Ahem… Anyway, in between exchanging facts relating to the potency/deliciousness of absinthe, singer Jimi Haze, drummer Markley Hart, and “hungover” bassist Joe Fucko (the self-proclaimed “new original,” as he’s only been in the band a mere eight years - not present were guitarists Brian Hood and Idon Bryant), and I amazingly managed to talk about matters more important to the band. And what a wonderful time to speak with Strychnine, as at this very moment (or somewhere abouts) they are in the process of celebrating their tenth year of existence, though there was some debate over the exact time they formed – all that absinthe, don’t you know… (Okay, I’ll stop now… I swear!)

In the beginning, whilst thinking of band names, Jimi wanted the odd “Pickle” to be the band’s moniker. Meanwhile, their old bass player lobbied for the even lovelier “Putas con Frijoles” (translation: “Bitches with Beans”). Luckily they decided to go with Strychnine, a rat poison, which fits, as it sounds threatening and cool, akin to their music, which features blazing instrumentation topped by Jimi’s gravelly, tough vocals. Plus, like the poison that shares their name, Strychnine have proved to be dangerous to themselves and others, as their storied past reveals. Take, for instance, their dabbling in the art of pyrotechnics (well, before the whole Great White debacle a couple years back, that is). Markley was known to construct the devices at home and set them off at shows, sometimes with less than stellar results, including a VERY close call for dear Joe and a friend who almost had a metal shard implanted in his eye…

But back to more relevant topics… Releasing four albums in this 10-year time span, Joe quips, “We’re pacing ourselves,” proclaiming, “Every album is epic!” Unbelievably, however, when discussing their newest full-length, the guys manage to quit joking…albeit briefly. Over the years, they all agree they’ve matured as musicians and songwriters, and feel it shows on this record. They’re proud of the LP, calling it a “fine slab of wax,” and for good reason: they rip through 13 blasts of hardcore punk goodness on their second for TKO (the vinyl version is available through Depth Charge Records. See below for details). “We work on the songs a lot more than we used to,” expounds the bassist. “We really take our time trying to make a song as good as it possibly can be…rather than just throwing four chords and playing them over and over to a really fast drum beat and screaming.”

Another area on ‘Born in a Bar’ in which some maturity comes through, they allege, is by adding brief explanations, or “notes” following each song’s lyrics in the album booklet, which may become a common practice, according to Jimi, who confesses he has a tendency to “write lyrics that aren’t exactly clear all the time.” Some subject matter with which Strychnine deal on the record includes the narrow-mindedness and stupidity of a lot of punks (something the band witnessed firsthand when they realized many punks seemingly couldn’t deal with the fact that Jimi was sporting a mullet during the so-called “mullet tour,” thinking he just HAD to be the roadie or driver) as on “Hate Finger” and “Idiot for You”; the inviting idea of a “punkroc uphoria” on the more melodic and catchy “Lil’ Duvel”; being perpetually drugged up and hungover on the brazenly heavy and hardcore “The Life You Lead”; “Nazi pit clique” bullies on “Follow Yer Leader”; and with “No Vyktum, No Crime”, a song penned by Jimi’s friend who did four-and-a-half years for dealing marijuana, they tackle the fucked-up drug laws in this country.

On the touring front, Strychnine, unfortunately, are paring down – at least for the beginning of 2005, saying they’re looking at perhaps hitting the East Coast in the summer and then afterwards going back and doing West Coast dates. What they ARE positive about is that they’ll not be going over to Europe, after having made the trek about six times already, including this past August/September. In fact, their last album, 2003’s ‘Die Oakland Stadtmusikanten’ (TKO), was a live record from a show they played in Bremen, Germany.

They’ve actually toured in Europe more frequently than they’ve played the East Coast, an area that, according to the guys, has presented somewhat of a conundrum in the past. Jimi explains the situation thusly: “Our scene’s so different from the East Coast. People [there] will get into some of the parts like the hardcore breakdown parts and stuff, like they’ll be really into it, and then we go back into our West Coast style…and they’ll just stop. That’s just how it is.” Joe adds, “It’s kinda like we’re not punk enough for the whole Casualties/Unseen spiky-jacket mohawk crowd, but we’re not hardcore enough for the Gorilla Biscuits whatever picking-up-change crowd. And we’re not rock ‘n’ roll-y enough for all these fuckin’ white-belt crowds and shit, so we kinda get stuck in limbo,” he concludes. “Which is fine. We don’t need a scene, man!” he so proudly proclaims.

In any case, something cool they have lined up to play is the BOB Fest alongside such punk luminaries as Subhumans, The Varukers, and Restarts in June 2005. This is a multi-day event taking place every couple years, alternating between Bremen, Germany; Bath, England; and Oakland, CA. It’s sort of an “international punk-rock family” between these areas, and Joe says a real highlight of the festival is seeing Euro-punks stumbling around Oakland inebriated. Sounds like a blast, for sure. Hopefully some European friends will smuggle over the good old absinthe to enhance the festivities…

Vinyl available through:
Depth Charge Records
1001 Page Street
#1
San Francisco, CA 94117
depthcharge@hotmail.com