When I first started hearing about the Ills, I
heard comparisons to bands like The Spoiled Brats and The No Talents. So, when
I finally got a chance to hear these Iowa City monsters, they did not
disappoint! Those influences are indeed there, but the Ills have taken that
sound and stuck their own brand on it. It is theirs, they own it now, and lucky
for us they are sharing it with the rest of us lowly dogs!
Interview by Jay Castro
Who’s answering the questions here?
Danny and Erika
Who is in the band and what instrument do they play?
Erika Ebola - Vox
Danny Dysentery - Guitar
Molly Marburg - Bass
Tommy Tinnitus - Drums
Are you all originally from Iowa City?
None of us are. Tommy Danny and Molly are all
from different areas of Iowa, Erika is from Texas and Iowa.
How did Rip Off records find their way into your hands in Iowa?
Danny: When I was a kid, Iowa City record stores
carried a lot of punk and garage punk records. I would make trips to Iowa
City to go record shopping. I had heard about The Rip Offs in Maximum Rock 'n' Roll
and spotted their LP at a local record shop and bought it and I loved it. When
I met Erika she was into it too, and we started obsessing and collecting a lot
of that kind of stuff, like the No Talents, the Drags, the Statics, the Makers,
The Registrators etc.
Erika: I first heard about this stuff when I was
a kid in Texas. I was kind of on the hunt for female attitude and vocals that
kind of matched how I felt. I loved those classic grrrl bands from Olympia
labels (like Bratmobile and Bikini Kill) and those awesome women fronted bands
from the early LA scene, (X and the Bags etc.). A friend had this Spoiled
Brats song dubbed on a tape and made a joke that no one could like this, except
probably me! So, it was played for me, and I instantly fell in love with it!
Which lead to you know all that stuff, girl and guy, and then I ended up in
Iowa.
Does the band play shows a lot in Iowa City? Is there a
scene out there that the rest of the country should know about?
Erika: We play a lot. There are a lot of
cool and different punk bands in Iowa City, but there’s not a scene of bands
that sound similar. Everyone is doing their own thing. It doesn’t
really create a cohesive scene “sound” but I think that's great because that
would be boring. There are a lot of really cool bands here if your into
different kinds of punk, like Lipstick Homicide, Slut River, Conetruama, NERV, Big
Box, and a lot more… and they are all doing their own thing from straight up
pop punk to black metal hardcore.
Also, it’s a very academic town. It has the
highest percentage of the adult population holding a bachelor's degree or
higher in the US, yet, it is still very small. Maybe this has an influence on
how stuff end up playing out here, I dunno.
Danny: What she said.
Your newest 7” is on No Front Teeth records, how did you get
involved with that label?
Erika: It’s kind of a strange circle. Jim from
Rapid Pulse Records originally pointed us in their direction. They heard some
demos of ours and were interested and put out our first 7”. Our new EP Get It is actually coming out as a split
release between the Canadian label Shake! Records and No Front Teeth Records.
We played a show with the Ketamines last year and their drummer Ryan (who is
also in Fist City) helped connect us with Shake! Then, Shake! reconnected with
NFT for this release.
The Ills did a pretty cool video for your song Total Dick. Was that fun to make? Where and how did that happen?
Danny: Erika made it. We filmed it in a local junk
shop owned by our friend Brian who’s a big fan of the band. I think Erika
did her part in the bathroom of our apartment.
People have compared the sound of your band to the glory days of Rip Off records and bands like The No Talents. Bands I’m pretty sure are integral to your sound. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill! Do you feel any pressure because of those comparisons? Are the almighty Ills up for the challenge?
Danny: In the beginning it was kinda more of a
“let’s be this kinda band”, and I still love them. Now we are not trying to be
one kind of thing anymore, we’re just mixing all our influences and everything
together. But those comparisons are flattering and kind, and we do love rip off
records, but we’re nowhere as good as those bands!
Erika: It is flattering that we have those
comparisons. They are a part of our influences. But, we would never try to or
want to fill their shoes. They are pretty fantastic at what they did and
got that covered. Plus, we gotta do our own thing! I think there may have been
a moment of pressure to self-edit to keep within that expectation. But that’s
all self-inflicted pressure that we said, “ehh, forget about it”, to a long
time ago! We have a lot of different influences and I think our music will continue
to reflect that.
On your bands profile, you list your other interests as Punk Punk
Punk. Surely you have some non punk interests? Baking, knitting,
sculpting, c’mon spill the beans!
Danny: I really love Italian horror movies, film
in general, pretentious art shit, coffee and rock n roll and all music really.
Erika: I collect purses and nail polish
and movies. As a band I think we all like drinkin’.
Do you think Rock ‘N’ Roll can still be a vital and influential
force for kids in such a disposable age?
Danny: I think on a massive scale, no. On an
individual scale, yes. Because like there are teenage punk bands right here in
my town that are exciting and inspiring... to see like 14 and15 year old kids
taking the time to write songs and learn instruments and put together good
bands shows that. But in the mainstream I think no, it’s time has passed. I
don’t think there’s gonna be one band that's gonna come along soon that's gonna
capture peoples imagination and bring rock back into the forefront. It looks
like right pop is here to stay. Is there even big rock band right now? I guess
I don’t know and don’t pay attention to even know.
50 years ago people used to buy music and get their water free;
now people pay for water and get their music free. How do you think this
affects the music industry?
Danny: I don’t know about paying for music, but
they charge way too much for water here at the local grocery store. And you
have to buy water because the local tap is so fucking nasty you can’t use it. I
mean its 29 cents a gallon now... as for music it’s harder to get
people’s attention now, it’s not like when you had to read reviews, decide if
you wanted to spend your money based on word of mouth, make a commitment and
give that record a chance. Now all you have to do is go and click a button and
if it doesn’t hit you on a gut level then… bam, yr done. You don’t give it any
attention.
Erika: People still buy vinyl and tapes. I
don’t know much about the economics of the larger music industry and I don’t
think it much affects bands like us. But, you know because everything IS
free and easy; it is disposable. It can be strangely difficult to get people to
even listen to something that is free and in front of them. There’s no personal
investment or connection with a band or record before hearing it. It’s “ill
check that out” which translates to, I’ll listen to 10 seconds of two songs and
then decide if I’m interested or writing it off entirely.
Where can people hear the band, purchase your music or buy those
awesome purple Ills T-shirts!?
You can hear some of our music at sand
Our 7” Ep Get
It should be out in May. It should be able available from: Shake! Records, http://www.experienceshake.com/ and NFT, http://www.nofrontteeth.co.uk/merch.html
You can get the shirts, our old 7” and our
newest one (soon) at
What’s next for The Ills? Any tour plans?
Getting ready to record our 2nd album! Writing
the third! We plan to hit the road soon for our EP and 1st LP that should be
out on Big Neck Records this summer!
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