Interview with Sidewalk Cracks
How did Sidewalk Cracks get started?
C: Ed and I were both taking classes at College of DuPage. He approached me
one day for a cigarette or something and made a comment about my NOFX shirt.
I'd been trying to start a band, was looking for a drummer, asked him if
he played anything, turned out he was a drummer and was into starting a
band. That was that. Late 2005, we had one of Ed's friends on guitar, Chris
"Chevy" Guidara, played our first show, like a month or two later, and
recorded our first demo just after that. Chevy was later replaced by Louie
Anderson, who was later replaced by the Leech! or Justin. And Ed is not
with the band anymore. We're in between drummers. OK
How would you describe Sidewalk Cracks to someone who has never heard or seen
you play?
C: Umm, it's punk rock…melodic but with hardcore influence, and you
know…lyrics. We don't really stick to a particular style, so it's hard to
say.
L: Yeah punk will always be at the core of things but we definitely got other influences.
What's the story of the drunken bike ride that ED took that's written on
Tic-Tac Records bio page for you guys?
C: Ed doesn’t even drink, barely. I don’t know what he messaged Matt that day, but I imagine the situation entailed perhaps Ed drinking one can of Sparks and then riding his bike to the library to go on the internet. Not as decadent or "punk" as it might sound.
How did you get hooked up with the Lance Hahn benefit CD?
C: Ah, I guess Chad Riley (the guy who put it together) just found us on
MySpace (bad word) as far as I know. We just got a message from him one day
asking if we wanted to be on this J Church tribute, and we said "sure!" I
think we were one of the first bands on it.
It's a really strong line up of bands on that album, are you guys playing the benefit show in Texas?
C: We want to, but it's not looking good. For one, we don't have a solid
drummer right now, let alone a van, and I think that show's in like a month.
This has always been a broke band. But we're saving our nickels, gunna
git us a van yet!
What's in the works for Sidewalk Cracks for this summer?
C: Hopefully, a kick ass new drummer, a van, a tour, and a bunch of new
songs. Hopefully…….. And landscaping for Leech
L: I might be Mexican but you're a convicted felon…..so suck it.
I've seen Sidewalk Cracks compared to Jawbreaker & Screeching Weasel mainly.
How would you describe your style of music?
C: Jawbreaker is definitely a big influence. Screeching Weasel is
definitely not. I can say, having written all the songs so far, that I've
never listened to Screeching Weasel in my life. Just not a fan.
L: Well I'm definitely a fan of weasel….I just think you gotta show some respect for
a band that has been such a large influence on so many bands even if they weren't
the most musically gifted band. I grew up listening to them and they were probably the first band that made me think to play fast. Jawbreaker kicks ass too though.
Were any of you in bands prior to Sidewalk Cracks?
C: Nope
L: Bunch of high school shit that never did too much and my last band Alex P. Keaton & the Young Republicans...that’s how I met Chris.
C: Good band
Favorite place to play and why-
C & L: Subject House! in Elgin, IL.
C: We first played there almost a year ago, and have gone to almost every
show there since. It's just a great, trashy punk house. Writing and
drawing all over the walls, no bad vibes (except for the occasional fight),
a lot of great bands/shows, drunkenness.
L: Yeah those are my long time homies that live there..always a good time.
Funniest thing you've seen at a show?
C: I don't know, this guy at Subject House turning around in a circle
lighting off bottle rockets in the middle of the crowd was pretty funny to
me. Then someone smashed their toilet. People don't know where to draw the
line.
L: Uhhh..I saw The Traitors at The Fireside years ago and the singer came out in full football gear and then proceeded to drunkenly talk shit to the crowd..within three or four songs they had pretty much beaten him down and stripped him naked..kinda gross hundred percent comical.
Most bizarre place you've played?
C: I guess the basement of this tiny old art gallery, Humility Gallery was
kind of bizarre. That show did not go well.
L: Oldstyle...what else can ya say?
Tell us about Tic-Tac Records.
C: Tic Tac Totally is a pretty new little indie label. It's mainly Matt
Clark, a really cool, crazy, music lover. It's definitely a head above most
of the 1 or 2 man operations that call themselves a label. He's moving some
good records and discs, and he's real generous and supportive. I wouldn't
see any reason to put out records for any other label, unless it was No Idea
or something.
Who are your favorite bands right now?
C: Right now, I've been listening to lot of old, old REM, Meat Puppets,
always Chili Peppers, always Against Me! & Jawbreaker/Jets to Brazil,
Fugazi. Beastie Boys could always jam out some shit. Canadian Rifle is the
best local band.
L: As of now I'm listening to a lot of The Repos, MK Ultra, la Piovra and other assorted hardcore that doesn't involve the douchebaggery of most bands claiming they're hardcore. Also a lot of underground Chicago hip hop like Qwel and Pugslee Atomz..But I agree with Chris on Canadian Rifle being the best local band right now.
Who writes your songs and how are you motivated to write them?
C: So far, I write the blueprints for the songs, and then we all put them
together at practice. Lyrically, it's like a lot of personal philosophies and ideas,
with some deep depression and post adolescent angst thrown in for good
measure.
L: Yeah, gotta have that post adolescent angst...dork.
When you play at a show are you all serious or do you just fuck around?
C: We try not to take ourselves too seriously. Especially when Louie was
in the band. He'd always do and say funny shit on stage.
What's your favorite song that you play right now and why?
C: Whatever the newest one is.
L: What he said..For the most part.
What do you do when you're not playing music?
C: Peyote.
L: Masturbate...constantly.
What is your evaluation of the current punk scene?
C: Honestly, I think there's a severe lack of originality. Not that we're
reinventing the wheel, but we try to stay away from cliché stuff and chord
progressions that sound like you've heard them a million times. And it
seems like a lot of the people respond a lot more to that stuff sometimes,
maybe cause it’s just familiar.
L: I'm a bit jaded because I grew up with a pretty cool scene with a lot of good bands, especially local to my hometown Elgin...but in general I'm glad to see more bands forming and trying to get themselves out there, even if I'm not a huge fan of their style or influences...I just love to see bands doing their thing for the love of it..although that may be a bit more rare now considering all the imagery and shit music that MTV and the radio are cramming down the throats of the youth these days.
Who are your musical influences?
C: At first, it was NOFX, Rancid, Descendents, Jawbreaker, Against Me!,
Minor Threat, Fugazi, etc. Now, I don't know.
L: Musically, bands like Rustweiler, Tricky Dick, Cap N' Jazz, los Crudos, Baxter and Sidekick Kato come to mind although we don’t necessarily play like those bands... but there are many other bands that have influenced me musically and have also had a profound impact on the way I see and deal with all the bullshit you deal with in life.
Any bands you really want to do a show with and why?
C: Poison
L: I don’t really give a shit who we play with..I do know who I don’t wanna play with though, pseudo rock star, dickhead bands who think they're God's gift to music and that they're too good to play a fucking basement show.
Who's the wildest band you've ever done a show with?
C: Maybe the Sass Dragons. We played with them once, and had to leave
before they played, but I understand they like to play naked.
L: Yeah they're pretty awesome but I've never seen them naked...no matter how many times I've asked.
What are your general thoughts on the world today?
C: Probably the same as it's always been. There are a lot of good people,
but they're not the ones in control.
L: The world is a pretty fucked up place but I still love life regardless of all the bullshit that exists.
What's your favorite part of being in a band?
C: Probably the private jet and all the groupies.
L: The fifteen hundred dollar guarantees we get at every show.
How did you come up with the name Sidewalk Cracks?
C: Oooh, this is stupid. I just said it as a joke about me and Ed being
really skinny at practice one day while we were trying to come up with a
name. Meanwhile, he booked our first show and told them that was our name and added the "x" himself. Now we're just kinda stuck with it. We don't use the x anymore, though, it's correct spelling all the way. We're not straight edge and we don't have mohawks or colored hair. We're just not that punk.
L: Yeah it’s certainly stupid and besides beards are the new mohawks anyways and we can’t even really rock those..I still haven't finished this puberty bullshit yet.
C: Everyone knows Mexicans can’t grow beards. They get moustaches when they’re 12 but no beards!
Anything you want to add or say?
C: All I know is that I don't know nothing
L: That’s lame as hell Chris.
C: No seriously, I know it’s just a chorus from an op-ivy song, but really it’s from Aristotle originally, and it's saying that the more knowledge or whatever that you gain, the more you realize that you don’t know shit. The abyss-like nature of ponderance. Ok I’m done.
ALSO, we will actually have an album out for Tictactotally, but it’s going to take one more round in the studio with our new drummer, and it'll be a full-length. Couple months
Anyone you want to thank?
L: I'd like to thank Joey APK for basically getting me back into playing music again, every band that was nice enough to play with us even when we blew ass and Ed A.K.A. "juice" for bugging enough people to somewhat get our name out there. holla.
C: Leech's fam, for keeping my grass short.
Next - Word association; Type the first thing that comes to your mind when
you read the following words.
Punk
C: yes
L: hard to find
Drink
C: yes
L: too much
Porn
C: yes
L: delicious
Eat
C: yes
L: food
Girls
C: yes
L: trifling ass bitches mostly
Money
C: yes
L: gots none
Work
C: yes
L: pandering to pseudo trophy wives
Sex
C: yes
L: subpar perfomance
Sleep
C: yes
L: not enough
Leather
C: is for cows
L: axel rose
Police
C: are for bullets
L: bullshit DUI arrests
Movie
C: yes
L: repo man
Government
C: is for monsters
L: old, rich white men
TV
C: yes
L: masturbating to the food network
Life
C: yes
L: ups and downs
Death
C: yes
L: happens to the best of us
C: Ed and I were both taking classes at College of DuPage. He approached me
one day for a cigarette or something and made a comment about my NOFX shirt.
I'd been trying to start a band, was looking for a drummer, asked him if
he played anything, turned out he was a drummer and was into starting a
band. That was that. Late 2005, we had one of Ed's friends on guitar, Chris
"Chevy" Guidara, played our first show, like a month or two later, and
recorded our first demo just after that. Chevy was later replaced by Louie
Anderson, who was later replaced by the Leech! or Justin. And Ed is not
with the band anymore. We're in between drummers. OK
How would you describe Sidewalk Cracks to someone who has never heard or seen
you play?
C: Umm, it's punk rock…melodic but with hardcore influence, and you
know…lyrics. We don't really stick to a particular style, so it's hard to
say.
L: Yeah punk will always be at the core of things but we definitely got other influences.
What's the story of the drunken bike ride that ED took that's written on
Tic-Tac Records bio page for you guys?
C: Ed doesn’t even drink, barely. I don’t know what he messaged Matt that day, but I imagine the situation entailed perhaps Ed drinking one can of Sparks and then riding his bike to the library to go on the internet. Not as decadent or "punk" as it might sound.
How did you get hooked up with the Lance Hahn benefit CD?
C: Ah, I guess Chad Riley (the guy who put it together) just found us on
MySpace (bad word) as far as I know. We just got a message from him one day
asking if we wanted to be on this J Church tribute, and we said "sure!" I
think we were one of the first bands on it.
It's a really strong line up of bands on that album, are you guys playing the benefit show in Texas?
C: We want to, but it's not looking good. For one, we don't have a solid
drummer right now, let alone a van, and I think that show's in like a month.
This has always been a broke band. But we're saving our nickels, gunna
git us a van yet!
What's in the works for Sidewalk Cracks for this summer?
C: Hopefully, a kick ass new drummer, a van, a tour, and a bunch of new
songs. Hopefully…….. And landscaping for Leech
L: I might be Mexican but you're a convicted felon…..so suck it.
I've seen Sidewalk Cracks compared to Jawbreaker & Screeching Weasel mainly.
How would you describe your style of music?
C: Jawbreaker is definitely a big influence. Screeching Weasel is
definitely not. I can say, having written all the songs so far, that I've
never listened to Screeching Weasel in my life. Just not a fan.
L: Well I'm definitely a fan of weasel….I just think you gotta show some respect for
a band that has been such a large influence on so many bands even if they weren't
the most musically gifted band. I grew up listening to them and they were probably the first band that made me think to play fast. Jawbreaker kicks ass too though.
Were any of you in bands prior to Sidewalk Cracks?
C: Nope
L: Bunch of high school shit that never did too much and my last band Alex P. Keaton & the Young Republicans...that’s how I met Chris.
C: Good band
Favorite place to play and why-
C & L: Subject House! in Elgin, IL.
C: We first played there almost a year ago, and have gone to almost every
show there since. It's just a great, trashy punk house. Writing and
drawing all over the walls, no bad vibes (except for the occasional fight),
a lot of great bands/shows, drunkenness.
L: Yeah those are my long time homies that live there..always a good time.
Funniest thing you've seen at a show?
C: I don't know, this guy at Subject House turning around in a circle
lighting off bottle rockets in the middle of the crowd was pretty funny to
me. Then someone smashed their toilet. People don't know where to draw the
line.
L: Uhhh..I saw The Traitors at The Fireside years ago and the singer came out in full football gear and then proceeded to drunkenly talk shit to the crowd..within three or four songs they had pretty much beaten him down and stripped him naked..kinda gross hundred percent comical.
Most bizarre place you've played?
C: I guess the basement of this tiny old art gallery, Humility Gallery was
kind of bizarre. That show did not go well.
L: Oldstyle...what else can ya say?
Tell us about Tic-Tac Records.
C: Tic Tac Totally is a pretty new little indie label. It's mainly Matt
Clark, a really cool, crazy, music lover. It's definitely a head above most
of the 1 or 2 man operations that call themselves a label. He's moving some
good records and discs, and he's real generous and supportive. I wouldn't
see any reason to put out records for any other label, unless it was No Idea
or something.
Who are your favorite bands right now?
C: Right now, I've been listening to lot of old, old REM, Meat Puppets,
always Chili Peppers, always Against Me! & Jawbreaker/Jets to Brazil,
Fugazi. Beastie Boys could always jam out some shit. Canadian Rifle is the
best local band.
L: As of now I'm listening to a lot of The Repos, MK Ultra, la Piovra and other assorted hardcore that doesn't involve the douchebaggery of most bands claiming they're hardcore. Also a lot of underground Chicago hip hop like Qwel and Pugslee Atomz..But I agree with Chris on Canadian Rifle being the best local band right now.
Who writes your songs and how are you motivated to write them?
C: So far, I write the blueprints for the songs, and then we all put them
together at practice. Lyrically, it's like a lot of personal philosophies and ideas,
with some deep depression and post adolescent angst thrown in for good
measure.
L: Yeah, gotta have that post adolescent angst...dork.
When you play at a show are you all serious or do you just fuck around?
C: We try not to take ourselves too seriously. Especially when Louie was
in the band. He'd always do and say funny shit on stage.
What's your favorite song that you play right now and why?
C: Whatever the newest one is.
L: What he said..For the most part.
What do you do when you're not playing music?
C: Peyote.
L: Masturbate...constantly.
What is your evaluation of the current punk scene?
C: Honestly, I think there's a severe lack of originality. Not that we're
reinventing the wheel, but we try to stay away from cliché stuff and chord
progressions that sound like you've heard them a million times. And it
seems like a lot of the people respond a lot more to that stuff sometimes,
maybe cause it’s just familiar.
L: I'm a bit jaded because I grew up with a pretty cool scene with a lot of good bands, especially local to my hometown Elgin...but in general I'm glad to see more bands forming and trying to get themselves out there, even if I'm not a huge fan of their style or influences...I just love to see bands doing their thing for the love of it..although that may be a bit more rare now considering all the imagery and shit music that MTV and the radio are cramming down the throats of the youth these days.
Who are your musical influences?
C: At first, it was NOFX, Rancid, Descendents, Jawbreaker, Against Me!,
Minor Threat, Fugazi, etc. Now, I don't know.
L: Musically, bands like Rustweiler, Tricky Dick, Cap N' Jazz, los Crudos, Baxter and Sidekick Kato come to mind although we don’t necessarily play like those bands... but there are many other bands that have influenced me musically and have also had a profound impact on the way I see and deal with all the bullshit you deal with in life.
Any bands you really want to do a show with and why?
C: Poison
L: I don’t really give a shit who we play with..I do know who I don’t wanna play with though, pseudo rock star, dickhead bands who think they're God's gift to music and that they're too good to play a fucking basement show.
Who's the wildest band you've ever done a show with?
C: Maybe the Sass Dragons. We played with them once, and had to leave
before they played, but I understand they like to play naked.
L: Yeah they're pretty awesome but I've never seen them naked...no matter how many times I've asked.
What are your general thoughts on the world today?
C: Probably the same as it's always been. There are a lot of good people,
but they're not the ones in control.
L: The world is a pretty fucked up place but I still love life regardless of all the bullshit that exists.
What's your favorite part of being in a band?
C: Probably the private jet and all the groupies.
L: The fifteen hundred dollar guarantees we get at every show.
How did you come up with the name Sidewalk Cracks?
C: Oooh, this is stupid. I just said it as a joke about me and Ed being
really skinny at practice one day while we were trying to come up with a
name. Meanwhile, he booked our first show and told them that was our name and added the "x" himself. Now we're just kinda stuck with it. We don't use the x anymore, though, it's correct spelling all the way. We're not straight edge and we don't have mohawks or colored hair. We're just not that punk.
L: Yeah it’s certainly stupid and besides beards are the new mohawks anyways and we can’t even really rock those..I still haven't finished this puberty bullshit yet.
C: Everyone knows Mexicans can’t grow beards. They get moustaches when they’re 12 but no beards!
Anything you want to add or say?
C: All I know is that I don't know nothing
L: That’s lame as hell Chris.
C: No seriously, I know it’s just a chorus from an op-ivy song, but really it’s from Aristotle originally, and it's saying that the more knowledge or whatever that you gain, the more you realize that you don’t know shit. The abyss-like nature of ponderance. Ok I’m done.
ALSO, we will actually have an album out for Tictactotally, but it’s going to take one more round in the studio with our new drummer, and it'll be a full-length. Couple months
Anyone you want to thank?
L: I'd like to thank Joey APK for basically getting me back into playing music again, every band that was nice enough to play with us even when we blew ass and Ed A.K.A. "juice" for bugging enough people to somewhat get our name out there. holla.
C: Leech's fam, for keeping my grass short.
Next - Word association; Type the first thing that comes to your mind when
you read the following words.
Punk
C: yes
L: hard to find
Drink
C: yes
L: too much
Porn
C: yes
L: delicious
Eat
C: yes
L: food
Girls
C: yes
L: trifling ass bitches mostly
Money
C: yes
L: gots none
Work
C: yes
L: pandering to pseudo trophy wives
Sex
C: yes
L: subpar perfomance
Sleep
C: yes
L: not enough
Leather
C: is for cows
L: axel rose
Police
C: are for bullets
L: bullshit DUI arrests
Movie
C: yes
L: repo man
Government
C: is for monsters
L: old, rich white men
TV
C: yes
L: masturbating to the food network
Life
C: yes
L: ups and downs
Death
C: yes
L: happens to the best of us
