CHEMICAL VALLEY HARDCORE JOURNAL

This interview was originally featured in Free Society #5, June 1999.
It was conducted during the Winter of 1998/1999 in Greg Weaver's living room, recorded on camcorder and transcribed by me.

Each member is represented by the first letter in his name, ie: J for Jamie Rawlings, D for Dan Rawlings, K for Keven Howley, and G for Greg Weaver.

FS: Who are the members and what instruments do they play?
J: Everybody do their own.
D: I’m Dan and I play the bass.
K: I’m El Paco and I play a bucket with a broom handle and an elastic band.
J: I would be Jamie, or "Mr. Dikes," to some of my friends and I play the guitar. And that’s Greg-o over there...
G: ... and I play the mic.
K: ... and sometimes I play the drums and go by the name, "KEV."

FS: How long have the members of S.R.B. played together?
J: Yah, the current members that we have right now it’s probably been about five years.
G: Since you guys were in Grade 7.

FS: Has there ever been any line-up changes?
K: We had this guy named Patricia who played the bottle with three x’s on it (making bottle blowing sounds).
J: No we didn’t! He’s wasting film... he’s wasting film.

FS: How long have you played under the name S.R.B.?
J: Two years ago right?
G: Two years?
(arguement about length of time)
J: (O)kay, three years ago from last summer (‘98), from the summer that just passed...

FS: Where’d the name come from?
J: Grade 8... His(Greg’s) grade 8 teacher suggested it.
G: ... suggested that we should be the "Sooped-up Ritalin Boys" ‘cause we’re so crazy.
(arguement.... J: "Wasting film again")

FS: What are the influences of each member, I’ll start with Dan.
D: Matt McCall/Matt Freeman, bass player from Rancid and Operation Ivy and Auntie Christ... he’s a god...
K: Uh...I dunno, I listen to a lot of jazz. A lot of metal. Metallica. (talking about Metallica)
J: I’ll have to go with Lint/Tim, Rancid/Operation Ivy. Greg?
G: Oh, I have no influences.
J: Go with Jesse then...
G: Who’s that?
J: Jesse Michaels..
G: Bob Marley, Tom Jones...
J: We all like Tom Jones alot, and we’re serious.
G: I can’t have influences when I’m the singer...
(topic disintegration)

FS: Where have you guys played out of Sarnia? and what are some favorite anecdotes.
D: We’ve never played Quebec...
K: Nope, can’t say we’ve ever played there.
J: We played at El Mocombo in Toronto, and Shang Hi (spelling questionable) Well we got ripped off and got paid nothing and they gave our money away they claim.

FS: What are the bands you played with?
G: (at Shang Hi) We played with the Spazms, we played with Blanks 77, then we went to the El Mo that night and played with Project Charlie and SLORC, and then at (unintelligable) we played with B.F.G. and PEN15, brought them down,
J: Who’s Emma, we played with... Marilyn’s Vitamins
K: and Alkaline Trio. G: In London at Call the Office we played with Flashlight, and the Salads.

FS: When was the show at Who’s Emma?
J: Probably about three weeks ago...
(talking about Who’s Emma - an anarchist volunteer run space that carries books, zines, music, patches, clothes, etc... great place, look it up in Toronto sometime. 69.5 Nassau St, off Bathurst. It's now closed though - 2004)

FS: You guys have played a lot in Sarnia over the years, what motivates you guys to keep going and keep playing and giving it your all each time?
D: free donuts!
J: The crowd.
K: We never got free donuts..
J: The crowd does it.

FS: So you feed off the crowd. You know, when there’s people, like, dancing around?
G: It’s just a great atmosphere.
J: The feeling you get.

FS: You notice how no matter how many times you play, there’s always the people coming to the shows and everything?
K: Actually I was thinking about that today.
J: We appreciate it too.
K: Yah, that’s awesome.
J: I don’t know why they keep coming back... but we appreciate it.
(discussion about musical instruments. Dan needed a cape, Jamie needed a pick, Greg needed a mic, and Kev needed a snare, his own...)

FS: What pumps you guys up?
K: Reel Big Fish in the car.
J: Sitting in Greg’s car, just before we play with the music up as loud as it goes, last show it was the new Reel Big Fish, that’ll probably wear off, but, whatever music strikes us at the time. Usually the band’s newest CD...
G: For me it’s basically the environment we’re in.
J: If everybody’s rooting for us to go on stage...
G: ... no just if eveybody’s having a great time. Just makes us so excited.
K: Being well-rested, often makes me...

FS: Is there any political issues you feel passionate or strongly about?
J: Personally, not me.
K: I feel all tuna should be dolphin safe.
G: More of our songs are about war and stuff we know about like how to fit in and how people judge you. Basically all about appearances and how to get around it. We don’t really know anything about political stuff...
J: We don’t sing what we don’t know about.
G: We don’t pay attention to that stuff, we probably should, I pay attention to some of it, but not enough to write songs about. It’s not really our style. We’re just trying to keep everybody up and having a good time.
J: When I write lyrics, I just write ‘em about me, and what I think.
G: Just like things we’ve gone through, and stuff, cause we don’t know enough about political stuff, maybe when we’re older, and it starts to involve us more. Right about now, I just don’t pay attention.

FS: What do you think about cops?
K: BOOOOOO!
(stories about cops)

FS: What’s the deal with the "Hockey Song?"
J: Even though we didn’t write it we consider that our anthem.
(story about how they were kicked off school property for lunch for chanting it around the school at lunch)
(approaching the topic of descrimination)

FS: Is that an issue you guys feel strongly about? You know, like "Leave Dom Alone?"
J: Well, as far as me, if it’s descrimination towards us, I care. But other than that, I’m just a bastard... (sarcastic) (laughs)
G: I just hate it all together, and everything about it.
J: All three of these guys hate it more than I do.
G: It’s wrong. Everybody has different opinions, everybody has different state of mind, and everybody should be accepted for what they are. Get to know someone then you can judge them.

FS: How was your experience with making a CD?
J: What we enjoyed the most was doing the recordings, it wasn’t actually making the CDs was just an overnight thing, but the actual recording, which is what I think you’re talking about, was really fun. It’s not as fun as doing a show. It’s a new experience.
(talking)

FS: Very important question... it’s very crucial to answer it... who’s ass is the hairiest, it’s the question that everyone wants to know?
J: Kev will not let us see his ass,
K: but I think I got him beat...
J: I think I’m gonna have to show you guys, the bearded taco (pulls down pants and faces camera). (laughs)
J: I claim to be the hairiest but Kev won’t show us his. The question is, who’s shit gets caught in their hair like a net? I’ve been told by friends about a phenomena that consists of the shit getting caught in the hair like a net. And they have to take a shower everytime.
J: With no shame, with no shame, I’ll say that’s true. (more irrelevant talking about the pain that ensues while wiping a hairy ass)

FS: I’d like to hear the story about the problems/fighting at the Club Underground.
G: oh, that was fucked up. I was completely smashed. I showed up there and paid my money to get in. I was just dancing like everyone else, having a good time, and this big guy walked through the door, and right when he walked in the door, he looked at me, and he swung at me, and I didn’t notice and I just kept dancing, and M.D. came up to me and told me the guy swung at me. The guy was in face asking to fight and I didn’t want to fight and the next thing I know, he swung at me , M.D. dove on him and everybody started beating the guy up. He got up from it all and walked outside. Then the bouncers for some reason kicked me and my girlfriend out and the big guy ran at us. He grabbed her, brought her into a corner and beat the shit out of my girlfriend, and then the bouncers and friends and girls beat me up. Then they followed me for a month after. (talked about instruments and stuff)

FS: What other bands have you been a part of other than S.R.B.?
J: We kicked Kev out cause he was joining a metal band, before we approved of it. These two were in the Skanksters (Kev and Dan), and we were in a band with Adison and Gosse, and then there was Where’s Greg? which was a show that Greg couldn’t make, and then there was 40 Ounces to Freedom, we played one song.

FS: What religion were you guys brought up in?
K: I’ve been a hardcore Budist all my life.
G: You have not Kev!
J: We were all brought up in Christian, Roman Catholic schools, We enjoy going to church every week...
G: We never go to church!
J: We take the car every week to go to church, Dan, myself and Greg, and we don’t go. We go to Corey’s house and we are believed to participate in a mass there of eating chips and smoking. (discussion)
J: We don’t follow much to do with religion.

FS: Is it strictly just laziness, or that you don’t believe or you don’t care?
J: I believe that there’s something, but a lot the of the shit we’re taught is bullshit. I believe there’s something there because everybody’s gotta come from somewhere, but I don’t know, so...
K: If you think about it, Catholicism starts lots of wars... (Dan being crazy)

FS: So would you guys say you’re a Christian punk/ska band? G: noo, noo.

FS: What do you think about the bands that label themselves Christian punk/ska?
K: They can burn in hell... (joking with irony)
J: They can do what they want. I’m not, personally, a big person on lyrics. I enjoy listening to MXPX, even though most people don’t. Lyrically, I don’t like them.

FS: Do you think the message contradicts the meaning?
J: Oh yeah, totally...
G: ... totally..
J: You shouldn’t sing about something if you’re gonna contradict it.

FS: What do you think about punk bands like GG Allin or El Douche who do crazy things on stage?
G: El Douche’s a fucking.... fuck.
(stuff about El Douche and stuff and GG)

FS: Is there any organizations or bands that you’d like to promote or anything like that?
J: Redline... we worked with them and they treated us good.
K: I like K@TO, they rule.
J: We don’t like Supernova. Supernova bugs us. (x2)
K: I like K@TO. I got to make their demo tape and it was fun.
D: I hope they die...
J: No K@TO’s good, we all like K@TO.
K: The White Ribbon Campaign, that’s always nice.

FS: What’s the white ribbon mean?
(arguement about what it means between the guys)
G: Men against men who abuse wimmin.
K: The Tibeten Freedom Movement.

FS: Would you say you’re supporters of the freedom of all people around the world that are under the thumb of their governemnt?
K: There’s no reason to be...(giberish that trailed off) for a belief... there’s just so much common sense.... (stuff)

FS: Anything else you have to say?
K: Oh! Do you think anyone who comes to the shows will be seeing this video? Uh, I dunno. If it gets on the video you’re making.
G: ...and it can.
K: Well, if you happen to come to shows and you happen to have some extra change and you happen to be stopping by a convenience store... if you see those little water mellon slices, with the sugar stuff all over ‘em, feel free to buy a bunch for me.
J: If anyone in the band’s a sellout it’s Kev because (K: Oh no it doesn’t need to be said!)he ditched us for porn. He ditched us for a porn party. Ditched us to go watch porn with a bunch of girls.

FS: What’s your opinion on pornography, are you pro-porn?
K: It’s pretty fun.
J: I’m pro-porn.
D: I’m not a porn-watcher myself.
J: It might not be good for some people, but I like the porn.

FS: Well I think that’s enough, so say goodbye.
ALL: Bye.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to buy Kev those water mellon slices unless you see him around because a couple of weeks or a month or so after this interview, he left or something. He was replaced by Jeff Tkachuk (the spelling of this is probably way wrong so please forgive me. It’s the phonetix of it you know...) who is also a very tallented drummer. You can hear them on their CD that they released, like, a year ago (which I don’t know if it’s available anymore) or on the Riots in the Valley compilation produced by Soundscape Studios here in Sarnia, ON, Canada. I don’t have an address, but if your interested in a copy, e-mail: freesociety@hotmail.com, and I will work something out with you.