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1.When did you first know you wanted to start a Punk band? What was the first song you ever wrote?
I bought a copy of Screeching Weasel’s Anthem for a New Tomorrow in the 8th grade from the hipster record in St.Louis. I didn’t even know who Screeching Weasel was at the time, I wanted to look cool I’m front of the store clerk. The first track, “I’m Gonna Strangle you” blew my 8th grade mind into pieces. It was like nothing I’d ever heard. I’d imagine it’s how the generation of pop punk kids before me felt about hearing the Ramones. I got a cheap guitar for my birthday and immediately started pounding my way through all the punk rock songs I could. I’ve sort of been doing that ever sense.
The first song I wrote was awful. It was one chord progression played for 90 seconds. I don’t remember what it was called. It was bad.
2. Who are some of your top 5 musical influences?
Screeching Weasel for sure, they bleed into a lot of what we do even when we try not to. The Ramones, I mean because they are The Ramones. All the Lookout Records stuff from the 90’s. Also 50’s and early 60’s Rock and Pop, we work really hard to incorporate those influences into our songs.
3. What’s on your playlist this week?
Oh, we’ve had a heavy dose of golden oldies playing! Buddy Holly, Frankie Valli, the classic girl groups like The Shirelles. There is a really rad surf rock duo from St.Louis called Bruiser Queen that is in heavy rotation in the van. Landspeeder from Chicago, a fantastic pop punk supergroup. The Black Russians, a Russian based punk rock pro-Soviet band. Haley and the Crushers a cool 60’s Surf Rock meets punk husband and wife team. Oddly enough we hear so much punk rock on the road we tend not to listen to a ton of it.
4. How’s the music scene in your locale?
The St.Louis Punk Rock Scene is more of a punk rock family than a scene. Everyone knows one another. It’s small and very devoted.
5. What do you like most about playing live?
The type of music we play is meant to be played live. We actually record almost everything live with minimal overdubs to try to capture that feeling. We all wish we could play live every night. We are a fun band and we love seeing everyone in the room having a great song.
6. Is there a song on your latest release that stands out as your personal favorite, and why?
“Unsolved Mysteries” off of our latest album Get Lost! It is a bit of a different it’s got a heavy hook and a really simple lead that stands out as pretty different. It’s a serious song hidden behind some pop culture references.
7. What’s the best concert you’ve been to?
This past Spring we played Pouzza Fest in Montreal, Quebec. Pouzza is like Canada’s version of Riot Fest. It was pretty special to be part of such a huge event. As part of playing Pouzza Fest I was able to see a bunch bands that I’ve loved forever. My all time favorite was finally seeing The Dopamines after being a fan for over a decade. The Stars never quite aligned and I kept missing them. I watched them at this incredible underground (literally) club called the Catacombs. There are skulls carved into all the walls and the enter venue is an experience in and of itself. It was a great punk rock show.
8. If you could play a gig with any band or artist (dead or alive) who would it be?
For sure we’d open for Jesus Christ and settle a bunch of bullshit backstage.
9. What are your goals for the future?
We call our style of punk rock “gutter Pop”. We’ve invented the genre now we want to become international Gutter Pop superstars.
10. Where can we find you online and support your music?
https://outloudrecords.bandcamp.com/album/get-lost
https://m.facebook.com/theradiobuzzkills/
https://www.instagram.com/radio_buzzkills/?hl=en
Author: RJ Frometa
Head Honcho, Editor in Chief and writer here on VENTS. I don't like walking on the beach, but I love playing the guitar and geeking out about music. I am also a movie maniac and 6 hours sleeper.
Love this band! My band (we’re from Cincinnati) got the pleasure of playing a show with them at Stanley’s Pub in Cincinnati! I hope they keep at it for a long time to come!