Interviews

Fabulous Disaster

Interview with The whole band on Nov 30, 1999 by Archive Bot

Thanks to Mel Kaye from Fat Wreck for organizing this madness and being so cool. Picture this, sitting in a small room with Sasha, Brian, Eddie of the Mad Caddies, Linsay and Gordy of Frenzal Rhomb, and Lynda of Fabulous Disaster who had to leave to play, and a bunch of people doing a "round table" interview. It was confusing but we must thank the Mad Caddies and Frenzal Rhomb for being so cool about everything. All the questions are included so thanks to those people who helped us out. 


PB: What is the most important thing that you've learned being on tour and being in your band?
Sasha: From touring or in general? About ourselves?

PB: Well it doesn't even have to be about yourself, it can be just about life in general.
Sasha: Uh, not to take anything for granted, this is our job and it's fun....
Linsay: You're a fucking wanker. *Laugh*
Sasha: I'm trying to be sensitive.
Linsay: It doesn't matter.... all the bad stuff that happens to us on the road, at least we don't have fucking jobs. *Laugh*
Sasha: I like that one.
 
PB: We interviewed Less Than Jake just a few days ago.....
Linsay: Aw. Come on.
Sasha: I've learned not to do interviews with people who have interviewed Less Than Jake.
Everyone: Ohhhhhhh.
Sasha: I'm joking.

PB: Ok this one is for Frenzal Rhomb. I was watching this video and was talking about Mr.Skull and there was a guy Mr.Skull and a girl Mrs.Skull, wearing a dress. And we were talking about the video with Less Than Jake and they told us that it was you.
Linsay: It was you.
Gordy: Yeah it was me and him.
Linsay: You were Mr. Skull and I had the dress on. I think.
Gordy: Or it was Mini Skull and he had the dress on......

PB: Ok so like where'd you get the skull, did you buy them?
Linsay: Well, we just killed a few kids at the show.
Sasha: Dumped them in some acid in the bathtub.
Linsay: They're still in the bathroom if you want to see their corpses. Their remains.

PB: So the bus smells bad?
Linsay: Our bus smells bad but it has nothing to do with the corpses. Our tour manager shat in the toilet.
Sasha: You haven't dumped it yet?
Linsay: No, actually we dumped it into our beds.
Lynda: You poo pooed in the van?
Linsay: No our tour manager.
Lynda: Ohhh...
Linsay: He's young. It's ok. We haven't done the bag of shame yet..... Sasha: Brian's done the bag of shame....
Briam: More than once. Repeat offender.
Linsay: I've never done it.
Lynda: Me neither.

PB: Mad Caddies, I saw you guys in Ottawa a few months ago. The infamous Ottawa show. You got chased out of town by the cops. It was mostly cause Chuck poured beer all over the head bouncers head. But anyways, the cops busted us up and that was pretty brutal.
Sasha: Yeah.

PB: You guys were being bitched for standing up for us. Is it common for you guys to stand up for your fans?
Sasha: Yeah sure, we've stopped a lot of shows cause of security.

PB: Is that common for any of the other bands?
Linsay: Ah, fuck it. *Laugh* We've stopped shows due to our own insecurity. Nah, bouncers are cunts. But uh...
Sasha: That night was pretty bad.
Linsay: We had one show in Northern Australia where bouncers started punching kids out. So I jumped in and the bouncers started punching me. Cause we're really tough guys...grrrr....
Sasha: There is a certain line that you just don't cross. Being a human being. I mean at the same time, it is the fault of the security guards but if they don't know what they're getting into and they don't know. Cause a lot of the time they're used to doing some hip hop night and then it's like they're thrown into this situation where they're doing a punk rock show and they don't know what the fuck goes on at a punk rock show. For all they know they think the kids are trying to fight and kids are getting tossed in the air. It's the fault of the security guards but it's also the fault of the promoter or the owner of the club for not briefing them and saying, you know this is how this works and this is what is acceptable and this is what is lame. I've seen security guards being pretty bad but if I thought the kid was an asshole, then fuck em. I don't care. If he gets slammed on his head cause he was being lame then more power to them. If it goes on for this tour our tour manager talks to the head of security or the promoter before the show starts and let them know to like carry knives and stuff. *Laugh* And if someone tries anything.
Sasha: I mean those situations aren't too common but when it gets totally fucked. But we're not supposed to talk about it....

PB: How do you guys feel about being on a tour like this, like as opposed to playing the Opera House or smaller venues.
Sasha: Well Frenzal Rhomb usually never plays anything smaller than arenas.
Linsay: What are you talking about? We don't get out of fucking bed for less than 10 thousand dollars each.
Sasha: Personally I don't think it really matters the size of the show. Like I've had just as much fun playing in front of 50 people as 5 thousand. It doesn't matter, I've had some of the worst times playing in front of a lot of people and some of the best times. It's all about the vibe and if everything is sounding good on stage and the band is vibing good, and the kids are having a good time then that's all that matters. And that could be some shitty bar in the middle of nowhere or you know, 5 thousand kids.
Brian: For me and Gordy it's not so much the size of the crowd as much as the size of the drum riser.
Gordy: Tonight is pretty dub-standard. I usually don't play unless the drum riser is at least fuckin 7 feet.
Linsay: Hello.
Melanie: Hello, long drive for nothing.
Linsay: Well you must be next then, how was that line out there?

PB: Ok so passions, what are your passions other than music?
Linsay: Beer

PB: What kind of beer?
Brian: You know what was good, the stuff we had last night. Boreal. Did you guys have that?
Linsay: No.
Brian: You didn't have any of those pitchers they were throwing out?
Linsay: Oh yeah yeah. The blonde. People were buying them. Those interviewer girls were buying them as well. It was really awesome when all those interview people were buying us all that beer.
Sasha: And they were such good interviews too...
Linsay: They were amazing and the magazines were great.

PB: Are you making us feel guilty?
Brian: The night is still young.
Sasha: So what are you guys doing after the show? *Laugh*
Sasha: Food is a passion too. I'm learing how to cook now.

PB: What do you cook.
Sasha: Funny you should ask. I'm really just learing, I'm trying to cook healthy things.
Linsay: Gordy can make a fucking mean chili.... Vegan chili dish. I can do a pretty good fucking mushroom stroganoff. 

PB: Is there anything you do in your daily lives that would reflect as something that is politically active?
Gordy: Fuck small boys!! *Laugh*
Linsay: Well Frenzal Rhomb doesn't eat meat.
Sasha: We donate meat. As far as us, I can speak for Mad Caddies and say we do nothing. Whatsoever.
Brian: Smoking, drinking...
Sasha: We are litterers, polluters.
Linsay: Lovers. Basically we are anti-racist, anti-homophobic, anti-sexist...
Sasha: So yea they're really racist and sexist....
Brian: What's wrong with being sexy? *Laugh*
Gordy: What's wrong with being a homey?

PB: Last time you were here you played the Reverb..
Linsay: Upstairs with Chixdiggit and the Ataris AND Gordy called the lead singer a no necked-motherfucker..... *Laugh*
Linsay: ....to his fucking shit-faced-emo-fucking face. *Laugh*

PB: Oh my gosh.. What's the difference between playing here and there?
Sasha: We haven't played here yet but I can tell you the sound is way better at the Reverb.
Linsay: Yeah.
Sasha: Reverb is cool. Except for the whole stair thing.
Linsay: Yeah that and I got kicked out of the bar downstairs.
Sasha: That metal bar?
Linsay: Yeah, well it wasn't open... *Laugh*
Brian: The Bovine Sex Club is right across the street..
Sasha: Yeah and there is that white trash place too. The crowd at the Reverb is always cool so we like that. The crowd here we don't know yet...
Linsay: It's weird cause fans of bands that are big....there are all the punk rock kids and then there are all the people that are there just cause the band is big, not to any fault of their own, just cause they're stupid.

PB: Do you consider yourselves a big band? Aren't you really big in Australia? You're on a major label there right?
Linsay: Naw, we're on Epitaph there. We were on Epic only for one year. We learnt our lesson..

PB: What kind of lesson?
Linsay: Well we learned how to spell...naw, when a label is run by a businessman.....
Gordy: You walk in and you get the head guy of Sony and you go good'ay how are you and he just looks at you.

PB: What are the perks to being on Fat?
Linsay: There aren't any.
Gordy: Absolutely none.
Linsay: Shit tours, shit people to hang out with, shit interviews...shit dressing rooms, shit beer. Well we've been drinking American beer for the past while and anything is better. Shit life.

PB: What about Mad Caddies, if you had the option to go bigger, would you?
Sasha: No.

PB: Is it true that Erin and Mike really like to take care of the bands personally?
Gordy: Really, small round of applause for Fat, now... *They all clapp*

PB: Would you if you got kicked off?
Linsay: We'd go to Sony...
Sasha: I'd put a pipe bomb in Mike's mailbox. No, they're just really good labels.
Linsay: Ok you've been quiet for too long, say a question, now.

PB: Well, we want to know what Eddie thinks of doing interviews. *Laugh*
Linsay: Fuck off, it was his birthday yesterday, no, it's his birthday today.
Everyone: Wooooo.
Linsay: 21 today. It's his fucking birthday.
Brian: Come on Eddie, seriously what do you think of doing interviews?
Eddie: Well you have to specify.

PB: Well what did you say last time, something about being a kid and you're in school or something.... running around?
Eddie: No I remeber. It was cause we were switching tours cause we were out with Flashlight and we were splitting up and it was like being at camp or switching schools or something.
Brian: We figured out it's a mix of prison, the navy and a basebball team.
Sasha: To describe what Ed thinks of doing interviews?
Brian: We just cleared that one up..

PB: What are you reading?
Eddie: Just this magazine or whatever.
Linsay: Or whatever, now speaking of cunt, that Andrew W.K. The bloody nose, you think he's really good looking. He's a fucking 30 year old fat dude. The guy in the picture is not Andrew W.K., he's a different fucking guy.

PB: What's wrong with fat?
Linsay: Absolutely nothing... *Laugh*
PB: Ohhhhh, that was classic.
Linsay: This image of him as this tough guy and then you see him on stage and he looks like fucking Kid Rock or something.
Sasha: I think that's a schtick.
Linsay: Everyone thinks he's the fucking saviour of rock'n'roll but it's awful. He's like fucking Kid Rock. It's such grunge like ugh......anyways.
Sasha: It's sad when people will jump all over that guy as the saviour for rock'n'roll.
Brian: Its sad that people listen to the Mad Caddies and Frenzal Rhomb.
Linsay: We're the saviours of fuckin...
Gordy: Excuse me Linsay are you that Portugese speaking, gay slash homosexual man, question mark, question mark?
Linsay: Hola! Hola! We need you!