VOG * March 1995 * Joe XMas Interview1/2

[Smudge Mgt]

It is before show, underneath the stage in thegreen room , and Joe
Christmas is preparing for the evening's performance. Tonight, they're in
drag and a girlfirend is applying the requisite makeup to those who'll
take it. Phillip's dress won't zip in the back but he is pressured to wear
it despite this, as it has a distinctive Dutch style.
Their record label president, Alex Parker, says, "I'll be watching you
from the back." and heads upstairs, and the band members huddle with heir
hands in the center x
"RESTRAINT! RESTRAINT! RESTRAINT! RESATRAIN!" And with an outburst of
"Restraint is the key to rock-n-roll!" they are off up the stairs for a
show that will be anything but restrained, save for the ten minutes spent
tuning guitars in the middle of the set.
Phillip, the new drummer, will be playing on a 1972 Ludwig five-piece kit.
with clear blue shells baklit with violet and crimson lights. Russell
beats on the walls as he ascends - "Hello Detriot!"
DV: For most of the people that read VOG, the last time they heard about
you guys was right after i.s. fest. What happened there?
[the band looks nervously back and forth at each other]
Zachary: Well, if anyone else wants to talk about it, feel free x
Ryan: Well, uh x I don't know.
Zachary: I mean, just the basic x We, like, thought it would be cool to
have the whole set to have the Rocky II theme. And each song would be a
round of the fight, so on the fourth song someone would walk out with a
sign, and we came out to the main title, and we had some friends of ours
fighting onstage. We were not really thinking about how people would deal
with it as an audience.
DV: Then there was the problem with smoking x
Russell: Well, I think some people in the audience have had a problem with
us for a while, because they think that if you're a Christian, you can't
be in a band unless it's strictly ministry-oriented, and you can't just go
play. And that's what we like to do. They had a problem already. The cigar
thing just kinda topped it off.
Ryan: It just gave them a reason to yell at us.
DV: You know people in this group?
Ryan: Yeah.
DV: You have an anti-following locally nearly as large as your following?
Ryan: Yeah.
DV: Did you ever court that kind of Christian audience to begin with? You
had to get that audience to offend them.
Ryan: We played shows with their bands when they were in bands that x They
were the ones that called us up and asked us to play, they gave us the
invitation, and our phones rang. We just went and played and that's all
we've ever done, just gone and played.
Zachary: We've always done what we've done and people have either liked
it or hated it. A lot of people didn't like that MooTown cut because they
thought that we were putting down a fellow brother. We didn't think about
it, we just thought itwas funny, bringing Reverend Tilton out of context
and showcasing what he does.
DV: So the problem you guys are having wih the industry is that it just
needs to lighten up.
(all): yeah
Zachary: Well, it's not really a problem, like, we don't have a problem at
all.
Ryan: We're not out to step on people's feet. We don't have any concept
that we're even in the "Christian" music industry. We just play.
Zachary: And if it's at The Strand or the Somber Reptile or at a friend's
church x since Inner Seeds, we've been trying to be more sensitive. We've
never said, "Oh, this'll piss people off, let's try this." But now we're
more sensitive to that kind of thing. Don't you think?
Ryan: We realize that its so ridiculous for them to be angry x I
personally have no respect for those people whatsoever. And I don't want
to bring myself to the level of their sinful mindview. That whole
pissed-off attitude.
Zachary: I do have respect for them. Anyone that's gonna speak out for
what they believe in x
Phillip: I wasn't there, but it seemed pretty inappropriate. You don't do
that just for attention.
Ryan: That's a problem that could've been solved behind doors.
Zachary: As far as the anger thing goes, no, we're not angry at all. I
remember when it was happening, it was like, I wasn't really getting angry
x I just couldn't understand what was going on. We were performing and I
was changing the words to the song, trying to find a way to handle it
without getting into the conflict.