Chain Letters

Chain Letters are really a band for the digital age. None of the members live in the same city and yet the band was still born. A few years ago, Chris Parker (guitar/songwriter) got the idea of writing songs for a band much like Darrin Raffaelli did for The Donnas while driving in his car. What happened next, other than learning guitar and writing songs simultaneously, was a demo that was sent into the stratosphere and attracted the likes of ex-members of Vice Squad and Young People With Faces. Bad Reflection, the debut single, which sounds like a mix of Avengers, Buzzcocks and Generation X was so catchy and highly praised it made fans wondering when the follow-up was coming. 

Who’s answering the questions?

Chris Parker, guitar-player and songwriter.

Give us a brief history of Chain Letters musical background, some other bands you have played in and currently do play in?

Singer Sophia was in Young People With Faces, a punk band from Hailey, Idaho, with three high-school friends. Bass player Johnny was in first-wave Toronto punk bands Tyranna and The Wayouts. Violet has played in multiple punk bands including Vice Squad. I had never played in a band or played an instrument at all before forming the Chain Letters.

Where is Chain Letters from and how did the band start?

The thing about this band and the record we made is that, logically, it should never have happened but somehow it did. I’ve been obsessed by punk since I was eight, totally into records all my life, but I never played an instrument. I just got a crazy idea into my head one day that I wanted to make a record. I heard about Darin Raffaelli, and the way he got the Donnas to record his songs. I didn’t know he had played guitar in Supercharger, I thought he was just some random creative person with an intriguing scheme. I loved the idea that you could be a songwriter for other people, but on a totally lo-fi garage level. That really caught my imagination, so I thought I could do something similar. But then – how do you get a song across to other people if you can’t play? So I had to learn the guitar, which I did by watching people play Ramones covers on Youtube. But then the other problem – the main one – was that I didn’t know a single person who wanted to be in a band OR liked the same kind of music as me. But still – I really wanted to make a record! So once I had put a rough guitar demo together, I sent it to some people whose music I was really into, and miraculously they liked the songs and we became the Chain Letters.

Who is in the band and what instrument do they play?

Sophia Dilley – Vocals

Chris Parker – Guitar

Johnny Bubblegum – Bass

Violet X - Drums

What bands did you have in mind when starting this band?

I love the Zeros, Pointed Sticks, Real Kids – all those bands that put out killer 7-inches that were raw but had really good songwriting. The Avengers blew me away when I first heard them (many years after the records first came out). The first Donnas album was important too. Part of what makes it great is, it seduces you into thinking – how hard could it be to sound like this? And I’m heavily into ‘60’s songwriters from Joe South to Ellie Greenwich.

Since the band members are pretty spread around globally (LA, Toronto, UK) how does Chain Letters get together to practice, write songs and play shows?

We have never played live. I can’t play well enough yet. When we made the record, I just put the songs out there and asked the others to do what they wanted. Luckily Violet is an amazing drummer so we had this really solid foundation for it all. And Sophia came up with some really great vocal stuff that I would never have thought of. I’ve always liked records where you get these little new elements thrown in just as the song is coming to an end – so it feels like everything is getting more intense – and you want to play it again before it’s even finished. I was really pleased with the way the vocals and drums did that on both the songs on the record. I don’t know anything about producing beyond making things louder or quieter. We just slotted it all together and what came out is what’s on the vinyl.

My favorite review is where it claims Chris wrote the songs before he even knew how to play guitar. What is the story behind this?

That’s totally true. I had a habit of making up tunes when I was driving. It was something I did without thinking about it. Sometimes I’d come up with a tune I liked so much, I’d worry about forgetting it. So the first thing I did when I got a guitar was to figure out some chords and words to go with these songs that only existed in my head. And that’s how the songs on our first 45 got written. I think everyone has certain chord sequences that they respond to more strongly than others. This is probably as obvious as saying “the sky is blue” if you are a musician but it was a revelation to me. It seemed like just about every song I had obsessed about had some variation of D-A-B minor-G and those were the chords I instinctively reached for when I started writing the Chain Letters stuff.

What are some things you like about all the digital avenues presented to musicians nowadays (Bandcamp, blogs, blog writers, Facebook, smaller record labels, internet magazines, etc.) to help bands today?  And some things you don’t like?

I don’t think there’s any downside if you’re a tiny band like us. Maybe the pre-internet era was great if you lived in a city with a great punk scene where lots of people were making records and forming bands. Most people will never get to experience that. Blogs like Mick Fletcher’s excellent Just Some Punk Songs, Josh Rutledge’s Faster and Louder, and fanzines like Ripple Rock in Finland and Kevin McGovern’s Fear and Loathing in Long Beach are great because they help build a community of people who like the same stuff. Their enthusiasm encourages music fans to pick up an instrument and start a band themselves. They reflect the scene way better than any pre-internet music magazines did.

The Bad Reflection single was highly praised in reviews, is there any plans to do a follow-up single?

We’re working on it right now.

What was the decision to release the single on the band’s own label Pogo Time? Was this the plan from the beginning or did Chain Letters shop the demo around to other labels before?

I never considered that anyone else would want to put our record out, as we had never gigged and we came out of nowhere. It was always going to be on our label. But we’d definitely consider putting a record out with other people in the future.

What’s next for Chain Letters and where can people hear the band?

Working on the next 45.

https://soundcloud.com/chain-letters/bad-reflection-7-inch-version

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Gaggers

Interview by Ed Stuart

Who’s answering the questions?

Terminal Gagger

Where is the band from?

London

Who is in the band and what instrument do they play?

Terminal Gagger: Vocals

Dagger Gagger: Guitar & Vocals

Rudy Retch: Bass & Vocals

Bushy Signal: Drums & Vocals

How did the band start?

Me and Dagger started it a few years ago after knowing each other for while and being in different bands and stuff so we decided to start a band together and initially there was my cousin Chris (Busy Signal) on drums and I played bass as well as singing. Then after a bunch of 7”s and our first LP Rip You Apart, Chris left to study medicine. He’s pretty handy with a knife.

What bands did you have in mind when starting this band?

Definitely early GG / Jabbers, Dead Boys, Pagans, Eater…snotty, straightforward punk rock.

Why the decision to move from a three piece to a four piece?

That was because Chris left. So we found a new drummer, Bushy, who had already been in loads of bands with Dagger, and I gave up the bass to just sing, and we recruited Rudy.

According to the band’s bio, The Gaggers got together through a staunch hatred of everything new and polished. This motto is definitely evident in the band’s decision to record in such a raw fashion. Is this hatred a comment on your local scene or music in general?

We just all like real punk rock which, to us, needs to have that rawness and urgency otherwise it loses the ‘punk’ and just becomes ‘rock’. Nothing wrong with that but that’s not what we’re going for. There needs to be energy and bile.

Judging by how fast Gaggers singles sell out seems like you have a fan base that supports “out with the new and in with the old!” motto. One of the YouTube comments on your Hostage video is “the return of true punk in the UK after 20 years of total embarrassment.” Vibrator Buzz called “The Gaggers . . . the new 100 Club, [and] the new Roxy.” Does this have any effect on what the band does or the band operates? I would think the band would have to be happy with generating such a supportive fan base. Most bands are lucky to have one single sell out. Does that band have any thoughts on this?

We are definitely happy with compliments like that! People like Dirk at Vibrator Buzz know the score! I’ve always said that there’s nowhere to go in punk except backwards. We’re nearly 40 years behind the times and proud of it! The whole London punk scene at the moment has a very genuine late ‘70’s feel – the sound, the look, everything. The No Front Teeth connection helps to sell the records fast but I truly believe this is what people have been waiting for from London punk rock and there are a bunch of us doing it – The Ten-0-Sevens, The Ricky C. Quartet, Johnny Throttle, The Unreleasables, Thee Spivs, all the other bands we’re involved with…

Considering members of Gaggers also play in Teenage Tricks, Disco Lepers, Botox Rats, Black List Brigade, The Blowouts, The Seminals, The Troubadours, The Hateful, Needle Automatics, Dagger Dicks, and The London Guns; how do you find time for Gaggers with the members in all these other bands? Also seems like you guys are creating a scene in London with all these bands. How is the punk scene in London?

We are all workaholics!! We also all have full-time jobs too. Some of those bands are now defunct like the Disco Lepers, Blacklist Brigade, The Blowouts, Seminals, Hateful and Dagger Dicks. As I said earlier, the London punk is great – but very small so a lot of the scene is made up of bands! I think a lot of foreign punks think that when they come to London they will see the scene of 1977…unfortunately not, it’s not really that vibrant a scene. It’s cool, but small.

Explain the connection with No Front Teeth records.

I started No Front Teeth over ten years ago with my friend Jon and we still both run it to this day. There was a time when there were loads of people involved but we stripped it right back down to the two of us. We originally started as a zine but then started to put out records by our own bands and also to put out music by bands that we loved especially in the form of compilations. We really wanted to get a lot of those Hostage and Disaster bands more coverage in Europe.

Do you think music can still be a vital force in such a disposable age?

Definitely. The power of music will never die. I actually think music is more powerful now than ever even with the digital age supposedly killing it. Also, punks are traditionalists and will keep vinyl alive forever. No Front Teeth is a 7” label and the 7” is perhaps the most obsolete format of music, apart from the eight track! But it also holds a really powerful position – people respect the 7” and really chase it.

How is the new record entitled Blame You coming along?  Any scheduled release date?

It’s taking a while longer than expected but it’s coming along really well. All the drums are recorded. The bass and rhythm guitars are done and some of the vocals. So we still need to record the lead guitars, finish the vocals and also the backing vocals. Then there’s the mixing…so I think we’re looking at a late Summer release hopefully.

 

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. How do you think this affects music in any way?

I’m glad that people are downloading music for free – it was about time that the music industry suffered. I know that’s a strange thing to say being in a band and running a record label but I think that the greed had to stop. As I said, punks are traditionalists so we’re not really affected by that at all. I see a lot of Gaggers stuff available for download on blogs and I take it as a compliment. Someone took the time to upload the music so that others could download it – that’s fine. Also, so much of our stuff is now out of print so how else are people supposed to hear it?

Where can people hear the band?

On blogs! Maybe iTunes at some point…or come see us live.

What’s next?

We are on the soundtrack for a new horror movie called ‘Bath Salt Zombies’ that has just been released and some other bands are the Murder Junkies, Antiseen, Dwarves, Meatmen…so we’re in good company! I guess we’ll start writing record number three. More shows. More 7”s, some splits…all good shit to get you gagging. Cheers.

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