Interview — The Wrecktals

Skratch Magazine

The Wrecktals have dubbed themselves revolutionary. A fitting term since the trio makes heavily reggae-influenced, punk/ska and metal. Slut (bass/vocals), Andrew (guitar/vocals) and Braden (drums) insist that their sound includes a hint of other multiple and equally rad genres. Based in a suburb just outside of Vancouver, Canada called BC The Wrecktals have been playing together just over a year. The band now plans on intense touring. “We plan on gigging regularly now without over booking ourselves” says Slut. “We'll always have new shows coming.”

.Skratch: Give me an idea of what one would expect from your live show.

Slut: Expect fun. Expect punk rock music and attitude, yet not one-dimensional-sounding as a lot of punk rock is these days. We're not trying to play just one thing like a lot of groups do. We don't pretend we only like one kind of music. We're not aiming for a demographic. We're not trying to apply a genre to any pre-existing clique. We're using our passion and roots in punk rock, and its three relevant philosophies and ideals of Unity, D.I.Y. and radical change for the better, and incorporating it with several other genres we love: ska, reggae, metal, a little psychobilly, and just about whatever-the-fuck-else we feel like playing. And don't expect us to take ourselves too seriously. Our name is a bum-joke for fuck sakes! We write a lot of aggressive material, but that's not all we are. We're really fun people, so when (not if, when, because you're not listening to a CD, you're listening to people who fuck up just as much as anyone else) we fuck up, expect honest laughter. Oh, and expect our fans to use appropriate measures to let you know if you lack crowd etiquette. Let the ska-bosses skank, and the punk-asses mosh. And always respect your fellow man and his choices.

Andrew: Fast. Loud. Upbeat. Angry. Mellow. With just the right amount of heavy-ocity. You'll mosh, you'll skank, you'll head bang, you'll laugh, you'll cry...

Braden: Our live shows usually go as our demo sounds: Sometimes sped up on my behalf, with a few mistakes. We're working on that part. I like to think we are fun and energetic.

Skratch: What do you guys do off the stage?

Slut: Work very hard at getting better at this whole music-thing, and turning our passion for music into a sustainable, worthwhile career. No, we won't sell out, but we are sure as fuck want to do this for the rest of our lives. I don't want money, but I'd love to be able to play music for the rest of my life and not have to worry about food. That'd be pretty sweet. But on a more personal note, I am heavily into philosophy and expansion of mind and consciousness, and do whatever I can to learn more and more about this planet and its inhabitants so I can be better at making it a better place. And I manage the band, mostly.

Andrew: Write and work. And bicker.

Braden: As Slut next to me just said, we all like to work at bettering ourselves as musicians. To further any chance we have of making a career out of this. I try to keep up to date on the going-ons and pass-times of friends. Another important factor in my life would be alcohol.

Skratch: Where do you enjoy touring? Any good stories?

Slut: None of us have our fuckin' licenses yet, so until that happens, or some people buckle down enough to put up with our shit long enough for us to tour as they drive our asses around, we're stuck playing moderately local shows. Good stories? We're still pretty new, but already I had a fucking crack head pull a gun on me after a show for having a mohawk. Not because he didn't like my mohawk or anything, but because I was simply receiving more attention than he was. If this ever happens to you, kids, do as I did: fucking ignore them and keep on walking.

Andrew: We are new, but we aren't without stories. I think that there is something significant about almost every show we have played. For example: our first show was a house wrecking party where we got to spray paint a banner on the wall behind us. I forgot a sweater there, and got it back a few weeks later completely covered in drywall. Then at our demo release show, some dumbass with a bad case of small-man-syndrome brought a cute little 3/4 wrench in and tried to start a fight with a three story house full of drunk punk kids. He's still alive... for now.

Braden: I have no idea what Señor-Bass is talking about. We went on a "tour" into Pitt Meadows. And played a show called PunktoberFest. It was good fun. On the other hand, is sort of wasn't. The best story of that night was probably the headless ninja that attacked me. But back to what my colleague was just saying about the gun thing, I you're ever in that situation there’s an old saying I would like quote: "Bring a knife to a gun fight."

Slut: Oh yeah, there's also the time that Andrew was caught in an electrical explosion on stage. That was fucking scary.
Skratch: What are you favorite two lyric lines from your recent songs? Tell me a little about them.

Slut: I dig Andrew's "If balls were intelligence, you homophobic fucks wouldn't fucking know left from right." That cracks me up every time I think about it. But that song isn't too new. Right now, my favourite lyric would have to be the climax of the song "Holy Shit", that goes - "Have some personal accountability, Man up, take responsibility. / Truth should be sought (after) critical thought doesn't start with a lower case T", which sums up how I feel about religion in a nice tricky little phrase.

Braden: As the one dimensional drumming sort, I try to tune out the other two. But from what I've picked up on during band practices would have to be "Braden, our cussin' percussionist". It’s about a member of our band. And, well, I'm not going to ruin the surprise! It's an upcoming song.

Andrew: Ahh, that's a tricky one. I'm just going to say check out "Holy Shit".

Skratch: What other special talents do you guys have aside from music? Any hobbies?

Slut: I'm an exceptionally avid concert-goer and promoter. I go to shows several times per week, as long as I can afford it. And I push dedicated independent acts as best I can. Philosophies of life and all of its little quirks are an interest of mine. All the members of this band long board like there's no tomorrow, and we all indulge in critical thought. Oh, and I earned the nickname Slut the hard way. I guess you can consider that a talent. No drugs, and I don't drink too often.. Just women, lots of pretty women. Heh.

Andrew: Personally I wouldn't call going to shows a special talent, but it's definitely a favorite activity. We like to support the scene that is supporting us out here. It's a real positive bunch of kids. Other things, umm Slut and I have a lot of time at work to fuck around, so we use that time productively. We dream up completely ridiculous scenarios that would make decent skits and short films, and take mental note of them. We have intentions to begin scriptwriting sometime in the near future.

Braden: Unlike my straight-edge-virgin-associate, the "boozugs" are an avid planet (inside joke) part of my life. Not so much the "-ugs" anymore though. I am also a liker of concerts and such things. Long boarding is fun as well.

Skratch: Any secret crushes you care to divulge?

Slut: Yeah, I have a raging hard-on for the other two members in this band! They never cease to impress me with their talents and ever-growing abilities. Hell, they're what I'm thinking about if I'm copulating with someone that turns out to be a not-so-exciting lover... In a totally heterosexual, platonic way - I swear! In an "I'd rather be writing new material" sort of way! Hahaha!

Andrew: You think of who when you’re doing what now?

Skratch: Politically, where does the band stand?

Slut: Pro-good, anti-bad. I hate to be anti-anything, but some things just piss us the fuck off! Prejudice, closed-mindedness, one-dimensionalism, fascism, self-interest - these sorts of things. We play aggressive music, but we have a really positive message. I can go on and on about all the times I've been enlightened and entertained at the same time by a musician or artist. So that's what I'd like to accomplish. My goal as a musician is to entertain. My goal as a human being is to make the world a better place. In The Wrecktals, I'm hoping we can accomplish both at the same time without taking ourselves too fucking seriously.

Braden: Everyone deserves to get what they need. No less, more if it is possible. If not, fuck it. Food, shelter, and heat for the poor. Nothing for the rich. Just kidding! They get to lose their money, and receive food and shelter as well.

Andrew: The world is going in the wrong fucking direction right now. I think politically, I would say our message is one that is anti-apathy, and in turn, anti-ignorance. To have people wake up from brainwashed North American consumerism is the first step to real change.

Skratch: Aside from being a "rock star", what are your day jobs? What are your goals?

Slut: Day job? Revolutionary. Haha! I work in a fuckin' kitchen with Andrew, but that'll soon change. I'll work anywhere that allows someone to be themselves, and as pierced, dyed and tattooed as they want to be. If it's illegal to discriminate against the colour of the skin I was born with, it should be illegal to judge me by the colours I choose to put in my skin. And as for goals? Make the world a better place, and gain as much knowledge of as many things as I can, to ease such a goal. Become a better artist and a better person. Always be ever-growing, always-adapting, and eternally-expanding. There's always more to improve on, both inside and out of one's own self.

Andrew: Shitty kitchen assembly work. I hate it, but a plus is definitely the fact that it gets me good and pissed off, so that I can channel it towards something I really care about.

Braden: My day job right now is nothing. I keep myself busy. Trying to finish school. Hookers and blow. My goal is to help people change or know change. When I can I spare change or buy people meals. Whenever I see someone upset or down about life, I like to try and put a smile on their faces.

Skratch: When all is said and done, how do you want to be remembered as a band and as people?

Slut: As a band, I want to spread awareness to the things we, as a people, need to know, and at the same time make kick-ass music. I want to be remembered as someone who made music people enjoyed, and as someone who had an intense passion for making the world a better place. Again, I also don't want to be taken so fucking seriously, because there's more to life than being one-fucking-dimensional, even if your intentions are exceptionally driven for the better. In such a scary world we live in, sometimes we forget that it's okay to laugh and enjoy ourselves amidst all the revolutionary stuff.

Andrew: We are here to be a band that is more than another punk band, or any other kind of band for that matter. We just want to spread critical thought. I for one enjoy listening to music that stimulates my brain in a way that it gets me so frustrated with the state of humanity and the somehow universal human naiveté that I want to do something about it. This band is a product of that. I don't give a fuck if we're remembered or not. But I want to inspire thought, discontent, and action.

Braden: To be remembered is a strange concept.

Skratch: Who in the band is more likely to be a pyromaniac, a teacher, and/or an Olympic swimmer?

Slut: I'll go ahead and say, in that order... Braden, because he almost burnt down a bank once. (Long-Story-Short: Booze, plus "Money Is The Root Of All Evil" presented a ridiculous solution!). I'd say I'm the teacher, mainly because I kind of carry that sort of "what-can-we-do-to-make-this-better" characteristic. I'm always over-analyzing and critiquing myself. And it's no argument that Andrew's the type of guy who is most likely to slip on a leopard-print Speedo and dive into a legitimate Olympic swimming event, just because it'd be fucking funny to see him fail so horribly and look so foolish at the same time. That right there is a good example at how we get a lot of our kicks.

Braden: Pyro: Andrew. Reason: He's always on fire! Teehee! Teacher: Me. Reason: Who else knows the theory of relativity like me?! C'mon! Olympic swimmer: Slut. Reason: He's always training his shaft stroke.

Skratch: Last words/final thoughts/anything you would like readers to know about you?

Slut: Have a good time, and do the best to make everyone else on this planet have a good time. You're sharing this big spinny ball with plenty of other critters and people. Always strive for the better. Check us out! I hope you like us, because if you took the time to read all this, we already like you! Thanks!

Andrew: When we finally do come rolling through your town, come check us out, bring a friend, and as much rad as you can carry.

Braden: Katamari Damacy. We all do share the spinning ball.

The Wrecktals are currently working on their new album. For a list of upcoming shows and release dates to be announced, check out the bands Myspace page and Facebook profile.

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