CHRIS: bass/2nd guitar/2nd vocals/gwar faces/spidey/sbd-powered/moldy
MAX: tuvan throat singer, samuel 'screech' powers impersonator
JOSH: 7-layer guitar, aspiring feedback producer, craig WxHxNx
impersonator
B: pounder of cylinders, 209 heart rate, ex-Cannibal Corpse vocalist,
'how many jobs you got?'...


1. who is who and who does what?

MAX:
B-when discussing if we can practice on a given day, B
gives a
philosophical answer, containing many words that the rest of us
have never heard,
thus leaving us completely confused, yet aware that if
dissected, B's answer
would be logical. Oh, and he plays drums and almost pukes when
we play.

Josh-listens to tons of metal, ala Manowar and Iron Maiden (once
infact
made bootleg DIY Iron Maiden shirts), asks if we have all read
some book
that none of us have ever heard of, makes the most insane amount
of
feedback, and had a fucking awesome beard until some guy hit him
while he was riding
his bike. He plays guitar and looks mean.

Chris is a math wiz, but if you ask him how many times 12 goes
into
192, it will take him a piece of paper and a calculator to
figure it out (go
figure). He tends to ride his bike and do sit-ups more than he
slaps
funky riffs on the four strings. Plus has taken part in a Hummus
eating
contest with josh between us and the SHARP KNIFE kids.
Seriously, josh and
chris eat an enormous anmount of bread, chips and hummus.

Max is going on 29 but has a voice of an 11 year old. Has a
million
things to say except when he is holding a mic or is on stage,
has sold out to
the man by taking over faxing duties at a software company, and
although he
maintains a beer belly (Without beer) has chicken legs.

CHRIS:
B - the guy who confuses. 'Con' means against. 'Fuses'
are often short. Thus against shortness B is, hating of all
small, bad tempered elements. This is why he wants to by a
dualie F350 and go kick some hick bootay. Ha ha.

Josh - the guy who destroys your ears with piercing noises. He's
covering up the fact that those are actually some serious
classical guitar riffs going on behind the scenes - he doesn't
want to confuse the kids with the complexity; hence the
distorted pain is delivered instead.

Max - the tech wizard guy who should be playing metal drums and
whose voice cracks after the first 10 second song. Always brings
in "easy" riffs that require my engineering degree to decipher.
I have developed a 10,000 line java program to decode his riffs
so that i can explain them to josh and b in an understandable
fashion.

Chris - the guy who really just wants to play metallica riffs
the whole time, but the rest of the band won't let him. the guy
who doesn't know what the hell the other people are talking
about when they mention a 150 old band names in a row. often
confused, but always wanting to rock all day.

JOSH:
B - sometimes talks like he drums, faster than humanly possible.  When
so many philosophical concepts get formulated at once in his brain, what
comes out of his mouth is anyone's guess.  If you've ever seen that
Exorcist scene where Reagan speaks in tongues - well, not really, as
Father Karras determines, she's just speaking English, in multiple
voices, backward.  It sounds kind of like that.
"Breeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrllllllluuuuuuuhhhhhhhh..."

Josh - looking forward to becoming a full-time feedback producer, just
making sure that bands have their amps properly adjusted for optimal
feedback, that no one goes further than 2-3 feet from their cabinets,
that everyone has cheap distortion pedals turned all the way up... and
in the studio, just making sure - like the conductor guy with the little
stick in each hand - that the band holds feedback appropriately before
and after each song, for at least 10-15 seconds or so... The job is
really demanding, but it's a niche market and he expects success...

Max - just basically your average singer and hardcore fan...  he has a
patch collection that you wouldn't believe, and he collects autographs
from all of his favorite thrash vocalists.  you wouldn't believe what
Rudy from Indigesti wrote to him!!!

Chris - the guy who listened to WAY too much early Deicide, Obituary and
Bolt Thrower to play even as simply as Metallica.  look for his new
band, where he'll be pictured wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates hat in
tribute to Suicidal guitarist and overall solo champion Rocky George.
every song will have at least 6 tracks of solos at varying volumes over
the entire CD, not unlike the aforementioned Sui or even like those
weird Morbid Angel instrumental songs that they make super long so you
can listen while playing PlayStation 2...


2. how long has scholastic deth been around for and what
material do you have out?


MAX: The rest of the guys played for about 2 years before they
moved
into my old practice space........when they moved in we started
talking about
why they havent played shows, etc...and it all came down to a
vocalist. We
talked more and I said I would try, although I suck, and we went
from
there. We recorded a demo that isnt very good, and 3 EPs
(shackel me not,
revenege of the nerds, and will have our last EP called Killed
By School out
soon). Plus we are on a few comps (Mountain Comp, an Element
comp that has
been out for ages although we have never seen our copies, an
upcoming 625 Skate
comp, plus possibly Hysteria #2). Im sure Im forgetting
something.

B: Yes, you are forgetting the Risk Cassette. Which has
the "Shackle" EP and songs from the Mountain comp and
Element comp.

CHRIS: dude, how do you guys remember all that?

JOSH: it gets worse.  i totally wanted to put the Risk address on here
but I'm at my parent's house in San Diego and don't have it on my laptop
(which I'm typing on).  Anyways, I know he's [email protected] so
email him and buy our tape and his other releases, like the SHARP KNIFE
tape or their new CD/LP... and don't forget the Tragedy/Scholastic Deth
bootleg that we're obviously on.  Although I'm not sure I believe many
of those records exist.  Element comp - I saw one, once, but I could've
been mistaken.  Mountain comp?  Not yet.  And Hysteria #2 if we can
record - i'm hoping to do an all-covers session of Schoolhouse Rock
tracks (Conjunction Junction, Lolly, Lolly, Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here,
etc...)


3. how can one obtain your stuff?
MAX: Um, probably the best place would be to check out
Ebullition, they
have shirts and all our records (www.ebullition.com)

JOSH: Wait 5 years, then go to the bargain bin at any record store in
California.  Or try Ebullition.  And write Will Risk.


4. you seem to be more old style hardcore and very political,
who are some of your influence and who do you enjoy listening
to?

MAX: For me, I love Heresy, Citizens Arrest, Intense Degree,
HHH, Larm,
stuff like that....just fast, political HC that is on the verge
of what
some
call grind....just super fast. The more energy the better, but I
also
prefer
when bands say something. Either personal or political, not just
repeating
the same old bullshit.....i can't take stand the reactionary SXE
stuff
that
is right wing and shit. That stuff needs to be snuffed out
quick.

B: I was definitely musically nurtured by fast
hardcore music of the 80s and early 90s. Over the
years it has become more and more important to me to
experience a much wider musical horizon.  There is so
much great music out there. Lately ive been listening
a lot of the hip hop thats off the corporate radar
(e.g., Company Flow and Quasimotto)  as well as 60s
and 70s psychedelic
and garage shit (Can, Blue Cheer, The Stooges, This
Heat).

CHRIS: I was into metal/punk in high school, and went to my
first punk shows
in san diego. I really always just wanted to be in a metal band,
but look
what happened!

JOSH: I went to all the same Struggle, Unbroken, Heroin, Julia, etc.
shows that Chris did in San Diego, had a bad relationship that ended
worse with emo music, started listening to more and more hardcore as I
studied hardcore at the Ecole de Rob Coons at Epicenter for about 3-4
years - which prompts a digression into the lamentable fact that most
really good hardcore is relatively difficult (I thought) to find out
about.  If it wasn't for Epicenter all I'd know about hardcore was that
the bands were really photogenic and the records, really expensive.  I
guess it's a bit better now, but the whole exclusive thing is tired and
worn out to me.  That's why I got sick of it, sold all my records on
eBAY, and am going to be in a band with ex-members of SMALL BROWN BIKE
and THE PROMISE RING.  We'll pretend we're hardcore and try and get all
the kids to shake their hips and clap along to the music... I hope that
in 5 years our records will be like the MANUMISSION 7"ers... everyone
who wants one will be able to get one... and no one will like them
'cause they're not limited to 500 copies with the band's poop smeared on
the cover...


5. where is scholastic deth from, do you play alot of shows in
your erea?

MAX: I live in San Francisco, the rest of the guys all live in
Oakland,
and
we have mainly played around here......we have played down in LA
twice,
out
in Reno twice but thats about it. We have about 3-4 more shows
before B
moves to Chicago...so that will be the extent of our activity.

CHRIS: We really haven't played that many shows, we just go to
the practice
space a lot and try and work on more and more songs. We've
recorded like
36 songs now but only can play like 10 of them live!

JOSH:  We're in competition with CROSSED OUT for least shows - most
records amount for a band that was around over 4 years...


6. any plans for a tour in the future?
MAX: Nope.......Chris is moving to San Diego, B is moving to
Chicago....the
only possibility would be if we can get together and go play
Chicago
Fest or
something this year. Who knows.

CHRIS: Max and I are just going to make up digital music on our
mac's and
email it back and forth to each other after I move. Just
kidding!

JOSH: I think we're going to have to have the Scholastic Deth "Verbal
Assault" tour where, since we won't have a drummer until we get to
Chicago, we do a tribute to JUD-JUD and acapella rap our hit songs
live.  Then we'll pick up B, do some fully live shows, and call it a
day.

7. will you be putting out a full lenght album in the near
future? if so with who?
MAX: Nope....we just recorded 12 new songs, and we thought it
was going
to
be enough for a short LP, but it was only 10 minutes. Pretty
funny
actually....so that will be it. Im sure we'll collect all the
shit down
the
road on a CD or something, who knows.

JOSH:  i was hoping we could do a split with BLOOD HAG, who are also
quite literary.  i found out that they don't like school at all, though,
only science fiction writers.  they are good, though...

8. what are your views on corperate rock and how do you feel
about them taking over the hardcore/punk scene?
MAX: Um, its just two different things really, only when there
is this
grey
line when some of the bands that came from the DIY scene
crossover does
it
become something that concerns us. I dont feel that this type of
music
is
marketable for overground labels, I think we need to be more
cautious
of
labels who say they are "underground" but are most definitely
ripping
people
off, or making a shitload of money

B: Mainstream corporate creeps always try to tap the
underground and exploit it.  They know as well as we
do that this is were innovation happens and where
authentic musical energy thrives.  Even though it
seems as though it may be happening now more than
before, there will always be underground music no
matter what.  We should keep our guard up, but the
situation is not desperate.  Also, although i am
certainly an opponent of the corporate corruption of
music, one must be careful to remain open. I do not
believe that a band's involvement with the mainstream
is a sufficient reason to ignore their music.  Lets
not barrade ourselves into some underground cave.

CHRIS: Corporate rock lets you know what NOT to do. It is nice,
whenever you
want to know what you shouldn't be doing with your time, just
listen or watch
some corporate rock on your tv...haha. It is a fine line because
some really
influential stuff that I listened to growing up happened to be
way corporate.
It is all just what you have access to and what your viewpoint
is. It is easy
in the Bay Area to stand up on some high horse and say "DIY
ONLY, FOREVER" but
we have it so easy here with so many bands. Some little kid out
in the middle
of nowhere might listen to corporate stuff first, then get
turned on to the
underground later. So it isn't all bad.

JOSH:  I agree.  I also know that I'm so disconnected from present-day
incarnations of corporate rock, I think the last album I got was RAGE
AGAINST THE MACHINE's 1st LP.  Unless you count JANE'S ADDICTION, who I
loved in high school, and of course, everything before 1978, which
basically includes about 1,000,000 awesome bands of all genres.
Nowadays, I think it depends on your priorities.  If you want good
music, there is some good corporate stuff, although I don't recommend
the little rock I've heard, and some good indie stuff, and about
1,000,000,000,000,000,000 crappy bands of all genres sandwiched together
at the same time.  Politically and ideologically, for me, corporate rock
is a bummer.  But I really like RADIOHEAD and tons of hip hop shit.  Not
to mention the 'corporate' metal which basically always ruled.  Anyways,
I couldn't claim to be even a teeny bit metal and not acknowledge the
position that the most important thing is the amount of amps you can
afford.  Barely any punk bands even have full stacks.  Case in point.


9. are you involved in any type of
anti-political/anti-corporation groups or movements?
MAX: Anti-political would be apathy....as in staying at home and
doing
nothing. We are not activists, that's for sure, but I do believe
that
we try
to live our lives somewhat in relation to our ideals...whether
that is
being
vegan, or shopping only at the co-op, or partaking in
protests/demostrations
that speak to us individually. I was more active when I was
younger.

B: I've always been disinclined to include myself with
an organization or movement. I want to represent and
be accountable to myself.  One's lifestyle and actual
behaviors seem to be more important than which groups
or organizations one belongs to.

CHRIS: Pretty much everything I do is anti. Or you could say
everything is pro. Depends
on how you look at it. I am not a part of any 'groups' other
than the surfrider foundation
and stuff like that... just giving a little money to some good
causes. I like to volunteer
for my girlfriend's kindergarten class.

JOSH: Like the rest of these guys, I like to think that the best sort of
grassroots politics is in setting the example you'd like to see.  I used
to be pretty dogmatic about veganism and the knee-jerk leftist stuff
that punk helped expose my sheltered middle-class, poorly-educated ass
to, but I try and keep that stuff to a minimum these days.  And usually
I'm too busy working to may my overpriced bay area rent to get locked in
jail for rioting...


10. what do you like to do in your spare time?
MAX: read, skateboard, and read.

B: read, DJ, watch films, listen to music, make music.

CHRIS: eat, ride bikes, help people out, outdoors stuff

JOSH: read, try to go outdoors, try to avoid long hours at the computer,
listen to music.  Oh, wait, you said spare time?  I don't really have
much of that.  Ugh.


11. what does the future hold for scholastic deth?
MAX: Deth.

B: Deth, scholastically induced.

CHRIS: internal expunging of band's existence

JOSH:  Deth, by means of dismemberment.


12. know of any good conspiracies you could share with us?
MAX: Conspiracies? Hhhhhmmmm, hanging out with Devon from
WHN...he is
always
telling me about the hollow earth theories, or all the weird
crack-pot
theories about Nazis still living in Antartica or in the center
of the
earth. Its fun to hear about that stuff, but I don't really get
interested
enough to read up about them. You should ask Atrocious
Madness....Frank
especially, that guy is a wealth of conspiracy
information....they
rule.

B: conspiracy comes from the latin root "Spiro," which
means "i breathe," you hear the root in the word
"respiration," and "perspiration." Now, the root "con"
means "with." So when two people are conspiring, they
are breathing together.  As in, they are in a huddle,
or at least standing close to eachother, sharing the
same breaths,  making a secret plan together from
which they want to exclude others.

CHRIS: B, you didn't answer the question. As for me, I don't
have any recolection
of any good conspiracies. Other than the one about Hollywood
video making a pseudo
company called Reel video so that the Berkeley city council
would let them in.

JOSH: I think it was on SNL, or maybe it was In Living Color, where
someone spelled it "C-O-N-Spiricy" said like that... Anyways, I have a
current - actually, a long-lasting - favorite conspiracy, which begins
with Andrew Rothschild, a 19th century British banking magnate.  He was
famously quoted to have said something like: "If I control the money, it
doesn't matter who's in office.  Control the money and you control the
world."  So his descendants are, unsurprisingly, among the 5 major
international banking consortiums that architected and instated the FED
(that is, our precious Federal Reserve Bank, home of Alan "master of the
recession" Greenspan), a privately held company.  Yep, privately held.
All our precious dollars.  Is it any wonder that it seems like things
aren't all right with the world?


13. how can one contact scholastic deth?
MAX: Either throught the email: [email protected] or you
can
check
out the website at: www.geocities.com/scholasticdeth

14. any closing comments.
MAX: thanks for the interview my friend! I hope the answers
aren't too
lame.

CHRIS: thanks so much for letting us blab on and on about
ourselves. really we should
be talking about more important things in the world, but as you
can tell we are mildly self-absorbed so we didn't. haha!

JOSH: yeah.  Self-absorbed?  Maybe.  I like to think that we, as
troubadours touting the traditionally troublesome trajectory of
education, have an obligation.  To teach the values of such
underappreciated phenomena as allitteration (especially bad
allitteration, with the above representing a fine example).  At any
rate, as the resident literary buff, I would like to recommend a brief
chronological survey of the English language for anyone interested in
skipping 4 or so years of college:  Start with Chaucer's CANTERBURY
TALES which are awesome and the most revelatory work that showed
Victorianism and Puritanism are such recent additions to our culture.
It's bawdy and hilarious, with tons of farting and fucking and all kinds
of stuff, and it's the first major work written in English!  What a good
start.  Anyways, check PARADISE LOST, it's basically the most epic poem
ever, a monumental accomplishment.  Um, ok, then try something really
different, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  Such a nutty realization,
that self-made man.  Reading books like that prove how archaic, not to
mention how idealistic, the Western perspective of the world really is.
OK, there begin to be a LOT of good books shortly after this point
(about 1800).  I recommend Melville's MOBY DICK over Thoreau or Emerson
any day, and Walt Whitman's LEAVES OF GRASS is more inspirational for
it's exuberance and humanity than it is for individual poems... Then
there's Poe and Lovecraft.  Then a ton of famous stuff that are not my
favorite books.  Well, they're all really good, but not desert-island
good.  Then, well... I'm getting tired and there are a lot of good
books.  Try broad reading.  Sci-fi, by Herbert and Heinlein, for
example.  Aldous Huxley.  Everything else I keep thinking of is in
translation.  Oh.  And you must finish with going to
http://www.google.com and searching for "Spam Haiku".  There is a page
with over 18000 of these gems waiting to be enjoyed like their namesake
little blue cans of pork product.  Read those, and you may never feel
the need to read again!  Spam-ku is, indeed, the pinnacle of modern
literary realization.  Thanks for asking...