INTERVIEW: U.S. BOMBS (Fan Website)
Bomb Dropping Punk! (Hell Cat Records)
By: Liz Ortega
In a traveling van for a traveling band, I hung out with Duane, Kerry and Wade of one of the hardest PUNK bands around, the U.S. BOMBS. These guys are amazing live! If you haven't seen them live, you're a fucken BASTARD! Duane Peters has this stage presence that leaves the audience in awe. I mean, this guy does these crazy flips and dives that make your body ache just by watching! But, all in all, he has this energy that keeps his spirits real and gets the crowd going right along with him. The guys have this street savvy attitude and an appearance that would send your parents running towards the nearest 5-0! However, lets not be fooled by their tough, thug-like guise, for they are the coolest, most down to earth group of punks I have come across. They are a total riot and they have so much positive energy thriving within. They keep their music real and they support the scene to the fullest. These guys bust their asses off and it shows in their music. Their latest release, The World, on Hellcat Records, is loaded with some serious PUNK RAWK. Also, there is a new addition to the ranks, Jonny Two Bags from such bands as the Cadillac Tramps and Youth Brigade. So, there you have it. Punk rock in your face! U.S. BOMBS THE WORLD!LIZ: TELL ME ABOUT THIS NEW ALBUM, THE WORLD. ARE YOU GUYS PLEASED WITH IT?
DUANE (Vocals): Very, very happy with it. It's a great record.
LIZ: DO YOU SEE A LOT MORE KIDS AT YOUR SHOWS NOW?
DUANE: It's getting better at every show. It's climbing. When we first started playing our new album, kids would act like they knew the words or something. From the last two months, it's gotten better.
KERRY (Guitar): Yeah, every tour, there are more kids and stuff. They're starting to get more intune with everything as far as like when we first started touring and stuff. Like a lot of kids with baggy shorts and baseball caps would show up and they started to see a lot more of a 'punk' look and just attitude and started to get back to the basics and what it use to be. That's a good thing.
LIZ: HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO GET THIS RECORD TOGETHER?
DUANE: Two months, well, a month to put it together and a little bit over three weeks to record it. Just like that! We go on the road and then we come home and we don't even practice anymore because we're on the road so much. If we practice, it's when we rarely do a sound check. We might practice a couple tunes but other than that we just...And it makes it good because when we go in the studio or to a practice hall, we work like it's a job. We worked for one month straight. We wrote like thirty songs, recorded nineteen, you know.
WADE (Bass): We recorded twenty-two tracks.
DUANE: Nineteen with vocals, but then we had to take off for Europe a day after it was done. So, we're always crammed for time.
KERRY: The same day it was done, actually, because we stayed up all night mixing, we went to the airport and hopped a plane to go to Europe. (laughter)
LIZ: WHAT WAS IT LIKE WORKING WITH FLETCHER DRAGGE OF PENNYWISE?
DUANE: He was there the last day. He came in a couple times and he's totally cool. He was in Australia and they came back to record some stuff. So, they were kind of waiting for us to get done with the studio. So, he would come in and out all the time. He pretty much stayed for the mastering and helped with some of the mixing. He's a good guy.
LIZ: YEAH! THAT'S WHAT I HEAR! THAT HE'S A REALLY NICE MAN! I'M SCARED...(trembling)
LAUGHTER
KERRY: Depends what side of the fence you're on!
LIZ: SO, LOTS OF TOURING IN SUPPORT OF THE NEW ALBUM, THAT'S GREAT! WHAT BANDS WILL BE TOURING WITH YOU?
WADE: Bouncing Souls, H2O, we just finished the Punk O Rama tour, Straight Faced, Union 13. We're touring with the Ducky Boys right now. LE.S Stitches...
DUANE: Swingin' Utters.
WADE: Yeah, Swingin' Utters.
DUANE: We've been out for over eight weeks and we've got a little over a week to go. Then we've got five weeks at home and then we're going to Europe for UNITY with Agnostic Front for five weeks. Then we come home for two months and we're gonna do the states. Talking about another tour; Piss, Punk and Drunk tour...
WADE: Punk, Drunk and Piss.
DUANE: OK, something like that...
WADE: CO-headlining with Guttermouth. So, that should be cool. I don't know the other bands yet, but they're talking about some good bands.
LIZ: I KNOW THAT YOU (DUANE) HAVE YOUR OWN LABEL. HOW IS THAT GOING?
DUANE: Yeah, I have a label called Disaster Records. It's going really good. Just signed Smogtown and the Pushers. Right when I get done with this, I go into the studio with them for ten days. They'll both have full length LP's out in January.
LIZ: WADE, YOU MENTIONED THAT TONIGHT'S SHOW IS GOING TO BE RECORDED. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS TO DO WITH IT?
WADE: Well, if it turns out OK, then we'll release it.
LIZ: WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE BAND? I KNOW YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED A GREAT DEAL, BUT WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THE BOMBS?
WADE: To make another record better than the last one and to keep touring.
DUANE: It's our job, man. It's either that or we're dishwashers. It's like it keeps the fire burning. We gotta work...
KERRY: This is all we know! (laughs) Just stick to something you know and that's what we do.
LIZ: AND YOU GUYS DO A REALLY FUCKIN COOL JOB AT IT. (BROWN NOSER, BROWN NOSER!)
ALL: THANKS!
LIZ: TELL ME ABOUT ONE CRAZY EXPERIENCE YOU'VE ALL HAD WHILE ON TOUR.
WADE: Kerry's the story teller.
KERRY: OH, shit!
WADE: He'll start with his birth and lead up to it, I'm sure.
LAUGHTER
KERRY: You want a crazy story? OK, I'll tell you a crazy story. We were in Pennsylvania, in Lancaster, before we were on the Punk O Rama tour, and we showed up and the bouncers were just assholes! They had a big chip on their shoulders. So, our tour manager went and talked to the staff and stuff and said 'Hey, the kids are going to be jumping around having a good time. As long as you don't see anybody socking' anybody or whatever, just let them jump around.' So, they agreed to it and all night long they were beating the shit out of these kids and throwing them out. Two kids got knocked out. The tour manager saw some shit happen and these kids got kicked out and he wanted them to come back in. He got into this big fight with the promoter. So, the kids ended up going back in and Duane was at the bar having a drink and he took a shot of something and it made him throw up! (Laughs))
DUANE: No!!!! See, here's where I knew it was going to take a right turn. OK, now, everything was right up to there...
KERRY: (laughing)Hey, that's what these three skin heads told me...
DUANE: I'm up there and I'm drinking Capt.' and Coke. So, the whole fuckin' day I'm wondering why the kids are all scared. I'm watching guys who aren't even drinkin get thrown out for lookin' wrong. So, these bouncers got a major problem, whatever, I don't care. So, you can't drink downstairs with the 'all age' kids, fine, there's a backdoor with the backstairs that go down to the courtesy room. So, I bought the Bouncing Souls a couple drinks. So, I'm bringing their drinks down. I go out the back door and these two bouncers rush me, " Where do you think you're going with these drinks?" I go, 'I'm giving them down to the Souls, I'm going to the courtesy room that way.' "No fuckin way, buddy!" And the other guy is going, "Just take him out now! Take him out now!" I go, 'What the fuck are you guys doin? Are you throwing me out?' The guy fuckin throws my drinks and goes, "Come on, buddy!" And I go, 'I'm not goin out! Let me get a key to my van.' The guy grabs me by the throat so tight, I can't even yell for help. Takes me down four flights of stairs, backwards. Luckily, the skinhead I was drinking with upstairs, saw the this happen, ran to the bar tender. Meanwhile, the guy gets me down the stairs, to the door, rams my head into the door. I Fred Flintstoned out into the side walk and all these kids are out there. I'm like a total bum, trying to brush my self off goin, 'Whatever.' And the guy goes, "Stay the fuck out!" Next thing I know, the bar tender comes running out there, "What the fuck are you guys doing to the bouncers?" I'm standing there going, 'Hey man, just get me back in.' And he goes, "COME ON!" Takes me back upstairs, gets me two bigger drinks than I had. So, he walks me down to the courtesy room. I walk in there and go, 'YEAH! I'm drinkin these drinks now! Fuck the Souls!' And I sit down, gonna have my drinks and those guys are yellin about the bouncers and they go, "What happened, Duane?" Word had already gotten to them. The H2O guys are really healthy, they like do jumping jacks and stuff...
LAUGHTER
DUANE: So, they wanna fuckin beat someone up and shit. The Straight Faced guys, they're pissed off anyway, the Bouncing Soul guys, and some of my guys...
KERRY: Wait, let me jump in here for a second. So, when all that shit was goin on, there were three skinheads that came up to me and said that you took a drink of something and fuckin threw up and instead of those guys {bouncers} helping you, they started kickin your ass.
DUANE: No, that's not the story. I didn't throw up at all.
KERRY: Well, that's what those guys told me, so I was just saying...
DUANE: This is the connection, right here! Fuck the middle man! Check it out, then I go to sit down and have my drinks and they go, "Show us who fuckin did it!" So, I've got all these guys ready to riot. I go, you know what, I never get back up like this. I'm takin it! So, I go, 'THIS WAY!' So, I've got like twenty guys behind me. Now, we're walkin' through the crowd and stuff and people on the tour, there's a shit load of big guys, they're seeing there's somethin' goin' down. It felt like WARRIORS, you know. And the packs getting bigger. When I looked behind me, by the time we were going by bouncers, I'm making the call, you know. I'm lookin' for the right guy, but they all look the same and my packs getting big and I'm not gonna turn around with nothing! So, I'm just lookin' for the right guy and I'm getting to the fuckin door to where there's no more guys and then it's like, I'm givin' up somebody. So, I look at the last guy at the door and in my head I'm goin', 'Fuck, it's gonna have to be him.' And I go up to him and he sees all that's going on and I go, 'FUCKIN' HIM!' And he just goes, "AHHHHHHHH!"
LAUGHTER!!!
DUANE: Luckily, the tough guy comes out of a side door. He's hiding in a closet. And they were ready to beat the fuck out of him! And he goes, " It was me, motherfuckers! You want a piece of me!" It was totally him. They fuckin', I got shot out like a zit!
LAUGHTER!
DUANE: I was on the side walk again, looking up at them beat the livin' fuck out of this guy so bad. So, all the other bouncers are running out the back door. So, everybody is out there and the cops. Mark, the H2O manager, filed charges against the club and shit. With the whole crowd out in the streets shouting, "U.S. BOMBS! U.S. BOMBS!" It was cool! They thought there was going to be a huge riot because the punks won that night! It was great!
KERRY: Two cops just happened to be riding their bikes out in front and they fuckin' stopped everything and within' a minute, there were six cop cars...
DUANE: And helicopters. It was cool!
LIZ: OH MAN! PRETTY INSANE SHIT!
DUANE: Fuck yeah!
LIZ: ALL OF YOU PUT SO MUCH ENERGY INTO YOUR PLAYING. BUT YOU,DUANE, WHAT THE HELL GIVES YOU THE ENERGY TO GO NUTS ON STAGE?
KERRY: HE'S 51/50!
LAUGHTER!
DUANE: I just get lost in the moment and that's why I love to write. I remember when I was writing that song and I get lost. I put my whole life into this band. Skateboarding and my girl, those are my priorities. When you've got your moments to share and you're on the road all fuckin' day and you've got your half hour or and hour, you fuckin' lose it. I love the music my band plays and I love my band. And you get lost and that's what its all about. Fuckin' feelin' free in a fuckin' unfree society, you know.
LIZ: RIGHT ON. WHAT'S MORE TO SAY?
DUANE: Stay punk, stay alive and stay skate, hey hey!
KERRY: Keep your scene alive and don't fuckin' cause problems by beating people up.
DUANE: Yeah, quite feeling for the soft spot on people's back and stabbing them. Just support the scene. We're getting tired, like the Boston scene totally supports itself, and...
WADE: New York scene...
DUANE: New York, all over! I mean, they totally welcome us so much to their scene. When they come here, we put them up when we can. It's like a brotherhood thing that we've never had and we have so many great bands in Orange County and if they would just stop stabbing each other and competing, they'd realize punk rock is the best thing and to get out on the road and not be 'hometown' heroes is the ultimate. If you can go on two, three U.S. tours and stay together. We respect bands whether they go out on the road or not, cuz a lot of bands work and stuff, but when they go out on the road and stay together its an accomplishment. It's hard work but its way better than washing dishes.
LIZ: I HEAR YA, MAN! WELL, THANKS FOR THE LAUGHS AND KEEP PUTTING OUT THOSE RECORDS! GOOD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING!
ALL: THANKS!
