Ean: guitar, vocals
Denny: bass, vocals
Josh: drums

This is the final interview with Josh (drums). The band has officially announced their breakup after 7 years of being together. In that time, they have put out 4 full lengths, several 7inches on various labels, toured the US and Japan twice, and did two interviews with Shark Sandwich Zine (this being the second). This interview was done over email and goes over what exactly happened with the band and why they broke up.

SS: THE FIRST QUESTION IS OBVIOUS, WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT CAUSED THE BREAKUP OF SICKO?

JOSH: I think 7 and a half years of being a band caused the breakup. When we started, the band was all about getting together, playing music, putting out some records, and having a good time. The music back then came from a time when it was all new, and we were doing it just for the fuck of doing it, and we never thought we'd go anywhere. It was punk rock like it is supposed to be. But, things change. You change. Punk rock changed. The major label thing killed it, not for any punk rock political reason, but because it made it no longer quirky or special or interesting. Once we all realized we might be able to make some money at it if we just followed the pattern laid down by Nirvana and the Offspring and Green Day, all the individuality and personality that made it more interesting than mainstream music in the first place was destroyed. It's not like punk rock was ever such inherently great music, it's that the spirit and enthusiasm we all put into doing something fun and impractical and pointless made it seem fresh and exciting. Once it became just another radio format, all that innocence was lost. It's time for us to stop doing the band, before it gets tired and boring, and just be happy it happened at all. Sicko was always focused around that energy we felt for being in a punk band, and if it's not there, there's no point in doing it anymore.

SS: WERE THERE ANY PERSONAL PROBLEMS BETWEEN MEMBERS?

JOSH: To some extent, but nothing major. We've always had personality conflicts...I guess when the rest of it stopped being as fun as it used to be, the interpersonal problems came to the surface. Really, it felt more like those guys were my brothers...I didn't always like them but we had this unbreakable connection between each other, so we just put up with whatever annoying quirks we all had. But, I consider Ean and Denny to be close friends of mine; that won't change.

SS: ARE YOU SAD ABOUT THE BREAKUP OR RELIEVED THAT IT'S ALL OVER WITH?

JOSH: Oh, I'm sad. The band was a positive force in my life and I met a lot of people and went to a lot of places I never would have had I not been in the band. But what I really miss is the feeling I used to get from doing it six years ago.

SS: YOU GUYS WENT TO JAPAN AGAIN, WAS IT COOLER THE SECOND TIME AROUND?

JOSH: Japan, was awesome...even better the second time around. The shows were great. About the only thing that sucked was the weather...hot and really humid. We travelled with the great Japanese band Husking Bee, who are good friends of ours, so that was great.

SS: DO YOU OR ANY OTHER MEMBER OF SICKO PLAN TO CONTINUE PLAYING MUSIC?

JOSH: I may do something if it looks interesting. I know Ean is going to do one thing or another. Denny, I think, may be retired.

SS: WHAT WERE THE BEST AND WORSE SHOWS YOU GUYS EVER PLAYED?

JOSH: There's a lot of really bad shows...Wichita, KS on our first tour, Lexington, KY on our second tour. Santa Cruz, CA was never particularly great. But the best shows...I'd have to say, Tokyo this last time, Coney Island High in New York on the Chef tour, playing with MTX in Seattle a long time ago...there's a few of 'em.

SS: BESIDES HOME, WHERE WAS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO PLAY?

JOSH: Japan takes the cake. But, really, anywhere there's people who are excited we're there...that's the real test.

SS: WOULD IT TAKE A LOT FOR THE BAND TO REUNITE DOWN THE LINE MAYBE FOR A SHOW (despite how cheesy some reunion shows tend to be)?

JOSH: Maybe if a band we really liked came to town...a million dollars would certainly do it. And, maybe, we'll just feel like playing sometime, you never know.

SS: DID YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS WITH SICKO EXCEDE YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF THE BAND WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED?

JOSH: Oh, most certainly. I remember thinking to myself that if we could get eMpTy Records to put out a 7inch we'd be made. I remember not being able to believe that Kurt Bloch actually said he'd do our recording. At the time, we'd all been in a bunch of bands which had gone nowhere. We didn't expect Sicko to really do anything...if we had, we would have picked a better name.

SS: WHAT DID YOU GET OUT OF THE BAND (not a reference to earnings)?

JOSH: A cool hobby, some identity, a bunch of friends, a little sense of community.

SS: WHAT WILL YOU MISS MOST ABOUT SICKO?

JOSH: The feeling that I do something other than work and sleep. I guess I'll have to find something to replace it. That, and the people the band has brought me in touch with. People like yourself who felt enough of a connection or whatever to contact us and ask us for interviews.

SS: ANY FINAL WORDS TO YOUR FANS AND DATELESS LOSER FOLLOWERS?

JOSH: Just a big "Thanks" for liking our band as much as you have.

SS: CAN WE EXPECT SICKO TO MAKE A CAMEO APPEARANCE ON THE REAL WORLD SEATTLE?

JOSH: We tried, but were physically accosted by their security personnel.

THE END