Buddyhead / Errortype:11
Interview and photos by Aaron Icarus

(continued)

Arty: We know all about that in New York. But I'm not naming names...

Buddyhead: Hey no, name some names dude.

Phil: There's lots of bands that get free rides in New York, and they still use em. Their name gets fucking mentioned in a sentence and it's like "Here hop on the warped tour and you can double headline, and…"

(their friend Monkus shows up and enters the van).

Arty: Hey Monkus what's up? We're doing an interview. Want to come in and join?

Monkus: No.

Arty: Come on dude. Monkus is a world famous video director... we got celebs in the house.

Buddyhead: What videos have you done?

Monkus: I did a Blink 182 video.

Buddyhead: Nice... dude, so did the drummer in that band hook up with that Christina Aguillera girl or what?

(ET11 breaks out in to laughter)

Phil: He jumps right into the good questions doesn't he!

Monkus: I'm not saying anything. Maybe if I see that light on the recorder go off…

(we take a short break)

Buddyhead: What would you like to do with your band?

Phil: Play arenas around the country.

Arty: That's what we’re all about. I want to be a rock star. I don't care about any of this scene shit. I mean I appreciate that it's here and we can tour, but I'm too old to care about it. We want to give our music the chance it deserves. We play mainstream rock, so we should be playing mainstream rock shows and be on mainstream rock radio, and not playing to a bunch of kids who want to hear shitty punk rock or shitty fucking “emo” cause they're not going to like us anyway.

Phil: The scene kind of opened the doors to us, cause we were involved in the scene for so long. We definitely appreciate everybody who has been involved and who's helped us…but we definitely don't fit in to it and we try hard to separate ourselves from it.

Buddyhead: Do you notice the older you get the more the politics surrounding the scene just mean less and less?

Arty: Yeah, like I give a fuck who just left whatever band or whose putting on shows in Bumfuck, fucking Iowa.

Buddyhead: You just find that you have less time to care about that shit...

Arty: Plus, we're just more worried that we're out for about two months and we don't have enough money from these shows to feed ourselves and get through the day.

Phil: I also think the fact that in New York there's really no scene helps.

Buddyhead: We've actually interviewed a bunch of New York bands and none of them know each other and they all say "New York has all these bands and they hardly know each there, or there's like 20 little scenes". Do you see that changing?

Arty: No that'll never change.

Phil: We thought we would be the band that would maybe kind of step in and all the different groups could agree on something.

Arty: They come see our shows.

Phil: They come see our shows but it doesn't change.

Buddyhead: It's the same thing here, but maybe even worse cause it's so spread out.

Arty: Yeah, we're playing 15 minutes from here tomorrow, and then Anaheim the next day which is like 15 minutes from away the next day.

Buddyhead: Tomorrow is in Silverlake, which should be an older crowd.

Monkus: Silverlake is where I am every Friday, I guess I'm old.

Buddyhead: Chain reaction in Anaheim should be younger kids.

Phil: We play to the younger crowds, and piss them off cause they can't beat us up.

Arty: I'll just get drunk and piss on their beds.

Buddyhead: Are there any other bands you think people should take notice of?

Phil and Arty: 6 going on 7.

Buddyhead: What are they about?

Arty: They're a 3 piece from Boston, and they write fucking amazing songs. They're the best band that's out there right now. We played with this band called “Houston” on the road that was really cool too.

Buddyhead: Any bands that you think are completely overrated?

Arty: Don't get me started. There's a lot of bands that are over rated. I think the “scene” rides so much on hype and so little on content. You're on the right label at that right time, and you get on the right tour…

Phil: But it burns out, it runs it's little course and it burns out...

Buddyhead: How is it with some records?

Arty: Up till now you can't find our record anywhere. We've been on tour 6 times in America... 7 times.

Phil: 8 times.

Arty: The only way to get our records is if we bring it to them. I'm too old and losing too much money. We turned down a lot of other labels to put out records on some.

Phil: We work fucking hard man. So anybody out there reading , please come see us on the road.

Arty: We don't come out to the west coast so much cause it's fucking expensive, but we do the east coast and midwest a lot.

Buddyhead: Does Walter have any involvement in that label?

Arty: He does, he helps pick a lot of bands. He helps out where he can actually.

Buddyhead: What does he do now?

Arty: He's in a new band called Rival Schools United.

Buddyhead: I heard there was supposed to be a new Quicksand record, and they did that tour...

Arty: There's no new Quicksand album. There probably is a new Quicksand record but who the fuck knows.

Buddyhead: So do you guys have any enemies?

Phil: Sure, but even the enemies, in the end we've had half our enemies come up to us and been like "you’re right…"

Arty: They'll say "you guys are a great band but your singers a dick". Great. That's something we hear all the time.

Phil: We hear that a lot

Arty: Great, I am a dick. Buy our fucking record and go away.

Phil: With me in New York I have so many friends... take Matt for instance. He's my best fucking friend, we grew up together. I mean he never heard our fucking album till this tour. And I never cared. If you happen to stumble across our music and you like it that's cool, but if you don't… then I really don't give a fuck.

Arty: If you don't like our record, then from my perspective you’re pretty stupid.

Matt: If you don't like it then you're fucking nuts.

Arty: Go listen to some crappy shitty punk rock…and you should die, you and your prepackaged rebellion

Phil: That's just Arty's yes talk.

Arty: Prepackaged rebellion, not a fucking original thought...

Matt: Suck it.

Phil: Suck it 2000.

Buddyhead: .com

Phil: same thing with labels.

Arty: Labels are even worse than bands, they're fucking busy signing everybody…

Buddyhead: Like who?

Phil: Saves the day.

Buddyhead: What do you think about Saves the day.

Arty: Nice guys.

Buddyhead: I’m pretty sure they’re the ones who thanked their stylist on the inside of their album.

Phil: They're kids.

Arty: They're nice kids. Their first record was a great Lifetime cover record. Major labels, are up their ass. Good for them.

Phil: It pisses me off when some little punk rock kid comes up to me and asks if we're trying to sell out. Punk rock is so much more accessible than what we're playing. It's unbelievable.

Arty: We're not catering to the scene we play to. When I get up there and I act like fucking dick, I'm being more fucking punk than all those kids with their fucking NOFX shirts. They can shove em up their fucking asses, cause NOFX sucks, and all of those bands who fucking sound like them suck.

Phil: I actually like NOFX.

Arty: Music made by people who don't like music, so people who don't like music can listen to music.

Phil: Exactly, suck it 2000.

Arty: Buy a Nick Drake album and shut the fuck up.

Buddyhead: That Fat Mike, he's actually pretty smart.

Arty: Fuck yeah he's smart. They re-write the same song how many fucking times and then you sign a million bands that sound like you… he's a fucking genius.

Phil: I actually like that stuff though.

Arty: It's cause you skate and shit.

Phil: it's not cause I skate, I can listen to those bands and I can listen to Yes and be okay with it. It's all opinion, it's not what's good and bad.

Arty: That's true, it's just opinion.

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