Type: email // Questions: Josh Nacho // Answers: Levi Watson (vocals)

How does it feel being one of the truest sounds of metal?

     I don't know if we are one of the truest sounds of metal but I am glad
that you think so.  We don't try to write in any certain style or for any
certain genre, we just write and try to make the most powerful stuff that we
can and if that is metal, then we are as metal as the plate in my dads head.

Has being a west coast based band effected you negatively in any way?

     I think it has.  I mean, if we were an east coast band then we could do
so many more shows to different scenes all the time and not play to the same
kids.  We would not have to leave home for 2 months at a time to do a
complete and thorough tour of the US.  We could do weeks at a time and not
completely ruin our lives in the process.  Also, we would be around a lot
more metal bands and zines and metal kids so that we could maybe have gotten
more props sooner than last year.
     I don't care though cause if we did live back east or something we may
not sound the way we do.  As a matter of fact, I KNOW we would not sound the
way we do if we were in a different region.  The desert does something to
people and it comes through in our music.  Reno Rules.

Do you listen to any pop punk like Jimmy Eat World or the Get Up Kids,

or do you think it's all crap?

     I love pop music like the Jimmy Eat Worlds or Get Up Kids. I like The
Jealous Sound, Radiohead, Saves the Day, Coldplay, all that shit.  I'll bet
that I listen to more of that sort of stuff than FS sounding stuff.  I like
the formulas and how powerful some of that stuff is.  Just because you are
loud and screamy doesn't mean that you are powerful.  So many super metal
freak out bands are so fucking boring it is sick.  But there are mellow
bands that create some very powerful stuff without breaking a sweat and I
really enjoy listening to that.

Who would win in a fight, Ozzy or God?

     That is like asking who would win a fight between Henry Rollins and
Harry Potter.  Real people can't fight supernatural beings that don't really
exist.  Duh.

Do you ever find that your non-traditional beliefs (such as the
unimportance of material possessions described in "Flowers for Whores")
effect you because you're not out there singing about being vegan or not
doing drugs or some kind of pattern bands seem to be on these days?

     Although veganism is important to me and not doing drugs is important
to some, I don't sing about it because there are other bands that do it way
better than I.  I sing about what I sing about cause it effects me.  There
are a million bands singing about the ills of materialism, and they have
been since The Beatles.  I am not doing anything new lyrically. It may seem
so because young people in our scene are constantly hit with a lot of the
same topics, but I am definitely not doing anything new. Maybe for the
genre, but not in the big scheme of things.
     It never has effected me though, besides some major ass whoppings in SLC, but all bands get that.

 

Who is currently your favorite skater?  On a side note, do you have a
tape of Jason Lee skating you could sell me?

     My favorite skater is not known outside of Reno.  His name is Spencer
Benevidez and he fucking rips.  He has been one of the best skaters in the
Reno scene since the late eighties and he hasn't stopped since.  He goes
fast and big and is fearless in spite of the injuries that he has sustained.
  And he is in to punk rock and aggressive music which is atypical in
today's skateboarding scene.  He promotes local skateboarding and is always
down to skate with young kids.  He is completely approachable and down to
earth and I am so glad that he is one of my friends.  To me, he is the
epitome of skateboarding.  He loves the sport and does it cause it makes him
feel good. That is fucking beautiful.
     Video Days is a great video that has a lot of Jason Lee skateboarding
along with many others.  Pick it up and see what a Hollywood superstar can
do on a skateboard.

After hearing "Drunken Violence" and just the brutal mix of hardcore,
punk and especially metal, I kind of thought it was what Refused would
sound like had they still been together now (because of course in my mind,
they would have evolved into a much more metal sounding band).   Do you
agree with this or... What do you think of it any way?

     I don't think much of it because I have never really listened to a
Refused album from start to finish.  I am sort of out of touch with what is
hot today in my scene and I want to keep it that way so I don't unknowingly
borrow from others styles.  I want to keep FS music pure as much as I can so
I try to stay away from other bands that are creating parallel music.  I
wish I could talk shop with you about The Refused cause I have heard nothing
but good things about the group, but I just cannot with any real opinions.