A Sink Hole 'Zine Interview with Rick, the Casualties bassist...done in the fall of 2001 at The State Theatre in St. Pete, Florida
I saw the Casualties for the very first time in 1992 or 93, their catchy songs, charged up look and energetic shows got me hooked. I saw them a couple of more times in the first half of the nineties and took quite a few years off before checking them out again a couple months ago. The crowds are bigger, a couple members have changed, but the music remains the same. They aren't getting old, or trying to polish themselves up, they are streetpunks and they're proud of it. They may not be the best street punk band ever, but they have worked so hard at touring for so many years that they have an incredibly loyal following and their live shows (which almost always sell out) are an experience you don't want to miss. Every now and then riots have even been known to erupt at their concerts. Although their Florida visit was just a good time, later on the tour, at The Glass House in Pomona, the cops showed up in full riot gear. The band was unaware, but apparently the hoards of punks outside after the show were too much for the area's cops to resist. They arrived with helmets, shields and all. They fired off a couple of rounds of rubber bullets and set off some tear gas. No punks were hurt, but 5 kids were arrested on bullshit charges. Rumor has it the pigs were overdressed because the kids were throwing nothing but Cheetos and plastic water bottles...
Musically, the Casualties are reminiscent of UK bands like the Exploited, GBH or The Varukers. The only difference is your getting a Spanish accent instead of a British one...They recently released their 4th full length album entitled "Die Hards". This may be their best yet. It is laced with raging, fist pumping, slam dancing, riot sing along punk rock anthems. Even with a new album and a new label, they show no signs of changing their look, their music or slowing down, ever. While he was sitting at the edge of the stage signing autographs for the line of waiting kids, I sat down beside lead singer Jorge (I got as close as I could with his huge hair) and asked him what keeps him going and will they ever change. "It's for the punx, forever" he said with a grin. "We are punx and we always will", "I'll keep writing songs and we'll keep going broke as long as anyone will listen." That summed it up well enough for me, but afterwards we laughed about the whole autograph thing. One second, kids are asking you for an autograph, then a minute later they are backstage sharing cigarettes and wondering if they have enough gas to make it to Orlando. Gutterpunk celebrities...I'll never understand that.
Well after giving a typically spirited show to a packed house full of spike heads, I sat down with Rick, the newest and most seldom interviewed Casualty. At 22 he is also the youngest member. He would have only been 11 years old when Jorge formed the band at the beginning of the last decade. Still he has been around for nearly 3 years (he arrived in 1999 from The Manix) and a number of tours. Accompanied by drummer, Meggers, who kept quiet, Rick (who was sportin' a bi-hawk)would represent the band. So we found our way to the back of the club where he sat eating watery Chinese food and polishing off what was left of the free beer that the promoters left for them.
Before the interview was even underway, A Global Threat's drummer knocked over an entire bottle of Newcastle prompting the question- "What's the worst thing you could do to a beer??? Spill it like that asshole just did!" joked Rick as we found a spot to sit...
The Casualties are: Jorge on vocals, Jake on guitar, Meggers on drums and Rick on bass
Sink Hole Zine- How about a brief history of The Casualties?
Rick-Jorge started the band way back in 1990 with 4 other guys who didn�t last long. There were a million line-up changes, then Jake (guitar) joined in 1993, they put out �Fucking Way Of Life�. Then the old drummer Shawn (who replaced Yereesh) quit and Meggers joined and they put out �For the Punx�. Then Mike the bass player left. Jon (from The Krays) was the bass player for a year and they put out �Underground Army�. Jon left and there was a shitload of shitty fill-ins for a while, then I (Rick) joined. We put out �Whose In Control� and �Stay Out Of Order�. I�m the newest and I�ve been around almost 3 years. (Band line-up has been stable and hasn�t changed since 1999)
SHZ-So, you're signed up with Side One Dummy Records now, how did that work out?
Rick-They called us a long time ago...Actually they called me, which was fucking weird because I never handle that shit. Well, they said they�d like to sign to us and we were kind of shopping for a label anyway. We were gonna sign with a couple labels, maybe Go-Cart or whatever, but Side One stayed interested. They called Dave from Punk Core and worked shit out with him, they said some good shit to us, it was just cool. We needed a label and they wanted us, so we signed. That's all.
SHZ-Is it weird being a New York band on a California label?
Rick-It�s only weird in that we�ve never seen these people. We talked to them on the phone and that�s it. There�s a lot of calls and a lot of mailing. Other than that, it�s cool. It�s not like we�re gonna hang out with the guys from our label anyway. I'm happy though, they don't give us any shit and they have really good distribution and good bands.
SHZ-Speaking of good bands...obviously you know Kill Your Idols, but have you met any of your other new label mates like Flogging Molly or Madcap?
Rick-No, but I've seen Flogging Molly on Letterman. That's some wild shit. SHZ-I think it was Conan O'Brien, and what about Madcap?
Rick-Yeah, don't look for us on national TV, but those are both cool California bands. After I read this zine I'll know a little more about Madcap...
SHZ-Now you will be on Warped Tour, how much of it will you do?
Rick-Yeah, but just for 10 days...Everyone thinks it�s this huge thing but it�s not. We�re getting paid next to nothing, we�re just doing it for the fun of it and hope that we make some money off of merch to live. Everybody talks shit like we�re huge now. We�re doing it for fun and that�s it. You get a little exposure, but we�re not getting rich off it. People talk like we�re gonna be driving Mercedes, have chauffeurs and limos and shit.
SHZ-So was it a hard decision to make?
Rick-No, not at all, they asked us and we said yes. It�s only for a couple dates, just like a trial period. Kill Your Idols was going to do it, but they had to drop off. There are some MTV bands and bullshit, but it�s not like we�re the only D.I.Y. band there, plus there�s some good names, too. FEAR, The Business, The Misfits...Those are some bands that we've been into since we were kids. We got the chance, why the fuck not. Right?
SHZ-Well, judging by the crowd out there, nearly 400 kids, I guess punk is not dead. What do you guys think of the scene right now?
Rick-It's pretty good overall. I mean there are kids who want to go nuts to fast paced music, and we want to play it, so it�s great.
SHZ-So many bands playing now are listing you guys as influences, I wonder who influences you?
Rick-It�s different for all of us. Jake likes all this old Oi! stuff, I like a lot of 80�s America Hardcore. Jorge likes Neil Diamond... (he was kidding, I think) No, we all have different influences, but they have similar patterns and it works out really well. It�s all punk, but we each bring a little something different.
SHZ-So what about that 80�s hardcore, that�s what brought me out to shows, what were your favs?
Rick-Agnostic Front, Gorilla Biscuits, all the NYC hardcore bands. Youth Of Today...They were one of the fastest angriest bands ever, I don�t care what the fuck they sing about. �Break Down The Walls�, all that shit, just fucking totally great.
SHZ-What's a typical day on tour?
Rick-Wake up. Rub the crust out of our eyes. We�re still drunk most likely. We clean up our sleeping bags and shit, cuz we always sleep on somebody's floor. Brush our teeth, eat breakfast (jerk it! yelled Mike from AGT), get dressed. Drive 3 or 4 hours or whatever, to our next show. Set up our merch, play, drink a lot, make friends hang out. Ya know it�s pretty simple when we�re on tour. It�s really wake up, drive, play, drink, sleep, do it all over. You know it�s all the same as every other band, I just think we have a lot more fun!
SHZ-What are you guys drinking on the road?
Rick-We always drink beer, preferably free beer. Beer is just the most accessible thing. You can buy it at the A&P (supermarket) or 7-11. Some good clubs give it to us for free and that's great... Other than beer, fuck, sometimes I hit the Mad Dog. I'll drink anything, shit I'm Puerto Rican-I'll drink anything. Isn't that the stereotype anyway? To answer your question though, we drink beer. You should always feel free to buy us some.
SHZ-So Jake was bald about 2 months ago, and now his mohawk is 6-inches tall. Did he get hair extentions?
Rick-No, he didn't get hair extentions. Jake has the fastest growing hair of anyone I know. I cut his hair a couple of days before we left for tour and already it's like a half inch long now. But really, people think we have all these hairdressers and shit. We put our own hair up on tour just like every other day.
SHZ-So, how important is the hair and that street punk image for the band?
Rick-It's something that we all do no matter what. I mean we were all sticking our hair up long before the band. The hair and clothes don't mean shit though. We sit for months on end writing music-that's what is important. You know if the music sucks, then the band sucks, no matter how they look. Nobody has ever bitched at me after a show because my hair was flat. Ya know our hair is just the shit that happens to be on our heads. Thinking back, my first tour with the Casualties, I had a shaved head. We stick our hair up cuz we want to, it's fun and we like it. The music is really the most important thing, though. I'd play in a fucking suit and tie if I had to.
SHZ-So who writes the music and the lyrics?
Rick-We all write our parts mostly. I write some songs, Jake writes some, Meggers...Jorge doesn't write any music, but he writes most all the lyrics. He has written the words since day one. The last couple of albums I wrote one or two songs.
SHZ-What is the message behind the Casualties music?
Rick-I, personally, write about shit that I'm angry or upset about at the time. Jorge does pretty much the same thing. I mean, it's everyday shit really. Chicks, bills, money. Too many bills and not enough of the rest of it. Jorge writes a lot about the scene, cuz the scene can be pretty annoying up there with so many assholes. He writes about Punks, being a Punk...Whatever is going on at the time.
SHZ-When your back home in New York, what bands get your money? I guess I should say, what shows do you go to, cuz I am guessing you don't have to pay much anymore...
Rick-I pay for shows, dude. All the fucking time. Believe me, that dude at CBGB's doesn't give a fuck what band your in-your paying. I'm no one special. I always, always go see Violent Society. I love those guys. I will always go see Kill Your Idols. I mean I'm pretty good friends with both of those bands, too. The Nerve Agents are a band that I really like and always see when they come through. I'm not a big Upstarts fan, but I paid 15 fuckin dollars to see the Angelic Upstarts last time they came through. I love Cocksparrer...Basically I like to go see new bands that I really like or I'm friends with like Violent Society, A Global Threat or Dead Empty from Philly and we'll always go see all the old bands that we grew up on when they come to town, too.
(Rick was interrupted mid-thought by the discovery of a gigantic roach... In case there are any "Roach Rights" activists out there I won't say what happened to it.)
SHZ-Will "Die Hards" sound like a typical Casualties album or will it take people by surprise?
Rick-It's more of the same really. Typical hard, fast Casualties music. It may have a little bit of a different tinge to it, a little different writing style, maybe. It is dedicated to you and all the Die Hard Punx out there. You all know who you are. As for the music, you can expect what your gonna get from us.
SHZ-What's the funniest thing that's happen on the tour so far?
Rick-Definitely "T"!!!, Pete (from A Global Threat) dancing around in a thong! We were doing a house party and he pulls this thing (thong) out and it's like the kind with the zipper and omigod! Oh, the next night we got to stay in a hotel and we were getting ready to go to bed and across the hall we heard a huge orgy going on. People were screaming all kinds of dirty shit about fucking. "Fuck my titties!" we kept on hearing, people screaming all different names. ("Fuck my titties!"-Meggers keeps on repeating this in the background) Dude, there was this guy walking down the hall and he was all fucked up from doing it all night...That's it, the funniest shit has been Pete's zipper thong and the hotel sex night. (someone else added one last "fuck my titties" in a ridiculously high voice.
SHZ-Five words to sum up the Casualties?
Rick-I DON'T KNOW DUDE, REALLY. That's 5, no wait, I can do better than that... I'll be around till I � no that's gonna be too many. Okay, here we go, ROCK AND ROLL FOR EVER. Yeah, we can make that 5.
For more Casualties info, releases or shows, check out:
Side One Dummy dot com
Punk Core Records dot com
Charged Records dot com
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All photos by Sink Hole Zine-taken October 2003, don't steal them, just ask, we share!
