Jojan
01-02-2009, 12:39 PM
For a SoCal punk band that's been around for over fiver years, the Offspring just haven't gotten the attention they deserve. mixing driving, hard punk with Orange County melodif sensibilities, this band is one of the best around. With one 8! and a fantastic album, the Offspring are really worth lokking out for both live and on vinyl. The band consists of Brain - vocals, guitars; Ron - drum; Greg - bass; Kevin - guitar. This interview was done outside of Gilman St. by Lance, Kamala and Karin...
MRR: First of all, for a band as catchy, upbeat and fun as you are, why do you live In Southern Califronia (laughter), and how can you stand it?
Kevin: Well, we're used to it. We all grew up there... for better of for worse.
Brian: It's like being born a Hari Krishna. You just don't any other way. I don't know. Southern California is so spread out that you don't have a lot of contact. It's not like a real community like it is up here. We just try to avoid everybody. (laughter)
MRR: I heard that the nickname for Garden Grove is garbage grove.
All: (groaning) Yeah.
Kevin: That's a cute one.
MRR: Everyone talks about how shows are hard to get. When you do have them, ther're these big violent things. How do you put up with that?
Kevin: Actually we're staring to get more shows now. We have a show lined up every weekend for the next four weeks. There's hasn't been too much violence lately. Except for Rico beating up some guy with a spray can at the Anti Club. Why do we live in Southern California? (laughter)
MRR: What do people think of you when you play there? Are people receptive to the stuff you do? You've been around for a few years now. Do you feel like you're making progress?
Kevin: More people have seen us up here because we've gotten on some really good shows. Down there, we just haven't been that fortunate. The way shows are promoted there are mostly through flyers and record shops. And like Brians said, everything is so spread out that you don't get to a real lot of people.
Greg: It's noy like word of mouth or anything.
MRR: Are you able to avoid this "pay to play" thing?
Kevin: Yeah, we have been. We had to do it once.
Brian: Yeah, we did it once because we thought it would be worth it. It was with Dr. Kno on New Year's Eve. There were 20 people and they were all people on the guest list. (laughter) We learned our lesson.
Greg: A few people paid. But ther were charing like $14 or something.
Was that at the Balboa?
All: Yeah.
Kevin:It was supposed to be some New Year's Eve bash. It was kinda fun actually because we got to run around the back in the dressing rooms. It's kinda like a dungeon in the back of this old theater. As far as playing, we played great. It was probably the best show we ever did. But there were just 14 people there.
MRR: Have you played any big shows? Have you played at Fender's or anything?
Ron: Fender's doesn't really hgave shows anymore.
Brian: Ther still have shows in the back in the smaller room.
Greg: We played at the TSOL reunion show.
MRR: How did you go over at that?
Brian: It was alright but we had to open up. There weren't even as many people as were here. We had to play so early.
Kebin: Maybe close to it. It was a bigger place. It's funny we get compared to old TSOL so much. Then we do this big reunion show and we get to open up for them. (laughter -- Suddenly, a car with no muffler goes roaring by.)
Kevin: Sorry, it must have been the burritos. (laughter)
MRR: We'll come back to the TSOL influence later.
Kevin: Uh oh.
MRR: Have you ever thought about moving? We've adopted you anyway. It seems like people are more receptive to the things you're doing up here.
Kevin: W Shit, we're so used to driving up here whenever we need to or want to.
Brian: I like Southern California actually.
Ron: You get used to it.
Brian: We have things going on down there. With school. He's (Kevin) got a family.
Kevbin: I've got a child so I don't want to leave.
Brian: We're all going to school.
MRR: Since you brought it up, a lot of people do compare you to old TSOL. Do you think that's strong influence?
Brian: Well, it was aan influence a long time ago. I don't really see it anymore. A lot of people don't. The guy who produced our record, Tom Wilson, produced TSOL. He said he noticed certain things. He said there ewre things like certain guitar parts and certain vocal parts. I don't know. I think Kamala had a good analogy. She said that people kind of get it in therir head. Then they start to listen for it.
MRR: Then what bands would you compare yourselves to? As far as what you do...
Brian: I like Big Drill Car a lot. I think that what ther're doing is really neat.
Kevin: I don't think we sound like them.
Brian: No, no.
Kevin: I like them, too.
Brian: Ther're more light-hearted punk rock type of thing. It's a little more poppy.
Kevin: I guess we are pp. But I think we're pretty different from them.
Brian: Yeah, but that kind of show is really fun to play at. A really good kind of crowd goes to those kinds of shows.
MRR: Are those bands that you play around a lot with? What bands do you feel you're connected with?
Kevin: (laughs) We haven't developed any really strong bonds with any bands.
Brain: We talk to Big Drill Car a lot. We used to kinda hang around 647F. I don't know if you remember them. But they broke up. That's about them.
MRR: That's amazing. It seems like anytime I was in a band, we made friends with other bands.
Brain: People aren't playing the stuff we play, because wither they're straight edge...
MRR: But around here. Green Day and Filth can have a bond. It has nothing to do with the sound. Just he community. On tour, Neurosis is meeting up with all these bands like Green Day and Filth. It just seems weird that you folks wouldn't develop any ties with any other bands.
Kevin: We did with Distant Silence while we were on tour. (laughter) And also Dead Silence.
MRR: Ther were great.
Kevin: Yeah, they were.
Ron: We don't play enough with the same bands to do that.
Brian: There are so many segregated sounds that those are the bands that hang around together. Either the speed metal types...
MRR: Do you think in Sothern California it's a lot more rigid as far as people following around just one type of band? Because over here, it seems that everyone that lives in the East Bay hangs out together...
Kevin: Yeah, I think there are alot of factors that come into play. Like Brian said. You have the straight edge. You have the kind of experimental punk rock. Then you have the Hollywood punk rock thing like Tender Fury. Bands that I think have a flashy images.
MRR: Well, a Hollywood type images...
Kevin: Ron got to play with them. Ron got to be their drummer. He sat in for Tony Sales.
Ron: No it was Hunt Sales.
Kevin: That's right. He was Hunt Sales for five minutes.
MRR: How did it feel? (laughter)
Ron: Oh it was pretty intimidating.
Brain: It was Ron's 15 minutes of fame Any Warhol talked about.
Kevin: Well, it was five and half of them. (laughter)
Ron: I didn't even know what they said until the record came out.
MRR: (to Brain) Do you write most of the lyrics?
Brian: Pretty much most of them.
MRR: First of all, for a band as catchy, upbeat and fun as you are, why do you live In Southern Califronia (laughter), and how can you stand it?
Kevin: Well, we're used to it. We all grew up there... for better of for worse.
Brian: It's like being born a Hari Krishna. You just don't any other way. I don't know. Southern California is so spread out that you don't have a lot of contact. It's not like a real community like it is up here. We just try to avoid everybody. (laughter)
MRR: I heard that the nickname for Garden Grove is garbage grove.
All: (groaning) Yeah.
Kevin: That's a cute one.
MRR: Everyone talks about how shows are hard to get. When you do have them, ther're these big violent things. How do you put up with that?
Kevin: Actually we're staring to get more shows now. We have a show lined up every weekend for the next four weeks. There's hasn't been too much violence lately. Except for Rico beating up some guy with a spray can at the Anti Club. Why do we live in Southern California? (laughter)
MRR: What do people think of you when you play there? Are people receptive to the stuff you do? You've been around for a few years now. Do you feel like you're making progress?
Kevin: More people have seen us up here because we've gotten on some really good shows. Down there, we just haven't been that fortunate. The way shows are promoted there are mostly through flyers and record shops. And like Brians said, everything is so spread out that you don't get to a real lot of people.
Greg: It's noy like word of mouth or anything.
MRR: Are you able to avoid this "pay to play" thing?
Kevin: Yeah, we have been. We had to do it once.
Brian: Yeah, we did it once because we thought it would be worth it. It was with Dr. Kno on New Year's Eve. There were 20 people and they were all people on the guest list. (laughter) We learned our lesson.
Greg: A few people paid. But ther were charing like $14 or something.
Was that at the Balboa?
All: Yeah.
Kevin:It was supposed to be some New Year's Eve bash. It was kinda fun actually because we got to run around the back in the dressing rooms. It's kinda like a dungeon in the back of this old theater. As far as playing, we played great. It was probably the best show we ever did. But there were just 14 people there.
MRR: Have you played any big shows? Have you played at Fender's or anything?
Ron: Fender's doesn't really hgave shows anymore.
Brian: Ther still have shows in the back in the smaller room.
Greg: We played at the TSOL reunion show.
MRR: How did you go over at that?
Brian: It was alright but we had to open up. There weren't even as many people as were here. We had to play so early.
Kebin: Maybe close to it. It was a bigger place. It's funny we get compared to old TSOL so much. Then we do this big reunion show and we get to open up for them. (laughter -- Suddenly, a car with no muffler goes roaring by.)
Kevin: Sorry, it must have been the burritos. (laughter)
MRR: We'll come back to the TSOL influence later.
Kevin: Uh oh.
MRR: Have you ever thought about moving? We've adopted you anyway. It seems like people are more receptive to the things you're doing up here.
Kevin: W Shit, we're so used to driving up here whenever we need to or want to.
Brian: I like Southern California actually.
Ron: You get used to it.
Brian: We have things going on down there. With school. He's (Kevin) got a family.
Kevbin: I've got a child so I don't want to leave.
Brian: We're all going to school.
MRR: Since you brought it up, a lot of people do compare you to old TSOL. Do you think that's strong influence?
Brian: Well, it was aan influence a long time ago. I don't really see it anymore. A lot of people don't. The guy who produced our record, Tom Wilson, produced TSOL. He said he noticed certain things. He said there ewre things like certain guitar parts and certain vocal parts. I don't know. I think Kamala had a good analogy. She said that people kind of get it in therir head. Then they start to listen for it.
MRR: Then what bands would you compare yourselves to? As far as what you do...
Brian: I like Big Drill Car a lot. I think that what ther're doing is really neat.
Kevin: I don't think we sound like them.
Brian: No, no.
Kevin: I like them, too.
Brian: Ther're more light-hearted punk rock type of thing. It's a little more poppy.
Kevin: I guess we are pp. But I think we're pretty different from them.
Brian: Yeah, but that kind of show is really fun to play at. A really good kind of crowd goes to those kinds of shows.
MRR: Are those bands that you play around a lot with? What bands do you feel you're connected with?
Kevin: (laughs) We haven't developed any really strong bonds with any bands.
Brain: We talk to Big Drill Car a lot. We used to kinda hang around 647F. I don't know if you remember them. But they broke up. That's about them.
MRR: That's amazing. It seems like anytime I was in a band, we made friends with other bands.
Brain: People aren't playing the stuff we play, because wither they're straight edge...
MRR: But around here. Green Day and Filth can have a bond. It has nothing to do with the sound. Just he community. On tour, Neurosis is meeting up with all these bands like Green Day and Filth. It just seems weird that you folks wouldn't develop any ties with any other bands.
Kevin: We did with Distant Silence while we were on tour. (laughter) And also Dead Silence.
MRR: Ther were great.
Kevin: Yeah, they were.
Ron: We don't play enough with the same bands to do that.
Brian: There are so many segregated sounds that those are the bands that hang around together. Either the speed metal types...
MRR: Do you think in Sothern California it's a lot more rigid as far as people following around just one type of band? Because over here, it seems that everyone that lives in the East Bay hangs out together...
Kevin: Yeah, I think there are alot of factors that come into play. Like Brian said. You have the straight edge. You have the kind of experimental punk rock. Then you have the Hollywood punk rock thing like Tender Fury. Bands that I think have a flashy images.
MRR: Well, a Hollywood type images...
Kevin: Ron got to play with them. Ron got to be their drummer. He sat in for Tony Sales.
Ron: No it was Hunt Sales.
Kevin: That's right. He was Hunt Sales for five minutes.
MRR: How did it feel? (laughter)
Ron: Oh it was pretty intimidating.
Brain: It was Ron's 15 minutes of fame Any Warhol talked about.
Kevin: Well, it was five and half of them. (laughter)
Ron: I didn't even know what they said until the record came out.
MRR: (to Brain) Do you write most of the lyrics?
Brian: Pretty much most of them.