Punktuation-Hi, what's the name of your band and what member plays what?
The band is called Darryl's Grocery Bag: Craig Florence-drums, Jay Radke-guitar, Jeff Thompson-bass, and Todd Gesshe-guitar/vocals
P-Where do you reside?
DGB-Olds, Alberta
P-How long have you been together, and have any of you been in any other bands previously? Or presently?
DGB-We've been playing together for almost four years now as we are. We all did a bit of messing around in other bands, but nothing serious.
P-Darryl's Grocery Bag is a cool name for a band. Who came up with it, and what made you think of that as a band name?
DGB-One of our friends with tourettes shouted it out and we thought it was funny so we kept it. Actually we had the name before we even had the band.
P-How would you describe your bands style of music to someone who's never heard of your band?
DGB-Elements of punk, Elements of Rock, with the power of a full orchestra.
P-Since you've released your cd, "A Simple Idea", on January 13th at the Underground in Calgary, AB, what do you guys anticipate to happen? (ie. more shows, interviews, groupies...jokes)
DGB-We've got a show on the 20th at The Castle, the 25th at Sait, and we are back in California on February 9th. We also expect droves of screaming girls to faint in our presence from now on.
P-If you had the choice to play at ONE of these shows which one would it be and why? Hellfest, Warped Tour, or the CMJ Festival in NY.
DGB-We would play the warped tour cause it's got in our opinion the best bands playing on it, and we've gone to it two times now and it would be a cool experience to play it.
P-Where has your band traveled, and where do you hope to travel?
DGB-We recently finished a bit of a frustrating tour of the Western U.S., but we hope to tour every inch of god's green earth.
P-If you don't mind me asking, why was your tour of the Western US frustrating?
DGB-The US was frustrating only cause most of the shows we played were not as good as we would have liked, but we realize you can't expect much when it's the first tour in the states, and it was by our selves. It was a cool experience and we look forward to the next one.
P-When you play a show live, what thoughts go through your head? ie. I hope I get this drum fill, or I hope my flys not open!
DGB-We think the whole point of playing live, is to get into the music. Your set is like a little vacation where all you can think about is the music. Thoughts don't really have too much of a place in that. If you think then you almost inevitably fuck up.
P-Do you guys have any pre-show warm up that you do to hype yourselves up?
DGB-We like to sit in our van and yell at people through the tinted windows. Jeff, our bassplayer, often gets hammered. Jay our guitarist often goes to the bathroom. Craig, our drummer, changes into his magical sweat absorbing shorts so that all the sweat that comes out of his bum does not soil his jeans. Todd, the singer usually goes out in the van and hollers to himself like an idiot until his voice warms up.
P-What have the responses been like at your shows?
DGB-Responses have been good at our shows. Even when the shows aren't too high energy (shitty bars), people seem to get into the songs no matter where they are sitting. It's nice to know that people don't have to smash into each other like idiots, just to get into a band's music.
P-Having a good response is always nice, but what do you guys feel like if you played a show where there wasn't much enthusiasm? Do you just let it roll off your back, and look forward to the next show, or does it frustrate you?
DGB-Bad shows are all a part of being a band. I think we've learned to approach every show like it has definite suck-potential, and then you never get dissapointed. It is disheartening to play a shitty show, but at the same time, we all play music for our own personal reasons, and you can't always depend on crazy audiences to make it fun. It's fun when we're in the basement and nobody's around, so it should still be fun in a bar when nobody's around.
P-Of all the punk bands in Calgary, AB who would you most like to play a show with? Pick two bands and why.
DGB-There is no way that we could pick just two Calgary band's to play with. Chixdiggit has always been fun to play with. Same with Downway, Belvedere, Guilt Trip. Most of the bands in Calgary are pretty cool guys, so they're all pretty fun to play with.
P-Same question, but of all the bands out there, who would you like to play a show with, pick two bands and why.
DGB-Of all the bands out there eh? That's hard. I think it would probably be different for each guy so we'll do it this way. Jay-Ozzie Osbourne/Craig-Face To Face/Todd-Millencolin/Jeff-Fred Eaglesmith.
P-Do any of the songs on your cd stick out as having personal significance or a favorite?
DGB-We spent a lot of time writing our CD, so we have confidence in every song, and they all hold personal significance to us. We all have our favourites, but all in all we're extremely happy with the whole thing. (we'd better be, it only took us 3 years to release a full-length album)
P-How do you guys feel about Napster and the whole MP3 craze? Are you for or against it and why.
DGB-I guess the whole Napster thing is a bit confusing. It sucks to know that kids could be burning your album and never paying for it, but on the other hand, it is nice to know that anyone interested in your band can hear you for free. I guess it has to do with your fans. If someone is a fan of your music, they should understand that a band needs record sales to keep doing what they do. I don't know many true music fans who have entire collections of CDR's and if they do they are losers. If people like a band and respect what they do, they should go out and buy the album. That way you will also get sexy pictures of the band, and their lyrics. As far as MP3's go; we are from a small town and haven't had too much experience with such new fangled things.
P-What do you guys do in your spare time? ie. go to school, snow/skateboard, knit touques etc..
DGB-We used to do a lot of other things, but since we're working so hard on the band and have full time jobs, there isn't too much time for anything else. We listen to a lot of music, and we like sitting on our asses.
P-Speaking of skateboarding, have any of you played Tony Hawks game? What'd you think of it?
DGB-Speaking of sitting on our asses we have thoroughly enjoyed both Tony Hawk pro skater games. Tony and his friends have kept us company on many a lonely Saturday night. It kicks ass.
P-Where do you see yourselves a year down the road from now?
DGB-A year down the road I would like to see us touring extensively with a bigger band, and looking into things overseas. Viva Japan!
P-Well guys, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Do YOU have any last comments or advice that you'd like to give?
DGB-Stay in school kids. Eat your wheaties. And to quote the great Dr. Dre: "smoke weed everyday."