Republicans on Welfare are an amazing punk band out of Kenosha, WI. They have an awesome EP out. They have been around for years and have an amazing list of bands they have shared the stage with. They also put on a great live set. I got Tim to tell their story...
Introduce yourself…
My name is Tim, I am vocals/guitar for Republicans On Welfare and our other members could not be present but there is also other founding member Mark also on vocals/bass, Frank guitar/bass and Alonso Drums.
How did the band start?
Republicans on Welfare started basically out of the want to be drunk and destroy shit. The beginning was Myself and Mark getting together knowing we both owned a guitar and bass and pretty much got drunk and high until two songs came out and then nearly got arrested(thats another story) but we got together with a friend Brandon who owned a drumset and did what we could with it going threw a few extra guitar players that we used for a practice spots but it never worked out. We ended up in Marks basement and us three turned into Republicans on Welfare in October of 2004. Since we had a few lineup changes as far as drummers go and upgraded to a four piece in 2010 but we can go on forever with explainations and stories but i think you guys can get a point.
How did you come up with the name?
The name was originally going to be Asian Sex Claw(as well as other nonsense that was forgotten) for no reason other then we just liked it at the time but we shot around many names and realized we were somewhat serious and the name we choose grew off of us. We were pissed off adolescents and grew hatred for society as well as politics with the likes of president Bush and things at the time we wanted a name with humor as well as a serious staement and the oxy moron idea sparked and Republicans on Welfare was born with the help of Marks father in the mix of the creation.
Who would you say are your influences?
As far as a group whole it varies so much but Rock N Roll in general is a big one with sound and style but overall musically we were influenced a lot by bands like Fear, Adolescents, The Angry Samoans, Misfits, Rancid, G.G. Allin, Dead Boys, Johnny Thunders, The Dwarves even Frank Zappa but the list is so long but we were also influenced most in our large local scene and bands that led the scene like 10-96, Beautiful Bert, Birth DFX, Self Destruckt, The Yates Kids and this list can continue forever as well here but a major thing keepin us going was the world around us and coruption in politics and society and the war and everything else there is to be witnessed in this generation but you can not go wrong with drugs and women which is a great one as well.
What is the punk scene like in Kenosha?
Kenosha has had a large important scene here for a long time. We are considered a 3rd generation Keno-Core band but in the day bands would tour here on a regular basis as well many would play here due to the large attendence. Bands such as No-FX, Operation Ivy, M.D.C., Crucifucks to name a few started out early playin even in garages and such before large sucecess and many other bands continued to come to Kenosha for a good show. G.G. Allin was a normal visitor as welll as U.K. Subs who have lived in Kenosha for some time and Kenosha also is the home of U.K. rockers Billyclub(members of U.K. Subs, Exploited). I have been told many stories that sound great but I was not there for these great times since i was not born or just a baby. As for my time I grew up going to a show with hundreds of people all going nuts and Punk Piknik which is a year annual event hosted by local bands is generally at least four or five hundred strong. In the last few years many venues been shut down or banned from punks due to underage behavior and destruction and it is very hard to get an all ages show on a regular basis in town which brings people to fall out or move away as well as people going to jail or dieing and since has dimmed out a consistent scene. It always goes up and down. Were waiting on it to spark up again to a peak and hopefully gain a consistent all ages venue aside form the many bars and i.d. required venues. Kenosha even has a rising band who signed to Metalblade records called Lazarus A.D. i recomend them to be checked out if you like metal music but this is a punk rock interview i will just leave it at this.
Describe the song writing process...
The song writing process is easy one either makes a riff and the others build onto it but as far as the old ones go myself or Mark wrote them as a whole but with out new material we focus hard and all work together and notice things get more complex.
What have you released?
as far as releases we released a 8 song ep in 2006 with out second drummer Sean as a three peice titled "Stop the Abuse" and was available from us or on Interpunk.com(not sure if any more are available)
In 2010 we recorded and never finished a demo which was intended to be a full length and "Poop Tits" also i belive we have a ruff of "I Dont Wanna be Saved" and "Music Is Not a Crime" on our page and we are not happy with them as well as recorded them in one take cocain sessions but are still hoping to finish them one day and redo parts with a buddy Tic who did a good job but we also have a few more due out once we continue
and in 2011 we did a split with keno-core pals Gimme Crack titled "Posers, Hoes and Assholes" we belive did three tracks on there"Stuffin The Muffin" "Obsess To Opress" and "White Collar Crime" as well as a bonus we did with my father thats his own obscene version of "Louie Louie"
Currently we have a recording in process as well but got delayed due to our fourth memeber temporarily in the west coast and the drum tracks got deleted and were working on recovering them or waiting to rerecord the tracks hopefully sometime around the new year and it has no title yet but is some of our best and serious work.
Who are some of the bands you have done shows with?
Over the last 7+ years are glad to played with to many to mention and would love to go through and say who but as far as a known basis we done some pre shows for bands like Dropkick Murphys, The Briggs, The Tossers, Motorhead, Sublime with Rome and D.R.I. thats all that comes to mind
Do you prefer to do shows at large venues or small clubs?
we have fun doing anything but we are more at home in a small club but we played some pretty big stages and enjoyed the experience for sure and wouldnt mind doing it again anytime
Have you toured?
Nothing big as in we would do a weekend here or there never to crazy but we had some tours lined up but it never worked out due to finances or a past member backing out before we had it planned and ready to go but we are always up for it and would like to sometime in the near future!
Is there a favorite band you like to do shows with?
Not really... locally we got a few because its some of the music that helped influence us to grab a fiddel and start up a band and its always nice to hear some old school music from childhood but other then that we kinda like everyone as long as you are not a dick.
Is there a favorite place you like to do shows at?
Hattrix is a local bar we call home but Punk Piknik is a favorite because its home turf as well its outside and you got hundreds of people jumpin around all day and most the time we cant even stand up ourselves(even tho were known to be wasted anyways)
What do you see is the future of Republicans on Welfare?
We would like to see us go on forever but we dont have a special vision or want really other than playing our music and sharing it with anyone with a open ear but if possible do some touring if we get the finances together but we take it a step at a time and prepare to accept whatever will come out of it as long as us and our listeners have fun.
How can people contact the band?
republicansonwelfare@yahoo.com is our e-mail
we hate facebook and its hard to use but "like" our page i think its under www.facebook.com/republicansonwelfarekenocore
or the band also has a myspace page as well www.myspace.com/republicansonwelfarekenocore
we hope to update it soon sorry and cheerz!
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