I'm usually not one to sigh, and resign myself to statements like "they just don't make things like they used to anymore," but a band like HORACE PINKER today seems
like a quality kitchen appliance that shows no signs of wear and tear after nearly 20 years of use. This is of course compared to that plasticky microwave you purchased
a year ago and lasted for barely eight months before the keypad stopped working. Anyway, for awhile, I had lost track of this band, not sure if they would return with
any new material, or perhaps moreso, not sure if they had already parted into the sunset. But then talk of a new EP on Offtime Records surfaced, and soon enough, word
was out that these classic, hard-nosed pop-punk veterans were signing to the illustrious Thick Records, with a new album in tow. As the below interview covers, HORACE PINKER
are not a band attempting to make a career out of their musical endeavors. They eclipsed that option years and years ago, and the group wrote their latest album, Texas One Ten
with only the desire to create exciting new music. We should appreciate such rare efforts with the respect they deserve. This interview was conducted with drummer Bryan Jones
and guitarist/vocalist Scott Eastman in May of 2005.
Pastepunk: Texas One Ten took a couple of years to write, record, and so forth, and in the insert booklet, you describe the various motivations that drove the band to
write the new songs. With everyone in the band having various careers to juggle, what kind of toll did it take on you in finally getting the album out?
Scott: It really wouldn’t have happened at all without help from above, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What else is there to say?
Bryan: Wow, our lord and savior huh? Well, with all that help I sure hope we sell some records.
Pastepunk: Thick Records largely prides itself on being a Chicago-based label, and as you guys are now a Chicago based band… how’s everything working out thus far? Is
it a bit unnerving/frustrating that you can probably count the number of mid-size indie labels putting out traditional pop-punk these days on one-hand?
Scott: I think the "scene" is becoming more and more corporate and generic all the time. People who don’t have any desire to seek out underground bands hear the latest thing
on the radio and go see their shows, but have never and will never support local and independent music. I just wonder what appeals to bands about having a trendy fan-base and
pandering to a corporate-minded media and promotional machine. I know it’s partially the lure of cash and fame, but that’s not what this kind of music was about when it was
truly underground and totally not cool.
Bryan: These “punk bands” of the millennium are the hair bands of the 80’s. Same thing going on. NIRVANA put those bands back in the clubs just like some other
band will do to SIMPLE PLAN and crap like that. The trend will end. As for Thick, they’re great. It’s kinda like being on the cool “home town” label and it gives you
some sort of validation for being a local band, even though we play in Berlin, Germany more than we do Chicago…
Pastepunk: I noticed on your website that a South American tour is planned – how does a band go about booking one of those? What kind of expectations do you have in coming
into something like that?
Bryan: None. We have never been there and I have no idea what the music scene is like, but I can’t wait to go. One of the reasons we started this band was to play in
as many countries as possible. As soon as we get Japan under our belts we can stop this madness and move out to the 'burbs.
Scott: It sounds to me like it’s a great opportunity to see a new place and meet people — I can’t wait. We’re supposed to go in September.
Pastepunk: A handful of years ago when Chris Bauermeister joined the band, a lot of attention was shot your way because of the JAWBREAKER connection. As Horace Pinker was an already
established act, what was it like to get all of this “new” attention because of someone else’s previous endeavors?
Scott: Yeah, it’s funny, our shows had about the same attendance, our records sold about the same numbers and nothing really changed for the band. All the flyers would say
“ex-Jawbreaker” and some people at the shows would always be excited to talk to Chris, but otherwise we didn’t feel the “hype.” He’s just a good friend and we really liked playing
with him. Greg, our current bassist, was supposed to audition for the band at that point, but Chris expressed interest in joining and it worked out really well.
Bryan: Yep.
Pastepunk: Does it bother you that after so many years of being in a band, critics still feel the need (myself included) to describe Horace Pinker as a “well-kept secret?” Is there any honor
in being critically acclaimed, but perhaps, commercially underappreciated?
Scott: At this point, we do this because we love the music and want to prove that it’s still possible to make this kind of music without being a complete tool of the man, so to speak.
We have lives, careers, families, etc. so we’re not concerned about some kind of fleeting commercial success that new bands seem to want. We’d love to have more people hear our music, but
I think I speak for the band when I say we’re just happy to be able to still do it and have people come out to the shows. We’re happy we can still tour and connect with an audience.
Bryan: Yeah, it’s really cool. I can still put out records and tour, but I don’t have to live in a van anymore. I actually have a life now, which is something I didn’t have through my 20s.
Pastepunk: There’s a quote starting off your latest band bio from VERBAL ASSAULT that reads, "More than music/more than a new dance/ more than fashion/it's more than music/it's something to
live life with/beyond cheap slogans/it's more than music." Given the emphasis on fashion that’s run amok in the scene right now, this seems more appropriate than ever. Care to shed on thoughts
on it?
Scott: That’s a favorite of mine, I grew up listening to bands like VERBAL ASSAULT and DAG NASTY. I think we try to strike a balance between our lyrics and their importance and the
music itself, so that neither one overpowers the other. Some bands want to preach and put the music second, while others have shit for lyrics and only care about the aesthetics of it,
their ‘punk rock’ style. I have to say that I dislike bands just as much that use simplistic slogans to get their simplistic points across as I dislike bands that have no point at all.
I think the main difference in today’s scene that only happened slowly throughout the 90s is that now bands form with different goals in mind, and really want to make it big when it just
wasn’t possible before punk broke in the mainstream. Their idea when they start a band is to get signed and be on MTV just like their peers. Bands want an image, whether it’s an emo
look wearing tight black pants and a bullshit stage outfit or the ’77 punk look or the punk rock boy band look of mainstream major label bands. Either way it’s a manufactured marketing
tool that lessens the impact of the music and the message. Punk’s meaning is a lot more like an aesthetic today, its significance is more akin to decorating your apartment in a certain
style rather than speaking out against the status quo. In essence, it’s entertainment as commodity rather than art as social criticism. My favorite bands have no image and didn’t strive
for fame and fortune. They’re just guys or women up on stage playing rock because they love the music. Bands like the Minutemen, Fugazi, Verbal Assault, Dag Nasty, Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth,
Descendents, Samiam, Jawbreaker, etc. had no image and they didn’t give a shit. They didn’t sport hipster tattoos and brand-name skate clothes, they wore whatever they wanted and just rocked.
All of them started on indie labels and made their impact in the underground for years before being courted by the industry. I admire bands that don’t do fashion shoots in magazines and stay
independent even if they become successful. And ironically enough, you can make more money if you do it that way. Witness NOFX and Fugazi.
Pastepunk: You guys currently have the entire Texas One Ten album up for streaming on your PureVOLUME site, which is something that love to see from a band.
Given that Horace Pinker has been kicking out the jams since 1991, what are your thoughts on music’s march towards an all-digital-file-format future?
Bryan: It’s a easy and cost effective way to get your music heard. It will change the way music is distributed and sold, not sure how yet, but it will change.
Someway though, the packaging needs to be incorporated into the digital distribution. When I buy a record, I also buy the art. Nothing like going through a well
designed LP or CD. Man, I miss vinyl. I used to love having our records on vinyl. The artwork was so much cooler. Oh well…
Scott: Sounds good to me.
Bryan: This is actually the first full length we have done that was not pressed on vinyl.
Pastepunk: How would you get 50 blood-thirsty, flesh chompin’ piranhas out of a bathtub?
Scott: I’d harpoon them.
Bryan: I’d eat them.
Pastepunk: Your 1996 album, Burn Tempe To The Ground was my first experience with Horace Pinker. What on earth happened to One Foot Records other than Devil Doll
Records getting involved?
Scott: I think Bryan knows.
Bryan: I know? I know what?? Yeah, I am actually doing a deal with Devil Doll to get our masters back. I want Power Tools and Burn Tempe released as a double CD. It
bums me out those are out of print. So what happened? One Foot way over extended themselves and put out 30 CDs in a years' time with only us being the “big” band, which doesn’t
say much. They basically blew their wad and went belly up. They left the pieces for Devil Doll to clean up and close down. Our record got shelved and that’s pretty much the story.
Nothing too exciting.
Pastepunk: Thanks for doing the interview! Any final comments? Questions I should have asked? Predictions about the 2005 baseball season?
Scott: Thanks for the interview — it’s clear that the Red Sox will now forever dominate baseball. I wanted to cry when they won the Series, but I’m a grown man and my tear
ducts no longer function like they did when I was a sensitive young man.
Bryan: Don’t really care for baseball. I’m more of a curling man myself. Now that’s a sport.
