Daveyhavok12's Blog

I made this after losing one of my dreams...drama club(I was in it for a long time and had a great part)...it got shut down don't ask why I really don't want to talk about it

 

 

Pain,ending in misery

hopes fail

tears drop

screams

heart beats

as I wish on every star,

I iwsh this never happend

knowing it will not come true

I cry,

Letting this dream go,

was like a knife through the heart,

this pain is just to real

sorrow around every cornor,

one problem after another,

death,

fighting,

blood,

PAIN PAIN

JUDGE ME!
I COULD REALLY GIVE A DAMN!
YES I ADMIT...I GOT KIKI KANNIBAL JEWLRY...BUT I ALSO ADMIT I AM USING IT FOR THE PLAY AND I LIKE IT!
SUCK ON THAT!
IF YOUR GONNA TALK SHIT ABOUT ME..TRY SAYING TO ME NOT OTHER PEOPLE!
GET A FUCKING LIFE YOU CUNTS!
OMFG I GOT KIKI KANNIBAL JEWLRY...THE WORLD IS GONNA END!
THATS HOW YOU PEOPLE ARE ACTING!
GROW UP!!!!!
YOU DO NOT OFFEND ME IN ANY WAY!
GET OVER IT!
GET OVER YOURSELF!
YOU THINK YOUR SO COOL...CAUSE U "THINK" KEYWORD THINK...YOU HURT ME
GUESS AGAIN LOSERS!
HAHA
=]
I MAY SOUND MEAN..BUT I'M REALLY NOT

<3

Everywhere i look,

I see,

dark spaces,

unhappy faces,

people looking around,

very confused,

I look at him,

he looks at me,

he picks up the knife,

I tell him to stop,

I put my head down,

he picks my head up,

he looks me in the eyes and says:I LOVE YOU

as tears start to form,

he wipes them,

I say I LOVE YOU TOO

I put my head back down,

he raises the knife,

he says sorry,

I look up,

he has fallen down,

seeing him there,

lying dead,

I go to the ground next to him,

tears falling,

I pick up the knife,

THIS IS THE END
it ends in death....

 

 

 

I WILL NEVER BE ONE!

I DON'T LABEL MYSELF

AND IF I WERE TO I WOULD BE SCENE/PUNK

SO DON'T CALL ME A PREP OR ASK IF I AM ONE!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

PLZ!?

<3

the night I became a vegetarian(starring randi n gary)
Current mood: scared

OK WELL ME RANDI AND GARY WERE GOING TO THE MOVIES AND ME AND RANDI WERE THERE FIRST WAITING FOR GARY AND WE STARTED TO EAT THE RING POP THINGS AND WE GOT VERY HYPER AND WE WENT INTO THE GAME ROOM AND THERE WERE THESE STICKERS THAT WERE JUST SITTING THERE N THEN WE PICKED THEM UP AND STARTED TO STICK THEM EVERYWHERE AND THEN IWENT TO THE VENDING MACHINE AND GOT A STICKY HAND AND THEN GARY GOT TO THE MOVIE PLACE AND I WANTED TO HIT HIM W/ IT AND SO I FLUNG IT AT HIM AND IT HIT SOME OLD GUY BEHIND HIM N HE LAUGHED AND ME AND RANDI WERE RUNNIG AWAY FROM THE OLD DUDE OK THEN WE WENT IN TO THE THEATER AND THEN RANDI FORGOT TO PUT HER PHONE ON SILENT AND GARY LEANED OVER TO ME AND SAID HEY LAUREN CALL RANDI(HER RINGTONE WAS RLLLY LOUD TO IT WAS A SONG THAT WAS BY A GIRL W/ A HIGH PITCH VOICE) AND SO THEN I CALLED HER AND IT RANG AND THE PEOPLE IN FRONT STARTED TO YELL AT HER...THEN WHEN THE MOVIE WAS OVER WE WERE HUNGRY SO WE WENT TO MACDONALDS N I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WANTED CUZ DURING THE MOVIE I THOUGHT OVER BECOMING A VEGETARIAN AND SO THIS WAS THE FIRST NIGHT AND WHEN WE GOT THERE I ORDERED A SALAD AND THE GUY BEHIND THE COUNTER WAS LIKE YOU WANT A CHEESEBURGER N I YELLED NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AND SAID IF YOU GIVE ME A BURGER I WIKLL GET ON MY KNEES AND CRY AND SO ME AND RANDI GOT OUR FOOD AND THEN GARY'S DAD PULLED UP AND HE HAD TO LEAVE AND SO ME AND RANDI WENT OUTSIDE TO WAIT FOR MY MOM BUT WHEN RANDI LEFT THE COUNTER THE GUY WAS LIKR HOW OLD YOU IS(YES THATS EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID) AND SHE WAS LIKE WHAT AND HE KEPT ASKING HER OLD SHE WAS AND SHE SAIDUHHH 14 AND WE RAN OUT THEN MORE STUFF KEPT HAPPENING WE SAW THESE GUYS THAT MUST HAVE BEEN AROUND 18 AND THEY HJAD THEIR CAR AND THEY LOOKED AT US AND STARTED TO POINT AT US AND WAS LIKE WHAT DO YOU WANT AND THEY POINTED TO THERE TRUNK(THE BACK OF THE CAR) AND THEY WERE TELLING US TO GO OVER THERE AND SO I SAID RANDI I TIHNK THEY WNNA RAPE US LETS GO INSIDE SO THEN WE SAT DOWN AT A TABLE THING AND THEY WERE CIRCLEING THE PLACE AND I SAID OK RANDI LETS GO EAT IN THE BATHRROM SO THEY DON'T COME IN HERE N KILL US AND SO THEN WE WENT IN THE GIRLS ROOM AND I LOOKED AT RANDI AND WAS LIKE "WELL THIS IS NICE" AND THIS ELEVATOR MUSIC CAME ON  AND I WAS LIKE OK SO WE ARE EATING IN A BATHROOM AND ELEVATOR MUSIC IS PLAYING THEN RANDI FELL ON THE FLOOR LAUGHING AND I TOLD HER TO SHUT UP CUZ IF THEY COME IN THEY WILL HEAR YOU AND THEN MY MOM CAME AND WE RAN SO FAST WE RAN INOT THE DOOR AND THE GUYS BEHIND THE COUNTER HAD TO SEE IF WE WERE OK AND THEN WE LEFT...HOLY CRAP ALL THX TO GARY WE ALMOST GOT RAPED LOL JK IT WAS KINDA OUR FAULT ALSO..BUT W/E THAT WAS RLLY SCARY!

ok well me n taylor skipped like a week of school to go to island of adventures n so it was 1 in the morning(this wa the day before we left) n we were in my rom n watching a movie n then i look outside n say hey taylor i think there is someone out in my backyard n she said i doubt it n so i lokoed away n said w/e n then i heard a nosie(like someone ran into something) n it was coming from outside n i looked n saw a guy soming towards my window n i scream n taylor yells what the fuck lauren n i crawl onto the floor n taylor looked out the window n the guy looked back into the window n she screamed n he screamed n she fell off the bed(hahaha waht a dumbass) n so then i started yelling out to my mom to come get us n she didn't hear us n then so taylor came down to were i was n we both crawled into my moms room n yelled asd loud as we could b she woke up all pissed n  we tried to tell what happened but we  couldn't cuz we were so yired n then we caught our breath n we said that there was some drunk guy outside my windown n she went to look n he was gone.....holy shit that was scary.!!!!! but it was funny

• One time I was singing along with a boy that looked like me in the crowd, and he pushed away the mic and started making out with me and accidently bit my lip, and I had to get stitches.

• I can type like the wind, and believe me, the wind types really fast!

• The song is based on detachment, seclusion and separation, but I intentionally don't write in a way that is very specific so that people can take what they need to from my songs. When I was growing up there were songs that meant a lot to me, and then I found out they meant something entirely different to the artist, and it ruined it for me. I never want to do that to someone. [On Girl's Not Grey]

• You're denying your heritage! You should eat cheese!

• You put a little black box up his butt?! A box?! Couldn't you have found a carrot or something?

• Yeah, I can't play a thing at all. I cannot play an instrument. I do a lot of 'nah-nah-nah-doo-doo-doo' kinda stuff.

• Interviewer: How did you learn to sing?
  
• Davey: I did? I don't know, I've been singing since I was five years old at family functions. I used to visit my great grandparents at their house in PA, and my relatives would pay me to sing old 1920's songs into a wooden spoon. I was between the age of 3-5 years old.

• Some nice young lady got me fuzzy socks. How I love the socks in their fuzziness. A thank you for my bday present to the girl I did not meet.

• Fan: Davey, how do you respond to the rumours circulating that you are a homosexual? Is there any truth to these?
  
• Davey: How should I respond? Ecstatically?

• Interviewer: I don't want to be rude but you guys are a bunch of weirdo freaks. Do the locals abuse you in the street in Ukiah?
  
• Davey: The time I went back before last I got whistled at by some hicks in a truck. I was flattered but I'm not sure they were really interested.

• I'm a moron because I don't want to lie in a gutter puking over myself...yeah right.

• The people who send us fan mail written in blood say the nicest things, so it doesn't freak us out too much.

• Man, I don't know a damn thing about sports, I wear make-up and nail polish, remember?

• At the time we were really into skating, and skating and punk rock and hardcore go hand in hand so--THERE'S A HORSE! There's a horse, and a little dog, and a woman in a hat!

• I didn't want to share my balloons...my mom wanted me too

• Yes I'm a lot prettier than you and you're a girl...I noticed. Pfft, do you believe this? This girl is mad at me cause I'm prettier than her and she's a girl. Don't worry honey, nobody noticed.

• On being asked if he freaked out in the theatre when he saw The Ring: "Yes I did. I was by myself and there was this guy with his girlfriend and a couple of other girls next to me - and they were right next to me, so I was pretty much in his lap the whole time. Luckily for me, he was nice!

• I don't know what the monster is. There is a monster. It happens in the studio, sometimes it happens on stage, and it's in my neck. Sometimes it happens when I'm just talking, like I'd be talking to you and the monster bites me...it hurts. IT'S NOT AN ATTEMPT TO BE WHACK.

• Fan: Has Davey's monster in his neck surfaced recently? And what's his name?
  
• Davey: He doesn't have a name. He's gone. Forever.
  
• Interviewer: Would you care to elaborate as to what the monster in the neck actually was?
  
• Davey: It's just gone. Yeah it's just gone. It's gone.
  
• Interviewer: I'm getting the distinct impression that you really don't want to talk about the monster in your neck.
  
• Davey: Yeah.

• I'm an extremist, I have to deal with my own extreme personality, and I walk the fine line of wanting to die and wanting to be the ruler of it all.

• I look like an inflatable fuckdoll.

• Personally I have never found the practice of recreational drug use appealing. In fact, I have always found the lifestyle and the people who surround it to be abhorrent. I never quite understood why anyone would risk sacrificing their bodies, minds, and relationships at the expense of a quick damaging high. I grew up in a small town and at my high school, like every high school, everyone's recreation of choice was drug abuse. I never understood it. I never took part and always felt quite alone in this decision. Then one day I discovered a band called Minor Threat and realized that there were more people out there who thought like me. I was very excited to say the least, and what was more encouraging, these people were part of the oh-so self-destructive punk scene. From that day on I claimed the X. I continue to do so today because I believe the sXe philosophy is a very positive one that many people, especially young people, can benefit from greatly if they have the desire.

• If you're gonna come up here and sing with me, don't sing the wrong words in my ear because that really fucks me up.

• On Pink Floyd: Maybe I never gave them a chance. But when I grew up, hippies listened to Pink Floyd! And I just can't ever get over that. I can't deny my roots. I'm not a big fan of fuckin' hippies. To me, listening to Pink Floyd is like listening to the Grateful Dead.

• Please excuse me if it seems I'm throwing a little tantrum, but I can't get a microphone that fucking works.

• I'm gonna meet Lars in his bunk tonight. We'll see what happens...

• I don't think there's such a thing as a happy teenager.

• I experienced one of my most starstuck moments at the Oasis show. Now, there are a handful of people who will get me starstruck, but generally, I'm able to handle myself because if I meet them it's at a place where I wouldn't be suprised to do so. I did not expect to see Trent Reznor in Las Vegas at this Oasis show, so when I did, I had a little episode. Needless to say I totally dorked out and fan-boyed all over the accommodating gentleman for about 4.5 seconds before letting him be free of me. He was cool. It was nifty. Bowie, you're next.

• Old ladies come up to me all the time telling me to find God, when all I want to find is some chai and a good vegan muffin.

• Q. Why are you guys so awesome?
  
• Fuzzy creatures

• Hate humanity? Yep, sure do. There's such a lack of responsibility for one's actions in the world, a selfishness, and a great destruction in the way people live their lives. It's all instant gratification, and who cares how my instant gratification affects those around me, or on a small personal leverl or a global level. The way people treat each other is truly disgusting, and we've created an environment through advances in science and technology that allows for a very septic society to thrive. And we breed and breed, and all the wrong people breed while all the right people don't want to have children because they don't want to place them in this world.

• Unfortunately, we forgot to use a cowbell but some of the stuff you mentioned might show up here and there. Fuck, we totally should have used a cowbell.

• As you get older you will gain a bit more control over everything. Don't let anyone, even your parents, break you. Find good people who care about you and surround yourself with just them. If you can't find them at first, find good music and fall into it, let it hold you until they come. I truly hope you enjoy the new record.

• I eventually became the king ruler of the pear-packing plant.

• I don't know what the monster is. There is a monster. It happens in the studio. Sometimes it happens on stage. And it's in my neck. Sometimes it happens when I'm just talking, Like I'd be talking to you and the monster bites me... it hurts.

• Random Person- Ha, the monster was funny
  
• Hey, that's mean. I hope you get a monster.

• RP- Davey, you look sexy.
  
• Davey always looks sexy. (with a cocky smile)

• If everyone could back up... please back up. We've got some crushed ribs and some fragile people up here... you alright?

• I'm Davey and I sing, make faces, and swing from trees.

• For the record, I'd eat the fuck out of some vegan chocolate chips.

• The Lord has a mysterious fashion sense.

• I'm pencil girl!

• I like French Crullers. There's a donut that they make in this donut shop in Ukiah, it's called the 'Chocolate Fuck You' or the 'Fuck you I'm Chocolate' or something. You know what I'm talking about Adam? It's this big chocolate bar.
  
• Adam-Uh, no.
  
• What's wrong with you?

• How many times will [Davey] put a disc into his CD player before realizing it's a DVD?

• It wasn't supposed to be pink vinyl, it's supposed to be peppermint vinyl, so it's supposed to look like one of those peppermint candies with the red and white swirlies. They fucked it up so it's pink. What's the name of that pressing plant? Well, whatever it is... don't use it! You'll be on Frilly Pink and you'll be forced to buy flowers from Adama's Flower Shop.

• Can I have a bite of your hamburger? Just don't tell the vegans.....

• That is so stupid. It's not agressive, it's not cathartic. It's like some sort of stupid kiddie ride. I hate that. Stage diving is still cool, though. That's where we come from growing up as hardcore kids. Most hardcore kids know how to stage dive and do it with style, but most most kids today don't know what they're doing out there. (comments on crowd-surfing)

• Q. Hey Jade, are the rest of the guys jealous that the entire 'Girl's Not Grey' video occurs in your crotch?
  
• Jade- Hey Dave, are you jealous that "Girl's Not Grey" takes place in my crotch?
  
• Davey- No, because I'm going to take place in your crotch

• My ideal girl should be smart, drug-free, and hot. People say it's not important, but it is.... she can't hate me either.

• Oh shit, I lost a ring. I sure hope it's in my pocket. This motherfuckin ring... ok, I had one and it broke in half and I got another one, and now it disappeared. Continue your interview, I'm hoping it's in my pocket.

• One time I was singing along with a boy that looked like me in the crowd and he pushed away the mic and started making out with me and accidentally bit my lip and I had to get stitches.

• This barricade is a piece of shit. I could build better. Yea, yea, believe it or not, the kid with the lipstick can build stuff.

• I find drug use disrespectful, self-destructive, and weak. I want no part of it. I believe in complete respect for myself and others.

• Crowd surfing is a product of car commercials.

• RP- Davey, I wanna have your kids!!
  
• Well.... I'l be sure to call ya.

• RP-Davey is the new Jesus!!
  
• Umm, I think it's the hair. Is it the hair?

• A girl in Salt Lake once asked me 'Why are you wearing makeup? Are you a fag?'. I then said 'Well, if I'm a fag for wearing makeup, you must be a dyke in blue jeans'. I also informed her that she was just angry because I was prettier than she was.

• ...In closing, Johnny Depp is still hot, Mars Volta deserves the world, and happy birthday, Mom!

• Q- Do you practice putting makeup on anyone in the band?
  
• No. But I practice other things.

• Whether it's good or bad, it's our best album.

• We're pretty! We are though, we're a good-looking band.

• I wish terrible things upon the person that just did that." [after being hit in the crotch with a shoe by someone in the crowd at Warped Tour in Charlotte, NC]

• Anyone who steals a shoe is a posuer.

• This is Davey. I'm not special.

• Adam likes violent sex. All you bondage babes out there, the drummer with the hair likes rough sex.

• I kan nawt spel gud.

• ... doesn't it suck that I can't spell?

• Rabbits. You know, bunnies. If you don't look out for them, the little bastards sneak up on you and bite you and shit.

• We were all gothic before we were born. Especially Hunter.

• Beyonce smiled at me, though not because she knew who I was or anything, but because I looked a bit creepy. It was nice though, because she’s so pretty.

• Can you turn into a kitty cat?

• Random Fan: You have the only job in the world where people line up to hug you.
  
• Davey: Well, me and the Pope.
  
• Random: Are you crazy? You can't hug the pope. He's inside the bubble.
  
• Davey: Are you sure you can't hug the Pope? Hey, everyone, does anyone know if you're allowed to hug the Pope?

• I'm God.

• Oh, please! I wish I had her body! (when called a Madonna impersonator)

k well the other night me n my friend went to the mall for a few hours n so than we were done n so than we called my mom to come pick us upn so she did n i looked in the window n saw a guy iun the car! thjan i looked n saw that it was the guy that i don't rlly like all that much! n than we looked around the car n saw that there were two drinks so i tryed both of them....they were both beers! so i looked at my friend n started to cry! i put my face to the window so my mom would not see my tears running down my face! so than we wanted to go to youth group n so my mom dropped us off(just so u know she was drinking n driving so thats y i was crying) n than i called my other friend while we were still in the car n than i asked if i could spend the night at her house n she said yyes! than the guy started to insult my friend n she got mad! n than when we got dropped off i got on the floor n cryed rlllllllly hard! than my friend picked me up to go to her house! than the next day i went to school n the police called me down from class n they wanted too knopw what was going on n so i told them n i started to cry even more n than they said they were gonna vist my mom n i got on the floor n started to beg tham not to go cause ii did not want my mom to hurt me after they went her house! n than they were dpne tlking to me! n so i went back to class n was rlly mad n upset that i slamed the door on someones body n head! n so than iu went to my friends n cryed on there shoulder!

Masquerade of Life- Jade Puget and Davey Havok

Tiger Army is one of the most ferocious, undeniably amazing new bands to grace the underground music scene in a long, oh so long, time. Their self-titled debut on Hellcat Records sits comfortably in the number one slot of my top albums for 1999 and has created a huge buzz among all fans of purely intense music. On the first floor of our abode, in the shadows of my room "the Clavet," I met to speak with the band's frontman and creative force, Nick 13. Our conversation, for your enjoyment, went as follows...

--Davey Havok, April 2000

Davey: You call your music "American Psychobilly"... For those who aren't familiar, could you explain what psychobilly is?

Nick 13: Let's see... It's a little hard to explain until you check some of it out. Psychobilly basically originated in Europe... The roots of it come basically from punk rock and 1950's rockabilly music, but it's more than just a combination of the two. Musically, it's been around as an actual style since the early eighties and it's kept evolving from there. It usually has a stand-up bass and can be every bit as aggressive as punk. There's also a distinct horror influence in the lyrics and the look. It's both a music style and a subculture, with its own outlook, style of dress, and all that. As for why "American Psychobilly," well, our sound definitely owes a lot of inspiration to European psychobilly, but we still have our own distinct take on it that has to do with American punk, roots music and whatever else, so that's just how we describe our style.

Davey: That's cool. How did you get into it?

Nick 13: Well, I was exposed to punk at a pretty young age by skateboarding, and that became my first true love, musically. But I also loved 1950's rock'n'roll, you know, stuff that I would hear from my Dad or whatever. By the time I was in my early teens, I listened to both and I was fascinated by the connection between 50's music and punk. I began noticing things-- the way the Ramones sounded like 50's rock'n'roll in terms of melody and chord progression, only with a lot more distortion and attack... pictures of Joe Strummer dressed like a Teddy Boy in the early days of the Clash... Some of my favorite tracks on "The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle" by the Pistols were their covers of Eddie Cochran so I started checking his stuff out. The Cramps, "American Nightmare" by the Misfits. Stuff like that. You know, a lot of guitar solos in '77 punk are almost straight from the fifties... Listening to the more accessible fifties rock'n'roll and rockabilly side by side with old punk and hardcore-- I was pretty into that whole trip by the early 90's. I found a Meteors record and loved that, but I had no idea that there was a whole scene for this type of music. In '93 I drove down to see them from Ukiah and you saw 'em with me, remember that?

Davey: Yes, I do. Some skinhead wanted to kick my ass because I had a mohawk.

Nick 13: Ah yes... the good old days [laughs]. Well, in '94 I moved to Berkeley from the small town I grew up in, where it was next to impossible to find punk, let alone psychobilly, and when I discovered how many bands over there were doing this music that mixed punk with rockabilly with horror imagery, I was like a kid in a candy store, buying records every week-- it was like this perfect hybrid of everything I loved.

Davey: So you're a big fan of rockabilly as well?

Nick 13: Well, yes and no. I'm a big fan of 1950's rockabilly, the good stuff-- Sun records, Rock 'n' Roll Trio, Charlie Feathers and all that. That music will live forever, but I don't like most of the rockabilly music that's around today. Sometimes it's musically accurate but it's missing the most important ingredients, it's tame. Some people are so worried about trying to sound "authentic" that they miss the point. They think that if they play with too much abandon, that'll it degenerate into psycho or punk rock, that it won't be cool anymore. What they like to ignore is that all the original rockabillies were going as wild as possible when they played, they didn't give a fuck. That was the punk rock of the fifties. The psychobilly scene is about digging the music and having fun, period. It's sad to say that the same isn't so true about the rockabilly scene, and that's turned a lot of people off, myself included. That's nothing against people who like rockabilly, because I like it myself. What I don't like is some of the bullshit that's sprung up around it. And it's not that I don't appreciate subcultures, I'm a psycho-- but we play for the people who like our music and I don't care if they're into punk, psycho, rockabilly, hardcore, goth, oi, country, black metal or whatever, because I like stuff from all those styles. On a certain level it's about us and them, "us" being anyone who looks at life a little differently from the herd or even has the potential to. If you split too many hairs, there is no us.

Davey: I completely agree. To shift gears a bit, what bands where you in before Tiger Army?

Nick 13: I tried more than once to get something going during my early teens in Ukiah, but I didn't get my first real band, Influence 13, going until I was almost 17. That started in '91-- it was me... uh, Jade, who you know. [laughter from all] Geoff Kresge played bass-- he learned stand-up about 3 years ago and has played all the recent Tiger Army shows-- a guy named Jolson was the drummer and a guy named Jevon was the singer for most of the time, I took over on vocals at the end. I wrote most of the songs, Jade wrote some too. We never had any releases, but we had a lot of fun, played some cool shows, and it sure taught me a lot. We broke up in '93...

Davey: So after the great Influence 13, how did Tiger Army come about?

Nick 13: Well, in '94 I had no band and I knew that I wanted my next band to play in this style. I was just going to school and waiting to meet the right people, specifically a good stand-up bassist. In the summer of '95 I got a chance to visit Europe and go to a psychobilly festival in Germany. Mad Sin, Godless Wicked Creeps, saw some great bands. That whole experience was so inspiring-- I met some very cool people, the music was great, the wrecking, just seeing all the visual aspects of psychobilly firsthand. It really lit a fire in me to try and make things happen when I got back. That fall I met Joel, who played stand-up and we starting jamming. I already had a set of songs written. By the end of '95 we were resolved to do something. We got on our first gig, which you guys [AFI] put us on, I figured we'd come up with a drummer somewhere in 3 months or whatever. We wound up borrowing yours [Adam from AFI] and he did a really good job! [laughs] That was March '96 that we played our first show, at Gilman Street.

Davey: What happened next?

Nick 13: Our second gig was at the Berkeley Square, opening for the Meteors. That's something I'll always remember. Paul Fenech is like the Godfather of Psychobilly. He more than any other single person is responsible for making it what it is today, so that was an honor to play with them, and we had a pretty good set too! Anyway, the idea was to get a permanent drummer, but that never seemed to happen. We played sporadically throughout 1996 whenever Adam wasn't on tour, and we went in the studio and did a demo. Three songs from that were released on our first record, a 45 that's now way out of print. It was released by Ian and Noah from the Randumbs on their label, which I don't think exists anymore. We did some gigs with our friend Greg of the Swingin' Utters on drums, those were a lot of fun. In late '96 we went back in the studio and cut an early version of "Nocturnal." In early '97 Joel quit and we played our last gig for a long time.

Davey: So how did the association between Tiger Army and Hellcat come about?

Nick 13: Well, Joel quitting was just one of a string of unfortunate events in my life at the time. I was done with school and wound up having to move out of Berkeley and back in with my parents, over a hundred miles away from the Bay Area, no direction, no band. Which for me, was very hard, since music is basically the only thing I care about, you know, other than the well-being of my family and friends. So there's this message on my answering machine one day from Tim Armstrong saying that he loves my music and that I need to give him a call. Words can't really describe the way I felt right then I guess, I was pretty fucking happy to say the least. Adam had given a mutual friend of his and Tim's our demo awhile back, with "Nocturnal" and a few other songs, I'd forgotten about it. Anyway, he told me that he wanted me to make a record for his label. I was overjoyed, but I had to tell him that I didn't have a band right then. He didn't lose any enthusiasm, he still wanted me to make a record, even if it was as a solo artist or whatever. So that gave me my direction back and as of spring/early summer '97, my plan was just to get moved back to the East Bay, which I did, and try and get things happening with the album.

Davey: So would you consider the band to have been broken up at this point?

Nick 13: Well, not really. To be honest, there were a couple weeks where I didn't feel like I had the heart to go on. But I would get down to the Bay Area for shows and people encouraged me to keep it going. So I'd resolved to keep the band going and somehow make a record before I got the call from Tim, I just had no idea how I was gonna do it. This might sound weird, but even though I was the only member, the band was never broken up to me. That's what "Tiger Army Never Die" is about. Keep going, MAKE what you want to happen happen. Believe in yourself, in the power of your own will. Members have come and members have gone. But I'm gonna keep doing this until I can't do it anymore. I write everything, so there will always be a continuity in the music. Maybe things can slow us down for a finite amount of time, but we'll keep coming. This record, the next record, the record after that, every show we play, I want to create something that will last beyond my material existence in this world. That's the goal.

Davey: Well, you're off to a great start. So let's see, you get the call from Tim and then...

Nick 13: Alright, anyway, it was awhile before we went into the studio to make the album, early January '99. In that year and a half prior there was a lot going on, Hellcat was just starting to get going and had a lot of releases and new bands to take care of, Tim was on tour for Life Won't Wait. I just kept working on songs and trying to figure out who I was gonna record with and where, but I knew Tiger Army was going to return.

Davey: Amen. So how did the lineup for the album come together?

Nick 13: Well, when everything came together to get ready and go in the studio, Adam had a big block of time off before recording Black Sails with AFI. He was just kind of chilling out while you guys were writing... so I asked him to cut the record with us, which he did. Did a great job too, a very versatile drummer. We had months for me to show him the songs and for us to practice, which I think contributed to us being pretty tight when we finally recorded. The stand-up bass player on the record was Rob Peltier, who was in a band called the Quakes. They were kind of trailblazers as far as being arguably the first, best and one of the only true American psychobilly bands-- they started as teenagers and moved to England to be a part of the psycho scene there in the late 80's. Stand-up bassists who are good enough to play psycho-- and I say that because it can be a lot more technically demanding than rockabilly because it's faster and has more double and triple plucking-- bassists who understand and dig the style and do it well are unfortunately pretty hard to come by here in the States. I hope a lot of kids take it up and learn to play it right, and that in a few years there will be plenty! Anyway, Rob flew out from Buffalo, New York where he lives to do the record. I'd sent him our demo, he dug it, so I sent him the songs on tape, he came out here and we just did it. He did a great job as well and it was very cool to work with someone from a band that I've dug for a long time.

Davey: Now, some of the recording was done in Southern California too, correct?

Nick 13: That's right. We started it at the beginning of January '99 at the Art of Ears studio in Hayward, CA with Andy Ernst behind the board. He's a great engineer and helped me out a lot. Everything took a lot longer than I initially planned, and we had to clear out of the studio because AFI had the studio booked (laughs) for Black Sails In The Sunset. About half of our songs were entirely done, but the other half needed vocals, a couple needed guitar work, some production, plus mixing. So Tim said to come on down to LA and we did some stuff there at his studio, Bloodclot, with another very talented and helpful engineer, TJ Johnson, who's worked with Rancid and a million other bands. We also worked at a studio that used to be called Crystal studios, that was a cool place. A lot of history there, I guess Motown cut a lot of their 70's west coast stuff there. "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye was recorded there. Supposedly the mike I cut the vocal to "Outlaw Heart" was used by Michael Jackson to cut "ABC," apparently he stood on a chair or a bucket or something [laughs]. And Gold Star studios, where Phil Spector did all of his stuff in the 60's and Eddie Cochran cut "Summertime Blues," the former site of that was half a block away. Unfortunately it's a strip mall now. Oh yeah, End of the Century by the Ramones, too. I bought sodas and candy bars many times from the convenience store there that's on hallowed ground.

Davey: That's rad. So that brings me to another of my questions, about the song you just mentioned, "Outlaw Heart." This song stands out a little from the other material for its distinct country influence...

Nick 13: It does stand apart from the rest of the songs a little, but I felt it was still a Tiger Army song, which isn't the case for every song I write, even if I like the song. True country music-- and I'm not talking about most of the bullshit that gets played on the radio that they call country music these days, I'm talking about the real thing, my favorite era being the 1940's through the early sixties-- can be a beautiful thing, and that old stuff is what inspired that song. Without rockabilly and rock'n'roll in the fifties, there would be no punk. And if you're into rockabilly, you realize that it's based on two things: country, then known as hillbilly, and the blues, or rhythm & blues. Some people don't care about that kind of thing, they just like what they like and that's fine. But I've always been interested in where music comes from. It might seem like a big jump from hardcore punk to country, but it's not to me for whatever reason. Maybe it's because both of them are about emotion at the core, I don't know. Maybe you have to reach a certain age to appreciate it, I think I did. By the time you're 20 or so you've probably had a broken heart at least once and can relate to the subject matter a little more than when you're 15. A lot of country deals with regret in one way or another, so it might be harder to appreciate it when you're so young that you don't have many.

Davey: Good point. Do you see Tiger Army going more in this direction in the future?

Nick 13: It's definitely a possibility. It's kind of funny because I thought that might be one of people's least favorite songs on the record, but instead it's one of the songs people most like. But I'm not going to try and write another song like it just because of that. I just want to write songs that I think are good, and whatever comes to me, comes. That's one of the things that's great about psycho. It's a broad style, but it's still cohesive. There's room in it to go a lot of directions song-wise, yet stay part of the overall style, or at least not conflict with it, in the case of "Outlaw Heart." The best psycho bands have always gone in their own directions and created unique sounds for themselves and that's what I hope we can do.

Davey: Word. So we talked about the album's lineup a little earlier, is that the current lineup? Will you guys be touring in the future?

Nick 13: Well, the original plan with Adam was just to play our first show (laughs), but that turned into a bunch of shows, a seven inch and an album. If he never played with us again, he'd always be an honorary member. With touring and recording in AFI, he's busier than ever, so the record's it for now, but who knows about the future... and it was great to work with Rob, but he's on the East Coast, I'm here and he's got his own life. I'd love to play with him again sometime, but most likely the record will be it. We did shows around California with Geoff Kresge on stand-up and the mighty Joe Fish from Santa Cruz shortly after the record came out and those went great. A lot of people didn't even realize it wasn't the record's lineup, so I'm not worried about a drop in quality. I'm moving to Los Angeles in a couple of weeks, just got a place, and that's where Tiger Army is gonna be based. It's easier for me to do the band there, so that's where I need to go. Geoff will also be relocating to L.A. Joe is Nor Cal based, so we've got a new drummer down there, but Joe is Tiger Army Por Vida as well (laughs). I don't want to say who the new drummer is just yet, because I don't want to jinx anything, but we're very excited about playing with him. He was in a band that's one of my all-time favorites. We should be gigging by early summer, and we'll be on the road soon after.

Davey: Cool. Now personally, I think that the debut Tiger Army album is amazing, I know many agree and are wondering if you have any plans for a new album anytime soon...

Nick 13: Thanks [laughs]. I'm working on the songs for the second album now, that will be on Hellcat of course... and it's actually coming pretty close to being fully written. Recording will hopefully commence in a few months, sometime this summer, and I like to spend a long time on things, but hopefully it will come out in spring of 2001. I can't wait to get on the road, but I also can't wait to start the next record so I'm not exactly sure what'll happen when.

Davey: Some people might be surprised that you're already getting ready to work on the next one...

Nick 13: That's true. I mean, the first one came out in late October/early November, but a lot of people don't realize it was started in January. There was some scheduling stuff that delayed things a little bit so it didn't get wrapped up until the summer-- that's of '99. I had a couple songs written that I really liked that didn't make it on the first record, just because of time constraints, etc., so that's a few songs there, then I've had over a year to write on top of that. As a songwriter, I'm actually probably on the less-prolific end of the spectrum.

Davey: So what can we expect on the record?

Nick 13: It's a little bit of a progression in certain ways I guess, but there's no major stylistic change from the first record. I'm gonna spend a little more time on it, try and get even more atmosphere, but in general, if somebody digs the first album, I can almost guarantee they'll like this one. I think it's a strong collection of songs, I'm really happy with them from a writing standpoint, so I can't wait to get back in the studio.

Davey: So you enjoy recording?

Nick 13: Actually, I hate it. It's incredibly physically and emotionally draining for me. But it's kind of like getting tattooed, it's not too fun while it's happening, but then when you're finished, it's one of the best feelings in the world.

Davey: Just to get a small insight into Nick 13's interests, name a book, comic, video game, movie, cereal and cartoon that you enjoy or think is noteworthy.

Nick 13: Okay, give them to me one at a time.

Davey: Book... or author... or what you're reading right now. What was the last book you read that was good?

Nick 13: I've been reading a lot of nonfiction... I love reading biographies of musical artists I'm into, I love reading "true crime" stuff, be it about serial killers, the Mafia or whatever, I'm finishing a book about the Yakuza right now. Fiction... I like John Fante, H. P. Lovecraft, Poe, Hubert Selby Jr., Barry Gifford, those are some of my favorites.

Davey: Comics. Do you like comics at all?

Nick 13: Yeah, I don't really keep up on what's out today, but my favorite comics ever are definitely the E.C. horror and crime comics of the early fifties...

Davey: Great comics. Video games?

Nick 13: The "Resident Evil" series for Playstation.

Davey: Movie?

Nick 13: Like my favorite movie, or the best one I've seen lately?

Davey: How about lately...

Nick 13: Beyond the Mat, the wrestling documentary. I just saw that the other day, I thought it was great. It would be hard for me to pick an all-time favorite... Goodfellas is definitely one of them. I'm into most of Scorcese's stuff. A lot of old horror movies, 1930's though very early sixties, the black-and-white stuff... Psycho, that's another favorite. The original of course.

Davey: Word. How about a cereal?

Nick 13: Probably "Boo Berry," from the Monster Cereals. General Mills.

Davey: Over "Frankenberry?"

Nick 13: It kind of depends on my mood, there are times when I'd prefer "Frankenberry," so there's not as much of a clear-cut favorite. I'm not super into chocolate, so "Count Chocula" would definitely place third here.

Davey: I'm going to have to agree with that. How bout a cartoon?

Nick 13: Hmm... probably The Simpsons.

Davey: Nice. Well, before I wrap this up, I want to ask you a question that I meant to ask earlier. How has the album been received in Europe? Do people over there like it?

Nick 13: Yeah, we've gotten a lot of positive feedback, letters from psychos, we've done a lot of interviews for zines over there, it's been cool. I've gotten some nice compliments from members of psychobilly bands whose music I love, so that's the best thing of all. Their music is a big part of the reason I play this style today. We got an offer to go to Germany this summer and play some psycho shows so I hope that works out.

Davey: That's great. Any final words?

Nick 13: Just want to thank you and Hit List, and all the people who took the time to read this. Thanks to everyone who's supported us-- big ups to AFI, Rancid, the staff and bands of Hellcat Records and psychos worldwide. We'll be playing soon, so come check it out. If you want to find out more about the band, come to the webpage at: www.tigerarmy.com Tiger Army Never Die!

Davey: Tiger Army Never Die.