Joyce Manor Interview in the District Weekly
I just did an interview with Joyce Manor for the District Weekly, it got printed today. So pumped. EXCEPT. One little thing. The article pertains to the show we're playing this Friday, and the editor put a line in the article mentioning that my band is playing. I didn't think that was necessary. She said without me admitting my band was playing it might seem like self promotion, I feel like it didn't before but it does now. As though anyone knows who I am. "Bill Cutts wrote this article and the Starburst Crystal Ensemble are playing that show? That FUCKER!" But it's not a big deal.
Well here it is!
Oh also, I didn't come up with the title. I thought it would be NOT BUTT ROCK.
Also also, if you've seen Joyce Manor then you know that this picture is missing two people and has someone who is yet to play a show with them. I'm just as surprised as you are that people would flake on this photoshoot.
CANNOT PREDICT NOW: Joyce Manor Cling to the Shadows (Again, not my words)
Joyce Manor is a high-energy pop punk band from Long Beach that has
a 7-inch planned for this summer. (Full disclosure: My band, Starburst
Crystal Ensemble, will join them and Colored Girls for a show at Zephyr
Café Friday.) I sat down with lead singer and guitarist Barry Johnson
over some Sunday morning beers to talk about this summer’s release and
other plans for the band.
The District Weekly: IS THERE A NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE FOR YOU LIVING IN LONG BEACH VERSUS TORRANCE?
Barry Johnson: Yeah. We all grew up in Torrance and I liked it
there, but once you hit 20 there’s nothing to do but take acid and get
drunk in a car. In Long Beach there’s more going on. You can go to the
bars if you want, or you can go to the punk houses like the Hickey
Underworld.
HOW DID THIS BAND GO FROM ACOUSTIC DUO TO FULL-ON PUNK BAND?
Well, it started when me and Chase [Knobe, guitar and backing vocals]
first hung out and went to Disneyland. We got super drunk and high, and
just kept going on about Blink-182’s Enema of the State
and decided to start a band. But this was before Blink-182 got back
together, so it was nostalgic and cute-then they got back together, and
it reminded us how shitty the band got. We started as an acoustic band
mostly to play with Andrew Jackson Jihad when they came through, and we
didn’t really have time to get a full band going. We knew it was going
to be way more fun if we played as a full band like we are now.
DO YOU WANT TO KEEP JOYCE MANOR IN THE DIY CIRCUIT, OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE IT A MORE PROFESSIONAL BAND?
I’m so hard to deal with when it comes to organizing, . . . anything,
really! Plus there’s a lot of bullshit when you’re trying to make a
career out of a band, and we have so much fun playing with our friends
that it seems pointless to try to establish Joyce Manor in this
professional sense. We’ve got a 7-inch coming out this summer that a
couple friends are putting out, and we got an e-mail from someone
offering to get us into the studio and have the Bouncing Souls
distribute our music. It was confusing because the Bouncing Souls are a
band-not a record label or a distributor-and we’d rather do this with
friends because it’s cool seeing them get excited about putting out
music.
JOYCE MANOR PLAYS SONGS YOU WROTE IN PREVIOUS BANDS. HOW DO YOUR PAST BAND MATES FEEL ABOUT THAT?
They’re cool about it. They see people getting excited about this band
playing songs they used to play, and they kind of feel ripped off, and
I understand. I think those songs are good and I felt bad those guys
never got the attention they deserved.
I REMEMBER YOU ONCE TOLD ME FEVER KIDS WERE REALLY BAD LIVE.
Yeah, I was in a really weird place, and I think that’s why I was able
to start over with Joyce Manor and make these songs work. I was really
obsessed with Drew Pearson from Le Joshua and Oh Home. I guess I tried
to adopt his shitty attitude, but I did it way worse and less funny. It
was more annoying coming from me. Our shows weren’t as fun; I had a
really bad attitude and it showed.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC TO YOUR GRANDPARENTS?
That’s fucking lame, man, they don’t know what’s up. They’re from
England. Describing your own band sucks. I don’t know, skate pop?
SOMEONE TOLD ME YOU SOUND LIKE A BAND FROM TORRANCE.
Think about that: Pop punk by kids from Torrance who like Blink-182. That sounds lame as fuck.
BASED ON THAT DESCRIPTION I WOULD NOT CHECK YOU OUT.
I don’t know, not butt rock. Joyce Manor: Not butt rock.
JOYCE MANOR WITH COLORED GIRLS AND STARBURST CRYSTAL ENSEMBLE ZEPHYR VEGETARIAN CAFÉ | 340 E FOURTH ST | LONG BEACH 90802 | FRI 8PM | FREE | ALL AGES | MYSPACE.COM/ZEPHYRCAFE
Well here it is!
Oh also, I didn't come up with the title. I thought it would be NOT BUTT ROCK.
Also also, if you've seen Joyce Manor then you know that this picture is missing two people and has someone who is yet to play a show with them. I'm just as surprised as you are that people would flake on this photoshoot.
CANNOT PREDICT NOW: Joyce Manor Cling to the Shadows (Again, not my words)
Joyce Manor is a high-energy pop punk band from Long Beach that has
a 7-inch planned for this summer. (Full disclosure: My band, Starburst
Crystal Ensemble, will join them and Colored Girls for a show at Zephyr
Café Friday.) I sat down with lead singer and guitarist Barry Johnson
over some Sunday morning beers to talk about this summer’s release and
other plans for the band.
The District Weekly: IS THERE A NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE FOR YOU LIVING IN LONG BEACH VERSUS TORRANCE?
Barry Johnson: Yeah. We all grew up in Torrance and I liked it
there, but once you hit 20 there’s nothing to do but take acid and get
drunk in a car. In Long Beach there’s more going on. You can go to the
bars if you want, or you can go to the punk houses like the Hickey
Underworld.
HOW DID THIS BAND GO FROM ACOUSTIC DUO TO FULL-ON PUNK BAND?
Well, it started when me and Chase [Knobe, guitar and backing vocals]
first hung out and went to Disneyland. We got super drunk and high, and
just kept going on about Blink-182’s Enema of the State
and decided to start a band. But this was before Blink-182 got back
together, so it was nostalgic and cute-then they got back together, and
it reminded us how shitty the band got. We started as an acoustic band
mostly to play with Andrew Jackson Jihad when they came through, and we
didn’t really have time to get a full band going. We knew it was going
to be way more fun if we played as a full band like we are now.
DO YOU WANT TO KEEP JOYCE MANOR IN THE DIY CIRCUIT, OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE IT A MORE PROFESSIONAL BAND?
I’m so hard to deal with when it comes to organizing, . . . anything,
really! Plus there’s a lot of bullshit when you’re trying to make a
career out of a band, and we have so much fun playing with our friends
that it seems pointless to try to establish Joyce Manor in this
professional sense. We’ve got a 7-inch coming out this summer that a
couple friends are putting out, and we got an e-mail from someone
offering to get us into the studio and have the Bouncing Souls
distribute our music. It was confusing because the Bouncing Souls are a
band-not a record label or a distributor-and we’d rather do this with
friends because it’s cool seeing them get excited about putting out
music.
JOYCE MANOR PLAYS SONGS YOU WROTE IN PREVIOUS BANDS. HOW DO YOUR PAST BAND MATES FEEL ABOUT THAT?
They’re cool about it. They see people getting excited about this band
playing songs they used to play, and they kind of feel ripped off, and
I understand. I think those songs are good and I felt bad those guys
never got the attention they deserved.
I REMEMBER YOU ONCE TOLD ME FEVER KIDS WERE REALLY BAD LIVE.
Yeah, I was in a really weird place, and I think that’s why I was able
to start over with Joyce Manor and make these songs work. I was really
obsessed with Drew Pearson from Le Joshua and Oh Home. I guess I tried
to adopt his shitty attitude, but I did it way worse and less funny. It
was more annoying coming from me. Our shows weren’t as fun; I had a
really bad attitude and it showed.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC TO YOUR GRANDPARENTS?
That’s fucking lame, man, they don’t know what’s up. They’re from
England. Describing your own band sucks. I don’t know, skate pop?
SOMEONE TOLD ME YOU SOUND LIKE A BAND FROM TORRANCE.
Think about that: Pop punk by kids from Torrance who like Blink-182. That sounds lame as fuck.
BASED ON THAT DESCRIPTION I WOULD NOT CHECK YOU OUT.
I don’t know, not butt rock. Joyce Manor: Not butt rock.
JOYCE MANOR WITH COLORED GIRLS AND STARBURST CRYSTAL ENSEMBLE ZEPHYR VEGETARIAN CAFÉ | 340 E FOURTH ST | LONG BEACH 90802 | FRI 8PM | FREE | ALL AGES | MYSPACE.COM/ZEPHYRCAFE