by Dave Getzoff
The Hangouts are a very catchy punk rock band from College Station, Texas. They are made up of husband and wife Niki and Matt S., and their friends Matt W. and Marty. This is Niki's first time singing in a band, and I must say she is a natural. Her vocals fit the style of the Hangouts' music very nicely. The Hangouts have already released a four song split 7" with the band Something Fierce, which is definitely worth checking out. I hope to hear a full-length album from this band in the near future.
Dave: First off, could you introduce yourselves, who is in the band and who does what?
Niki: I sing and talk shit - but in a nice way.
Matt S: I am Atarimatt, and I play power chords.
Matt W: I play the easy guitar.
Marty: I'm Masta Blasta, and I play the drumz spelled with a "z" instead of an "s".
Matt S: Marty's the new guy. Drummer 3. And we love him and his smart ass!
Dave: How and when did your band get started?
Niki: Matt and Matt had been playing together for quite a while already, our friend Manny started playing drums with them, and then they decided they wanted a singer. They convinced me to try even though I'd never done it before - EVER. I think I hid behind the speaker cabinet for like the first 6 practices and no one was allowed to look in my direction because I was so nervous about it. They finally all told me to get over it, and I've been in the middle of this thing ever since. =)
Matt S: Pretty much just like Niki said. And by the way, she's a natural and the kids love her!
Matt W: When bored old people get together, magic happens. This is one of those times.
Marty: The state of Texas brought us together.
Dave: How would you describe your band's overall sound to someone who never heard your music?
Niki: Powerpunk-driving-to-a-show-jump-up-and-down-gettin-sweaty-sing-a -log-super-funness!!! We are all about having a good time!
Matt S: Shortish songs that are simple, catchy, and fun.
Matt W: Old school punk rock goodness.
Marty: Skull rock, shriek beat!
Dave: Could you tell us about Manic Attack Records?
Niki: Matt S. is the guy to ask - I just know that half of our bedroom is used for recording people who might want to be on it! =)
Matt S: I started it as a way to put out Atarimatt CDs. Then I realized that for whatever retarded reason, NO ONE had ever offered to out a record for Something Fierce. So with us being friends, them being so damn awesome, and me having a bit of cash to blow, I told them I wanted to put out a 7" for them. We decided a split would be the coolest, so that's what we did and it turned out GREAT! And now I'm addicted to putting out vinyl and going broke in the most wonderful way. It's worth every penny!
Matt W: We are riding the coattails of the Atarimatt bandwagon.
Marty: Just go buy any book about the history of Texas...you'll find all the info you need in there.
Dave: What is your favorite Ramones album?
Niki: The first Ramones is my favorite - I heard it for the first time when I was 13, and it was sort of life-changing for me at that age.
Matt S: All of the ones that have "Loudmouth" on them. That song is so ruling that it's not even funny.
Matt W: Ramones, Leave Home, Rocket to Russia, Road to Ruin. If you don't like all 4 of those albums equally, then I hope you get a tumor.
Marty: Animal Boy
Dave: What is the current music scene in College Station, Texas like?
Niki: College Station has always had this weird cycle of having a good music scene and then suddenly overnight it disappears. We've really tried to play a part in making the local scene better and have been really fortunate to hook up with friends like Something Fierce, and a bunch of other bands that have been willing to give this town a chance. I think they have always been pleasantly surprised once they play here because the kids are so into it and really show a lot of love - most of the time they want to play here again. College Station is definitely on the upswing, and we hope it stays there!
Matt W: Country, alternative country, singer songwriter country, new country, old country, metal, screamo, The Guns of Detroit, and us. An island of punk rock in a sea of crap.
Matt S: Like Niki said, we've worked really hard to bring it back to life. Back in the early '90s it was really good because there were a couple guys that worked at the local record store that really cared about putting on good shows. Hell, back then I remember playing with Fire Hose and Nomeansno and going to see The Jesus Lizard, Fugazi, and The Descendents. It would be rad ass if we could bring it back up to that level. But also like Matt W. said, there is a huge sea of crap that has to be waded in to get to the treasure island.
Marty: It's about to be scary.
Dave: What are some of the upcoming plans for the Hangouts?
Niki: Well, we just put out our first 7" with Something Fierce, and hopefully we'll be putting out a full-length CD pretty soon. Other than that, we are just going to play a lot of shows and see what happens!
Marty: World domination? 1) Play Houston with Something Fierce2) Record with *NEW* drummer MastaBlasta 3) Hangout! 4) Infect the SW region with our screeches and beats!
Matt W: A little rock, a little roll, and a whole hell of a lot of punk.
Matt S: New songs, new recordings, new shows, new friends!
Dave: What is your favorite format to release and listen to music on? (records, CDs, MP3s)
Niki: CDs and vinyl to release, vinyl and MP3s to listen.
Matt W: MP3s.
Marty: 8 Track!
Matt S: Vinyl is definitely the coolest to release, but everyone can play a CD. I love MP3s and I'm not ashamed to admit that I "illegally download" them as often as I can find what I'm looking for. I can only hope that one day someone will want to steal ours! That would be the coolest!
Dave: What do you think of the current state of punk rock?
Marty: http://www.afropunk.com/First, let's define what we think punk is. Punk is the same as it ever was. Punk hasn't changed since first documented in the Bible, so that would be at least a couple of thousand years. Punk is standing up for something that no one else is standing up for. Punk is not fashion. Punk is going against the grain of society, or going upstream, against the flow of normal. Punk is not nihilism. Yes, punk, in a sense is anti-establishment, the overall behavior of punks is generally selfless, so punk could be called selfless. The prophets of the OT in the Bible would be considered punks, and same goes for Christ, who I believe is the Ultimate Punk. Punk is not a genre, punk is an attitude. So, what is the current state of punk rock? Well, I think any real punk bands these days usually don't last that long for whatever reason. I personally like what Scotland's Voice of the Mysterons ( http://www.votm.co.uk ) are doing. Also, Me Without You are currently doing cool stuff.
Niki: I really don't know .....everybody seems to have their own opinion of what punk rock is - it used to be a very specifically defined genre of music but has become much broader over the last 20 years. I think people get caught up in this weird thing of what they listen to being 'punk enough', or 'real' punk rock, which, I'm sorry, is really lame. There are a lot of really good bands out there, and I want to hear as many of them as I can, I don't care what subgroup of punk rock they have been put into. If you like it, listen to it, but don't label it!
Matt S: Pretty much going with what Marty said, I think that the most "punk rock" music going on out there is nothing close to what the genre of punk rock has come to represent. To me punk rock as an attitude is doing something different and not giving a fuck who likes it and who doesn't. Mohawks, leather jackets, and 3 chords have been done over and over in different forms for the last 30 years. It's extremely mainstream. I think it's these kids like Best Fwends and Happy Sucky, to name a few, that are the new face of punk rock by the terms of my definition. But they don't play guitars and wear Black Flag t-shirts. They sing and spazz out to quirky electro tunes while wearing neon short shorts and wrist bands. That shit is fresh!!!
Matt W: I sure wish we had our own punk rock state.
Dave: What are some of your favorite bands?
Matt W: Bad Religion, The Clash, Good Riddance, Iron Maiden, Danzig, Misfits
Marty: early ScaterdFew, Blaster the Rocket Boy(Man), Eric Dolphy, Anthony Braxton, The Jonx, The Minute Men, The Velvet Underground, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, early Melt Banana, All Hail the Moving Picture Box, The Dreaded Dandylions, Charlie Mingus, Jaco, John Zorn, The Stooges, and Cong Vu.
Niki: The Digits, Blatz, The Hellacopters, Electric Frankenstein, The Candy Snatchers, ALL, Jawbreaker, My Bloody Valentine, in no particular order. The Kansas City Faggots, The Valentine Failures, Looker, about a thousand more...
Matt S: Dimension Hatross - Nothingface era Voivod, Electric Frankenstein, The Candy Snatchers for sure, of course The Ramones, and the two best Dallas bands ever, The Valentine Failures and Kansas City Faggots. Looker from Laramie, Wyoming has been wearing the shit out my CD player the last month or so. And I'll probably loose all street cred punk points for saying this, but I LOVE the first two Coheed and Cambria albums.
Dave: What do you like the most about being in a band?
Matt W: The huge stacks of cash...that I still don't have.
Marty: What I like most about being in a band is the collaborative process of writing, recording, and performing live. Of these three, the live experience is my favorite and most personal because I'm sharing with the band AND an audience, and we're all sharing together getting through "this". If it's just for $$$, then my favorite part is getting paid after the show, otherwise I enjoy just the aspect of making butter with my band. Who cares about $$$ when your freakin' face just got rocked off by our powerful riffs and screaching vox?!!
Niki: Playing shows along side my husband and 2 good friends, nothing tops it! Also, all of the people that we get to meet and talk to. I've ended up with some really good friends because of this band.
Matt S: Yeah, Niki and I are married and being in this band with her is the coolest thing ever. I also really like the networking side of it and the fun shit like shows, recording, putting out records, and making t-shirts.
Dave: What do you like the least about being in a band?
Matt W: The huge stacks of cash that I still don't have.
Marty: When attitudes among band members creep in (and they creep in sometimes) and mess everything up. It's hard sometimes to avoid this because we're all just people living our lives in this messed up world. We're all fallen, so it's bound to come up, attitudes that is. The best thing is to not let things get too personal and to have lots of grace with your fellow artists.
Niki: Uh.... well, we're all pretty ADD, so it can be frustrating sometimes... =)
Matt S: Renting a trailer and driving four hours to play a show that gets double-booked and then having your old drummer get so drunk that he almost starts a fight with giant hardcore band dudes, pukes, and then passes out in the car, only to split the scene without playing and leaving said ex-drummer behind to fend for himself with The Pirate.
Dave: What type of places do you enjoy playing shows at the most: all-ages shows, bars, small clubs, parties, etc.?
Matt W: Small all-ages places that don't book 6 bands on a show that starts at 10.
Marty: I enjoy playing everywhere.
Niki: I just like playing shows. I don't care where we are...although I REALLY want to play in a laundromat...or bowling alley...
Matt S: Basement shows up north, back in the early nineties with my old band were probably some of the funnest shows I've ever played. 50 kids crammed into a 20x20 room sweating and breathing up all the air until you think you're gonna pass out...hard to get that shit down here in Texas. But pretty much every show The Hangouts play is fun and enjoyable because we are a fun and enjoyable band. So it really doesn't matter where we play! I've always wanted to play inside a van...just roll up with everything set up inside and open the doors and rock it out!
Dave: Are there any closing comments?
Niki: Yes - if you haven't seen us, you should, we are fun. If you have and like it, buy our 7"!!!!! And thanks for interviewing us!
Dave Getzoff, August 2007
(originally posted on Now Wave Webzine in August 2007)
No comments:
Post a Comment