I have been in contact with Josh, who is the singer, for quite some time. He has sent me information about the band, his zine and the mail order he does. I have also learned a great deal about the Colorado scene from reading is zine and talking to him over the internet. This is what he had to say about the band in his own words.
What big shows have you played?
We've played with Word Salad, Fanatics, Assrash, Citizen Fish, UK Subs, Vice Squad, DRI, Bristle, Whorehouse of Representatives and lots of others. Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.
How long has the band been together?
We've been together 5 1/2 years this Oct. will mark our sixth year!
Justin and some other guys put the band together. Matt (drummer) and Justin are the only ones who are still in the band! That was before the band actually started playing gigs. They were just screwing around trying to find people who fit in. I was in another band at the time and was very frustrated with it. I got the invite to move to Denver and join CLUSTERFUX. So I did. A week later we had our first gig. We opened for BLANKS 77 in Boulder!
So your brother is in the band also?
Yeah, he plays guitar, I do half the vocals. He writes most of the music, I write most of the lyrics. We've been in bands together forever. We started off in FIA and then UP YOURS. I left UP YOURS and then he invited me to do the CLUSTERFUX thing, that was 5 1/2 years ago!
Is the whole band from Colorado?
Yeah, we are all from Colorado. My brother and I were born in a different state,but yeah we are all from Colorado.
Besides the lp and 7" what else have you recorded?
We have the new CD, which is the LP plus 4 new songs. Actually we haven't done a 7" yet. We have a split LP that's out of print with UP YOURS. We have a ton of stuff out on comps. We have stuff coming out two new comps this summer.
Cool, are their any plans for a tour?
We have been out on a few short runs in the past. We've gone to Santa Fe a couple of times and Seattle. Currently, Justin, our guitar player (my brother), is in LA writing and recording with thrash metal legends HIRAX. Celia is having a baby in June. So, right now we are not in a position to tour, this fall perhaps.
So, he is also in Hirax?
Yeah, he's out there (LA) right now writing an album with those guys. We took him out there about a month ago. Meeting and hanging out with the main man Katon De Pena was a trip. We were really into HIRAX in high school, like the later 80's. And here I am sitting the guys pad drinking beer listening to music. That's the beauty of underground music, punk, metal, whatever, your heroes aren't untouchable. They're guys just like you. They have the same problems; they put their pants on one leg at a time.
The Cd is awesome, can you describe your bands music in your own words?
First I'd like to thank you for the compliment! Metalized Punk/Thrash. Not unsimilar to the crossover stuff that came out in the mid to late 80's. A punk/ metal hybrid. We draw our influences from both genres.
Some of the vocals are female vocals, I think they rock, can you tell us more about the writing process? How do you guys write music?
It varies. Sometimes Zach will bring in some music and then we all learn it and I put lyrics to it. Justin will right some music and sometimes have lyrics in mind or an idea and we build off of that. More often than not we write the music and lyrics separate and rework them to fit whatever music I think they go best with. Celia does the female vocals on the last four tracks of the CD. Jessica did the other tracks. Celia has been more involved in the lyric writing process than Jessica ever was. She has ideas and isn't afraid to bring them forth. And we all offer our input on the music. If I hear a riff I don't like or if I think Matt should add a fill or a roll in a particular place it's taken into consideration. We'll try it, if it works we go with it. So really everyone is involved. As far as the subject material for the lyrics I have been trying to stay away from clichéd punk rock topics. Some of our older songs fall easily into those categories. I write some personal stuff as well as epic story telling in the vein of Iron Maiden or Manowar.
Tell us about your zine, when does it come out, etc.?
The zine comes out about every 3-4 months. We are in our second year. Issue #5 is on its way. We try to mix it up with interviews of local bands as well as national acts. And we represent both Punk and Metal bands.
What do you think about the Punk scene in Colorado?
Currently I think the scene is pretty stale. It needs a kick in the ass. Pop Punk is still huge but it's spent. The Street punk bands just stick to the formula and don't try anything new. Don't get me wrong there are some great bands, as a matter of fact I'm going to a "street punk" show tonight. Any style of music gets beat down if it's just copied over and over. It's time to think beyond the Casualties and make some honest punk rock. Not just copy what works for another band because it's the hip or "in" sound. A lot of these people were growling sporting DOOM patches only a couple of years ago when crust was more popular. Then the Casualties exploded and everyone traded their Nausea patches for Dropkick Murphy's stuff. Music has only been like that, especially in the US. It's all about what's trendy at the time. I imagine it's like that in city though. Plus local music isn't supported the way it should be. I'm sure there will only be about 100 or less people at this show tonight and when Anti-Flag was here a couple of weeks ago they sold out a 500 seat theater!! Half that is the bands' fault though. People don't flyer, promote their shows and then wonder why no one is there.
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