What I Did In School Today: I Interviewed The Nuns For My School Paper!

Originally published in the Ohlone College Monitor (March 10, 1978)
By Devorah Ostrov

Richie Detrick and Mike Varney - photo by Chris Highsmith

This was the photo used in my school newspaper, although Pat

Ryan had already replaced Varney on bass.

The Nuns are San Francisco's top punk band, soon to take over the world! They are Jeff (vocals), Detrick (vocals), Pat (bass), Alejandro (guitar), Jennifer (keyboards and vocals), and Raphael (drums). This interview took place at their last rehearsal in the CBS studios.

MONITOR: So, how's the album coming along? When is it due out?

JEFF: We've got a May deadline, so probably May. We're gonna be the first band not to put out an album.

DETRICK: Have a great career, tour, everything!

Detrick at the Mabuhay - 1978
Photo: Devorah Ostrov

JEFF: Sell out the "Garden," but never have a record. We won the New York Rocker poll for "Best Unrecorded Band." We've never played in New York; we don't even have a single out.

MONITOR: Are you going to tour Europe?

JEFF: Yeah, this summer.

MONITOR: I've heard that punk rock is already dead in Europe.

JEFF: They've tried to suppress it, but it's getting too big so they can't. Record company people don't like the music. Punk rock hasn't sold that much, and they'd like to kill it, but it's getting bigger and bigger. By this summer and fall, it will be real big. It's just really getting started.

DETRICK: Out here, it's only been like a year.

JEFF: We played the first show at the Mabuhay, last December ['76]. We rented the place. The Mabuhay was a Filipino club, and we rented it out...

ALEJANDRO: I think she knows the story [laughter]. What else do you want to ask?

MONITOR: What songs are going to be on the album?

JEFF: Most of them that we do. Probably about 14... "Decadent Jew," "Suicide Child."

MONITOR: Alejandro told me that you're really a "hippie band" into love and peace. Is that true?

JEFF: Yeah, he's right. We love everybody! We love all the bands! The record company people really love us. We got turned down like, "Not them, please!" Like, "Oh, my God, not them!" The New York press hates us; everybody hates us.

ALEJANDRO: We had a confrontation with Blondie. The Ramones didn't want to play with us.

Mabuhay flier - October 20 & 21, 1978

L-R: Detrick, Alejandro, Jennifer, Pat,
Jeff & Raphael (photo: Mick Rock)

JEFF: We got along with the Sex Pistols. [Sid] Vicious liked us. Vicious is my pal. There's a guy whose intelligence is worth about like, shit.

MONITOR: Do you guys have any goals for the future?

JEFF: Europe! Europe's the first goal, then the world. First, you gotta take Europe.

ALEJANDRO: Strategies! Take Poland.

JEFF: We want Poland, then we'll take a piece of Italy. You have to put it into a battle. We're gonna ruin New York when we play there. We promised the Sex Pistols we'd take care of it for them since they broke up.

MONITOR: A friend of mine said the only song he liked of yours was the one Jennifer opened with.

JEFF: It's called "Lazy and Then They Come On." They [the press] go, "Jennifer taunted the audience with a slow..." Because it's slow, they like it. Then they go, "Then they came on with their noise, filth, barrage, dirt!" They think we're creepy or something.

JENNIFER: I don't know why.

JEFF: Especially me and Alejandro. How could anybody not like us?