Okay, so my friend Desiree and I got to interview Jason Kendall last Friday night, Jan. 15th at the Green Room in Providence, where he brought a special treat for me--Jack!! Jack was filling in on bass for the band The Pull-Tabs there. So I interviewed both of them before the show. When I figure out how, I'm going to put the audio online for those of you who, like me, just can't get enough of that voice (and Jack's accent?? What accent??) But for now, here it is. Besides being on mine, it will be up on many different websites:
The Amazing Crowns official website
Pollilop's Fanzine
Raskal Zine
Jamie Lynn: Hi I'm Jamie Lynn, and I'm interviewing Jason "King" Kendall of the Providence Rhode Island....and Jack!!! Too! I feel bad now. I'm sorry Jack!
Jack: It's ok.
JL: I didn't know you were going to be here.
Jack: Ok.
JL: Ok. So, introduce yourselves.
Jack: Hi I'm Jack and I play the bass.
Jason: I'm Jason "King" Kendall and I...jump around. A lot.
JL: Yes, you do! Okay. My first question is, I understand where your background in punk rock came from, now where did the background in rockabilly (Jason was looking at me funny...)...ya know what I'm sayin?
Jason: I'll let Jack field that one first and then I'll go for it.
Jack: Wh...where's the origins of rockabilly?
JL: No, for you guys, how did you start getting into it?
Jack: Oh, oh. I think the first band that I ever saw that was definitely rockabilly-influenced was the Flat Duo Jets. But I started playing bass...I started getting interested in bass more like, through Horton Heat, lot of the early stuff. That's definitely my introduction to it.
Jason: My side of it was, I used to live in Germany, there was a big psychobilly group there, in '85, and I think the first band I saw that was mildly connected to rockabilly was the Iguana Bats, and then the Meteors, which were English psychobilly bands. And then I got into it from there. Jack and I both got deeper into rockabilly after seeing all these new, neo-kinda rock, punk rock, rockabilly bands.
JL: Now was it you two that first started the band? Or was it you (pointing to Jason) and...
Jason: Well, Johnny, Jack and I worked together, primarily.
JL: Now your first drummer was....Dana, right?
Jason: No, actually our first drummer was this girl Tina from Virginia who we still see all the time. We saw her last time we went through. Yeah, we've gone through a lot of drummers. It's hard to find someone who wants to tour as much as we do.
JL: So, what made you decide to start a band? Were you just sitting down one day, and said, "Let's start a band!!"
Jason: Always been in bands, you know, on and off. Jack has been in a lot more bands than I have, Jack was always in bands too, ever since...
Jack: Yeah, you know....I wanted to play bass....you know I definitely, it wasn't like I...you know I definitely wanted to play bass in a band, you know? I didn't have an upright at the time but I was in the process of getting one. And when I did get one, I kinda was the only guy who had one, even though I didn't know how to play it, I was the only guy who had one! At that time. Now there's a lot more players. But at that time I was the only one around.
Jason: And then we got together, and it was like, "he's got a stand-up bass! Oh my God!!" But then he's progressed into this...monster.
JL: He is. So how long have you two known each other?
Jason: About six years...
Jack: It's been awhile now.
JL: And you've known everybody else for about the same....
Jason: You mean, in the band? Well, Judd we've only known since we've been in the band...
Jack: Yeah, we met Judd through being in the band, because his old band, the Country Bumpkins, used to open for us in Boston.
Jason: Yeah, and the Speed Devils, too.
JL: They're playing here....
Jason: Yeah, they're playing with us at the Payback.
JL: They are?
Jason: Yup.
JL: YESSSS!!!! (I love the Speed Devils)
Jason: Yeah, there's a lot of good bands....
JL: Good, cuz I can't come see them here (fuck 21+ shows!!!)
Jason: Yeah, it'll be all-ages there.
JL: So....where was your first gig ever as the Royal Crowns?
Jason: First gig ever...was that Dick Dale?
Jack: That was the first show. But the first time we ever played out was actually on the radio.
Jason: Oh that's right!!! WRIU!
Jack: That was our first time out.
Jason: That's when I said, "kneehigh to a grey hopper" (?) I think, or something really stupid...really goofy. We were real nervous.
JL: I bet!
Jason: It was our first time out.
Jack: What was the other thing you said...welcomining??
Jason: Yeah, welcomining! God, I was so tongue-tied.
JL: So when you first started, when you guys first started, you were the 'Royal Crowns'?
Jason: Yeah.
JL: Now what was it that made you guys change it to 'Amazing'? Did it have anything to do with Royal Crown Revue?
Jason: Yeah, it did. It did. We thought that would be enough. They had said something to us about, ya know, getting rid of the name, or changing it, so we agreed. So we thought that would be enough.
JL: Apparantly it wasn't 'enough'.
Jason: No. That's okay, though. We're cool with it.
JL: Do you think you'd be bigger with like, MTV, and the top 40...I mean you'd rather have it this way?
Jason: Yeah...whaddaya mean, the way we're at now?
JL: Yeah. I mean, you guys are huge.
Jason: No, we're not.
JL: Well I mean you gotta figure, you're probably the biggest band that's come out of Providence, in quite awhile.
Jason: We work harder than any other band, I think. But it's hard for us to get perspective because we're gone all the time, ya know what I mean? And as far as like MTV and all that other shit, you're right. I'd rather keep it the way it is. We'd rather keep it the way it is. It's like slow and steady, ya know what I mean? It's like you build up a grass roots following. Like the fans come out to see you rather than a radio show. I'd rather do it that way. We look at like Horton Heat, or actually the Bosstones before they even got big, like the big hits, ya know what I mean? They would go cross country a million times...
Jack: Down to Australia.
Jason: Yeah. Yup. And that's the same thing we're doing, ya know? God, we've probably gone, done about five, six cross country tours already. Maybe even more than that, actually.
Jack: That's not to mention regional tours...East Coast, Midwest....
Jason: Huge amounts.
JL (to Jason): How come you don't play any instruments??
Jason: