Interview with Jeffrey Ziga of Armalite

GET IT HERE BEFORE PUNKNEWS!!!!!

Philly’s Armalite has recently blessed us all with a new 7”, Humongous after a five-year break. A bit of an all-star group, Armalite combines the best of all four members’ worlds to create a sound unlike any other. Punknews intervieeer Stephanie Thornton recently had a few questions for drummer Jeffrey Ziga. Jeffrey questions the term “supergroup”, praises Philly’s scene, and is reluctant to scope out reviews of the new release for a slightly awkward but hilarious reason – read on to find it!

So you guys are a supergroup from Philly. Philly has been an awesome hub for punk music. What makes you proudest to claim Philly as your hometown?

Well if we could start for a minute and talk about the use of the term “supergroup”. My biggest claim to fame is this band, Armalite. People often cite that I was in Affirmative Action Jackson but I am willing to bet that none of those people have ever seen that particular band or could accurately describe it. And if they had, maybe they would re-think their use of that previously mentioned term.

Philadelphia is great and has a wonderful thriving tradition of diy music ever since before I cared about it and will hopefully exist far beyond my ability to participate in it. So I’m proud of that. Many of us have basements in our homes, so punk things breed in those places.

In 2009 you stirred up some online fans with a fake Obama protest song that you eventually had to explain as a joke. You listed the reasons for the joke including that the song was written only a few hours after his inauguration and that this song was publicized by Armalite’s personal publicist. Since then, what thoughts have you developed about politics in our country and would that ever truly be a theme in Armalite’s songs?

The more important theme here is: troublemaking. Starting trouble is, as far as I can tell, one of the best parts about punk culture. So an online hoax is just one manifestation of that. For a more involved and snooze-worthy discussion of politics, interview one of the other members of this band. They will give you earnest answers and I appreciate them for that.

What type of lyrical themes do you all tend to stick with and what would you say they are on the new album?

Adam and Mike write all the lyrics. I read them later on after they’re recorded, around the time that they’re being sent to the printshop for the insert, so there’s a lot of trust going on there. I think they are both smart and well spoken. They sing about a variety of topics both in the political and personal spheres. Mostly I think the lyrics are great, except that song “Metastic!”. I think Adam outsourced that one to Sam, his son.

By the way, congratulations on the new album, Humongous. How do you feel about the way it turned out and the response so far?

It’s a 3-song 7” and I think it is great. I have no idea what the response has been to it as a release. I haven’t trolled any messageboards to see what people are saying about it. I also haven’t googled the search terms “humungous 7 inch” because, well, just because.

Armalite has a super unique, recognizable sound. With five years in between albums, how would you describe the progression of your sound between the self titled and Humongous?

Here’s the secret to Armalite’s sound: sort of mid-west-y power guitar punk + DC noodle guitar punk + the greatest punk drumming in the world + atom and mike’s vocals. That progression has been a straight line right on through both releases.

Your music is released super sporadically. I know you are all in other projects, and Dan Yemin is a child psychologist and a father. What other grown-up jobs and responsibilities do you all maintain and where is Armalite on your priorities list?

Actually, no. It’s not sporadic. We release our music regularly, at five-year intervals. That being said, Adam is a teacher and father of two; Mike lives 2800 miles away and is a Scuba diving instructor; and, as you mentioned, Dan Yemin has a psychology practice and is the father of one. I started an ice cream company called Little Baby’s Ice Cream and we are based out of the Philadelphia area.

(Note: interview hijacked by interviewee here, that’s what I get for sometimes opting for e-mail interviews): Oh really? That’s SUPER interesting!

Yeah, and I’d totally love to keep talking about it, but enough about me but you can post it on your site if you want (http://www.littlebabysicecream.com)

I heard Atom quit Atom and his Package because being on stage alone was too awkward. Is this true and how does he like the group dynamic that Armalite offers?

That’s an interesting theory, that he got lonely. Maybe he just got tired of having to do all the work himself. I mean, he can’t blame anything on a machine, but if a band sounds crappy, he can always just point at someone else and blame them! Is it true? Probably not.

You played the Fest this year. How was that?

It felt like summer in October. Should I recount all the zany things I did? I’m not going to. What we do is secret. But I do hope to be back next year in some capacity.

What is next for Armalite?

A long inactive period.

Interview: Jeff Pezatti of The Bomb, Naked Raygun

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Chicago’s The Bomb, of Jeff Pezzati fame, have been keeping it fairly low-key the past couple years due to a lot of work in other musical projects.  Still they managed to satisfy Bomb fans with some newly released material through No Idea records, The Challenger  11”.  Earlier this year they finished aUK tour, in which Jeff got a live Morrisey overdose and worked on his Scottish accent, before their mini-tour and Fest date last October .  While various outside musical projects keep them busy, we can still expect more from The Bomb.  Jeff Pezzati was kind enough to discuss a lot with punknews interviewer Stephanie Thornton including recent tours, songwriting, the Fest, and what pisses Dan Yemin off.

Congratulations on the new album.  What did you all get up to for those two years in between?

Well it sure doesn’t seem like 2 years have gone by….. I’ve been part of the homeless problem for the past year at least – switching between living in Florida and Chicago. Naked Raygun played a few more shows during that time and released 3 – 7” singles. That kept me pretty busy…. And I got to see Morrisey twice and we toured England and Scotland and I spent a coupla weeks in Ireland after that and I was involved (grounded in the Icelandic natural disaster of that volcano thing). And I got 16 ½ hours of sleep too.  Oh yea – I learned how to make a nice ‘snakebite’ the Irish way….cheers.

Your new album, The Challenger, came out about a month ago.  How do you feel the response been so far?

I haven’t heard much feedback at all except from other band members, who all love it. It has one side (in the vinyl version) of studio tracks and the other side is recorded ‘live’ in the studio,…. ya know with everyone playing at the same time….. we did that side inLondonwhilst on tour.

While Speed is Everything took a slower turn compared to previous releases, I feel it really saw The Bomb breakthrough into a more unique sound of your own.  How would you say your sound has evolved further on The Challenger?

Well the song writing has remained essentially the same as the last 2 albums.  That is Jeff Dean writing all the music and I write the vocal melody and lyrics. Additionally Mike Soucy (drummer) wrote half of ‘The Challenger” lyrics and came up with the name. Jeff Dean did some lyric work on ‘Man Atlanta’.  Our sound – to me – remains the same as always…… we have the freedom to expand our sound to the furthest reaches of the world, nay the universe itself.

What influenced your decision when choosing the alternate songs to re-record for The Challenger?

If you’re talking about the ‘live in the studio tracks’ then we kind of took some of our favorites from each of the albums…… if you’re talking about the four studio tracks – then that was all we had that was new at the time.

J Robbins produced both Indecision and Speed is Everything, and now he’s got guest vocals on the new record.  What is it that keeps The Bomb and J. Robbins so tightly bonded?

Secretly we have the same mom. Also I think that him and Jeff Dean went to different high schools together.  Jay Robbins does our music justice. It turns out like we picture it.

You have guest vocals by Vic Bondi and J. Robbins on the new album; this continues the guest vocals trend that you set on Speed is Everything.  Of course Jeff has appeared as a guest on others’ albums as well.  What do enjoy most about doing and receiving guest vocals?

When you’re brought in to do guest vocal spots the pressure is off of you because let’s face it… if it sucks they won’t use it and if the song stinks- well you didn’t write it after-all, now did you. And when you have a guest vocalist you should make sure that the singer can perform the part that you want them to sing. One of the most pleasant surprises was when we asked Elizabeth Elmore (Sarge) to sing the Naked Raygun song – Trio. She nailed it on the first take and we had to have her sing it again a couple of times just because we felt bad that she drove all that way for one take. She’s that good. The same with Dan Yemin (Paint It Black, etc.)  on Speed is Everything LP. The song Integrity needed a screamer part and Dan drove for 3 hours to get to the studio inBaltimore to do it. When he got there he said to me ‘You know, I can’t sing.’ And I replied ‘I know, I wrote this part for you. All you have to do is scream.’ He also did the entire song on the first pass and we had HIM sing it again too. When asked what got him in the pissed-off sounding mood that perfectly fit the part he simply said, ‘I just thought of Reagan.’

Your lyrics seem to consistently have an insightful, personal tone.  What kind of lyrical theme have you all traditionally held up and how does that compare to the new album?  

Let’s just say that I have a lot of personal issues I’m working through. The last zillion songs that I wrote are an attempt at helping me find an outlet for some of them.

Whether or not you mind, The Bomb can’t shake Naked Raygun comparisons.  What steps do you take, if any, to avoid those comparisons while recording?  

No one sounds or plays guitar like Jeff Dean. His style is as unique as it gets. So the guitar work in each of the bands is very different. Jeff writes a lot of dissident, crashing chords (and non-chords) and Bill Stephens keeps it meticulously flawless sounding and primarily straight major and minor chords. Recording-wise both bands go for all out – mike-it-six-times-on-3-tracks for the hugest sound possible.

You all played the Fest again this year.  You’ve actually been on the Fest line-up a couple times.  Throughout the years of attending and playing The Fest, how do you feel it has grown and changed and what keeps you coming back whether it’s to play or just to attend?

The Fest is great because its only punk bands and because of that everyone who attends is geared up to play, listen to and watch punk music for 3 days. There are no surprises and we’ve all made friends of a lot of the other band members – it’s always good to see them again.
What other musical projects are you each involved in?

Jeff Dean works as a recording guru at Million Yen studio inChicago. He just did a Vic Bondi recording and an Amusement Parks on Fire solo project. He also is in a bunch of bands, – Explode and Make-up, All Eyes West, Noise by Numbers, and Four Star Alarm. Mike Soucy plays with Dan Schaeffer and the Cheats,

And Pete no longer plays with the defunct Methadones but is filling in on bass for Naked Raygun while Pierre Kezdy convalesces. Pete also plays in the band Neutron Bombs who sound like a very good English 2^nd wave punk band. I have been threatening to record and release a solo album of songs that after you hear it all you will be able to say (in a Scottish accent) is ‘Ya doosent have to cry aboooot it.’

With a fresh new album under your belt, what is next for The Bomb in the short term and what kind of long term goals do you have?

To keep doing what we do until we don’t feel that it needs to be done any more.

New Luck, No Hesitation

I seem to have fallen out of the music journalism passion that so entrapped me before my English-teaching stint in Prague. The passion must’ve been dorment until two coffees in a row today and the discovery of the new Good Luck album streaming at Alternative Press. Well whether coffee- or passion- fueled, I had no hesitation to start reviewing.
I hope I can continue to fan the flame of music journalism passion after today’s spark.
Here is my review:

As someone who has overplayed Into Lake Griffy, it’s hard to be blown away by the new Good Luck album, Without Hesitation. That is not, however, to deny the explosiveness of this album; new backtracking listeners will easily be doubly blown away. Into Lake Griffy is an A-plus album and therefore tricky to follow. Since we were all left in a difficult position as eagerly expecting fans, Without Hesitation is a major sigh of relief. Good Luck hasn’t exactly brought anything surprising or new to the table, and in this rare occasion that is meant admiringly rather than unimpressed or insulting. Good Luck continues to preserve their spot at a creative intersection of pop-punk, folk-punk, indie, and metaly guitar riffs.
In comparison to Into Lake Griffy, the first couple tracks, “All Good People” and “Our Mess, Our Mark”, are a bit watered down – slower and smoothed over – conjuring a grungier Dinosaur Jr. feel at times.
The whole album might be considered diluted in comparison the debut, but Good Luck allowed room for that. Upon hitting track three, “The Others”, the album powers through quick-paced, loud, and poppy. Still present are the noodly guitars, high-pitched harmonizing, upbeat and poppy riffs, and fairly unconventional punk instrumentation (clarinet, piano). They’ve taken it a step further on this album with the addition of a euphonium (google it) on tracks two and seven, and the help of two more musicians – Justin Hubler(piano) and Toby Foster(euphonium) . Throughout the album lyrics remain honest, personal, fun, relatable and spirit-lifting.
As a band with one of the most unique sounds out there, that undoubtedly realized how hard their debut would be to follow, Good Luck has taken what they created and sprinted.

Chat with Erik Ohlsson (guitar) of Millencolin

I spoke to Eric Ohlsson on skype the other day. Here it is – long and a bit awkward. Story on Millencolin for the Prague Post is up next.
Enjoy!

U.K. Subs Visit CR

I interviewed Alvin of U.K. Subs recently to get a story done for The Prague Post.  Check it out here:

http://www.praguepost.com/night-and-day/stage/7681-uk-subs-perpetual-punk.html

What’s the key to longevity in the music business? A healthy dose of punk, according to UK Subs bassist Alvin Gibbs.

These British punk pioneers have been performing and recording since 1976, and show no signs of stopping. Their latest album – their 23rd – was released earlier this year to widely positive reviews. Work in Progress coincides with UK Subs’ tradition of ordering their album titles alphabetically. Once they get to “Z,” they plan to start over. But even with such a scheme for guidance, it’s no easy task to keep a band going for three decades. Gibbs tells The Prague Post UK Subs simply want to continue.

“Necessity, the love of playing music, the understanding that we are very privileged to be able to travel and live the life we do,” have been the band’s motivations, he says.

Along with The Damned and the Sex Pistols, UK Subs helped establish punk rock in Britain, earning seven consecutive UK top 30 hits between 1979 and 1981. The band is also credited with paving the way for the more outlandish sub-genre of “street punk.” Gibbs says that times have changed, and today’s punk bands “cannot achieve the same impact as The Ramones or the Sex Pistols did when they emerged back in the halcyon days of punk.”

“Seeing The Ramones play in London in 1976 changed the course of my life. Due to that experience, I’m the person I’ve become today,” he says. “For me, it wasn’t just about the bands in the 1970s but also about the atmosphere of the times, the excitement of seeing a new and direct form of rock music being conceived.”

UK Subs’ longevity sets them apart from other legendary punk bands like The Clash, who stayed together from 1976 to 1986, and the Sex Pistols, who lasted only three years, from 1975 to 1978. Believing that “being a musician really can be a great way to spend a life,” as Gibbs says, UK Subs have literally taken punk rock around the world.

The band has performed throughout Europe, South America, North America, Australia and Japan, and not just the major cities. UK Subs make it a point to perform at venues off the beaten track. In 1983, for example, the band toured Poland for two weeks, becoming “the first punk band to play behind the Iron Curtain,” Gibbs says.

“Our last gig [in 1983] in Warsaw saw us playing in front of 20,000 people in a massive ice-hockey stadium. Martial law had been lifted in order to let us play, but as soon we left the country, it was reinstated. We must have been perceived as some kind of decadent threat to the moral fiber of Poland’s youth,” he says.

UK Subs comes to the Czech Republic on a European tour that will continue through the summer. The band will play shows in Prague, České Budějovice and Olomouc. With such an intense tour schedule – kept up for more than 30 years – how does the band keep from burning out?

“Nothing actually stops us from becoming exhausted. You really need to conserve all your energy for the shows,” Gibbs says. “We seem to be able somehow to connect to people via our music and the performance energy we put into our shows.”