Randomness is a way of life for the foursome that is Home Grown. Four random guys - Johnee, Bob, Ian and Adam - getting together for no other reason except a good time, the chance to pick up women and the opportunity to sing about random things. Deafness, lame girls, mean girls, impotency, metal heads -- see, randomness. It surrounds the band. It even kicks in as some kind of unconscious defense mechanism when you try to figure out the SoCal Fun Four.
Hiding out at the University of Redlands' May Fest '98 -- a pop ska punk wet dream with Blink-182, The Aquabats, Home Grown, Action League and Jeffires Fan Club in one night -- I'm left with the task of getting to the bottom of Home Grown. Outside of the makeshift dressing room, a gaggle of ska girls waits on the sidelines for a glimpse of, a smile at, a chat with, anything from the boys while I interrogate them about their newest release and major-label debut Act Your Age. Truth be told, we get to the bottom of nothing.
What's it like to be in Home Grown?
"Being in Home Grown, it's like walking around in the trees..." says Johnee.
The best compliment for the new album?
Johnee: "The best compliment is 'you're getting better.'"
Adam: "You look good tonight and your album's okay."
Put the four of them in a room together, and the anecdotes, insults and jabs fly quicker than Rosie O'Donnell at an all-you-can-eat buffet. From here on out, I'm guessing, but I'll try to break it down anyway.
Johnee Trash: The short and squirrely sarcastic one with a penchant for shoving guitars between band members' legs. He farts a lot and writes the songs you love to hate. Or hate to love.
Adam Lohrbach: The sensitive bass player. Gay men love him and so do millions of women. He's Mr. Sad Love Song. At the urging of Johnee, has been known to go nuts on stage.
Ian Cone: The nice guy. Another lady killer who's actually been followed home by a female fan. He ditched her in a high-speed chase. (Later Ian scores nice guy points when he offers to meet the girl. I happen to know said stalker).
Bob Herco: The drummer. He laughs a lot - probably because he has to look at the other guys' butts all night on stage. That's enough to drive anyone crazy.
Feel like you know them now? Neither do I. Anyway...
Peeking into the scene in 1995 with a track on Liberation Record's Punk Sucks compilation, Home Grown became the first official signees to the label when they released That's Business soon after that. They even had an E.P. come out on the Swedish hardcore label, Burning Heart Records, before they even left the states. Johnee: "It's sweet to be in Sweden."
Full of sardonic wit and sappy poor-boy love songs, the guys walked the fine line between benig sweet boys from next door to sarcastic assholes.
But assholes in the way that Howard Stern is an asshole. You gotta love him. And sweet boys in the way that frightens your mother. You might not always agree with Home Grown, but you secretly find yourself laughing at even their rudest and lamest comments. And more importantly, you want more.
The guys quickly rose to the point where girls stalk them, freaks send them dead birds in the mail, and even bigger freaks send them 20-page letters asking them to video tape themselves harassing employees at Taco Bell. It's all a part of being Home Grown.
Maybe it's the pop that's rooted in the band's punk. Or it's the uncanny ability for the four to harmonize their chops. I couldn't really tell ya. But they can make a song about deafness pretty hummable. And that's not an easy thing to do.
"We're pretty harmony-heavy guys," says Bob.
"Yeah, but we're disharmony heavy," adds Adam.
Tom fron Blink-182's random Home Grown story (and the key to the vocal harmonies): "I called up Bob one time just to see what's going on and I'm like 'Hey, what are you guys doing?' And I hear all this shit going on in the background. And they were practicing back-up vocals. Just back-up vocals. It's like Celine Dion does that."
In the wake of Blink-182's success, the likes of Unwritten Law running around, not to mention the hundreds of other pop punk ska bands in SoCal nipping at their heels, it's hard not to get lost in the shuffle. On Act Your Age, Home Grown grow up - however slightly - from the brash, potty-mouthed snottiness on their earlier CDs and again keep themselves one big daddy longlegs step in front of the pack. There's a sense of maturity in "Last Night Regrets" and "Suffer", even a sense of harking back to days gone by on "Kids." Don't sweat it, though, there's a nice flip of the bird with "Grow Up," "Piss Off" and "Wow, She Dumb." And of course, the poor me girl songs of "She's Anti" and guys' most memorable, almost love song, "Surfer Girl" (also on their debut) where the guy gets dissed in the end for a better looking swell.
"We're trying to broaden our horizons as much as possible. Because we don't want to be Home Grown the punk-ska band, we want to be a band that just plays all types of music," says Adam. But that's Adam talking. Remember, he's the sensitive one. Get that nut Johnee going and there's no stopping him.
On stage, he'll drop a quick "kill the white man" before the band busts into a song as he runs around grabbing random crotches. He's the light-hearted goof that serves as the catalyst for the guys' energetic and nutty live shows. (Currently, the band is spicing up their repertoire with a rendition of Aqua's "Barbie Girl.")
"Yep, I'm the lightest in the band." That's Johnee.
Random Johnee thinking he's farting but really shits his pants story: "I lost all control of my body. Somehow I get out of the van and I'm sitting there and I start to unload our equiptment. And I felt this stuff coming out of my left. I thought I farted. This stuff just kept running down my leg. So I'm like, 'oh my god!' and I start running toward the bathroom. But as I'm running it's falling out of my pant leg. So there's this trail of shit leading to the bathrom."
If it's not poo or farts, it's women. And when Home Grown are around, there's plenty. As the barrette-wearing army outside awaits, I find out how to score chicks when you're in a band.
"You purposely put yourself in a position where a girl breaks your heart and then it gives you inspiration," says Johnee.
"That's the trick, you wirte about girls and your broken heart," adds Adam, "and all the girls go 'ohhh, he's writing about me.'"
"I've been todl that we were a chick band," continues Adam. But comparisons don't mean much to the band lately. (Hey, don't even mention a Blink-182 comparison.) "One times omeone told me taht we sound like N.W.A."
Then Johnee tries to get serious. "I'm not going to go for some girl who's like 'ohhh it's Johnee!'"
"Oh really?" Checks Adam. "Let's talk about the last show."
Random girl comment from the crowd:
Me: Who's your favorite member of Home Grown?
Her: Ian. Oh, Ian. Anytime, anywhere.
But I'm off. Someone has offered to sing "Wind Beneath My Wings" naked for beer or something and, damn, even I'd leave for that. But first parting comments.
"Just make us look good, okay," says Bob.
"My main goal of the band, no matter how bad we sound, we just want to look good," adds Johnee.
"If we didn't say anything good enough, just make it up," says Adam.
Luckily I didn't have to. That much.