The following are interviews from four hard working bands that we go to heckle while we were drunk...

Band Number 1:

While waiting for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones to come on stage, I noticed about 20 beer bottles being assembled in front of the drum kit. The lights went down, Irish music filled the air only to be replaced by an evening of heavy distortion, upbeats and horns. In contradiction to their song "Don't Know How to Party", actions speak louder than words.

Greg & Liz: How long have you been together?
Mighty Mighty Bosstones: All our lives.

G&L: What's behind the name?
MMB: Why we named it, that's like a takeoff of our city. We're from Boston. I wish there was more there for you guys.

G&L: What do you do when you're not touring or in the studio?
MMB: There's no such thing. That's it for us. Um, we do a lot of snowboarding. Yeah, we actually did play at like a big snowboarding/skateboarding rally back east...in New York. A lot of actually mud-fest....down and dirty in a bar.

G&L: What's the strangest thing that's happened on tour?
MMB: Oh, it's all pretty strange. when something normal happens, that seems weird.

G&L: What's you're favorite brand of beer?
MMB: Anything you can funnel. Anything in a keg.

G&L: Do we get a free pair of converse for doing this interview?
MMB: Naw, we didn't get a free pair for doing the commercial.

WORD ASSOCIATION: Diarrhea-Beer Plaid-Beer Fish-Fishbong, asshole, jerkfaced drummer Green-Day Cheese-Whiz

Band Number 2:

The problem with motels is the heater. It's either too hot or not at all. The same applies to Love Battery. Watching their set at the Press Club had me waiting for the big kaboom. No boom. So, I drank more. Suddenly, a riff caught my ear. The second half of the set was great. Sonic
melodies with depth and precision. Oohh la la. They should have skipped to the
second half because it was fresh.

Love Battery are Seattle natives and have seen the scene evolve from day one. "It's (Seattle) way too big to be a scene. There's busloads of bands arriving everyday. A lot of our friends have houses now," says Jason, the funny member. "It was a total accident. We were all sitting around playing music and then everyone started getting famous." "Two thumbs down for the music industry," claims Ron, the lead singer. "It's very expoloitive. As an artist, you get burned. You make a product and get a very small percent of the profit. But, it's a better job than washing dishes." Day-gigs are a familiar thing for members of Love Battery. They are cool dudes, down to earth. In his off time, Jason books bands in Seattle. I don't totally love their music, but it's pretty cool. Some of it sounds stock, some is pretty killer; but all is from the heart. Bruce Fairweather, original Mother Love Bone member, is a solid bass player. I threw some names at the members. This wastheir response: Sun City Girls: Wierd Chris Cornell: Don't know him. Been there, done that. He likes the Golden State Warriors. Andrew Wood: (Silence) 333. Steve Albini: Seen him naked. He dropped his drawers at a show. Stone Gossard: (Jason) Went to high school with him, he was shorter than me then. I don't know what happened. He's a quipster. Satchel: Potheads. Hamms Beer: Ah, love it. Can't get enough. -Sonny Mayugba

Band Number 3:

It's hard to tell if a lame interview is the result of the people you are interviewing (in this case the band Bush) or your own inability to do a good interview. The first time I heard Everything Zen by Bush on the radio, I thought it was a brilliant lost Nirvana out-take from the Nevermind sessions. Then I saw the artsy, moody video directed by photographer/artist Matt Mahurin and thought these guys were pretty concise for a debut band. I got a copy of the record and was additionally intrigued by the album
art by David Carson of Raygun and Beach Culture fame. The record was produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley who've also produced acts like Elvis Costello and David Byrne. I asked the band (guitarist/singer/songwriter Gavin Rossdale and drummer Robin Goodridge) how they managed to hook up with such big name talent their first time out. Gavin replied, "Dave Carson to us is the best at design. I love Raygun magazine. I love Bikini (see Heckler's Alternative issue for an interview with Bikini designer Scott Clum). He had the look and understood that whole thing. Matt Mahurin is so much better than anyone else. He's a painter, he likes the same painters that I do. So we had a whole history of stuff that we got on together about. And he really loved the record most importantly. All these people, they really wanted to be involved. They're all the first people we asked." Robin added, "We just sent them the album, and they called back and said "let's get on with it.'"
Gavin went on to say, "Counter culture is to me the most interesting part of the youth culture. That's where it's all at. Fanzines and stuff, that's all the street level stuff and that's what Dave Carson's like." I'm not sure how street level Raygun is and I'm not sure how street level Bush is either. But I can say this with certainty: They are the most polite band I've ever met with a Top-10 hit single. Both Robin and Gavin repeatedly offered to make me tea or did I want a beer. I can also say that they're having fun too. When I arrived at the Cattle Club, I thought Gavin was a tourist as he was wandering around the club wearing Arnet's and shooting hi-8 video. And they do rock. Their live show sounded just like their record. They really are a band, not just a bunch of studio musicians. I wasn't sure if I even wanted to finish this story because nothing really exciting happened the evening I saw and interviewed the band. But, I had asked a lot of people for help setting up the interview (Mike Jerrick and Lucinda at WEA, Jerry & Troy at the Cattle Club) and Curtis shot a whole roll of film, so I figured I might as well finish what I started. Besides, my wife, Maria, says Bush rocks her world. And after hearing Everything Zen again last night, I must say that it is one of the best songs to hit the rather weary alternative top 10 chart in the last year. Before Bush, the band all painted houses together in London, which is a salt of the earth kind of thing to do. In the end, maybe that's all that matters. The guys in Bush are true gentlemen and hard workers with a hit single that does not suck. -John Baccigaluppi, Photo by Curtis Franklin




Band Number 4:

It seemed like every time I went to the Press Club to check out a band (Girls Against Boys, Love Battery) I would see Brian Wheat of Tesla chillin' at the bar. Now, besides Noah Salasnek, William Vollman, Rudy Vanderlans and vine-ripened tomatoes, everybody knows that Sacramento is the home to the multi-platinum rockers named after Nicolai Tesla, one of the pioneers in the electricity business. I met Brian along with guitarist Frank Hannon while editing their Five Man Acoustical Jam album, so I knew that they were pretty down to earth guys without any Axl Rose attitudes. Here's what Brian had to say about Sac:

Favorite Sacto Bands: Hag, Papa's Culture, As Yet Untitled. I like anybody as long as they're good.

Tesla: We're touring in Febrary. Right now I'm enjoyin' the time off.

Sacramento's Two Rivers (the American & Sacramento) converging and influencing life here: That's deep man. No I never really thought about that.

Favorite Movies: Blue Velvet and One Flew Over The Cuckoo'sNest.

Stayin' in Sac: Where else we gonna' go, L.A.? I like the weather here. I was born here, my family's here. I don't wanna live anywhere else. I grew up in South Sac. We (Brian & Frank) were out stealing cars when he was 15. Did I ever tell you how I met Frank? It was at the Stop & Go liquor store on Wallace and Fruitridge. He wanted me to buy him some beer. I was 18, he was 15. I had some facial hair. I could buy beer, I had a little scruffy beard. He came up to me and said `Hey dude, buy me a beer.' So I bought 'em a beer, it was an Olde English 800. We shared it, it was a big one. We started to talk about music. We found out we both liked music and he was a guitar player, I was a bass player, so we started the band. In 1980.

Last Words: I wanna' ride a skateboard. Can you teach me how to skateboard?

Brian Wheat is a gentleman and we thank him for his time. Check out the new LP, Bust A Nut, and see 'em if they cruise through your town.