WRETCHED REFUSE interview with DAN MAGNETIC, August 18th 1998
WR: The newer songs you've written for the Young Offenders seem to be
closer to pure pop-punk than the older ones. Is your songwriting style changing?
DM: We'll have to see if it's just a phase or if it's a real change of
direction. I'd like to think I'm still capable of writing the kind of songs
I wrote eight months ago, but these newer ones are definitely poppier.
WR: Do you like the newer songs in the Y.O. set the best, or the older?
DM: I like the newer songs the best, but that's only natural, I think.
I feel right now that the stuff we've brought into the set since March is
a lot better than the stuff we had before that. All my favorite Y.O. songs
have been written since then.
WR: Only six songs in the set were written before March, am I right?
DM: Yeah. "Go Away Girl," "36", "Singular" and "Lesbian" I took from the
Rage Against Charlie Sheen set, and "Bikini Beach" and "This Song..." are
from the winter. Everything else in the set is newer.
WR: What will happen to all the other songs that you wrote back then?
DM: We'll keep jamming them occasionally so that we don't forget them, and maybe play
them live once in a while. Some of that stuff I still like quite a bit.
WR: Will they ever appear on record?
DM: Well, most of them were on "First Offence" (ed. note: a 14-song demo tape from March). But we're planning to
re-record that album with a few other old songs we left off at the same time we
record the new album.
WR: Tell me about the new album.
DM: I think it'll be called "Repeat Offenders," I have all the songs written.
It's not a huge departure from the first one, but the songs are better in my opinion.
There's a little more social relevance too, whereas the first album was
mostly just boy-girl stuff. Songs like "Routine" and "Trough" have a bit
of meaning to them...other people may do the commentary bit better but at least we're
showing that we see through the system as much as anyone.
WR: Do you see the Young Offenders as moving more towards socially conscious themes?
DM: I write about what I think about, and so if I'm going through a phase
where I'm more politically attuned then more of those types of songs will
happen. Starting university next year, God only knows what I'll be thinking about.
WR: Well it's St Mary's, so I'd say probably partying, sports, girls...
DM: We'll have to see. The topic of the songs is basically an afterthought
to me anyway, the music is the main thing.
WR: What's the story with the whole name change deal? I heard you guys were
contemplating a switch.
DM: We went through a week or two where we took a really hard look at where
we were going, and what, if anything, we should change. For a while I really
thought we had to change our name, and we almost did, to "The Rockaways." I
figured that three of us are the age of majority now, Y.O. was sort of
inappropriate. But at the last moment we decided to stick with it, after we talked to Condon from the
Pavilion. He said the music should make the name work for us, not the other
way around. So the name might not make a lot of sense but that's where it
stands. Fleetwood Mac was just the drummer and the bass player, anyway, and
they sold a few records in their time.
WR: What other names were you considering?
DM: Oh, I had a list of dozens, but only a handful were much good. I wanted
"The Young and the Reckless" but we couldn't get a consensus. Looking back
I'm fine with the fact that we stuck with what we had.
WR: Where do you see this band going?
DM: We'll keep playing whenever we can and doing what we do, and I'll keep
writing new songs and hopefully we'll keep improving. We'll take this thing
as far as we can, maybe we can do something with it. We're not expecting to
get rich or famous. But if we stick around long enough we might be able to
make some kind of a dent in the scene.
PUNK ROCK SAFARI interview with DAN MAGNETIC, August 30 1998
PRS: Okay, I'm gonna start by asking you what your favourite YO song is.
DM: It changes a lot, sometimes I'll write new songs that I like a lot and sometimes
something about an older one will make me take another look at it. Right now
my favourite YO song is Routine, I think.
PRS: Any new songs on the horizon now?
DM: Always a few coming down the pipe. Right now there's literally about
an album's worth of songs I've written for YO that we haven't even jammed
yet.
PRS: What do you see as being some of the highlights?
DM: It's just about impossible to tell what songs will be really good and
which ones will fall flat before they've been played. There's a couple of
First Offence-style chick songs I think will be OK, "Everyone Says I Love
You", "I Went Cuckoo Over You" and "Everything Else Can Wait." A couple that we were planning to put on
the Repeat Offenders album, "You Must Be Out of Your Mind" and "Modern
Anthem", are different. "Out of Your Mind" is kind of a more negative song,
not really poppy. "Modern Anthem" we're gonna try with two guitars I think,
it's kind of a political song, sounds a little like "Routine." There's tons
more but no sense going through them all.
PRS: Obviously none of those songs will be on the new "Minor Disturbance" tape
so when can we expect to hear them?
DM: Probably live will be the first time, like it is for most of our songs.
Three or four of those ones will probably work their way into the set in
September sometime.
PRS: When will "Minor Disturbance" be out and what will be on it?
DM: It will be out as soon as we can find somebody who can transfer it from
DAT to cassette, or maybe CD if the price is right. It could be a week, it
could be a month. As far as songs are concerned, we re-recorded everything
that was on "First Offence", added all the "Repeat Offenders" songs that
we know - there are eight or nine I think - and stuck on some bonus songs:
outtakes from "First Offence" and a cover, "I Think We're Alone Now."
PRS: How many songs are there, total?
DM: It's in the high twenties, I don't know exactly. Twenty-seven might be
the number. Fourteen were on "First Offence" and the others are new to tape.
PRS: How does it sound, quality-wise?
DM: I think it sounds as good as it could have with the equipment we had:
a 16-channel mixer, DAT player, bass direct box and eight mics. Not bad in
other words, better sounding than most punk demos out there but not studio
quality.
PRS: Where did you get all the equpiment?
DM: We rented it from the New Minas Musicstop for a day, it cost us about
$120, and that was with a 25% discount card.
PRS: You managed to figure out how to use it alright?
DM: The Musicstop guys told us the basics, then I used the thing with AVM
and the Scuds, figured out how it all basically worked. Then before YO
recorded, me and (drummer) Ryan messed around with it until we got the best
sound we could. We spent a half hour trying to fix this weird static problem
we had, then I just pushed this one button and it went away. I was just like, "oh."
PRS: Do you want to get back into the studio?
DM: Eventually, of course. When we did the thing in March we weren't really
ready yet, and we tried to do way too much in way too little time. We recorded
and mixed fifteen songs in under seven hours. So we didn't get exactly the
results we wanted. Next time we go in, we want to be a little less choked
for time. Hopefully we can do pretty solid versions of "First Offence" and
"Repeat Offenders."
PRS: Any time frame in mind?
DM: Ideally we'd like to try and get a deal with an indie record label,
make a record or two and hopefully do a small tour. But who wouldn't? Wanting
those things and being able to accomplish them are two very different
propositions.
PRS: Do you think you have what it takes to be a recording, touring punk
band? I mean, most punk bands never get out of the local area.
DM: I don't know. You can never fairly judge your own work. We'll send our
demos around to a few dozen indie labels and we'll see what the feedback is.
We don't have any pretentions. It's punk rock. We're not trying to get rich,
we just really like playing for people, getting people excited. Plus I wouldn't
mind looking back in fifty years and saying, "yeah, we did a couple things."
It would be nice to be at least a footnote in Canadian punk history.
PRS: Do you have a specific strategy for that?
DM: No, of course not. Nothing specific. I think our best chance is just to
stay together as long as possible, keep writing songs, play live whenever
we can...we'll see what happens. We're a small town punk band not a whole
lot different than any other.
CENTRAL VALLEY INQUIRER interview with DAN MAGNETIC, August 30 1998
CVI: This is your second interview today?
DM: Yeah, new personal record. Must be a slow day at the mall eh?
CVI: Yeah, there was nothing much going on so I came home to work on the
zine. Brian called you today?
DM: Yeah.
CVI: Okay, I'll try to ask you some different questions then. Um...if you
could own any fast food restaurant which one would it be?
DM: Fast food is terrible. Overpriced, undersized, exploitative, condecending
and a tool of the plutocracy. Sorry to rant, but really. You should know how
I feel. (laughs)
CVI: Yeah, alright. So...Rage Against Charlie Sheen is back together...
DM: Yup, we re-formed yesterday and played at the Edge in Kentville, same
place we played our first show back on September 13th.
CVI: So now you're in how many bands?
DM: Not so many that I can't handle it. Most of them are pretty much once-
a-month kind of deals.
CVI: So you got drunk last night eh?
DM: Yeah, I hadn't gotten wasted since last Saturday morning so I figured it
was about time. After the party I was at in Kingston ended I went to the
party at the Blue Light Special and tied one on.
CVI: Enjoy yourself?
DM: It was good, a bunch of us walked to Kingston to the late-nite pizza place
at one in the morning. It was raining but I didn't notice...The donairs at
that place are heavenly. I got one with extra cheese on it (laughs)...
CVI: Interesting. (laughs) Now let's talk about the Young Offenders. You
guys had your nine-month anniversary on August 27th.
DM: Yeah, any babies conceived the night we first jammed would be about three
days old right now.
CVI: You have a new album coming out.
DM: Well, it's more like a demo we recorded off a mixing board. And a lot
of the songs were on the first tape. But, yeah.
CVI: What's it gonna be called?
DM: We're thinking something like "Minor Disturbance." 'Cause though three
of us wouldn't be classified as Young Offenders anymore, we're still all
minors alcoholically speaking.
CVI: I thought your second tape was going to be called "Repeat Offenders."
DM: The second tape of all new stuff will be called that. This tape is like
an intermediate thing, basically a demo to send to labels and sell to
people who want to have our newer songs on tape.
CVI: How much will you be selling it for?
DM: Not much, four or five bucks probably. Hopefully enough to pay for the
tapes and the sleeves and help us recoup the money we spent renting the
equipment...
CVI: Which was?
DM: Around a hundred and twenty bucks.
CVI: You guys could have bought every Dwarves CD with that much money...
DM: (saracastically) Well the exchange rate is unfavorable for ordering from Sub Pop, so we
decided to make this tape instead...
CVI: Okay I get the point...
PUNK ROCK SAFARI interview with RYAN ROCKAWAY, August 31 1998
PRS: Tell me about the new recording.
RR: Uh, we did it all ourselves, we rented a bunch of stuff and recorded
basically all of our songs.
PRS: What do you see as being some of the highlights of the tape?
RR: Definitely Routine, Trough, Mallrat, a lot of the new ones that weren't
on the other one...it was good to get them recorded.
PRS: Do you think people will like the newer songs as much as the older ones?
RR: I think they'll like the new ones more, 'cause they're better.
PRS: Is it the songs that are improving, or are you getting better at playing
your instruments?
RR: Both. The songs are getting faster and catchier, and everyone's improving
at what they're doing, so...
PRS: Does the fact that you guys are jamming less often now hurt the group?
RR: Yes and no. Yes, because we could use the exta time to learn more stuff, and no,
because now, when we do jam, we get more done per jam and stay more focused.
PRS: People have commented that the YO live show has improved a lot since you started out.
RR: Definitely. Everyone's a lot more energetic than when we first started.
PRS: What will happen when Dan leaves for university?
RR: We'll still jam on some weekends as much as possible and hopefully
start playing more shows.
PRS: Will you get involved with any side projects?
RR: Not really. Dakota (ed. note: Former John of the Trailer Park frontman
Dakota Brown) and I will jam, but nothing serious.
PRS: Tell me, who are your biggest influences on drums?
RR: Dan Panic. Period. He's the greatest. (ed. note: Dan Panic is the former drummer of
Screeching Weasel, the Riverdales and the Queers, and is currently with the
Groovie Ghoulies.) Reggie from the Beatnik Termites is great too.
PRS: Do you plan on getting involved in the songwriting end of things?
RR: Not really. I just give my two cents, that's about it.
PRS: When is the new tape gonna be available to the public, and how will it be distributed?
RR: It'll be available as soon as we get it off DAT, basically we'll just put all the songs on
the tape and sell it for five bucks at our shows. Maybe we'll put it at the
Tinderbox in Greenwood, and if Dan wants to take it around stores in Halifax...
PRS: Who would you say you guys sound most like? How would you define your sound?
RR: I don't really think we sound like anyone but we're definitely Ramones-influenced. I don't know, ask Dan.
PRS: What do you think now that you guys are getting more involved with the Halifax scene?
RR: I love it, there are so many more people that are into good punk rock and understand where we're
coming from, unlike here in the Valley where everyone either listens to country or metal.
PRS: But wouldn't you say the Valley has one of NS' best punk scenes?
RR: No! Just about anyone has a better scene. Halifax obviously, and from
what I hear, Cape Breton has got some good stuff going on. Now don't get me
wrong, there's been some good punk bands out of the Valley, like Sawbelly, Noggin, Coo
Coo Head - though they're not exactly from the Valley - but it always seems to come in spurts,
where the scene will be really happening and then it just dies out and there's, like, one
band left. Bands just don't last long enough, that's the problem.
PRS: One last question. Do you think you guys will stay around long enough to leave your
mark on the Nova Scotia punk scene?
RR: I hope so, and I don't see it coming to an end any time soon.
PUNK ROCK SAFARI interview with Dan Magnetic, January 6th 1998
PRS: Alright, let's get started. What have you guys been up to lately?
DM: It's been an interesting few weeks. We almost broke up, then put out a CD
and seem to be picking up steam now.
PRS: OK, start with the almost breaking up part.
DM: We just talked about the direction we were going in and whether we wanted
to keep going that way. In the end, we figured out that we'd keep going, but
things are going to be a bit different. Instead of just having one kind of song
we're going to diversify it a bit, we're going to mix the silly sappy love songs
with more realistic stuff.
PRS: This sounds like basically a songwriting thing.
DM: Yeah, it doesn't reflect on anybody in the band. It has to do with what we're
doing, not who we are.
PRS: OK, talk about the CD a bit.
DM: It was kind of a rush job but it turned out OK, my main goal was to have
something concrete in the discography for '98. We got it out on New Year's Eve
so that was cool. It sounds alright, it could have been better but I guess it
reflects this stage of our development. The next one will be better, and different.
PRS: I like this CD.
DM: Yeah, I'm not trying to down it, it's fine for what it is. It's a decent
speedy pop punk record...I'm just saying the next one should be leaps and bounds
ahead. The pop punk songs will be better, and they'll be offset by meaner
stuff. Plus I'm thinking on picking up a guitar for this one, so it'll have that
much more depth. It'll be that much closer to being a real smart album.
PRS: Do you worry that you might lose your edge or your focus by trying to do
different things?
DM: What I'm trying to do is bring things into focus, get more in touch with my
life and reality instead of trotting out every amateur punk rock cliche in the
book for forty minutes. I'm trying to find an edge, not lose it.
PRS: When will this new material go public?
DM: This new kind of Young Offenders will start to be evidenced probably in
February, and the second full length CD should be in late spring or summer.
PRS: Any song names or stuff you can give us?
DM: Everything is still pretty up in the air but some new stuff that sounds like
the old stuff would be "She Only Watches Reruns," "I Wanna Piece," "I Met Her
In the Pit" etc. We played 'Reruns' for the first time on New Year's Eve, the
others I've shown at a jam or two and we'll do soon. Different stuff that I'm writing
or refining would be "For Whom the Bells Toll," "Beer Today Bong Tomorrow,"
"I Feel Like Sh*t", "I'm Too F*cked Up," "She's Got It Goin On" and stuff like
that. A lot along the same lines as before, but I think this stuff is more
mature, more intelligent and more complex without losing the drive and the
power which basically are our main strengths today.
PRS: Are your themes changing, or just the way you're working with them?
DM: The themes are changing, for sure. Six to nine months ago, when I had my most
productive period writing for this band, I was really into girls and somewhat
into politics and consumerism, and those were what showed up in the lyrics.
I wasn't about thought then, I was about pure emotion, and that's why some of
the lyrics are fairly basic. Now I'm feeling more introspective, more confused
and a little more aware. I'm coming more and more into confrontation with the
established ways of thinking, what the ad campaigns are telling us, and feeling
more and more that it's all a crock of sh*t and we're living in a backwards
society. So that's what I'm writing about, to a certain degree. As long as there
are girls, there will be Dan Magnetic songs about girls, but they'll be taking
more of a back seat on the next album to more self-analyzing, introspective
or socially critical songs.
PRS: Will the songs be getting faster or slower?
DM: If that's what you're concerned about, well, it would be hard for us to get
much faster without being a speed metal band. There will be a lot of fast songs,
and a few slower songs, like before. I guess the musical difference will be
that some songs will be darker, more like 80's punk such as Dayglo or DOA.
The poppier songs may tend to get longer and more drawn out because of the
fact that we may have two guitars and I'm not worried anymore about building
material for sets, so I don't care if the songs are too long or slow to be played
live. We have enough live stuff now and much more soon to come.
PRS: Are you saying that the new stuff will not be played live?
DM: No, I'm not saying that...plenty of the new stuff will be just fine for
shows. What I'm saying is that I'm writing more for record, instead of to have
songs to play at gigs. So some stuff will rarely or never be played live,
whereas there is only one song on the "First Offence" CD (ed. note: "Nothing On
TV") that has never been played live.
PRS: Whatever happened to the "Minor Disturbance" tape?
DM: We decided not to release it, after a few months had gone by we just
decided to do it right and do a studio record, which was a good decision.
PRS: What's your favorite Young Offenders song?
DM: Right now that would probably be "Nothing On TV" but I also like "Coo Coo
Over You." I'm sure a new one will come along soon though.
PRS: Thanks.
DM: Thank you.
