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| S:.How soon after the the ducky boys and blood for blood broke up did Sinners and Saints form? M:Well S&S started immediately following both bands' decision to cease touring. As it stands Blood For Blood is still together on a part-time basis and Ducky Boys just ended last month so I guess it wasn't really after those bands broke up... though they weren't full time bands anymore. S:Under what circumstances did you and Rob get together to form this band? Were you two the founding members? What made you guys decide to go more rock n' roll/pop? M:Speaking for myself, the songs I was writing with Ducky Boys were becoming more rock n' roll and less punk at the time. When personality conflicts arose in the band it just seemed logical to try my hand at more developed music than what I had been doing before.... I don't mean to say that rock is more developed than punk.... just my own songwriting needed to take the next step. When I knew I couldn't bare another tour with Ducky Boys, I called Rob on the road and pitched him my idea. Coincidentally, BFB was about to come off the road and we just decided to give it a shot. The sound just sort of came together naturally. |
| S: You list alot of rock influences on the sinners n saints website( oasis, Guns n roses, weezer)what punk and hardcore groups were the most influential to you? Do you have any other favorite genres or obscure musical tastes? M: Every band that I've ever followed is as much a part of me now as it was at the time I religiously followed the bands. For example, I haven't listened to a GNR record in about 2 years but I learned those songs when I was a beginner on the bass and its always been a big part of my approach to the instrument and to song writing. My personal favorite hardcore and punk bands are Rancid, Bouncing Souls, Hudson Falcons, Sixer, the Clash, Sex Pistols, Anti-Heros, the Bruisers, |
| Generation X, Madball and Blood For Blood. I'm sure Rob could add a lot more to that but those are my choices. My favorite kind of music is straight rock n' roll like the Stones, Springsteen and Petty believe it or not but I guess it makes sense when you re-listen to some of the old Ducky Boys' songs. I always fancied the band to sound like Springsteen meets Rancid but I'd like to give it another shot at creating that kind of sound now that I actually know how to write a song. haha. I know that Anthony, our guitarist, was in the band In My Eyes and he has an extensive history with music but he also likes a lot of Brit Pop. Our drummer, Jason, is a big fan of bands like Boxcar Racer and Homegrown so I guess we run the musical spectrum. |
| S: Is Sinners and Saints a side project or something you guys will be taking all the way? Will you guys be touring? M: I'm just taking it as it comes. We don't have any immediate plans to get in the van and go right now but its something that I'm open to ideas on. Currently I have no other project so its not a side project for me. I am entertaining the idea of writing some non-S&S songs but we'll have to see if anything comes of that. I know that both Rob and Anthony are working on other projects. I don't think any of them can qualify as "side projects" though since none of them are occupying more time out of the week than the next one. They're all kinda side projects.until one takes off I guess. |
| S: Besides Rock n Roll, what do you guys do for a living? M: Both Rob and I work at a Dental Insurance Company. Jason, our drummer, works at Starbucks and Anthony, our guitarist, works as a book editor. That really makes us sound like nerds, doesn't it? S: How is the Boston scene these days? What other cities compare to Boston or have scenes you really dug? Boston in the late 90's was the best scene in the US from my view point and I admit to being prejudiced about that. I don't know if things died down or if I got a |
| burnt out on it but I sort of fell out of the loop in the past 2 or 3 years. From what I could gather during that time, a lot of good bands disbanded and attendance at shows was down. You know how punk music is.... it rises and falls every few years and during the late 90's we had a huge unified scene. Now that scene seems to have broken down into segments again... emo, punk, crust punk, street punk, ska, rockabilly. It will be back again one day I'm sure. On the other had, I keep thinking of the speech that the janitor from the Breakfast Club gave to the principle..... "c'mon. the kids haven't changed. You have". Words of wisdom from an Emilio Estevez film. There are some really cool bands starting to pop up around here. My personal favorites are Piebald, the Exit, Kicked in the Head, Lost City Angels, Foam N' Mesh, Noelle, Waltham. Other scenes that I have loved are Portsmouth NH, St. Petersberg Florida, Eugene Oregon, Chapel Hill North Carolina, Atlanta GA and others. These scenes, like Sacto, are really friendly scenes. I'll never forget when Ducky boys came to Sacto on our tour with Skavoovie. We had been struggling on that tour but Mike Erickson brought out all the fellas and a good time was had by all. You guys out there really made us feel good and it was cool to see such a supportive, unified scene. By the way, has Mike Erickson considered running for mayor out there? It might be a good idea. I think he could win a lot of votes. S: What has been your biggest inspiration lately, and what keeps you going through the everyday bullshit? M: Nothing. Sometimes I wonder how I even do it. S: How is Rob to work with and will you too start your very own website all about you! M: haha. Actually, I've owned my own website longer than Rob has. Its www.mark-lind.com I haven't set it up yet but duckyboys.com and mark-lind.com are about to undergo a makeover and become one in the same site. I'm actually gonna use it as a tool to promote S&S and my own recordings that I make on my home studio. haha. Its funny that you busted me on that without even being serious about it. I guess we're both nerds. S: How have people responded to the new album? I have heard alot of positive feedback.( In fact a few of us here in sacto have been rocking four of the songs for months now.) M: I've been real happy with the written feedback from the CD but I haven't been satisfied completely. We've been keeping a real low profile lately since the record came out and we have no idea if people are up for singing along until we get off our asses and play again. Its the live feedback I crave and I'm not getting it damnit. Having someone relate to what I've created and having myself be satisfied with the songs. Its really as simple as that. S: What would you say to people whos think you guys have gone too pop or your music sounds like it should be on MTV or whatever? There is always a punk contingent that will yell "sellout". M:I probably wouldn't say anything because I don't have anything to be defensive about. I know Rob would say "I have enough credibility to produce the next Backstreet Boys album and still be the most punk man in Boston" or something to that effect. haha. I think the term "sellout" has really been blown out of proportion. I suppose it suggests that you've 'betrayed' somone or some audience but the betrayal would have to be built on lies and I've never suggested to anyone that I only wanted to make crappy songs. I want to make great songs.... I don't need a million fans to feel fulfileld but I'd like to give a small fan base good material to enjoy. S:Anything else you want to let our readers know? Any inspiring words? M: Say no to drugs and stay in school. S:And last but not least: Shoutouts, Props, etc! M: Of course to Pressure Point, The Whiskey Rebels and the Hoods and all of our other friends in Sacto. I'd personally like to apologize to Spanky on behalf of one of the other Ducky Boys that didn't return his copy of the Wanderers' book. He can contact me and I'll replace it for him personally if he'd like....... or I'll give him that other guys address and he can collect! |