PAUL: “Hi. For those yet to hear of Garrison, sum up the band in one sentence please.”
JOSEPH: “Four gentlemen from Boston/New York who batter their instruments and bodies until the sweet sounds of agressive rock music pour forth onto the masses.”
PAUL: “You are a band that definitely has a reputation for putting on an amazing live show, and I know for a fact that people who caught you on your UK tour had many good things to say. What do you think is it about your live show that has won you such a cult following?”
JOSEPH: “I’m not really sure, we put all of ourselves into the show, we ususally flail about and jump around, but I think most importantly we have loads of fun on stage and want nothing more then to have the crowd experience a bit of the fun we are having, so they are included, we love people being loud, heckling us, jumping onstage, throwing shit at us, anything can and will happen and that’s what we strive for.”
PAUL: “Is Garrison a band that prefers to play live or get across their ‘art’ in the studio?”
JOSEPH: “[They are] two entirely different animals, being in the studio is fantastic, and also a very, very trying process of arguements and battles (I always win by the way). But playing live is the real heart of it, performing and feeling the response from the folks that are there, it’s exhilerating and reminds you of why you make music, which is to communicate and seeing that communication actually happen live, is pretty humbling.”
PAUL: “You’ve been described in various reviews and interviews as ‘indie rock’, ‘sentimental pop’, ‘post-hardcore’ and ’emo’. Bands don’t really seem to want to be associated with ’emo’ at the minute, so how do you feel as a band to be tagged into this genre?”
JOSEPH: “Oh, it’s fine, why fight it? Sure, the term means little to nothing and is the new “alternative” but I just make the music i want, I’ll leave it to other people to classify it.”
PAUL: “If someone reads this who hasn’t yet bought a Garrison record, which one would you recommend as a good starting point?”
JOSEPH: “‘The Model’ on Simba Records for a couple of reasons, one it is our best work to date and we are all really proud of that record, and will be touring on it for quite awhile, and also if they are in the UK, it was very intentionally manufactured there so it would be affordable in the shops. You’ve no idea how frustrating it is to be on tour and see our cds for £17 in a store, that is just so much money and I want people to be able to get and enjoy our music.”
PAUL: “You come from Boston in America and to many music fans in the UK at the minute it’s the New York/New Jersey ‘scene’ that is getting a lot of press. What is the scene like in Boston and what bands would you recommend that we check out?”
JOSEPH: “Well, I recently moved to Brooklyn, but Boston has been amazing. I bet you know more Boston bands than you think: Converge, Cave-in, Piebald, Bane, Karate, the Explosion. Boston was always excellent for us, it is small enough so that all the bands can be around and support each other and big enough so that there are loads of influences and a healthy traffic of cocaine which we all indulge in.”
PAUL: “How do you think the English music scene compares to the US one, based on what you have seen while here on tour?”
JOSEPH: “I think it’s better in a lot of ways, I love the States, but there is a huge copy-cat mentality going on, I was always interested in bands trying to do something new or put their own spin on things but there are so many bands here that sound like Saves The Day or At The Drive In, etc etc etc. It’s nice for us to be able to tour with Kids Near Water, who are obviously influenced by Fugazi but also by a lot of super underground bands like assfactor 4 and hose got cable. And on the same bill play with Jerry-Built, who are more into pop but in a really intelligent way, drawing from the Replacements as much as from the Get Up Kids.”
PAUL: “What has it been like to work with Revelation Records, a label that has put out some amazing records by a variety of fantastic artists?”
JOSEPH: “Our working relationship with them has deteriorated quite a bit over the last few years, i think they are a fine label for certain things, but i don’t think that we work very well with them as we may have at one point. I won’t go into specifics as this isn’t really the forum for that, but suffice to say we are pleased that we only have one more EP left to do with them.”
PAUL: “‘The Model’ is set to ccome out officially in January i think and it’s to be released on Iodine Recordings. What can fans expect from the record and why release it on Iodine and not Revelation?”
JOSEPH: “It is on Iodine in the States and Simba Records in the UK, because we wanted it to remain affordable on both sides of the Atlantic and we trust the people involved with those labels a great deal. The reason it is on those labels rather then Rev. even though we are still under contract with Rev. is that we have been very persistant on working with those labels and after several hours of discussion, Jordan Cooper (owner of Rev.)and I came to an agreement which allowed us to do ‘The Model’ elsewhere.”
PAUL: “You relased the split EP with Hundred Reasons on the Simba label last year, how did this come about and what do you think of Hundred Reasons?”
JOSEPH: “I absolutely love that band, as people and as songwriters. The split came about when we toured with them two years ago and we all just got on very well and thought our bands were similar enough that a split would really make sense, I suggested Simba, as i’ve known Vique (ms. simba records) for years and wanted to work with her as well. They were down and we got it done seriously a week before they signed their Sony contracts, which would have not allowed us to do it. So right under the wire, it came out.”
PAUL: “I’ve heard that you have another EP planned to be released shortly on Revelation that will feature more electronic sounds. Is this true? If so, can you divulge any information at all on the release?”
JOSEPH: “Yes we do, we are actually going into the studio in two weeks to record it, it will have some full on rock songs but also a few dabbles in electronic jazz, via our good friend, Mike F. using samples from some of the finest Rev. records ever made, i kid you not. It’ll be fun.”
PAUL: “Obviously you’ve just returned from a UK tour with Kids Near Water and Jerry-Built, what do you think of both bands, both musically and as people?”
JOSEPH: “Some of the best people I’ve ever met, hands down. As well as some exceptionally talanted musicians. That tour was probably the best one Garrison has done thus far and it was because we are simply of a similar mind set as both of those bands.”
PAUL: “How was the tour for Garrison and how do the English fans compare to those from the US?”
JOSEPH: “The English are better listeners and drink more, the US kids do more cocaine.”
PAUL: “You’ve recorded with J.Robbins who is a legend in his own right. What was he like to work with and on a similar theme if you could work with anyone in the future who would it be and why?”
JOSEPH: “J. is an amazing man, and talanted as all hell, it was an honor to work with one of my heroes especially at Inner Ear studios where some of my favorite records were made, and i got to record my guitar parts through Ian Fugazi‘s speaker cab and that was pretty cool. There are so many people who I admire and would love to work with either with Garrison or on a personal basis. I would love to watch Steve Albini work, Dave Sardy, Gil Norton, Alan Moulder, Trent Reznor, the list goes on and on.”
PAUL: “As a final question I’ve been asked by Sami from Jerry-Built to ask you about your view on Motley Crue’s cover of the Beatles song Revolver… any story to tell about the song?”
JOSEPH: “That bastard! Ok, look, I had to live through that shit in the 80’s – it sucked then and it sucks now, why people are into listening to bad hair metal for it’s ironic quality is beyond me but whatever floats your boat i suppose, there, you happy, Sami!?! I’ll get you!”
PAUL: “Thanks a lot for spending the time answering my questions. If there is anything you’d like to add about the state of the world, any thanks or even just write down the contents of your shopping list, go right ahead.”
JOSEPH: “Our president is a joke, a very, very dangerous joke of a human being and no one I know supports him or his administration. So he can fuck off as far as I am concerned. And our website is www.garrison-kills.com, also check out www.iodinerecordings.com Thanks for the interview, be well, and hopefully i’ll see you when we come back to the UK, which will be very soon.”