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Off With Their Heads
Discography:
Hospitals CD 2006
From the Bottom CD 2008 |
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Honesty is what we expected going into the interview with Off With Their Heads' frontman Ryan Young and this is exactly what he fed us. We discuss a little Minneapolis, a little pop punk - which we discover is not the genre OWTH subscribe to - and a little negative criticism having to do with fat, bearded punk rock dudes.
The next time you need something to listen to that won't piss you off by its unnecessary pretension or its wandering overtones of ill-flattering melodies, take some pleasure in Off With Their Heads' latest, From the Bottom. This band, lead by the charismatic Ryan Young, is about as good as it gets in whatever sub-genre of punk rock they tend to play, and they seemingly don't care what you label them, just don't be a dick about it.
30: First off, why do you fucking hate your life? I got all night.
Ryan Young: I don't really hate my life most of the time. When I do, it's on a case by case situation. Most of the time it's because of health issues.
30: You have mentioned people in Minneapolis do not really dig and/or maybe relate to Off With Their Heads. What's the story here? Or are you just being a cynic?
Young: Most people here don't care about us. All the way from the press to the hippies that call themselves punks. I tried to do diverse shows with bands from every genre at my old house for years. Nobody cared, so I stopped caring about them. It doesn't bother me that Minneapolis doesn't like us. When we leave town, it's a whole different tune...
30: Everyone wants to get out of where they come from, so is Minneapolis a place you envision yourself staying for the long haul?
Young: As far as I'm concerned, I live here for three more weeks and then we hit the road. I'm moving on after all the touring stops. This place has a knack for trapping people.
30: People seem to be relating to your lyrics more and more and you are always lyrically forward and very to the point. What, other than maybe the obvious trials of everyday life, inspires you to write this way? And more to the point, what prompts you to write something like "I'll make your life as miserable as mine" on "Until the Day..."?
Young: You know how they say not to bottle shit up? Well, I've been doing that since I was six. Now I just want to kill everyone. I'm not kidding either.
30: The new record, From the Bottom, is on pace to be extremely successful -- at least within the punk rock community, people are really grasping onto this record -- where do you see OWTH fitting into the whole punk rock crowd?
Young: On this last tour, I read some review that said we are the anthem for a bunch of sweaty bearded drunks. I immediately shaved my face and went on a diet. I don't want to be pigeon holed into just that crowd. I think we can cross a bunch of different lines and appeal to tons more people than just fat sweaty bearded dickheads.
30: To me, From the Bottom, represents everything that is so brilliant about keeping pop punk alive and well in 2008. Do you think pop punk ever went away or was the punk community just waiting for a band like OWTH to finally get it right again?
Young: I don't really have anything to do with the pop punk community. I like some of the bands like For Science and The Steinways, but I don't really get into the cliques. I also don't consider FTB to be a pop punk record.
30: Explain the difficulties of juggling a full time job with a full time band. As OWTH seems to be touring more and more, especially with Europe coming up this fall, are you finding it harder to maintain your day job as a house painter? How do you balance it all? And, as you get older, is it more difficult to find full time members for the band?
Young: I work for myself and the people I do things for are generally pretty easy going about my schedule. It is hard though. As I get older, it just seems harder and harder to find reasons to do all this for a bunch of people that would turn on you in a heartbeat if you say one wrong thing. I also haven't been able to have a girlfriend for years because of this, and that's starting to bug me a little.
30: I cannot help but hear a little Dillinger Four and Screeching Weasel in your music... How much of an influence do these two bands actually have on the overall sound? What other influences do you have?
Young: There is some D4, but I wouldn't say it's over bearing or ripping them off. They are my friends and the first local band that I got into. I've never really listened to Screeching Weasel. I like some of it, but I still have yet to find out what the big fucking deal is.
30: Rumor has it you guys are writing/recording a new record soon. Details?
Young: We have a few songs that we are fucking with. It's still way off.
30: Tell us your favorite local beer and favorite beer on the road.
Young: Summit EPA is the greatest thing I have ever put in my mouth. On tour, I would have to say any Rogue product.
30: What were you listening to at age 17?
Young: Your band. Ha. Same shit I do now, as weird as is it. Snapcase, Sick of it All, D4, Blood For Blood, The Nobodys. Shit like that.
Hospitals Review
From the Bottom Review
interview on 2008/09/07 by Kyle Undem |
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