San Francisco’s semi-acoustic punk rockers GET DEAD (Fat Wreck), Berlin’s danceable rock’n’roll punk rockers THE UPRISING (Bad Dog Records), San Francisco’s rock’n’roll infused punk rock band TOYGUITAR (Fat Wreck) and LOST IN SOCIETY (Altercation Records / New Jersey) will be releasing a 7” named ‘Great Thieves Escape’ on October 10th via True Trash and Flix Records. IDIOTEQ has teamed up with all 4 bands to talk about their stories, local music scenes, this new co-release and live shows! See the full interview below and dive into their energetic, highly addictive punk rock sound now!
The vinyl split, which is limited to 500 copies, will be available with a screen printed cover and incredibly cool artwork (by Stefan Beham who has already worked with NOFX, LAGWAGON and more).
GET DEAD have been been on the road with ANTI-FLAG, LESS THAN JAKE, have recently wrapped up their European tour and are currently playing final shows of their US tour with Australian band CLOWNS, THE UPRISING have booked a bunch of European shows for this fall, TOYGUITAR were on FAT tour this summer with NOFX, LAGWAGON and more, while LOST IN SOCIETY’s relentless touring brought them over to Europe for the first time this year, recently played with BAD RELIGION and are a part of Upstart Fest 2015 this weekend!
Hi guys! How are you? How’s everything at your end?
TOYGUITAR: – Hi! We are well thank you!
LOST IN SOCIETY: Good, how are you? Everything has been going really well. Just got back from a west coast run with our friends in the band Dead Sara.
THE UPRISING: Well Pesky can’t move his arm for a month but other than that things are going well. We are finishing up the new songs for the first full length we plan on releasing next year and playing almost weekly the rest of 2015.
GET DEAD: Great. Just got back to the states. Aggressively holding down my couch.
Can you give us a brief summary concerning the history of your band?
TOYGUITAR: – Jack was working at a fair-trade coffee shop in San Francisco where he met then Rollerblading champion, Miles Peck. Those two bonded over their love of coffee and all things ironic. Naturally, they met Paul while attending a Live Action Role Playing (LARP) convention and the 3 of them clicked instantly. Rosie, who had recently been fired from her job at a medicinal marijuana dispensary in Oregon, was hitchhiking through San Francisco when Jack, Paul and Miles picked her up. The rest is history.
LOST IN SOCIETY: The band started in late 2004 when Zach and I were in 8th grade. We wanted to do something for our talent show. Hector joined the band about 7 years ago and replaced our original drummer Hardu.
THE UPRISING: Start with 500 gram west Germans, diced, mix with 500 gram finely chopped immigrants and bring to a boil in Berlin. After 2 years cover with new songs, present to your guests on a dirty stage.
GET DEAD: 5 friends go out for drinks and wake up with headaches and a band. That’s the meat and potatoes of it.
What is the constant driving impetuous behind running and developing your band?
TOYGUITAR: – Fun and food.
LOST IN SOCIETY: Being in a band is tough and I don’t think we would be able to do it if it wasn’t for our love of music. Traveling with your best friends is also pretty incredible
THE UPRISING: Good question, it burns inside? I can’t explain it, it’s like love, or jumping out of a plane, or taking a nap in a hammock, or smoking crack, you understand the desire once you have experienced it.
GET DEAD: I’m not entirely sure to be honest with you. Probably just continue to make music that people can relate to that is also fun to play live.
Is it a good time to be a touring punk rock band in your area? How would you comment on the state of your local music scene?
TOYGUITAR: – It’s never a good time to tour anymore, it’s crazy expensive! Our love of music, each other, and 14 hour drives compels us.
LOST IN SOCIETY: Being from Asbury Park we have a pretty solid local scene. We have alot of great bands from the city like HOT BLOOD and THE BATTERY ELECTRIC and transplants like our friends in THE SCANDALS.
THE UPRISING: By area do you mean Germany? I think being a touring band in any area has its advantages and disadvantages. But 2 prime examples would be Europe and the USA. In the USA you can buy a full backline and a van for pretty cheap, for the whole fucking band, and gas is cheap comparatively, and there are a million places to play, not necessarily good places, or fair places, but places to play, and there are 200 million people or so not too immobilized by their age/family/location to make it to a show, but it’s hard to get people to actually come out to shows, and you aren’t guaranteed accommodation or food, and a lot of people leave or stop paying attention after their friends band is finished. I am of course generalizing about both situations.
GET DEAD: It’s awesome. There are a lot of great bands in the Bay Area and across California as a whole. A lot of venues had been closing down in the past couple years but there seems to be a lot of new live music venues opening up again which is always a good thing for the scene.
Photo: LOST IN SOCIETY by Molly Hudelson Photography.
What was your portal into your local punk rock scene? How much does being from LA/NJ/Berlin shape your sound?
TOYGUITAR: – We used to dress up as dwarves, wizards, and knights and shit. We had a song called “The Birdsong of Wayreth Forest” that had killer flute and lyre solos. People loved it. I think that was our portal into the scene. We’re actually from San Francisco, but if we were from LA/NJ/Berlin we would probably sound like MISSING PERSONS meets Bruce Springsteen – with a little touch of 99 Luftballons.
LOST IN SOCIETY: The big one for us was THE BOUNCING SOULS and from those bigger bands we were introduced to bands like THE ERGS! and SCREAMING FEMALES. New Jersey has solid music history which I definitely think influenced.
THE UPRISING: Well, my ” local punk rock scene” was just a “local bored so lets do drugs, get into trouble, and try to figure out why the adults are buying into the things that even we, as fuck up teenagers, could see were bullshit and don’t make sense”, all while listening to super strange, super new (for us), and super disliked (by the locals) music. So i guess those types of folks tend to gravitate toward each other.
Being from Berlin shapes our sound in a very important way in my opinion, because Berlin is one of the only places where guys or girls like us, from different backgrounds and from different cultures can converge together to make music in a livable environment. So it’s very easy and natural to have different ideas about the music we are trying to make, while still being on the same page because of the fact we grew up listening to bands playing similar styles of music.GET DEAD: Skateboarding and was my portal. It had a big influence on the style of music I made for sure. I don’t think without it I would’ve gotten into music. Skateboarding is a gateway drug.
Are there any current names and projects worth mentioning here?
TOYGUITAR – – Nah.
LOST IN SOCIETY: Absolutely. THE SCANDALS, of course, and then there are bands like HOT BLOOD and The BATTERY ELECTRIC who rule.
THE UPRISING: BARETTA LOVE, SCHIFFARSCH BIER, THE SMELL AROUNDS, and BERLIN BLACKOUTS.
GET DEAD: Besides the Thieves Escape split we are also working on new stuff for a new get dead full length. We have a bunch of new songs that we are pretty stoked on.
Photo: GET DEAD live.
Ok guys, to let’s dig in and find out more about this new project of yours. How did all of you guys come to link up for this split release? Was it a joint effort?
TOYGUITAR: We got super stoned with Get Dead at a Morrissey show. That’s basically it. I guess you could say it was a “joint effort” – wink, wink.
LOST IN SOCIETY: We were approached by Flix Records and it sounded like something we would love to be apart of. I would definitely say it’s the brain child of Katrin and Felix over at Flix Records. We are super excited to be a part of this.
THE UPRISING: We were at our local music shop and there was cardboard box for bands to put their cassette tape in, and in doing so they entered a competition to be on a split 7″ with 3 unnamed bands from the USA. We happened to have a few copies of our cassette leftover, so we jumped at the chance, put our Cassette in the box, and Flix Agency got in touch with us a little while later. A rock, paper, scissors match ensued and we won, paper beating rock, and made it onto the 7″ with Lost In Society, toyGuitar, and Get Dead. Everything from the artwork, to the music is top notch and we are super excited about being a part of it.
GET DEAD: Katrin from Flix Agency really is the mastermind behind it. She was our tour manager last year in Europe and had the idea to put it together. We are friends with all the bands involved so it was really easy and fluid to put it all together.
Have you been compiling your material exclusively for this record? Or did you already have these tunes recorded before?
TOYGUITAR: – We had the song already recorded on someone’s phone. Learning it again and capturing that tiny-speaker essence proved very challenging.
LOST IN SOCIETY: This is a previous unreleased track. When we were down in Gainesville for Fest we tracked two songs with Steve Rizun who has produced all The Flatliner’s records. This song is one of those tracks.
THE UPRISING: The song from us on the 7″ is titled “Horizon”. It was in our front pocket, ready to use with a second song we recorded, called “Concrete and Steel”. We released a video for “Concrete and Steel” recorded at La La Studios in Leipzig, so “Horizon” moved to the back pocket, and when this opportunity arose we moved “Horizon” back to the front pocket, and soon into your living rooms, or bedrooms, or wherever people are listening to music these days. Oh yeah, your cars.
GET DEAD: Exclusive content. We recorded coma just for this record.
Photo: THE UPRISING by Rudeart Music & Subculture Photography.
Ok guys, so how about touring? Gig-wise, what are your plans for the next months?
TOYGUITAR: – We have the big Fat Wreck 25th Anniversary Tour in August, then Awesome Fest in September, and Japan in November. Sooooo stoked!
LOST IN SOCIETY: We have this really awesome festival called Upstart Fest which we are doing end of September into the beginning of October. After that we have some things up in the air.
THE UPRISING: Tour for a weekend, work, tour for a week, work, Tour for a weekend, finish writing the new record, tour for a weekend, work, tour for a week, play a fundraiser for the homeless of Berlin, go on holiday. Our booking agent is going to kill me for that response. To make amends I will say, check our facebook for dates, ahem, check here for dates.
GET DEAD: We are going out on a west coast tour with CLOWNS from Australia that we are excited about. That starts in September. Then into the studio.
Considering the digital times we’re living, do you think it’s beneficial for bands to work their asses off and tour heavily these days?
TOYGUITAR: – No way! You never want to over-saturate. We believe in short sets and short shorts.
LOST IN SOCIETY: From our experiences I think touring is the only way to make it these days. You have to put in the work and pay your dues.
THE UPRISING: You had a really good interview going there, but i will bite on this one. It has always been beneficial for any musician/band to tour their asses off (in the “success/ people like us/we can make a living/we have respect” meaning of the word “beneficial”). Relationships are ruined, jobs are lost, addictions are fed, people are neglected, planes are crashed, cell phone chargers are left behind, and shit is stolen……. but yeah, it’s still beneficial to tour like a motherfucker, more beneficial than it is if you don’t.
GET DEAD: You can not make it otherwise. But I’d rather have to tour heavily than heavily sit in a studio and record all the time. No complaints here.
Ok guys. Thanks a lot for your time! Any final thoughts or shout-outs?
TOYGUITAR: – Big up’s to Katrin and the Flix team, Chrisi at Weird World and YOU for the interest! Thanks for letting us have some fun the these answers!
LOST IN SOCIETY: A big thanks to Felix and Katrin at Flix Records for putting this awesome project together.
THE UPRISING: Yeah, Lost In Society, Get Dead, toyGuitar, Flix Agency, True Trash Records, Stefan Beham, Charles Chaussinand, and you…. and someone book us in Warsaw please, I really like that city and would like a chance to see it when it is not raining.
GET DEAD: If anyone from Taco Bell is reading this…… Please open up shop in Europe. Seriously you guys are blowing it
Thanks! Good luck with your future plans and projects and cheers from Warsaw!
TOYGUITAR: – Cheers! Thanks so much!
LOST IN SOCIETY: Thank you for the interview!
THE UPRISING: Thanks a lot!
THE UPRISING live:
25 Sep – Mönchengladbach @ Blaues Haus
26 Sep – Dülmen @ Spinnerei
02 Oct – Berlin @ SO36
09 Oct – Teplice @ Bozak
10 Oct – Wien @ DIY Noise Festival
27 Nov – Köln @ Sonic Ballroom
28 Nov – Unterertahl @ Away from Life Fest
02 Dec – Braunschweig @ B58
04 Dec – Münster @ Cafe Lorenz
05 Dec – Illingen @ Juz
06 Dec – Dordrecht @ Bibelot
07 Dec – Lille @ tba
08 Dec – Antwerp @ Kavka
11 Dec – Potsdam @ Archiv
GET DEAD live:
Sep 25 – The Tower Bar – San Diego, CA
Sep 26 – The Redwood Bar & Grill – Manhattan Beach, CA
LOST IN SOCIETY live:
9/25 – Connie’s Ric Rac | Philadelphia, PA (Upstart Fest)
9/26 – Sidebar | Baltimore, MD (Upstart Fest)
9/27 – The Grand Victory | Brooklyn, NY (Upstart Fest)
25 Sep – Mönchengladbach @ Blaues Haus
26 Sep – Dülmen @ Spinnerei
02 Oct – Berlin @ SO36
09 Oct – Teplice @ Bozak
10 Oct – Wien @ DIY Noise Festival
27 Nov – Köln @ Sonic Ballroom
28 Nov – Unterertahl @ Away from Life Fest
02 Dec – Braunschweig @ B58
04 Dec – Münster @ Cafe Lorenz
05 Dec – Illingen @ Juz
06 Dec – Dordrecht @ Bibelot
07 Dec – Lille @ tba
08 Dec – Antwerp @ Kavka
11 Dec – Potsdam @ Archiv
Sep 25 – The Tower Bar – San Diego, CA
Sep 26 – The Redwood Bar & Grill – Manhattan Beach, CA
LOST IN SOCIETY live:
9/25 – Connie’s Ric Rac | Philadelphia, PA (Upstart Fest)
9/26 – Sidebar | Baltimore, MD (Upstart Fest)
9/27 – The Grand Victory | Brooklyn, NY (Upstart Fest)
9/25 – Connie’s Ric Rac | Philadelphia, PA (Upstart Fest)
9/26 – Sidebar | Baltimore, MD (Upstart Fest)
9/27 – The Grand Victory | Brooklyn, NY (Upstart Fest)
