This was an interview with The Used Kids, done in Brooklyn just shortly before The Fest VII. The plan was to do it for Razorcake, and be published right around the time their first full length was released, but then a lot of time passed in between, and it became outdated (most notably, the fact that Mike is no longer in the band). So, this is, theoretically, an "unreleased" interview.
Nate: Guitar and vocals
Dan: Bass and vocals
Kate: Guitar and vocals
Mike: Drums
Interview by Joe Evans III
Joe: All four of you come from places known for having a lot of hometown pride (Nate and Dan from
Nate:
Joe: Kate, do you have
Kate: No, none.
Dan: That’s not true! Listen, I recently got into Billy Joel’s album Glass Houses, and I didn’t even like Billy Joel, ever. I thought it was crappy adult contemporary bullshit. And then Kate brings her Billy Joel tape on tour, puts it in, and she’s singing along, knows every word, and I’m just thinking “Man this power pop sounds like The Beat”, and it turns out that it’s Billy Joel. So I thank her for that, but that’s her
Kate: I guess I have a little bit.
Nate: I really like
Kate: And you’d be the emperor.
Nate: No, I would be President for life.
Dan: I would like to say at this point that Nate definitely was a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, who aligns themselves with crazy, right-wing militias, like people who bury AK47’s out behind the shed.
Nate: They wrap them in plastic, and then bury them.
Dan: So I’m the leftist of the band. These other two have no political views.
Joe:
Nate: So important that I find myself now following the Jets more than the Packers.
Dan: You’d read about Minor Threat being like “You know, we have a show in
Nate: That’s more of a “when” than an “if”.
Dan: Seventeen years straight without missing a start. That’s definitely an inspiration for us.
Joe: That’s kind of poetic. How many Favre jerseys do you own?
Dan: Only one, but I’d like to point out that I got it just after his first season with the Packers. You’d open the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and go to the sports section and there would be people complaining, how “we need to get rid of this guy, all he does is throw interceptions,” but look what happened; He’s like the best quarterback of all time.
Nate: I don’t like to buy official sports memorabilia. Not to be all stupid and CrimethInc. about this, but I hate supporting the behemoths of professional sports with my money. I don’t even really like buying tickets to baseball games, which I do about twenty times a year. I say support your local minor league team. I do own one Packers jersey though, but it’s not Brett Favre, it’s Mark Chmura. [To Dan] Do you remember that scandal?
Dan: [Nodding] Yes.
Nate: He was a tight end on the Packers in the glory days of the ‘90s, and he was caught at a party in a county near
Mike: “When is it NOT a good idea to be in a hot tub full of liquored up high school chicks?” [Laughter]
Nate: That’s true, he WAS in a hot tub full of liquored up high school chicks, and they caught him. I was working at Good Will at the time, and someone gave away their Mark Chmura jersey just after this happened. I was in charge of taking donations, so I took that one. I donated it to myself. So Mark Chmura, wherever you are, thanks!
Joe:
Dan: In all fairness, Nate hasn’t worn his antler helmet in probably a good two years.
Nate: Honestly, Nǿrb was a very big influence on me. He’s a funny guy, who knows a lot about music. There are similarities that are sort of incidental, because before I even knew who Nǿrb was I sounded like him, talked like him, gesticulated around like him and nerded out like him.
Kate: And you introduce all of our songs, just not as well as he does.
Dan: I saw Nate in a band before I was in The Shrubbers, he actually was doing this for a while [Pointing his finger and moving his hand up and down].
Nate: I couldn’t help it. This is why I don’t front bands without a guitar in my hand anymore.
Joe: So how long have the two of you (Nate and Dan) been in bands together now?
Nate: Since March of 1998.
Dan: That’s when I actually joined (The Shrubbers).
Joe: How would you describe living in Brooklyn, after having lived in
Dan: Obviously it’s a much bigger city, and more diverse, but I always find myself defending
Nate: I mainly think about the fact that the bars cost more, rent costs more, and I have to work more to have less free time. That’s annoying. However, there’s more stuff to do. That’s kind of cool. Also since we started using our band van to do “Man with a Van” (moving) jobs on Craigslist, that’s really helped out paying the bills.
Kate: Are you going to give out your phone number here too?
Nate: No, I don’t think I want anyone who’d be reading this sort of interview to hire me. I hate working for my friends because I have to give them discounts.
Dan: I DO like moving my friends. Call me and I’ll move your stuff!
Nate: Sometimes I find myself wishing I was still living in
Joe: Dan, how often do you travel?
Dan: It’s interesting, for a long time while I was in the Modern Machines I’d be away three or four months out of the year just from touring, so there was a lot of traveling that I’d wanted to do that I just wasn’t able to. Then I moved, and this band wasn’t really active for another year, so in that year I went to
Kate: And you just got back from
Dan: Yeah. I like to travel, so whenever I get back from a big trip I’m already thinking about where I want to go next. There’s no real regular time table though.
Joe: Mike, when were you quoted in (local newspaper) The Star Ledger?
Mike: I don’t appreciate you Megan Pants-ing me. But I take the train a lot, so one day I show up to the station and there’s a news crew there. Apparently some guy had tried to jump over and cross the tracks while a train was coming, and was hit. So The Star Ledger was just asking people questions and they asked me how often I took the train. I said two or three times a week, and they ask “Do you ever get nervous about getting hit by a train?” and my response was “No, because I’ve never been stupid enough to cross the tracks while a train was coming.” [Laughter]
Nate: The Straight Talk express.
Mike: And that got quoted in The Star Ledger, and my Mom cut it out and was so proud of me. It was very nice.
Joe: How do you pronounce this word? [Writes out “Chorizo”]
Dan: “Chowda!”
Mike: “Get it right!”
Nate: Delicious.
Dan: If you’re a gringo like Nate, you pronounce the “zeta” as if it’s z. But really it’s more of an “s” sound.
Nate: Chore-ee-zo.
Joe: And what is your reasoning for doing so?
Nate: I’ve always thought that it would be cool to live in a foreign country and have a classy accent, like some of these people I meet from
Kate: I hate when people try to pronounce things like that’s where they’re from.
Nate: If I hear someone say I’m going to “Chilé” or “Guat-a-mala” [Stressing accents], I’m going to punch them in the face.
Dan: But hold on a second. I was just over at the deli and got a sandwich. The owner spoke Spanish, and there was some confusion in my order until I spoke with the right accent. So it’s like if you don’t do the accent, it’s harder to understand.
Kate: I’m just talking about when my Mom says “Moot-za-rellla”, and I’m like “Shut up.” [Laughter]
Joe: Nate, what was wrong with the Descendents record Cool To Be You?
Nate: I had a problem with the fact that all “he” wanted to do was sit in his living room, and see what was on the ‘tube, while hanging out with a girl.
Mike: You mean the argument that he’s not going for ALL in that song?
Nate: That’s right.
Mike: Oh come on. It’s a pop song!
Dan: He’s “Going for ALL” in his romantic life. You have to compartmentalize how you’re trying to achieve ALL.
Mike: Let me tell you, he’s probably committing hygiene for this girl too. [Laughter] Fuckin’ give me a break.
Dan: But no decaf. Couldn’t go that far.
Nate: But I do love the Descendents. Just sayin’. Because just in case you were wondering, the Descendents are probably one of the top ten coolest bands ever.
Mike: One of the two coolest bands ever.
Nate: I don’t know, once I heard The Ergs! there was no looking back.
Mike: Oh shut up. I don’t know who that is. [Sarcastic tone]
Nate: You have to put “[Sarcastic tone]” after that part. Before what I just said.
Joe: Nate, what’s your time capsule theory about songs?
Nate: I think that every band worth anything has one song that should be put in a time capsule. It’s not necessarily your favorite, or their best, but one that really sums up what that band is all about. For example, my favorite Ramones song is not “Blitzkrieg Bop” or “I Wanna Be Sedated”. The Ramones are so good that they have about four or five time capsule songs. You hardly ever get a band with more than two or three. My favorite Ramones song is probably “Commando”, but I don’t think that’s a time capsule song. I think “Blitzkrieg” and “Sedated”, and maybe a couple others. That’s my theory, I hope it makes sense. If there’s nuclear war and almost all of humanity is wiped out and they try to piece together early twenty-first century culture, I think I want them to start with “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “I Wanna Be Sedated” instead of “Commando” and “Crummy Stuff”.
Joe: How is the city of
Mike: Because it feels like summer in October. And I wish this interview was never over.
Dan: It’s a place that’s very like-minded with us, the fact that they like to party, and cook food together and watch sports. To them the music scene is about having a good time, and to me it’s about music and good times. It’s not about advancing Nate’s CrimethInc. agenda. [Laughter]
Nate: There’s only so much you can put in this interview, so I’m almost afraid to even begin talking about
Dan: I didn’t think you’d ever say “I’m afraid to begin talking”.
Nate: It’s like the Patton Oswald open mic guy from
Dan: There’s been some great night-nude swimming there.
Nate: That’s right, I went swimming in a hot tub full of naked ladies there. That’s not true. It was a swimming pool. And it wasn’t filled, there were only a few. But Dan was there.
Dan: I was the only one out of all of us that was actually naked.
Nate: Dan’s like that – the frank and beans make many appearances.
Joe: And Nate, how many
Nate: I have a little element sign for Radon on my left calf, I’ve got a Tom Petty heart with a guitar through it on my left forearm. I have a street map tattooed on the palm of my right hand, and a palm tree tattooed on the street map. On my left foot.
Dan: [Laughing] “I have a butt tattoo on my butt, in the shape of a butt.”
Nate: One more thing about
Kate: I was able to sneak in the first year I went, because I was underage. So it all worked out.
Joe: So Mike and Kate were technically “in” the Modern Machines, before you became the Used Kids.
Mike: Not technically. We were actually in the Modern Machines Hovercraft.
[Nate and Dan making “whoosh” sounds]
Kate: It’s like how Jefferson Airplane turned into Jefferson Starship, the Modern Machines turned into the Modern Machines Hovercraft.
Joe: I don’t believe that one bit.
Dan: It’s true that we did play a few shows under the name “Modern Machines Hovercraft”, but we also had a ton of new songs by then, and I think we’d play two old Modern Machines songs per set.
Kate: I think there was one show where we did all Modern Machines songs, and one Used Kids “cover”.
Mike: I think the only Modern Machines shows we did were the Carlapalooza (MS Benefit) and the Fest.
Joe: There was Carlapalooza, the Fest and a show at the Passout Records store as a trio.
Mike: Yeah, I think it was when Kate joined that we changed to Hovercraft.
Dan: I think it’s fair to say that Mike actually did, but I would like to go back and erase that from the record, and just say that was the band Hovercraft.
Joe: I also distinctly remember that show at The Cake Shop with The Figgs, that Kate definitely played.
Mike: I guess that wasn’t the Used Kids yet.
Dan: We had definitely intended on changing the name, but it took us so long to think of one. We were trying for like three months; I still have the list, of about fifty names.
Kate: And every time, everyone on the internet hated it.
Nate: I believe that’s a symptom of everyone on the internet hating us. That’s not true.
Dan: [Pointing at Joe] Let the man do his work!
Joe: How are the Used Kids an American band?
Mike: We were born in the
Joe: Why else?
Dan: Well, as opposed to
Mike: I’d just like to say we’re all Mavericks.
Nate: Whatever kind of music we play, it’s deeply rooted in all that great American rock’n’roll. I mean it comes from this country, I’m not really influenced by much that didn’t come out of the
Dan: But a lot of that stuff came from the Caribbean via crossed with
Nate: But that’s not rock’n’roll, those are the precursors. I’ll say I love
Mike: We were eight years old, runnin’ with a diamond ring.
Nate: Yup. A big old Buick. That’s what we tour in. And most importantly, we’re an American band because we can’t be a Canadian band.
Joe: How come the Used Kids aren’t a pee-jug band, if the Modern Machines were?
Mike: First of all, Kate can’t do that.
Nate: That’s not true, she could buy a funnel.
Joe: I’d like to point out though, that I’ve seen Modern Machines tours that had ladies accompanying them, who had no problem using a pee jug.
Dan: I’d like to point out my favorite quote about the pee jug, when Nate Schmoe was our roadie, and he was talking to his wife on the telephone telling her about it, and she says “If you put your penis into that, you’re not putting it into me.” [Laughter] Because we had this jug for so long, and it had band stickers on it, and we were reusing the same jug for a long time. But you don’t put your penis INTO it, you just kind of hover above.
Mike: [Makes “whoosh” noise]
Nate: When used correctly, it’s an efficient, time saving device.
Mike: I’m actually pee shy though. But when you’re in the Modern Machines, you sleep late, you go everywhere late…
Nate: I don’t like getting anywhere on time.
Joe: Do you have a specific policy regarding getting anywhere on time?
Kate: Me and Mike are always up first.
Dan: Sometimes I’ll get up first. Between the three of us, one of us gets up first. But Nate is always the last to get up.
Nate: “Oooh, look at me, I wake up the earliest, I must be the coolest kid in school.”
Dan: Also on tour, Nate doesn’t know when to go to bed. So we’re all going to bed at a reasonable time, resting, and saving our energy, Nate is hanging out in an attic, in
Nate: I’ll say this: I stay up late, but you guys don’t know how much cool stuff happens after you go to sleep.
Dan: Nate does more before five AM than we do all day.
Kate: I like going to sleep early, because sleeping is the closest thing to death. [Laughter]
Dan: I like to be on time, but it gets tough.
Kate: I have a question, how is going on tour with us when neither Nate or I will wake up?
Joe: It’s worth it when it ends up with fireworks being shot at the house.
Mike: “Nate, you’re not even holding that the right way!” [Laughter]
Joe: To be fair, they did actually shoot out at the house.
Mike: And not into the van while we were in it.
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