| An Interview with Casselberry's finest... (taken from RAMBO fanzine #1) RunnAmuckS interviewed by: Eric Aldrich |
| Eric: What were your inspirations to start the RunnAmuckS? Mike: Fucking boredom. Josh: Growing up in Casselberry, where the main scenery is strip-malls and parking lots-basically boredom. Not fitting in with anybody. Wanting to stab people. (laughter) Eric: What are your main musical influences? Josh: Now, or when we started? Now...black flag...stooges. velvet underground. lots of stuff... Mat: black flag, the neos Josh: yeah a lot of stuff Eric: What about back in the day? Josh: Back then mainly nirvana and black flag, who are still 2 of my favorite bands Mike: Screeching Weasel! Eric: How did you guys get the name, the RunnAmucks? Josh: Well uh we kept trying to think of all these different names and I always wanted some kind of a name with an anarchy sign in it (laughter) and I thought of "runnamucks" one day...I pulled that out of my ass and I asked Mike about it and he said no anarchy sign...and his mom thought it was a clever name so we kept it. No anarchy sign though. Mat: I think it's because of the way I fuck. I just want to run a muck on some pussy 'n shit. (laughter) Eric: How long have you guys been around? Mat: Since 96 Mike: November 96 Eric: How are your songs different than other bands? Josh: We use this advanced technique. Mat: It's the key LMNOP (laughter). It's so advanced it's not on any fucking chord charts or anything yet. Josh: Mat thought of it while he was taking a shit one day. Mat: Yeah and a quarter fell out of my ass. Eric: Was that true, Mat? Mat: Yeah, shit hurt, too (laughter). I didn't think my ass was ever going to stop bleeding. Mike: Yeah but we don't use the typical chords. (Lots of laughter) Yeah you can't really bullshit this one. Josh: Yeah it's hard...we invented our own style pretty much though... Mat: From not knowing how to play. We just had our instruments and started pounding on shit. Josh: I had just started playing guitar in that year, Mike didn't really play bass at all...then we got Mat to have his dad buy him these drums...that he still doesn't play to this day. (laughter) Mat: Because I can't play them at my house. Josh: But then we slowly invented our own kind of music before ever hearing D.R.I. or bands like that. Eric: Your lyrics and music on your new lp seem to be different overall than your last 7". What happened there? Josh: We got a lot better, pretty much. Basically our new lp was about 3 years in the making. That crummy 7" was recorded summer of '98 so there's been a lot of improvements in the songwriting, lyrically and musically. It's title if "Of a Different Breed." That's because I've never met anybody I get along with like these guys. We're really of a fucking different breed. The whole album just documents the things we've gone through in the last 3 years and things I've felt...some of which my opinion has changed on, but the songs are nonetheless shredding representations of some pretty fucked up feelings. Eric: Why did you guys choose to record in the manner you did? Mike: It sounds better. Josh: Yeah we recorded on analog because we think it sounds a lot better than digital. Mat: They compressed the fuck out of our sound. We sounded like shit on digital (the 7"). Josh: Plus that's how all the old Rock 'n Roll bands recorded. Chuck Berry...Beatles...Rolling Stones...all that kind of stuff. Eric: When is your new lp coming out? Josh: Whenever Geffen Records or RCA decides to put it out, basically. Mat: No Limit! Mike: Elektra! Josh: Yeah, whenever Master P from No Limit signs us. But until then we've got CD copies that we made ourselves...which sucked by the way. Basically, we're just DIY by consequence. I say fuck the whole DIY method. (laughter from everybody) I say embrace corporate America! Mat: More bang for the buck. Mike: It's better quality. Josh: Fuck sitting in your room, cutting and folding shit. I could be watching Gomer Pyle instead. Mat: Could be jerking off (laughter). Eric: On your new lp you guys have a song called "33rd St. Blues." What are the lyrics about? Josh: It's about when me and Mike went to Jail because some jerk off ratted us out for running out of Wherehouse music with armloads of CDs. I was in Jail and Mike got out hours earlier than I did. I was sitting there thinking I wasn't going to get out...our parents left at the same time to bail us out and I sat there for hours thinking my mom wasn't going to come get my pathetic ass out of jail. I started freaking out. Mat: Aww good old mommy bailing you out. Eric: Anything else? Mike: Better thank your mom. Josh: Thanks mom! Eric: Why are you guys disliked by the Orlando scene? Mike: 'cause we're better. Mat: We've got a more powerful edge (laughter) than any local band. Josh: Basically everyone knows we're better. We can't deny it anymore. We're just donna come right out and say it that's why everyone else hates us so much. (laughter) Mike: Everybody else's band sucks. Josh: And everyone else. Mike: We're the only...the only cool people (a barrel 'o laughs).Eric: What do you guys do for fun? Josh: Comic books. That's number one. DareDevil...Spider-Man...Captain America...the good shit. Mike: Comic books...and...your mom (An "OOOOhh" from everyone followed by laughter) Mat: I enjoy a good porno mag reading: y'know like Tight, Barely Legal. Then on the weekends go bowling, get drunk. Mike: Hustler! Eric: I heard you guys make mention of "pizzatarianism." What kind of diet is this? Josh: It's the radical new diet of the future! Pizza every fucking day! Mat: The diet of the future...it's going to help save to ozone layer while still enjoying life by stuffing yourself full of pizza every fucking day. Mike: It benefits the animals and nature and peace and love. Josh: Yeah it benefits us humans as well. It's a very new way of thinking. I'm sure a lot of you out there just can't yet grasp this kind of concept. Eric: How long do you think the RunnAmuckS will last? Josh: Till the second coming of Christ. Or till my solo career takes off. Whichever one comes first. Mat: Or when we become a hip hop metal band. Josh: Whenever Mike starts going to the Parliament House. We'll have to quit then. Eric: What do you have to say to everyone who's reading this? Josh: Stay in school...no...ummm...You should buy our record instead. It's good (laughter) And crank the shit when you get it because it beats the shit out of 99% of other bands out there. Not that we are egotystical or anything like that. And come to our show JUNE 20 AT RUMORS LOUNGE!!!! Mat: Disrespect your parents anytime you can...then maybe they'll stop being such dickheads... Josh: Uhhh...I don't get that... Mike: Use only Duracell batteries. Eric: So how are you guys going to keep it real in the year 2001? (lots of laughter) Mat: Wild shows, wild parties, and lots of poon tang! |