Did you guys play in bands together growing up? Or was Head the first?
Brett: No.
Andy: Head’s the first and only time.
Did you expect, I guess, that you would outlast so many other bands?
Brett: We’ve been friends for so long that I thought we’d stick around.
Andy: And our aspirations were never more than being an opening band once
in a while, and playing with some of the bands that we revered, so all of this is
bonus. Being here and talking to you, it’s a bonus.
Rick: It’s like I said before-Brett: It’s an extension of our friendship.
Rick: Yeah, it’s exactly. It’s something to do on a Saturday, to go practice. Some
other reason to get together, I suppose, so it’s that too. And it’s also maybe sort
of a gang mentality.
Andy: Yeah.
Brett: And we’re all pretty stubborn in our own way, so now we’re gonna keep it
going, just because.
Rick: I’m not too surprised. I actually thought that we would keep going. But at
the same time, we don’t really do much, do we?
Andy: Yeah, and again, we dont have high goals, so we weren’t gonna be
disappointed if something didn’t happen.
Rick: People are always saying “Oh, I thought you guys broke up!” So it’s always
a great reunion concert. Like last night, a guy came up and said, “So you guys
broke up 20 years ago?” No! But go ahead if that helps, you’ll probably be more
excited to see us.
I’ve gotta cut this off pretty soon. Is there anything else you want to say?
Andy: Well, I’ll say this to everyone, and I mean it: thanks for remembering! It’s
a great time coming to Memphis. Every time we come, it’s a blast.
Rick: I wanna talk about how Obama is screwing up America with his health
care plan.
Brett: He’s not serious, for the record.
I don’t know, you guys seem like a pretty serious band, so…
Andy: Underneath it all.
MIRANDA FISHER
The Brats - 7” (HoZac Archival)
Reissue of a glammy post-New York Dolls project. (Well, technically. I mean,
when I think of the Dolls, Rick Rivets isn’t exactly the first name that springs
to mind.) Like many, I heard the Infections’ cover of “Be a Man” first, and as
good as that version was, the original blows it away. One of those songs that
really straddles the line between glam rock and hard rock/pre-punk in the
best way. B side, “Qualude (sic) Queen,” is decent but can’t hold a candle to
“Be a Man.”
Bret Smiley - Va Va Va Voom 7” (Sing Sing)
I’m really glad Sing Sing reissued ѡ