und zu dokumentieren, damit alle meine Songs und Bilder das wirkliche Leben, reale Situationen, reale Orte widerspiegeln. Eines meiner größten Hobbys ist es, zu malen, während ich YouTube-„Prominenten“ dabei zuschaue, wie sie ihr Ding auf ihren Kanälen machen. Die meisten von ihnen haben eine enorme Anhängerschaft, machen aber den unglaublich dümmsten und lächerlichsten Scheiß, den man sich vorstellen kann, und sie verdienen Millionen damit. Ich sehne mich nicht nach ihrem Leben. Selbst mit all dem Geld, das sie verdienen, würde ich mein Leben nicht gegen ihres eintauschen. Oft stößt mich das ab, was sie sagen und tun, aber ich finde aus irgendeinem Grund Inspiration darin.
Was fällt dir schwerer, die Melodie oder die Texte?
Die Melodien auszudenken ist einfach. Texten wird heutzutage schwieriger.
Hast du Songwriter, die du deine Idole nennen würdest?
Ich glaube nicht, dass ich jemanden vergöttere, aber ich denke, Leute wie Billy Bragg und Steve Earle sind unglaubliche Songwriter.
Könntest du einen regulären Job machen und trotzdem Zeit für deine Kunst finden?
Ich habe während meines gesamten Erwachsenenlebens regelmäßig gearbeitet. Ich habe selten Vollzeit gearbeitet, aber ich habe viele Teilzeit- und Zeitarbeitsstellen angenommen, um all die Jahre über die Runden zu kommen. Ich habe überhaupt kein Problem damit, zu arbeiten. Ich bin stark verwurzelt in der Arbeiterklasse.
Heutzutage ist es für Punk- oder Hardcore-Sänger ganz normal, eine Solokarriere zu starten, und niemand kümmert sich mehr darum. War das das Gleiche, als du in den 80ern damit angefangen hast, oder bist du auf viele negative Reaktionen gestoßen?
Ich denke, die Leute waren zuerst ein wenig aufgeregt, aber als sie merkten, dass es nur ich und eine Akustikgitarre waren, ließ die Aufregung nach. Ich verstehe das. Es gibt nicht viel, was man als Solo-Akustiker tun kann, um mit dem zu konkurrieren, was man mit einer vollen, lauten Band tun könnte. Jetzt sind die Leute ziemlich daran gewöhnt, dass ich hauptsächlich solo spiele, also mögen sie es entweder und kommen, um meine Shows zu sehen, oder sie tun es nicht.
Deine Texte haben meistens eine sehr positive Lebenseinstellung. Ist das etwas Selbstverständliches für dich?
Ich denke nicht unbedingt, dass das stimmt. Ich meine, ich bin immer auf der Suche nach besseren, helleren Momenten im Leben, auf die ich mich konzentrieren kann, aber meine kreative Seite ist sehr stark in einem viel dunkleren, traurigeren und wütenderen Ort verwurzelt. Das ist der springende Punkt … versuche etwas Gutes aus dem Zeug herauszuholen, das schlecht war. Das gibt meinem Leben Seele und Sinn und gibt mir jeden Tag etwas, an dem ich ziemlich viel arbeiten kann.
When you started Seven Seconds in 1979, how were you able to book a tour outside of Reno?
We didn’t start touring until 1982. By then, we had become friends with people in bands like D.O.A., Black Flag and Minor Threat and they taught us a lot about what to do and who to talk to about booking a tour.
Was there any kind of booking agency you could use or did you all do it yourselves?
There were no booking agents for bands like us back then. It was all kids in certain cities helping kids in bands come play in their city.
When did you do your first tour of Europe?
I believe our first Europe tour was 1990. We went over late. We had been asked to come play since the mid- 1980s but just never could get our shit together to make it happen until then.
If you compare touring life in the 80s to nowadays, with the new technology that has made it easier, has it also changed in other ways?
Yes. It’s completely different and better now. I can get way more things accomplished in a shorter amount of time and making records is more fun because I know what I’m doing in a recording studio which I didn’t back in the day.
What is/was the worst thing about touring for you?
Best: meeting and playing for new people, seeing long-time friends and seeing the beauty of the world. Worst: being away from my wife Allyson and our fur kids, eating poorly and sleeping in the van.
If you look at the development of the Seven Seconds albums, was starting to play acoustic shows in 1989 just the next logical step?
I’m not sure but I’ve been playing acoustic shows since the mid-1980s. I wrote the majority of early Seven Seconds songs on an acoustic guitar because that was all I had.
If you play an acoustic show at a Rancid or Dropkick Murphys show, do you still feel that the audience appreciates it?
Doing the Rancid/Dropkicks tour was one of the best, funniest things I’ve ever done. It was the perfect tour for me because I had no pressure to do anything accept get up and play for 30 minutes every night. The response was amazing actually. Better than I expected.
Do you keep up with Punk and Hardcore these days? Does it still matter to you?
I don’t follow any sort of music scene anymore but I’m always excited when I hear a new band that kicks my ass.
Why did you stop touring with Seven Seconds?
Health. We’re all getting older and have to deal with our physical and mental health issues like everybody else. It’s not easy and touring as a full band was no longer possible for us.
Do you envy bands like Agnostic Front, that still get to tour and play their music?
I don’t envy much of anything. I do everything I want to do and don’t have time worrying about what other people are doing or not doing. Props to the AF guys though for keeping it rocking.
You told me that you can’t afford to tour right now. Is it actually so that you lose money while you are on tour?
As a solo artist, I do. Seven Seconds was doing pretty well financially before we broke up, but we also stopped touring hardcore like we did for years and that made it harder on us to start back up again each time.
You formed Aim Higher in 2015 and released a hardcore punk single on which you played all the instruments, but said that you’d like to find band members to go on tour. Then in 2020 you founded Gimme an F. If given the chance and it would be financially promising, would you consider going on long tours again?
I definitely miss being a part of a full band and miss touring. Ultimately, I would love to be able to bring together a loose collection of musician people I love and respect who I could get to go on the road with me from time to time, but honestly, it’s just not very financially feasible for me these days. Times have changed. I would love to hit the road with the Aim Higher and Gimme An F projects. I think they’re both pretty damned fun.
You started your Sound Forge in 2016, where people could become a member online to receive access to new songs, photos, poetry and short stories. Would you consider that a successful project (not just financially)?
Financially, no. But I’m not so worried about that as much as I am keeping the creative flame lit. I write a ton of songs and I love to record them and put them out, but I also worry about having so much material out that it de-values me as a songwriter and musician. I think people tend to take you for granted if you’re always making and releasing new music so I’ve tried to slow down the process a bit. It’s hard. Sometimes I think that I live for making new songs. The Song Forge project (much like my latest Broke Down Famous Social Club Patreon group) enables me to keep making music for people who really enjoy and love what I do, musically.
Do the terms punk and hardcore mean something to you today? And if they do, what is it?
I don’t think much about the terms, really. I’m punk rock and hardcore through and through. I feel lucky that I discovered punk rock when I did and even more lucky that I was around to help create and define what hardcore is today. I don’t listen to much modern day