Dura-Delinquent: Hans Takes A Licking But Keeps On Ticking!

Originally published in Teenage Kicks #1 (1997)

Interviews by: Michael Cronin, Devorah Ostrov & Michelle Castro

Story: Michael Cronin

Dura-Delinquent (L-R): Philipp, Hans, Nicolas & Jason
Photo: Devorah Ostrov - San Francisco, 1997

Dura-Delinquent kick ass. As a result of their raucous live shows, they also get their asses kicked on occasion. Almost always, they generate an extreme reaction from the audience, especially in San Francisco. 

Singer Hans Murnau has a penchant for diving off stage and hanging onto some unsuspecting guy in the crowd. Almost always he is punched, kicked, shoved, or hit with a glass. Maybe because his pants are usually unzipped at the time. At a recent Bottom of the Hill show Hans got cut dangerously close to his right eye. He climbed back up on stage, wiped the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand, and muttered, "Jesus died for you. I bled for you. I should at least be a fucking saint!"

Hans & Philipp
Photo: Devorah Ostrov - San Francisco, 1997

We made a valiant attempt to interview all four members (big mistake!) of the band after one soundcheck. Hans and Nicolas arrived early. Hans is quiet and reserved. It's Nicolas who greets us and sorts out problems at the door. Time went by: 90 minutes to be exact. The others missed the soundcheck. Jason arrives. He seems amused that someone actually wants to interview him. Finally, Philipp struts in on wobbly high heels, scarf trailing from his throat. What an entrance! 

We turn on the tape recorder. Hans is suddenly very vocal! The resulting interview was more like a photo op with quips, the boys trampling over most of our questions. Answers range from merely evasive to contradictions and outright lies. Mention the Stooges and a discussion of the 3 Stooges ensues. Can we take Philipp's raving about the merits of later-day Alice Cooper over his classic early albums seriously? Or Hans' preference for late '70s Ron Wood-period Stones over their classic work? The only thing we're told we can take seriously is Peter Pan.

Philipp: "That's the one thing we don't fuck around about — Peter Pan. Make sure to throw some Peter Pan into this motherfucker!"

Philipp
Photo: Devorah Ostrov - San Francisco, 1997

We subsequently bugged them individually to fill in the gaps. Somehow, through "divine forces," they all ended up in Monterey — Hans and Nicolas (guitar) are originally from outside D.C.; Jason Moore (drums) is from Oklahoma; and Philipp Stick (guitar) is from "the Mother Country." 

Nicolas and Philipp met at school. They knew Jason from a local record store. All of them being avid record collectors and "music fanatics," they decided to put a band together.

Nicolas: "We got together to play a show that was happening. We wrote a bunch of songs in like a week, that were sort of raw and just what we were inspired by at the time. Then we evolved into something more — our own style basically."

They've been kicking around the Northern California scene for about two years now. Their chaotic live shows are not to be missed. At a Purple Onion show, back in January, cups and ashtrays flew, instantly and constantly. 

Philipp dropped his pants and tossed them into the crowd — unable to find them later! He also demonstrated a knack for playing and humping the stage simultaneously. Hans did his best young Iggy/Lux impression — mic in mouth, dick in hand, he scaled the amps, jumped into the crowd and overturned tables. Nicolas and Jason kept a rock steady beat throughout the amped up antics. The messy aftermath was proof that this was easily one of the hottest, punkest, most fun shows of the year.

Hans
Photos: Devorah Ostrov - San Francisco, 1997

Hans: "People always throw shit at us in San Francisco. Especially at the Purple Onion. If I had a nickel for every ashtray thrown at me... The reaction thing is great, but I'd get bored if every time we played, I got a glass thrown at me. I mean, I'd get hurt, too. But it's only in San Francisco."

They've also done a brief U.S. tour, half with Chrome Cranks, half on their own; and last December they caused a commotion in Europe, playing two weeks' worth of shows in Germany, Holland and the U.K.

Hans: "Those were the best shows. I had the most fun. Not England — Europe. Just like, the crowds. A big crowd here is a small crowd there. The big night there, it was amazing! And they were totally receptive."

Nicolas
Photo: Devorah Ostrov - San Francisco, 1997

Nicolas: "We almost got banned from London!"

Phillip: "What are you talking about? It was the whole U.K.!"

Somehow a Christmas tree ended up in a backstage toilet, causing extensive damage.

Nicolas: "They didn't give us enough beer that night, so we broke a toilet."

Hans: "Just let that be a warning to all you other clubs. Don't fuck with us, man!"

Dura-Delinquent have released a self-titled LP/CD and a couple of singles — "Sick on You" and "Take Me to My King." Their fuzzy, decidedly lo-fi garage sound lies somewhere between the Cramps and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The catchiest LP track, "I Could Kick Your Habit," spotlights Jason's hopped- up Adam & the Ants/Bow Wow Wow-style drumming. Nicolas and Philipp strangle the two-guitar no bass sound for all it's worth on "All Lushed Up" (a "Sick on You" B-side). Han's sleazy, slurry vocals are consistent throughout. They also appear on the U.K. compilation 7" Gone, Got, Wretched. And a European-only single, "Kidnaped," was released as well.

Hans: "It's a different version, but we didn't mean it to be."

Philipp: "Shitty versions, badly mastered."

The band is not really happy with any of their recordings.

Philipp: "They're too clean. We're a lot dirtier than that!"

"Sick on You"
b/w "Head Ove High-Heels" & "All Lushed Up"

Nicolas: We've changed since the record. That was a year ago. I'm more proud of what we're doing now. Our next recording efforts are going to represent what we really are and what we're like live better. I think that's most important, being a good live band. We just want to write good music. That's what we're shooting for."

Their most recent demos are in fact among their best. "Lay it on Me" and "Her Caviar" solidify their early sound, while "The Hollywood Diet" and "My Baby Caught the Train" are longer, more jammy Stones-style blues. Nicolas' and Philipp's guitars are less at war here and more complimentary to each other. 

They hope to have some of the new songs out soon.

Before we wrapped, the band made a bid for our first cover. Regrettably, we informed them that it had already been promised to D Generation's guitarist, Howie Pyro. 

Philipp: "Howie Pyro?! You should have us on the cover!

Nicolas: "We're going to have a contract from now on. If you want us in your magazine, you have to put us on the cover!"

Philipp: "Howie Pyro came to see us in New York and bought our single. At least he knows what good rock 'n' roll is about!"

Clap if you believe!

Silver Jet Discuss "Pull Me Up ... Drag Me Down" & What They Learned From Touring With Cheap Trick!

Originally published in Teenage Kicks #2 (Fall 1997)

Interview by Devorah Ostrov

Silver Jet
(from the CD booklet)

Some people have called Silver Jet "the Cheap Trick of the '90s" (well, Jason from Dura Delinquent did). 

And it's not without reason. As evidenced by the dozen tracks on their Virgin Records debut Pull Me Up ... Drag Me Down, Silver Jet deliver tight, bright, hard pop tunes akin to the Trickster's initial efforts. At the same time, their catchy lyrics focus on girls, insecurity, girls, other people in bands, girls, loneliness, and mostly — girls!

It began in the '80s.

Lead singer/guitarist Luke Tierney was going to Santa Barbara High and fronting a glam/punk outfit called Lost Kittenz. He loved the New York Dolls and Jetboy. He was also known to venture down to Los Angeles whenever Guns N' Roses played.

Meanwhile, recent Chicago transplant, Jeff Gross, was also attending Santa Barbara High. And he was playing bass with the decidedly darker, female-fronted Under the Weather, which he describes as "kind of like Siouxie and the Banshees meet Killing Joke."

My autographed copy of Pull Me Up ... Drag Me Down

The two future bandmates weren't yet acquainted. "I knew about Luke's band," says Jeff, "and he knew about mine. But we had never met."

Neither of their groups went anywhere. But during a series of break-ups and realignments, Luke and Jeff finally met up, and the nucleus of Silver Jet formed about four years ago. 

With the addition of a temporary second guitarist and a part-time drummer, they entered Rick Parker's studio to work on their first demo tape. And this is where Grant Conway came in. 

London-born Grant moved to California when his father came over to open Island Record's LA office. Needless to say, Grant grew up surrounded by rock 'n' roll. He can, for instance, nonchalantly toss out Nigel Olsson's name, not just as an influence but as a teacher: "He introduced me to drums at an early age, like two or three. He used to live with us. His drums were set up in the garage."

Grant was working as a recording engineer at Parker's studio when he met the members of Silver Jet — their demo was his first project. And getting him to join the group was easy. "Our drummer was also playing with Rick [Parker]," says Jeff. "So, our band wasn't his main band. We were interested in finding a steady drummer. Grant knew that, and he liked our music."

Luke Tierney
(from the CD booklet)

With their drummer issue sorted, the guys carried on as a four-piece. But the revolving door of second guitarists got tiresome.

"We kept trying out other guitar players," emphasizes Grant. "When we'd play a show, we'd borrow a guitar player, either someone we were trying out or a friend from another band." 

"It was holding us back," agrees Luke. "So, we decided to go with what we had."

Trimmed down to a dynamic threesome, Silver Jet spent the next three-and-a-half years gigging around Los Angeles. "Waves of interest would come and go," recalls Jeff.

At one point, they came close to signing a deal with E Pluribus Unum, the indie label co-founded by Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz. 

"Adam was coming to every one of our shows," notes Luke. "He was going out of his way. He was leaving rehearsals early to come and see us. He was bringing his friends to see us."

Although they decided not to go with Duritz, his interest motivated them to hire a manager. "Things took off from there," says Luke. "We got a bunch of offers, and Virgin seemed like the best one." (They claim never to have played an intentional showcase; supposedly, Virgin didn't even see the group live prior to signing them.)

Before they released Pull Me Up ... Drag Me Down, Silver Jet issued a limited edition, four-song vinyl EP. "A novelty thing," as Luke calls it, which featured the sardonic "Plastiqa": "Collagen plastic silicone/Feel so real/But got a mind of their own/Soon they'll be making girls/Out of styrofoam..."

"The Boys" - acrylic on canvas
painting by Luke Tierney
(from the CD booklet)

The EP also included the optimistic "Meant to Be" ("It was meant to be this way/I just wanna sing every day...") plus demo versions of David Bowie's "Star" and the terrific Tierney-penned "Kid" — which once contained the perfect line: "She probably dates a future KROQ star." 

"KROQ" was later changed to the generic "indie rock star" over concerns that should "Kid" become a single, every radio station would want to fill in their own call letters. A great gimmick! But "it wasn't the route we wanted to go," states Luke.

All the songs from the EP, save the Bowie cover, made the transition to Pull Me Up ... Drag Me Down. 

Co-produced by the band and Tim Palmer (best known for his work with alt-rock outfits like the Cure, Sponge, and the Mission, as well as Bowie's Tin Machine), the CD is well-crafted, bursting with energy and propelled by memorable hooks at every turn. The group wanted to work with Palmer because of personal and professional reasons. 

"I was really into the Tin Machine record," says Jeff. "I thought that was a really exciting turn for Bowie, and I thought the production was cool — real aggressive, y'know. Plus, Tim had been a friend of ours for a number of years. He came and checked out the band a bunch of times; he'd seen us grow over different eras. So, when it came time to make the record, we felt comfortable that he knew what we wanted to accomplish. We didn't want to stray too far from what we do live. We didn't want a lot of production. We just wanted to capture the band in its simplest form."

Silver Jet
(from the CD booklet)

The record company bio states that Palmer told them to choose four "focus words" during the recording sessions. They picked "big, dry, youthful, and fun." While the last two adjectives are self-explanatory (and very well represented), perhaps "big" and "dry" could use some clarification.

"Dry in a production sense," explains Jeff (laughing at my allusion to soggy vinyl). "Dry in the sense of not sounding too reverby — like Back In Black is big and dry. We wanted it to sound big, but we didn't want it to sound big by using a lot of reverb."

As Silver Jet's main songwriter, Luke's lyrics tend to focus on clever boy-meets or sometimes doesn't-meet-girl themes, like "That Call" ("He's calling her/He's not so sure/He tries to stall/He's making that call...") and the hapless hero of "Kid" ("Sitting there with my jaw on the floor/Like a kid at a high school dance/Maybe she'd dig me if I was Thurston Moore...") 

Dogstar and Silver Jet at the Fillmore
San Francisco - August 1, 1997

"Most of this record was written right at the end of, and the whole time after, the break-up of a really long relationship," allows Luke. "So everything was new, and that was sort of my inspiration lyrically."

Maybe that explains why the hesitant "Kid" is followed by the arrogant "Free to Roam" ("I don't need a woman I can call my own/I just need a girl that can take me home..."). However, Luke insists that "as far as the order of songs, we were trying to keep a theme going musically more so than lyrically."

There's also the mocking sarcasm of "Master Plan," which is about "people who can't ever stick to one band," and a three-minute bout of lonely introspection simply called "Pain" ("I wanna help you/But can't you see/I'm helpless too...").

"Mostly, anything that sounds really depressed is probably me writing in the first person about someone else," reflects Luke. '"Pain" is about an experience I've had more than once, of being asked for change and literally not having any. And then getting hassled about it. I wanna feel bad, but it's like, what can I do? I feel like saying, "'Just be glad you're not in as much debt as I am!'"

In promotion of the album, the band filmed a video for "Plastiqa" (featuring a "cryptic mannequin theme"), which is airing on regional video shows. But so far, MTV is ignoring it. For the most part, Silver Jet is playing live — often and everywhere.

There were special appearances with the Presidents of the United States of America and Dramarama (members of both groups are Silver Jet fans), not to mention last year's support slot on several dates with Cheap Trick.

Jeff Gross
(from the CD booklet)

"That was a dream come true," enthuses Luke. "Although I don't know how effective it was for us as far as getting new fans. I think Cheap Trick's fans liked us 'cause they knew we really liked Cheap Trick. But they have a following that's like... it's people who already have all the records they need, and most of them are Cheap Trick records!"

Did they pick up any handy tips from the old pros?

"I definitely learned some things here and there on that tour," nods Grant mysteriously.

"They taught me that you can't just mope when things aren't going perfectly," remarks Luke. "Those guys go out and just floor their audience every night. They're insane live! And they never stop. No griping. They just keep going."

"And we learned to shop as much as possible," interjects Jeff. "Tom Petersson hits every music store and buys a new bass; picks up a couple of suits..."

This year, you might have seen Silver Jet at one of the 48 (!) cross-country shows they played with Keanu Reeves' Dogstar. I caught up with them at the tail end of the tour — gig #46 at the Fillmore, with just Palo Alto and Los Angeles left to go. 

Grant Conway
(from the CD booklet)

Luke comments that the tour has gone "really well." He adds that "there's been a few shows where it hasn't been totally packed, but those have been the exception. A lot of the shows were sold out!"

Finally, I wonder, are they sick of all the Cheap Trick comparisons?

"No," smiles Luke. "I love Cheap Trick, so that's fine. I'm sick of comparisons in general, but there's really no way to describe a band on paper. You have to come up with something tangible, so comparisons are inevitable. But it's all right. That's one of the comparisons I like, let's put it that way."

* * *

L-R: Grant, Luke & Jeff
(Virgin Records publicity pic)

On a side note: Silver Jet handled most of the CD artwork themselves! Luke designed the cover, which Grant photographed. In addition, Grant and Jeff took several other photos used in the booklet, and the caricature of the group on the back cover is an acrylic on canvas painting by Luke titled "The Boys."

Talking To CJ Pretzel From The Drags About "Dragsploitation...Now" Wasn't A Drag At All!

Originally posted in Teenage Kicks #1

By Devorah Ostrov

L-R: CJ, Lorca & Keith
From the back cover of Dragsploitation...Now!
Photos: Nick Tauro

The Drags — most people assume the name has to do with drag racing but as guitarist/lead "singer" (their quote marks, not mine!) CJ Pretzel points out, there's (at least) a quadruple entendre: "You have the cigarette thing, the cross-dressing thing, the racing thing, and the bummer thing."

In fact, the group chose its moniker with ambiguity in mind. "We liked the looseness of it," says CJ. "It's sort of solidified now, but in the beginning, people didn't know if we would come out in dresses, or what."

Estrus Records advert for
Dragsploitation...Now!

Formed in 1993 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the band centers around the threesome of...

CJ Stritzel/Pretzel: Originally from Arizona, he formed the group when he got tired of waiting for something to present itself. "After a while, I realized that I just had to do it myself," he states.

Lorca Wood: Originally from Oklahoma, this feisty onetime cellist was a novice bass player when she joined the band.

Keith Herrera: Described as "old school" New Mexico, in 1994 the drummer issued the Drags' earliest 45 on Resin Records, an indie label he co-founded with a friend.

The group's latest release is a fun-packed, eight-song 10-inch record called Dragsploitation...Now! (Estrus Records). Also highly recommended: the "Tales From Estrus" compilation EP featuring the Drags' cover of Crime's "Baby You're so Repulsive" and the Drags/PeeChees split 45 on G.I. Productions.

Teenage Kicks: Has the band always been a three-piece?

CJ: No, for a while we had two guitar players, but Robbie moved to Atlanta a few years ago. And there's been a couple of other side Drags — our friend Ray was a Drag, and this guy Tom was a Drag for a little while. But it's been pretty much just the three of us. There was a point where we really wanted a fourth person, but no one's come along who was ready, willing and able. Now, I kind of like it as three.

Teenage Kicks: Were you in any bands before the Drags?

Meet The Drags
Estrus Records promo postcard

CJ: No, this is pretty much my first band; I'd never sang before. And this is definitely Lorca's first and only rock 'n' roll band. She didn't even play the bass before we started; she played the cello as a kid. But we kinda wanted someone who couldn't play because a couple of us already sorta could. And I was trying really hard not to play guitar that well — or just to play it differently. I was trying to do things that sounded cooler. Not really anything that would freak out other guitar players, but just to be uglier. So, that was our idea at first, to have somebody that couldn't play bass, to add that certain spice to it.

Teenage Kicks: And what about Keith?

CJ: Keith just kind of came along. We lost our drummer, and we had a whole summer of just sitting around. I played the drums for a while just to keep it going. And then Keith presented himself, and we jumped at it.

Teenage Kicks: Do you guys consider yourselves a punk band?

CJ: Definitely! I mean... I dunno how to explain why. We do everything ourselves; nobody's gonna do it for us. And we're not making a shitload of money. We just do what we do. And I think that's as good an encapsulation of punk rock as any.

Teenage Kicks: Do you have a big following around Albuquerque?

CJ: It ebbs and flows. Sometimes it seems like we're doing really well. Sometimes it seems like no one gives a shit.

Gas Huffer, Clawhammer & the Drags at the Whisky
(Poster art by Chris Cooper aka "Coop")

Teenage Kicks: Is there a scene in Albuquerque?

CJ: Yeah, there's some bands that are really good. And there's a couple of places to play. That's all you need, really. But there's not enough bands so that you can go out every weekend and see a different combination of bands. The plan now is to make a record and be gone as much as we can. I don't wanna play there every two weeks.

Teenage Kicks: How did you hook up with Estrus Records?

Dragsploitation...Now!
(Estrus Records 1995)

CJ: We sent them our first record [the "I Like to Die" 45]. We'd seen the Estrus ads; they had great little monsters and stuff in them. And we thought they looked really cool. We were always stealing the stuff from their ads to make our flyers. So we figured, let's send 'em a record! So, we sent them a test pressing with a postcard from this breakfast restaurant.

   This restaurant... it's like a whole city block and it's in a barn. It's called the Frontier Restaurant. We discovered that they had these postcards with their Frontier Sweet Roll on them, which is their claim to fame. So, we wrote on the back of the postcard: "We just made this record!" I don't know what we expected; if we expected to get signed, or what. But they called us back and said, "We wanna sell the record." A good chunk of that first pressing was sold through the Estrus mail-order catalog. And then we went on tour through that. So, we were kind of halfway connected with Estrus even before we were signed. And when we got back, they offered to put out a record if we made one. 

Teenage Kicks: I know the Drags have played on some Estrus-package shows. Is that something the label tries to set up regularly?

Comic book version of the Drags included
in the "Tales From Estrus" Vol. 3 compilation EP

CJ: I don't know about regularly... We've done it a few times. We flew out to Chicago and played with Impala, the Lord High Fixers, the Mono Men, and the Insomniacs. And we've done it out here with the Mono Men and the Trashwomen a couple of times. But it's not like it happens all over. You've probably got an inflated idea of how much it happens, 'cause it happens here a lot. But it doesn't happen as much everywhere else.

   Dave [Crider, Estrus owner] was talking about going down to Texas and doing a show, but it hasn't happened yet. He was actually talking about buying a bus, and we'd all travel together — like the old soul revues. Each of us would play two songs and haul ass off the stage!

Teenage Kicks: Is the trash/sleaze culture something you guys are heavily into?

CJ: No, not especially. That's something that's sort of been put on us. It wasn't really about Rat Fink, or whatever. I have an appreciation for stuff like that, but it wasn't why we did it. I just wanted to have a rock band, you know.

   And the stuff we've done, like "Elongated Man" — it was a joke! This guy told us about Elongated Man, and we didn't believe it. Like I said, we're not really experts. But we ended up calling the song "Elongated Man" just because we thought it was a cool title. Since then, people have said, "Wow! You named it after Elongated Man. He's so rad!" But I still wouldn't recognize Elongated Man from... whoever!

Teenage Kicks: All the songs on the album are simply credited to "The Drags." How does the songwriting actually work?

CJ: We do it kind of collaboratively. I come in with something, and we mess around with it. And then I kind of scream until I find two or three words that go good together. And then we try to figure out what the song is about from there. 

The Drags 
(back cover of Can't Stop Rock And Roll - Estrus Records 1997)

Teenage Kicks: How did the split 45 with the PeeChees doing a Drags' song and vice versa come about?

CJ: Somebody sent us a letter asking to do a single. And we said, "Yeah!" before we thought about if we had any songs. 'Cause we write songs kind of slow. We called the PeeChees about something else and they said, "We just got this letter to do some single..." And they didn't know what song they were gonna do either. I dunno... It wasn't the most original idea on Earth, but we decided to do each other's songs. And when we presented the idea to the label, they said, "That's weird." 'Cause that's what they were thinking about doing.

"Tales From Estrus" Vol. 3 
featuring the Lord High Fixers, Impala & the Drags

Teenage Kicks: Do you purposely try to get a lo-fi sound with your recordings?

CJ: Sometimes we do and sometimes we don't. There's been times when we wanted to add a little extra heat to it, so we did that. And sometimes it sounds really good, and sometimes we've been burned on it. And there's been times when we thought it sounded a little high-tech in the studio, but once we got the record, it sounded really neat. And there's other times where we thought it sounded really neat in the studio, but when we got the record back, it was a little grosser than we'd intended.  

Teenage Kicks: I've heard that the "Anxiety" single [the A-side of the group's recent 3-song 45 on Empty Records, which also features "Elongated Man" and a cover of "Flying Saucer Rock and Roll"] was recorded on the spur of the moment. Is that true?

CJ: We did that completely on the fly. We did it the day after Garage Shock [95]. Our van broke down, and we were sitting in some hotel. Blake [owner of Empty Records] had talked to us the night before about wanting to do a single sometime. Usually, that's like the rock equivalent of "let's do lunch." So, we called him up the next day and said, "If you can get a studio, we're gonna be in town." And we had a single recorded within 24 hours of when he asked us to do it!

Poster for Garage Shock 95 with the Makers,
Supersnazz & the Drags (to name a few)

Teenage Kicks: Are you inspired by other vocalists?

CJ: I have been since I started. But when I first started, I was mostly inspired by fear. Just straight-up fear. I figured, "I need to do this because no one's gonna do it for me." And it horrified me. I was in the bathroom for the whole night before we played our first show. It was such a horrifying experience. Since then... There's people whose singing I really enjoy, and I think you can be inspired by other people's singing. But you've got your own equipment. There's not really much I can do to sound like other people.

Teenage Kicks: I want to ask about the stories behind a couple of the songs on Dragsploitation...Now! One of my favorites is "My Girlfriend's in the F.B.I."

CJ: That was probably the quickest song I've ever written. It just kind of came to me when I was driving around one day. What was the word that I heard? Usually, that's the way it happens. I'll hear a word somewhere, and I'll start running with it when I'm driving around in my car. My car doesn't have a radio, so I have to keep myself entertained. So, I was driving around and it just came to me. I had it written by the time I got home. All I had to do was figure out how to play what was going on in my head.

Teenage Kicks: What about "Teenage Invasion"?

Mono Men & the Drags at Kilowatt in SF

CJ: Same deal. I just thought it was a really great title. I just thought "invasion" was a great word! That's actually the fourth incarnation of "Teenage Invasion." You know, there's the old philosophical question: If you change the head and you change the handle, do you still have the same axe? It used to have a different verse, but we thought the chorus was cool. So, we changed the verse. Then, we thought the chorus wasn't so cool. So, we changed the chorus, etc., etc. 

Teenage Kicks: The new "Tales From Estrus" compilation EP, (which includes the Drags' cover of Crime's "Baby You're so Repulsive") comes with a comic book featuring all the bands. How does it feel to be depicted in comic book form?

CJ: Oh, that was so cool! Dave told us that was going to happen, but it didn't really sink in at the time. But once we got the comic books back, it was really great! Although, for the record, I don't wear Converses. They make me look like I have duck feet.

Teenage Kicks: Why did you choose to cover "Baby You're so Repulsive" on the EP?

CJ: It was just kind of a neat song. I think one of Keith's friends had the record. We hadn't really heard of Crime. I mean, I knew that "Hotwire My Heart" was theirs — the song that Sonic Youth did. But that was about it.

Teenage Kicks: Have you heard anything back from Crime?

CJ: No, but you know, all our songs are ripped off from something else anyway. We keep expecting to hear from a whole lot of people. Haha!

★ ★ ★

Here's a link to the track "My Girlfriend's in the F.B.I." from Dragsploitation...Now.

The Power Of Pop: Wayne Hussey Talks About The Making Of "Masque" & The Condition Of The Mission In 1992

Originally published in American Music Press (October 1992)

By Devorah Ostrov

The Mission before Simon Hinkler left the band.
(Wayne Hussey second from right)

The record company bio that came with the new Mission UK album, Masque, reads like an ersatz Bronte novel. "Standing beneath the vaulted ceiling of Beefheart Hall..." begins the romanticized prose that depicts the group's vocalist Wayne Hussey surveying his country estate — no doubt named in honor of the avant-garde musician best known for Trout Mask Replica. 

The text gets even more ambitious when Hussey (apparently keeping his desire to be Ted Nugent a secret all these years) "discards his huge wolf and weasel fur cape. Leaping onto a three-legged milking stool, he hangs his brand new, recently blooded crossbow on the wrought-iron weapons rack fixed high up on the thick granite walls."

Wayne Hussey
(photographer unknown)

Hussey himself is on the other end of the phone line, having a hearty chuckle. He's really a very jovial fellow. 

"That's all a fabrication!" he exclaims.

So, Beefheart Hall doesn't actually exist?  

"Not to my knowledge."

And you don't kill your own meat and custom-make clothing from the fur?

"No!" He's quite emphatic about that.

I'm guessing the bit where bassist Craig Adams and drummer Mick Brown turn up for rehearsals in an ex-Soviet military helicopter is also fiction, which is a shame, as I quite enjoyed that mental image.

"The bio was designed to see how many people would believe it," explains Hussey. "It's been quite amusing, particularly in Japan. The Japanese journalists all believe every single word!"

★ ★ ★

Q: Masque is so different from your previous albums. It's sort of upbeat! Has it taken people by surprise?

WAYNE: It's really... [he pauses to chuckle] divided them, particularly our audience here in Britain. I think people who have seen us play live a few times understand it a little more than the people who haven't. But you know, parts of our audience really don't understand it and even... [more chuckles] don't like it. And then some of them say it's the best record we've made. But you don't make a record with that intention. You just do the best job you can at that particular point in time. And hopefully along the way, you entertain yourself as well as entertain some other people.

Masque
(Mercury Records - 1992)

Q: Is it true that the band was on the verge of breaking up just before recording Masque?

WAYNE: Yeah, well... It's a question that gets raised every now and then, particularly since Simon [Hinkler, guitarist] left. I mean, we were in the middle of that 1990 tour when he left. And suddenly, it went from something that felt solid and invincible to something questionable and vulnerable. You constantly have to reappraise what you're doing anyway, kind of validate it for yourself. I think it's part of the creative process to question what you're doing, to question its value.

Q: Has the new record convinced you that it's worthwhile to keep the band together?

WAYNE: It's brought us closer together as people. Our friendships underwent a pretty traumatic time in 1990. It was the worst time ever. We didn't like each other very much, which was probably born out of the fact that we didn't like ourselves. So, I think it's brought us closer together as friends, which was basically what the band was founded on. I've been in bands before where friendship was never an issue. It was very much, "This is just what we do together," and that was it. It was great to be in the Mission, to be four lads in it together, and be best friends. Obviously, when Simon left, it really shook it all up.

The Mission at the time of this interview.
L-R: Mick Brown, Wayne Hussey & Craig Adams

Q: Are you still friends with Simon?

WAYNE: Yeah... I mean, YEAH! I would never want Simon to come back into the group. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want to come back. There was a period when I felt betrayed by him, pretty let down. And I'm sure he felt the same way about us. But time's a good healer. He played a couple of shows with us last year, and he came to my wedding. Ironically enough, he's now a journalist [with Rock World magazine].

Q: Has he interviewed you yet?

WAYNE: No! There was a request put in by the paper to interview us, but he knows too much dirt. Haha! He reviewed the LP — he gave it eight out of ten. There were a few little digs at me, reading between the lines, but I guess that's to be expected.

Wayne Hussey

Q: I got the impression from some of the lyrics on Masque that you used the songs to, for lack of a better phrase, purge some personal demons from your head. Some of the lyrics seem really close to home.

WAYNE: It was the kind of discipline I imposed on myself with this record. In the past, I tended to deviate a little from the subject matter; get a little prosaic, you might say. I prefer to call it poetic license. But with this record, I really wanted to try to speak in a language that I speak in every day.

Q: Instead of being consciously 'gothic.'

WAYNE: Well, I never thought of it as being gothic. I think of it as being poetry, but I was kind of into the use of words for their sound more than their meaning. But that was the only discipline I imposed. Musically, it was: let's throw enough things in the pot and see what we get!

Q: I do think that some of your lyrics, for instance, "Never Again," would make wonderful poems on their own.

WAYNE: It's weird, I really envy people who write nonsensical two-line songs, but I need to qualify it to myself. And my way of qualifying it is that it reads well, as well as sounds good.

Q: Do you read much poetry?

Wayne on the cover of No. 1 magazine
November 1, 1986

WAYNE: I have done in the past. Now I read more novels and biographies. But when I was younger, I did read a lot of poetry.

Q: Do you have a favorite poet?

WAYNE: Yeah... It's a pretty common one, but it's Baudelaire.

Q: Do you have a favorite English folktale?

WAYNE: No, but I have a favorite Iowa folktale! My wife's father is originally from the Midwest, Iowa, and he's got loads of stories. My favorite one is about this guy they used to call "Dancing John." He just couldn't sit still. So, when he died, there was a massive turnout in the local community. People came just to see him lying still in his coffin. It was the first time anybody had seen him stay still! There's going to be a song on the next LP called "The Ballad of Dancing John," I think.

   I also like a lot of Steinbeck's writing. Have you ever read Travels With Charley? It's a wonderful book. It's one of the last ones he wrote, if not the last. He bought a mobile home and traveled around America with his dog. Basically, that's what the book is about — discovering America, all these folktales from wherever he went. It's really, really good!

Q: Would you like to do something like that yourself? Travel around America?

WAYNE: Yeah, I'd love to! I'd really like to have the time and the means to do it. There are so many spectacular parts of the country, particularly the Pacific Coast Highway, Monterey, Yosemite. Then you go out to Vegas — it's just very bizarre! You've got all these different things...

Poster for the band's 25th-anniversary celebration
at the Brixton Academy in London.

Q: Pop culture!

WAYNE: It is! Particularly LA. There's so much 20th-century history, and it all fascinates me. It's what I grew up with. I really can see Kelly and I living out there in a few years' time.

Q: What about the rest of the band?

WAYNE: I don't know... I really don't see the band going on forever and ever. I'm sure Craig and Mick don't either. It's something we're doing right now that we're enjoying.

Q: Is there some other work you see yourself doing in the future, like maybe writing a book?

WAYNE: Yeah, that's kind of a major ambition of mine. Whenever I read a great book, it's like, "God, I would love to..." To have a finished manuscript would be like, wow! Not even to have it published or anything. I just think it would be a great sense of achievement. But I haven't got the self-discipline to do that. I also like the lifestyle and discipline of writers. I like the idea that they get up at six 'clock in the morning and write till mid-day, so many words, and then the rest of the day they get drunk.

Q: I don't think they all do that.

WAYNE: I know they don't, but Charles Bukowski does. I'm not sure he's disciplined in his writing at all, actually. I know that's the way Steinbeck used to write.

The Mission circa 1986
Poster from Smash Hits magazine

Q: Are you disciplined as a songwriter?

WAYNE: No. I'll plunk around on the piano or a guitar. I have a studio now in the garden of my house, so I go there and mess about. If something captures my imagination, I'll pursue it. But it's very strange. I'm always coming up with new ideas, 99% of which I discard or forget. But no, I tend to write in phases, really. I haven't written a song now since we finished the album. But I'll start doing some stuff, and five or six good songs will come at once. That's the way I work.

Q: I just want to say that I'm really happy you chose "Like a Child Again" as a single from the new album. It's such a great pop song!

Wayne shares the cover of Sounds with
Miles Hunt of the Wonder Stuff - March 1990

WAYNE: It is a great pop song! I'm proud of that one. It was actually the last song I wrote for the record.

Q: There are actually quite a few great pop tunes on Masque.

WAYNE: Well, you know, I've always felt that we were more a pop group than we were a rock group. I don't think we fully realized the songs in the past. I don't think we saw ourselves too clearly.

Q: Was there pressure from within the band to change your musical direction a bit with this album?

WAYNE: As far as Craig, Mick and myself, we kind of realized even before Simon had left that we had to go somewhere else with it. But we weren't sure what to do or where to take it. Obviously, when Simon left, it forced our hand a little bit, but it actually kind of liberated us in a lot of ways. I was writing tunes and not having to accommodate another guitar player. I'd forgotten that I could play guitar! I'd let Simon do it all. But with this record, it was like, "Okay, I'll play guitar here." On the other hand, if I didn't want any guitar in a song, then there wasn't any guitar.

Q: Replacing Simon was never a question then?

WAYNE: No! The Mission is the three of us now, although we used additional musicians on the record, and we'll use additional musicians when we play live as well.

Q: You used King Hussein's personal violin player on "Sticks and Stones." How did that come about?

"Like a Child Again"
CD single (Mercury Records - 1992)

WAYNE: I asked Jaz [Coleman, of Killing Joke], who's a friend of ours, to score the track. He said, "Yeah, but ah... I'm going to bring somebody along to play violin." Abdel [Aboud Ali] works for a living in a restaurant in Shepard's Bush. He's one of those annoying violin players that comes up and plays while you're eating! But whenever there's a royal occasion or a state wedding in Jordan, he gets the V.I.P. treatment. Quite neat!

Q: And Anthony Thistlethwaite [formerly of the Waterboys] co-wrote some of the songs.

WAYNE: Only two tunes ended up on the record ["She Conjures Me Wings" and "Even You May Shine"], but there were a few other tunes that I wrote with Anthony. He's such a lovely person. He's such a great person to play with because there's absolutely no ego involved on his part. He just purely loves music and plays for the fun of it!

Q: The song "Even You May Shine," is that about Charles Manson?

WAYNE: What makes you say that?

Q: You reference "Helter Skelter," little piggies, the family, and the names Sadie and Gypsy.

Wayne Hussey
(photo from the NME)

WAYNE: Yeah, I read the book around the time we were touring California. It's bewildering to me that people would do anything for this person. But it's quite an easy concept to grasp. Being in a band, there are times when you're put into a position of power, and it's easy to see how that can be abused. That's basically what the song is about — people need to find their place; they need to feel like they're part of something.

Q: "From One Jesus to Another," is that an answer to John Lennon's "Gimmie Some Truth"?

WAYNE: No, it's more like an answer to a song called "Lovely," which was on Carved In Sand [the band's previous album]. Actually, "From One Jesus..." was the first song that I wrote for this record. It's kind of, uhmm... It's the realization that you need to love yourself, and you really only need yourself. Once you have that, everything falls into line. But the bottom line is, firstly, you need to love yourself.

Q: It sounds like you've come to this realization fairly recently.

WAYNE: Towards the end of 1990, I was a mess. My personal life was a mess; the band was a mess. I was drinking far too much and taking far too many drugs. During the last world tour, I was supposed to go out and play to two thousand people a night and be a certain type of persona. And it ended up that I'd play that persona just to please them. I was really very unhappy, and I was taking it out on all the people around me, and I didn't know why. I'm the kind of person who doesn't confront things very easily. I tend to ball it up and try to put it on one side. It's interesting what you said before, with this record trying to lay some ghosts to rest because that's definitely how it worked for me. And it's probably the best way for me to exorcise those ghosts, through writing songs. The whole time I was making the record was very much a healing time. Obviously, Kelly, who became my wife while we were making the record, was very instrumental in that as well. She helped me regain my self-confidence. It's a gradual process. But with this record, I was very much getting it out of my system.

Advert for Wayne's 2015 tour in support of his
solo LP Songs of Candlelight and Razorblades.

Q: Are you content with the Mission's status in the music world?

WAYNE: I'm fairly happy with where we are right now. There was a time when we really saw ourselves being bigger than U2, or whoever, and when Simon left, it dawned on us that maybe that wasn't going to happen. I would like to sell more records, but in terms of my personal life, being able to do the things I want to do, go where I want to go without being bothered — it's great!

Q: Yeah, Bono probably can't go to the grocery store without being mobbed.

WAYNE: But the guys from Pink Floyd can. I much prefer that kind of fame.

Q: Will you be touring America in support of Masque?

WAYNE: I think we'll probably come over. It won't be a tour in the normal sense of the word. It won't be a concert tour, or anything. I don't know what it'll be yet.

Q: It'll be a surprise!

WAYNE: Well, you know, the record surprised a few people. Hopefully, we'll surprise them live too!

Enrique Serves Up '70s Kitsch & Sartorial Splendor To Delirious San Francisco (And Detroit) Fans!

Originally published in BAM (November 1, 1991)

By Devorah Ostrov

Enrique (publicity photo circa 1991)

In an icy-cold basement just off Haight Street, the five members of Enrique — vocalists Jason and D'Arcy, guitarist Sugar, bassist Mervine, and drummer Ron ("no last names, please") — are running through the Debbie Boone hit "You Light Up My Life." 

Jason begins, "So many nights..." and D'Arcy follows, "...I sit by my window..." But when they reach the second verse, continuing to alternate lines, a problem arises — the one who starts the song gets to sing, "To say, hey, I love you!" 

Enrique performing at the Haight Street Fair
Photo: Ron Quintana

"But that's the best line!" cries D'Arcy. I'm singing it."

 

"Uh-uh," counters Jason. "It's mine."

Tempers flare, but just as quickly, everyone's giggling. They can, after all, sing the line together.

Jason and D'Arcy have always been best friends. The newest version of their childhoods has them kidnapped by a Spaniard named Enrique. He, supposedly, took them to live in a trailer park in Lodi, where he taught them to disco dance. "We grew to love him as a father," says Jason.

"Are people really going to believe we were abducted?" asks D'Arcy. He's worried about the details. "Have we been reunited with our parents yet?"

No matter. Eventually they (somehow) made their way to San Francisco, and about two years ago, mysterious flyers depicting their faces (sometimes pasted over those of the original Charlie's Angels) with the name "Enrique" began appearing around town.

"We had danced for some friends' bands a couple of times," explains D'Arcy, "and had been well received. We wanted to take it further, so we made up the flyers. We just weren't sure what we wanted to do."

Flyer for an Enrique show (with Wig Torture & Camel Toe) at Morty's.

Enter Mervine. Figuring they were advertising a group, he asked the pair if they might need a bassist. "We thought, OK, we'll be a band," laughs Jason. Sugar, who used to scoop ice cream for a living alongside Jason, was added on guitar, and the first of two drummers signed up.

Before the first rehearsal, Enrique was booked to open for the Average White Band at the Kennel Club. "It really helped us get in gear," says D'Arcy. "We could've taken six months to sit around and practice, but only having a month to get the show together pushed us to do it."

Jason, Kate Jackson & D'Arcy featured in the
Enrique billboard located at Castro & Market Streets.

He adds that their first set featured all cover songs, including Hot Chocolate's "Everyone's a Winner," the Partridge Family's "I Can Feel Your Heartbeat," and Nick Gilder's "Hot Child in the City." 

From early on, the band has shown a knack for generating publicity. Consistently amusing flyers constantly appeared, a billboard went up on the corner of Castro and Market, and Jason and D'Arcy were seen on TV 20's Dance Party. 

In their biggest coup, the two vocalists — feet clad in platforms, heads topped with Afro wigs — paid a visit to the chat show People Are Talking and asked a startled John Waters (promoting Cry Baby) how to get into one of his films. "See my casting agent," they were tersely told.

"I'd rather be on Twin Peaks anyway," huffs Jason. 

D'Arcy & Jason show off their Hostess Cupcake collection
as well as their spectacular handmade costumes!

In July, Enrique travelled to New York to participate in the New Music Seminar. Envisioning an instant recording contract, the band came away disappointed. Still, the journey enabled them to play a memorable show in Detroit.

"Detroit flipped over us," enthuses Mervine, explaining how after their set, the band had to be led through the 1000-seat hall by a bouncer. "Everyone was shaking our hands and asking for autographs!"

"They actually offered to buy clothing off us," adds Sugar. 

Determined to keep going once the current '70s revival inevitably fizzles out, Enrique is concentrating on writing new material and a four-song tape featuring all original songs is available through the Enrique fan club. "We want to make a name for ourselves as a real, solid band," says D'Arcy. "We want to be able to stand on our own feet."

★ ★ ★

Jason with Julie & Michelle -
two of Enrique's biggest fans.
Photo: Ron Quintana

Enrique at the Paradise Lounge - 2/23/1990

Originally published in BAM

Live review by Devorah Ostrov

"The ultimate Enrique experience," promised the flyers for this double-set extravaganza. With 'fro wigs, platforms, flying bread and outrageously handmade '70s attire, the show easily lived up to the confident proclamation.

While the early set featured treatments of such classics as "Kung Fu Fighting" and "Boogie Man" (vocalists Jason and D'Arcy imbuing the latter with the passion it deserves), it was the late show that reigned supreme.

Dressed in a patriotic display of star-covered blue flares and vests complete with starred cape-like appendages, the two frontmen took the stage with the rousing "Electric Company Theme Song." Hilariously synchronizing their go-go dancing, the two tore through "Everyone's a Winner" and "I'm a little Bit Country/I'm a Little Bit Rock 'n' Roll" — D'Arcy playing Donny to Jason's Marie. And they wound up the whole affair with Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak" — so trashed that Phil Lynott must still be rolling in his grave.

Although it's hard to take your eyes off the singers, the musicians in Enrique should not be overlooked, especially when they transform the Partridge Family hit "I Can Feel Your Heartbeat" with a beat so funkified you'll forget how silly a song it actually is.

Despite the trappings to the contrary, Enrique is not just a '70s revivalist act. Both sets featured several self-penned tunes (such as the enticing "1-800-ENRIQUE"), which elicited just as many cheers from the happy crowd, one of whom offered up a two-volume 8-track recording of Thank God It's Friday as a token of affection.

Enrique (with Michelle) at the Hemp Festival — "in the mistaken idea they were onstage,"
adds photographer Ron Quintana.

* You can follow Enrique on Facebook! Here's a link to their page: 

Enrique Es Muy Jumbo!