1:WHEN DID NOOTHGRUSH START?
Spring of '94?
2:ARE ANY OF YOU EX-MEMBERS OF OTHER BANDS OR CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE "FEATURING EX-MEMBERS OF NOOTHGRUSH" ON A FLYER IN THE NEAR FUTURE?
Nah. All our ex-members are in better-known bands anyway. Our first guitarist was Tom from AsbestosDeath, so that pretty much tops being called ex-Noothgrush, Matt is in Exhumed and Al is in Jenny Piccolo. I don't think either of those 2 bands need to be called ex-Noothgrush. They'd probably lose some fans.
3:WHAT IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH HUMAN BEINGS/THE ROOT PROBLEM FROM WHICH YOU THINK MOST OTHER PROBLEMS EXIST?
This is way too involved a question to address properly here. Basically, I believe that the problems humans face are almost entirely social. Our civilizations all grew at the same time, and as with any other animal trying to survive, had to fight one another for control of resources and gene pools. The human animal, then, has no problem, and is merely living out its existence like its pre-human ancestors, soon to be doomed by its inability to see the whole picture and modify its behavior. The real problem is that we DO have the ability to see the whole picture and modify our behavior. The behaviors we exhibited in our primitive days were carried into our pre-historic days, into the dawn of our various civilizations, and into the growth of the civilization we have now. Humans tend not to question these behaviors, but take them as 'natural', without ever realizing that we are probably the only species on earth that can communicate with any other member of our species, at almost any time, and that we have mental and social capabilites that we can use so that none of us has to suffer. The problem we're faced with now is getting humans to understand this and act on it at an early age. As long as social exploiters are in control of schools, our children will be taught to be consumers, and will live out the same lie we were all forced into.
4:WHY DO YOU GUYS DISS ON PORN SO MUCH?
We don't dis porn specifically. What we hope to call attention to is the widespread social standard that women are objects to be controlled and used by men. Most porn seems to be excused on the basis that sex is a natural human function, and what is depicted is nothing more than the act thereof. With this face value, I have nothing against porn at all. I don't think its lewd, obscene or any of that other bullshit that the jesus jumpers like to cry about. Watching people fuck is exciting, and I understand how one can be aroused by it. What we're making an issue of is the observed effects of the sex industry, and its underlying content. The power and control that men have over women has been present in western civilization for thousands of years. Porn certainly isn't responsible for sexism, but it usually depicts men controlling women, and often physically abusing them. I know there are plenty of other situations depicted in adult entertainment, but we should all question what kind of entertainment relies on the abuse of a class of human that has been oppressed for so long. We're not against porn, we're against humans disrespecting other humans, and the social stigmas that lead to this behavior.
5:I READ ONE OF YOU SAID YOU DON'T THINK HUMANS SHOULD KILL THEMSELVES BECAUSE IT'S AN EASY OUT AND THEY SHOULD BE MADE TO SUFFER, DO YOU ALSO BY THAT SAME LOGIC AGREE THAT HUMANS SHOULD NOT SMOKE POT BECAUSE IT'S AN EASY OUT AND FORM OF ESCAPISM THAT LESSENS THE PAIN WE MUST ALL BE SUBJECTED TO AND IF SO DO YOU ADMIT YOU ARE A HYPOCRIT?
I think every human has its own definition of life. Most people tend to take the meaning of life as whatever their families, teachers, ministers, and/or bosses tell them it is, and act accordingly. I've rejected most social standards, as it seems to me that none of them work for our entire species . Most only work for a priveledged few, and these assholes cruise through life without much suffering. The rest of us suffer, and are tricked into believing that we have failed to fit into the system rather than that the system has failed us. I've been so duped into thinking of myself as a failure that often times I have no desire to continue living. However, suffering leads to wisdom, and to off yourself is to ultimately commit yourself to the lie you've been led to believe. Wisdom is the key, and marijuana makes a fine addition to meditation on this wisdom. The idea that pot is an escape is part of the anti-drug campaigns of our those who use social control for their own benefit . These politicians are the assholes who cruise through life by unloading their suffering on others. TV is an escape. Sports are an escape. Video games are an escape. Pot is far from an escape. If you look into the history of marijuana use, and objective studies of tests on it, you'll find that it often has the effect of encouraging thought, not stifling it. When I get high, my brain starts churning. Logic comes to me with ease, and my ability to comprehend human existence is hightened. Part of the reason for the war against marijuana has to do with they way it can make one think outside of the parameters that keep us enslaved to the social standards of the humans who exploit us.
6:SOME KID DISSED YOUR BAND IN MY GUESTBOOK, HE ALSO DISSED "SLUDGE" "BLACK METAL" AND "GRIND" SAYING IT WAS TRENDY, THEN PROCEEDED TO PLUG "POWERVIOLENCE" AS HIS MUSIC OF CHOICE AND STATE THAT SPAZZ WAS HIS FAVORITE BAND, NOW I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING AGAINST SPAZZ AND ACTUALLY QUITE LIKE THEM, BUT I PERSONALLY THINK THIS KID IS A FUCKING IDIOT. HE ALSO DISSED THE NAME OF MY E-ZINE (PISS FUCK DOOM!) STATING IT WAS GAY. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS KID AND OTHERS LIKE HIM (MORE LIKE THE 3 OTHER FAKE PERSONS HE SIGNED THE GUESTBOOK AS ONE RIGHT AFTER THE OTHER)?
Most humans are idiots. Human likes fast music, says slow music sucks. Human thinks highly of self, says your 'zine name sucks. Human has nothing better to do with life, wastes it being an idiot. Go figure.
7:AS FOR YOUR ZINE, IS THE MONKEY THING GETTING OLD YET?
Maybe a little. I still like monkeys, and I'll still write things about monkeys, but yeah, I'll probably start moving away from the monkey thing over time. We still need more Planet of the Apes stuff , though.
8:DO YOU THINK THAT ANYTHING GOOD CAN COME OUT OF THE HUMAN RACE AT ALL?
See my answer to # 3 & #5. Humans have the ability to communicate, feel one another's pain & suffering, and to share all the resources this planet has to offer. As a species, we have dominated this planet in almost every way conceivable. The idea that we need to continue producing humans for the survival of our species is pretty ridiculous. This idea is kept alive by those who seek profit through rampant consumerism and cheap labor. As we hear all the time, the percentage of humans in control of our resources is extremely small. To accredit 'human nature' to the atrocities performed by such a small percentage of our population is a pretty flawed line of logic. As the battle between humans existing to be human and humans existing to exploit other humans wages on, more humans will become aware of our actual potential. Our species is the one of the newest on the planet, and as we learn to define our existence without social control, we'll grow out of our infant stage and onto a level of existence that we who suffer dream about constantly.
9:HOW MANY SONGS DO YOU GUYS HAVE?
20 or so.
10:ARE ANY OF YOU INTO GRAFFITI?
Not against it, but none of us write or anything.
11:I NOTICED YOUR NEW STUFF IS LESS "SLUDGE" AND MORE ACID ROCK, ARE YOU TRYING TO REVIVE THIS SEVERLY UNDERAPPRECIATED GENRE?
We're not trying to revive any particular style, but '70s prog-rock plays a strong roll in our writing style. I think epic songs with weird sounds are in our future, so if that's what you mean, I guess we are.
12:DO YOU LIKE VIDEO GAMES?
Not really. I switched to pinball when I was 14. There's a stand-up Centipede at the radio station we work at, and Russ & I battle it out occasionally. We don't get too into it though, and most home systems only have games that take too much time. Bring back Donkey Kong!!
13:DO YOU LIKE CARTOONS?
Yeah, but mostly old ones. Trippy ass black & white stuff from the '30s rules. Have you ever seen those old Betty Boops? Quite an insight to the mentality of our culture at the time. Old Popeyes are funny, too. Newer stuff can be good, but it burns out really quick, like Bevis & Butthead and Southpark. Stuff like that and the Simpsons are great at making fun of the average american mentality, and they get average americans to laugh at themselves without knowing it. Idiots.
14:WHAT DRUGS DO YOU DO BESIDES POT OR IS THAT IT?
We all enjoy a blast of gage now & then. Russ and I don't drink too much anymore, but Chiyo still enjoys obliterating herself to the point of vomiting and falling down. We all dig mushrooms, too. Not so much LSD.
15:WHAT'S UP WITH THE NEXT ISSUE OF MONKEYBITE?
Its taking forever, but its gonna come with a CD of all slow bands.
16:WHAT RECORDS DO YOU HAVE COMING OUT OR DO YOU?
We have an LP coming out soon, called "Erode the Person", and some more comp stuff, and splits with Suppression, Wellington and Cathy Ames.
17:WHO SUCKS SHIT?
People who put their mouth around other someone else's anus and then inhale...
18:DO YOU ACTUALLY THINK THAT THE HARDCORE/GRIND/SLUDGE/POWERVIOLENCE SCENE HAS GOTTEN TRENDY?
Maybe a little. I guess its a California thing. Its all dejected humans looking for a place to belong, though, so you can't blame them. If there was ever an ethic in the scene, its gone now. People just want their 15 minutes of fame and to put a record out and as long as this scene will let them do that, they'll be doing it. When I saw Spazz in '95, there were about 30 kids there. When I saw them in March of '98, there were hundreds of kids, including jocks who jumped up on the crowd flashing the 'hang loose' sign with their hand. They probably still have posters of Spud MacKenzie on their wall. The music is still great, and its popularity isn't necessarily a bad thing, but dealing with humans that only relate to it as a social gathering is a drag, and I'd like to see less of them around.
19:HOW/WHY THE FUCK DID YOU GET ON THAT COMPILATION WITH ALL THE GIRL DEATH METAL BANDS AND I AM AWARE THAT CHIYO IS FEMALE BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT?
Good question. We don't know what the fuck we were thinking. I'm not that into metal, so maybe my opinion doesn't mean much, but most of the bands on that thing were pretty lame. Thorr's Hammer was about the only reason to get that comp, and now their track is on their own CD, which is totally worth finding. We were asked to be on that comp a long ass time ago, and gave them a demo track. I just feel bad for anyone who had to pay like $13 to get it. That totally sucks.
20:SHOUT OUT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND PLUG SOME BANDS YOU LIKE AND THANK ME FOR DOING THIS INTERVIEW.
Shout outs go to anyone who can actually think for themselves, those who seek truth rather than accepting the reality we've been spoon-fed, and those who contribute to the discussion of human existence rather than hiding from it or mocking it out of fear. Thanks for the interview, and thanks for calling us on some of the shit we've done and said. I'll back it up time and time again, and if anyone thinks they can change my mind, please enlighten me. I'm game for some self improvement.

THANK YOU GARY FROM NOOTHGRUSH