nouseforaname

No Use For A Name

This interview was done at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, IL sometime in 1995.

Steve: Hi. I'm Steve from No Use For A Name. I'm here with Krusty, she's gonna ask me some questions.

Krusty: I'll start with an easy one. How and when did the band form?

S: The band formed back in I987. Let's see... we just got together in '87, we played a couple shows, then we got on the 'Gilman Street Turn It Around' compilation, and then we just kinda kept going from there. Our singer that was on the Gilman Street comp quit, and Tony switched to singing, actually Chris Dodge came and sang for a while, and then Tony switched to singing, and he's been singing ever since. And Tony, Rory, and myself are original members, and Ed has been in the band for about a year and a half now.

K: How did you come up with the name?

S: Well, one day I was on the phone with our ex-singer, John (because when we first started we had two singers at the same time, we were kinda crazy) and we were gonna pIay our first show at GiIman and he said, 'Hell man, we have no need for a name', and I said, 'No, No Use For A Name, that's it, No Use For A Name'. And that was the name of the band. That's how we came up with it.

K: When you were a little kid…

S: When I was a little kid, yes…

K: What kind of games and toys did you play with?

S: I played with… let's see, I used to listen to Elvis, and then I went through this Kiss phase for about a year, and then when I was nine I started listening to punk rock. I guess the toys I played with before I was nine were pretty much like Batman, and Superman, action guys, Star Wars figures, and Bionic man, and stuff like that.

Tony: I ah… my name's Tony, and I had Kiss dolls and stuff. My mom bought me a Kiss guitar, it was plastic, and it was rad. That's how I got into guitar… Kiss.

K: What about pets? Did you guys ever have pets? Do you now?

S: I had a toy poodle, a bunny rabbit, and then I had ten bunny rabbits, cuz you know, you get one rabbit and you get ten, and then I have a dog named Lucy, and I have a new dog that I own right now that's my very own official dog, and her name's Tamber and she's a cattle dog, like the dog in 'Road Warrior'.

T: When I was born, my mom bought a puppy the same time I was born about, and I grew up with it until I was thirteen years old, and the dog was thirteen years old, and then it died. I was at the rodeo and I came back and it died. It was cuz this fucker navy guy from down the street, my dog Sam got into a fight with his dog and he kicked it in the spleen and it died of a ruptured spleen about a month later. Is that terrible?

K: That's sad.

T: There you go. I'm about to cry here.

K: What is the worst gas station or vending machine food that you have had on the road?

T: It was in Australia. It was a pizza sandwich thing. That was not frozen, but they had it in a refrigerator and I stuck it in the microwave and it was like a pizza sandwich. First, they don't know how to make pizza over there and they know how to make sandwiches, but pizza sandwiches... no way...

K: How about your absolute least favorite holiday?

S: That would be last Monday, I think it was George Washington's Birthday, because our roadie, Rich, was supposed to get his driver's license and then the DMV was closed, cuz we hate the DMV. And it was closed and he couldn't get his license, so George Washington's birthday, I guess, is the worst holiday for the band.

T: The only reason holidays are cool is because you get to spend time with your family and you get days off. But, other than that, they all suck.

K: If somebody had never heard you, how would you describe the band?

S: Fast, melodic, and tight.

T: And slow, and disharmonic, and loose.

Rory: Rory Koff.

S: What toys did you have as a child? And what kinds of pets did you have as a child?

R: I had a Green Machine, couple Big Wheels, a rad off-road tricycle. I had BMX bikes, and some skateboards, and the Atari 800. Cats, lots of cats. I had cats my whole life. Still got cats, Dennis and Rosey. And I had some cats before that… and before that we had some cats. I have two fish tanks, and the cats watch the fish. Big Ed's still alive in Scott's tank. Big Ed's a big fish that we have with a big old head and he's been around for three or four years and he got the name Big Ed. Talk show about pets. Had Legos. Had extremely large Lego... oh Lionel trains, my grandfather gave me a Lionel train set and I have it and it's worth thousands and thousands and I have it still.

S: Then why are you always saying you're broke?

R: Cuz. Why would I sell it? But I haven't seen it in six years, cuz they've been packed away.

S: My mom sold my Star Wars stuff. I had so much of it. My mom sold my Kiss records. It sucked. I'm about to cry.

K: If you could pick the perfect line-up, including you, the perfect line-up of bands, as many as you wanted, who would you want to play with? You headline.

S: The Beatles, Devo, old Kiss, Black Sabbath (for Ed), the Rezillos, The Police, Bad Religion, Minor Threat, The Misfits, Descendents… and those are the ones I like. Tony, here you go.

T: All the same. Except for Devo.

S: You could also put NoFX on there, 88 Fingers Louie (where are those guys?). We could stick the Bunions on there. Some One Inch Punch, and some Body Jar. Remember, it's gonna be a three day show, it's gonna be bands all day. Plus whoever the promoter wanted, of course.

T: And The Offspring, too.

S: Quicksand can play too. Those guys are cool.

K: What is your worst elementary school memory?

S: Probably when I got in a fight one time and I broke my head open. Cuz, I was beating up these fifth graders when I was in first grade. And I got in a lot of trouble.

T: My fondest elementary school... oh, my worst memory. When I got into punk. I was in seventh grade and for some reason I was like really pissed at my elementary school, you know. And so I went back when I was in seventh grade, and I threw a Molotov cocktail at the library. And it caught on fire, and there was an undercover cop standing close by in a Ferrari. I ran across the grass and he cut me off in the grass, and he said 'freeze'. He didn't have a gun, but I froze. And I got arrested, and that's my worst post-elementary school memory.

R: I don't think I have any. Oh yeah, my fifth grade teacher that hated me. That wanted to flunk me, because I hung out with all the stoner kids and she hated me. My fifth grade teacher was my worst nightmare, and my worst reality.

K: If you could be any animal, what would you be?

S: I would be a tiger. Because tigers are cool and they probably don't get fucked with too much, cuz they're tigers. And they're pretty looking and they're nice, and I like them.

T: Great white shark.

K: Why?

T: I don't know. Just like go on a killing spree for a day. Just be kinda fun, I don't know, just be kinda different. Kill a bunch of surfers and stuff.

R: Definitely the most obvious, a cat. A house cat. Cuz you can do anything you want. And they still love you. People still love you. Normal house cat. Normal house cat.

K: If you could pick any year or time period to live in, what would it be?

S: Right now. Cuz it's fucking right now.

T: Medieval. So I could walk around with tons of weight and stuff. Once again, so I can kill people.

R: Now's pretty good.

C: Is there anything else you think I should know about the band?

S: We all have short hair now, and we really don't look like the back of our album. And we like to play anywhere. And we really like to talk to people at shows, so if you see us and want to say hi, please do.

T: I like to fish.