What is there really
to write about Channel 3 that hasn’t already been written? Classic Southern
California punk band, check. Wrote classic punk song, You Make Me Feel Cheap, check. Released two classic LP’s Fear of Life and After The Light Go Out, check. Had those classic LP’s released on
one of the most famous punk labels ever, Posh Boy, check. This would be the
beginning and end to a band career that most punk bands would dream of, but the
story doesn’t end here for Channel 3. After the band went on hiatus in the
90’s, Channel 3 had a return to form with the CH3 release a few years back. Now with the recently released Land Of The Free on Hostage Records, the
band’s classic combination of melody, punchy guitars, and catchy choruses are
back at the forefront.
Interview by Ed
Stuart
Who’s answering the questions?
Mike Magrann here!
Where is the band from?
Famously and
originally from Cerritos, CA. Though now we are all based in OC/Long Beach
area.
Who is in the band and what instrument do they
play?
I sing and play
guitar, Kimm Gardener on Guitar, Alf Silva on Drums and Ant Thompson on Bass.
Can you give a brief history of the band up to this
point?
We started playing in
1980, recorded the first EP on Posh Boy in 1982, started touring then, and
after going through a ton of different record labels, band members and
hairstyles, we arrive in 2013.
Still recording, still touring, so not much has changed!
Describe the lasting power of Channel 3?
Mainly, our lasting
power comes from never breaking up!
Seriously, we just outlasted a lot of other bands (and a lot of the
fans) out there, and they just have to accept you'll be around at some point,
yeah? It is difficult at times, to
maintain the band when we've come to this level--not the headliner at the
festival, not the youngest band on the bill or the hardest touring band on the
road. But people do have to
respect that you survive, and there has to be some sort of commitment and
passion to the thing if you can still do it!
How important was Robbie Fields to the band? He
produced the classic LP’s Fear of Life and After The Lights Go Out as well as
the Mannequin/Manzanar single.
We give Robbie so
much credit for getting us into the studio and guiding our career in the early
days. I think he saw a potential
in the band we really didn’t see ourselves. We basically made a demo tape in a garage, he heard it
through a friend of a friend, and we were recording the first EP in a couple
weeks--and this was before we'd even played our first gig! We may have made it to the clubs and
records eventually on our own, but then again we might still be in the garage
and backyards if Robbie didn't make the call...
As I was reading through interviews, it just seems
like overall the band has a really positive attitude even when talking about
period of the band’s history that might not be flattering. How does the band
keep this attitude?
I assume we are
talking about big hair and cowboy boots?
hah! Well, I think compared to some other bands that don’t really like
to talk about embarrassing periods in their careers, we don’t have regrets of
that time. Sure, the photos look
silly out of context, but we weren't really doing anything that was
insincere. The packaging and image
was poofy, to be sure--and that was indeed involved in trying to break out of
the punk mold--but we stand by those songs. And when we play them live now, without the classic 80's
production, the shotgun snare drums and soaked vocals, they just sound like CH3
songs, ya know?
After listening to Whom It May Concern: The 1981
Demos, I found it interesting that I Wanna Know Why was written and ready to
record, but didn’t make it on any release until Airborne. Was there any reason
it wasn’t included on either Fear of Life or After The Lights Go Out*?
Whoops, got ya there
mate--it was indeed of on Fear of Life.
It was written but not recorded for the first EP. It was probably the second song we ever
wrote, and Robbie in his wisdom held us back from releasing it on the first EP,
as it would've certainly softened the hardcore introduction to the band. We just re recorded it
-unnecessarily-when we got on Enigma to hold a bridge to the past, I think.
In the early 2000’s,
the band releases the CH3 LP, which is a return to form. After starting as a
punk band then venturing more of a pop-rock sound especially on the Airborne EP
and Enigma years of Last Time I Drank, why the desire to go back to punk?
It was really just
how the album naturally came out.
I hadn’t written songs in a good decade, so when you pick up the guitar
in your room once again, you go to what comes naturally. I'd be lying to say we weren’t aware of
the great old school punk rock renaissance of 2000, but we did what felt
natural, ya know? It was at this
time we started to produce ourselves for the first times, me and Kimm, and it's
what we learned from Posh and Jay Lansford and Ron Goudie, all those
philosophies combined .
*(interview note: On
the Cherry Red released version, which I own I Wanna Know Why and Stupid
Girl are omitted.)
In a Razorcake interview, Mike had stated the band
got back together by “playing every Christmas at Linda's Doll Hut. We played
for free so nobody could accuse us of "selling out." The next thing
we knew, there was a benefit with TSOL. Then The Misfits called and they wanted
to do a show with us in Vegas. The Angry Samoans called. There were all these
great shows being offered to us and we did not want to keep going out there
unless we had some new material.” What was decision to have new material and
why did the band feel it was important? Nowadays bands are touring just playing
LP’s in their entirety. Buzzcocks did it and so has Devo.
Hell, the people that
show up would indeed be happier if we just stuck to the Posh Boy catalogue in
our live sets, so I can understand why bands honor those classic albums. But in So Ca especially, we have this
unique biosphere where all the bands are still playing, everyone looks great, and
the bands that are really into it are still creating. I know that there are audible groans when you announce this next one’s off our latest album,
but if you can’t still create you can just become a cover band of your former
selves, ya know? And even if you
don’t even play the new songs in your crusty set list (guilty!) a band thrive
and grows on that creative process.
How did you connect with Hostage Records?
Speaking of new
songs!! We'd met Rick Bain many
years ago through his photography, and were always aware of the quality
releases from Hostage. We happened
to run into Paul at Record Store Day 2012 and we started chatting about a
possible release. Well, turns out
we'd accumulated almost an album's worth of material in the last few years, so
they released the Land of the Free single with the 8 song download card. It was a real treat to release songs in
a new format and to see how that goes.
We've really come full circle now!
Has the band view about music changed at all or
does the band feel the same way about music in the same way as when starting
out? In the Razorcake interview, Mike stated “We have no illusions about
becoming rock stars anymore.” What other views might have changed?
Well, I guess at 50
now we can reconfirm we aren’t holding our breaths for the major label
contract, eh? But then again, what
does a major label deal even mean any more? The classic music industry is in such a fucked up state
nowadays, which I think thrills most punk bands and labels. It's like the world had to catch up to
the DIY recording and promoting that the punkers had to embrace for the start,
yeah? So if anything, we are more
reassured than ever that we are in the right place, making music that matters
to us and our small but loyal group of chums, and get out there and play it
worldwide on a shoestring budget.
50 years ago people used to buy music and get their
water for free, now people pay for water and get their music for free. I know
as part of the Land of The Free 7 inch there is a download card with extra
songs. In a way the band is doing both. How do you think this affects music in
any way?
It is a shame that
people have no qualms about buying goddamn five dollar coffee and then scouring
the internet for illegal downloads!
But, I don’t really blame people as thieves, it's just that for better
or worse the internet has become such a wild west of content, and the way music
became available was really one of its revolutionary components. A child of the 60's. I saw 8 tracks
(hell, 4 tracks) to cassettes, CD’s to downloads, so it's been a wild ride. One downside is the instant
gratification aspect, where kids find the top 3 songs of the artist and just
download those, no more sifting through cool b sides, no more rolling joints on
the 12" sleeves and pondering the lyrics on the liners. And what of the art of song sequencing,
deciding which song is second track side 2? So for the very convenience we paid a price and I guess
that's what the vinyl rebirth is all about.
Mike and Kimm are both parents. How do your kids
view the band or your kids’ friends?
The kids are all
getting pretty old themselves now, so they seem to view the band with a bemused
smile, Dad's softball team is going on
the road again this weekend, ya know?
It is hilarious when they come home and tell us about seeing strange kids
at the mall, flying CH3 patches, as if that is finally validation of the band
in their eyes, not the goddamn albums lining the hallway or the 6 dozen tour t
-hirts in the back of their closets.
You know kids--Dad's always a dork.
Does Kimm still have the CH3 stencil guitar?
Don’t we wish! Our great pals used to work at the
famed Charvel factory out in Sam Dimas, and we used to drop buy and get
handfuls of San Dimas Charvels for a tour, then we’d destroy them or trade them
for amps or something. Those things would be worth a fortune today! They will probably start turning up on
Ebay once Kimm or I die or go nuts or get elected to Senate...
What’s next for Channel 3?
We’re gearing up now
for an August European tour.
We're looking forward to meeting a lot of old chums out there and
playing some cool festivals. Lots
of fatty snacks and cold beers, business as usual! Cheers, MM
