Interviews

Showoff

Interview with Chris & Magoo on Nov 30, 1999 by Archive Bot

I'd like to thank Josh@louderthanbombs, Chris, and Magoo for helping make this interview happen. You can check out the latest Showoff news by going to http://www.showoffmusic.com 

PB: Every band always ends up going through some sort of line-up change. Showoff lost Graham so that he could go back to school and educated himself, but you picked up your friend Kyle. How will Kyle help the band and is he as crazy as the rest of you clowns?
(Magoo) Kyle's insanse, he's smart, and I love him.
(Chris) H'es very smart business wise, and he is a great asset to the band that we didn't have before. Graham was a great guy, but he really liked to get in trouble. Kyle stays away from trouble which makes it easier for the band. Nick is new too. He is a drummer turned guitar played turner bass player for the band. They worked out perfectly, and are way better than we expected.

PB: In the past you worked with John Feldmann of Goldfinger who produced your debut album. Now you are working with the well known Mark Trombino of Jimmy Eat World - Blink 182 fame. How do producers make a great band sound even better?
(Chris) They help gel your idea. It's the same of any producer. Like a movie producer..... what a producer's job would be is like they hear a song and they say why don't you try slowing it down a little here, or speeding it up here. They just gel it.
(Magoo) When you play these songs so much by yourself you only hear the songs one way and you kinda get that groove.
(Chris) The producer is like an outside person and it able to look at music and tell you this directions a little off. They smooth oout the rough edges.
(Magoo) They make sure that what you have their is what you really want.

PB: Your new album should be released in late spring/early summer. Is there a title for it yet, and what can we expect compared to your sick debut release?
(Magoo) Sick!
(Chris) All of us in the band thinks this record is ten times better than the first one. I hate to say amazing because it's my own band.
(Magoo) I don't feel bad saying it.
(Chris) When we listen to the record, we're like that's fuckin sweet ya know? The first record we played and thought it was a cool record, this record listened to it and thought it was really good. We haven't really thought of any titles.

PB: I know you guys have a home video that must be quite crazy. How can fans get their hands on it?
(Chris) Shows, or you can go to www.showoffmusic.com. Grahams penis is on it, and us doing what we do. It was pre-Kyle and pre-Nick.

PB: What are your thoughts on the events of September 11th, and how do you think music can help?
(Chris) Music is a healer and it's been that way for all of us. I actually wrote a little paragraph for the webpage on the attack on New York basically which is disgusting. Personally, I am pretty far against....... I've never been a proponent of violence. You can't put terrorists in jail, the only thing you can do is go over there and kill 'em. It's one of the unfortunate things that has to happen. They took thousands and thousands of American lives. People that were just working. That is cowardly like has been said over and over in the news. It makes me to sick to my stomach someone can take another person's life and be ok with it. Also, the dispicableness of people attacking other people in this county becuase they are arabic. You don't have Germans going to camps and getting beat up because we went to war with Germany. 

PB: I read in Spin that "Showoff is a young punk-pop quartet that claims Elvis Costello is their inspiration. But their three chord range and bogus British accent makes them sound like they are on a steady diet of Green Day" please respond.....
(Magoo) Oi!
(Chris) My best response is this...... the chick who wrote the whatever gave Christina Aguilera four stars or whatever. Beyind that critics are full of shit anyway. Most of them are not musicians and can't play music. Number on now we are a five piece and that lady probably doesn't even have a job. The only thing I can say is that her stupidity is speaking for itself.
(Club promoter comes outside at this point in the interview and tells us if we don't go inside the cops will come by with mace and clubs and hit us. We stayed outside and were rebels anyway.)

PB: If you guys starred in a porno what three girls would want to star in it with you and what would your porn names be?
(Chris) I hear your supposed to take your middle name and your street name to make your porn name. That's what I hear.
(Magoo) I'd be Jonathon Wisconsin!
(Chris) I think I'd call myself Short Dong Silver. I'd want Janet Jameson, Milla Jolavich.....
(Magoo) That little kid from the Sixth Sence!
(Chris) OH JESUS! HAHAHAHAHAHAH and my girlfriend...... Jessica.

PB: Anal, vaginal, or oral sex and why?
(Magoo) Anal starts to hurt after a while.
(Chris) To be honest with you I don't think about it that often. Me and my girlfriend do everything we feel like doing. I would definately say vaginal though because you both get pleasure from that and it's easier for you to....... I used to just have sex to have sex, but now I have sex with my girlfriend and it's becuase it is passionate and loving. It's way better ya know? To be honest with you I don't like dealing with chicks because most of them annoy me.

PB: Chris I read on your site that you were caught in a bind having to choose between the clergy and music. What made you choose music?
(Chris) I get that question a lot. I'm not like a conservative Christian who condemns people. Magoo isn't a Christian, but that doesn't bother me. To me it's my personal belief. As long as you're not pushing your personal belief on anyone else it's fine. Clergy was a good idea because I don't think kids get to hear about God that relates to them at all. They just get this old fuck that say DO THIS OR ELSE YOU'RE GOING TO GO TO HELL. I worship what worship. Magoo believes in a higher power but he doesn't really know what he believes in yet. I love Magoo as a person, and I think even though the punk scene calls themselves open minded, I think they're actually quite close minded. I don't go to church though because I don't want to be fed anything. I read the bible because that's what I choose. I also talk to kids on the road about it, so if they are not a part of it they have someone they can relate to. 

PB: You guys have a song called the "Anti Song", so I was wondering what three things you consider yourselves anti about?
(Chris) The songs about people being anti. We sing love songs so we must not be punk rock or hardcore. We don't consider ourselves as much of a punk rock band as just as a rock band. If you characterize yourselves as a punk band then you get stereotyped if you decide to do a different type of music. I'd consider all of us anti-racist, anti-homophobic, and anti-spaghetti.
(Magoo) We're pretty much anti-shit heads.

PB: Lastly thanks for taking the time to do the interview.
(Chris) No problem dude!

PB: What's on.....
(Chris) No problem dude!

PB: Showoff's schedule in the.....
(Chris) No problem dude!

PB: coming months?
(Chris) A lot of touring. Tommorow we're leaving with Further Seems Foreever for a few days. We're an indie rock band and we don't like touring with people. We never know who we're gonna end up touring with but hopefully it's someone we'll enjoy and get along with.