Mike and Tommy were both working at CBGB when they decided to form a band.
"Yeah, me and Tommy worked there. I was playing in a band at the time and didn't like it," says Mike. "Me and Tommy started jammin' with some ideas that we had and it turned into what we are now. Tommy knew Ted from a time he had worked on another project. He thought he'd be the perfect drummer for us and it turned out he was."
The Hardcore scene, which has been around for some time now, shows no signs of letting up. Is it getting better or worse? "Well that depends on who you talk to," Mike said. "Every year there's more bands. It's amazing. Some people say there aren't that many good bands and it's stagnated. I disagree. There's some promising bands out there. I like Faith No More, Voivod and Jane's Addiction. The Hardcore thing I really don't like. The whole Hardcore thing that started with Black Flag was the best Hardcore music, but it went down hill from there. Even though I was in a band that was Hardcore, I didn't think is was all that wonderful. Our first record was kind of a Hardcore record. I really like it, but I don't really see a future for Hardcore music."
From what I've heard, European audiences sometimes seem to be more responsive than the Americans. I asked Kirkland if that was true. "There's more of an audience for groups that draw 300 to 500 people," Mike says. "That in-between stage from the underground to the arenas. There's a real audience for underground music. That's what's really encouraging about Europe. People are really into it there. Over here, it's like you’re listening to music in your basement by bands that never play out 'cause there's no audience for them. Either you’re a total music fanatic in searching out really obscure bands, or you're like into Skid Row or Guns 'N Roses. There's no middle ground. That's what it's like in America. In Europe there's a big middle ground for bands like Prong and Faith No More."
|
