============================================
C = Chris (bass, vocals)
J = Josh (guitar)
M = Max (vocals)
B = B (drums)

Here are the questions, I will surely ask you a couple more when
you would have answered to this ones. Just to get precisions on
certain topics...
That's why, I'd like you to send me this back in two weeks max.
cause
there will be three or four more questions after...

1 Could you introduce SCHOLASTIC DETH to this part of the world
who don't know it already ?
C: We're a fast band from the san francisco bay area with songs
about books, skating and various other topics. There are four of
us: Chris (bass, vocals), Josh (guitar), Max (vocals), B
(drums). We've been around for the last few years and have a few
ep's out now: Shackle Me Not! and Revenge of the Nerds. We have
a website I made if anyone is interested in that:
http://www.geocities.com/scholasticdeth/  - It has pictures,
mp3's, lyrics, email addresses, all those kinds of things.

2 How did you came up with that name? How do you want people to
understand it?
C: We were throwing around ideas for a name for a bit after Max
joined the band. I don't remember who actually threw 'scholastic
deth' out there, but the idea was: Scholastic (we were/are all
from different disciplines within the university of california
college system and like to read a lot, etc) + Deth (this hints
that we play fast muzak like Megadeth or Lawnmower Deth, and it
is just pretty funny sounding in general). Understanding: I see
it as a mix of being serious and having fun. Our friend Craig
surveyed people at a local strip mall and relayed to us that
people were more responsive to 'Scholastic Deth' than the other
names we came up with.

3 What kind of activities have the members besides SCHOLASTIC
DETH?
C: I like to do mountain bike races and other outdoorsy things
like that, and nerdy computer stuff. Max has his label 625, is
always in a bunch of bands, and reads a hell of a lot about
history. What Happens Next? is the main other band he's in right
now. Josh is finishing up his english degree right now in school
and likes to rock climb and do all kinds of other stuff,
including graphics work for various different record labels. B
is getting ready to go to graduate school for philosophy, and he
likes to DJ around town. But this is just my angle on things,
maybe the other hosers will have something else to say below...

4 Do you consider SD as a real band or just as a side-project?
Do you think you give it enough of your time? I mean, do you
practise and play shows often?
C: A real band! Like Van Halen! Scorps! We practice fairly often
and play shows semi-regularly. We just got back from a great
week long tour of california with Down in Flames from New Jersey
- our first 'tour'. We're going to go record some more material
in about a month, and unfortunately B will be (ha ha, b will be)
moving away this summer to go to grad school. We've put quite a
lot of time into it and now it is cool that people are starting
to know a little more about us and are listening to our stuff.
Thanks goes to max for being so well connected, it has helped
our music get around a lot more than it normally would.

5 You've got a song ("kill 'em with politics") which say that
one of the aim of hardcore/punk bands is to spread a political
message. But you've got more songs about skating and reading
books than on this kind of topics. Don't you find it
contradictory?
C: Max wrote the lyrics, so he can say more about this, but my
view is: The only message isn't to talk politics 100% of the
time, having fun and skating and things of this nature are
important as well. There has to be balance. I think the song is
mainly trying to put the message out that if a band has a shady
message or their politics are not well thought out, or are
totally cookie cutter, they should be called on it. When someone
has racist/homophobic/etc or other views, it should be talked
about.
M: I have to say Chris did a good job of responding to that. The song 
was
written in response to a trend that is happening on the West Coast
(especially down in LA) where some youth crew bands have questionable
politics, or have some dumb-ass lug friends who are violent apes. So 
when they get called out on what they might have said on stage, or on how 
their "crew" ruins shows, they reply with the typical "dude, we're just 
trying to
have fun, we're not all PC, just liten up man." So this song was a 
response
to that....its not about how every band needs to have some political 
line in
their lyrics, but about how punk should confront fucked up behaviour, 
and to
be challenging and whatnot. Go ahead and have fun (as we do with 
songs about
skating, reading, etc) but don't use that as a defense for
homophobic/sexist/macho attitudes.

6 Are you afraid to catch attention only by certain aspects that
can be considered as "cool gimmicks"? I mean, if people see that
stuff as a funny and 100% non serious band and never go
further...
C: Nope. Like what? We're just being ourselves. Our goal
definitely isn't to 'go far' or 'get super popular' and 'be
cool', we just want to do our thing. There will always be a
million different ways that people will interpret, let's say, a
band's record cover, and if you sit around thinking about all
the different ways people will think about it you are kind of
wasting your time. You fall into the trap of getting too serious
about little things that don't really matter much.
M: Punk rock is a spectacle, a gimmcik itself. Its a way of 
expression, or
art, of having fun. I think people invest too much time into trying 
to
intrepet covers/pictures..and sometimes even lyrics. ALl these 
things are
thought up in a specific time and place, that might not convey the 
same
meaning for the band two years from now.

7 In your song "Fuck it, I quit", you say that it's time to stop
and to let new kids take the reigns of the scene. Then how do
you see the "thrash revival"? Is it time to give up?

C: When I think of the essence of thrashed out punk music, I
usually think of young, pissed off people. Usually bands like
that, although not always as polished sounding, have the most
energy and seem the most relevant. On the other hand, there is
surely something to be said for older folks rocking out, though.
But sometimes it is hard to fight the feeling of 'man, really
young people really should just be doing this, i am just way too
old'. For me, that's what this song is saying...it is
questioning what this is all about, and acknowledging that we're
getting older all the time.
M: There is no such thing as a "thrash revival"...when did something 
stop
and then start again. Its really funny how terms such as that come 
about,
how people see something as fresh and new when its the same old 
rehash with
a new twist. Powerviolence was fast hardcore, just like Youth Korps 
or Larm
played in 1982. Same with whats happening now....the only twist is 
that
there were new, and more positive interpretations of what fast punk 
rock
meant, so you got bands like LIFES HALT or DEAD NATION. But listen 
to them
and tell me what is so groundbreakingly new? Nothing, they were just 
kids
playing a style of music they loved, and they happened to fucking 
rip (as
bands and people).

8 Talking about the revival or whatever it's called... Do you
see it as a real fresh air or do you believe it's just about
cycles in the scene (people think there are more bands because
they're more exposed)?
C: There certainly are a lot of thrash bands right now. Who can
keep up? A lot of them are new and young, some of them have
old(er) farts in them and have been around a while. It is good
and bad that there are so many bands. Things definitely can seem
saturated at times, and that is when you start to get the
feeling that the whole thing is no longer some personal, small
scale, underground thing anymore, like it 'used to be'.
Everything changes, though, and there are so many people on this
planet now that it makes sense that each little niche will have
more people involved in it. I think it is pretty awesome to be
bombarded with great music from max all the time. There are some
bands that are taking things to the next level and there's
always something new and interesting coming out.

9 Your song "Xtreme = Mainstream" is about the corporate
take-over on skate boarding... Can you describe us (especially
the non-skaters), how do see this activity? Do you think it'll
come back to the "not a sport but a crime" philosophy?

C: Well, skating for me started in like fifth grade. It was
something that my friends and I did around town, to school,
stuff like that. That was back in the powell peralta days. I
started with a crappy kamikaze skateboard that was super heavy.
Pretty tough to learn how to ollie a curb on one of those! It
was semi popular to skate back then, especially in california,
but for me it had a way more personal feeling then. That is the
general consensus of most people I know - skating has lost its
'feeling'. Now that skating is more of a 'real' sport and it has
been commercialized to the point of being mainstream, it is sad.
It is like the essence of feeling super young and getting your
friends together to 'go find a secret ditch to go skate in the
next town over' is lost. That sense of adventure or danger has
been pushed aside. What has taken over is a view  of skating
that is really just some jargon from a marketing manager at some
huge company. And skating still is a crime: if you aren't
skating within the confines of a local skate park, you have to
watch out.
M: Think of anything you love...and imagine someone who knows 
nothing about
it being a sports anchor on a show about what you love. It makes me 
cringe
to watch sports channels showing skating, with these doofuses 
commentary
about what trick was pulled, or who the corporate sponsors are. I 
tend to
see skateboarding as a crime, we do an immense amount of damage to
inanimate (and ignored) pieces of concrete...stuff that no one 
noticed
(like curbs, burned out buildings, abandoned pools, loading docks) 
until we
started having fun with it.

10 Your sound can be appreciated by both old school and thrash
kids, but in Europe (especially  in France) it seems like there
is not many kids who explore the skate-thrash thing. Don't you
think that you miss a big potential audience?

C: I am sure we miss all kinds of people all over the place for
all sorts of reasons. It isn't the kind of music that everyone
would want to listen to, though, so oh well! That so many people
have been exposed to our sound is amazing to me. It is great. I
haven't ever been in a 'real' band before, but have always been
into music...I never thought we'd come out with a record, or be
going on a little tour, or be doing an interview with someone
from France!
M: If kids like it, they like it. If its not their thing, then they 
dont
like it. I mean, we're just a small DIY punk band, we dont expect 
too much
from this, just to have fun and play some shows, etc.

J: Yeah.  And really, if kids are actually willing to go so far as to 
identify
themselves with only one kind of subgenre of hardcore which is a 
subgenre of
punk rock which is a subgenre of rock... well, that's their choice.  
And I
don't happen to agree with it.  People are so quick to need new labels 
to
separate themselves in ever more smaller increments - "Yo, I'm totally 
into
skate-thrash, fuck those old school fuckin' fucks, man!"  It's like Max 
said,
it's all the same thing, it's all been done before, and it's about fun 
for us,
whether people like it or not.  It's pretty rad that anyone likes it at 
all,
you know?



11 In your lyrics, do you try to break some clich� about punk
and hardcore (you know, you say that you're interested in
studies, history books, or just the fact that you play fast
music and you're not 17)? Have you ever been judged as a band
with "old boring morons" because of that?

C: That is the whole thing, we kind of are old boring morons.
There's no way around that one, so we decided to just go with
it. There's no use trying to be something you're not!
M: Well, I love books, and I actually liked going to college. I 
really had
a strong incentive to learn and produce papers, etc..which I dont 
expect
other people to understand. It was the love of thinking about 
opposing
viewpoints, being able to discuss and sift through various theories, 
etc.


12 I know that the image of the dirty punk with no brain is
outdated but do you really think the kids have enough culture
nowadays? We look smarter but are we more intelligent?

C: Well, there still are a lot of dirty punks with no brains!
And there are most certainly a lot of pretty intelligent looking
people in the scene as well. As far as the culture that kids are
supported by, that is hard to know...my exposure is so limited,
and I feel somewhat out of touch with that. I definitely have
seen a lot of suburban kids who are pretty wrapped up in more
commercial punk and things like that, and I've definitely come
across some really genuine, open minded individuals as well. But
to sum up (it is hard to make sweeping statements like this),
but sometimes I get the feeling that people just keep getting
more and more stupid. Some people are so controlled by the
confines of modern living that they can barely even tie their
own shoes.
M: Punk has a culture...full of symbols and slogans and whatnot that 
punks
just accept without thinking. I dont think most punks understand the 
basic
assumptions of the slogans that they have on their jackets or they 
spew
from the stage. The world isnt so black and white...but we cling to 
these
basic (and easy to remember) slogans.....

13 How do you maintain your interest and your motivation in the
scene? I believe that you've heard anything in a form or another
and that nothing sounds "new" to your ears. And more important,
have you got some close persons that still don't understand your
behaviour?

C: I am mostly interested in studying the music, making up my
own, and meeting a few nice people along the way. It has been
great to have a creative outlet and to have people listen to and
think about the music we've been able to come up with. I haven't
had any negative feedback from anyone, but I am sure there are
some folks that think we're a bunch of dorks.  M: Punk means alot of
different things for me, but right now its just a really fun 
community
where you get to meet some great people. I think its just a big 
group of
friends...you travel the world and you meet all these really nice 
people. I
always hear some band that just has it ("it" can be a number of 
things)
every few years....just that ability to recapture what energetic, 
DIY punk
is about for me. Lifes Halt was the last band that really did that 
110% for
me. Challenging lyrics, great music, DIY ethics, great people....

14 Let's change the topic : if you were nominated at the head of
the US for a quick time but while you can do whatever you want,
what will be your first measures?
C: That is way over my head.
M: Quit and go skate.

J: Well, I'd definitely only have a short time before the assassination
attempts started.  Did you ever see "Brewster's Millions" with Richard 
Pryor?
I'd campaign for "None Of The Above" and do my best to embarrass 
politicians
worldwide.


15 What do you think about the US education system? Are you part
of the people who think that when this sector will  be
improved/changed, the roots of evil will be cut?
C: I think it is really sad and very complicated national
problem. I could go on for days about this subject. I know that
my public education wasn't very good, but that so many other
children had much worse educations. Our university of california
colleges (especially the scientific portions) can largely be
seen as 'research engines' for large corporations, which is too
bad, and for me the focus during my undergraduate engineering
work was far too theoretical and dated. I know a few elementary
school teachers and they have a really tough time at their jobs.
Teaching the youngest grades should be the most important thing!
If a child starts off in the right direction, the probability
that things will go well for them in the future is so much
better. Teaching as a whole is not yet seen as a 'real'
profession, even though it is one of the most important jobs in
our society. There is not enough support for teachers,
monetarily and otherwise. The worst part about it is that in the
areas where there are the highest concentrations of needy kids,
there is the least help. It is totally lopsided. Here in the bay
area you can be in a totally run down school on minute, then
simply cross under a freeway and be in a much nicer school. Why?
There does seem to be some hope, though, because the issue of
education is gaining more and more attention.
M: Its a crazy dillemma, one that I think most "free market" nations 
have
to ask themselves...how much state funding goes to the educational 
system.
Right now, the Bush cabinet does not think raising teachers 
salaries, or
reducing class sizes will improve education, infact, they have taken 
a
hardline against teachers and want them to be tested every year or
so...these are people who make less than most people. It seems like 
such a
contridiction, but these policies are also being drafted by people 
who are
sending their kids to private schools. The public school system is 
not bad
to say the least, but some areas receive less funding, etc.

J: The US middle class is dwindling and the poor never got a leg up, 
basically
- like everyone else in the world America is suffering from the effects 
of
globalization.  Education of the masses isn't going to make the rich 
get any
richer.  Their schools are already the best in the world, so sure, cut 
budgets
for education... just as long as we can be trained to fulfill the 
menial jobs
of our time - like how the industrial revolution brought about the need 
for
Junior High Schools because too many workers were dying and it was 
becoming
unprofitable.  So they extended school until people could be trained 
enough to
do the work that had evolved.  Same with High School, and College, on a 
large
scale... It's hard to see past the political situation to have a hope 
that
things will be turned around, for me at least.



16 In your songs, you often criticise the TV regardless to the
amount of knowledge contained in a book. But what kind of media
do you trust to keep you informed from day to day?
C: I use the internet a bit, but truthfully I am not that up on
current events, especially when it comes to non-U.S. issues.
This is something I wish was set up better - it is pretty tough
to get unbiased news about the world. Most media here in the
U.S. is mainstream. And most mainstream media here reports only
about items that are close to home. Not much nonbiased non-U.S.
info is readily accessible to the public.
M: Its the classic argument, dont blame the messenger debate. Is TV 
evil,
or the people behind it. Is the internet crap, or just all the 
people who
use it for porn, etc. I do actually watch a good amount of TV 
(History
Channel, Discovery Channel which is like a science channel, and of 
course
the Simpsons)....we have two songs now about how some major 
publisher books
are full of crap as well. One is called Shit Peddlars, the other is 
called
Literarly Illiterate. The thing is, you need to have a critical mind 
with
everything, books, TV, radio, punk music, everything. Think about 
what is
being said, think about other possible conclusions, etc. I think 
also, esp
in the US, with a few networks owning so much, and with a population 
as
dumb as ours, you get your miniscule news through these super quick 
and
easy to digest blurbs, like CNN or HEADLINE news, or even our local 
news.
It is meant to entertain, to keep ratings, to attract advertisors, 
not to
inform.

17 Do you believe that the TV format is a good way to bring a
real information? I wonder that you've got the same shit as us :
short reports which always prefer the anecdotes to the
explanation of the problematic situations, a report about a
slaughter or terrorist acts in a third world just before another
full of silly gossip and so on...
C: TV has the potential to be an incredible tool. When you watch
the news, etc here, you mainly hear about all the different
shocking stories, but so much is glossed over that sometimes it
feels almost better not to listen at all. I do like to watch the
public television station PBS, though. It has some fairly
worthwhile programming.
M: See my answer above.....

18 Is there a question I didn't ask which seems important to
you? If
yes, ask it to yourself...
C: Why does metallica suck so bad now? I worshiped them in high
school, but then the 'black' album came out and they were
instantly crappy. That still bothers me.
M: Chris...dude, c'mon man, you know this one. The minute Cliff died 
the
shit went to crap. Justice was a good record, but you could already 
see the
lameness.....

J: It's true, although "Dyer's Eve" is my favorite Metallica song, and 
it's on
Justice...



19 Any last words ?
C: Thanks for taking the time to ask us these questions,
guillaume. This is my 2nd interview for a band ever, so it is
pretty cool.

J: Yeah, thanks!

M: Thanks for the interview my friend! I hope we were able to touch 
on a
few of your questions.....if anyone needs to contact us, you can 
either
write us via our website (listed above) or at my po box which is: 
Max / Po Box 423413 / San Francisco, CA / 94142-3413 Usa

EXTRAS...

20. You talk about some homophobic attitudes...Do you believe our 
scene is open minded enough to welcome homosexuals? Many bands write lyrics 
about that and you won't meet a single hxc kid tell you he hates gay  but I 
think the scene, on a global scale of course, remains as a copy of the 
outside world for that...
C: I'll let max handle this one...
M: It depends, depends on the area, depends on the style of punk you 
are talking about, and it depends on the individual. You would think that punk 
was a safe place for all people, everyone from cross-dressers to just 
the socially inept, but yeah, you do see alot of the social values of 
larger society in hardcore. One example is you had this NYHC band that talked 
about all this unity shit, "unity this, unity that" and they turned unity 
into some masculine thing, like "im going to kick your ass if you're a 
racist" kinda thing....but that same masculine approach to supposedly being 
open minded led this one band to say stupid shit from stage like "I dont 
mind if your gay or nothing, but just don't push that shit on 
me".......'pushing' meant talking about it, publicly expressing love, etc....it was 
threatening to this stupid little white kid who supposedly had been saying all 
along that unity and brotherhood and all this shit...but couldnt deal with 
people that had a different sexual orientation.

21.  The DIY ethics are for you a real important thing and I 
understand why. But where's for you the end of the DIY? What is the gap between a 
DIY band/label with a ""commercial"" hxc or punk band/label? Have you ever 
met some persons that labelled you "extremists" on this matter?
C: The gap between commercial and diy is pretty big, but it can get fuzzy really easily it seems. There are so many bands and people into punk in general now that lines get crossed all the time regarding diy vs. mainstream commercialism. I personally haven't talked to too many people about this issue other than close friends and stuff, but the whole idea with our band is 'lets keep it small and personal' - if people like us, cool, if not, cool. We're all pretty much veggie in the band. It was really important to me when i started getting into punk in high school, and it still is. I like trying to stay as healthy as possible!
M: No, not yet at least.....I know a few people who have decided to work 
with big metal labels like Necropolis and Relapse and the funny thing is, 
they always get screwed, they think its going to be this pay-off, like 
you get a recording budget, but in the end, they get screwed everytime. I 
really do think that the essence (for me anyway) of punk is the DIY 
ethic....run our own shows, put out our own records, and you can do all this with 
paying bands fairly (more even than if they played bars or rock clubs) and 
bands can actually get more money(if thats important to them)  when dealing 
with a label that is DIY but runs their shit good.

22. We haven't talked about animal rights or whatever in this interview.
Are you ve(getari)an(s)? What's your view about the importance it has 
taken in hxc?
M: Well, I think with all the politics that punk rock has draped itseld 
in are all legitimate ideals/themes, but they have to be seen outside of 
punk rock. 3/4 of us are vegetarian/vegan, yet we really haven't taken it to 
the level of writing lyrics about it. But I think daily practice of a 
vegan/veggie diet speaks more than the same old lyrics about who's 
killing what, etc. Those type of lyrics are important, but they are confined 
within the punk scene, and the repitiion becomes something that makes it a 
thing that punks need to do to to "be punk." I've seen a bunch of people drop 
out of the scene and along with it their morals/political values are dumped 
as well....and thats because we have created a punk rock "to-do" list, 
with each sub-genre having their own versions..the way you dress, the way 
you dance, if you're a vegan or veggie or a reactionary....so then it just 
turns into how a person is trying to identify themselves as a punk, not that 
those ideals themselves are valid without a punk soundtrack to back em up.