Introduce yourself…
This is Señor (guitar, occasionally bass) and Bob III (bass, occasionally guitar). We’ve been in BLOWBACK from the beginning -- we’ve always had the same people in the band. Our vocalist Franklin and drummer Johnson were otherwise occupied today.
How did the band start?
It was in late 2000 or early 2001. We had all been in different bands with each other at some time, either in DC or South Carolina. Everyone moved to different places, but we still wanted to make music together. We all liked political bands and DC hardcore, and the elections of 2000 really inspired us to do something in that vein. We started to think about trading songs and getting together to finish them off, and realized something like that could actually work.
Where did you come up with the name?
Blowback seems to be a common theme for almost every US foreign policy mistake. It’s a CIA term for the unintended reaction to an action, and pretty much sums up the bullheaded way our country has dealt with it’s standing in the global community. Franklin had worked at Amnesty International for a while, and saw the effects of this first hand. The theme fit with almost all of our lyrics, so it stuck.
Who are your influences?
Foremost, early DC hardcore up through Fugazi, and most other ‘80s bands of that sort – Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, MDC. Señor is also pretty into metal, and John and Bob have some indie & country influences too.
What was the scene like in 2000?
A lot of our shows were part of political actions and protests that different groups were pulling together. There was a lot of outrage, and things ranging from constructive activism and getting involved to black bloc actions that were more destructive to a point.
How do you feel it has changed?
Well, obviously there’s a different type of people doing a lot of the protesting now… but the left and right of US politics is really just two arms of the same body. The need for protest is less evident to some, but it’s just as relevant now as ever.
Describe the song writing process…
We don’t have any one process, but generally either Bob or Señor will come up with a riff… Bob and John in New York might jam it out and put a loose idea together, or Señor in Seattle might record a rough demo of the parts and send it over to the band. Then we get together, play it, work out vocal parts with Franklin, reconstruct the whole thing, and see what sticks.
You guys are known for doing shows at protests, tell us about them…
One of the best was probably a series of shows in DC during a pretty big mobilization. There were 50,000 people marching by most estimates. We found some people with a truck, bullhorn PA and a generator, and set up in front of the Department of Justice and started playing. Tons of people and cops were coming through but we didn’t have a 3 prong power adapter to fire everything up. One of our friends who was a cab driver could get around town, although most of it was shut down. He went to a 7-11, got an adapter and came running through the crowd with it. We got everything turned up right when the crowd hit. That was awesome.
Your first album was ‘Track III’, tell us about the album…
We were recording a 4 song demo in New York City on September 10, 2001 – no kidding. We had a session scheduled for the 11th and of course things went crazy. Our first thought was to cancel everything and try to get home, but looking at the songs we had written it was like everything was coming to life. We decided to keep going and record a full album, and that’s what came out.
You have also recorded the ‘Lies’ EP, tell us about the EP…
‘Lies’ was a self produced EP that we recorded in a friend's basement, it took about three days to record and a bit more to mix and master. We're really proud of what we were able to capture. We recorded the instruments live, then vocals separately, so we generally did a bunch of takes before getting it right but you do get that feel of a live performance. A live basement performance.
How do you feel the ‘Drug War’ EP Differs?
I think we're just better on 'Drug War'. We had been working on those songs for a while, had played them live, and they were all pretty solid. I think you can hear us more comfortable and confident as a band. The sound of the record is pretty good too. We actually had to press it twice, the first time sounded thin. We only released it on vinyl - we like all our old punk 7”s, and wanted to have a nice sound and good packaging to make something worth having.
The ‘Drug War’ EP was produced by Don Zientara at Inner Ear, what was it like working with him?
Don's like a Zen master in the studio, super professional and you can tell he really cares about and enjoys what he's doing. He got us to really focus on what was a good take and what was trash. He recorded everything to two inch analog tape before transferring the best take to digital so we couldn't just record take after take and then go back and decide which one we liked. It was either good or it was trash, an important lesson.
Where have you toured?
We haven’t done a national tour, just smaller regional things on the east coast or west coast – DC, New York and the Northeast, Southern California, and the Northwest.
Do you prefer small clubs or large venues?
We haven't really played many large venues. We've played in venues that appear large when there are only a few people in them. We did play at the Sylvan Theatre, the stage in front of the Washington Monument, for an Anti-War rally. There were about 10,000 people there but they all seemed far away. Still it was pretty incredible. A great memory. That being said the basement gigs, house shows and DIY shows are way better than any clubs or other place.
Why?
The energy you get from having people right there in front of you or with you on stage or better yet when there is no stage and it's just a bunch of people interacting while you play.
Who are some of the bands you have done shows with?
Our first show was with a mind blowing set of bands –Kill The Man Who Questions, Zegota, Crispus Attucks, Del Cielo, Redencion 911… all broken up now, but left a great mark. Same goes for The Profits up in Boston. At the Sylvan Theater we played with Michelle Shocked including a “jam” with her which was funny but kindof a wreck. Ralph Nader was also there. Believe it or not we actually had My Chemical Romance open for us in New Jersey once. Our hairdos were nowhere near as cool, but we tried.
Is there a favorite band you like to do shows with?
We played with The Taxpayers in Portland, and that was probably our favorite show ever. They are the coolest people and a great band.
Is there a favorite place you like to do shows at?
The acoustics are great right in front of the Dept. of Justice
What do you see is the future of the Blowback?
The immediate future, we want to put together some shows early this year. We have enough material for a new album so we're trying to figure out when we can do some recording and get that music out. Hopefully by the end of the year. For the longterm future, I think it's a battle of stubborn wills to see who dares to quit first. I don't see that happening anytime soon.
How can people contact the band?
Blowback.org – info@blowback.org – facebook.com/blowback – myspace.com/blowbackorg.
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