Interview with Chris Dodge
(Taken from The Crass Menagerie
#47)
CM: Soooooo.... What were the highlights and lowlights
of your national tour?
Chris: All of the shows were good.
There were of course some that were better
than others...some of them were kind of lame,
but nothing truly awful. The
lowest of the lowlights was when Max got his
videocamera stolen in Tulsa,
OK (there's still people there who are trying
to get it back) and when we
missed a few shows at the end of the tour due
to illness, van failure, and
assorted catastrophes: Minneapolis, Pueblo,
and Salt Lake City were the
casualties. Most of the cities we played
were great but the ones that
stood out for me include Austin, Denton (TX),
Tampa, Greenville (NC),
Boston, Columbus and a few others. The
entire East Coast kicked booty.
CM: Since you had to cancel the last few dates
of the tour, any chance of
catching those cities on another jaunt anytime
soon?
Chris: "Anytime" ? Maybe. "Soon"?
Not likely.
CM: Its been several years since the last time
a band you've been in
toured.. How has "the road" changed?
Chris: It had more potholes in it. Actually,
the SPAZZ tour was completely
different from the times I toured with No Use
For A Name and STIKKY.
STIKKY played for a week then canceled the rest
of the tour and went to Disneyland.
I went to Europe with NUFANand it was a bit of
a drag in many ways.
We played with more Americanbands over there
than European bands.
The SPAZZ tour has been my best experience so
far. I'm sure if we went out
a few years back I would be singin' a different
tune. But I think we waited long
enough so that we had so many damn releases out
(about 20 to date) that people
actually knew who we were and made an effort
to come out.
CM: Who in the band has the most annoying habits
that you never noticed
until your stuck in a van with them day after
day after day...
Chris: That's not fair asking me a question
that you know darn well is
gonna get me in trouble. Surprisingly,
we got along well the entire 7 weeks without
any dilemmas or big arguments. Being that
close for so long I'm sure there
were little things that annoyed each one of us,
but it didn't reach a point
where someone finally cracked and screamed "Goddamn
it, I hate the way you
always drink Yoo Hoo with a straw!" or something.
CM: Your wife told me she had a can of AJAX waiting
for you when you got
home... What was the dirtiest thing you
had to clean?
Chris: Probably my shorts. I only
took two pairs of shorts and wore them
alternately for week-long stretches. Needless
to say, by the time I got
home I was able to stand them upright in the
corner. (Folks if he had to
clean his shorts with AJAX, it must have been
bad - Jeb)
CM: SPAZZ is close to a five year anniversary...
Are we going to see ten?
Chris: I doubt it, but then again we never
planned on being together for
more than 6 months, let alone touring and putting
out a bizillion records.
CM: "Slug and Lettuce" zine said that SPAZZ fans
are like a cult? What is
the best thing about being the head of a cult?
Chris: The way our fans mindlessly give
us money (we prefer to call it a "love
offering") every Sunday.
CM: When it is time for the SPAZZ cult mass suicide,
what will be the
method we are to use?
Chris: The "cult mass suicide" was canceled
because we figured it would be
dumb to kill off our only source of income.
CM: Is it weird when other bands start citing
you as "an influence"?
Chris: Yes.
CM: How does having Max move to San Francisco
and join CAPITALIST
CASUALTIES effect SPAZZ?
Chris: It hasn't been a problem at all.
Their practice schedule has
always been completely different from ours.
We don't play out too much so we rarely
have conflicting shows. Actually, Spazz
has been pretty dormant since
getting back from tour, but it's our own fault.
Max moved and started at a
new school, Dan got a new job, and I'm busy with
Slap A Ham stuff everyday.
CM: Who is the worst skateboarder in the band?
Chris: You're talking to him. I haven't
skated in at least 10 or 12 years.
CM: Who in SPAZZ has the worst taste in movies
and why do you say that person?
Chris: Well you know I'm not gonna say
it's me. Max & Dan are pretty much
on par with each other. They like a lot
of good stuff, but I differ with their
opinions most when it comes to dumb comedies.
They really like a lot of
slapstick / obvious humor type-stuff while I
get totally bored by it.
CM: What law is most commonly broken by members
of SPAZZ?
Chris: Bigamy.
CM: Any truth to the rumor that Michael Jackson
is doing an album of all
SPAZZ covers?
Chris: The only place I would expect to
read something that ridiculous
would be on
the internet.
CM: Upcoming releases?
Chris: Damn, most of 'em are already out.
We're still waiting on a split
7" w/ Opstand and a split 7" w/ MITB. There's
another good 10 or so recent
releases that are still available out
there somewhere.
CM: Also give Slap-A-Ham a push... What
are the upcoming SAH releases?
Chris: I've got tons of stuff on the way.
Thanks for axing about it. In October:
Melt Banana "Eleventh" 7", Hellnation "At War
With Emo" 5", and Capitalist
Casualties "Dope & War" 7". In November:
"Fiesta Comes Alive" LP/CD
(compilation of live stuff from the first five
Slap A Ham Fiesta Grandes),
No Less 7", Infest / PHC split 7" (reissue of
8" with extra songs), and
hopefully Neanderthal "Undisputed Fighting Music"
7".
CM: What is more fun.... Pillaging or burning?
Chris: I prefer "Villaging". That's
where I dress up as my favorite
member of the Village People and go to the YMCA.
CM: Any last words (before the firing squad comes
in?)
Chris: premillennial, mollycoddle, elegiac,
vertiginous..... Thanks again Jeb!!!
Thanks to Jeb Branin from The Crass Menagerie
for the interview. Get yo ass on The Crass Menagerie mailing list by clicking
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