(This interview took place with
Thomas, vocalist for Strike Anywhere on June 28, 2002 outside of the Birch Hill
Nite Club in Old Bridge New Jersey)
Josh: Do you know what happens if you go to strikeanywhere.com?
Thomas: It’s vintage stuff related to the matches- t-shirts and like, little
pins. We do sort of some research on whether or not we’d be in copyright
violation and we realized that it was just a common saying that was just an
aspect of combustables and insidiary things. Plus it’s been so long since
anyone invented Strike Anywhere.
Josh: Plus, it’s two different things. It’s not like another band
had the name.
Thomas: Actually another band did. When we first started, they were
a ska band and we had already been Strike Anywhere for a couple of
weeks. We were cool with it and both of us were just going to keep
on blazing and play some shows together and not care. But they
broke up. That was before we even played a show, I think.
Josh: That’d be funny if there was a show with two Strike Anywheres on
it.
Thomas: There’s actually a Chicago band called the Strike and then
there’s Striking Distance, who we’ve never played a show with but we
should. Then there’s some band called 3rd Strike.
Josh: They’re on Creed’s label I think.
Thomas: Yeah, they’re in like, a different world.
Josh: That would be funny. Kids would see you and be like, “This
music is making me think, no!!!”
Thomas: Thank you, that’s a good compliment. Chasing kids
away. With thought.
Josh: Do you think it’s strange that you’re a band that actually has
something to say other than just about girls or life, but kind of almost
political?
Thomas: There’s so much to discuss. It definitely comes from a
personal place, but it can be interpreted as political or a social criticism,
but that’s interal and goes for any music that’s vulnerable and
expressive. There are bands that tell personal stories about
getting drunk and winding up in jail, or a band that has a whole list of
statistical academic critique within the classes. Those bands are amazing
but they play blast beats and you can’t hear what the words are any
way. The traditions that inspired us- which are different and many-
are a lot of the DC ethic. It has to be a part of your life, it has to be
personal first. That gives you the courage to express your
ideas. Some songs are definitely political, but the same songs can
also be about your community or even the community within your own
mind. Not to take the cop out and say it’s up to you because the
lyrics are obviously personal, but it’s just the aspect that it all relates to
everyone and we all communicate through them at shows. By singing
along, it flags our ownership and that’s an incredible thing. I
think that happens with a lot of bands and a lot of shows but it’s just been a
blessing for that to happen to us. I think there’s been enough bullshit
and deception in our culture that everyone in the world needs an outlet to
communicate on large from the absurdity of our culture. The civilization
of the treadmill that we walk, as opposed to the emotional enlightenment.
There has been such a great system of refined criticism in our culture- all
aspects of it, from the family to the street to congress to the media--
everywhere. I think that’s why there’s such a vital need for expanding
your lyrics and roots and the movement of punk to something more than just,
“We’re punks”. But there’s bands that do that too. All the roots
need to be watered at once. We have songs that, to us, are just like
that. That are just like cultural cheerleading. Just like,
(screaming) “Yeah, let’s do this! This is us! We’re you! The kids!”. I
would never downplay that. And it’s not just us trying to push everyone
into being the same kind of radical revolutionary right now. It’s about
bringing the awareness on a level that people can be comfortable with and just
to develop the kind of courage that the punk rock scene used to be known for,
and people can address issues with the songs. They can be brave and
change their relationships and what they think is stupid, and then fight their
own struggles. But it takes all of that.
Josh: When I first heard about you, someone told me to listen to you.
I’ve been told to listen to a lot of bands, and once I even listened to the
Anniversary and I’ve regretted it since. And then weirdest of all,
you’re on Jade Tree. So when I first put in “Change is a Sound”, I was
expecting it to be real emo and just something I totally hated. But
no matter how hard I tried, I just can’t hate it and you’re actually quite the
opposite of emo, everything that goes with that quiet, whiny genre.
Thomas: See, that’s the thing. The first Jade Tree LP was this band
called <>, an ‘88 straight edge band that just had more interesting music
and hard parts just beyond what was known in ‘88. Friends, neighbors,
brothers and sisters who went to shows- that was the first Jade Tree
band. They have roots in hardcore. They’re still straight
edge, vegan punks, but they’re still totally active. They hang out and
they travel to see their bands play. They’ve had hardcore bands all
the time, but some of the bands that people know them for seem to be
emo. But even then, those bands didn’t want to be called emo.
And I think that their hint of punk is closer to the real shit- to the way it
was in the first generations- with the American hardcore bands like Bad Brains
to X to TSOL, like California hardcore all the way back to Britain with Gang
Four, Liar and Crass. Experimental, artistic, provocative music all the
way to acredited rock bands. That’s what punk rock was, which no one can
dispute. But everyone now is voting with their dollar in a really blind
way to make music this homogonized cartoon version of what it was. That’s
why people in the first and second generation don’t really like much of what’s
happening with the bands now. In some ways it has improved, as far as
[less] violence, as far as d.i.y. ehtical structures... There are a lot more
options. They’ve just kept their hearts on their sleeves and have
been really honest. And they hang a lot. And that doesn’t
mean a lot when you’re in a business relationship, but that’s not what this is
about. It’s about family. It’s about community.
Josh: You’ve been around for a couple of years now- I looked at my
imaginary watch there- and you only have one CD. What’s up with that?
Thomas: We have two.
Josh: One’s an EP.
Thomas: Yeah. We’re going to put together a new full length
soon with some Fat Club singles and songs other people- most people- don’t
have. It will be an LP that some people have heard most of, but
most people have heard none of.
(Someone of Good Riddance yells, “Ah, I’m doing an interview, I’m
important”. There’s two of those GR guys, they go back and forth
with Thomas, and then I have to interject to tell them I’m not from NJ because,
well, I’m not. One actually says, “So, Thomas, what’s your favorite kind
of flower? A daisy, because it’s yellow”. Thomas says, “Look, we’re being
harassed by skinheads”. He adds, “They’re my favorite dudes though”.)
Josh: When you were signing to Jade Tree, did you ever think about going
to a more punk label instead- one that’s more known for punk- like maybe Fat
Wreck Chords or even Epitaph?
Thomas: We didn’t really think about it like that. We knew Tim and
Darren really well. It just felt like part of our community. We played
more shows in Maryland and DC in our first year as a band than anywhere
else. It just seemed really appropriate. And we trusted them.
And they hung out with us. We were friends with them before we even
discussed working with them. We have a lot of love for labels that
are more focused on punk rock and stuff like that, but it wouldn’t feel the
same to us if we weren’t part of that, part of our community. We
still go to California and hang out with everyone from Fat. It’s crazy
because there’s so much industry surrounding punk rock now, but everyone
is still so psychotic. Their personalities generate such anarchy
and wouldn’t make sense in any other world. And it’s perfect. It
kind of protects us, but it also elevates us.