe their ass with show biz. They previously went by the names “Smackin’ Isaiah”, “Koen” and “Adam’s Crack” and eventually settled on “A Wilhelm Scream” due to members changing, and the band settling down to take their career slightly more serious than previously. Their release “Benefits of thinking out loud” was their first release under the final name via Nitro Records.

>Which bands are awesome to tour with?

“Well, we just recently had a good time touring with Lagwagon and Pennywise, They treat bands really well and are really great guys but I would have to say that Lawrence Arms are one of my favourite bands to your with.”

>So, new album soon or what???

“Yes. We just finished recording actually and we’re just waiting on the masters. We’re throwing some ideas around about the name, but nothing is set in stone as yet.”

>What are we to expect form the new album?

“Well, we’re not really a heart on our sleeves type of band, so nothing really political and don’t expect any of that in the new album. We’re mainly introverted and we’re generally writing stuff we know about.”

A Wilhelm Scream are currently on their way to Australia with Mad Caddies, Good Riddance, Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Flatliners and Diesel Dave from Diesel Boy playing those songs that we still sing in 2012.

>Ok, so Hits and Pits Festival… Going to be epic mate!

“I know! It’ll be the 3rd or 4th time we’ve been to Australia and being there for summer will be nice.”

**At this point Nuno yells out “YES! I just got a last kill!”

“We like keeping it fresh and fun. We’re all getting a bit older now, staring families so our priorities are changing. We still love to write music but not as much as playing. The tour is the best part.”

>Ok, so for the people that don’t know you guys and will most likely listen to your latest release titled “Australias”. Tell them if it’s about Australia.

“Nah, it’s just us having fun. I wish we could have called the album “Thriller”… hahaha, that would be so good.”

>Well as much as I would love to talk more about Black Ops and your new album, I have to bail. So anything else you want to add?

“Yeah, get ready to have some fun at Hits and Pits festival with some old and new tunes. Oh and bring some beers!”

Click here to find out more on Hits and Pits Festival.
Click here to buy tickets now!

Surrounded By Thieves are punk rockers at their best. The four piece band delivers fast, energetic, melodic and politically motivated tunes. In May this year SBT are going to open up for Bad Religion, Bouncing Souls, Lagwagon and Turbonegro on the Punk Rock Bowling festival in Vegas, their hometown. That they are not only doing a good job playing music, but also answering questions in an original way, proves the interview below. Read more about what they would do if they had the power over the US for a week, their life advice for kids and what to expect on their new album and check them out on Facebook or even better, live!

Could you please introduce yourself? Who’s in the band, what is he doing and why.

Brandon – Well you say it’s easy… try being me and describe all of us without hurting the feelers of the rest of the guys. I’ll give it a shot anyway.

I’m Brandon – Lead Vocals/Guitar – I pretty much front the band and work the crowd and generally the spokesperson. I’m probably the rational person in the band too but always a couple jokes ahead of the rest. I seem to be the guy who fixes everybody’s shit when they break it too. Andy – Guitar/Vocals – He’s our unelected leader, the machine behind the scenes. He just always seems to get things done when we need it. He’s responsible for all the bad-ass artwork that surrounds our band, albums, show posters, etc. Rich – Drums and crazy face maker. He’s like our Jekyl/Hyde. Super laid back in person then Beast on stage! It’s crazy watching this guy go. Cody – Bass and Purveyor of the good vibes. We have dubbed him “Barcode.” There is never a sullen moment around Cody. The man just enjoys life and music and seeing him on stage is evidence of that.

Why the band name “Surrounded By Thieves”?

Brandon – We STOLE it! (Get it? Surrounded by Thieves…) Never mind, I wasn’t even in the band when we adopted the name.

Andy – It’s a bit by chance and a bit of making a statement. I was writing down tons of names ‘cause we needed SOMETHING. I saw an album by High on Fire called Surrounded by Thieves. Wrote it down not really thinking much about it. We chose it. Actually love this name. It says so much about what we believe in and what we fight for. Only problem is we get associated with an album title from another band. But hey any press is good press.

Brandon – See! We stole it!

So the band name says so much about what you believe in and what you fight for… could you explain that a little further? You like stealing or you fight against it or what does it mean?

Andy – Well politicians, big corporations, churches and some religion, parts of the government. All thieves. We live in a world where the rich get rich cause most of the time they steal from us. So we are really Surrounded By Thieves. Our songs have these themes in them for sure. “I’m the One.” It’s about stealing our money back. “Red White FU.” It’s about us questioning authority and being just as AMERICAN as the next guy who goes with the flow and hangs his flag on his doorstep. And no we don’t like stealing. Well I don’t anyway.

I’ve read that you’re working on your third album now. How’s that going and what can you tell us about your previous ones?

Andy – The first album, Prophecies of Greed, was kind of a rush. We found a studio that was gonna hook us up and give us a great deal in L.A. So we just went down to record once we had about 5 songs done. We ended up forming a great relationship with Matt Wiggers, “Wiggy” who recorded, mixed and mastered the whole album at The Nook Studio in Studio City, CA. Then we went back every time we had more songs written.

Brandon – And a different lead singer… I had only been in the band for about a month and a half when I started laying down vocals for this one. This album is truly punk rock and it’s SO F’ing good (biased anyone?). Seriously, I wrote the lyrics for “I’m the One” 7 hours, including the road trip, before it was recorded! That’s rad.

Someone’s proud, haha…

Andy – Anyway, but I think it turned out really good. The EP was kind of the same way. Had an opportunity to record an EP that we couldn’t pass up.

Brandon – Yes! With John Brown, who runs Camel Hump Studios here in Vegas. Awesome guy and he did an incredible job. He too, recorded mixed and mastered the whole EP “Punk Rock Fight Songs.” And he did it on a moment’s notice while we were mostly hung over from a show the night before.

Andy – We wrote songs that were a little harder for this album on purpose, well, except for “Wartime” which is actually written by the original 7 Seconds. By this time we had a ton of songs written that were pretty technical, well technical to us. We didn’t want to do an EP with two different sounding songs on it. So we wrote some pretty hard ones for that real quick. As far as the 3rd album goes we are still hashing out some of the music. With the members in the band now we are really hitting on some new territory with our song writing. Trying to stick to our sound but push ourselves a little bit at the same time. We are very happy with our new songs and are not straying too far from what the first album sounds like.

Brandon – We’re about 85% done writing the new album and Rich just laid drums for 5 or so songs. We’re already very proud of the music we’ve written for this one. We’ve gotten a little more dynamic in our sound without losing any edge and definitely not getting all emo. We continue to write about things that affect us and other people. Like politics, life, war profiteering, government, religion, drugs…. Holy shit, we need a happy song!

Yes please, write a fun song! How come that you haven’t done any? It just didn’t come to mind? I have to say I love that part in “Riot”: “…just one fucking Pepsi” and how it then continues with the chorus. Makes me want to see SBT live.

Andy – Done and Done. We are gonna write one for the new album. I think you’re right – we might be getting a little too serious here. The PEPSI part was so damn funny. We love that part as well.

You guys are from Nevada. So how’s the music scene (esp. regarding punk rock) over there? Just wondering because Nevada doesn’t seem to particularly well-known for punk rock…

Andy – 7 seconds, Cobra Skulls are both NV bands. We have a few who have made a name for themselves. In regards to Las Vegas punk rock, the scene here is amazing! There are tons of GREAT bands. Guilty By Association, Battle Born, Happy Campers, IDFI, Holding Onto Sound, The Seriousley’s, The Tinglerz, The Quitters, Shotguns N Gasoline, The Dirty Panties and on and on. The scene here is all about each other. We stick together, share gear, set up shows together. It’s very, very close knit. One problem is getting people who are not in bands to come out to shows. It’s a hard sell since there are so many good bands playing every weekend.

Brandon – Don’t forget we live a couple miles, sorry, kilometers, from the strip, the entertainment capitol of the world.

Yeah, we have a similar thing going on here with local bands. Just like you say, they help each other out and play gigs together and it’s hard to get other people to the shows that are not part of or related to the bands. Tough question, but what do you think, can be done to ‘break the circle’?

Andy – Well I think to break the circle we need to play more out of town shows and get more interest in SBT. We need to put on the best shows we can so people when deciding what to do for the night they decide “SBT is the shit and we wanna see ‘em again”. I think that’s about all we can do.

What are you doing when not playing SBT songs?

Brandon – Actually we’re a strange grouping of people. Rich is in real estate/property management. He’s always jet setting for his company or spending tme with his wife. Andy is every bit a graphic artist, creating posters and art for the U.F.C. With his new child he spends a lot of time at home lately his wife and lil boy. Cody is the man about town. I’ve never been anywhere with him where he didn’t know at least one person. When he’s not playing in SBT, you can probably find him at the local tavern meeting more people. Me, I’m married and spend a lot of time at home with my beautiful wife and our dogs… and kitty when I’m not working.

Andy – …Well Filthy Rich is counting his money. I’m making posters and art for the UFC. Brandon is…….. Nobody knows what he does. Cody is always husslin’. We all have families and squeeze in time for writing songs on our own making sure the fam is good to go and working our tails off.

Brandon – I do stuff.

Is it sometimes difficult to combine family life with the band stuff? Are you families sometimes frustrated that you guys are on the road again? With family and day-time jobs it must be hard to focus on music – so is it just a hobby or are you aiming for more…?

Andy – That’s a hard one. For me personally I guess it’s more of a hobby. But it’s a serious hobby. I put more time into this band than anything else I do after work and family. Even more than family sometimes. I want this to go further for sure. I mean who wouldn’t. I have a ton of fun sounding good and putting good shows on. I love travelling and getting our name out there. My wife is very supportive of me doing the band stuff. I just had a baby so that may change but for now she is very cool with it.

What’s your personal favorite band and why?

Andy – Social Distortion. Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell was the album that did it for me. It just, kind of, spoke to me. I loved the lyrics the 4 chord guitars and the driving beat of the songs. To this day I can listen to that album or most of Social D’s albums and just love it over and over again.

Brandon – I’d have to go with Face to Face – “Face to Face.” It was like a light switch for me. The songs were about where I was in my life and I could finally relate on a personal level. See, I was a child of hip hop, but once I was introduced to Punk, game on! From there it was Social D, Bouncing Souls, AFI, Screeching Weasel and the list goes on. And punk shows are so much better than hip hop shows! Hallelujah, I’ve been saved. Ok…Outkast was pretty good.

Andy – Well if we can name a bunch of bands I’m gonna name some too. Actually what Brandon said. I think that’s why we get along so well. I love those bands too.

Bouncing Souls just played in Australia, together with The Descendents and Bodyjar– it was a great show! Social D is good, they were in Australia in 2010 if I remember correctly. I have to say though that Mike Ness is getting old…

Andy – HAHAHAHA YA totally agree. Mike is up there. They are my favorite band and when they come through town I am always saying that I am not gonna go cause Mike’s getting old and he’s the original band member. But I go anyways and when I hear that first chord of the first song all that bullshit goes away and I fucking love it. But all punkers get old.

(The next question was asked before the election was over) Who will win the US election?

Brandon – Doesn’t really matter too much. Until people realize that having only 2 choices really is no choice at all, we will be stuck in status quo forever. Until banks remove their hands from the pockets of the politicians and their campaigns. Nothing will change. People always say their vote doesn’t count… and they’re right. That’s because they keep voting for the same thing over and over. If we start putting our vote elsewhere we can get the wrecking ball swinging and start knocking down barriers.

Andy – Obama- He already won. That shit bag “Rob-me” [sic] can burn in hell. And Brandon is full of shit.

Do you guys know any Aussie punk bands?

Andy – The Living End, The Vines, Frenzal Rhomb, and Bodyjar are only ones I know of.

Brandon – I don’t! Give us some names to check out!

Oh there are heaps of newer/ smaller bands that are worth checking out. To name a few: Chainsaw Hookers, 51 Percent, KANG, Luca Brasi, Rockethead, Local Resident Failure, Anchors, The Decline, Batfoot!, Ebolagoldfish, Stolen Youth, Nerdlinger, Bodyjar …

 

Next one, do you prefer Pepsi or Coke?

Andy – PBR

What’s that? A beer brand that Aussies don’t know??

Andy – Pabst Blue Ribbon. It’s what I usually drink at shows since I am cheap. At home I’ll drink way better beer than that.

Brandon – Beer and whiskey.

What’s your favorite SBT song and why?

Andy – I like too many of them. Wow hard choice. “Never Forget” cause its softer and I get to sing it. But I do love “Strength” on the new EP.

Brandon – They’re all kinda like my kids. Some are adopted and some I helped conceive. But to pick favorites would be wrong. Ok… I like “Monster,” “Look Away,” “System,” “Still the Same”… but they’re all gonna be on the new album. HA!

Ok, we get it… when can we expect the new album? Do you have a name for it already or does that happen last?

Andy- No name yet. Although I’d like something that kinda of makes people question authority or gets a rise out of people. Like the Prophecies of greed cover. We’ll see. Maybe we will make a funny cover this time with a funny name. But the songs on this album will be better than Prophecies I feel. Now that Brandon is writing a lot more and brining in guitar parts it’s gonna be really good.

So Andy, you have become become a father not long ago. Congrats. What would you advise your kid if it’s trying hard to become like you?

Andy – Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day. And get rich and you can do anything you want. Those are the 2 things I’d tell him.

Brandon – That’s your advice? Poor kid…

Wise words.What would you do if your kids would totally get into boy bands or Trance or something else that’s weird?

Andy – I would support him in whatever he wants to do. Life’s too short to not do what you want. I may not like it that’s for sure and I sure as hell wouldn’t let him listen to it in the car with me, but whatever. I was thinking of making guitars and other musical instruments off limits to him. That way when I am away he’ll sneak it and become the best musician ever. You know how that goes. Your parents tell you to stay away from that guy or that kid is a bad influence. And what do we do, we do it anyway.

Ever been to Australia? Would it be realistic for you to play here one day?

Brandon – I want to go so bad! Me and the Mrs. dream of making it there someday. To tour Australia would be absolutely amazing! The love for punk rock in Australia is immense and I truly feel we could bring something to you that would be very well received.

Andy– Never been. I hear the airplane tickets to Autralia are super expensive. SO ya if someone paid those we would totally play there. How could you say no?

 

It is ridiculously expensive. Also doing a tour here is not so easy due to the big distances between cities. That’s why international bands normally come in groups i.e. play shows together or they come for festivals and do sideshows. And that sucks, because smaller, good bands from overseas just can afford coming here. And when the big bands come, the tickets are quite expensive and/ or they all play at the same time.

Please share a funny/embarrassing/weird (tour) story with us!

Andy – Right now what comes to mind is our trip to New Mexico and getting stuck in a snow storm.

Brandon – It was a freak storm!

Andy – Brandon was driving his SUV with a damn corvette engine in it with a big trailer full of gear. All of us piled in this truck. Mind you this thing is built for speed not snow. First we get stuck on the damn highway for about 2 hrs at a standstill and the snow kept falling. The temperature suddenly dropped to 15 degrees F(-9C). Next we finally get moving and almost hit a semi truck ‘cause we lock up brakes and slide to a stop.

Brandon – We were barely moving…Everything was under control.

Andy – After this fiasco we are all a little uneasy and the truck gets a little sideways. We all gasp trying not to BELT OUT “HOLY FUCK WE ARE GONNA DIE!” Brandon being the great driver he is manages to get the truck and trailer in the right direction and we are all safe.

Brandon – Thank you Andy

Andy – I look at Brandon and say “Whatever speed you feel comfortable driving at in the snow… minus 10mph from that! Slow and steady stays alive.” Best time of our lives.

Brandon – The next 240 miles were at about 10mph on hard packed ice. It was “Keen.”

That wouldn’t happen in Australia… What do you think about Spotify and things like streaming songs or albums? Is that destroying the music business like some people claim?

Andy – This is hard for me to answer, because on one hand I sit in front of a computer all day and constantly find new bands and like Spotify a lot. I do go buy the albums most of the time if I love it and for that Spotify is great. But I do listen to some stuff over and over again and don’t pay for it. I have heard that artists do not see a lot of money for this. I don’t exactly know how it works so I can’t really tell you if it’s hurting the music industry or not. I guess I need to start researching this stuff. I think it’s good for bands to get more exposure as well.

One ongoing discussion regarding punk rock is the discrepancy between its ideology (often anti-capitalistic, left-wing oriented, fuck the government-kind-of-mentality) and the fact that bands ‘sell out’ because they become big and sell their CDs, merch etc. For instance, I’m thinking of a German punk band called Slime that split up several times because they became too successful and therefore too commercial, which contradicted their ideals. Or another band like Anti-Flag: They like preaching against Capitalism but benefit from their popularity and are of course selling CDs and merch… What’s your opinion about that? Do you care? Do you sometimes have such discussions?

Andy – I think if you make it big, so what. As long as you stick to your roots and don’t change. Green Day “sold out” but their biggest hit was American Idiot. They used their power to at least try and make people think. But if you make it big and do whatever a record company tells you to do as in wear these clothes play your songs like this then I think that’s lame. But you know I am so back and forth with this as well. Some days, I say fuck ‘em all, they all suck for selling out, and other days I say the above. It’s a hard thing to answer. Some bands you love sign to a major label like Alkaline Trio and the album is not what you are used to and it pisses you off. But I also think about the artist and they don’t always want to play the same shit over and over and want to grow. I can’t blame them for that. One last thing about that… Anti Flag is awesome but they preach way too much on stage. Isn’t that what your songs are for guys?

Brandon – Seriously, I gotta agree with the Anti-Flag statement. I love their music, but good lord, they preach so much they sound cliché and uninformed and as if they say these things only to get a rise. I digress. I feel that if a band becomes successful then good for them. Isn’t that the point? Only a true masochist would work as hard as necessary to make it the music industry to want to remain broke and living in squalor. It would be a dream come true to be able to play to arenas and stadiums, but I’ll draw the line at millionaires selling 30$ and 40$ t-shirts at shows. That’s just greed. I say fuck that.

Enough seriousness, back to normal: If somebody smashes your guitar at a show, what would you do?

Brandon – Chances are it would probably be me in the first place… But I’d probably be mildly bummed. I don’t buy expensive gear though. I buy good equipment and make it better by upgrading and stuff. So if something like that were to happen, I wouldn’t lose too much financially. It would suck though.

Andy – I’d definitely punch ‘em in the face.

What was the worst concert you have ever been to and why was it bad?

Andy – Worst? Hmmmmmmm. Well I saw Everclear about 10 years ago. I used to love this band. Sparkle and Fade is still one of my favorite albums. They toured with Social D back in the day as well. So anyway, I was stoked to see ‘em but by then they had another guy on drums. Well not exactly drums I guess he was more of a percussionist or something, hitting cymbals and a snare drum for every song. They also brought in another guitarist and keyboards. I was like UHHHH WTF IS THIS? The songs were too over played. They brought fans on stage during the show to and it was just dumb as hell. I was so pissed. I loved that band ‘cause they were a 3 piece that sounded huge. Their songs meant something but not anymore. I had seen them before in San Francisco years before and it was awesome. Oh well bands grow I guess. In this case the wrong direction.

What would you do if you had the power over America for one week?

Andy – I give back to the people who really need it. I’d borrow more money, since the deficit is fucked anyway, and give it to all the poor people. Tax the Rich and end the war. Then party the rest of the week with all the politicians in DC and get them laid.

Brandon – I would assassinate Andy. Just Kidding! I would bring our troops home, close any base that wasn’t on American soil and with the savings from our vast over spending on imperialism I would transfer the funds to education and inspire creativity in industry. I would stop free hospital care for recidivist meth and hardcore drug users and provide mental health counselling instead for these people and treat addiction as a mental health issue instead of a crime. I would make lobbying any member of Congress a felony (this is a biggie!). I would indict the bankers that were involved in defrauding the American people. Now, on day 2 I would…

And finally, do you have any shout outs, messages or recommendations for our readers?

Andy – Well first of all we gotta give a shout out to our Drummer and Bass players Rich Castro on drums. Awesome drummer and cool dude. Cody Leavitt, great bass player and definitely a great asset to the band.

Brandon – We have to recognize our other halves/wives and girlfriends. They put up with us… I’d like to thank everyone in the pit, everyone not afraid to let themselves go at our shows. Shout out to Tocci, and Omahar,for being at damn near every local show regardless of who is playing Huge props to everyone that has bought our albums or shirts and made it possible for us to play in other cities.

Andy – Please check these Vegas bands out! Battle Born, Guilty by Association, Aluminum Falcon, Happy Campers, The Gashers, The People’s Whiskey all awesome Vegas bands. John Brown from Camel Hump studios is a true bad ass in the studio. He is kind of the new Vegas recording guy. As in he’s recording a ton of us right now. Oh ya, and check out Squid Hat records. They are a new Las Vegas label. Cool stuff.
We have 2 albums out that you can get at surroundedbythieves.com.
Like Us!!! Facebook.com/Surroundedbythieves
I guess that’s about all the plugs I have. Thank you Janine for this interview. Keep doing what you’re doing. We appreciate what you do for music and I know the rest of your readers do as well.

- Brandon and Andy… and the rest of SBT!

BATTLE BORN! Remember those two words if you are a friend of good and tight punk rock music who doesn’t mind hardcore or a bit of metal every now and then either. Battle Born’s style is influenced by fast and melodic rhythms and hardcore sounds. The choruses are made to stick in your head and the guitar solos invite to turn up the volume, loud enough to cover the knocks on the door from your old neighbour that hates you for your music passion. If you live in Nevada’s desert and aren’t into gambling, you might have seen Battle Born live already as they like playing local gigs every once in a while, together with other bands from the scene. If you don’t live anywhere near them, we can only recommend playing a bit Sherlock Holmes and look those guys up via Facebook, Spotify or their website. You won’t be disappointed! Tragically, people might associate “Battle Born” with pop band The Killers, as their latest album is called like that. Knowing that Battle Born are from Las Vegas doesn’t help you narrowing down the search on the www, because guess what? The Killers are from the same place. To make it a bit more complicated, the punk rockers named one of their latest songs “The Killers”. Find out why they did that, why they don’t think that 150,000 Dollars would make a difference and more about their attitudes towards Nationalism or Guttermouth in the interview (which was mainly with singer John Brown) below. And until their new record is out this year, check out their debut album “Stick To Your Guns” (2009).

To start with, could you tell me who you guys are and describe your style? How do you know each other?

> We are Battle Born! We are a heavy, melodic punk band from Las Vegas, NV. I’m John, I play guitar and sing. I like to think our style is a blend of 90s punk rock (think Fat Wreck Chords & Epitaph) and metal/hardcore. We play a lot of very fast music with some hints of pop vocal melodies, but a lot of what we do is heavier and darker than what was being done in the 90s. Nick and Chad (drummer and guitar player/singer, respectively) have known each other since college at UNLV. The band was originally formed with the two of them, and their friend Waddle, for a fourth of July (American independence day) party in 2006. By 2009, Waddle was out of the picture and Ben (bass player) and myself had become permanent fixtures. Ben met Nick and Chad through the scene, playing gigs together. I found the band via craigslist when they decided to make a change at rhythm guitar (I was already aware of and had some dialogue with the guys before I responded to their ad). Ben and myself bring most of the ‘punk’ influence into the band. He and I have semi-similar tastes in music. Nick and Chad bring more of the metal influence; they are a little more inclined to bands like Pantera, Slayer, Children of Bodom, etc..

Battle Born – whenever I look up that name on Google or YouTube, I get The Killers. Isn’t that annoying for you guys that they called their album Battle Born? Or do you not care, given it could be seen as PR…?

> It would be a lie to say it’s not mildly annoying, but we have tried to use the circumstances to amuse ourselves. The annoyance, I suppose, is that a new Battle Born seems to pop up every year. In 2006 when Chad and Nick starting everything, there was no Battle Born anything in this town. I wasn’t even in the band at the time, but those guys have a totally legit claim to being the first to stake a claim on the name. Now there’s a Battle Born dance troupe, Battle Born Tattoo,
Battle Born Defense Tactics, and of course the Killers record. For the record, those guys are fucking unlistenable. We were actually rehearsing in the same commercial park when the Killers opened “Battle Born Studios”. We made a point to stop by and introduce ourselves; they were unimpressed. But all the bitching aside, yes, I absolutely appreciate that we have gotten some free attention because all these dildos use our name.

More on that with the next question… You wrote a song called The Killers. Payback? Do they actually know that you guys exist?

> I would suspect that, after barging into their studio and introducing ourselves as “Battle Born,” they are probably aware that we exist. But who knows? Those guys are industry giants and I doubt they’re concerned about the opinions of a little punk rock band. But yes, our song “The Killers,” was written and released to have a little fun with their album release. The song hit iTunes just a day or two after their record and there are some, uh, similarities between their album artwork and the artwork we used for our single (search “the killers – battle born” in the iTunes store). We figured it would be an amusing way to market ourselves and hoped annoy a couple Killers fans in the process. It was largely successful as we received fair share of hate spam via twitter and few Killers fan blogs. All of this, the music, the band, the relationships, are all about fun and entertainment, and I think we did a great job of entertaining ourselves (if no one else) with “The Killers.”

So from our Skype interview attempts I can tell that you guys seem to rehearse regularly. How strict/ ambitious are you about that?

> I would say we are very ambitious and very committed to each other. I hesitate to use the word strict, because it’s more about sharing good times than enforcing a schedule. But I think it’s probably fair to say that we all take our commitment to rehearsing very seriously. We rehearse at least once a week, every week, as a band. I own and operate a recording studio (Camel Hump Studios). We are very fortunate to have a nice facility, with quality gear and a comfortable environment, where we can rehearse and/or record pretty much whenever we want. Last night Ben and I were up at Chad’s house with our acoustic guitars working on arrangements and harmonies for new material.
Of course there are times, when a band member can’t make it to the rehearsals due to private commitments. That’s cool, we give each other enough space and don’t start big arguments about that. But we still find reasons to bitch about each other, haha.

We’ve heard a bit about the local scene in Nevada from your mates from Surrounded By Thieves (Interview will be published soon). Therefore I’m assuming that many of your gigs are local ones – or do you also tour nationally?

> This is probably an area that we are most lacking. We have been active, and developed a healthy reputation, in Vegas for over six years. In that time we have played some incredible gigs on awesome stages with great bands. We make it out of town a couple times a year, but it has been years since we did anything that resembled a sustained tour. We would all love to, but in addition to the band we all have jobs, lives, relationships, and other commitments. Personally, I have been reluctant to commit to touring before we release the second full length album. But that is just one of many excuses. Hopefully we are able to get out on the road for a few weeks in 2013.

How is the punk rock scene in Nevada/ the States like in your opinion?

> In my opinion, the global punk scene is shot, but locally, in Las Vegas, it’s kicking ass! I hate to make myself sound old, but the music that I think kids listen to and call “punk” these days is garbage. Sum 41 inspired pop-punk has never been what got my blood pumping and elbows flying and I dismiss most new punk as just that. I haven’t bought a new NOFX or Lagwagon record in probably ten years. Fortunately, I live in a town that has a TON of great local bands. There are drawbacks to being a local band in Las Vegas, but there are so many really really talented players in this town that I don’t really care about the latest NOFX record. Surrounded By Thieves, Holding Onto Sound, The Quitters, The Happy Campers are just a handful of probably twenty kickass punk bands I can think of without effort. As a movement, punk has been done for a long time; stick a fork in it. The ‘scene’ was creative and innovative once upon a time; today even once-great bands like Rise Against are playing industry co-opted contemporary modern rock. But I’m grateful to live in one of the last pockets of resistance.

What’s happening with Battle Born at the moment? Working on an album, just rehearsing and playing shows, any upcoming projects…?

> After three years without a new release we put out an EP (Gadget Rangers of Deth) and a single (The Killers) in 2012. Our current focus is on completing new material for a new 13 song full length this year. I think we have about 2/3 of the material we need for the next album. I expect that by March we will be laying down tracks for the next record.
Next to that, we are working with a bunch of local bands on a compilation. It might be called “Desert Rats With Baseball Bats” or something like that. There will be a lot of good bands on it, e.g. The Quitters, Surrounded By Thieves, Guilty By Association, Happy Campers… It’s a good representation of Nevada Punk Rock. Keep an eye out for it.
In March, we are playing a show together wit Guttermouth. We are looking forward to that. We will provide the music and they can come and talk. We don’t really like Guttermouth much. Everytime we have seen them in the last 10 years (i.e. when we had the misfortune to be at the same place as them, not sharing a stage), we get into fights with the singer. So this gig on March 15 will be a good opportunity to talk shit about them – to their faces.

Can you share an embarrassing/ funny/ weird story (maybe from a tour or so) with us?

> Sure, here are the lyrics to “40 Second Song,” a true story, as told by our bass player, Ben Hernandez.
“I pissed my pants again today, because I am an alcoholic, snorted way too many drugs now I can’t go to sleep. My girlfriend kicked me out today because I put it in her ass when she tried to take a nap, no I have no where to sleep”

What was your best/ most fun concert (your own or maybe a gig you went to) and why?

> For me, the most fun thing we’ve done was our gig with the Offspring. We played The Joint here in Vegas, which is like a 4k person venue, with an enormous crowd, stage and sound system, and a huge headliner. It was pretty special for all of us, I think. I don’t remember playing particularly well or anything. But you know, you play music all your life, basically just for fun, and to be able to step onto a monster stage like that and be allowed to try to entertain people, is pretty much all you could ever hope or ask for.

How difficult is it to become known as a band? Do you think that social media or things like free downloads, online streaming etc. help (and why)?

> We are pretty active on the social networking front. We try to keep people up to date and involved with what we’re doing via Facebook, twitter and our website. I think these sites make it very easy to connect with new fans. We make new friends and fans on a daily basis, from all over the world. Ultimately, I don’t expect social networking is going to make us famous, but music is all about reaching and connecting with people. Every single tweet we receive or post on our wall is a humbling experience. Of course we want to be heard, but I think we mostly write and play because it’s music that we want to hear. When somebody expresses that they identify with our music it can make you feel personally connected to someone half a world away. It means a lot to me.

What would you do if you (as a band) had 150,000 Dollars?

> That’s a tough one. I don’t think a lack of money is holding us back or anything. We all work so we can usually afford the stuff we need for the band: recording time, merch, artwork, gas money. I guess we’d probably split it up, which would be $37.5K each. I’d buy a couple microphones and preamps for the studio, maybe get myself a new truck and put the rest in the bank (I’m kind of boring). 150,000 wouldn’t buy us a new song that we love or guarantee us any kind of future income, I have to think it wouldn’t really change much of anything.

Have you guys ever been to Australia? If not, would it be realistic to do a tour here at some stage?

> I have, yes. Went on a vacation (holiday!) with my family several years ago. Went to Sydney, Brisbane, Ayers Rock, Heron Island, it was amazing. My dad is a biologist so I’ve always had a passion for the outdoors and wildlife. Your country is beautiful! If we were ever in a position where we didn’t have to work full time, and could affordably make our way down under, I’m sure we would love to play in Australia. What are the odds of that ever happening? No idea.
Hey but do you guys know that event/ fun run “Tough Mudder”? We have that here too. And last year, The Quitters got some media attention because they put together a local punk rock team. Check it out: http://lasvegascitylife.com/sections/music/fear-lounging/punk-band-quitters-run-tough-mudder-endurance-event.html

Maybe a good idea to do something similar in Sydney too… Ok, next question: What music are you listening to at the moment?

> New Propagandhi, old Rise Against, old Good Riddance, old AFI.

Tell me 3 things you really hate (doesn’t have to be music related).

> I’m going to qualify this by saying that we, in the band, have very different political/social ideas. I am extremely liberal, while some of the guys are actually kind of conservative. So my values might not necessarily represent the band as a whole.

Capitalism – The rich fuck the poor, we use money to suppress education, exploit people and resources around the globe. We justify this practice of unbridled evil with something else that I hate…

Nationalism – My country is better than yours, my race is superior, my God is the only God, our culture is advanced, you are backwards. The presupposition that my people are ‘better’ than your people is used by my ‘civilized’ nation to commit murder without trial. Deplorable.

Organized Religion – Employs the worst elements of capitalism and nationalism to deny the significance of this brief existence. Fuck Earth, we can kill who we want, destroy what we don’t like, consume the world’s resources, poison the planet, and guess what? It’s all good ’cause this isn’t even real! It’s just a preliminary exam! Real life doesn’t even start until you’re dead! Do as your spiritual superior tells you: fight science, incite hate, and commit murder in the name of righteousness. Fuck you.

Amen! Next one: Apart from having a cheering and enthusiastic audience in front of you, what would be absolutely awesome to happen when you’re having a gig?

> If the venue told us we could smoke cannabis on stage, that would be pretty awesome.

oh you guys would love the Netherlands…! What’s your favorite Battle Born song and why?

> I think my favorite is one called Over & Over. We’ve never recorded it, but there’s a youtube video or two of us playing it. It will be on the next record. It’s my favorite both because it’s fun and because the lyrics have a lot personal significance. I was completely fucking miserable when I wrote it, hated the world. You know when you get stuck in a feedback loop of negativity? It was like that. The only thing that broke my negativity was the distraction of writing this song, and when it was complete I was really proud of it. That little distraction and subsequent shot of pride were instrumental in getting myself to a better physiological place. Aside from that, I think it’s a damn good song. It’s fast and melodic, personal and honest. Chad and I have a call and response, back and forth in the chorus that is pretty unique and it’s a lot of fun to perform.

What do you like most about punk rock?

> The energy I feel inside my body when I hear it. I don’t know if it’s nostalgia or brain chemistry or what. But when I let myself FEEL a really good punk rock song it makes me excited. I feel adrenaline pump, I get emotional, I start to shake, I want to start walking in circles and pushing people, I want to trow elbows and scream words of defiance. It just takes me to a place that I identify with feeling alive.

My last question: Do you have any recommendations or messages for the readers?

> Yeah; care about something. Live a life where you have passion for everything but are not so attached to your ideas that you can’t give them up when all the evidence tells you they’re wrong (it happens to all of us). Be strong but flexible, live and love!

Thanks for the interview and have fun with Guttermouth next month!

https://www.facebook.com/battlebornmusic

For the ignorant – or just uninitiated, the Mad Caddies have been pleasing crowds around the world with their own unique brand of Ska/Punk since unleashing 1997′s Quality Soft Core. Further releases would see the band incorporate a myriad of styles into their repertoire and the constant evolution of the band is – in many fans minds – very refreshing and also part of what makes the Caddies…. the Caddies.

2013 sees the guys preparing to release an eagerly awaited new album later on in the year and also they will make the long trip to our fine sandy shores for the Hits and Pits festival touring March through April. They will take in the capital cities of each state* – sans Hobart.. :-(…PLUS they’ll be rocking Canberra!

But don’t fret you Taswegians.. at least you got some solid love from lead singer and all-round nice dude, Chuck Robertson – as he took time out of recording the new album to talk to Kill Your Scene.

Hi Chuck, how are you?

Chuck: “I’m doing fine thanks, how are you?”

Yeah good mate, what have you been up to today?

C: “We’re just sitting over at the recording studio right now on the farm enjoying some sunshine in the afternoon.. we’ve been getting some real nice weather lately.. it’s been real nice.”

I guess the question everyone has been asking is when is the new album going to be ready?

C: “Well.. we officially started tracking drums for the album today.. It’s just been months and months of demo-ing and going over songs… for 3 years now we’ve cycled through about a hundred ideas and got it whittled down to like 15 or 16 that we are really stoked on.. and now we are nearly almost done with the record.. when we get back from Australia we’ll do the mix and master and it will be ready… looking at a release.. maybe August or September.”

Have you approached this record any differently?… What can we expect?

C: “Yeah.. well when we originally started making this record a few years ago we went up to the FAT studio up in San Francisco and went with song ideas and tried to write it as we went along – it didn’t really work out for us.. we weren’t happy with the material.. at that point we decided to take a step back after so many years touring and going at it.. and we decided to have some time off and have our own space.. The break was really good for everybody.. We came back about 8 months ago and decided we were all ready to work again and were really pumped on the Caddies again.”

Where are you recording at?

C: “We are actually recording in a barn.. Where the band started out at our drummers parents house on their farm.”

Have his parents been asking you to keep the noise down?

C: “[laughs] Luckily it’s about 2 or 300m away from the main house. Over the years we’ve soundproofed it pretty well coz when we first started out there were cops here every weekend because of the neighbours complaining…”

Do your parents ever come to watch you play?

C: “Oh yeah, sure.. Our parents have always been very supportive of the band.. They actually paid to record Quality Soft Core – which we thought was going to be a demo – but then Fat Mike said “Hey, it sounds fine just release it!”… All our parents ponied up like 500 bucks each to record it [laughs].”

I’ve always wanted to ask… Are any of you keen golfers?

C: “You know what..That’s funny – we were just playing golf just now…we’ve built a makeshift golf course behind the studio with trashcans and stuff.. our bass player just got 2 holes in 1 in a row.. so he’s had a pretty good day.”

So you’ll be in Australia soon for the Hits and Pits festival, are you excited about coming back and do you have any fond memories?

C: “Absolutely, If it wasn’t so far away I’d move there.. I really love it.
we came over in 2001 with Frenzal Rhomb and we played like 35 shows.. We played a lot considering some bands only do the cities.. we went everywhere.. we did like 6 shows in Tasmania!.. I love the countryside there it reminds me of home.”

Apart from Frenzal Rhomb are there any other Aussie bands that you like?

C: “Oh yeah, Bodyjar.. Bodyjar are a really great band.”
C: “I love Colin Hay from Men at work… he is super amazing too.”

Is it hard to come all the way to Australia, hit the ground running and produce your ‘A’ game?

C: “Yeah it is, the jet lag is pretty bad compared to going to Europe which we are pretty used to.. you just gotta save any energy you have got for the concert… but usually just a few shots of vodka and a pint of beer does the trick.”

What do you like to do with your down time on tour?

C: “We just check out town and just sightsee generally.. we have a couple of days off on the Gold Coast, so we’re really looking forward to that.. I’m hoping we can get some good surfing in..looking forward to some tasty waves.”

You collaborated with reggae legend Duckie Simpson (Black Uhuru) on a track once, what was he like to work with?.. Is there anyone else you’d like to work with?

C: “We didn’t actually get to meet him.. he did it all from his studio in Jamaica.. But oh yeah a huge list… I wish Rick Rubin was here right now producing this record.. that’d be awesome.. but yeah we’ve kinda gotten back to our DIY sense.. we’re just like.. well we don’t have any money so we’re gonna do it ourselves… and hope for the best.. we’re pretty happy with it so far.”

Is it hard to know what beer to drink when you are in a foreign country on tour? Or do you drink something that is rather universal?

C: “On our rider we just put ‘good local beer’.. So you never know what you’re gonna get.. You do get people who are stuck in their ways… but yeah thats one of the joys of travelling.. especially in Europe where like nearly every town seems to have their own different beer.. and the microbrew thing has really taken off here in the States…our town has only like..a population 12,000 people and we have 4 breweries.. it’s awesome… but we do have to eat kind of healthy now as we are getting older though.. We always try to get as much local and organic produce into us as we can.”

I know what you mean I have a dirty burger now and again and I feel like shit for a couple of days..

C: “It happens when you get older..I know.. and you think.. “Man I used eat one these several times a week what the fuck was I thinking?”

Moving on… Do you think they’ll ever legalise “It”?

C: “Uhh.. Marijuana?….Oh yeah we’re well on our way.. a few states over here have already and its been medically legal here in california for years.. I’ve had a prescription from the doctor for like 15 years.. so I’ve never had to worry about it… 55% of Americans want it legalised for recreational use and I think we are headed in the right direction.. which is really exciting.. it’s a wonderful plant.”

What is your prescription for?

C: I’ve had hereditary tremors my whole life.. which I inherited from my grandmother who is 98 years old and still doing fine…. I’ve got shaky hands basically.. Marijuana definitely eases that.
Actually I slipped a disc when I was in Australia about 6 years ago when we toured with Royal Crown Revue.. and yeah I vouch that marijuana is a very good anti inflammatory.”

How did you slip a disc in your back?

C: “I bent over the day before the tour to shovel my dogs crap off the lawn and I heard this crack.. it didn’t sound good but it didn’t hurt… then on the flight it got sore.. then on the second night in Australia I was in my hotel room taking my sock off and I fell and couldn’t get up… The doctor I was taken to pumped me full of enough drugs to get up and sing… but he told me not to dance around too much… I hate taking western medicine but at times like that… thank God for modern painkillers.”

Dustin (Keyboards) just won a porn award is that correct?

C: Yeah he did!.. he collaborated with Fat Mike on a soundtrack for a lesbian bondage film called Rubber Bordello.. it’s a silent porno film with music over the top and the soundtrack they wrote for it was supposed to be like old timey music from a 1920′s New Orleans brothel.. They ended up winning Best Original Soundtrack and Best Best Original song and the film also won Best Female Bondage Movie. So yeah we’re all very proud of him.”

That must have been an interesting night.. an eye opener to say the least…

C: He texted me and was like” i’m not even gonna go into what I saw.. I couldn’t describe it via text!”

Is there anything you’d like to say to the punters coming out to the shows in Australia?

C: “Expect a good time we’ll be playing all of our best songs and obviously we’ll probably break out a few new ones.. We’re just looking forward to having fun, you guys really know how to have fun down there…thanks for supporting our band and hopefully we’ll see you out after the shows for a beer, cheers.”

Hits and Pits festival is touring nationally in March and April.

*(NT is not a state…either is Canberra…. in fact I’d rather go to Darwin myself, the crocodiles are way less dangerous than those politicians…)

The Bouncing Souls are not a band that need any introduction, but, you know I’m going to do one anyway. Breaking from New Jersey, this band that took their name from a Doc Martins show really do make your soul bounce. Their most recent release “Comet” coming out last year on Rise Records. Previous to that their Misfit cover took fans by surprise when they released a Complete Control Session EP via SideOneDummy Records.

Greg Attonito (vocalist) took some time out of his cold wintery to have a chat.

>How has the feedback been for your new album Comet?

Yeah it’s been great, we’ve received lots of positive feedback from the US tour with great responses. We feel really great about it ourselves and very happy with it.

>So are you happy with the way the bands sound has progressed since the early 90′s?

It’s kind of tough to say. With our first records we had no idea what we were doing so it was total raw energy, we had no idea about recording and no experience, so that was a total extreme. Afterwards we discovered a little bit more and started to think things through with our song writing and the way we would record songs. So we changed a little bit after the first two records. Now the years have gone by and we know what we like to do, with our new album “Comet” we tried to take those things and put them together in our  writing, then taking that to the studio and recording it in a short time with energetic bursts. I think we did really well, and thanks to Bill Stevenson at The Blasting Room for understanding how we wanted to approach the album, and helping us achieve that.

>You said that you guys started to learn how to approach things a bit better with your song writing and recording process. Would you say this happened around the time you guys released the self titled album via Epitaph Records?

Yeah I’d say by that point we had already done a couple of records and had a balance of things. Yeah the previous two records we knew nothing about making records at all, so by the time we got attention from Epitaph we had a rough idea. I think it worked out good because we had a few learning experiences before signing to Epitaph, and when we did we got distributed to a larger audience.

>So you’re on the way down under soon, how many times have you been here before?

I think it’s about four or five, I’m not sure. It could be more and it could even be six times…

>What are you going to do in your downtime? Also what have you done in the past?

I always like to get to the beach somewhere if I get a chance. That’s one of things I really look forward too. In the past we went to Bon Scotts grave in Perth, which was a blast. The first time we came we walked around just to explore. When I go to a new place that’s what I like to do, just relax and take in the situation and the moment.

>Still on the topic of Oz, what was the first Australian bands you discovered?

Well, if you’re going to mention Australian bands it’s very hard to not mention ACDC, but I also like Men At Work and they were huge in America around the 80s, and I loved it. I cant think of anymore at the moment but there are a few others.

>Ok, to set the records straight. The bands name came from a Doc Martins ad right?

hahaha, yeah this is how it actually happened. Brian and I were sitting around at my dads house, we were still in High School and we were trying to think of band names. We were sitting on the floor looking around the room and Brian was saying “ah lets see, what can we call the band… The Doors? Nope, taken. The Walls? Nope. The Doritoes? Nope…” so as you can tell we’re just looking at anything and everything, ranting off names. So he looks to his boots, wearing Doc Martin boots, and then he said “The bouncing soles” because on the tag it says Doc Martins with bouncing soles. So there was it, we were all like “yeah that’s kinda cool” so we changed the soles to souls and sat with it for a couple of days. We couldn’t find anything better so we got stuck with it.

>But it works so good and on so many levels!

Yeah we didn’t realise how well it would work at first. Actually we thought it was odd and I didn’t love it right away. It was weird, and we couldn’t think of anything better. As the band went along it began to make a lot of sense and it worked really well.

>So off the name now and into some juicy stories… Go on, tell us…

Well, here is a really odd story. There was this on time in Germany where I got attacked by a dog on stage. As I stepped on stage and this dog just jumped up from nowhere and grabbed my arm, it clamped down just hard enough to say “I got you man”. It must have been like two seconds later the owner just yells out “let go” and there was a complete moment of silence, everyone is looking at me and then the dog let go, left me there and I was just standing on stage in complete shock thinking “ahhh, yeah, ok. Lets play”…

>You probably get this question a bit but I’m going to ask it anyway, it’s about the music influence of the band and yourself.

Well, we loved and still love bands like The Ramones, Bruce Springsteen and then there is also the New York hardcore punk influences and the southern California bands as well, like the Descendents, which is great because that’s who we’ll be touring with down in Australia. It all worked out so well.

>We’ll time is up and i would love to chat more, so very quickly got anything to add?

Just excited to be coming down again and looking forward to seeing some familiar and new faces.

There you have it, if you go to Germany then watch out for flying dogs that love to attack people on stage.

The Bouncing Souls are about to start one of the most exciting tours Australia will have in 2013 with punk rock legends The Decendents!

DESCENDENTS Australian Tour 2013
with Bouncing Souls, Frenzal Rhomb & Bodyjar
Tickets on sale now!

Tour Dates:

Wednesday 06 February – Eaton’s Hill – Brisbane, QLD
with THE DISABLES
Tickets: http://bit.ly/MILObne13, 1300 762 545

Thursday 07 February – Big Top Luna Park – Sydney, NSW
with IRRELEVANT
Tickets: www.ticketek.com 132 849, http://bit.ly/MILOsyd13 1300 762 545 & www.bigtopsydney.com 1300 BIG TOP

Saturday 09 February – Festival Hall – Melbourne, VIC (Lic. All Ages)
with GAME OVER
Tickets: http://bit.ly/MILOmel13

Sunday 10 February – Metro City – Perth, WA
with The Decline
Tickets: http://bit.ly/MILOper13, 1300 762 545 & www.heatseeker.com.au

Decendents