The Last Chucks Interview
Interview with Mike & Danny of "The Last Chucks"
The Last Chucks have shared the stage with some pretty well known bands (Ataris, Bullets To Broadway, Citizen Fish, Darlington, Diesel Boy, Lillingtons, Moral Crux, Teen Idols, & The Queers to name a few). Which band that you've shared the stage with has left the biggest impression on you?
Mike: There’s a few that stick out in my mind as great bands: Teen Idols, Moral Crux . . . especially live . . . but I’d have to say The Queers. There’s just something about the way Joe commands a crowd’s attention, without that hokey costumed-up bullshit or spin-your-guitar-around-your-back nonsense bands are always waving around these days. He just gets up there, counts off the song, and gets to it . . . no jumping six feet in the air, no fifteen minute monologues, no bullshit. I go to shows to hear music, not watch a fucking play.
Danny: I loved the Queers shows. In this day in age where show-goers are too cool to actually display their love for a band, and it seems like there's about a ten foot perimeter around the stage because no one wants to be up front (I see it at all the shows I find myself at), the fans really let loose and held nothing back at the Queers shows. It was out-of-control, and very refreshing.
The Last Chucks have a bunch of great songs & have been most recently on "Pop Punk's Not Dead", but your last release was "Zombie High" in 2002. Why has there not been any albums released since then? Mike: Money, baby . . . and a bunch of bullshit.
Danny: Little did I know when I joined in 2005, I was joining a completely different band than the "Zombie High" Last Chucks. The pop feel is still there, however in my opinion, the past few years have been wrapped up in evolution. There has been a new sound developing...and now that we have a pretty good handle on exactly what it is we're doing, there should be much more Last Chucks music out there soon.
Without having an album out for over 5 years, how did you get involved with "Pop Punk's Not Dead"?
Mike: Well, I used to play guitar in The Parasites and Beaker was their drummer for at least a couple of shows (after I was gone), so Dave’s an old friend of ours. It had been a few years since we talked, but he wrote me a nice letter and asked if I’d be interested in doing the comp and I told him we’d love to give him a track. Dave always liked “Do You Ever”. We actually used to cover it, when I was in his band and he came up with a killer backup harmony that we still use live.
Describe Diner Junkie Records and how you got involved in it?
Mike: I’ve spent a pretty good portion of my life sitting in diners and a lot of that time was spent coming up with pipedream ideas. One of those just happened to be a record label with my buddy Dave. I just got sick of seeing shitty bands getting a lot of notoriety, while all the good ones were pushed to the back of the punk rock clique line. There haven’t been very many new bands I’ve been into lately, so I figured we should go find the good ones ourselves and try to put them out there, instead of leaving it to some guy who doesn’t have an ear for it.
What's going on with Diner Junkie Records, I heard you’re working on a compilation?
Mike: Yeah, it’s gonna be called “OPEN 24 HOURS” and has a ton of cool bands on it: The Queers, Pink Lincolns, Parasites, Travoltas, Darlington, Prototipes, Session Eight, Sugus . . . unfortunately, it’s taken us a lot longer to get this thing out, than we ever expected. We’re sailing now though. It’s our first release, so we’ve been kinda working out the kinks as we go . . . and there have been plenty of unexpected delays, but I think when you hear all the great tunes we’ve crammed onto this disc, it’ll be well worth the wait.
Word on the street is that Mike was part of The Queers most recent release, "Munki Brain". What involvement did you have in the album?
Mike: It was my job to get everyone’s coffee in the morning and keep their plates full at the Chinese buffet each night . . . na, I’m just fucking around. I basically just did whatever was needed. Joe and I split the rhythm guitar tracks, I took a few leads, hammered out some happy keyboards, and sang backups pretty much every chance I got. Those sessions were a lot of fun and I think everybody kinda had their creative blast moments. It wasn’t like “Here’s your bass part Phillip and Mike, the oohs and aahs go in the pre-chorus”. I mean, Joe had all the songs, but we just kinda dug in and saw what we heard . . . if that makes any sense.
How did working with Joe Queer on "Munki Brain" come about?
Mike: I ran into Joe a few years back at a Pink Lincolns show and we got to talking about rock and roll or whatever . . . I think he knew of me and the band from Phillip, but I can’t remember . . . Anyway, I gave him my number, cause he said he didn’t know anybody in town and like a week later we dove into the giant production of moving his eighty-something-year-old neighbor out of her house (which is quite the story, but I’ll save that one for another time). I figure the scale of that project gave us plenty of time to become pretty good friends . . . I don’t really know how to answer this one . . . Joe was nice enough to invite me up and who the fuck am I to turn down that offer? I grew up listening to The Queers. Playing with them was one of those unattainable things you daydream about in high school algebra.
What other things have you all been working on recently?
Danny: A healthy beard.
Mike: I’ve gotta say, I’m pretty jealous of the danger beard. My beard season doesn’t start until the day after Halloween and ever since Danny here jumped the gun, I’ve been kinda feeling left out . . . but to answer your question, I’ve got a kid now, so I spend my days goofing with him and in between, handle all the label shit . . . I mean stuff. Really, I’ve been working on grinding down my sailor’s mouth.
Mike, how has having a baby changed your involvement in the punk scene & band?
Mike: I’m not so sure my involvement in the punk scene was that extensive to begin with . . . but, time. I used to have every minute in a day to fill with whatever looney minutia I deemed suitable or necessary, but these days I’m finding it harder and harder to even make a simple phone call, let alone get together with the boys. Hell, most of my correspondence lately has been typed one-handed, while the other one holds my kid. It’s all worth it though. He gets me to smile and I can’t stand the outdoors anyway.
Danny what’s the story with you having extraordinary strength?
Danny: Well, I don't know if my strength has ever been classified as extraordinary. Brute, yes. To be honest with you, it all comes from a healthy beard. In my expert opinion, the bigger the beard, the brute-r the strength. Really though... there's no story...I'm just a strong motherfucker. It comes from a healthy diet of sodas and gas-station hot dogs. Throw in a strict regimen of two-a-day video games, and one day maybe you'll be as strong as me.
The Last Chucks have been around since at least 1998, what are some major changes you’ve seen? Mike: Shit, I’m so out of the loop, I don’t even know what bands are popular anymore. It just seems like their used to be more action, danger, fun. Bands used to try to stand out from one another, not cut themselves from the same mold. You used to see a kid with blue hair or a leather jacket or tattoos or something and you knew there were probably some bands you both could agree were great. Now they might be into Sum 41 or Cartel (who I’ve never actually heard of . . . my girlfriend just gave me that one). I was at the grocery store the other day and this bird with a nose ring asked me if the logo on my shirt was a band and then, was it my band. I was wearing a Screeching Weasel t-shirt. She didn’t have a clue.
How do feel about what the mainstream media calls "pop punk"?
Danny: Is it up to the mainstream? If it's poppy and punky....it's pop punk.
Mike: It doesn’t really bother me. “Pop Punk” is just another arbitrary name give to a genre of music whose sound varies widely and is debatable amongst its followers anyway. I think it’s pretty safe to say that those of us in the know, think of The Ramones and The Queers and Screeching Weasel, when we hear the term “Pop Punk”. But then what about the Descendents and Jawbreaker? Where do they fit in? They don’t sound anything like The Ramones, but they’re poppy and nobody’s denying that they’re punk. And The Ramones were the first “Punk” band, so why are we slapping “Pop” on that label, years after the fact? As far as Avril Lavigne or whoever’s on the charts, they obviously write (or have written for them) catchy tunes, with that many listeners, so whether or not they’re “Pop Punk” or just “Pop” is up to the masses. It’s all just rock and roll really. So who gives a fuck what specific subgenre the mainstream media (or anyone else for that matter) gives to any one group? I don’t concern myself with how music is categorized, just how it makes me feel.
How would you describe The Last Chucks to someone who had not heard you before?
Mike: Well, the old stuff’s “Pop Punk” . . . no, the first album is a collection of tunes I wrote between the ages of like eighteen and twenty-one. It’s fun, catchy, upbeat, simplistic music about zombies and girls. The new material’s all over the place. I threw out the formula: verse, chorus, etc. There are just parts and sections. It’s all modular. I like to think of it as a kind punk rock “Heroes & Villains”.
Danny: Innovative, but exciting...which is a tough feat to accomplish. Most "experimental" or "concept" styles are way out there to the point that most people can't grab on to it. While I wouldn't call The Last Chucks an "experimental" or "concept" band, there are some different sounds than what the average listener is used to. The good thing about that is that the songs are still fresh. They still flow well, and they're still catchy. More importantly, I'd say "Why the hell haven't you heard us?"
What is your favorite Last Chucks song (and why)?
Danny: From “Zombie High” . . . “Honest”.
Mike: Yeah, maybe “Honest”. I wasn’t even gonna put it on the album, but Jason (our original bass player) talked me into it. I thought it was too different and nobody would like it (which is pretty funny, if you’ve heard the new stuff), but it actually turned out to be a fan favorite.
Who are your musical influences?
Danny: Paul McCartney, Lenny Kravitz, Foo Fighters, Stevie Wonder.
Mike: I’d say I’m influenced in some way by almost everything I hear, as long as it makes me feel something. I’m a big fan of rock and roll in general . . . but to be more specific: Beach Boys, Ramones, Screeching Weasel, The Queers, Descendents, Jets To Brazil, a bunch of doo wop and bop . . . lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of Ryan Adams, Thelonious Monk, New Pornographers, Guided By Voices . . . oh, and Ben Weasel’s latest, which I can’t seem to take out of my car stereo. It really just depends on my mood.
What are personal thoughts on the mentality of today's America?
Danny: It is my opinion that no one has an opinion anymore. Hardly anyone can think for themselves. Some band doesn't like George Bush, so that band's followers immediately follow suit. If you have your opinions, that's great...just make sure they're YOUR opinions. Who cares what other people think. I differ in some opinion or another with everyone I know...that's what makes me me, and it's what makes them them.
Mike: They’re all a bunch of sheep. MY GREAT AMERICA is a fast car blasting down the highway, a new tune tangled up in my brain, and a pretty girl by my side. As far as politics or the war or whatever, nobody should give a fuck what I think. I’m an artist, but unlike a lot of other egocentric assholes (I say other, because I am both egocentric and an asshole), I know my place is discussing Picasso or Kerouac or the fucking Ramones, not George Bush.
It seems like Pop-Punk is really on its way back to the punk "scene", what are your thoughts?
Mike: If hard-working bands get a little spotlight, good for them and if it helps us sell a few more albums, good for us.
Danny: I hate scenes. Can't people just listen to the music that turns them on? The same goes for artists...lets just make cool music. If it's fun, I like it. If it's catchy and upbeat, chances are I'm Iistening to it. The last time I considered myself part of a scene, I was a kid. That wasn't an answer to the question though. Um, if the question is referring to Pop-Punk's return to popularity, I'd say that it should be popular. It should have a big following based on the fact that, like I mentioned before, it's fun. Here I am sounding all angry about liking fun music...what the hell's wrong with me?
What are the future plans for The Last Chucks?
Mike: At some point, we’re gonna put out another LP, but I have so much heart and time wrapped up in that novel of songs that everything has to be perfect or bust. I swear this thing has become my own personal “SMILE”. In the meantime, we’re (diner junkie records/the last chucks) doing a split 7” with The Prototipes from Spain, which will hopefully be out at the end of the year, but it takes my ship forever to get off the damned dock.
