There's Something Hard in There 2017 Quotes of Note

Richard Brown of The Proletariat in Seattle (Cat Rose photo)

A bunch more band interviews for 2017 and a slew of insightful quotes.
Check 'em out:


Richard Brown (The Proletariat on the band's start in the 1980s)
"Back then, a lot of people thought for some reason, and I can understand why they would think that,  is that we were kind of like telling people what to do and what to think. We never wanted that, we just wanted to throw our shit out there... 'What do you think of this idea?' The whole thing was always like an open discussion with our fans. Somebody said once, most of the hardcore bands, they're very preachy, whether it's straight edge or whatever they do. We're not really a true hardcore band and we will not preach, that's the last thing we wanna do."


John Haggerty (Pegboy)
"It's always great when you go places, especially far away, and they're really into what you're doing and they say, 'Your music has changed my life for the better and made me happy, given me hope' or something. I get that every now and then and that really means the most to me."


Bryan Migdol (Panic/Black Flag, American Waste)
"It instilled in my morals to work hard. If you're gonna write good songs and you're gonna have a good band -- a tight band -- you've gotta rehearse."


Chaz Matthews (Cheap Cassettes)
"I like loud guitars and catchy melodies. That can mean Rick Springfield, Muddy Waters, Big Star or the Cramps- and everything around, above, below and between. I do admit that the sounds and visions of the late '70s and early '80s seem to pop up in what we do a lot. The Replacements and the Jam are very huge deals to all of us in this band."


Anthony Navarro (Second Hand Suits)
"To be preachers of the gospel, you have to really give your entire being to the gospel of booty shakin' -- the rock and roll dance party. You can't just try and preach the gospel without being the gospel, so you have to turn into a completely different person on that downbeat."


June Coryell (The Sellwoods)
"Just a good time. We've got the Viking! (only name given, on bass), he's the one that really puts on the stage performance. The sweat flying everywhere, the horns, everything."


Celeste Bell about her mother, Poly Styrene
"My mother has been a huge influence on me. She supported my song writing and performing from the beginning; giving me lots of valuable advice as well as warnings of the pitfalls of the entertainment industry; especially the risks there are for young women in which is still very much a predatory and sexist industry."


Jeff Smith (Hickoids)
"I like to play, I like to show off. I'm too old to start over with another band name. I try and leave people with something they'll remember -- good or bad."


Grant Lawrence (The Smugglers about their stellar gig with The Muffs, Chixdiggit and Needles//Pins in Vancouver, BC)
It was incredible! I was still worrying about people showing up even the day of the show! To see 1,000 people in the room from all over North America / the world, not to mention our hometown, was very very gratifying and humbling. It took a TONNE of work to pull it off, but it all came together somehow.


Earthdog (Silver Screams)
"If you believe in it and feel good about doing it, then keep doing it as long as it is fun for you. Even if others may say you are wasting your time. Creating something on your own is never a waste of time."


Mike IX Williams (EyeHateGod)
"Well obviously it feels fucking great man. I was a goner, I was having multiple organ failure due to my liver being completely toasted, so fighting my way out of that vicious gang war and living to tell the tale makes life all the much more enjoyable now. One of the things always in my mind when I was sick for ever how many or so years, was surviving to play music, write music, hear music and just live music as I have been my entire life..."


Evan Foster (The Sonics, The Boss Martians, Dirty Sidewalks)
"It means everything to me (playing with The Sonics). I'm up for the challenge--  and every single night that we go out there, I try to bring it harder than I did the night before. That's kind of a Martians thing, we've always been known for ... if it's 10 people or 10,000 people, you gotta go out and do it like you mean it, because if you don't, you can't expect anybody else to get on board and support the band."


Jonah Falco on Fucked Up's "Hidden World" LP
"When I think about where I was when these songs were written, I usually find myself sort of cringing or muttering something to myself, and I'm so much more comfortable as a player and a person now so it's really nice to sort of like conquer those insecurities. Definitely thinking back of being in the studio and getting upset about tuning or structures or have something that's supposed to happen-- it all seems really petty and really see the bigger picture now with these songs. It's not only that, obviously, time helps you evaluate things, but I do appreciate being able to draw back in on myself and everybody else."