Punk On A Rock returns
By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
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| Tastefully distasteful SoCal punk band Guttermouth returns to Honolulu on Saturday (with lead vocalist Mark Adkins, second from right) for the fifth edition of Punk On A Rock. at Pipeline Cafe.
Lisa Johnson 5th Annual Punk On A Rock with Guttermouth, Mad Caddies, Death By Stereo, The Briefs, ASG, Drowning Adam 3:30 p.m., Saturday Pipeline Cafe $18 Tickets on sale at Cheapo Books & Music (Puck's Alley), Jelly's ('Aiea), Hawaii's Natural High, Pipeline Cafe More information at www.punkonarock.com or 589-1999. |
But the real reason to get excited about the return of the annual Pipeline Cafe punk band throwdown this weekend is this: After four years of ignoring our craving for "Teri Yakimoto," Guttermouth finally returns.
Yes, Virginia! It's time to start humming "I Read It On A Bathroom Wall In Reno," "Bruce Lee vs. The KISS Army" and "Trinket Trading, Tick Toting, Toothless Tired, Tramps (7T's)."
I chatted with Guttermouth vocalist/lyrical-Jesse-James Mark Adkins and members of two other bands that are Honolulu-bound for this year's showcase. Some of the questions were intelligent; others were pretty darn stupid.
The same might be said of the punk rockers' answers.
Cue up "Malted Vomit" and enjoy!
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Band: Guttermouth.
Formed: 1987.
Based: Huntington Beach, Calif.
Selected discography: "Eat Your Face" (2004); "Gusto" (2002); Covered With Ants" (2001); "Gorgeous" (1999); "Musical Monkey" (1997); "The Album Formerly Known As A Full Length LP" (1996); "Teri Yakimoto" (1996).
Members: Mark Adkins (vocals), Tyler Smith (drums), Scott Sheldon (guitar), Don Horne (guitar) and some as-yet unhired bassist.
I talked to: Adkins.
Why he was cleaning the house when I called: "Tammy, my girlfriend, has the regular job. I've got the time. She calls me her house boy."
Perks of being Tammy's house boy: "Sitting around all day. I'm pretty well-versed on the History Channel."
Band defines its sound as: "Tastefully distasteful."
My take: Sure, I'll buy that. It's also skate-punk fast and trashy funny. A favorite from this year's brand-new "Eat Your Face" CD is "Octopus Hairpiece."
"Octopus Hairpiece" defined: "One of the guys who used to be in the band was losing his masculinity up there. We started to notice that he was using a hat all the time. We'd laugh and talk about him behind his back. (It's about) the balding surfer with the ego and the image. And it's all being washed out to sea one shower at a time."
Recurring themes: hair loss, surfing, fake punks, noisy babies at 2 a.m., sex.
How'd you get the name? "From our original drummer, Tim. He thought Guttermouth was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. I didn't. But we couldn't come up with anything better. The shoe doesn't fit anymore, though. Meeting your girlfriend's parents or uncle and having to explain, 'Well, my band's name is Guttermouth and I'm 38 years old,' gets old fast."
"Kona Town" connection: "We've become pretty good friends with Pepper after doing some tours with them here. Some of the guys live right here in San Clemente. They take good care of us when we go to Hawai'i. They're a fun band to tour with."
Guttermouth Honolulu after-parties, circa late 1990s: "We'd stay at (a) Diamond Head hotel and throw bottles on the tin roof of the apartment building next door until the wee hours of the morning. The cops would come, and we'd hide from them and giggle like little girls."
Guttermouth Honolulu after-parties, circa 2004: "We'll just drink more, go swimming and hit some bars."
The beautiful thing about punk: "I've made a living for the past 17 years with absolutely no talent. None of us have ever taken any lessons to play instruments or write songs or anything like that. And it's all kind of worked out."
3 must-have CDs in any decent punk collection: "GI (LP)" — The Germs, "The First Four Years" — Black Flag, "Look Sharp" — Joe Jackson.
Warning to Guttermouth virgins: "We're not your M2-style of punk band. We actually have some heart and soul. We're not very talented, but we sure are fun to watch."
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| Ska fans unite! The Mad Caddies have a horn section, play everything from Dixieland jazz to sea shanties and still call themselves punks.
Dan Monick |
Formed: 1995, as The Ivy League; changed name in 1997.
Based: Santa Barbara, Calif.
Selected Discography: "Live From Toronto: Songs In The Key Of Eh" (2004); "Just One More" (2003); "Rock The Plank" (2001); "The Holiday Has Been Cancelled" (2000).
Members: Chuck Robertson (vocals), Sascha Lazor (guitar, banjo), Keith Douglas (bass), Mark Iversen (trumpet, vocals), Eduardo Hernandez (trombone), Brian Flenniken (drums).
I talked to: Robertson.
Band defines its sound: "We're an eclectic rock band with reggae, ska, Dixieland jazz and punk rock influences."
My take: Robertson forgot to include swing, blues, rockabilly, country, surf guitar and sea shanties. Love the horn section.
Influences: Sublime, NOFX, Fishbone, Squirrel Nut Zippers.
Recurring themes: Alcoholism, crazy big guys drinking in the morning downtown, an uncertain future, preppie girls.
How'd you get the name? "We'd been gigging around town for a year, bringing 100 to 150 people to shows and still not getting paid a dollar opening up for national acts. So we figured we were, like, caddies to these other guys."
First show: "Our high school at lunch time."
First paid show: "We ended up smashing up the dressing room, so we had to get another paid show to pay for the repairs."
Band's words to live by: "Have a good time all the time."
3 must-have CDs in any decent punk collection: "London Calling"— The Clash, "Punk In Drublic" — NOFX, "How To Clean Everything" — Propagandhi.
Current state of punk: "It seems like punk kind of got exploited in the last couple of years. Some of these mainstream bands have made punk more accessible for younger kids, which is good because they eventually find the actual good stuff they might not have heard otherwise ... like the Mad Caddies. But I'm upset that fashion has been such a big part of punk in the last year or two."
The Caddies gave "No Hope" to the "Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2" CD.
Now what? "I don't know. But Canada is looking real good."
An American punk band in Europe: "Every single kid on the last tour wanted to talk about George Bush. Finally, I just said, 'You know what? I'm a musician. I'm not a politician. Yes, it sucks. I didn't vote for him.' "
Warning to Mad Caddies virgins: "Get ready to drink and dance with the Mad Caddies! That's pretty much what we like to do."
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| Don't call them emo. Members of hardcore metal punkers Death By Stereo fill their iPods with Slayer, Bad Brains and Swedish metal. |
Formed: 1998.
Based: Hollywood, Calif.
Discography: "Into The Valley Of Death" (2003), "Day Of The Death" (2001), "If Looks Could Kill I'd Watch You Die" (1999)
Members: Efrem Schulz (vocals), Dan Palmer (guitar), Todd Henning (drums), Tito (guitar, vocals), Tyler Rebe (bass).
I talked to: Henning.
Band defines its sound: "Metal-core with hints of punk, and lots of hooks."
My take: Body-beating blows of loud punk and hardcore guitar, matched with phlegm-clearing primal scream vocals. Darkly humorous and scary intense at the same time.
Recurring themes: Death, social consciousness, more death.
Influences: Bad Religion, Bad Brains, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Faith No More, AFI, The Police, The Clash, Suicidal Tendencies, Social Distortion.
Swedish metal rawks! "We like pretty much any kind of Swedish metal — In Flames, Children of Bodom. It seems the Swedes just nailed the metal thing. Every Swedish metal band is insanely good."
How'd you get the name? "It's (a line) from the movie 'The Lost Boys.' We all love that movie."
Band's words to live by: "Think for yourself. Don't just swallow whatever is thrown at you."
So what's a metal band doing playing Punk On A Rock? "Even when we play with bands like Pennywise, Strung Out or Guttermouth, kids embrace it because there's still enough punk. And I think that our ethics, in general, are kind of punk."
You called our music what? "We've been called everything because our style isn't easy to pinpoint a lot of times. But the thing that probably hurts us the most is being called emo. None of us like emo in any way, shape or form. If you listen to what Efrem is singing about, it's not about past girlfriends or teddy bears. It's about stuff that's really messed up."
3 must-have CDs in any decent punk collection: "Suffer" — Bad Religion, "Rock For Light" — Bad Brains, and anything from The Clash.
3 must-have CDs in any decent metal collection: "Piece Of Mind" — Iron Maiden, "Reign In Blood" — Slayer, "And Justice For All" — Metallica.
Warning to Death By Stereo virgins: "Efrem will probably come out in the crowd and scream in your face. We have a lot of pent-up energy because we haven't played a show in a while, and we're excited about playing Hawai'i."
Reach Derek Paiva at 525-8005 or dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.
