Reprinted with permission from Jersey Beat #65. Interview contributed by Oliver Lyons, Pictures by Ricky Saporta.

Q: To start off, say who you are and what you play, just to make my life easier.
Kody: I’m Kody and I play guitar and sing.
Tim: Tim, I play the drums
Corey: Corey, I play bass.

Q: How is it being on Panic Button? How’s that going so far?
K: It’s going good, they treat us really good.

Q: Now your last album was on Clearview how come the new album isn’t?
K: Well they said they weren’t going to do the label anymore and we were going to shop around anyway. So we just sent out demos and nobody wanted to record the new album so we just recorded it ourselves and Mass (Giorgini, owner of Sonic Iguana Studios were their new album was recorded) showed it to Ben (Weasel, no explanation needed) and he liked it.

Q: So does the new album reflect a more, “mature” side of the band? You go from writing songs with verses like, “my genitals itch” to “ my life has been a waste of time.” Is this a darker, deeper more mysterious Lillingtons that are emerging?
K: Funner (laughs).
C: More mature.
K: All the old songs were a bunch of bullshit anyway so we thought we might as well write about something good.
C: Sci-fi and shit. We got sick of writing about girls and broken heart love stories.

Q: Do you think pop-punk is a good way to classify your guys music? I don’t think you fall much into that category but that’s how I’ve heard you described. How would you label yourselves?
K: I don’t want to be labeled pop-punk. That’s kinda why we switched from writing chick songs. I don’t know...We’re rock n’ roll I guess.
C: Good music. You can pick out the differences between pop-punk and stuff that’s more musical and has harmonies. That’s why we wrote the new record. We were tired of that shit. We don’t want to be associated with a lot of it. But everybody who has come out for this tour has wanted to hear the old stuff.
T: That ,”Lillington High” crap.

Q: But that’s a great song, you don’t like it just because you got tired of playing it?
C: Probably, well, I don’t think I’ve ever been a big fan of it (laughs).

Q: Good stuff. Joe Queer produced your first 7”. How’d you hook up with him?
K: I called him, I don’t even remember what for. I got his phone number and ended up talking to him. I told him that I was in a band and I sent him a tape and he liked it. He was gonna start his own label and we were gonna be on that so we went out and recorded the 7” . It turned out that his label didn’t happen so he called Todd from Clearview and had him put it out.

Q: But you were on the, “More Bounce to the Ounce” comp?
T: Yeah, he was kinda helping us out for not doing the label.

Q: Kody, where do you get your singing style from? Your voice has a very Smoking Popes type of sound.
(Everybody laughs)
K: (laughs) I’ve never even heard the Smoking Popes.

Q: You get that a lot?
K: Yeah, everybody says that. In Maximum they say that all the time. Mass says it too.

Q: The Popes are pretty good, take that as a compliment. You project though, which is rare. Most bands fall back on the Joey Vindictive nasal whine.
K: I don’t know I just sing (laughs). I haven’t taken lessons. I was in choir in school, that’s about it.

Q: What’s the scene like in Wyoming?
C: There’s not a scene.
T: There was at one time but just like anything else it gets big and then dies off and right now it’s dying off.

Q: Are there any good bands out there you wanna name?
T: Homeless Wonders are really cool guys. They’re from Laramie(?), Wyoming.
K: That’s about it.

Q: Any memorable shows so far? Any one in particular stand out?
C: Everyone is memorable.
T: Everyone.
C: Tell him about Ironwood
T: You tell him.
C: You tell him, I’m eating!
T: We played this place, Ironwood, Michigan. It was weird. We played in the basement of this record store and the record store only had...
C: Two records in it (laughs). Ratlab records?
T: Labrat Records. It was weird. It was like the Twilight Zone when we rolled up. Nobody was around. It was like a second hand store that carried records ‘cause there were only two milk crates with records and CD’s. The hats they were selling were just punk patches ironed on to store bought hats and all their shirts were just from bands who played through there.
C: Nobody in the town would come outside. Well, a few people but there was nobody around. Supposedly it was a town of ten thousand people, but then we get there. Whooo. Nobody. Weird.
K: The promoters son kept dragging the Teen Idols equipment around and dropping it...bothering Heather (Idols bass player). We wouldn’t let him touch our stuff. His dad got him thinking that if he hauls a lot of stuff someone will offer to take him out on tour as a roadie.
T: (Laughs)What’re you talking about?
K: That’s what he was saying!
T: The Rat Cellar, that was the most memorable.

Q: So is this as far east as you guys have ever been before?
K: Yeah, the outskirts of Philadelphia is the closest we’ve been before this.
C: We’ve been to New Hampshire.
K: Yeah, we flew out to Boston and Joe drove us up to New Hampshire. That’s the farthest east we’ve been.

Q: Are you guys really planning to tour for the rest of the year?
K: Yeah, if we can hook it up. We wanna tour as much as possible.

Q: Beats working.
C: Oh Yeah...wayyyy better than working.
K: If we weren’t touring we’d probably not be able to do this because Tim lives in a different town and it’s hard to line up schedules to practice and everything.
C: Plus there’s no jobs out there so if you quit your job your screwed.
T: Kody worked in a grocery store, Corey worked in an oil fill and I worked in a coal mine and between our twelve hour days, schedules cause a lot of havoc.

Q: So none of you have actually worked at Dairy Queen?
K: Nope, all bullshit..it makes for a nice rhyme.
C: I wouldn’t want to.

Q: So what’s the song , “The Day I Went Away”, about?
K: Corey’s college days.
C: I went to college for a year and hated it. It was fucked up. I had a BAD year and it took me awhile to get over that. It sucked.

Q: What’s your favorite line from, Rock N’ Roll High School?
K: (In a Joey Ramone slur) “Rock n’ roll high school?”...(laughs). I don’t know.
T: I like it when Riff Randle’s in the shower.(laughs)

Q: Well that’s it, any last words?
T: Thanks for the interview.

Q: No problem, happy to help.
C: Check out the Teen Idols, they’re awesome.

Q: Plan to.
For some reason the band thought that was funny.
Write to the Lillingtons at:
3291 Cactus Drive, #56
Newcastle, WY
82701
Check out their website at: www.angelfire.com/wy/lillingtons