The men in Maniac supply us with a
brand of catchy punk rock with abundant retro influences. There are elements of
old punk rock, power pop, mod and even some new wave sprinkled in here and
there. However, the band doesn’t hide behind all of this like some second rate
nostalgic cover band. They’ve got the control and persona to use their
influences as a tool rather than a crutch. After all with these guys; former
and current members of Cute Lepers, Clorox Girls, Rough Kids, The Girls,
Images, and L.A. Drugz it’s a mathematical impossibility for this band to
suck!
Interview by Jay Castro
Please introduce yourselves and how you contribute to Maniac?
ZACHE: Zache Davis, bassist and lead vocals
ANDREW: Andrew Zappin. Lead Guitar.
JUSTIN: I'm Justin Maurer, I play guitar, sing backing
vocals and lead vocals on a couple of songs.
JAMES: Young James Carman- the maniacal drumming back bone
to this group of wild horses.
You guys are based out of L.A. but where are you all from
originally?
ZACHE: I'm originally from the East Bay but grew
up in Seattle
ANDREW: I'm originally from Dayton, Ohio, but I've lived in
LA for almost half my life.
JUSTIN: I was born in LA, but went to high school and
started playing music in the Pacific Northwest.
JAMES: I was born and raised in LA, in a suburb called
Carson in the South Bay. It's definitely a part of LA, the city is so huge it
literally takes nearly two hours to reach top to bottom.
Is it tough being in a band in L.A.? I would imagine
it gets pretty competitive with so much music out there.
ANDREW: I'm new to this scene. My initial assumption is
that it would be full of pretentious punk pricks, but it's been the
complete opposite. People are open and excited about music. I've met some fascinating
people and made some great friends. I just wish there were more places to play.
JAMES: Oh fuck yes, the trouble is that there are so many
bands out here, and the worst part is that 85% of them are shit. The face of LA
music has changed completely in the last 10 years or so. It's even
tougher to get paid. Most places don't even realize the fact of covering gas
money to get to the venue. I love this city, but start treating
the bands fairly!
ZACHE: I think there's a lot of talented bands in LA
and not enough solid venues. The venues we do have are rad, but bands don't
want to play the same place over and over. I don't feel like we compete much
with other bands. We do this for the love of making music.
JUSTIN: The tough part about being in a band in LA is that
old cliché, "It's so spread out…" It's true though.
There's a lot of towns to play within LA County and Orange County, but you can
be driving an hour or so and still be within LA City Limits or in LA
County. It's pretty hard to get folks to come out to see you play unless
it's near where they live or in a central location. I guess that's why
Downtown LA has been a spot to play recently because it's kind of a middle
ground for everyone living in surrounding areas. It is extremely
competitive but the "punk" scene is still pretty small, everyone
knows everyone else and the bands tend to recycle members. Just in this
band alone we have The Girls, Clorox Girls, Images, LA Drugz - that's 4 more
bands that members from this band play in! So imagine all of LA, it's
just the same people recycled over and over again just like an incestuous music
scene in any other town.
You guys are in and or were in several other well known
bands (Clorox Girls, Cute Lepers, Rough Kids) but what is Maniac’s origin
story? How did you all meet and start playing music together?
ANDREW: Prior to Maniac, I played
guitar in my bedroom. In front of a mirror, sometimes wearing pants.
ZACHE: Maniac started as a two-day challenge in December of
2011. Andrew and I were sitting around with our original guitarist and came up
with the idea to write and record an EP in two days. Andrew had never played in
a band and we had been loosely tossing the idea of playing music together for a
while. We had been casually jamming together already so it kind of just worked
out. Ardy (original guitarist) informed us that he would be leaving town for
work two days before our 1st show which would have forced us to cancel. I
wasn't interested in waiting around any longer so we parted ways mutually and
asked Justin to fill in for our first show. After one practice Justin said,
"So you guys only practice once a week? I'll do it. I'll be in the
band!"
JAMES: I met
Justin a while back when my other band IMAGES played with Clorox Girls in San
Pedro I remember him coming up to me after we played with wide eyes saying,
"We need to collaborate together." So we started a project called LA
Drugz. Zache was a mutual acquaintance. I met Andrew one night when he
tagged along with the crew and came to my house and partied all night. They had
a previous drummer, Richie from Clorox Girls/Rough Kids, who left and shortly
after they asked me to do it. At first I was pissed that they asked me because
they were one of the only local bands I enjoyed watching live and now I'm
playing with them; pretty awesome. We all play tough and hard. I'm the young
gun of this pack of Maniacs, but I still consider them my brothers and love 'em
to death.
Did you have a particular sound or concept in mind when
starting out Maniac? What did you want to do differently with this band
than with the others you guys have been in or are still in?
JAMES: I'm the drummer, so my job is to play tough and keep
it together, which I'm a champ at. Be careful when you're at our shows because
a cymbal might fly by and slice your head into two. Just sayin'.
ZACHE: The original concept I had in mind for Maniac was to
not think too much about how we want a song to be written but more to just let
it happen. In the past, I've over thought song structure and sometimes the
result can be dropping an otherwise radical riff. It's also new for me to write
songs from the bass instead of the guitar.
JUSTIN: Zache has said he wants it to sound
"minimal," I don't really know what he means by that. Ha! Andrew
wants it to sound like Cheap Trick and James wants it to sound punk. Since
we all come from different places musically, we end up having a pretty unique
sound. We don't have 2 songs that sound alike which is quite the contrast
to most bands where every song sounds the same and follows a similar structure
and formula. Maniac doesn't have a formula set in stone yet which is
pretty refreshing.
ANDREW: Maniac is my first band. When we started, I was
a bit intimidated. Everyone else had been touring and playing for years. They
knew the scene and had very particular musical reference points that sometimes
I couldn't relate to. All I knew was I had certain stylistic tendencies as
a player and that I should not shy away from those. So, I didn't. But, I also
kept my ears open and began to incorporate new things into my playing and
writing. In the end, I think what makes Maniac a unique band -- if we are in
some way unique -- is that we've found a way to stew our various styles into
a cohesive -- and still evolving -- whole.
What other than music has inspired a Maniac song? Think
like books or film, I mean living in L.A. with so many cultures running
together there must be a lot of stuff to draw motivation from.
JUSTIN: You're right about LA having a ton of cultures and
influences that undoubtedly spill into any kind of creative energy. I'd
say the Nathanael West book, "Day of the Locust," the film
"Chinatown," Dan Fante's, "Chump Change," Jerry Stahl's
"Permanent Midnight," Bukowski's "Last Night of the Earth" poems,
taco trucks and Thai food. I'm also pretty certain that drugs and alcohol have
inspired some of the lyrics and music although we've been good boys recently.
Zache sings though and I have no idea what he's saying most of the time, but I
assume he's singing about sexual frustration and/or drug use.
ZACHE: I'm inspired by real life happenings
personal to me and authors like Camus, Steinbeck, Saint-Exupéry and
Nabokov.
JAMES: That's more for the front court of this
band. But honestly, just the city of LA is inspiring enough in many doses.
If John Fante ("Ask The Dust") were in a band, he'd probably be
rocking out with us.
ANDREW: I write for a living. It's obsessive and
totally self-conscious, so for me playing music is about catharsis. I don't intellectualize
it. I play things that make me feel good.
You have a brand new 7” out now on La Ti Da Records, Dim Sum b/w
Pepe. I am curious as to what inspired the cover art of the man
holding the balloons?
ZACHE: The cover art was the idea of our original
drummer, Richie. We played a show with F.Y.P. once and set up a back drop
of 6 balloons, each with a letter on them, that spelled MANIAC. The balloon
dude was a continuation of that. Kind of makes you uncomfortable, doesn't it?
ANDREW: As Zache mentioned, we played a show at the Blue
Star and dressed the stage with 'Maniac' spelled out in balloons. My favorite
part of the story is that we were the opening act that night and every band
that played after us had to do so with our giant silver Mylar balloons hanging
over them. That pretty much says it all.
Maniac has been around a little over a year now and already
you have played with some pretty great bands. What has been the most
memorable show the band has played good or bad? Where was it and what made
it so unforgettable?
ANDREW: Our second show was terrible. We opened up at
the American Legion Hall in Highland Park. The house lights were on. Bright.
And the crowd was standing 20 feet away from us. Highly uncomfortable. I wanted
out from the first chord. Our third show sticks out as a great one. We were
playing The Redwood with The Ballantynes from Canada. It was packed and it was
the first time I saw people I didn't know gettin' down to our songs. It was
also the first time I really felt present onstage. What's more, I broke a
string on our second to last song. I figured that was it for the set. Then
Jared, lead singer of the Ballantynes, handed me his guitar. They wanted us to
keep playing. I felt validated. Also, it was sort of funny in that Jared's
taller than I am and his guitar was slung so low I was playing it around my
knees. Our most recent show with Brent Amaker and the Rodeo was pretty
terrific, too. Amazing band. Their lead guitarist is so good I've considered
switching to kazoo.
JUSTIN: Yeah, I agree with Andrew, the only great show I can
think of recently was a random Monday night at the Redwood in downtown LA.
Brent Amaker and the Rodeo were the headliners, they're from Seattle. I
didn't really know what to expect, they were described to me as Johnny Cash
meets Devo. It was a pretty accurate way of describing them actually.
They had this outlaw, Cash vibe but with this amazing guitarist who played
these Ennio Morricone type straight desert riffs. They put on a real
show, man, like Elvis in a Vegas casino in the 70’s. They are dressed
identically in white cowboy suits complete with boots and hats. The dude walks
out with a gong, later in the set he busts out a bullwhip and they ended the
set with the roadie placing a black cape on the singer, he walks off and the
bassist does a fully nude male strip tease. It was fucking brilliant, one
of the best shows I saw all year. I heard their recordings but it doesn't
really do their live show justice, so I guess you just have to see 'em live.
JAMES: I agree. Brent Amaker and the Rodeo at The Redwood
Bar. The show was just awesome and packed and those guys have the coolest get
up I've ever seen in a band. Rock and Roll was in the air. Did I mention it was
a Monday?
ZACHE: Sounds like we actually might do a west coast tour
next year with Brent Amaker and the Rodeo. Personally, I feel like we'd be a
great fit together. Maniac is simply put, punk rock but I'd like to think we
have the potential of reaching a broader audience. Brent Amaker is like country
meets the Stranglers. Their fans are a versatile mix of folks like ours. I've
seen fans our Maniac become fans of The Rodeo and vice versa. They're fun to
watch and extremely talented. I feel like they would challenge us night after
night and they're also good dudes to have a drink with. With a combination like
that, everybody wins.
If you guys could tour with any band/musician from times
gone by, who would it be and why?
ANDREW: The Who. You know why.
Van Halen under Roth. Cheap Trick. Guns N' Roses. Motley Crue. All bands who
participated in the sort of storied excess and buffoonery that is at the heart
of every genre of rock and roll except prog rock.
JAMES: Oooooooh. So many to name, so much pressure. Man this
is tough. I mean who wouldn't have wanted to tour with The Stones, The Clash,
etc. But I'm gonna be relevant. One modern band that always blew me away
was The Hives. No one has sounded tougher than that band since they came out except
us. POW!
JUSTIN: Too many to name. I would have loved to play
with Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Ritchie Valens, Little Richard, Screamin' Jay
Hawkin. If I were around in LA in the 60’s, I would have loved to play with
Love, The Seeds, The Standells, The Doors, Neil Young. In the 70’s, Van
Halen, The Runaways, The Weirdos, The Germs, Black Flag, Black Randy, VOM,
Controllers, Flesh Eaters, Gun Club too many to name. Touring-wise, I'd
like to tour with somebody professional and low key. I'd be down to play a
few shows with Motley Crue or Guns 'N Roses in the 80’s, but don't think I'd
like to do a whole tour with 'em, my liver might explode.
I don’t like using the term “guilty pleasure” because I
don’t think anyone should be made to feel ashamed of anything they like. However
with that being said, what to you listen to that you think a lot of fans may be
surprised by?
ANDREW: I have eclectic taste in music and, like
everyone; I listen to different bands for different reasons. That
said, sometimes I like to put my iPod on shuffle and hope it takes me from
Don Henley to Peter Gabriel to Tears for Fears to Simple Minds to Bruce
Springsteen to Tom Petty to Cheap Trick to Dead Boys to 70's Van Halen to Guns
n' Roses to Ratt to Motley Crue to Dio to Iron Maiden and then somehow makes it
from there to Tangerine Dream to M83 to Boards of Canada. If you wanna get real specific, Phil Collins
hit singles, "Billy Don't Lose My Number" and "Easy Lover"
are in heavy rotation in my car right now especially 'Easy Lover'. Philip
Bailey's vocals really sell the shit out of that track and Nathan East is a
beastly groove-master on bass.
ZACHE: No guilt here! I listen to and am inspired by many
genres of music. I usually listen to KUSC when I'm driving which is LA's
classical station. I guess you could call that the most opposite genre of music
from us. I to a lot of jazz, classical, and I get down with some Ranchero as
well. I'm currently listening to this Latin psychedelic-esque group from
Columbia called The Meridian Brothers. I generally stay away from top 40 and
new hip-hop made after 1997.
JAMES: HA! Whoever knows me knows mine for sure. STYX. I
love that band, ever since I was a kid. I don't care what anyone says. STYX
rules hard.
JUSTIN: I love a lot of 60’s French pop, I like Ranchero
music and Trio too like Los Panchos, I like some 70’s Spanish gypsy music like
Los Amaya. I think "Hey Ya" was one of the best pop songs ever
written. The Venga Boys first album was pretty unstoppable. I like
pretty much everything by Oasis. I love the Doors and believe they captured the
sound and the vibe of L.A. perfectly. If Van Halen or the Doors come on
the radio I will turn it up. I'm surprised by the amount of "Dad
Rock" that I like. Generally in the car, and I spend a lot of time in the
car, I'll listen to the 2 classic rock stations, an old school rap station
(KDAY), the USC classical music station or NPR. If "Cocaine" by
Clapton comes on, I will also turn it up just like I would turn up "Low
Rider." Shit, Jackson Browne, "Runnin' On Empty." How many
guilty pleasures can one man have? Ha Ha.
What music have you unleashed on the world and where can
people go to hear it or buy it?
JUSTIN: Maniac have one 7" out on Canadian label La Ti
Da, you can get it off their website, you can also hear the tracks there. We
just recorded a full-length LP and so that should be out in the near future. In
the past, I played in a ton of bands that released records, Deadly Weapons,
Clorox Girls, Red Dons, La Mano De Mono, Suspect Parts, Role Models, LA
Drugz. You can find links to listen to those songs on my website www.justin-maurer.com/music/. Most of it's also on Spotify, Pandora, iTunes and all
those other digital mediums that pay bands a fraction of a cent per play. A
FRACTION of a cent. I kid you not. I should have a check for 6 dollars coming
to me pretty soon.
JAMES: A few. My resume isn't as nearly as impressive
as Justin's! IMAGES - Thought Patterns 7", LA Drugz - Outside Place
12" EP.
ZACHE: I've put out three LP’s and two singles with
The Girls. You can find those at dirtnaprecs.com and on iTunes and Spotify.
What does the band have in store for us in the near, or not
so near, future?
JAMES: Just recorded a full length, like a few days ago. Ear
bleeding orgasms cumming your way. Splooge.
ANDREW: It's going to be an incendiary record.
ZACHE: We just finished recording our LP last weekend and
we're very excited about it. We're hoping to have that out sometime next year.
We're fortunate to be surrounded by many talented friends in Los Angeles who
also like Maniac and want to work with us. Expect a video or three very soon.
