gorilla flicks

keeping it between the ditches with roger alan wade

Today on the blog, Rick Kosick talks to one of our personal favorites: Roger Alan Wade, a man who needs no real introduction if you're a lifer in the lore of jackass. If you don't know Rog, well hell, then you're in for a real treat of a kick in the seat. Read on!

Kosick: How are you doing, Roger? What’s going on with you?

Roger: Doing great, my brother. Just kicking back here in the hills of Tennessee. I think the rains have finally settled. The remnants of the hurricane came up through Florida and Georgia. Now it looks like we’ve avoided the worst of it, so it’s just a sweet, sweet day.

Nice. How’s the honky-tonk world been treating you?

Man, I don’t know if that ever changes. I haven’t been getting out as much. My dad passed, so my mom kind of needs me here. I’m in Chattanooga and live right across the way from her, and we’ve just been staying around here, basically, just doing honky-tonks. We got some cruise stuff coming up and that kind of thing, but just really keeping it close to home and trying to write some new songs.

What do you mean by “cruise” stuff? You mean like going on a cruise and performing?

Yeah, man! This’ll be like our third or fourth one. I did one with Kid Rock—that was the first one—and in the years since we’ve been doing it with our dear friends at Sirius XM Outlaw Country. Me and Knox got that show on their radio, so they do an Outlaw Country cruise every year. This’ll be our third or fourth one with them. We don’t leave until January, so we’re just now getting the band together and getting ready for that. It takes me a while to get ready for some of this stuff, but it’s awesome, man. I mean, we got Old Shooter Jennings, Mojo, The Cranky Yankee… the whole cast of characters, man. It’s gonna be a blast.

So you’ll have a band backing you up on the cruise?

Yeah, yeah! Some of my dear old friends from light years ago and my grandson’s Roland Dixon is gonna play guitar and harmonica. Man, you gotta hear him, Ricky, he is something special. He went with us last year and absolutely won their hearts. He works hard at it every day, you know, down in the basement just digging it out in the dirt every day. And he loves all the things that matter: all the soul, Leonard Cohen, John Prine, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. He’s just really something special. So we’re gonna take bass and drums and steel guitar and then my grandson playing rhythm and harmonica and singing harmony.

Wow, that sounds great.

Yeah, it’s gonna be a blast, man. It’s the way I wanted to sound for a long time and it’s just fun, you know, and I’ve been reluctant. You remember the old days, man, we’d start recording and playing and it was just me and the guitar. I’ve kind of shied away from the band thing for a while because I was at place in my life where I’d just had enough problems that I created on my own, much less all the band problems. So I soloed it for a while just to make it sustainable. But now everybody’s kinda growed up and handling their own business and it’s sweet to have everybody come out. We got some real cats that just want to play and it’s all about the music—it ain’t about all the peripheral stuff. We used to get there about the time they opened and start day drinking, as Knox calls it, talking about them old honky-tonks. Then we wouldn’t leave ‘til they absolutely ran us off, you know, about 12 hours later after the place was ready to shut down, sweeping up the last peanuts and all that. But these days, man, I don’t show up until the first chord and as soon as the last one’s struck, I’m out the door and headed home. That hanging out… that’s where you get in trouble, I think. Just that time when you’re hanging out after you’ve had a few and everything you think of is a bright idea and you wind up in all kinds of shenanigans, broken hearts, and everything else.

How’s the radio show going with your cousin?

Oh man, it’s just the joy of my life. You know Knox as well as anybody. I mean y’all started out as kids together, but just getting to sit there and have a front row seat on what that nut’s gonna come up with next… you never know. We get to do it once a week and it airs like four or five times a week on the Sirius satelite thing. But we’ll just find the biggest nut we can find, you know, somebody that we truly admire and do a tribute to him. We’ll each pick out our favorite songs and then other than that it’s just filled with misinformation and bad jokes. Just two cats that truly love one another, getting to hang out for an hour and catch up with one another, enjoying each other’s company. That’s all it is and I hope that everyone enjoys getting to hear it, ‘cause we are living proof that anybody can have a radio show. We know absolutely nothing about it and we don’t pretend to. Our dear engineer Scottie from Sirius XM, he sort of tolerates us and keeps us between ditches, but other than that it’s just let her rip, ‘tater chip, and we just have a big time. We can get away with murder, man, and we get to pick out all the kind of songs we want to… there ain’t no kind of rules, because we don’t really work well in that kind of environment. It’s like if you wanna learn something, go to a library, but if you wanna have fun, man, tune in to us because we know nothing and don’t pretend to. It’s totally a joy. There’s nothing forced about it.

How long have you guys been doing the Big Ass Happy Family Jubilee now?

Shoot, I’d say we’re coming up on maybe 500 shows, so it’s been eight or ten years, I guess? I kind of date everything by my romantic interludes… it’s like I know I busted up with this chick about two years ago and I was with her about eight years. We started right at the time we got together, so yeah, we’re probably looking at ten years. That ain’t exactly as accurate as carbon dating, but for me that’s my calendar of my life: the crummy relationships with women you get in and out of.

What I really like about your music is you could just turn them out, like, you know, if someone just says, “Hey man, I’m looking for a little jingle…,” and you’re just like, “Oh, I got it!” Like the time I called when Ryan Dunn passed away and you go, “Oh, I got a song for you, Rick,” and you wrote the most beautiful song.

Gosh, I don’t know if there’s any song that means more to me than that song… It’s called “The Light Outlives The Star,” and for it to be used at Ryan’s service and to know what it meant to Knox and all my Jackass brothers, and how much Ryan meant to me… man. He was a dear pal. He had a week off one time and we just hung out in honky-tonks goofing off and having a blast. I think he would be very, very pleased to know that we inspired a foundation for children around here, for less fortunate families that can’t afford to bury their child or afford a casket, and [the Hunter Worley Foundation] has gone on to be just amazingly successful. Every nickel goes right where it’s supposed to, and I think Ryan would get a charge out of that.

That’s beautiful, Rog. That’s amazing. Let’s switch gears here a bit. With the country music scene and how it’s been changing, is there anyone you really like at the moment?

I don’t know, Ricky. That’s a good question. I just don’t really have a good answer. I still listen to Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Leonard Cohen, Guy Clark, Johnny Cash, and Waylon, man. I still love them old Waylon records.

Do you think today’s country music has lost its appeal?

I haven’t bought any of the records, and I’m not saying that being judgmental, I’m just saying that as a matter of fact that I don’t bother. You know, if I’m gonna get something, I’ll get an Otis Redding anthology or some old undiscovered tracks Bob Dylan did. And Willie Nelson… man, if Willie has a new record that gets my attention, then I’ll listen to it. And I’m not putting the other cats down, it’s just that I like lumber with the bark still on it. Not these things that are so contrived. You know, here we are and we’re having a conversation, and if we start bullshitting each other, if we start telling each other what we think we want to hear rather than what we truly feel, then it ain’t a conversation no more. It’s just a bunch of bullshit. That’s the way music is. If you’re telling people what you think they want to hear, that ain’t music. And that ain’t poetry. That’s just something that’s catered to an audience. I like them homemade recipes where if you like it, sit down and get all you want. And if you don’t, go to McDonald’s or somewhere. But I don’t like anything where it feels like they’re telling you what they think you want to hear. I just find it uninteresting.

Do you have any plans to release a new album in 2018?

Yeah, I think I’m about to. I got the songs and I’m just kind of waiting on Knox to get a window. He’s so slammed right now, he’s got this amazing new thing coming out, and I think it’s going to be the best and most brilliant thing he’s ever done. So we’re just waiting on a window where we’ve got a few days where he can relax and we can have some fun. Because that’s the coolest part about us making records, man. It’s just getting to hang out. Our dear friend and hero Chris Pontius, we’ll be doing a session and right in the middle of it, no kind of warning, nothing, here comes Chris with a dozen guitars. They’re thrown everywhere and he’s in the middle of changing strings and telling you every minute detail about each guitar. And the whole session just stops. We’ll just look at each other like there’s no reason trying to continue, we might as well enjoy the magnificence of Pontius, and it adds so much good energy to it. But that’s the way we record, so we don’t want to get in when we’re pushed for time or under any kind of restrictions. So it takes us a couple of days to do it, but we want to have it work more like a picnic like that, where if Pontius shows up, you got time to kick back and enjoy, man. When we did  “If You’re Gonna Be Dumb, You Gotta Be Tough”, the original version, I had the honor on that session of getting to play Pontius’ guitar—the one made one just for him. It’s got his name down at the twelfth fret, just the most magnificent instrument. He trusted me to play that, and he let me play it on some shows down in Irvine or Silverado Canyon to play the Hootenanny. So, to answer your question, yeah, I think I got the songs written, we’re just kind of waiting on Knox to get a little window of time. It might be six weeks, it might be six months. Hell, it might be six years. I figure the longer we wait, the more songs we’ll have to choose from; and on the other side of that, the sooner we get to do it, the more I’ll love it, man, because I’m just getting in with these boys.

Do you have anything you want to close this off with?

I have a big apology to make to my old pals Loomis and Chris, and my old pals in the Smut Peddlers. We were gonna do a thing one time where the Smut Peddlers did “If You’re Gonna Be Dumb, You Gotta Be Tough,” which I had written, and I was gonna do my version of “Mona From Pomona.” Well, I somehow got historically hammered and we were at Knox’s house and Pontius and Loomis came over with the purpose to get that song down… might have been Dan Creech or somebody there to record it, I can’t remember. And so I couldn’t really figure out why everybody was there, so I sat down with a guitar and started playing a bunch of new songs I had been working on. I just kept playing and I couldn’t really get a reaction out of anybody, so I thought, “Well, heck, it’s getting late and I’m about to pass out, I’m just going to go to bed.” I went in there and laid in the bed and of course they turned everything wide open just to torment me, because I had forgotten to do that song! I never realized it until years later when I thought, “You know what, we got together to do that Smut Peddlers song!” I was just totally oblivious to that. So I just want to apologize to my pals. But that’s family and I’d never do it maliciously. It was just pure ignorance. 

(All photos courtesy of Roger Alan Wade—thanks, Shandy!)

a denim discussion with happy tom of turbonegro

When you are born into this world you are a blank slate, give or take some bullshit with genetics, and although I can't claim to know what happened to Happy Tom in the nurture state of his youth it must've been something pretty awesome. Not only is he one of the premiere masterminds and bodies of Turbonegro, he is a celebrity of the Norwegian airwaves and looks damn good in a sailor cap—a look which maybe only two people not formally enlisted in the Navy can pull off with any modicum of success (the other being Johnny Knoxville, of course). We've consistently bumped uglies with Tom throughout the years, ever since Tremaine first directed a Turbonegro music video in the bonny year of 2002, so Rick Kosick capitalized upon this friendship of ours to bring you, the interweb reader, an update on his current life and times.

 

Rick Kosick: What's been going on across the pond? How are things going with you?

 

Happy Tom: Pretty great. Working a lot, hanging with my family, recording a new album, gaining weight and surfing at the same time.

 

I see you've been hosting some documentaries and TV shows being broadcast in your country, are you still pursuing this career?

 

Yes, I host a panel debate and documentary show on national Norwegian TV called Trygdekontoret, "The Welfare Office." Some fun stuff, but mostly serious and it's going great. To quote a certain reality TV host, we have "YUUUGE ratings!"

 

 

What's been going on with Turbonegro? You guys have only put out a few singles lately and it seems like the touring has slowed down. Can we expect anything new, like a full length album?

 

We all have careers in other walks of life, so we can't tour months on end like we used to. We do, however, play a lot of one-off shows and festivals. Also, we're not caught up in that circle of recording: album release, touring, recording again, so we can focus on the core aspects of playing in a band: ROCKING OUT. A new album is in the making. That is all I can say at this point. 

A lot of times a band will change singers and still continue to put out great material. AC/DC did it, Black Sabbath pulled it off, and even Black Flag was successful having different singers throughout their career. How have things improved with having The Duke Of Nothing fronting the band?

 

Tony, aka The Duke Of Nothing, has been a friend of ours for years. He even started the first UK chapter of Turbojugend back in the day, and we always loved his style—part dandy, part Cockney vaudeville entertainer, part rock 'n' roll street hustler. He's a powerhouse of a human being and a huge music lover, so it's very fun to write music and lyrics with him, whereas former singers never contributed. We even had to write between-the-songs banter. So we're a really inspired band these days and there is a massive amount of energy going on these days. We're throbbing.

 

 

How did the concept of the Turbojugend come together? Has it been beneficial to the band's success?

 

We started Turbojugend—"Turbo Youth"—22 years ago in Oslo, because we thought, "Hey, KISS has an army, we shall have a NAVY." It's grown to become an international brotherhood, or sisterhood, more likely, based on rock 'n' roll, beer, and butt-grabbing. Very childish, very awesome. Wherever we go we have a denim family and that is something we hold in very high regard.

Which country has the largest amount of Turbojugends? Do you hold an annual event where all the Jugends come together?

 

Probably the US, Germany, and Scandinavia. There are quite a few annual events: one in Oslo, one in Hamburg, one in Guadalajara, Mexico, and one at Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas.

 

It seems that Turbonegro only plays European festivals, is the American market a waste of time?

 

We did actually do a short East Coast tour last year, but it's all about combining the calendar with being grown-ass men.

 

Now that you are getting older, I'm sure your thoughts and ideas and outlook on life have changed since you were a wee lad. What inspires you to keep going?

 

I've been in punk bands since I was 12, and in many ways I feel I still am—even though a lot of the stuff we've done the last 15 years can hardly be defined as "punk rock" per se. We're into freedom, not musical genres. We really, really love freedom. And whatever we do is Deathpunk, whether it's a full-throttle punk song or a FM rock ballad or holding a microphone to your mom's ass recording her flatulence while playing the bongo drums.

 

Have you started collaborating musically with other people, or are you pretty much just sticking with Turbonegro?

 

I've been jamming a little with Josh Landau of The Shrine, but nothing other than that. Last year I made a TV documentary about the black metal band Mayhem on tour in South America, but that's not really a musical collaboration. 

 

 

Were you aware of Big Brother magazine before jackass started?

 

I was indeed. I'm an old skater—who isn't—and used to work in the board sports industry. I knew a lot about the bullshit that went on there, so it was really refreshing when Big Brother came out… almost like a declaration of war against the industry. I remember walking into a skate shop in Oslo asking for the latest issue and the guy telling me they didn't carry the magazine because it was "destructive to the scene." I pointed to a 300 dollar jacket they had for sale and asked him if that might not be a tad more destructive. BUT TO NO AVAIL, my rhetoric skills failed ONCE AGAIN. Fuck the lifestyle industry—EXCEPT Volcom and Vans, who have been very supportive of Turbo, hehe.

 

Judging from your Instagram posts, you are politically charged and seem to be more American then most Americans. Why is that?

 

I am in fact American, but I have spent most of my life in Norway, so I feel naturally inclined to American politics. There are also strong ties between the US and Norway due to all the Norwegians that emigrated to the US back in the day. So most people over here are very interested in the drama of American politics.

 

What made you choose denim over leather?

 

Saxon had a song called "Denim and Leather," but we wanted to tone down the leather part and focus on denim for many reasons. Blue is the color of life and fucking, there's a lot of rock 'n' roll history in our jeans/genes and it's easier to clean.

cky is back and hitting the road

Rick Kosick: So what’s going on with this tour, are you guys supporting a new album?

CIG: Shit, we’re back! And we’re just thrilled. All day long it’s just CKY again.

Jess Margera: Yeah, we did an album at Rancho De La Luna out in Joshua Tree back in July or August, and then Chad mixed it at Studio 4 here in Philly which is Phil Nicolo’s place. 

Is this going to be a full-length CKY album or an EP?

Jess: It’s full-length and should be coming out sometime this summer.

What’s the current lineup for the band?

Jess: It’s me, Chad, and Matt Deis.

How’s CKY going to be different than before?

CIG: So far, the new music is just fucking awesome. We’re going to be playing a bunch of new music on this tour and we haven’t had new music out for a very long time. We had some time to rehearse and made the songs even better live now. The band is feeling so good right now… everything is improving tenfold rapidly. It’s all about attitude, and we got a really good one right now. 

How long has it been since you guys played or went out on tour?

CIG: We did a one-off at a Canadian rock festival when Daniel Davies was fronting the band. Before that we did a bunch of big shows on Soundwave in Australia with Daniel as well. And we played one gig that was an event tribute to Ryan Dunn in Cleveland last year. So this will be the first time back and I’ll be fronting the band.

Jess: It’s funny, because we did a whole album with Daniel, and then John Carpenter—the famous film director—is his stepdad. So he started working with John and they put that whole tour together and they’re still touring with John Konesky on guitar from Tenacious D. They have a killer band.

So you did a record with him and then he left to go play with someone else?

Jess: We wrote six or seven songs, but then we scrapped them because he said, “Look, I’ve got this John Carpenter thing, it’s my stepdad…,” and I’m like, “Absolutely, man, go do it. It’s family.” We were going to try and put one or two of those songs on this new record, but then we just said fuck it and started over. So this album is all fresh, brand-new stuff—even though we have another album pretty much on the shelf. Maybe one day we can revisit some of that stuff and give it a different name, because it was killer material in my opinion. Never say never. But that situation couldn’t have worked out any better, because it sort of forced Chad to step up to the vocal mic, which is where that guy needs to be. When we recorded the new album I was just thinking, “Holy shit, this sounds massive, why didn’t we do this years ago?!”

So how’s this new record going to sound?

CIG: The difference on this record is going to be me singing every song. Other than that, I produced and mixed this record like I did with all others, so it definitely still has the CKY sound. The last album was 2009, but this is updated into this current timeframe.

It reminds me of back in the day when Black Flag had different lineup changes and still progressed. Everyone still liked it the same like nothing changed.

CIG: If anything, we have a new lease on life at the moment. We’re really getting along great, the music is just getting better and better, and we’re going to be touring for quite a while to come actually. We just can’t wait to get back out on the road.

You’re sounding really good right now, Chad, what’s been going on with you?

CIG: [laughs] I’ve been in good shape, too. We learned as a group over time, and me, personally, I got to fix all of my demons and patch everything up. Anything that was bringing us down we fixed. That’s where we’re at, and I’ve grown a ton. I’m a fucking man now, you know.

I’m glad to hear that. We’re all very lucky to be doing what we do and it’s lame when our stupidity gets in the way.  I know I’m just as guilty, too, and it brings you down and there’s no reason for it. You’ve just got to embrace the moment and run with it.

CIG: We are lucky, man, and we’re feeling incredibly grateful and realizing all that.

So the new tour starts off in England?

Jess: Yeah, we’re starting in Scotland and England. Then we’re doing some Canadian stuff and then the Warped tour. It’s going to be great this year with fucking Gwar, Valient Thorr, Hatebreed, and a bunch of other awesome bands.

Do you plan on doing a European tour later this year?

Jess: Yeah, there’s talk of if it… maybe in the fall. We might even take Bam’s band out and do like a co-headliner thing if he is up for it. He just put out a record called Evesdroppers and it’s pretty badass. He’s got Andy McCoy, the guitar player from Hanoi Rocks, Chuck Treece, Gas Lipstick, I played on some stuff, the CKY guys Matt and Chad play on some stuff, Alissa from Arch Enemy sings on a song, he’s got an Icelandic girl singing with him on a song duet-style.… it’s a pretty cool record. Not what you would expect from Bam, because his other band was like hardcore punk and heavier shit. I cut drums to his new album out there in LA at this place called the Nest… I’ve got brushes and a WW2-era Ludwig drum set, there’s a violin player next to me. I’m like, “All right, this is different.” Who knew he could do music like that.

That’s sounds cool.

Jess: It’s a shame, because I don’t think a lot of people give it a chance, you know, it’s Bam. They expect him to blow up a car or something, and when it’s, “Oh, check out his band,” they don’t even give it a chance. How could he possibly do music? He blows up cars.

Is Bam living in Europe right now?

Jess: Yeah, he’s in Spain right now skating his ass off. He’s putting together a video part and he’s really getting back into it. He got all the surgeries on his legs and feet so he can finally skate again.

I’m happy to hear he’s taken care of that. He was a good skater. Obviously he’s not going to be like a super gnar kid of today, but he doesn’t have to be that.

Jess: No, he doesn’t. He’s made his mark in skateboarding. As long as he still skates and busts out some cool shit here and there, that’s all anyone wants to see.

If he’s happy, that’s all that matters. He’s having fun and that will translate when people watch the footage and stoke them out.

Jess: Exactly. I miss the shit out of him. I haven’t seen him in months. But I can really tell he’s having a good time over there skating every day, and it’s for the better.

Any closing thoughts?

CIG: We miss you and love you and we’re all here together and will see you soon.

Jess: I fucking miss you guys, too… it’s been too long.

behind the music: "snapped" by the phunk junkeez

The other day, and quite out of the blue, someone asked me if I had appeared in the music video for "Snapped" by the Phunk Junkeez. I was shocked, because A) I'm not a face often (or ever) recognized; and B) I'd completely forgotten about the video as I thought it had never been released. So off to YouTube I clicked and there, by god, was the music video that I'd once participated in with Kendra Gaeta and Jeff Tremaine on a summery weekend day in 1995. We were simple, lowly folk then, working on Big Brother skateboard magazine, and our only minimal connection to the big time world of Hollywood was through our friend Spike Jonze, who was starting to make a real splash in the music video scene on MTV.

This was the era of the "wonder kids," and although Spike was the primary cannonball, there were a few notable others, like Harmony Korine and Jake Fogelnest, both of whom were making waves as well. Jake, famous for his homespun Squirt TV show in New York, was the director of the Phunk Junkeez video that day, but Spike was on set as well, and that's how our dumbasses got cast as extras for the day of filming at a retail shipping store on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood. So we came, we did what was directed, and that was the last I heard anything at all about the video until asked about it the other day.

According to the official YouTube description for the music video it was "banned from MTV during the mid-'90s due to references of 'going postal.'" This is, of course, due to the fact "many postal occurrences happened during that decade, henceforth the catchphrase," and it also explains why I never heard a single word about the damn video. I'd just assumed it came out like a chunk (phunk?) of crap and never left the edit bay, but that's typical for cynical silly me. Mind you, this was also still years before the internet placed information and porn at our fingertips, and it looks like this video wasn't even uploaded until 2010.

My favorite part of the YouTube description, though, is the "Featuring Spike Jonze" claim. Spike, in modest disguise, appeared for all of 8 seconds or so at the very end of the video, but as any clever marketing guru will tell you, it's all about the hook and whatever it takes to get that almighty click. What they should have said, however, was that it featured the four-time number one box office champion movie director Jeff Tremaine, because the DP really managed to capture the magical allure of his award-winning blue eyes. I'm still mesmerized, and no doubt you will be, too. He's like Dracula! Or an Edward, I guess, if we're trying to make relevant references that aren't from the 1930s. Hashtag Team Tremaine. —Sean Cliver

25 years of the smut peddlers

The Smut Peddlers need no introduction. Unless you’re unfamiliar with them, in which case, yeah, you probably do need an introduction, but you know what? Fuck you. That’s why. Any fan of jackass and Big Brother skateboard magazine should already have a working knowledge of the Smut Peddlers, because their licks that have been all over our taint the past 25 years now. Rick Kosick called up our old bass-playing friend Gish Thaxton to catch up on what’s been going down with the band.

Kosick: What’s been going on with the Smut Peddlers lately?

Gish: Lately, not much, but we had a show on Saturday that went well. It sold out. There were a lot of people, they were having a good time. Bloodshed was down to a minimum.

How many years have you guys been together now?

It’s coming up on 25 years.

Do you guys still hold the reputation as the most dangerous punk rock band in Orange County?

I didn’t know we officially had that, but by the look of things it still looks plenty scary, yeah. I mean, I’m not going to go out there, but I know people who do. So either we have a gnarly audience or I’m a total pussy… I’m not sure which way it goes. 

Do you remember the time I directed a music video for your band?

Yeah.

Did it help at all?

I don’t know? I’m not really a computer guy and I think that’s how you see [the video], but it’s neat we have it. Outside of the few questionable skateboarders it’s a pretty good video.

If you were to describe the Smut Peddlers music to someone who’s never heard your band before, like a millennial--

I don’t know what a millennial is?

This is a three-part answer and you have to pick one. I’m going to go down a list.

Can you first tell me what that mil mil word is that you said?

A millennial. It means today’s generation.

Fuck them.

So if you were to describe your music to today’s millennial generation, what would it be:

A: A happy, punk type of band that you could listen to with headphones on while snowboarding, cruising through the pow and hitting some kickers.

B: A down and out, dirty, surf/skate punk band, shooting heroin in the river jetty of Newport Beach.

C: Somewhere along the lines of Lady Gaga and her group of little monsters.

I would have to go with all the above. I don’t think the generation of today actually even listens to anything. They just do what they are told. So they could have it on and not even know what the fuck they’re even listening to.  And I haven’t heard Lady Gaga, so I would have a hard time comparing to that, but she’s music and we’re music, so why not.

Jeff Tremaine has a question for you guys. What’s the gayest thing your band has ever done?

Besides the video we made with you? I don’t know, like sometimes when we’re showering in a hotel room, which would typically be an un-gay thing for a bunch of people that have been to jail but some people in the band can make it seriously feel like you are doing something gay even though it’s not.  Oh, once we did a show for a record label, where we played on a stage they rented to see if they wanted to sign us. It took all day, and by the end of the day they didn’t want any part of us and we didn’t want any part of them. Trying to get on a record label, like that is a gay thing.

Is the band politically-charged at the moment?

I can only speak for myself, I don’t know how anybody else feels, but I voted Libertarian for the simple fact that as a heterosexual male, if I’m asked to have a dick shoved in my ass or my mouth I’m going to choose neither. That’s what I would like to think of the Libertarian party as.

Would the band be willing to play the grand opening of President Trump’s new wall? If so, what song would you open with?

I guess on what it pays. We have some songs about Mexican food restaurants that would probably go over well. The wall thing… I don’t even know really. I know he wants to build a wall, but I’ve been to TJ and it seems like there’s already a wall there. Honestly, I don’t keep up with the politics. I know he’s shaking shit up, which I do like, I just hope it doesn’t get us blown up in a nuclear war at the end of the day.

How long do you see this train keep rolling?

That’s a good question… I mean the other night when we played, it went really well. Everybody seems to be running their stride. The place sold out, so as long as people want us to play, I guess? Or until John [Ransom] doesn’t want to do it anymore. It wouldn’t be the Smut Peddlers without him. I hate it when people replace the singers. Like Sammy Hagar went really bad. The American Idol kid replacing the guy from Queen… it doesn’t seem right.

Black Flag did it successfully and it was cool.

Damage was insane, but then [Henry] Rollins completely ruined everything. I think a lot of that was bait to get a lot of boys into his dolphin shorts.

If the Smut Peddlers were to write a new song today, would it be a politically correct topic?

Probably not to a millennial, but Archie Bunker would probably think it’s cool.

So what’s next for the band, any tour plans? When can we expect a new album?

We just released a bunch of singles on a collection. We have some songs written and it would be nice to record those. Play again in the summer. Julia [Costa] wanted to make a Christmas album this summer.

Wow, she must really like Christmas,

I don’t know if she likes Christmas or hates the existing Christmas songs… she didn’t really say. I don’t care, that’s usually a pretty slow time for me anyway, so why not write a Christmas album.

What’s your favorite holiday?

Thanksgiving. However, I do think there should be more addressed on Thanksgiving on how the Indians got fucked over.

I think they’re getting fucked over again by the oil companies.

Yeah, like the country decided we’ll give you this one state that nobody really uses for anything, but now they want to use it. From what I hear, it’s kind of a mixed thing, too, because if we put that thing in then we don’t have to be at war with Iraq because we will have plenty of oil.

We don’t need to be pumping anymore oil. There needs to be more fuel-efficient cars charged by electricity. It’s all a bunch of bullshit.

I don’t know what they do up there and I don’t know how it’s burned, but I guess if I had a farm I wouldn’t want to have these big-ass pipes coming across it unless it paid really well. But I can imagine they are bummed. I would be bummed.

I would be upset, too. It’s their water. Who wants some crummy oil pipe running through their drinking water? It’s fucking disgusting. 

I know to those people that’s a very big deal; however, I think it’s very low on the shit that’s actually a big deal. I think it’s one of those things, like, “Look over here,” while there’s way fucking worse shit happening. Like a lot of music they are allowing to be played on the radio—that seems to be a big problem.

That’s why there’s some good online radio, like Sirius XM. They play some decent stuff.

I’ve heard they play some decent stuff, but no not really. At work we listen to music on YouTube, and at home I have records and iPods.

I don’t have any more questions to ask, I just wanted to say thanks for talking to me and I’m glad The Smut Peddlers are still going strong after 25 years. I’m looking forward to hearing something new from you guys. 

Thanks, Rick. What was this even for?

(Photos by Gary Buth)

debris: 30 years of bernie mcginn photos

Tonight I strongly urge you, your loved ones, or any other human in general to attend a swinging little photo show taking place in the city of San Francisco. "Debris: Thirty Years of Skateboarding and Music Photography" features the work of Bernie McGinn, a Nebraskan of hearty DIY/creative stock who has been in the right place at several of the right times, capturing rare moments with musicians and skateboarders that otherwise may have slipped through the cracks in a pre-digital age. Oh, and special thanks to Kevin Wilkins and Andy Jenkins for the inside trivial tracks. —Sean Cliver

Cliver: On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the influence of Glen E. Friedman on your growth and development as a photographer, if not a human being in general?

Bernie: I'm going to go for a 8.5 on the Glen E. influence. Those photos are absolute classics. Whether it is a live music or skate photo, the best will make you feel the energy as if you were there. So many of his photos have that quality, and I try to do the same. In addition to GEF, there were several really great photographers who I learned from growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, in particular a guy named Bill Jones. He would have these great parties where he showed slideshows of his punk rock and skate and party pictures. I loved the way everyone would cheer and yell at each picture. It would be a huge compliment if people step up to my photos and just said “Yeah!” because they couldn't help it.

Taking photos at a punk show looks like it can be a hazardous activity. What’s the worst thing that ever happened to you?

Besides hearing loss? Luckily, I haven't had any camera equipment smashed at the crazier shows, but there have been some close calls. Depending on the show, you need watch out for boots and fists. I was at a show recently where these knuckleheads were doing the crazy kicking/punching the air dance, “Oh, I was just dancing, and I guess you got in the way of my fist...,” which almost took me out a couple times. Besides being annoying, it just looks so uncool. I don't get it. Also, get off my lawn.   

On how many occasions did you actually see nude people skating the Nude Bowl?

Only once, but luckily I had my camera. The Nude Bowl is a sweet little left-hand kidney in the Palm Springs desert that was once part of a nudist colony in the 1970s. At some point the place burned down, so it's this great bowl in a post-apocalyptic landscape. It's just far enough away from civilization to make it a pain in the ass to get to, and you definitely aren't going back to town to get an extra six-pack. You had to have your shit together. Grinding that thing without shoes, pads or anything else is a gnarly proposition. 

Rumor has it that you once lived in the dining room of Spike Jonze’s apartment. Did you ever get into any shenanigans with him back then?

True. I lived with Spike, Lew [Mark Lewman], and Gork [editor of BMX Action] when I moved to California to work on Homeboy magazine in the fall of 1988. They lived in a three-bedroom condo apartment just a block away from the publisher in Torrance, CA, and they were nice enough to let me partition off the dining room to make a room of my own.

I remember a time when Spike and I went to an abandoned grocery store in south central Los Angeles where people had built a bunch of small ramps, making a cool street course. One time we were there, we saw the doors on the far end of the building fly open and a cops started to rush in. Spike and I and a few other folks bolted for the closest door to make our escape. Outside, Spike and I ran to the right towards his car which was parked behind the building. The other guys went left to climb a fence. Spike threw his little Honda into reverse pretty hard, and then peeled away as the cops chased the guys over the fence off to the left. Close call. 

Another time in 1992 there was a skate/art show in Chicago which brought out all kinds of people: Thomas Campbell, Kevin Wilkins, Spike, Andy Jenkins, Roger Bridges and lots of other folks. I remember watching Spike, Roger, and one other guy do some proto-jackass stunts, like falling down stairs or whatever. Then they got the brilliant idea to do some rental car vs. pedestrian stunts. The car windshield didn't survive, but I got some photos. 

Who had the best Sad Plants in the history of skateboarding: Lance Mountain, Jeff Grosso, or you?

In my opinion, Lance. He perfected the pushed out front leg where his ankle looked like it was broken. I gave it my best effort, but couldn't master the ankle-broken style though! [Photo of Bernie sadding out by Spike Jonze.]

What was the best thing you remember seeing on the day the kids from California came out to Nebraska for that “Midwest Melee” contest in Rich Flowerday’s backyard in 1983?

Just watching them immediately master the ramp was a revelation… hopping on the ramp with a couple fakies, a kick-turn, a rock-and-roll, a styled out frontside grind as their first run. Just immediately dialing it in. The guys from Texas—Craig Johnson, Dan Wilkes, and John Gibson—were all amazing, powerful skaters. Christian Hosoi slammed and broke his collarbone at the contest. I lived just a house away from the ramp, so some of the pros stayed at our house. That first night, Lance Mountain stayed with us. I was 13, and here was one of my biggest heroes in my living room watching David Letterman. I tried not to fan out too much, but he was a cool, real guy. Later, Allen Losi and some other guys crashed at our place. The experience totally destroyed any illusion of fame for me early on, and I have always been grateful for that. When you have had your biggest heroes sleep on your living room floor when you are a kid, it takes a lot for someone to impress you. 

You come from a very DIY/pre-internet age of envelopes with stamps on them, cut ‘n’ paste zines, and rolls of film that had to be processed, developed, and printed. Kids today have a whole other digital upbringing. What, if anything, do you feel has been lost in this age of instant gratification?

A deep love and appreciation for the smell of darkroom chemicals, for one. We can publish anything so quickly and easily, it's really easy to share first and then think about quality later. We don't allow ourselves the time to experiment or refine, and the pre-packaged “creativity” filters just get in the way of learning the tools you need to actually be creative. I don't get the same kind of surprises scrolling through Instagram today as I did in the ’80s opening up my mailbox to discover a fresh crop of zines. 

dThe gratification of creating and sharing today is so closely tied to immediate feedback. It is too easy to share first without being critical about whether you are sharing anything good or interesting. Don't get me wrong, I have Xeroxed plenty of my own bad photography in my time, but I'm not sure how the new tools encourage anyone to create better and more interesting stuff that prompts the visceral reaction of saying “YEAH!”

One of my favorite things these days is getting a good picture of someone at the skate park and showing it to them. Chances are that they haven't ever seen anything but a smartphone picture or video of them skating, and sometimes they say “YEAH!” That makes me happy.

What percentage of the photos in your upcoming show have previously been printed and seen by the public eye?

Ninety-percent of these photos have never been printed and shown to the public. Some have been shared on Instagram and Facebook, but nothing beats a nice big print—or fifty!—on a wall. I believe there were two pictures which were printed in Homeboy, but none of the other pictures have been published in magazines. A few were shown earlier this year in a live music photography group show here in SF, but the bulk have never been shown publicly and many have never been printed and scanned until just a week ago. It's been a lot of fun digging through the archives finding stuff I didn't know I had, like a photo of Chris Miller blasting a backside air out of the full-pipe and into the back wall at Upland. Gnarly.

How did you go about selecting the two photos to be used for the special edition Paisley Skates boards?

Getting the chance to get my images on a deck was a huge surprise. Really excited about this! I wanted to use live music photos to have a physical combination of music and skateboarding. It was tricky to find the right shots that would work well as a full deck graphic and not get cropped too weirdly. Luckily, I had shots of Mike Watt and Kurt Cobain which lay out on a deck pretty nicely, I think!

Last question: What happens when you try to run aluminum foil through a Xerox machine?

Heh, yes! I tried that with one edition of my zine, Tiki. As I recall, toner didn't want to stick to the foil and smeared off right away. I loved the look, though, so I ended up using glue spray to stick the foil to the covers, then cut out a window pane to show the logo which was printed on the first spread of the zine. It was a HUGE pain in the ass, but totally worth it.

dr. sick: an interview with the fiddle killer

One night I got a phone call from Tremaine seeing if I wanted to go with him to check out this musician friend of his that was playing in Downtown LA. It was somebody he’d recently worked with, Dr. Sick. At first I was on the fence about the idea and I really didn’t want to go, but Jeff said, “You’re going to like it.” I didn’t want to be rude and say no, so I went. When we arrived at an underground club that’s in the Art’s District, there was this dude getting ready to perform outside in back of the venue. Once he started playing, it took me by surprise to see this guy playing a bunch of different instruments, looping each one of them, and making a song as a one-man band. I was blown away watching it all come together, and my first reaction was that I needed to interview this guy for the website because he was fucking dope. So here’s my interview with the one and only Dr. Sick. Maybe you’ll see the light and become a fan, too. —Rick Kosick

Kosick:  First off, how did you come up with a name like this?

Dr. Sick: That’s actually one of the oldest questions I get and attribute it to the music I play—but it’s completely unrelated. Let’s just say that in the 1990s there were underground parties with illicit narcotics and a lot of people had a lot of names.

Okay, I get it. Are you originally from New Orleans?

No, I was actually raised outside of Niagara Falls, New York. I moved down to New Orleans in 1999 after dropping out of music college, because I realized college doesn’t necessarily give you a gig in a band. I’m not opposed to music college; it just wasn’t for me. So I moved down to New Orleans, playing music in the street. There’s a really great busking scene down on Royal street. Internationally known people have traveled from far and wide to see street music there in the French Quarter. Then I ended up joining a band in 2004, a blue grass/punk rock band that put me on the road, and I got back with them in 2011.

So you are totally involved in the New Orleans music scene?

Yeah, I record and produce, write songs, sing, and play traditional jazz.

So you pretty much do it all? From what I saw that night when you played in LA, you were picking up every other instrument, looping it, and creating a song out of it. I thought it was amazing.

That’s a brand new project I developed just for that show you saw in Los Angeles at Club Paradise. That project is now called “Doctor Doctor,” because it’s me looping myself over and over again. The point of it is to sound organic as I can and not make it sound like electronic music—make it sound like a one-man band. I don’t know what the point of it is. I think all music is to make people interested and have fun, drink more and make bad discussions.

You were recently cast in a TV commercial, how did that come about?

There’s a great music venue called The Spotted Cat on Frenchmen Street in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans. I’m lucky enough to play with some of the best musicians in the world there. We all just kind of take turns running the stage. I guess it was about a year and a half ago, I was running the stage, and they saw us playing the violin, guitar, piano, and a musical saw, climbing all over the bar. Just making a spectacle out of it. Apparently there were a couple guys in the audience—it was their end-of-shoot wrap party for some other project they’d been working on—I guess it was Jeff [Tremaine] who made a mental note to use this guy for something. Sure enough, I got a phone call early this year and he said, “I saw you play at the Spotted Cat, we have this health company that needs to put together a bunch of instruments and do crowd work, like talk to strangers and get them to try and play the instruments.” I was like, “Yeah, tell me more, what’s the money like, what time, and where do I have to audition?” I was in Florida at the time and had to send in a tape, but it all worked out great and actually developed between me and couple of the people on that crew for future work. The product itself ended up being a candy bar that’s healthy, and I’m like, “You know, my name is Dr. Sick, I don’t know if this is going to be a problem?” They didn’t care. “Don’t worry, we’re not going to be putting your name anywhere on this thing.” Great!

So Tremaine found you at the Spotted Cat that evening?

Jeff Tremaine was the director of that commercial and Justin Moore-Lewy was the producer. Tremaine was brought into the project because they initially thought they wanted to shoot this candid with the cameras hidden, and with his resume that’s perfect for him. They ended up not shooting it that way, because they realized pretty quickly that you’re not going to show anyone’s reactions in this commercial that long because it happens all so fast.

Had you ever been in a commercial before?

Yeah, I’ve done some theatre and a little bit of extra work, but mostly, like anything theatrical, I’m a burlesque announcer. So I have a pretty thick, horrible, 80-year-old sense of humor. You know, just like terrible parties. But as far as being on camera, that was probably the longest I was ever featured, like two solid days having the cameras pointed at me.

You must be a really good showman and stood out for Jeff to recognize you. It just goes to show that you never know who’s watching when you’re out there performing. You’ve got to give it a 100-percent because you never know what could happen.

Every day. There’s no reason to play like shit, there’s no reason to play lame and hold back—it doesn’t make any sense. I know this band—I’m not going to mention their name because a lot people think they’re lame—who won a Grammy for a project, and I saw them back in 2002 in El Paso with eight people in the audience and they were playing like there were 30,000 people in front of them. And it wasn’t very long before they had 30,000 people in their audience. If you put in the work, believe in your product, do it every day and remain dedicated, it will turn into something. For me, burlesque turned into a TV commercial about playing musical interments. Just putting yourself out there and working constantly turned into more work. Everything changes into more things and more connections and you’re right—you have no idea who’s watching you.

How was it working with Jeff?

Jeff’s hilarious. He was onset, but he wasn’t walking around telling me what to do or anything. He was watching cameras in the back and had a microphone that went directly to my ear. Basically he would keep me mentally engaged enough so I could improvise with people. He would feed me lines to say to some people. He didn’t do any blocking or tell me how to move, he talent scouted me because he knew I was going to do it naturally anyway. So that’s a good director. He also had a good grasp on when someone is getting tired. Those were long days: two 12-hour days in a row, and who knows, how much more they did before I showed up. He would say, “Hey, you see that guy with the time code clacker? Go over there and touch his butt.” So I would walk over, touch his butt, and the guy would say, “What are you doing?” “Hey man, I’m just acting here. The director told me to be here.” He would keep people on their toes. Constantly messing around so we could stay awake and get through the shoot.

So what are you doing now?

Because of another gig I was doing, I got asked to join Squirrel Nut Zippers—that band from the ‘90s that did that song “Hell” and several others—who are now touring international. I’m their lead violin player, backup singer, and jumping around onstage doing backflips. We’re talking South America in December and we just got back from Canada playing at the Montreal Jazz Festival headlining spot. We’re number nine on the Billboard jazz charts for the release of the record Hot. We’re number nine on pre-sale—that’s crazy!

So if someone wants to hear your music how can they find it?

It’s really hard to find me if you type in “Dr. Sick” on Google. I’ve been Sick longer than Google’s been Google, but if you type in the word Dr. Sick the search engine usually takes you to Web MD. So you can type in the words “fiddle killer.”

Fan out Facebook-style on Dr. Sick here: facebook.com/fiddlekiller

Turn out Twitter-style for Dr. Sick here: twitter.com/fiddlekiller

(Photos by Rick Kosick; 2016)

super dave: the guy who did the party boy theme

Dave Roen is a childhood friend of mine and he’s someone I still see on the regular. He’s really talented at doing a lot of different things. One of his specialties happens to be fixing computers, and I consider him a guru. He also helps people set up their music studios, not to mention the fact he’s a great studio engineer and producer, and that’s what landed his nickname “Super Dave.” Dave’s done some cool shit with his life (his record for solving the Rubik’s Cube is 30-seconds), so I thought this would be good opportunity to share some of his achievements. —Rick Kosick

So how did you get your start in music?

I got interested in music because my brother was playing drums. There was a drum set in the house and he didn’t get home from school until an hour after I would get home from school, so for an hour I just started beating on it and went crazy. I loved it. I would like hearing the latest pop song, like J Geils Band “Freeze Frame,” and I would copy the drumbeat. Then my brother would come home and get mad because I was pulling off the drum beat pretty good.

Fast forward years later: where did that lead you?

I kind of got out of music when I was in high school, but then really got back into it when I was in college. It ended up becoming my passion and I started studying music theory and also engineering and recording technics for the studio.

Did you end up getting any type of degree from going to college?

Yeah ,I actually earned two degrees: a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Theory and Composition and a Master’s Degree in Music Theory and Composition.

Is there a particular instrument you prefer to play?

My main instrument would be the piano and keyboards.

I remember you mentioning that Frederic Chopin is one of your favorite composers. What do you see in his playing that’s inspired you?

Chopin combines both left and right brain perfectly. It’s not only passionately music; it’s very well thought out. The way he works harmonies and changing one key to another is flawless. It’s like a spider spinning its web like a tapestry. It’s incredible and I got super into it. I just love to play it; it’s almost like mediation when you play it well. It calms and relaxes me, works my memory, and it’s fun and sounds good.

How long have you been doing that now?

I’ve been practicing Chopin since 1991. That’s when I started taking piano lessons with a Russian pianist named Anatole Leikin. He’s a Chopin specialist. So I definitely wanted to learn Chopin when he was teaching and study with him.

Your claim to fame is writing the theme to “Party Boy,” the song responsible for driving the scene in a lot of the jackass TV shows and movies. Fifteen years later, looking back at everything, how does it feel?

It feels great! That was a really cool time and a cool opportunity that I just stumbled into. I wrote that song really quick and it’s a fun tune. People like it. Sometimes some of the best songs you just stumble upon, and that’s how it works out. I love that it became a little cult classic hit in its own way.

Didn’t you make an extended dance mix?

Well, the original, Jeff [Tremaine] asked me to make it about 10 minutes long. When they were doing the soundtrack for the first movie, Jeff asked me to make a shorter version so he could put it on the album soundtrack. He also asked me to make a few versions that were different lengths. I think I made a six-minute, a five-minute, a four-minute, and a three-minute version. The five-minute is actually my favorite. It moves in and out of the sections in a cool way, but they all stay true to the original.

I would say this song was a big commercial success.

I get royalty checks every three months. It was actually an underground club hit in the UK, Mexico, and Japan, so I got paid pretty well from those three countries.

Wow, I never knew that. So it really was a commercial success. When you were writing this song was your attitude a “half-hatred” effort?

No, I was really excited about it. Jeff had called me the night before they were filming the “Party Boy” sequence, and I think they tried to get the rights to an existing song but they couldn’t do it. Maybe it was too short of notice or whatever. Anyway, he called me and it was pretty much last minute. It might have been at 10pm and he needed me to deliver a hard copy on CD the next morning at 10am to the production office. So what am I going to do, say no? I said, “Yeah, of course I’ll do it.” I just got to work and stayed up for about five hours, burned it to disc, went to sleep for a few hours, then got up, drove off, and was there at 10am to deliver the CD to the office. He put it on, and I remember Jeff just smiling. He said, “Yeah, it’s perfect. That’s it.” I was psyched… that’s what I wanted to hear.

So you’ve had a little taste of traveling around the world playing keyboards with Kanye West. He seems like a serious and intense person to work for, was that the case?

Yeah, definitely. People are real familiar with the outrageous side of Kanye they see on the award shows and such, but there are definitely two sides to the guy. There’s another side of Kanye after a show and we’re all hanging out, you know, more relaxed—you stress before a show. He’s a control freak, he’s stressing about the lighting, the sound guy—he was freaking out about my sideburns and my glasses and the way my hair was, like all these little things and aspects of the show. But after the show he’s kind of a chill dude and we had some awesome conversations about music and Stevie Wonder. He’s very knowledgeable about music and he’s a good guy. Probably one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever been around. After I toured with him, he really inspired me to take it up a level and work harder. It helps that he has a big entourage to keep him organized, but he works hard and is always working on the next project.

What was it that happened with your hair and your sideburns?

So I got the gig in a weird way. They needed someone that could learn 26 songs in two days, who was available immediately, who lived in Los Angeles and had a valid passport because they were traveling to do a show in Chile, South America. I’m a friend of Kanye’s main music producer, Mike Dean, and he called me up and asked if I was available and interested. I said, “Yeah, of course, whatever if I have to stay up for the next three nights and not get any sleep and learn the songs.” So that’s how I got the gig. I stayed up and learned all the songs, we had rehearsals, then rehearsals with Kanye. Kanye doesn’t say anything; nobody says anything to me. So we fly to South America, we have a rehearsal there early on the day of the show. We have all day. Nope, he doesn’t say anything, everything is cool. I shower, we get dressed, we go to the stadium and get dressed in our all-whites. We’re standing on the side of the stage, we get called onstage, and it’s like 9:02pm, already past show time. So the three musicians step out and the audience is going crazy. Typically, the next person who steps out would be Kanye, but no—it was his stylist assistant. She walks out onstage and taps me on the shoulder from behind. It startled me and I said, “What’s the problem?” She said, “Kanye won’t come out unless you do something about your hair.” I’m like, “What do you mean? We had a lot of time to deal with this—it’s show time, it’s 9:05, it’s time to play.” “Kanye is at the side of the stage and refuses to come out unless you cut your hair.” That’s what she said to me. I’m like, “I don’t think we can cut my hair right now. I’m wearing my all-whites and I’m ready to go. Can we slick it back?” She said, “I have some hair shine, or let’s try and put in a little ponytail.” “My hair isn’t long enough to put in a ponytail.” “Maybe it’s long enough to put in one of those ponytails like a samurai on the back of your head.”

Like a man bun?

Yeah, man bun style. So she pulls my hair back, and I’m just like, this is ridiculous. She has some little scrunchie in her bag and puts it on my hair. It was so half-ass. She then pulled me to the side of the stage, so Kanye could have a look at me. Meanwhile, Kanye is being decked out in a full Mr. T set of chains. He’s got one person dialing in his chains, one person dialing in his coat, and another person on his ear monitor—so he’s got three people around him and he’s looking up and down at me. Then he said, “What about the sideburns.” At the time my sideburns were decently sized, but I was just kind of fed up. I said, “Man, I don’t have any clippers with me, we had three days to deal with this, I’m ready to play. Let’s play. Let’s kill this shit!” He looks at me and gets a little half-smile on his face, and he’s like, “All right, let’s go.” And right at that point we walked onstage together to play the show.

How did it feel playing in front of thousands of people?

It was crazy. I had a lot of experience playing in front of audiences like 200–1000 people, which in some ways is more difficult because you can look into the audience and see people’s eyes. “Oh, Frank came, oh, she came.” You can see individual people. But that first show was 70,000–80,000 people, and when you play shows that big it doesn’t even look real. It’s almost like Lord of the Rings CGI… something fake, a mass of screaming noise. It doesn’t make sense. I would get really nervous the day before a show, but by the time it was show time and I was playing onstage, it was actually pretty fun.

If you were to take away one lesson working with Kanye want would it be?

I would say it is to set your goals high, to raise the bar and go for it—go for big things. The worst that can happen is maybe you don’t attain that high of a level, but you still attain pretty high. You know, it’s scarier to shoot low than to aim high.

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m working on some pop music. Mainly with a female vocalist, a girl named Lauren Wasser. We’re putting out an album under the name Love Runs Wild. It’s kind of really cool, future electro-pop. Other than that, I’m practicing 20 instruments all the time.

Anything you want to wrap this up with?

Stay true to you.

(Photos by Rick Kosick)

the fucking wheeler walker jr. interview

I was introduced to Wheeler Walker Jr.’s album at the GORILLA FLICKS office and someone said I should do an interview with him. My first thoughts were, “Who the fuck is this redneck-looking dude lying suggestively on his side for an album cover, because that takes some serious balls.” I didn’t know anything else about Wheeler, so I started doing my research. Then, when I was looking at all the different song titles on the back of his album, “Fightin’, fuckin’, fartin’” struck a chord deep within my colon, and I said, “All right. Let’s do this.”

Rick: Hello?

Wheeler: Rick! What’s up man?

I’m doing good, thank you. How are you?

I was lukewarm on this interview, but then I heard you were the one who took a dick to the fucking head on jackass 3D, so I’m in. Let’s fucking do it.

Alright, well, it’s going to be a quick interview so, please bear with my fucking shitty questions. How do you know Jeff Tremaine?  

Well, he reached out to me, and the jackass movies are my favorite fucking movies of all time. Most of the time when these fucking Hollywood fuckers reach out, I don’t reach back, because all I see is shit, you know? Female Ghostbusters? Fuck off. But the guys who made jackass, let’s fucking talk. So he reached out and I saw the logo that said “Gorilla Fucks” and thought maybe he was going to show me some videos of gorillas fucking, but it turned out that’s a no. So then I was like, “Yeah, man, let’s talk. I’m a fan.” So yeah, I don’t know if that answered the fucking question or not.

I think you did. It puts into context the reason why we’re even interviewing you in the first place. So, how long you been a country singer?

I moved to Nashville right around 2000, lived there for 15 years and had nothing but fucking failure. Then I put this album out that debuted number nine on the Billboard country charts. Apparently it’s the first album on the charts that’s ever had the word “pusshole” on it, and I set the record for the most amount of “fucks” and “shits” and ways of saying “pussy.” And it’s the first time there was a song about farting. You know, these are all facts that people tell me, I don’t have verification of the shit.

Let’s cut the fucking small talk, I want to hear about your hit song, “Fuck You Bitch.”

Yeah, now we’re fucking getting into it.

Did someone break your heart? Is this like an anthem song for all guys?

Well, first of all, I think it’s an anthem for all women, too, because to know you have that much power over a dude to make them write a song like this… it’s pretty powerful. It’s pretty powerful, pussy, you know? And listen, the girl wasn’t a bitch. When she dumped me, it was my fucking fault all along. But I was pissed. So right when she dumped me I had this idea to put it into a song, and I was like “Fuck you, bitch,” because she just ran out the door. Then I go to the studio and I’m supposed to clean up this song? I play real country music. It ain’t going to be on the radio anyway, because country radio plays only pop/country dog shit—these fucking white dudes pretending they’re fucking hip-hop, you know, rapping about their fucking trucks. So I was like, if they ain’t going to play me anyway, why censor it? I’ll just keep it “Fuck You Bitch.” And now I’ve got people singing it to me at concerts, which is cool.

Obviously you feel there’s a problem with country music today, and it is a bunch of fucking bullshit. I agree with you; I can’t stand it.

Well, country music right now is in such a fucking bad place. And there are so many kinda big names in country who’ve come up to me—like off the record, so I can’t tell, you know—like, keep fucking ripping this shit apart, because country music needs somebody like me to make everyone realize how fucking stupid they look. So, me ripping everyone to shreds, getting on the charts, being banned from Wal-Mart, not being on the radio, not being on TV, all that shit—it validates what I’m fucking doing.

Let’s talk about your other hit song, “Drop ’Em Out.”

Yeah, well, that’s the thing. What always happens is I get into an interview and I always talk about “Fuck You Bitch” and how it’s a serious song to me. Everyone thinks these songs are so fucking funny, and I’m like, these are about fucking serious issues. It’s about relationships and personal shit I’ve been through. Then they always go, what about “Drop ’Em Out?” I go, “Well, ‘Drop ’Em Out,’ that one I’ll admit, it’s just about tits.” You know, big ones, small ones, and now that I’m a fucking country star I get to sign a bunch of tits.

Speaking about tits, do you have a bunch of people sending stuff to you on their Snapchat?

I wish it was more tits. It’s mainly fucking dicks cuz I didn’t really know what Snapchat was, but a friend of mine told me, “Sign up for it and everyone sends you their fucking tits.” So everyone that added me, I fucking added them back, and every day it’s fucking dudes. It’s like, “Hey man, loved the record, here’s my dick.” I can tell you, I don’t think it’s even gay. I think it’s just like a compliment. Like, “Your album’s kick-ass. Here’s my dick.” Before Snapchat, like other than porn, I’ve probably seen like four dicks. Now I’m seeing like 30 a day. I keep saying, “Stop sending me dicks,” and they send more fucking dicks. Now I’m a fucking dick expert and I’m like, "Fuck this, I’m deleting Snapchat," but yet I still keep it and I keep looking at the dicks, so at this point it’s my fault, I guess.  

To back everything up a little bit, what inspired you to put out an album like this?

I was kinda in a bad place and I had been through the ringer in Nashville. I was so fucking pissed off. So I said, I’m gonna empty out my fucking bank account, give it all to my buddy Dave who’s a producer, put out a bunch of killer records and I’m gonna pay for it myself and it’s gonna be my swan song to Nashville. I’m gonna make this fucking album, it’s gonna be the album I’ve always wanted to make, it’s going to be so fucking dirty and so crazy and say everything I’ve always wanted to say and that’s gonna get me kicked out of the business and I’ll call it a day. So I did that. I made the dirtiest, fucking filthiest X-rated fucking country album of all time. And then people started buying it. So now I gotta go on fucking tour and I gotta go fucking do interviews and all this shit. I thought this was gonna be the end and it turned out it was the beginning, which is really fucking weird. It just goes to show you can’t make plans for this kind of shit. You know, like I’m finally selling records. I’m finally having a fucking career and it’s all from an album that I wanted to just tell everyone to fuck off.

I have to be honest, I didn’t know anything about you at first, but everything I looked up and read about you online made me laugh so much that I went to buy your album on iTunes.

That’s awesome, man. My thing is with people I talk to… you know, it comes out funny because I was in such a bad place, but I like talking to people like you who get it. But if you don’t get it, then it makes the interview unfortunate for you. And if you’re like most of the dumb fucking interviewers I talk to and you don’t get it, I just love fucking with them so much that it turns into really funny interviews cuz it’s just me just fucking fucking with them the whole time just making shit up. We just got done with one leg of the tour and we had a bunch of radio and shit to do. I fucked through every fucking interview on that leg of the tour. The fun part is like, you can get more press by just ignoring people. I was supposed to do this radio interview in Dallas, right? And I wasn’t even close. Three interviews at seven o’clock and I didn’t even wake up until eleven—I missed it by four fucking hours. But they go on the radio like, “Wheeler Walker Jr.’s coming in here,” and then they get fucking more mad and they start yelling about me and how I’m a piece of shit. That’s way fucking better radio than me showing up and playing one of my fucking songs. I’ll take that any day. It wasn’t the plan, but, you know, it made me fucking laugh. Then I get a call from them saying I’m never going to be on their radio station again. Fuck ’em. I mean, they never played my song in the first place, fucking assholes.

I think you’re the most requested artist on Sirius/XM’s Outlaw channel.

Yeah, that’s the one station that’s been good to me. They play the shit out of my stuff, I love those guys. Outlaw is the only fucking radio station on planet Earth playing my songs, which is cool because they’re a cool fucking station. So you don’t need the radio anymore. My competition ain’t fucking Garth Brooks, it’s fucking Chewbacca Mom and shit. There’s too much shit going around. Anyway, put it in your fucking article, I hate Chewbacca Mom, I hate her.

She’s got her own doll.

Fuck her doll and fuck Chewbacca Mom. You know, here’s the thing: I put my heart and soul into the greatest country record ever made, and this fucking piece of shit puts on a fucking Chewbacca mask and fucking makes ten times more money. That’s fucking bullshit, man. You know, I’ve had enough. Fuck her. I mean, I know life ain’t fair, but fuck. You know, some fucking fat chick with a Chewbacca mask… it bugs me, man. She’s got an album coming out soon, too.

So have you ever played one of them honkytonks where people throw bottles at the stage?

You know, I’m pretty surprised with how tame the audience is. This band opened up for me called Birdcloud, they’re these two chicks who—you got to listen to them. They make me sound fucking clean, they’re friends of mine in Nashville. So every night they go out into the audience and whip their fucking clothes off. They try to start a bunch of fights pretty much, and we go to honkytonk-type places and no one starts shit. It’s been pretty cool. I mean, it’s been pretty cool for me, because we’re talking shit but it’s pretty calm. It’s surprising you know? I think people fight more at the mainstream country concerts because they can’t believe they paid 200 bucks to see that stupid shit. I think they’re happy when they come to my show, because there’s real country music being played and they’re put into a good mood. But yeah, I’ve had bottles thrown at me.

So you’re on tour at the moment, right?

Yeah.

Are you charming the pants off all the ladies out there?

I’m trying, man. Here’s a problem, too, we got to fucking pack up and then we got to go to the next fucking city and get our fucking band trailers when I’m trying to fucking score some pussy. And they’re yelling at me to get in the van so we can make it to fucking wherever, the next fucking town. So what’s the fucking point? Like, I can’t bring the lady with me on the bus, when she wakes up in the next town I have to buy her a fucking ticket… See, the whole fucking thing was to get pussy and I’m busy fucking packing up gear and shit and I can’t get no fucking pussy. Next album is all going to be about how I fucked it all up, you know? Maybe it’s playing cities too much in a row or something. My short answer is, I ain’t gotten nearly as much pussy as I’m supposed to and I’m pissed.

Maybe that’s where your next song comes in, “Better Off Beating Off?”

Yeah, exactly. Well, exactly sort of. That’s more about the old days, when I was so pissed I didn’t think it was worth it, and it was more worth my time to just fucking whack off rather than go off and get rejected for the 50th fucking time. And now it’s even worse, now I got blue balls. Now I go out and people want to fuck and I can’t even do it. 

So how long are you out on the road for this summer?

We’re doing the West Coast next. We’ll be on the road until the end of July, then we’re doing the south after that if we haven’t fucking tweaked it—I’m getting Facebook updates like every two seconds about it. I haven’t even played the south yet, because I want to make sure my band is in fucking tip-top shape before we head home. But yeah, we’ll be doing summer and then we’re doing the south in the fall, so we’ll keep fucking touring until people don’t fucking show up, you know? The places keep getting bigger, the fucking titties getting bigger—it’s good.

So your debut album, it’s been a success so far, right?

Oh, yeah. By far. My goal was to break even, you know, which apparently I’ve done. I haven’t seen it, but they’ve told me broken even. I ain’t got the money, I’m still broke, but whatever.

Do you have anything you want to plug coming up? You know, any last words you want to say?

I just want to say thank you to people like you who buy the fucking record. Let’s get this fucking pop-country dog shit off the charts. If you want to see some real country music, come out and see me, and you know, get this fucking Sam Hunt, fucking Florida Georgia Line bullshit off the fucking charts. Let’s get some real fucking music. It ain’t Garth Brooks, it ain’t fucking strapping his fat-ass on a crane and him flying over the fucking crowd. It’s fucking playing a damn good song. And also, there were a bunch of dudes the other night asking me to sign their fucking foreheads and shit—fuck that. Buy a record, I’ll sign a record, I ain’t signing your fucking forehead. Does that sum it up? It was a long last line to say, but I appreciate it. Your fucking forehead okay from that fucking dildo?

Hahahaha! 

Good?

Yeah, we’re good, man. Thank you so much, I appreciate it.

I’m a fan man, I appreciate it. I’ve seen all your shit repeatedly, keep making that good shit because everything else I’ve seen out there sucks.

Get your fucking Wheeler Walker Jr. goodies here: https://www.districtlines.com/Wheeler-Walker-Jr

in memoriam: lemmy kilmister

The recent passing of Lemmy Kilmister has gotten me thinking about how much his music has influenced me. I grew up listening to punk rock music. I wasn’t a fan of glam rock bands mostly because it’s a bunch of shitty ballads and ridiculous looks that you would see all day on MTV. It was trying and redundant. When Motörhead came along, they were the first ones out of that era to raise my eyebrow. I was like, “Wow, these guys are fucking cool.” They sounded punk, but looked like bunch of rockers. As years went on, Motörhead wrote a bunch of hits that would eventually become the soundtrack throughout my life and for a lot of my friends too. I’m sure a lot of you could agree with that.