TMLE interview

Here’s a good interview with Spoons from a DC paper. I think it’s human and compelling and I hope Defiance, Ohio interviews sometimes come off this nice.

Express:

EXPRESS: Did you get to talk to [NOFX singer/Fat Wreck Chords chief] Fat Mike when you saw him at the Goons’ show?
SPOONBOY: No. I think he does really bad things with punk. I really don’t like Fat Wreck Chords or NOFX … for years and years Fat Wreck Chords was really apolitical, poppy and accessible and it became the face of punk, which is [a shame] because for me it’s a lot more of a politicized idea.More recently, since Bush was elected, it’s gotten a lot more politicized but it’s liberal politics that don’t get to the root of it. I don’t feel like Rock Against Bush makes any sense when Bush is just the symptom of systemic problems.

Fat Mike did the Punk Voter thing, but it’s just a recruiting campaign to get punk kids to vote Democrat. For me, punk is about rejecting power structures and having Punk Voter or Rock Against Bush is surrendering your power to these people. They’re Democrats, they’re a little to the left of Bush, but it’s still like, “Work for the system, surrender your power to these people.” It doesn’t seem punk to me. Punk Voter seems like an oxymoron.

EXPRESS: Does the rest of the band have the same politics?
SPOONBOY: Bepstein has different politics. I don’t believe in God; he’s pretty into Judaism. He thinks government is a good thing. More or less he wants to live the lifestyle he grew up in: suburban upper-middle class. That’s a pretty different from my point of view. But two people should be able to get along regardless of their politics as long as they’re not jerks.