11 DE ENERO - TEN MINUTES
Since I've been hanging around the
hardcore scene I've seen almost all of
10 Minute Warning's shows, dating
back to when they were known as the
Fartz. With their talent and unique
sound, 10 Minute Warning could go a
long way. This interview is with guitarist
Duff McKagan and drummer Gregg
Gillmore; the other band members are
guitarist Paul Soldier, vocalist Steve
Verwolf and bassist David Garriques.
Backfire: How did you guys get started
playing music, you and Gregg ?
Gregg: Ah, (belch) I always liked
music for as long as I can remember
and my dad played drums. I was just
kind of interested in drums as an
instrument and in 5th grade at school I
played drums, actually I played
trumpet. Then I played drums in 6th
grade.
Were you influenced by any other
kinds of bands?
Gregg: The Mamas and the Papas and
the 5th Dimension were the first bands I
listened to, and other records.
Duff: I played lead broom for Kiss. I
have a lot of influences from mid-70s. I
think both me and Paul are influenced
by the New York Dolls, guitar-wise. And
anything in between, probably anything
else I've heard, has influenced me in
some way.
O.K. great. What other bands have
you both played in?
Duff: I also played in the Living with
Gregg and that just kind of ended off on
a sour note. But it was real groovin' for
awhile. And I also made a single with
the Veins and made a single and
played with the Fastbacks and played
in a lot of other wank bands. I went to
San Francisco with the Silly Killers. I
played with the Silly Killers for awhile.
Did a mass West Coast tour with Silly
Killers and made 14 dollars playing
three gigs. That's not just me; the
whole band only made $14.
How did 10 Minute Warning get started?
Duff: Ah well, like I said, I was playing in the Fartz and
because of differences, Steve
(former bass player) left. So we got David to play bass. Me and
Paul were playing
guitars one day and we figured 'Why don't we try both playing
guitars and get a
drummer' and instantly I knew which drummer to get, which was
Gregg.
Why did Blaine, your old singer Ieave the band?
Gregg: He wanted to party.
Duff: Just musical differences; we were getting a lot more
melodic. Not as hardcore.
then?
Gregg: Yeah, Fartz hardcore.
Duff: We're still a hardcore group; hardcore to me means just
hardcore. Getting
intense on that music, slammin' on them guitars and believing in
what you're doing.
That's hardcore to me. Hardcore is not raw smash, stage dive and
shit. Hardcore is
more a way of thinking and playing.
How about Blaine?
Duff: Oh, about Blaine (laughs), so we tried to get him to sing
and he really tried ya
know, but it just wasn't working out and so it just came to a
point where. . .
Gregg: He wanted to leave anyway.
So there were no hard feelings between Blaine and you guys?
Gregg: No,we still see the weasel dick around (laughs). Duff:
Yeah, I still throw him
down on the ground sometimes.
O.K.. how's your new singer, Steve, working out? What kind of
stage presence
does he have?
Gregg: Animal! Yeah, I saw him pouring silver paint on himself at
the last show.
Duff: Yeah, he's one intense guy; he leads his own life. He doesn't
really have an
influence that controls the way he acts, he's just a nut. I've
heard people say he's
trying to act like Iggy or Jim Morrison. It's just not the case;
that's Steve Verwolf at his
primal best.
O. K., what kind of spiritual message are you trying to relate
with your music?
Haha. . .
Gregg: Love in the light. No, we're not trying to blaze any
particular path or any
political 'do this' or 'do that,' just, uh, having fun and not
being. . .
Duff: Begin caught up in certain cliques or peer pressure.
Basically what the whole
quote-unquote 'punk scene' was about was getting away from the
cliques and the peer
pressure. Now it's just regressed back into. . .
Gregg: It's turned into what it was trying to get away from.
Duff: Yeah, it's just kind of gone around in a big circle, to
right back to what I was
trying to get out of. So we're just trying to say, hey you guys,
let's unite; let's not worry
about what you're wearing or what the guy behind you thinks about
you. Just have a
good time, have fun, don't go around hittin' people and shit.'
Gregg: I think, in a way without having to say much, we're an
example of that
happening because we're not a punk rock band and there's a lot of
punk rockers who
get into what we're doing. And we don't always necessarily look
like punk rockers
when we're on stage. Yeah, we're just an example of that working.
Duff: And it's not like we're trying to get across a big
spiritual message. Our first point
is creating good music, something people can really tune in to.
Tunes for groovin', not
tunes for anti-this or anti-that.
Gregg: Not tunes for being pissed off or a flag to wave around.
So you're not an
anarchy band? Duff: Definitely not an anarchy band! Some people
might say, 'Oh well,
these guys serve no purpose,' 'cause we've had interviews where
the first question
was, 'What are your political views?' We're a rock 'n' roll band,
not Governor Spellman.
And people might look down on us 'cause we don't have political
views, but then you
gotta look at it, why should we? You guys are getting dragged
down by peer pressure
because somebody says you gotta have political views. That's the
cool thing right now,
to be a political band. Well fuck that shit; we're not political.
What local bands do you like to see?
Gregg: 10 Minute Warning.
Duff: I Iike watching bands. I saw Poison Idea, the Rejectors and
the Accused the
other night and I enjoyed the show just because it was fun and it
was loud and fast
and you could get down. I also like the Fastbacks and the Silly
Killers are fun to
watch.
Do you guys like heavy metal?
Gregg: Big balls and things. . .
Duff: I'm not a metal fanatic or anything, but I like a lot of
the sounds coming from
some of the metal bands around. I like Motley Crue, old Kiss,
Motorhead, Tank. . . but
a lot of stuff that's supposed to be heavy metal isn't heavy
metal at all, like Def
Leppard. They're supposed to be the kings of heavy metal. But
they're not really even
heavy metal, they're more like a songwriting troupe. Not that
they're not a good band, I
like them, but . .
Gregg: I don't even like 'em.
Are you going to be recording any records in the near future?
Duff: That's what our goal is right now and that's what our goal
has been for a long
time. We've been trying to get something out, it's like a
struggle.
Gregg: That's a lie.
Duff: We are too, man!
Gregg: We talk about it a lot.
Duff: But we're trying hard.
Gregg: Yeah, we are. That's our main goal. That's what the band's
all about, that's
what we exist for, not just doing a show once a month in Seattle
and going to work five
days a week.
Do you think Jello Biafra will be helping you record your record
now that
Faulty Products has gone out of business?
Duff: He claimed he would when we played those dates with him.
Gregg: But that's when Faulty was still happening. They're (the D.K.s)
at a point now
where they could probably just start their own label and not even
bother messing with
us.
Duff: We just wanted to clear up one point.
Gregg: It's a fact that we come across a lot more professional
than a lot of the other
local bands and a Iot of people interpret that wrong.
Duff: They think we're stuck up or trying to sell out. I don't
know where they're getting
this: do we have a record contract? We just want to be good, we
don't want to be just
five wankers up on stage.
Gregg: To practice once a week and jerk off is not where it's at.
Duff: We are serious musicians, but I want to make the point that
we're not stuck up,
no matter what people think, not that we care what people think.
I've never understood this shit about selling out anyway, because
I figure if
you're a musician and you Iike playing music that you should take
it as far as
you can, and if you end up making lots of money and becoming a
star then big
deal, at least you like what you do.
Duff: Yeah, it is what we like to to. We're not trying to make
all of our songs into big
commercial successes or anything. We're just playing what we like
to pl