The
Hudson Falcons
Interview Jimmy Calanchini
Photo Dawn Novak
The
streetpunk scene seems to be a good marriage of your beliefs
and your musical style. Did you just happen upon this scene,
or was it something that you were working towards?
Mark: From day one we’ve always considered ourselves a
rock & roll band, and we’ve been embraced by the streetpunk
and Oi! scene. I guess it’s because of what we’re
singing about; working class issues. We’re not writing
these songs just so we can have fans. That’s not what it’s
about. That just happens to be where we’re at. I personally
like the skinhead scene. We’ve met so many good people.
A bunch of good working class kids. We’re pretty happy
with where we landed. It worked out good for the kind of stuff
we sing. But we’re considered an Oi! band by so many people.
One of my buddies up in Canada told me, “I heard that you
guys were a really good Oi! band, but I heard the record and
it wasn’t Oi! at all.” Well, no, we never claimed
it was. Singing about working class issues doesn’t make
us an Oi! band. It’s a working class thing. It’s a
universal topic. Where do you get your spirit? Where do you get your political
and social element in your songwriting?
It’s something I’ve been interested in for a while.
I work as a union organizer. I’m fine with bands that aren’t
political. I have very strong feelings about a lot of different
stuff. Music is a good way to get it across. We try not to be
too preachy, but I know sometimes we probably are. But when
people stand by and don’t do anything when there’s
trouble, I’m not into that. I want to help someone out
or sing about something that makes a person think. It’s
generally a good thing to get off your ass and try to be active
and help. A lot of people work their ass off, and we genuinely
appreciate it. But a lot of folks are working 60-70 hours a
week. And you come home, and you just want to watch some TV
and get some sleep, and you don’t have time to be active.
But if you can, try to help out, at least in spirit. The working
class is getting fucked over, all over the place, with shit
like human rights. I don’t think it’s good. I think it’s interesting that the scene didn’t
shape you. You came up and did what you wanted, and the scene
ended up embracing you for it.
That’s the cool thing. In the early 90s in New Jersey,
there were a lot of punk bands, bands like Niblick Henbane,
and we’d go see them. But even when we saw those bands,
we never expected to be part of that scene. I’m glad we
are. We’ve met so many good fucking people. It’s a
cool thing. There are some scenes I definitely wouldn’t
want to be a part of, ones where people aren’t real or
genuine. But in this scene we’ve found a lot of warm and
genuine people. Especially coming out to Sacramento. We’ve
met so many great people. Bands that you’ve got around
here now are fucking amazing. And what makes it even better
is that the bands are full of good people. Between the Whiskey
Rebels, Pressure Point, the Roustabouts & Suburban Threat,
that’s cool shit. It’s rare to find bands that have
talent and aren’t jerk-offs. We love coming out here. Definitely
one of the highlights of the tour for us. I’d assumed that there was more punk in your background
than some people have told me. Can you tell me a little bit
about your musical background?
I didn’t get into punk until I was 21 or 22. I’ve
been a Clash fan since I was a kid, 14 or so, and there was
the New York Dolls and Johnny Thunders. But I grew up listening
to Springsteen and the Stones, Chuck Berry and that kind of
crap. It wasn’t until one of my buddies back in ’91
made me a mix tape of all these punk bands from England between
‘77 and ‘82, and it was so cool hearing this stuff.
I had always wanted to play a little harder and faster than
what I was playing. Specifically, the first time I heard Stiff
Little Fingers I went out of my mind because that was exactly
what I wanted to play. Its just basic rock & roll stuff,
but a little harder, a little faster, a little more aggressive.
From there, that’s the kind of stuff I’ve been listening
to. But there are still huge chunks of punk rock I don’t
know of, like the whole California scene with Black Flag and
all those kinds of bands. I never got into it at all. I’ve
heard a couple of songs, and I guess its cool, but it’s
just not my bag, you know? In the same vein, I never really
got into hardcore. I only got into it very recently when we
did that split with Blood For Blood. I went to see them and
they blew me away, and I thought they were an amazing band.
So, little by little, I’m starting to get into more of
the hardcore stuff. I’ve been in blues bands, in Stones
cover bands, all these bands, but I always wanted to play a
little harder and faster. And punk rock was where I wanted to
go. Tell me about the direction the Falcons are going.
The new record is probably more rock & roll than the first
one, and the lyrics are more personal. Obviously, it’s
still going to be political. We love being on the road, meeting
people and seeing places. And we’re going to tour until
we’re physically unable, or until people stop coming to
shows and don’t want to hear it. But we’re going to
stay on the road, and keep recording. We don’t have delusions
of grandeur that this band’s going to be huge. Fuck that.
I’m happy playing bars and rec centers every night. We’re
not rock stars. Fuck that shit. We just want to play rock &
roll on a Friday night after some guy works his ass off all
week and wants to have a few beers and listen to some rock &
roll. That’s what we’re here for. As long as people
keep coming out to the show, we’re going to put it on the
line. Even if one person comes in and no one else is there,
who the fuck are we to not put on a good show for that guy?
He paid just as much as everyone else. It’s not about the
money. It’s not about trying to be a rock star. That guy’s
looking for something to get into. He’s been working all
week and he wants to relax. We’re going to put it on the
fucking line. And he or she deserves it. Bands that don’t
do that aren’t worth their weight in shit and should be
taken out back and shot. What do you have scheduled as far as recording in the year
coming up?
We’ve got this full length that just came out. And we’re
going to go down to Atlanta for the Beer Olympics. While we’re
down there we’re going to do an EP. We just want to keep
putting out our recordings. We try to do splits with as many
bands as we can: Blood For Blood, King Sized Braces, who are
a great Oi! band up in Canada. We’ve got the American Fight
Club. We just release as much stuff as we can. I write quite
a bit. Is there anything else you’d like to say?
Just keep supporting local music. The people here in Sacramento
need to appreciate what they have. You guys have a good scene.
Try to keep it here and keep it real.
The
streetpunk scene seems to be a good marriage of your beliefs
and your musical style. Did you just happen upon this scene,
or was it something that you were working towards?