Latest Article

2009 to See Debut of Provincetown New Music Festival

In July 2009 Underground Control will be presenting the First Annual Provincetown New Music Festival. Having spent his summers in Provincetown for the past six years Martin Doyle looks forward to sharing his extensive and unique experience in the music industry with the community.

Doyle has been involved with cutting edge independent music since 1991, when he began booking and managing The Middle East in Cambridge, MA.

The Festival’s Managing Director Jill Vaughan and Technical Director Eric Doberman will capably support Martin and Underground Control in this ambitious project.

Jill, a Provincetown resident and owner of Essentials for 11 years, brings considerable experience to the table from her work with the Provincetown Film Festival.

Eric has twenty years of experience in staging, production, information technology, and project management. His clients have included Marriott, Key3Media, Harvard Medical School and, for most of those twenty years, Martin Doyle himself..

The Provincetown New Music Festival is a five-day celebration of music and art in New England’s most unique and diverse oceanside community.

Its purpose is twofold: To provide an opportunity for emerging musical talent to find a wider audience and to stimulate tourism in Provincetown between July 20^th and July 24^th, a historically slow period that falls between Bear Week and Family Week.

The Festival will be marketed as a destination event in coastal cities from Montreal, Quebec to Raleigh, NC. The target demographics, college students and “creative class” professionals, can be reached handily via existing arts/nightlife weekly newspapers in each of these markets and their associated electronic media.

Selling points, beyond the music and Provincetown’s party culture, will include the Cape Cod National Seashore and the many outdoor and sporting attractions of the area.

Article

On Irish Pubs

In July 1993 Martin Doyle and I had a mid afternoon meeting with his business partner and Phil Davidson. Phil owned Taft Sound, the company that was installing the PA at the soon to be opened Causeway club. It was a routine, uneventful discussion of money and microphones that I mention for only one reason. It was the first time I had ever been to an Irish immigrant bar.

Due to construction at the Causeway club itself and the general Sinatra and Sambuca chaos at The Penalty Box Lounge downstairs Martin decided to hold the meeting at the newly opened Irish Embassy Pub up the road.

“The Embassy”, as it was already being called, was just off of Causeway Street on a run down block of old brick buildings and makeshift parking lots for Boston Garden events. It’s exterior was that of a pub one would find (or more accurately imagine finding) in Ireland. The entrance’s facade was painted green with the bar's name in gold letters with a Gaelic font. Hanging over the entrance were Guinness and Bass signs.

Inside was a square room with exposed brick walls and ordinary bar trappings like dining tables, a juke box, pool tables and bric a brac. What stood out was the bar itself. Long and made of fine wood it sported finished wooden stools and brass railings. A large mirror behind the bar had the establishment's name elegantly painted in gold leaf. There were smaller mirrors throughout the room in honor of the parent bar in Ireland, called McGann’s, and various European beers. I was not used to seeing this kind of opulence in a bar. Restaurants and hotel lounges, sure, but the first thing I wondered was how much money this cost them and why they would spend it on a place designed primarily for heavy drinking.

Unlike the down and dirty places I was used to drinking at The Embassy served food, and it was as I read the menu that the talk turned away from our new venture and towards theirs.

I learned from Martin, who had been having lunch and other meetings there all week, that aside from the pub in Ireland that bared his name John McGann had been running a bar in Falmouth on Cape Cod since the 1970s. Though opened with doing a brisk business from The Garden’s winter games in mind The Embassy, in late June and early July, was already making a lot of money. Nearly all of it was being made from young Irish immigrants and college students from “The Old Sod” visiting on J1 visas to explore America while working for shady painting contractors. There was, in fact, a hostel upstairs.

After eating a very bland meal and talking shop with Phil for a bit I left The Irish Embassy and took the B train home to Allston.

I didn't think about the Irish Embassy for awhile. I was fully invested in the new rock club and often distracted by the business of being a single 26 year old guy. I could drink for free at The Causeway and when I wanted to eat I'd go to The Bull and Finch, a divey BBQ joint on the same street as the Embassy which had really good food.

A few months later, steps from the Embassy, I found myself at another Irish immigrant bar called Paddy Burke's. Paddy's was actually four tiny bars stacked on top of one another and connected by an elevator. They only opened all four floors for Garden events.

The Causeway bartender and I found ourselves on the ground level one day. After taking in an afternoon of tough guy hardcore we decided to repair to Paddy's for some drinks and grub before the evening's indie rock show.

As I worked on my flavorless, stringy chicken sandwich one of the pub's immigrant regulars approached us. He was stereotypically shitfaced.

"How do you like the pub?"

"Well, to be honest the food could be a lot better," I replied. The bartender glared at me.

The regular proceded to tell me that he, like the owners of Paddy's, the Embassy and our awful neighbor The Harp, was part of a vanguard that would forever change the face of drinking in Boston.

"Just you wait and see," he offered. "Every time a bar closes in your city an Irish pub will open in its place."

That prediction proved to be remarkably accurate for the remainder of the young decade.



Pictured above is The Harp, The Causeway's immediate neighbor and the bane of our existence from 1993-1996 when we were open for business.

It's hard to imagine a more noxious mix of clientele than that of the Harp, either today or back in that era.

To start with there were the usual suburban idiots who had issues with holding their liquor. Add in college kids with the same problem, genuine tough guys from Charlestown, and shady immigrants who reeked of housepaint and cheap whiskey and you had constant trouble that often spilled over into our little club.

We had hard, physical bouncers for a reason but in spite of their skill and dedication Martin and I had to get in on the action more than a few times, and even the girls had run ins with The Harp's jetsam once or twice.

You'd never guess that it was such a bloodbath from a visit during the day. Like Paddy's and The Embassy it was all "nice" inside, a pattern that was leading me to believe that these new Irish felt guilt about drinking, or being in the booze business, and that dressing things up assuaged that guilt. Or it could have provided an excuse to charge fifty cents more for everything than American owned bars did.

A couple of The Harp's bartenders drank at The Causeway and one of them, after drink number six, would inevitably start talking about how he was an IRA operative. I guess it's the Irish version of telling tall tales about high school sports glory because a lot of immigrants claim to be in secret brigades when they get liquored up.

Sadly The Harp is still thriving even as The Embassy and Paddy's have closed and the drum is beating slowly for McGann's.

The remainder of the 90s would prove to be a tumultuous time for me, primarily because of a young, troubled divorcee named Heather who I lived with in the Back Bay. When The Causeway closed I settled into my last two club jobs, at TT the Bears and The House of Blues, both across the river in Cambridge, and continued to freelance for my friend Mike Higgins’ sound company.

This was when the Irish pub thing was really starting to snowball. “Invasion of The Bar Snatchers” we called it.

It was already starting to become a cliché when I moved into a “breakup insurance” apartment in Somerville in 1995. As if some sinister corporation in Dublin was secretly pulling the strings venerable old taverns were being turned into spiffy McBars on what seemed to be a daily basis. Though independently owned these new, immigrant establishments were remarkably similar to one another in beer selection, menu and décor.

Those first few months I was in Somerville the closest bar to my house was called O’Malley’s. Nondescript on the outside the interior was frozen in the 1960s. Naugahyde barstools skirted the bar and there were filthy mirrors everywhere. Yellowed posters for “Midnight Cowboy” and “Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid” that had probably been hung when those films were current remained as did a vinyl jukebox that I remember featuring “Society’s Child” and “The Peppermint Twist”.

On my first visit to O’Malley’s, at about three in the afternoon on a weekday, the only people in the place were the fat, gruff, forty-ish bartender and two old drunks face down on the bar like bookends. I was a little put off at first, especially since one of the drunks was drooling on the bar, but I was sold when I paid for a Budweiser and a shot of Beam with a fiver and received a dollar in change!

I maybe went in there five more times and then one winter day I found this curious relic shuttered. A few days later my “break up insurance” roommate Aldo and I heard the news. They were opening an Irish immigrant pub where O’Malley’s had been.

Already tired of the trend Aldo and I had a lot of laughs speculating on the name and style of the new Irish pub.

“They should call it ‘The Troubles”.

“How about ‘The Bobby Sands’? "

“Do you think they’ll have Guinness and boneless tenders? That would be a first!”

When the bar finally opened it would be called “The Thirsty Scholar” but in mocking the accents of the owners and staff Aldo and I would from then on refer to it as “The TIRSTY”. They did indeed have Guinness and boneless tenders and the bar was well groomed and boring as hell.



Conveniently located between Harvard and Porter Square, Temple Bar offers a warm and welcoming charm. Accented by exposed brick, oversized mirrors, lights and booths and an oak enamored paneling, guests enjoy the buzz and excitement of Temple Bar.

While waiting for a table, guests are drawn Temple Bar's unique copper bar. Alive with people it offers conversation and a chance to unwind.

The late night lounge scene brings a trendy and intimate atmosphere completed with Temple Bar's signature Drink List.
-from the website of Temple Bar, pictured above

Cambridge, which borders both Boston and Somerville, has always had a reputation for marching to the beat of a different drummer. This is why it's not surprising that, in the shadow of Harvard University, Irish immigrants were busy hatching pub schemes that deviated a bit from the model previously discussed.

I went to work at the Harvard Square House of Blues around Thanksgiving of 1996. One of my fellow junior managers was a likeable young Galway native named Ultan and nicknamed "The Horse". Ultan had a second job bartending at Harvard Square's first immigrant pub, called Grafton Street, on Tuesday evenings.

Grafton Street was on Massachusetts Avenue in the former location of a goofy 1970s concept restaurant called One Potato Two Potato. I went there the afternoon that I got my first HOB paycheck on Ultan's recommendation. Expecting the uniformity I had come to know from these pubs in three short years I was surprised, though not pleasantly, when I arrived there.

Grafton Street had emphasized interior decoration and ambient lighting to the point of poor taste. It was expensive and full of people putting on heirs. The most charitable description I could come up with for the food was "interesting".

Rather than go the bland pub food route the cooking team at this tavern overcompensated by taking a kitchen sink approach to the use of spices and sauces. The cuisine called to mind the creations of overzealous, pubescent home economics students. People still "ate it up", to turn a phrase. After all Grafton Street was a place to "be seen".

A couple of years later the proprietors of Grafton Street would open an even more grandiose pub further up Massachusetts Avenue towards Harvard Law School. Nearly everyone I knew was mortified as our beloved Nick's Beef and Beer morphed into Temple Bar, a venture that reached new heights in off the boat opulence.

While Grafton Street retained some Irish trappings Temple Bar would have been more at home on Boylston or Newbury Streets in Boston's Back Bay than in Cambridge. It was more of a trendy, post modern restaurant than a pub. The young and international crowd reflected this.

The blending of Crimson and Green would continue into this decade in and around Harvard Square. Grafton Street closed only to reopen an equally gaudy bar of the same name a block up the road. Daedelus opened on Mount Auburn, and when I scouted it as a place to take a date once the mincing maitre'd glared at my Slapshot t-shirt.

And there was the third salvo fired by the Grafton Street/Temple Bar owners on the everyday drinkers of Cambridge.

Though I was no longer at The House of Blues when it opened earlier in this decade Redline, a trendy basement Bistro, had replaced an old after work haunt of mine from those days called The Crimson Sports Grill. Redline was another fruit-flavored, overpriced travesty.

Things came full circle when a chain called Tommy Doyle's opened in the former House of Blues, which they of course painted deep green. Figuring that the market was saturated with swank lounges they returned to deep fried form and got back to brass railing basics. When I visited last year it looked almost exactly like the Irish Embassy I remembered from more than a decade prior.

In the last years of the 1990's I spent a lot of time in South Boston. Most of my band, The Delusions, lived there and my roommate Aldo had a rehearsal space on Second Street.

Aldo had become fond of his local Irish immigrant pub, right off of Dorchester Street and called "The Abbey".

Not to be confused with the Somerville, MA rock club the South Boston "Abbey" was yet another off the boat Irish concern that had displaced a fading dive bar. The new regime had spruced up the place, even to the point of restoring the fireplace. This was a huge selling point for Aldo, a Calabrese Italian who never quite took to New England winters.

South Boston, unlike the communities discussed earlier, was hard territory in the 1990s. The working class and poor Irish Americans who comprised the majority of its residents were not so quick to embrace their cousins from across the Atlantic. By the same token the huddled masses from Northern Ireland who seemed to gravitate towards the neighborhood's west side, didn't trust or respect the natives. The Abbey, I would soon learn, often served as a forum for these differences.

The bar's owner sang with a cover band called "The Altar Boys", which specialized in covers of songs by Elton John, Van Morrison and the like. He was a curt, muscular man of about 30 with a shaved head and he spoke in a deep brogue.

My friend Mike's sound company provided P.A. for him and his band, who hosted Fleadhs every Sunday afternoon.

I wound up working these pretty regularly. After the first couple the bar changed their name to "Nancy Whiskey's". We would load in at 10:30am so we could be ready to go by noon, which was and is the earliest time a bar can serve liquor in Massachusetts on Sundays.

There was heavy tension between Americans and Irish as mentioned, but that didn't take away from the various non-ethnic disputes over booze, broads and blow. The donnybrooks were predictable, almost to the point of being on schedule. Much like an office worker uses coffee breaks and lunch hour to break up the day I would "watch the clock" by keeping track of the early afternoon fight, the mid afternoon fight and the dusk fight.

Often times the donnybrooks would be juxtaposed against the owner/Altar Boys' singer performing Elton John hits like "Rocket Man" and "Candle in The Wind" as the fists and bottles started flying.

The authorities tired of the place, which was out of hand even by Southie standards, soon enough and it did not survive the decade.



Pete's Pub closed earlier this year.

Luckily I found time to bid farewell to the venerable Haymarket tavern, which had been a "dead bar serving" for quite some time. We knew for about a year that an Irish makeover was on the horizon.

Pete's opened bright and early at 8:00am each morning, welcoming a largely Italian American clientele from the nearby North and West Ends. Sammy from the Penalty Box was a regular.

Aside from the Italians there were other locals, dockworkers, the occasional punk rocker, people who worked at fancier bars in the area sneaking a drink and even a guy from the halal market next door who flouted Islamic law with a Tom Collins or two.

It was a friendly, welcoming establishment where you wouldn't feel out of place hiding from God* at 10:30 in the morning over a few boilermakers. The morning sun refracted nicely through the glassware and ancient bottles of schnapps.

But Pete's is gone now, and in it's place will be yet another Somers Irish Pub called "Durty Nellie's".

An oak bar is being shipped in all the way from Dublin and contracts have been signed with Sysco. The quaint story of how Somers' grandmother came to be known as "Durty Nellie" will no doubt find its way to the back page of the menu at Boston's latest Stepford Bar.

*Thanks to Tommy Somerville for the use of this phrase.

There are now fewer than ten dive bars remaining in Boston proper.

Article

Interview With Chris Dimwit of the Dimwits.

The following is an interview with Chris Dimwit, drummer of local punk band The Dimwits. Boston has a mess o' good punk bands but for my money the Dimwits and the Spoilers are my picks for the best. If you like punk music, and chances are you do if you're on the Knucklehead on-line 'zine, then you owe it to yourself to check them out, especially live. Or at myspace.com/thedimwits.

1. What are the bands plans for 2008?

Well this May we'll be heading out on the road for 10 days making our way through the Mid-West down to Tennesee and then back up the East Coast. After that we'll be doing our First Annual Summer Debacle at The Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain. Two shows, one day in July. One All Ages and one 21+. It will truly be a debacle. Then we'll be laying low for the rest of the year and writing the next record which we'll be out in 2009.

2. Where have been you're best spots on your tours?

Pittsburgh hands down. The Smiling Moose is a great place with a great staff. They treat you like you're royalty there. Plus a great crowd and we've also made good friends with this band called Face Down Presley from down there. They played a Naked Raygun cover for us, bought us a bunch of booze and that was all it took. That whole area on The South Side is pretty cool.

3. Why did you start Winter records and what are plans for that?

Sean (guitar) and I always threw around the idea of starting our own label back in our old band Freezerburn. We just really had no clue and nothing ever came of it. When we were ready to put out Good Set we just said hey, why don't we make our own label since we're putting it out ourselves anyway. We'll just have a logo and P.O. Box the same way Brett Gurewitz started Epitaph to put Bad Religion 7 inches out. Or the same way the Bouncing Souls started Chunksaah. We took the name Winter Street from the house Sean and I used to live in back on Winter Street in Taunton. We used to practice in the basement and everything sort of started there. We also turned the house into a make shift studio to record the Clear The Room ep. So after the record came out I was a little bit more familiar with the whole process of pressing and distributing a record. So we said hey, why don't we put out the records of other bands we like and we'll make this sort of a real label. So I did a little bit research into some of the smaller indie punk labels. Asked different bands how the relationship works with their label and what they do for them. Once we were ready we put out our first record, Drago's "Bowling With Stalin". A great 80's style hardcore record and good friends of ours. And for 2008 we got Up For Nothing's record coming out in May(a great melodic hardcore band out of Brooklyn), then local drunks, The McGunks record sometime in the summer.

4. Does the band have any recording plans in the future?

Yes, like I said earlier. We should be heading into the studio in early 2009. Ray Jeffrey we'll be turning the knobs once again, and we'll we're happy to have Eric Edmonston on board to co-produce.

5. How do you think Boston compares with other cities scenes you've witnessed?

That's hard to say. I haven't spend enough time in other cities to get an idea of the different music scenes. I will say Boston seems to be champion of the whole "working class, street punk" thing. I'm pretty sure that it probably due to the success of The Dropkicks.

6. What new bands locally do you like?

That's tough, not a ton of new bands right now. I like what Thunderhog is doing and obviously Drago. I heard The Thowaways were really good at The Throwup the other night. Not really new but my favorite band of recent years was OO700 Club. Anything Delano does is genius. They were way too short lived.

7. How do you feel getting a vote for most grumpiest drummer in the Noise Top Ten poll and do you think you or Mike Mahoney really deserves this honorable award?

It's funny I've been told I need to smile more my whole life. I don't what it is, I guess I'm just a natural frowner. I've been told that Mahoney is way more grumpy than me. So I'll kindly step down and let him have the honor.

8. Is it true that all of Britney Spear's current problems have been caused, even indirectly, by Paul Dimwit?

Ha!, you never know with that kid. Who the hell knows what that kid is thinking. I think most peoples problems, not just Britney's, are most likely caused by Paul Dimwit.

(Slimedog)

Latest Poetry

Driving down the highway

West 80 towards San Francisco

& I'm going to Berkeley

to see a 70's punk band, the Avengers

& how surreal is this?

for a Boston boy

who might've done this 30 years ago

if he wasn't 3000 miles away

But tonight

I sail in the darkness

& the flickering lights

of the houses and restaurants

along the highway

reflecting

lives that have mostly lived here

for decades

& I'm coasting through

on one of my first visits

on unknown stretches of road

like I don't belong, I'm intruding

like it's some kind of dream somewhere

I feel I'm not supposed to be here

but felt that many times back home

it's just a strange experience

but a good one

& I just smile

at this crazed feeling of freedom

as I glide into the night

& the unknown

Poetry

She's got a little backpack

and a frame that's not quite a woman, maybe 15

he's got black hair and died blond locks, ( same age as her)

hanging straight in his eyes

& a perpetual grin

trying to signify, irony and awareness

but it really conceals

akwardnesss and shyness, I sense

She dances and jumps up and down

as the sound system plays techno/punk music

he grins and nods, and then it's the Buzzcocks

She jumps some more

he's still grinning and nodding

She has Doc Marten like shoes and dark hair dyed a reddish tint

& eyes that are beautiful

as only a womans or girls eyes can be

They're nerds and outcasts

trying to turn their unpopularity

into a private crusade

He doesn't say anything

& she jumps a little more

& they'd never believe

How perfect I see them

or how perfect

they are now

or that they'll ever be

Latest CD Review

Bryan McPherson - "Fourteen Stories"






There is a pervasive sadness to these 15 songs about life, loss and the pursuit of some semblance of happiness. Bryan gives small glimpses into a past life that most suburban punk would glorify for the sake of street cred. Not Bryan. These are obviously stories of someone who really has experienced the worst in life, but there is also a glimmer of incredible hope. Do yourself a favor and check out Bryan's album Fourteen Stories.

http://www.bryanmcpherson.com/

CD Review

Moros Eros - Jealous Me Was Killed By Curiosity (Victory)

I had been waiting for this follow up CD from Moros Eros ever since I got into their first Victory release in 2006 (I saw the devil last night and now the sun shines bright). When I got word that the new album had been released, I excitedly ran out to the store only to find out nobody had it. I ended up buying it on i-tunes and missed out on the liner notes and lyrics etc. but after three months of looking for it in my local shops, I was happy just to hear it.

The new disc lived up to my expectations. Zach Tiptons voice is the first thing that draws me to this band. I love singers who can naturally hit high notes that I could never dream of hitting, (then again I can't sing for shit anyways so its even funnier for me to sing along to this disc).

Part Cedric Bixler and part Robert Smith at times, Tipton delivers his stories, questions, assumptions, and fears about what the afterlife holds for us with an obviously instinctive emotion of a young man. Its all him, no faking or mimicking anyone else. And this emotion only adds to the color of the words. "I'm a sinner, you're a saint, in gods eyes, we're both the same" or "See the angels in the sky, they'll take you home when you die". He's afraid to upset a god which he's not sure even exists and the whole cd pretty much rides on this theme. While listening you find yourself wondering the same things he's wondering.

Musically, the production was stepped up a notch from their first release. They're right up there with the complexity and break downs you'd hear from At The Drive-In, with the occasional electronic gadgetry that comes out of nowhere but fits just fine. Song 3, "Chokes" is my current fave on the the disc, and it has a cool Sabbath meets Mars Volta feel about it.

Moros, by the way is Greek for impending doom, and Eros means God of Love. It all makes sense now. I hope this band finds success because I'm guessing one or two more releases that can't be found in stores will lead them to oblivion or impending doom.

Article

BKH sits down with Mark Lind and discusses the past, present and future... Mark Lind is well on his way of becoming an institution in Boston music. A "Spirit of '96" relic whose musical career started in a church basement and has outlasted more Boston bands than I care to count. On his 13th year of song writing and entertaining the Boston punks and now the Boston adults Mark has another CD planned for 2008 after his 2007 self-released Compulsive Fuck Up EP. Boston Knuckleheads has had the pleasure of sitting down with Mark to discuss music past, present and future; politics; life and happiness. We also got a chance to preview his new song "Familiar Face" off his upcoming CD "The Truth Can Be Brutal" (please visit www.mark-lind.com to hear Familiar Face as well as some of Mark's other material). Familiar Face, to me is the saddest pop song I've ever heard. My ears and heart say the song was strongly influenced by Paul Westerberg. The harmonies (sung by Far From Finished's Marc Canata) are a melodic answer to gang vocals. The song is so well written that many can or could relate to it. I can't tell if the heart breaking 'familiar face' is the protagonist's own or the girl within grasp but beyond reach. BKH: What are your thoughts and feelings on this song Mark? And before you start, congratulations this is truly some of your best work yet. Mark Lind: Thanks. I’m pretty psyched on the new record. Jeff, Jay, Mike and Marc all really helped lay down some of the best performances I’ve ever been a part of. And they really helped make this record exactly as I wanted it to be. It goes without saying that Jim played a huge role in this as well. That particular song - Familiar Face - was chosen to be released early because it was mixed early on in the process and also because it has a lot of hooks in it. I wanted to show people that this record isn’t going to be sparse and bare like the last EP. Personally I don’t think it’s the best song on the record but some people may choose to disagree. As for the message behind the song, I’ll let people interpret it as they see fit. But its really only a sad song if you proceed from the assumption that the “familiar face” and “restless feeling” is unpleasant. Sometimes we can ache over a good thing. So there’s a lot of ways to interpret that song. I can tell you that the “she” referenced in the “she keeps on coming back” line is not about a woman. Its about an emotion that keeps coming back. And through a little manipulation of words it opened up the door for more people to relate to the song. BKH: So what can you tell us about your upcoming CD "The Truth Can Be Brutal"? Is there a common theme to the album and are we in store for more sensible pop sounds like "Familiar Face" or do you explore other styles on the CD? Mark: It’s eleven songs. It sounds really good both because of the musicians that played on it and also because of the studio that it was recorded at (The Outpost). We spent a lot of time on it and I think it’s the best record I’ve ever been a part of. At least until we start working on the next one. It doesn’t really have a solid theme. It just so happened that I amassed about 50 songs to choose from. This helps make the album the best it can be from a song stand point but it also means that I was choosing songs from an extended period of time so they don’t all run together thematically. As opposed to a situation like in the past when I only had 12 songs to work with and those were the ones that were recorded. The past 18 to 20 months of my life have been sort of a rut or a funk for me so that theme comes up a lot but there have also been some good people along the road with me for that time and those people are celebrated on the record. I also feel like there is a lot of stuff on there that anyone can relate to. Heart ache, longing, loneliness, joy, sadness, fear… we can all relate to these sorts of things. BKH: Will this CD be another self-released album or have you shopped it to a label or labels? I know that you said self-releasing the CFU EP was a bit of an experiment to allow you to observe the state of the music industry today, care to elaborate on any of the information and experience you've gathered from that experiment? Mark: This one will hopefully be coming out on a label. I’ve received a few offers but I haven’t signed anything yet. No record labels have heard the record yet. I’m hoping that once they do then more offers will come in. As for the CFU ep, I released it myself because I was sure at the time that my audience was relatively small in numbers but dedicated. Sailor’s Grave/Thorp had just gone into hiatus mode and I didn’t feel like releasing the EP with another label. Plus I’ve always wanted to release records. So I did it myself. With no distribution and no advertising. It was all either word of mouth or free advertising thanks to some of the kind folks at Interpunk, Newbury Comics or Punknews.org. It has served its purpose and I’m almost out of the pressing. I don’t plan to repress it. Once its gone then it will be available through iTunes only until I eventually get around to packaging a bunch of rarities on one CD. Most of the advertising I’ve done for that EP was done through MySpace bulletins. If there is anyone that doubts the impact MySpace has had on pop culture then I can testify to the fact that it reaches people. BKH: Let's go back a little. The Ducky Boys, are they done recording and only relegated to semi-annual live shows? Any chance some configuration of their lineup may come back? And what was your favorite line up of the band? Musically, and no offense meant to anyone in the band past or present, I think the three piece of you, Doug and Jay was my favorite and I do understand that line up was a more mature collection than previous line ups. From a music standpoint and from a life changing standpoint what are the most important Ducky Boys line ups? Mark: I’ve played with a lot of people in Ducky Boys over the years. Some great friends have joined in on the fun or have helped me out. But the only line-up that really strikes me as being the true face of Ducky Boys was when it was me, Jay and Douglas. Those were the years when we got motivated, had a common mission and saw it through to its logical conclusion. We also made the two best records in the band’s catalog. And I will only play with the two of them in the future under that name. There have been times over the years when Ducky Boys got pulled out of the moth balls for the semi-annual show. Those times weren’t happy ones for me. I’ll only continue to do it here and there if there is some forward momentum to it. It might take a while longer to annoy me because I have The Unloved and the solo/acoustic thing as an outlet but there will come a time when it will be time to make a new record or put it to rest until the time is right. I would say its likely - not definite - that there will be more music in the future. But I’m not rushing. BKH: So I have to ask any chance of getting Doug and Jay to get together, re-arrange and re-record No Gettin' Out? Mark: We had toyed with idea at one point. But if I’m gonna take a bunch of money and spend a lot of time in a studio and practice space with Jay and Douglas then it will be for the purposes of new music, not touching up the old stuff. BKH: You've had the opportunity to work with your brother Rob in Sinners and Saints and Jeff Morris with The Unloved, both whom you've referenced as having significant impacts on your music. Who do you/did you enjoy working with more, and which one has had a more profound influence on your songwriting to date? Mark: They’re different people so I approach them differently and I don’t really compare them or pick favorites. They work in very different ways. Jeff is a one take kind of guy. Rob is more of a recording artist than a live rock n’ roll guy. Don’t get me wrong, he can plug in and play like a motherfucker too but he’s more like the Beatles during their Sgt Pepper days where Jeff is more like how they were when they were rocking Shea Stadium. Put it this way, Rob took about 9 months to make Ramallah’s “Kill A Celebrity” while Jeff made “Tattooed Hearts and Broken Promises” in less than 12 hours. They’re very different types of players and songwriters. As for who I’d prefer to work with, I guess I’d choose Jeff because he is more on the same playing field as I am. Jeff has many features to his personality; he is a father, a husband, a businessman, a musician, a songwriter etc. Rob is always Rob. Ha. Plus I don’t have the patience to work in the way Rob does. He is a perfectionist and he moves very slowly. I prefer to see results. BKH: And since I mentioned Rob...any chance of a Sinners and Saints CD or show on the horizon? If there is I may have to diet so I can fit back into my S&S shirt...although I have heard you've begun selling your own merchandise on your web page, is that right? Mark: Definitely nothing on the horizon as far as a show goes. Rob has to tend to his personal life. A CD is not out of the question but I think Rob has other plans for his first batch of songs back. I’m not saying never but it would take a lot of planning and I know that would fall on my shoulders to plan and right now I’m pursuing this record with The Unloved. We are selling shirts. There are shirts by Sinners & Saints, Ducky Boys and The Unloved all on sale at www.myspace.com/marklind . And they’re selling well. BKH: Last year around this time you purchased the First Act Westerberg Edition guitar, how do you like it? And because it's becoming a tradition for me, what was your first guitar and what is your favorite guitar? Mark: That First Act guitar is a piece of shit. It won’t stay in tune. They told me they set it up to be played ½ step down but I think they lied to me. Because of that I haven’t played it often. One of these days I may get around to setting it up again. Maybe I will now that you reminded me I have it. As for music gear, I haven’t got a clue about that sort of stuff. You’d have to ask Jeff or Mike that sort of question. I just play whatever I have. BKH: So how do you approach songwriting? Do you find the melody first or the words, or a little of both and find a hook and build from it? Mark: Back in the old days of Ducky Boys… when we sucked…. I used to make up music and then fit words in there. The kids certainly didn’t seem to mind but, looking back on it, it was very unnatural. These days it sort of all comes together at once - usually. Most times I just pick up the guitar and the whole thing comes out in one Peter North style blast. If its any good then I grab the tape recorder that I keep next to my guitar and roll tape. Sometimes I’ll go right to the 8-track recorder and sometimes I’ll let it sit for a while. I keep a list taped to my wall with all of the songs I’m working on that haven’t been demoed and I cross them off as I finish them up. Usually the words I come up with in the first couple of passes get nixed but there will be a line or two that really stands out and I’ll follow that path for the remainder of the song. Simple as can be… not too much thought. One thing I will never do is ask “what will people think about it?” when I’m working on a song. If you do that then you are only going through the motions and pumping out crap for the sake of pumping out crap. Once the songs are all done from a creative perspective then I might go back and hammer them out. Structure them appropriately and then ask “do I like this?”, “would I listen to this?” or “will people listen to this?” but that’s at the phase of the song when the heart and soul of it is already completed so that it can‘t be compromised. BKH: On your debut solo CD, Death or Jail, the song For Frank eulogizes your, at that time, recently deceased grandfather. Was that a difficult song for you to write? What song for you has been the most difficult for you to write over the past 13 years and do you like how it came out or do you want another shot at it? Mark: There are no songs that have been particularly hard to come up with. I don’t mind laying all the cards on the table. The only times I’ve flinched is when I’ve been unsure how someone else might like me writing about them. But in the end if you’re a girl that is gonna get involved with a guy in a rock band with a platform then you’re gonna have to deal with that. Or even worse, if you’re a dude that tries to fuck over the guy in the band with a platform then you gotta expect to get flamed. There is one song on the new record called “So She Says” which was originally called “(Girl’s name withheld) Says” and I changed it to a nonspecific ‘she’ to spare her having to deal with it. On the other hand it is far and away the best song on the record - and possibly the best song I’ve ever come up with - so she would have been immortalized with street punk fans forever. Ha. As for songs that I’d re-do, hindsight is 20/20 as we all know. There are some songs on “Dark Days” that I’d like to have another shot at knowing what I know now but they are what they are and it was a popular record in its day. Sometimes I make this comment and people think I’m putting the record down. They gotta understand that I’m only saying I could do better. I’m really putting myself down when I put down one of my records. I’m not trying to take the joy out of it for them. There are no plans to touch any of those songs again but I’d like another shot at the song called “A Better Life”. If I could do it all over again then I would have dropped that one from the record and tackled it with Dirty Water in 2002. Maybe one day The Unloved can try that one out. BKH: I'm not going to lie, we are both anxious guys and not the most socially ept. Do you think this trait has hurt or helped your songwriting? Also has it helped or hurt your musical career? Mark: It definitely makes me who I am. And my music is a result of who I am so I guess it has helped it. One of the comments that I hate most is when someone says to me “Hey! At least you got some good songs out of it” when discussing a particularly painful experience. That comment might hold water if I was getting paid the type of money Tom Petty is making but I’m not. While I think my social and emotional shortcomings have helped me make some memorable moments on tape, I’d trade it all in for a chance to be happy and calm. BKH: Boston music is still big nationally thanks to bands like the DKM, Street Dogs and the Explosion. Two separate questions - what Boston band(s) do you think SHOULD be a national success and which ones do you think WILL be a success. For example both Far From Finished and Death and Taxes are two of the best bands in Boston today - both should be huge - FFF is more likely to be successful because they have the ability to tour more aggressively than a band like D&T. Mark: You just named my two favorite bands in town. I absolutely love both Death & Taxes and Far From Finished. Their songwriters, Jeff Morris and Marc Cannata, definitely speak for me in ways that I can’t express myself. And in a just world that sort of talent would be rewarded handsomely. Both of those bands should be famous and all over the charts. But as for what WILL be popular I don’t know. One of my claims to fame is the fact that I called Ken Casey the day after he gave me his demo in 1996 and said “if this is really your band then you will be on Epitaph Records within a year”. And they were. But since then it has been impossible to predict. Every Tom, Dick and Harry from Boston that sees Dropkick Murphys seems to think they are gonna put together a band and go for the big time but there are a lot of factors in there that most bands miss. Most importantly, its about a lot more than fashion and sound. There needs to be substance, honesty and timing. People aren’t stupid and they eventually see through dishonesty even if it takes a while. I’ve seen so many bands head out on the road in search of fame and fortune only to come home broke, broken and with their tail between their legs. In fact, I was in one of those bands - though we went for it about 2 years before every schmuck started chasing it. But there have been more failures than successes. If I were to guess on a next big thing then it would be a metal band like Diecast since that stuff has a hell of a lot more mass appeal than dudes in scally caps. But it would be nice of Death & Taxes or Far From Finished could do something to reach as many people as possible. Both of those bands deserve everything they could hope to have. They’re both very honest bands and write from the heart. BKH: I've been told that politics and music don't mix on other interviews, but I have to ask, you don't hide that you support(ed) Joe Biden, now that he is out who is your guy (or gal) and what one issue represented by that candidate is most important to you? Mark: Politics is just a part of life. People that try to skirt that topic are usually just afraid of offending someone. I was supporting Biden though I knew he couldn’t win. He’s done so much good in his career as a Senator that he really deserved to be taken more seriously. We’ve had to deal with these hacks like Bush and Giulliani but we can’t give a guy a chance that has already chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee or the Senate Foreign Relations Committee? With him out of the running then I’m backing Obama. He’s probably the only candidate that can pull off the angle of wiping out the old Washington insiders since he is such new blood. I really hope he surrounds himself with the right people. He’d make a great face man but he’s gonna need someone like Biden in his cabinet to be successful. BKH: I understand you have a show coming up at TT's on January 10th, who are you playing with? Mark: That show was kind of a last minute addition. We’re gonna be playing with the Kickbacks, Jason Bennett & The Resistance and Varsity Drag. BKH: Care to plug any other shows or add anything else before wrapping this up? Mark: I guess the other one to mention will be the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre show with The Men and The Deadly Sins at the Middle East in February. They’re both doing two nights. We’re gonna be playing the Friday night show. The first night. BKH: In 2007 you said that you were going to do some shows outside of New England in support of your solo album(s). To my knowledge it didn't happen - are you willing to name a city outside of New England and play a show there in 2008? Mark: Yeah. That is the sort of thing that happens when you’re managing yourself. I got caught up in making this new record and going to school so it didn’t really happen. But I am definitely heading out on weekends in the Spring of 2008. I’m already working on shows in Richmond, Atlanta, Baltimore, DC, NYC and New Orleans. They will be solo/acoustic but I enjoy doing that and I think that vibe will translate to anyone that may choose to attend.

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Death and Taxes Interview 2: Jeff Morris

This is the last and final interview with the members of Death and Taxes, in Part One we spoke with Mike Savitkas (bass) and now have the pleasure of speaking with Jeff Morris (guitar/vocals).

BKH: I'll omit the part where I blow smoke up your ass telling you how great the new CD is (for those who want my opinion please read the first interview). Simply, I think the CD is great, everyone I know who has taken the time to listen to it thinks it is great. How about you Jeff, are you proud of this CD? Where does it rank for you personally out of all the albums you've played on in the past?

Jeff Morris: Thanks, we’ve had some great feedback on this and we’re very encouraged by the way it’s being received so far. Haven’t seen a lot of reviews yet, but we’ve had some great comments from friends.

When we decided to make a recording we didn’t have any idea who would be releasing it, or whether we’d even be just releasing it ourselves. We had to pay for everything ourselves and we could have gone a couple different ways. We had the option of going local, maybe saving money and being comfortable with the surroundings or bucking up, spending real money and working with the best. We decided we didn’t want any regrets so we did the latter and contacted Jim Siegel at the Outpost. We went in there and came out with the best sounding recording possible and for that I am proud. People can decide whether they like the songwriting or the performances on their own merit, but the sound quality can’t be questioned. That was utmost in my mind when we decided to go with Jim.

Where does it rank? It’s a new chapter for me personally, the first time I’ve tried singing in a band. It’s also the first time I’ve been back in the Boston scene since I left the Bruisers in 1996, so it was never assumed that we’d be accepted. With ten years since being a part of the scene in the city I had no idea what to expect. Most of the people I knew aren’t around anymore, and the ones who are still around probably had no idea what to make of the new stuff when we started playing out. I guess what I’m saying is that, in my mind this was a completely new endeavor with no expectations other than to hopefully play some shows and not fall flat on our faces. The fact that we’ve managed to keep at it for a couple years now, record our own cd and release it on a bona fide label is all very gratifying and in all honesty it was never expected and will never be taken for granted.

This is the twentieth recording I’ve released since starting with the Bruisers in 1988 and I look at it as a new chapter. There have been musical and personal benchmarks for me over the years and this is right up there with most of them. I remember how great it felt when we released our first full length cd in 1993, “Cruisin’ for a Bruisin”. It was like we had finally legitimized ourselves, putting out a complete and full release to stake our claim to being a real band, capable of writing and recording something that will stand the test of time. I guess that’s how I feel about this new cd too, it feels good to know we were able to work hard, put in our time playing tons of shows, working out the new material over the course of months to see what works and what doesn’t and finally coming up with a solid release that will hopefully be the benchmark for us as a band to move forward for many years.

BKH: The songwriting is amazing. I have said it before and will say it again the lyrics are as deep and dark and full of meaning as anything done by Leonard Cohen or Nick Cave. Are you influenced by those songwriters or any songwriters in general?

Jeff: I’ve never heard Cohen, to be honest so I can’t say anything about him. My exposure to Nick Cave is limited to the “Murder Ballads” cd which is great, but I haven’t dug any deeper into his recordings.

Influences for me are probably less direct and more subtle or subconscious than pointing the finger at one songwriter and saying I want to be like that guy. I have always been a student of songwriting, I can find the good in almost anything. Some examples off the top of my head…70’s AM Gold like 10CC, Gordon Lightfoot and Gerry Rafferty who’s sense of melody and the ability to hook the listener in from the 1^st note is remarkable. The dark imagery and Morrison-esque vocal stylings of some of the first Joe Wood-era TSOL albums like “Change Today” and “Revenge” are some of my personal favorites. The Doors and Morrison with some of the most dynamic arrangements you’ll ever hear including some really heavy subjects in songs like “The End”, “Unknown Soldier” and even the dreamy beauty of songs like “Moonlight Drive”. The Jam with an intelligent take on the plight of the average man in songs like “Corner Shop” and “Smithers-Jones” and especially “To Be Someone” that links in perfectly with the incredibly powerful stories of the British working class ethos in stories such as “Keep The Aspidistra Flying” and “Coming up for Air” by Orwell which have influenced my writing since songs I wrote back in the late 80’s for the Bruisers. Dave Alvin has always struck me as one of the most capable of conveying human emotions in his writing without being syrupy or cliché. Tom Waits, with the way he uses his voice like an instrument to really infuse a song with feeling… Steve Earle, the way he speaks in the “everyman” voice, keeping things simple and never talking over a subject. Husker Du albums like “New Day Rising” where both Mould and Hart started dropping real heavy lyrics into intense music. Replacements and Westerberg were a big part of my teen years like most of us at this age. Paul’s ability to be ironic, intelligent and emotional while retaining his “cool-factor” has always intrigued me. I can remember summertime in the 70’s when I was in grade school, I’d be out in the yard blowing up army men in the dirt and my mother would have the stereo speakers facing out the window while she dug in her flower boxes. I’d fight epic battles to the soundtrack of Johnny Cash live at San Quentin, Freddy Fender, Jim Nabors, Marty Robbins “Gunfighter Ballads”, Glenn Campbell and more as the record player kept dropping one platter after the other from the pile she’d put on the multi-stacker in our old console machine. Driving in the back seat of my parents 1970’s Chevy Kingswood station wagon listening to The Carpenters, Linda Ronstadt, David Gates and Bread, America, Badfinger, Captain and Tenile, Elton John, Carole King, you name it… those put fingerprints on your brain (like it or not). So I guess my point is that it’s all a wash. I don’t pattern my songs after anything in particular. I am nothing more or less than a kid of the 70’s and 80’s and all the influences that come with it.

On this record the songs are all culled from notebooks I keep. Some of them are from older entries, like “Love Letters on Skin” and “Orange Line” which are both about the same girl I met in 1987 and who made a strong impression on me. Others like the title track are really about many people I’ve known. Each verse is a different person with the chorus tying it all together. I don’t do well when I try to sit down and write a song about a “topic” per se. I am only successful when I feel compelled to write something down, usually about something that has happened to me or someone close to me. So in that regard, most or all of what I write is autobiographical I guess. “Hold On” is one that may not be anyone’s favorite due to the fact that it’s a pretty laid back song musically, but for me it’s one of the most personal on the record. It’s the first song I’ve publicly released that was directly written for and about my relationship of 20 years with my incredibly patient, understanding and loyal wife, Jodi.

I remember when the last record I wrote for the Bruisers came out in ’96 (Up In Flames) I sat and looked at the lyrics insert in the cd packaging and thought “Wow, I really gave away too much on this one”. I realized then that I was baring so much, probably too much and giving anyone who cares to listen a 20:20 view into my inner workings, self doubts, needs and desires, prurient and otherwise. I regretted it for about 5 minutes before realizing that if I wasn’t completely honest in the lyrics I wrote that I wouldn’t be worth a damn as a songwriter. I swallowed my pride and my need to keep up appearances and just went with it, damn the torpedoes I guess… and that’s what I still try to do. Everything I write is for real, for better or worse. It might be too revealing, it might not even be interesting to anyone else other than me since it is so personal, but it’s what works for me.

BKH: Your songwriting is distinctley "adult" for lack of a better term. I just don't see a 20-something being able to write with such ethos; mainly due to lack of life experience. How is the band doing with the younger crowd? Have you played any all ages shows recently? How was the attendence?

Jeff: We’ve done a few all ages shows, and while we might not have the singalong choruses of some bands we’ve had a great time and sold a lot of cd’s to the younger kids so I guess there is your proof that they’re into it. We had a great night at the Roxy with Street Dogs, Darkbuster and Jason Bennett and sold more cd’s and shirts in one night than we normally do in 10 shows. We just played last weekend with Darkbuster and Far From Finished at another all ages show in Nashua,NH where the kids were crowd surfing to our set. That’s a first for us. So yeah, I would say it’s a work in progress but it’s going well so far.

I remember being a teenager and going to see the Circle Jerks at Brandeis one night. Moving Targets had just released “Burning in Water” and were opening the show. I had only seen their name on flyers to that point but was really taken in by their songs. They were intelligent, rocked hard and had great dynamics. I bought a cassette from Kenny after the show and have been a fan of theirs ever since. That example shows me that young kids can appreciate something different, even if they are at a show to see something they’re familiar with. I guess that’s the whole reason why bands like ours look to get on bills like these in the first place.

BKH: Because this story really blows me away, care to give the readers a little background into "Green River"?

Jeff: Yeah, that’s a song I’ve been trying to write for literally 20 years. I’ve probably said too much elsewhere about the people involved, and I don’t want to open them up to any more pain that I already have by getting into too much of the background, so I’ll just stick to the story of the song itself. Suffice it to say that the girl who is the subject of the story was close to me a long time ago. She had moved out west to Seattle in the late 80’s and we lost track of her. After about 6 months of using a private investigator her only living relative got the news that she had been raped, murdered and left exposed in the Green River. She was not a victim of the notorious “Green River Killer”, but her murderer has never been identified so I can’t say any more about who may or may not have done it.

When we found out what had happened to her I never even considered that it might be a suitable subject for a song, I thought it was too personal and tragic to cheapen by using it that way. But over time I wrote more and more in my own notebooks about her, about my imagined version of that night, of her choices and what could have led her to that ending. I kept going back to it, year after year and eventually realized that it might be alright if I tried to tell her story, to memorialize her I guess. I’m still not completely sure it’s appropriate, that maybe I’m just one more person taking advantage of her. I hope not, I really do.

BKH: There is a lot more to you than the music; you're a family man: husband, father, dog owner. It must be tough to balance music and a family, do you have any plans to tour with Death and Taxes should the right opportunity come along or are you at the stage in life where the music is for you and as long as you get to make it and play it you are happy?

Jeff: We’re at the point as a group where small, targeted tours are necessary and possible. We won’t be out on the road for long stretches of time because frankly we can’t afford it, but we can certainly do a week here or 10 days there.

BKH: Getting back to the music I still have a hard time connecting your Bruisers' guitar playing with the Death and Taxes playing - not that you weren't good with the Bruisers but you are now what I would term "great." When did the change happen or have you even noticed?

Jeff: Great is a strong word. If you look around just the small scene we’re in there is no shortage of what I think of as really talented guitarists. Some right off the top of my head… Chris DeBarge from The Curses and Lenny & The Piss Poor Boys, Steve Confront, JJ from Downbeat 5, Amy from Raging Teens and Darkbuster… I don’t mean to leave anyone out, I’m sure there are more. But those are some of my personal favorites that all take my head off when I see them play. I remember watching DeBarge go back and forth between pedal steel and Tele at a Middle East gig with Lenny and the Piss Poor Boys (RIP Jon) and just being amazed. I had never seen him in that context and was blown away. Same with Steve Confront, we played a really shitty show with them one night and at the end of the night it was garbage time. He gets on stage half in the bag and proceeds to play the most ripping version of Thin Lizzy’s “Cowboy Song” I’ve ever heard outside of the real thing. He nailed every note and I stood there crying in my beer because I couldn’t even begin to do what he did that night.

I am not a trained guitarist, I know what I know, but I’m very limited to basic rock and blues scales and my style has been called the “lobster claw” method by some friends of mine who actually realize that the pinky on your fret hand is also available and should be utilized from time to time. Thanks for your comments, though. I try to communicate the melody of the song in my playing, keep it raw and effective without wanking too much. When I can do that I’m happy with what I do.

BKH: I asked Mike this and I'll pose a similar question to you. I know you've used some of the Rondo gear and I bring this up because it proves the point that it is the player not the equipment. What is the first guitar you've owned, the favorite guitar you currently own and the favorite guitar you have ever owned (if different)?

Jeff: First was an Aria Pro II CS250, a Japanese bolt-on SG type guitar I bought in a music store in 1984. Since then I’ve done what most guitarists do, buy everything I can possibly afford and some I can’t. The one guitar I’ve owned the longest is my 1993 Gretsch 6120 re-issue that I’ve been using in bands since buying it. It’s not my main guitar these days, but it’s not going anywhere. These days the one guitar I use most in live shows is a Korean-made Hamer Echotone. It’s basically an ES-335 custom knockoff but I’ve put in some good Gibson P90 pickups and installed all new pots, switches and jack as well as a new master volume on the lower bout like the 6120 has and a Gibson-style vibrola. On the recording I used that guitar for leads with the Gretsch as one rhythm guitar and my 1989 Gibson Chet Atkins Country Gentleman as the other. The Gibson is a really great guitar in its own right, might be the best I own. You can hear that one most on “Green River”. I also have a late 80’s Greco Les Paul Custom made in Japan with new Seymour Duncan P90 replacements that I use on stage from time to time. The acoustic on “Green River” is a newer Martin D16 that is one of the best sounding/playing acoustics I’ve ever had my hands on. I recently bought a new D’Angelico New Yorker that is my “old man” guitar that I bought to force myself to learn new styles. We’ll see how that goes…

BKH: How is the CD selling, if you don't mind the question? Nationally the record companies are hurting, you took the approach of allowing fans to preview high quality cuts of your songs rather than letting them hear them in their entirety in a lower quality format. Where do you see the music industry going?

Jeff: It’s been a month since the cd was released and we’ve sold about 110 copies at shows. I know that Newbury Comics had to reorder already and we were up to #20 on Interpunk so I am encouraged. We have good distro with Koch out of NYC so it is in most stores. We’ve had emails from Japan, Thailand, South America, Europe and all over the states from people who have bought it, so it’s definitely getting good distro. We’ll see what happens, but so far so good.

BKH: It's 2008 - care to get political? Who are you predicting as nominees this election? Do you support any of the candidates? And what one issue that the nation faces currently is the deal breaker for you that align you with a candidate?

Politics and music are like whiskey and car keys.

BKH: The Unloved, are you having fun working with Mark Lind? I know in numerous interviews when the Ducky Boys were starting out he pointed to the Bruisers as a main influence, even joking that "No Getting Out" was made up of rejected Bruisers songs...how do you feel about his new album?

Jeff: Absolutely having a blast playing with Mark, Jay and Mike in the Unloved. I really enjoy being able to be a guitarist without having to step up and front the band. It’s a lot less stressful to be honest, and the new recordings we just made for the upcoming record are easily the best I’ve ever heard out of Mark. We just did a video yesterday for one song, “New Years Day Lament” which is a really personal song from Mark. It was fun making the video and I even got to punch Jay in the face a couple times. I wish it had been Mike instead, but you take what you can get, I guess. I think this recording and the songwriting on it are going to cement him as one of the most talented singer/songwriters around. He’s really broken out of just writing for the punk crowd and I can easily see these new songs on the radio, MTV, whatever. They’re THAT good. Can’t wait to release it and see what people think.

BKH: Thank you Jeff for taking the time to talk to us and for your candid responses to our questions. Is there anything you'd like to add? How about some show plugs?

Jeff: Thanks, Tony for the interview and for your positive comments on the new record. Anyone who might not have heard us yet can check out samples on our MySpace page and see our show schedule while you’re there at www.myspace.com/deathntaxesband