From
the wilds of Montana bursts forth four jerks playing some of the best
hardcore punk to emerge out of the Big Sky State. With three 7"s
and multiple tours under their belt, they are ready to leave their unabomber
shacks and conquer the world montucky style......
Interview by Loinspurt on 1/19/03
Ass End Offend is: Tom- Bass; Dan-Drums; Brent and Matt on their respective guitars. Formed on a cloudy day in '99, Matt was added as second Guitarist around six months ago.
L-
Matt, what made you want to join this band?
M- Apart from the threats being made toward me if I didn't join, the other
band I was in [the anti difrancos] was gonna quit. So what else was I
gonna do?
L-
Goals for the upcoming year?
T- [thoughtfully] Well, we plan on gittin 'er done.
M- Watch as many skinheads beat the crap out of each other as we can.
T- Start talking more shit to Missoula people, putting out more records.
B- Listen less and be more judgemental.
L-
You guys have been talking about setting up an all ages place. Is that
still on the agenda?
T- The guy who runs the art gallery where we practice was talking about
doing all-ages shows there.
B- The whole all ages thing is almost an entire lecture in itself. I mean
just why they don't work here, why Jay's [local bar] is the problem, and
why the Higgins Hall made it worse. It was nice there was an all ages
place, but in a lot of ways it made it worse than not having some place
like that because there was no drive to try anything anymore.
D-It really is just a matter of who's going to show enthusiasm. It's hard
to get people off their asses.
L-
So that leads into describing the Missoula music scene in general.
T- I think since Matt's lived here the longest he'd be the one to ask.
M- We had the Union Hall shows, the White Birch House and the Humpy House
shows. To me, those were the good shows that felt like they actually meant
something. Now those places don't have shows.
B- There's the Higgins Hall.
M- Well, Yeah I guess one of the main reasons there aren't any more Union
Hall shows is that Higgins Hall [a 'Boys and Girls Club'] opened up and
everything there is done for you. Even the person with the job of setting
up shows doesn't really have to do anything, so the bands just show up
and play and everyone just stands around and picks their ass.
B- And then people come on my website and complain that nobody is into
it.
T- I think a lot of this is because a lot of the punk bands like the Sputniks
and Humpy aren't around anymore, so there are different groups and types
of music that are going on but all of them kinda aim at the Jay's crowd,
they're all above 21.
D- No one is really trying to do anything else besides what's already
done for them, which is just crap.
B- It's harder to do house shows in a college town too because everybody
drinks beer. I'm not saying that's good, I'm just saying everybody drinks
beer, so if you're gonna have a house show you're gonna have beer and
you're not gonna have house shows after awhile. That seems to be the biggest
problem with all-ages is that people feel like they have to have alcohol
at the shows.
M- Speaking of a lot of bands and where they want to go with what they're
doing, the motive for most males to be in a band is for the sole purpose
of getting up there and stroking their own ego. That's my view on the
reason why a lot of women aren't in bands in this town. The only female
band that's in the realm of rock&roll and punkrock would be Sasshole.
Also, it's seen as a patriarchy and a hierarchy. if you're in a band or
do a zine or whatever, you get respect you normally wouldn't get. The
men are treated like heros and when women play in a band here they get
eye-fucked by most of the men, instead of being taken seriously. talk
about discouragement.
B- How many [girl] bands have there been? There's Spanker.
M- They're not a band anymore. There's only been a couple really.
L-
So ultimately, when you look at all the shit going on in the world, how
important is the shit you guys are putting so much energy into? What's
the importance of music as far as transferring ideas? Is there really
anything to be communicated, or is it just a bunch of egotists driving
around the country, wasting gas and making a racket. Justify your existence!
[chortles aplenty]
B- Yes, we are wasting our time. Next question. [more hearty guffaws]
L-
Gotcha, there's gotta be some humor in it all.
T- That's where the name Ass End Offend comes into play. It kinda humors
our pessimistic lyrics.
D- I think we all understand how important it is to laugh at ourselves
and what we do: driving around the country sucking gas and making ourselves
deaf, but we enjoy it for all it's aspects.
M- ...and we're not "shit-punk", we're CRAP-CORE.
L-
What are some high and low points of living in Montana?
T- The wilderness and getting out, all that fun stuff.
D- Winters tend to be long and gray.
M- The low population, not having to put up with other ugly fucking human
beings.
T- The population of the state being under a million people is nice.
L-
Being a misanthrope and all…
B- Even complaining about music though, Missoula does have sort of a good
music scene. When I moved here I didn't think I'd ever be in a band again
and this is better than anything I had before.
L-
What are some of the cultural ideosyncracies of the area?
B- People call cash registers "tills" and bags "sacks",
and it's not a damn pop; it's Soda! Damn inbred hill folk.
L-
What other activities are you guys involved in?
D- Skateboarding!
T- Yeah definitely skateboarding, mountain-bike riding
B- Is this the part where I act egotistical and mention my website? I
do a website on Montana punk, and people argue on it. I'd like to say
I built a little community but it's really just a bunch of ingrates arguing
with each other.
M- Aside from skateboarding and self-loathing I do a distro/label called
Poisoned Candy Records. It's for putting out anything from MT that's good
HC, Punk, or whatever you want to call it; anything that is decent.
L-
As far as what you distribute, you try to focus on Montana stuff then?
M- I've done a lot of trades with other labels from all over the place.
I think the reason I even started it was just a way to get the bands I
was in, get that music out, and help other bands. We are very secluded
here so it's hard to present what you're doing to the rest of the world.
L-
What's it like balancing touring with parenting responsibilities? [Matt
has a 6 yr old daughter, and Brent has a 10 yr old daughter]
B- It's easy for me 'cause she visits her mom in the summer when we go
tour.
M- It's the same with me. The mom and I have a split custody with my daughter.
We get along pretty well, so we're able to put up with each other's schedules.
L-
What kind of values do you try to instill in your kids?
B- I told my daughter I was a crazy liberal and she went and told all
her friends in school.
M- My daughter asked her day-care lady why their flags were all upside
down, and they had to explain to her......you get the idea.
L-
Would you buy them a Brittney Spears album if they wanted one?
B- Sadly, I did.
M- I would change the subject quickly as possible.
B- I hate to say it but kids need to make their own choices on that stuff.
T- Not like looking like a fucking Barbie doll though! Heh Heh Heh
M- Yeah, I'd rather my daughter went through that stage now rather than
later in life when boys her age have learned how to take advantage of
girls. Self respect, self discipline and respect for others is a must,
and should go without saying.
B- My parents wouldn't let me listen to the music I wanted to and I don't
see why I should do that to her even if I deem it crap.
M- I grew up on Quiet Riot and Motley Crue so....
B- The first album I ever bought was Def Leppard's Pyromania
T- You guys are gonna kick me out of the band but I listened to Bon Jovi
for a period of time.
D- Yeah, Tom is kicked out.
L-
What arena rock shows have you been to?
T- Oh, Oh, I saw Kiss reunion.
B- The only arena show I've been to was the Cure. Definitely don't include
that in the interview.
M- For me it was the Metallica, And Justice For All tour. Oh and then
there was Blue Oyster Cult at the Great Falls fair, there was about thirty
people there. Yeehaw.
B- Can you please note that Brent is giving Matt a standing ovation.
L-
Upcoming releases?
B- We're working on a 7" and after that we're gonna work on putting
together a full-length. Hopefully out by spring.
M- I was gonna do an 8- track and some reel-to-reels. Brent is doing little
floppy disks of one of our songs. I'd like to do a 13 inch LP. And we're
going on tour this summer. I can't wait to get the hell out of here!
L-
Where did the artwork for the anti difrancos/ ass end offend 'Imperialist
Hard-on' 7" come from?
M- The photo on the front was taken by my grandpa during WWII while he
was in the Philippines. It's an american soldier holding an enemy's head.
I guess to explain the title of that, "My Imperialist Hard-On is
Bigger Than Yours", my grandma talks about WWII saying "If we
hadn't gotten into that war we'd be ruled by an imperialist government
right now." If you think about things, we really are being ruled
by an imperialist government. Imperialism by definition is to be in control
of as much land as possible and taking out anyone who gets in the way,
including children. There ya go.