Allister

Josh Nacho: Who are some of your influences?

Tim: Musically or...

J.N.: Musically. Like, why did you get into music?

Tim: Screeching Weasel was obviously a huge influence. Green Day. Like, all the pop punk bands that used to play all the time, like Squirtgun. Rancid, you know, back when they put out "Let's Go". And then there's a bunch of local bands from Chicago that were fucking amazing. Slapstick, you've heard of them, right?

J.N.: Yeah.

Tim: There was this band called... Oh shit, I can't remember the name of them, but they were really, really good. And they were like pop punk. And the Parasites. You know, bands like that. But, now I'm more into like Marvolous 3, Jimmy Eat World, not neccesarly emo, but pop punk. I mean, I like a lot of stuff, and a lot of stuff has an influence on me, like I read. You know, it kinda sucks when you get labeled into the pop punk genre because then there's not really too much room for creativity, because if you deviate too far from what you were playing before, then people are like, "What the fuck are you doing?". Like, Suicide Machines.

J.N.: Exactly. I was just thinking that too.

Tim: Their first record was so amazingly good, and then their second record was all hardcore, and then the latest one is all pop. I like them- I don't like the hardcore one 'cause I'm not a hardcore fan- but I really like the first one and I really like the new one, and a lot of people are like, "Why would you do something like that?" But, I listen to everything. Everything has influence on me.

J.N.: With that, how do you describe your sound, and what do you think you fit into and how do you feel about the labels people put you into?

Tim: Well, I guess if you had to put a label on us, we're more pop punk than anything. I think more of our new stuff is gravitating more towards pop, but with a pretty heavy punk edge. You can label bands all you want, but to me it's just cool when I see bands just go play what they like to play. Like I said, I'm not a huge hardcore fan, but if I go see a hardcore band and they look like they're having fun, you know, tearing shit apart, that's cool, 'cause they're doing what they like to do. Or if I go see an emo band, and they're having fun and their music's good, I'll listen to it. But, labels are stupid and you shouldn't put labels on people. If you like the music, then good, but if you don't, then oh well. I'll still do it any way.

J.N.: What do you think about some of the other Drive Thru (Records) bands? Like, some of the newer and lesser known bands like the Benjamins, Ellis and RxBandits...

Tim: Well, it's weird because we got signed really early on, so we were like, the sixth band or something to ever get signed by Drive Thru, and when we were signed, there were all different bands than there are now. You know, except for RxBandits, you had Mothermania, Cousin Oliver, Unleaded Plus, Last Summer, you know, and I loved all those bands and it was really cool because like, Drive Thru signed all those bands just because they liked their music. It wasn't like, "Oh they're emo" or ska, or punk, or whatever, the bands just ruled. And a lot of the new Drive Thru bands are really, really good. I haven't heard too much of Ellis, but from what I've heard, it's really good. I haven't really heard Dashboard Confessional at all. But, I know the Benjamins are the fucking greatest people in the entire world. We toured with them last summer, and we ended up playing like, 14, 15, or 16 shows with them, and they're just so amazing. They're just so good. And they're the coolest guys in the world. If I had never met them before, and just listened to their music, I would totally go out and buy it. But, knowing them now, I would pay like, a lot of money to see them play and a lot of money to buy their cd, just 'cause they're so good, and like they just got finished recording their new cd and it's, I think they said it's coming out Valentine's day or something, but I'm really excited for it. I can't wait to tour with them again. They're really cool guys. RxBandits are really cool. Midtown, New Found Glory, are getting really big, which is cool. And it's cool, because we're just kind of like, stuck in this happy medium, where we're not getting huge, but people have heard us, and it's just... We like to keep it punk rock, which I think is cool.

J.N.: Do you think there's a master plot with Drive Thru where they don't sign bad bands?

Tim: Yeah, I think that's one of the things I really like about Drive Thru, is that they don't really sign any bad bands. They have a pretty good ear for what's good and what kids are gonna like. Yeah, I just think that's really cool. And it's weird, because every where we go everybody says that they love Drive Thru Records and they love Drive Thru Records bands. And it's weird because like, we're on the inside of it, so we don't see all these bands like, getting big or blowing up. And it's weird when we play shows all across the country and everybody has New Found Glory shirts, or everyone has RxBandits shirts or Midtown, and shit like that. And it's just weird, 'cause we don't see it. 'Cause, you know, we're on the inside. And it's like, "Wow, that's really cool that Drive Thru signs all these good bands and everybody knows who they are". I mean, they're the greatest label because they do so much for all their bands. They put all their bands on all their comps. And their comps get incredible distrobution and they're all over the country, Europe, Australia and Japan. And they just really help out their bands a lot, and really, really good distrobution, which I think is cool.

J.N.: Well, first New Found Glory took off a little while ago, and now Midtown's taking off, so do you see yourself taking that direction soon? Do you think there will be this gradual effect where all the Drive Thru bands get huge eventually?

Tim: I don't know, that's a good question. It's hard to say because we're not really the type of band that is looking to get huge. We grew up on punk rock. We grew up in the scene, seeing how things are, and if being in the scene and playing what we play, takes us big, well then fine. But, you know, we're not looking to do that. If it happens, then we'll deal with it later. But, we're not in it for money. We're not in it to sell cds. We're just in it because this is what we love to do more than anything in the world. And when we got signed, Drive Thru had a lot of other priorities, and they were like "We really like your stuff", but we were all in school. So, we couldn't really tour, we couldn't really do a whole lot, so we just kind of recorded a cd, to just kind of get a base out there, and now that we have a chance to tour full time, maybe more kids will come, but it doesn't really matter that much. But, like with bands like Midtown and New Found Glory, they've blown up really fast. It's not overnight, but it's pretty close. And that's cool though, because that's what they like to do, and it's cool to have that many people following you around. As far as we're concerned, we don't... If it happens, that'll be cool. Did I answer that question all the way?

J.N.: Yeah, sort of... Yeah.

Tim: What else did you wanna know? 'Cause there was something else, but I don't remember.

J.N.: About how those bands were kind of blowing up, and that if you saw you doing that and then all of the Drive Thru bands sort of following too.

Tim: Oh yeah, right. That's tough to say too, because all the Drive Thru bands are different, and it seems like a lot of the music scene is moving more towards emo or screamo, or more stuff along those lines. Bands like the RxBandits- who are an amazing band- I don't know how much of a scene there is for ska, but they're so good, they deserve to draw a lot of kids. And a band like the Benjamins, who you know, just signed, they're more of a Weezer meets Superdrag like indie band, in the goofy sense of the word indie, so they're a band that could develop a cult following. They may never get huge, but they'll have die hard fans, because that's the type of stuff they play and that's how they are. And as far as us, I don't know how much of a scene there is for pop punk any more. Six or seven years ago when Screeching Weasel was around and Green Day put out "Kerplunk" or "39 Smooth", maybe things would be a little different, but, I just think if you go out and have a good time and can express your love for doing this to a lot of people in a lot of different places than kids will realize that and they'll come back out to see you play. And all the bands on Drive Thru have potential to do that, because they all rock live. They're all really good. There's not one Drive Thru band I don't like to watch live. There's a lot of bands that are just like, "Ah, come on". So, I think that's pretty cool.

J.N.: But, it seems like if someone is into New Found Glory, or Midtown, or RxBandits, or you, then they get into Drive Thru Records and whether they're punk or ska or emo, they like the other bands on Drive Thru. It's like they have something for everybody. It's kind of like an addiction thing. It's kind of like, the label sucks you in and then you get into every band.

Tim: Right. Which is why I think Drive Thru is doing so well. Because they have a huge variety of bands. None of them sound really the same, but if you're into one band, you might or might not like the other bands, but at least you'll hear them because they're all Drive Thru Records. And that helps out a lot. If kids like New Found Glory, or RxBandits, whether or not they like us is another story, but at least they'll get an opportunity to hear our stuff. Or to hear the Benjamins stuff, or to hear Midtown's stuff. That just helps out the bands even more. And I think a lot of kids now are keeping an open mind to music, which I think is really cool. I used to be a huge pop punk band, like that was all I would listen to. Bands like Screeching Weasel, Squirtgun--

(Johnny knocks on the van door to say it's time to play.)

Tim: I would never listen to anything else. Like, if emo was around back then, or whatever you wanna call it, I wouldn't listen to it just because I was all caught up in pop punk, like it was the greatest thing ever. But, I think more kids are realizing there's just so much good music out there, they just need to open up their minds and go look- go to their local record store and just get a large variety of stuff, and I think that's really, really cool. I'm ready to go play. We're ready. Allister's ready to rock.

J.N.: Ok. For the record though, why don't you like "Timing"?

Tim: Why don't I like "Timing"?

J.N.: Yeah, the song, not in general.

Tim: Did I say that?

J.N.: No, but that's what everyone says to me.

Tim: Really?

J.N.: Yeah, all the other band members... I'm like, "I saw you guys two weekends in a row now, and I'm asking for "Timing" every week and you never play it" and they're like, "Oh, well, it's probably 'cause Tim doesn't like it".

Tim: That's fucked up.

J.N.: (laughs)

Tim: It's not that I don't like it, I mean, it's an ok song, and I don't know... It's hard to explain.

J.N.: Will you play it tonight?

Tim: Yeah, we'll probably play it tonight. But, I think most of the reason why I don't like playing it is because we never play it and so I forget all the words, and I don't know how it goes. And I don't wanna play something if I don't know how it goes, and then it sounds shitty.

J.N.: So then I'll just stand there and sing along and if you forget the words you can look down at me.

Tim: Yeah, yeah, yeah, do that.(Both laughing)

J.N.: You can just look at me if you forget the words.

Tim: Yeah, I'll do that.

J.N.: I'll just start making stuff up like, "Vinnie's Address is my favorite band".

Tim: (laughing) Yeah, and that's what I'll start singing.

J.N.: (laughing) Like, "Pete is standing next to me"

Tim: (laughing) Totally.

Josh Nacho: Ok.

Dave: I've never been interviewed before. Oh man.

J.N.: (laughs) Then this is awesome then.

Dave: Yeah.

J.N.: Ok, umm, let me think... I just wanna find some ridiculous question, because you've never been interviewed before, I wanna be like...

Dave: I feel dirty.

J.N.: If John Lydon, Joe Strummer and Greg Graffin were stuck on an island who do you think would win based on wits and why? (laughing)

Dave: (laughing) That's not the first question, is it?

J.N.: Yeah, it is. (laughing) Answer it.

Dave: Ok, say it over again.

J.N.: If John Lydon, Joe Strummer and Greg Graffin were stranded on an island and they had to survive based on wits, who do you think would win and why?

Dave: Who are those three guys?

J.N.: John Lydon is from the Sex Pistols...

Dave: Ok.

J.N.: Joe Strummer is from the Clash...

Dave: Ok.

J.N.: And Greg Graffin is from Bad Religion.

Dave: Ok.

J.N.: (laughing)

Dave: That shows how punk rock I am. I'm not punk rock. Umm... Based on wits alone?

J.N.: Yeah. (laughing)

Dave: So they're not gonna physically fight each other for the fruit, for the island?

J.N.: No, it's a matter of who can think of the best way to survive for the longest.

Dave: ...I'm gonna say Strummer.

J.N.: No, that's wrong.

Dave: Oh damn.

J.N.: (laughing) You're not off to a good start, Dave.

Dave: (laughing) F-

J.N.: The answer is Greg Graffin because he's been rocking hardest...

Dave: (laughing)

J.N.: And for the longest straight period of time out of all of them.

Dave: All right.

J.N.: All the other bands may have started first, but he's still going, so he's got the consistency down.

Dave: See, I'm not brain smart.

J.N.: (laughing) That was a stupid question.

Dave: (laughing) That's all right. Man, I can't believe I got my first interview question wrong.

J.N.: (laughing)

Dave: How embaressing.

J.N.: (laughing) See, but with normal questions, there are no wrong or right answers.

Dave: Yeah... You're just being a jerk.

J.N.: (laughing) Yeah, I'm just being a jerk.

Dave: That's all right.

J.N.: So, how did you come in to Allister?

Dave: Umm...

J.N.: Did they just call you up and were like, "Hey, Dave, wanna join the band?" ?

Dave: Actually, that's kind of what happened, not to an extent, but, my band that I was playing with at the same, we opened for them one night at a house party, and I talked to TIm briefly afterwards, just about the band and everything, and he said they were interested in a drummer, and I thought that was cool, but I wasn't really interested at the time. My friend Tom who's our mutual friend- he's John's friend and he's my friend and I didn't know John at the time- so Tom told John that I would stand in for them for a few shows if they wanted, so John called me up and asked me if I wanted to play full time for them. And at that part I was ecstatic, because they were my favorite band at the time. Like, Allister and the Fairlanes- who rock. So, I was ecstatic because it was an honor to come in and play for one of my favorite bands, and I know it sounds corny because they're not like a huge band or anything, or far from that. It's rad to play with them, because every time we play one of their songs it's one of my favorite songs. That's pretty corny, but it's ok.

J.N.: Is it like one of those Metallica things when they brought in the new bassist?

Dave: Yeah, exactly.

J.N.: Like, the fanatic thing, like living it out.

Dave: Yeah, exactly. I'm a little bitch too, I do everything for them. I unload the van.

J.N.: Do they give you shit cause you're the new guy?

Dave: Yeah, I got a couple free t-shirts, from Drive Thru.

J.N.: No, I mean, do the guys give you shit? (laughing)

Dave: (laughing) Oh, actual shit... No, they haven't, because I could beat them all up if we got into a fight. I'm the biggest guy and I'm the meanest one too. So, no shit from them. Or not that I know of. They probably talk bad about me behind my back.

J.N.: Yeah, you should heard what Tim said.

Dave: I know, I can imagine.

J.N.: Your name didn't come up actually.

Dave: Rad.

J.N.: Ok, so I'm not going to- you don't have to answer this if you don't want to- but no one seems to know the story of what happened to Skippy.

Dave: Oh. Like, I sort of know, but I really...

J.N.: No one wants to tell me and I don't wanna ask the other guys.

Dave: It's like Skippy's girlfriend moved in from PA and Skippy- this is what I heard from different people I never actually asked John or any of them- but he basically just decided that he wanted to pursue a career. Because we make absolutely no money. Skippy wanted to get a career and start on that with his girlfriend too, so they're probably starting a family and all that.

J.N.: You never asked them though?

Dave: No.

J.N.: Are you scared too? (laughing)

Dave: No, it's not really that. It's really none of my business.

J.N.: But it was just one of those things where the band changed and no one really knows why.

Dave: Yeah, exactly. It worked out better for me I guess.

J.N.: No one said anything about it though. And the Allister web site is outdated very much.

Dave: Yeah, I know- very much.

J.N.: Are you mad that you're not on it?

Dave: Actually, I didn't mind. At first I was excited when they put my name on it and said I was the new drummer. But, I mean, I don't mind that I don't have pictures or anything.

J.N.: It's like, "I'm part of the band now too dammit!" (laughing)

Dave: Yeah, I know. (laughing)

J.N.: You have to be with the band a year and a half before you get photos. (laughing)

Dave: (laughing) No problem. We've been taking it more seriously now, doing a lot more shit, making it more full time, so hopefully the webpage will get updated soon, like when we get back from tour.

J.N.: Which will be in a year. (laughing)

Dave: (laugh) By the time our tour ends, we'll put all our tour dates up. Like, "This is what we did".

J.N.: (laughing)

Dave: So, no big deal.

J.N.: What is your favorite Allister song, like before and after you joined the band?

Dave: They thought I was just trying to play favorites or be nice to everyone, but my three favorite songs are "Jimmy", "Moper" and "Timing", which is like, all three of them, each of them sings one of them. Now that I'm actually in the band, I like to play our new stuff a lot. And I really, really like to play... Oh all of them?

J.N.: (laughing) You can only pick one.

Dave: Probably "Pictures", because they hate playing it and I love playing it, so I always force them to play it. And I get to play really fast. Even though I don't play drums right, but I still get to play really, really fast. So, "Pictures".

J.N.: That's a good answer actually. Who are all your influences as drummers?

Dave: It's weird, because all of the people who have influenced me, I'm no where near as good as. Like, Neil Perth, from Rush, the best drummer ever. I was obsessed with Rush in 7th and 8th grade. Travis, obviously, I saw Travis with the Aquabats a few times before he joined Blink and he's unbelieveable. He's so unbelieveable. And I really like Dave Silvera from Korn, actually, he's a really, really technical and good, which I'm not either of. And Dave Grohl, definitely. From when he played with Nirvana.

J.N.: Do you like the Foo Fighters, or do you think he should have stayed behind the drum kit?

Dave: I don't know, I was a hardcore Nirvana fan, and I kick myself in the ass for being one, but, I don't know, I like the Foo Fighters, they're good. But, he shouldn't have cut his hair. His rock and roll hair.

J.N.: What was the last cd you bought, not counting the one that was given to you sitting in front of you?

Dave: I bought Yanni.

J.N.: Did you really?

Dave: (laughing) No.

J.N.: I was gonna be like, "That's it, that's the second question you got wrong".

Dave: Umm... You know, I don't even remember. I think I bought Alkaline Trio a really long time ago. I've been poor lately, so that was the last cd I bought.

J.N.: What was the last cd you stole?

(At this point we were interupted by an old man with long hair, and I thought he was going to kick us out, but instead he tried to get us to help save the Hanover House.)

J.N.: They can't shut it down before the Stryder show!

Dave: That's really unfortunate, this is a nice place too.

J.N.: It's actually one of the decent places left. Well, I'm biast 'cause I live five minutes away.

(More talk about the Hanover House)

J.N.: It's like, "Yeah, random hairy guy comes in..."

Dave: Talks uncoherently.

J.N.: Yeah, how do I put that in?

Dave: Definitely drunk or high.

J.N.: Interupted by drunk guy, didn't know what he was talking about for sure...

Dave: Yeah.

J.N.: Trying to score some weed. (laughing)

Dave: No problem. (laughing)

J.N.: So, since you've been in the band- you've been in it for six months now.

Dave: Yeah.

J.N.: That's what everyone keeps telling me. What's been the coolest part for you. And don't be like, "Oh, just being in the band on a whole".

Dave: It's so weird, because all the bands I've been in haven't been too serious. The music's never been too serious, content wise. We never really went at it hard or wanted to keep doing it. Like, going on tour. The first time I ever went on tour was in June, right after I joined the band and it was unbelieveable. Sleeping in a van, and not making any money and being broke, it's so much fun. And I know it sounds great, but actually, being part of Drive Thru and having it being such an up and coming label, with bands like New Found Glory and Midtown are two of my favorite bands. And the Benjamins, who they just signed, are nice guys and another great band. It's rad being associated with them. Probably not so much New Found Glory and Midtown because they're getting a lot bigger, but smaller bands you look at on Drive Thru, we're one of the smaller bands, and I love being in that position. It's all unbelieveable, being a part of that label.

J.N.: Isn't there a lot of people who are mad at you, because they want to be signed to Drive Thru and then you just got on there?

Dave: Yeah, it's funny. We catch so much shit. We've had people come up to us and say we're the band that doesn't deserve to be on Drive Thru and all that. You know what I'm saying Tim?

Tim: What the fuck is this?

Dave: It's a pinball machine.

Tim: No, what is this?

Dave: It's my drumset.

Tim: Ahhh...

Dave: Shut up.

(Tim was a little upset Dave had not loaded up his drumset yet, I am guessing.)

Dave: See, he's talking shit now.

J.N.: (laughing)

Dave: I don't know. What was I ranting about? Oh yeah, Drive Thru. So, we don't deserve to be on Drive Thru and everyone who says that is right. Yes we're in a fantastic position, and we don't think we take advantage of it. We don't sit back and let Drive Thru do stuff for us, we're out there busting our asses. So, anyone who doesn't think we deserve to be on Drive Thru, they can suck my dick.

J.N.: Drive Thru's really tight any way, so if you didn't deserve to be on Drive Thru, you wouldn't be.

Dave: Yeah, exactly. That's the way I look at it though. Nobody can talk shit about us unless they're in our position and they hang around with us and see what we actually do. If you don't like us, then that's one thing with your taste in music, but you have no right to talk shit about us.

J.N.: You need to start breaking down the lectures to them about Drive Thru. Go into this whole speech about it, and they'll be like, "Ok, ok, you deserve to be on Drive Thru".

Dave: (laughing) It's a good situation that we're in and we appreciate it towards its fullest. Just don't talk shit about other bands. Bands shouldn't do that to other bands and the same thing with promoters and everybody else.

J.N.: Kids shouldn't do that to bands either though.

Dave: Oh, yeah.

J.N.: Just be like, "Well, see, I'm on stage and you're not..."

Dave: Yeah, that's kind of a cocky attitude. You're such an ass. (laughing) No you're not.

J.N.: Yeah, I know, but...

Dave: It's hard to not when kids act like that.

J.N.: It's like, "I'm on Drive Thru and you're not, ha ha!"

Dave: We're very passive when it comes to stuff like that. We don't let it effect us. It's just a nusence. I've just always known people to talk shit about other people and they have no right to. It's just my pet peeve.

J.N.: But if you didn't belong on Drive Thru, you wouldn't be there.

Dave: Yeah, we talk about it all the time in the car, Drive Thru, when they signed Allister, they signed them for their potential. And we're working very hard at it, and I think our next record will definitely show what we've been doing.

J.N.: You guys could definitely blow up with your next record too.

Dave: Yeah. And if we don't, I think it's gonna be a really good record and appreciated. I'm just rambling on. I'm not a very fun person to interview. I'm not funny.

J.N.: Yeah, start telling some jokes, get the readers interested.

Dave: I don't know any good jokes. I know offensive ones.

J.N.: There's gum on my shoes.

Dave: I know offensive jokes about young kids.

J.N.: That's not good.

Dave: I know.

(Enter Scott)

J.N.: It's Scottie, I think he's next.

Dave: Scottie, do you need to be interviewed?

Scott: I think I sprained something.

Dave: Do you need to be interviewed by him?

Scott: Did you see what I did at the end of the show?

J.N.: Yeah, when you fell and the thing fell on you.

Scott: It didn't fall on me, I pulled it on me. Did you see that?

J.N.: (laughing) Yeah.

Scott: That was fucking ridiculous.

Dave: You wanna sit down and do this, so I can load up my drums?

Scott: Fine.

Dave: My first interview's done!

J.N.: (laughing) Ok, Scott, tag in.

Scott: I fully sprained something. How cool is the sound guy?

J.N.: He's pretty cool.

Scott: Did you see him?

J.N.: Yeah, he was flippin' and shit.

Scott: He said he wasn't going to turn off the thing until we played one more song.

J.N.: That was rad. Ok, Scottie, I have five questions for you.

Scott: Cool. Are they the same as you asked everybody?

J.N.: No, I'm just kind of making them up as I go along, I don't even know what I'm asking you.

Scott: Oh, cool, this is kind of like Craig Kilborn.

J.N.: I totally asked Dave and Tim different things, so I'm going to ask you all the weird shit.

Scott: All the weird shit?

J.N.: Yeah. Well, I'm gonna ask you one really weird question. I'll do it first, just to get it out of the way.

Scott: I have a feeling this is gonna be bad.

J.N.: This is kind of a long question too. It's kind of one of those six degrees questions too. Because, your name was taken from a character on "You Can't Do That on Television", and Alanis Morsette used to be on there, so would you ever cover one of her songs, and what do you think of her music on a whole?

Scott: You know, I didn't even know she was on that show until I was in Allister. And I've been hearing more about that show than I could possibly want to about it. I didn't remember any of it at first, I used to watch it as a kid, but then I started getting all the dirt about Moose and Barf and all the characters. But, actually, I'm a huge fan of Alanis Morsette. I love her cd, the first one. The second one wasn't that great.

(Tape stopped)

J.N.: Ok, we're back.

Scott: Um, that's all I've got.

J.N.: Would you ever cover one of her songs though?

Scott: Would I ever? Hell yeah. I'm all about that kind of stuff. I'm the one who always suggest songs and gets shot down.

J.N.: Who shoots 'em down, Johnny?

Scott: No, usually Tim.

J.N.: Oh.

(Johnny Interuptus)

Scott: The last song I wanted to cover was Ace of Base, "the Sign", and Timmy shot it down.

J.N.: What about Destiny's Child?

Scott: Yeah, I told everybody we were doing an all Destiny's Child set tonight.

J.N.: You told that to like, four people, and we were in the car. Then we almost died.

Scott: That was a damn shame.

J.N.: That was weird.

Scott: A tragedy, but I had no idea what was going on.

J.N.: You weren't paying attention until we were almost off the road.

Scott: Yes. That is true.

J.N.: We were all steady and then like "Oh shit" in the car and you were like "All right, we're alive".

Scott: He did it like, ten times. No offense, Pete, I love you.

J.N.: (laughs)

Scott: Just in case Pete reads this.

J.N.: Yeah, Pete will read it.

Scott: Ok. Pete, I love you.

J.N.: (laughs)

Scott: Put that in twice, so he knows.

J.N.: You cover the Backstreet Boys, I think the fact that impresses me the most that you cover it, is that you sing it so well.

Scott: You're impressed by the fact that we cover the Backstreet Boys?

J.N.: Well, I'm impressed by the fact that you cover it, and it actually sounds like them.

Scott: Yeah, we got a lot of shit for that. Everybody was expecting us to punk it up a lot. Because we recorded it first, and we got a lot of expectations to punk it up, we didn't really do much with it. Not that we didn't do much with it, we just didn't change it a lot.

J.N.: It's not that bad of a song, it just needed to rock a little more.

Scott: A lot of people tell me that they hate the Backstreet Boys and our song makes it more tolerable, but we didn't really do much with it, so they're just people that just don't want to admit they like Backstreet Boys.

J.N.: I think it's cause it's shorter too.

Scott: It's not really that much shorter. We cut out like, two bars.

J.N.: Yeah, but because you play it faster.

Scott: It's not that much faster.

J.N.: Time wise it is.

Scott: Actually, I didn't think it was that much faster, until I heard the song again in the elevator, and it was a lot slower than I remembered. But when we recorded it, it was really slow.

J.N.: Are you a closet Backstreet Boys fan?

Scott: I love the Backstreet Boys.

J.N.: Are you gonna get all the girls to your shows now, because of the Backstreet Boys song?

Scott: Actually, we've already got all the girls at our shows.

J.N.: (laughs) Are you gonna get all the Backstreet Boys fans though, convert them over?

Scott: Umm... Dave?

Dave: What?

Scott: He's asking a question.

J.N.: But, I was asking it to you, Scott!

Scott: Oh yeah.

Dave: What was the question?

J.N.: Are you gonna convert all the Backstreet Boys fans?

Dave: Convert how?

J.N.: Convert them to bring them to listen to you.

Dave: No way. We don't have the sex appeal. We've got Scott and that's about it.

Scott: I actually got to talk to the Backstreet Boys.

J.N.: Did you meet them?

Scott: I didn't meet them, but I got to talk to two of them online.

J.N.: Do you know if they were really them?

Scott: Oh yeah. I talked to Nick and A.J.

J.N.: How did you know it was really them?

Scott: Because I know someone who's cousins of Nick. So, I looked up his profile, and it's not like, "Hey I'm Nick of the Backstreet Boys", it just says it's Nick and very little information about him. And he didn't give me much time.

J.N.: Would you like to share this information with everyone else? What's his screen name? What's his aol name? Come on!

Scott: Actually, I did give it to a lot of people, and now he doesn't come on any more or he blocked everybody. So, I guess I'm just a big asshole. Sorry, Nick.

J.N.: You ruined him. (laughing)

Scott: I told him that we did their song, and he said to send it to the Firm, which is I guess their whatever...

J.N.: Like, management or whatever.

Scott: Yeah. So, that was pretty much all I got out of him. I'm not making it seem like we had this big heart to heart or anything.

J.N.: I'll give you the typical question now-- Who are some bands that you listen to that you see out there that are good that a lot of people don't know about?

Scott: Does it have to be punk?

J.N.: It can be anything.

Scott: Ok, there's this rad band called Phantom Planet, and they're just a pop Beatles-y, faster tempo... They're not punk, but they're really fucking good. And if you've ever seen the movie... What's it called? I fell asleep during it, but it was a good movie, with Bill Murray and it was called...

J.N.: Rushmore?

Scott: Rushmore! Yeah.

J.N.: Whoa, I got it? All right!

Scott: The guy with the glasses, he's their drummer.

J.N.: Really?

Scott: Yeah. And there's these Gap ads, and the singer is in all of those, because they're a Hollywood band, but they're still really good. Them and Fountains of Wayne. We drove through Wayne last night and saw a shop called Fountains of Wayne, that's why they're fresh on my mind right now.

(At this point we got kicked outside)

J.N.: Ok, who has been your favorite band to play with? Not in a sexual way, but that you played live with, or went on tour with.

Scott: Oh, I see. Probably the Bloodhound Gang. I wouldn't say they're the best band we've played with musically, but I was most excited about that show probably.Should I keep talking so you can think of another question?

J.N.: I thought I had one, but now I forgot.

Scott: How about I'll answer a question, and then you can make it up later?

J.N.: (laughing) Ok.

Scott: Yes.

J.N.: (laughs)

Scott: Try not to make me sound too bad.

(Enter Dave)

Dave: Did you hear about Dudemeister?

J.N.: No.

Dave: All right, let's do a seperate interview real quick for Dudemeister.

J.N.: Ok.

Dave: This is for all you not Allister fans.

Scott: Well, Allister fans too.

Dave: Scott Murphy and David Rossi from the band Allister have decided-

Scott: We need more hardcore names.

Dave: Scott "Ass Kicking" Murphy and David "Bitch Slapping" Rossi, we decided to start a new band called Dudemeister. We're pretty in your face.

Scott: We swear. I'm not gonna lie.

Dave: We have songs with swear words in them. There's one song called, "In Your Face". Our first release is called "the Dudemeister Are Pissed", so check your local stores.

Scott: Should we give them a sample?

Dave: Yeah.

(Don't ask)

(Everyone laughs)

Scott: Just tell them that we're hardcore and pretty scary.

J.N.: All right. Anything else, Scottie?

Scott: Umm, I think that's it for me.

J.N.: With the style of the band, as far as singing goes, everyone kind of sings a different song, and I think it's a really great thing, how did it come about?

John: Well, when we started writing songs, Tim would write a song, I would write a song, and it was natural that since we were somewhat capable of singing, we would just sing the song we wrote. Some times when we work on a song collectively, someone will just kind of take charge of singing the song. "Moper" was actually a song I was gonna sing, but it was not working, so Scottie wound up singing it, and it turned out for the best. So, I guess, pretty much whoever writes the song sings it, but if someone can do it better, than that's who will sing it.

J.N.: Is "Jacob" based on a true story?

John: It's very much true.

J.N.: Is that actually his name?

John: It's actually a guy named Jacob. It happened pretty much like the song says. He was in my sociology class, my sophmore, junior year in college and we had an exam coming up and he just walked up to me and asked if I started studying for the test yet. I said I had another exam to study for, but I gave him my email. So, I get this email saying "Sorry I kind of cornered you in class" because he just walked up to me and it was kind of weird because I didn't know him. And he was like, "Yeah, I didn't mean to do that, but I got the impression that you were gay and I just wanted to get to know you better". So that's pretty much it. Jacob thought I was gay.J.N.: What did you do though? The song doesn't really seem to have a conclusion to it. What happened?John: I emailed him back, and no one ever asked me if I was gay before, much less kind of asked me out, so I just kind of wrote him back and said "Sorry I'm not gay". It felt kind of awkward after that.

J.N.: Did you see him in class again after that?

John: Yeah, it was awkward. I didn't really wanna say anything, and he was kind of embaressed, so that was that.

J.N.: Does he listen to the band at all?

John: Oh, I doubt it. But, I doubt he'd even know. (laughs) Scottie just asked "Who hasn't seen my dick?". But, uh, not too many people knew of us back then.

J.N.: Do you think he heard about it some how now though?

John: I kinda doubt it. Not too many people knew about it, or knew this guy Jacob. I don't think I ever saw him after that class was over. But, it's a true story. Jacob is real and out there some where. (laughing)

J.N.: That's crazy. (laughing) What was the last cd that you bought?

John: I'm not really sure, it's been a while. I know I bought cds.

J.N.: What are you listening to in the van right now?John: Oh, ok. That's easier.

(Enter Scotty 2 Hotty the sound man)

John: What I've been listening to is the new Less Than Jake cd. I got a hold of a few songs and I really, really like that. I listen to the new New Found Glory a lot. I always listen to Juliana Hatfiled, like all the time. I like the new 2Gether song, "The Hardest Part of Breaking Up".

J.N.: Is getting back your stuff.

John. Yeah. (laughing)

J.N.: Would you cover that?

John: Um, no, we won't cover that. We've done our pop song.

J.N.: That'd be rad to cover them in a couple years when no one knows who they are any more.

John: I think it'd be fun to do it now, but... We did the Backstreet Boys, and that was that. What else do we listen to? The new Green Day. That's probably mostly what I listen to lately. What have you been listening to lately?

J.N.: Um... Your cd... The Stryder... The new Vandals... I listened to the New Found Glory cd a couple of times... Slick Shoes new cd is awesome. And this awesome band called the Reflector that no one's ever heard of but they broke up. They sound kind of like Radiohead, but more punk.

John: Have you heard the new Radiohead?

J.N.: No, not yet. I've heard bad things about it though.

John: Me too.

J.N.: I've heard it's not that great. This is kind of a six degrees question, but you've played with Less Than Jake, and they're going on tour with Bon Jovi, so do you think that some time down the line you'd end up touring with a metal band?

John: That'd be cool, but I don't know if we'll ever be able to hold our own with a band like that. They're going to have a huge audience to try and win over, with huge arenas and stuff like that. It'd be cool, but, it'd take us a while to get to that point where we can hold our own like Less Than Jake can. Less Than Jake is like, the perfect band, of that genre.

J.N.: Aside from the new cd, what plans do you have coming up?

John: We're gonna work on the new cd when we get home in November, do a couple Drive Thru shows in the end of November, and hopefully it will be ready to record in February, and then just take it from there. And tour like, every where.

J.N.: So, getting to the new cd, since you have to go, what's it gonna be like?

John: It's gonna be different in the sense that all the songs hopefully will all be more diverse. Our goal is to write songs that are as catchy as possible that kids will want to sing along to. And stuff that is fun for us to play. And stuff that is fun for us to play right now doesn't all run together. It may sound a little different than the previous one.We hope it will be out by the spring. We're tired of our cd. It's been out for over a year now, and half the songs were written way before we recorded them. So, it'll be nice.And the cd is not gonna be self titled. It's gonna have a real name.

J.N.: Can you call it "Self Titled CDs Suck"?

John: We could, but we'd be offending a lot of people.

J.N.: How about "Self Titled CDs Are Uncreative"?

John: (laughing)

J.N.: You should just call it "This Is Not a Self Titled CD".

John: (laughs) We'll call it "This CD Is Not Called Allister".

J.N.: "The CD Formerly Known as Allister" (laughs) You should go for a really, really long title cause Fiona Apple has the record for longest title, just like, take a chapter out of the Bible or something just to beat her and get in the Guiness Book of World Records.

John: (laughs) Or maybe we'll title it the entire ingredients of Frosted Flakes.

J.N.: It's gonna be "The Ingredients of Frosted Flakes" or the actual ingredients?

John: The actual ingredients.

J.N.: So at the end, it's gonna say, "All these ingredients are greeeeaaaaaaat". (laughs)

John: (laughs) They're great.(laughing)

J.N.: Ok, do you have anything to add, plug or say to the nice people at home?

John: Plug our cd, I guess. Buy our stuff. Plug Drive Thru Records, which is the coolest label. I'd plug our website, but our website sucks.

J.N.: Yeah, that's true. (laughs)

John: (laughs) I'd like to plug Grover Dill, cause they rule.

J.N.: Plug Shannon, for doing some stuff.

John: We'll see.

J.N.: For doing your mailing list.

John: Yeah...

J.N.: Plug me for creating Allister@Egroups.com, join the Allister Egroup thing.

John: The Egroup and Nacho Cheese and Anarchy- definitely props and big ups.

Dave: Josh sucks.(laughing)

Dave: Oh, end quote.

Links:

Allister
Drive Thru Records
NCA