Macho Boys: Portland Punks Positioned For Domination

I don't listen to a lot of new hardcore punk bands.  The new stuff I do like has to have at least a toe hold in the early 80's like Berlin's Dysnea Boys, the Bay Area's Neighborhood Brats or Seattle's Sick Ward.  Most of it to me either sounds contrived or just pandering to a bunch of sweaty, ignorant tough guys.  I didn't get any of that from Portland's Macho Boys.  They're a fairly new band that consists of members of Low Culture and Piss Test. They're so new in fact that they only have a six song Demo out but those six songs was all it took to win me over.  These songs are a lit powder keg of snake venom and extreme vexation with the fuse burning nearly to it's end. The music is stripped down to it's bare essentials to reduce air resistance and maximize the blunt force in which it hits your guts with.  Their songs sound well rooted, the band seems focused, driven and impassioned by their music. To me, those are the key ingredients to a good hardcore band, or any band for that matter.  Sure it sounds simple, but it's far easier said than done.

Interview by J Castro

Please introduce yourselves and tell me what everyone does in the band: 

TEKIAH: I'm Tekiah, I sing.

CHRIS: I’m Chris. I guitar.

SAMANTHA: I play bass.

SAM: Drums

How did you all meet and decide to play music together?

TEKIAH: I ran into Samantha at a show and mentioned I wanted to sing in a hardcore band and she was like "oh my friend Chris wants to play music like that let me find him!" I met Chris, then Samantha made a date for us to have our first practice. While we were talking I found out Sam was going to drum, which was funny because we work together. I was really nervous at first because I've never been in a band before but the first practice went really well.

CHRIS: Yeah, Samantha asked something like “Hey Chris, when are you going to start a hardcore band now that you live in Portland?” And I said “Whenever someone asks me.” So she introduced me to Tekiah and said “we’re all in a band now.” Then we took shots.

SAMANTHA: Tequila.

SAM: Chris said, “Come jam!”  I said “OK!”

Tell me about what it’s like playing shows in your town.  Is there a community that you feel gets what your band is doing musically?

TEKIAH: For the most part playing shows in Portland is awesome. There are so many rad bands that come through and that are from here. The only thing I don't like is how little people move. It's really weird to play a full show and look at the crowd and everyone's just staring at you. I think the community here gets us and wants us to play and that's a really good feeling.

CHRIS: I agree that Portland is a great place to be in a band. It is also true that not a lot of people move when bands play, but I’m usually in the back with my arms crossed (totally enjoying myself!) so I’d feel a bit hypocritical complaining about that.

SAM: Yeah; what they said.

Can you remember what band or musician first inspired you to want to pick up an instrument and learn to play and/or write music?

TEKIAH: The Ramones without a doubt. I remember the first time I heard them and was like oh shit I want to do this!!

CHRIS: When I was a kid I totally used to strap my dad’s guitar around my neck and pretend I was in the Beach Boys. Then in my early adolescence, there were plenty of DIY punk bands that helped me realize that writing songs, playing in bands, releasing records, and touring wasn’t just a pipe dream.

SAMANTHA: Portland band The Stops inspired me to make the jump from fan to band. You’ve got to get their LP on Dirt Cult Records, or Sabotage Records if you’re in Europe. They are amazing.

SAM: Music has been a part of my life since middle school band (I played the Clarinet); I've always wanted to be in a 'Cool' band.  Although, given how much I was into church and god at that time 'Cool' was probably a Christian ska band.

In your experience, what have been some of the best and worst parts about being in a band?  Is it totally different than what you imagined as a kid?

TEKIAH: The best part about being in a band is having fun. As long as you're having fun being in a band is great. I don't think we've been a band long enough for me to feel like there's any worst part to it. Since this is my first band everything is great.

CHRIS: I’d say the best part of playing in bands is that it’s allowed me to see all sorts of places and meet all sorts of people that I might not have otherwise. The worst part is loading equipment up and down stairs constantly. 

SAMANTHA: I like working toward shared goals with bandmates, getting new people into playing, and playing in other cities. I get bummed when I play a show and the majority of the bands on the bill are all guys, or if someone asks if I’m the merch girl, or assumes that a guy helping me load my gear is in the band and I’m there to help, etc.

SAM: Exactly.

What other bands do you feel people need to hear in order to better understand your music? 

TEKIAH: Other femme hardcore bands for sure like G.L.O.S.S., I.C.E., Heavy Hands, and Firewalker.

SAMANTHA: Minor Threat.

What’s your favorite part of making music: the writing process, the recording, or performing in front of a crowd? 

TEKIAH: I love writing new songs. It's so cool to hear the finished product and think, wow we made this together.

What music do you own or listen to frequently that you feel a typical fan of yours may be surprised you enjoy?

TEKIAH: I listed to a lot of do wop like the Shirelles, the Chantels and the Supremes.

CHRIS: I listen to a ton of music that isn’t punk and certainly isn’t “hardcore” - Hip hop (like Run the Jewels, A Tribe Called Quest, Pharcyde), soul (like Wilson Picket, Otis Redding, Nina Simone), classic rock (like Neil Young, Big Star), indie rock (like Belle & Sebastian, Elliot Smith, Guided by Voices), etc.

SAM: Country/Bluegrass (Clifton Hicks, The Stanley Brothers, Stringbean, Dwight Yoakam); anything that Buddy Rich has been a part of.

Never mind the critics, what in your opinion has been your band’s most shining moment so far?

TEKIAH: Definitely our benefit for the Network for Reproductive Options. Samantha and I booked that show together and it had a really good turnout. All the bands were rad.

SAMANTHA: The show made over $500 for abortion access. We were fundraising as part of a nationwide event to raise funds for organizations that help people pay for abortion when they don’t have enough money or health insurance. There was a punk team called Pick Your Kingpin.

Do you ever feel like underground culture meant more to past generations that had to actually invest time and money into going to shows and record stores to discover new music as opposed to just using Google and Youtube on their phones?

TEKIAH: I think it still means just as much. Having the internet just means you can actually listen to a record before buying it instead of thinking the cover looks cool and buying it.

CHRIS: People spend too much time pining for “the good old days” I think nostalgia can be a destructive force that keeps people from living in the moment and/or moving forward. In regards to how people consume music, I mean sure, I look back fondly on the days that I had to pick up a record based solely on a recommendation, review, and whether or not the cover looked “cool.” But I also ended up with a stack of shitty fucking records as a result.

SAMANTHA: No. It’s great that people can access music really quickly. Maximum RocknRoll is undertaking the project of digitalizing their massive vinyl archive and creating a searchable database of the collection and music reviews. Having music online helps it be accessible. Not everyone can afford to buy an obscure, old, out of print $300 7”, and not everyone wants to. You can donate to the MRR archive project here: http://bit.ly/1VSIHzN.

SAM: Ditto.

What is the best way people can hear and get a hold of your music?

TEKIAH: Machoboys.bandcamp.com, you can buy our demo tape through there.

What lies ahead for the band in 2016?

TEKIAH: We're going on a short tour to California at the end of August and trying to record another demo tape. I've never been on tour so I can't wait!!!


Don't forget to follow Macho Boys on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/machoboyspdx/

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Low Culture

     Las Cruces is a city that has arguably lived in the shadows of Albuquerque even though New Mexico State University is there, but this might change with furious pace at which Low Culture has been releasing records. Low Culture was born from the ashes of Shang-a-Lang and Total Jock. In a short time, they have taken their workman ethic to produce a demo, release two 7 inches and a debut LP on Dirtnap titled Screens which is equal parts garage punk and Husker Du. Las Cruces Rock City? Maybe? Not bad from a band that is so confident in their own songwriting that their debut video just shows them at band practice drinking beer and eating pizza.

Interview by Ed Stuart

How did the band start?

Prior to Low Culture, I was playing in two bands, Shang-A-Lang as well as a hardcore band with Cade and Sam called Total Jock. As it would happen, at around the same time, Andy, Shang-A-Lang’s drummer, told us he was moving to Boise and James, Total Jock’s guitar player, told us he was moving to Albuquerque. So both my bands were pretty much done for within a matter of weeks. I asked Sam and Cade if they wanted to start a new band with me since I had enjoyed playing music with them in Total Jock, and I got down to writing some new songs for the project. We practiced a couple of times and then recorded a demo. The week before our first show, Joe, who had been in Shang-A-Lang with me in the past, moved back to Las Cruces from Denton. We got some beers before a practice and I asked him to join the band. He showed up to practice and I basically said “hey dudes, Joe’s in the band now.”

Describe the Las Cruces scene? Isn’t New Mexico State University there? So are there a lot of bands there or is Low Culture the odd band out?

Like anywhere else, the Las Cruces scene has its ups and downs. We’ve run a DIY space called the Trainyard for the past 3 and a half years or so and prior to that the scene was primarily house show driven. Currently, it seems like things are looking up after a bit of a lull. Shows are generally better attended than they have been for at least the past year or so, and there are more houses and other spaces willing to do shows so things don’t feel so stagnant.

It’s funny, for years there was a shortage of bands and it seemed like I was in all or most of them. I’d have three or four bands at a time and would be playing a show at least once a week. These days there are actually a ton of great bands and there’s not nearly as much pressure to be the “local opener.” This has allowed us to really spend time on new material instead of just practicing for the next show.

Recently Low Culture just had two releases in a short span of time. The first release of the year is the Screens LP and then the second being the Evil 7-inch. How has band kept up this frantic release schedule while working day jobs?

I guess, in addition to what I said above, it helps that we have three songwriters. For the past two releases Joe and I have pretty much split songwriting duties and Cade has contributed the more “hardcore” songs on the S/T 7” (Nervous Wreck) and Screens LP (Nightmare). As a result, it’s rare that there’s a practice where one of us doesn’t have something new to work on. One of the best things about being in this band is that all four of us are competent and opinionated musicians. It’s rare that a song is brought to the table where suggestions aren’t offered and changes aren’t made. It has been incredibly refreshing to be a part of such a collaborative process, because I think it pushes us to get better.

Low Culture has been on a variety of different labels, Dirtnap, Dirt Cult, Dead Broke, Rad Girlfriend, Drunken Sailor, can you give some insight on working with these different labels? Do they usually ask the band for releases or is the band sending out demos?

Well, it helps that I run Dirt Cult Records. We recorded the demo and the next day I posted it on Dirt Cult’s Bandcamp page and started dubbing tapes. As for Dead Broke, Rad Girlfriend, and Drunken Sailor; those are all run by friends I’ve made from running this label and from being in other bands. Every single one of them has either put out a split record with Dirt Cult and/or released a record for one of my previous bands. I don’t really remember how they initially got involved with Low Culture, but I’m pretty sure I knew they liked the demo so I asked them to help with the 7”.  Then when I ran out of tapes Mike from Dead Broke asked if he could repress the demo tape.

Our involved with Dirtnap is perhaps a bit more complicated, but not really. Ken has been someone I’ve known for quite some time as we’ve traded records through our respective labels and hung out at Fests and when previous bands have been in Portland. I’ve always respected and admired his label. Frankly, releasing something on Dirtnap has been a dream of mine since I first encountered the label in the early 2000s. Joe is in the Marked Men and they have released nearly all their records on Dirtnap. So he kind of spearheaded asking Ken if he was interested in doing something for us. We figured at the most, he might be interested in doing a 7” but he got back to us fairly quickly saying “I want to do an LP for you guys!” Needless to say I was excited…we were all excited. So we went about writing a ton of new songs. And we’re currently about halfway through writing another record for Dirtnap, so our excitement continues!

As for our newest 7”, Evil b/w Slave to you, that was released by Drunken Sailor and Cut the Cord That…Records. Flo, who runs Cut the Cord That…actually booked our European tour so I asked him if he’d be interested in doing a European 7” for it. Julian from Drunken Sailor got involved with that one because we love him, and we were playing some dates in the UK where he’s based out of.

Evil has been described as “deliver[ing] punchy, poppy garage with melodies that get caught in your head without wearing themselves out through repetition.” Is this review from Scene Point Blank describe an intended direction of the songwriting? What is the general songwriting process for the band?

I don’t know if we have a “process” per se. Basically, as I alluded to above, someone brings riff or song to practice and we spend a few hours dissecting it and trying to make it better. It can be a pretty humbling process. I’m pretty sure that we all, at one point or another, have gone into practice thinking we had a pretty solid idea and thrown up our hands in the middle of it all and said “never mind, I don’t like it” and either trashed the song and took it home to try to make it better. It’s been a really different dynamic in that way than in many of my previous bands where you show up with a song and it’s done, or only a few minor changes are made. I like it. It challenges me.    

In terms of the quote you mentioned, I think that’s rad that people feel that way. I’m a fan of melody. Even the hardcore I listen to has to have a hook. So while I don’t think its “intentional,” at least for me, I write what I like and I write what comes naturally for me.

Do you think it’s tougher for bands to get noticed today than it was ten years ago or do you think it is easier? By noticed I mean fans finding the bands, press etc.

I think it’s both tougher and easier. I mean, when I was a kid I had to dig to find out about bands by reading the “thank you” section on band’s I liked liner notes and by reading reviews in zines. I really had to investigate and there was no guarantee that I’d even like the band if I ended up deciding to purchase a record. But the “hunt” was half the fun. These days EVERY band is a click of a button away and it makes checking new stuff out so much easier. At the same time, with social media it seems like we’re bombarded with links every day, and I for one don’t have time to click on every single one.  There are plenty of bands I’ve slept on for years, only to finally check them out and find out I love them. So it goes.

Razorcake has described Screens as “the recording is the cleanest it’s ever been with a band with Chris Mason involved in it, but it’s not a false dress-up—like a movie-ticket-taker in a bow tie—but a fuller, higher fidelity sound that provides a greater depth.” Why the desire to have a cleaner sound for Low Culture than in previous bands?

I think Todd is primarily referencing Shang-A-Lang in this one. Shang-A-Lang was “dirty” out of necessity. We recorded on four-tracks in our practice space because there is no one in Las Cruces who we trusted to record us and coordinating schedules to get out of town to record was always a nightmare. Looking back, I think that lo-fi sound turned a lot of people off, and that band would have been a bit more “successful” (whatever that means) had we figured out a way to go into a proper studio. Then again, doing everything ourselves allowed us to be pretty prolific, with an LP and more singles, split 7”s, and compilation appearances than I can count. For whatever reason, it’s just been easier to go out of town and record with this band. And since we’ve been happy with the results, we’ve just kept doing it.

I had read that there was a European Tour in the works?

We were in Europe in March. We played in Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, France, the UK, Belgium, and Holland. We’ve been back a little over two weeks and I already want to go back. It was the best time of my life.

What’s next for Low Culture and where can listeners hear the band?

We’re playing Chaos in Tejas in June and Awesome Fest in August. I’m also hoping we make it up to the Dirtnap showcase in Portland and Seattle in September. And as I said, we’re writing a LP that I hope we’ll be ready to record by late summer. We’re also recording a song for a Big Boys tribute comp coming out sometime this year on Stiff Hombre Records. 

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