What is and What Should Never be of Punk

Don’t be deceived by the onslaught of inferior whining that is currently being freeze-dried, depleted of content, and remanufactured at the big studios across the country. It really doesn’t matter how much water you add when you take it home, it still isn’t REAL PUNK. The idea behind the movement isn’t something that can be bought, no matter how many tattoos you have or how many studded belts and tight pants you wear. Punk was born out of frustration against the very meaning it holds today. The way it was conveyed the equivalency of patching open wounds with duct tape and safety pins for the sake of finishing the set. Though somewhat cleaner than the punk rock gods of the yesteryear, there’s nothing pop about The Vacancies.
If you gave Black Flag the ability to sing melodies, you have an idea of their sound. This is music for breaking beer bottles or raging against the establishment. Their new disk, "A Beat Missing or A Silence Added" (Black Heart Records) is a testament to their ability to remain underground without leaving the head of the pack. It instantly climbed to 91 on the college radio charts, without being the kind of CD you want to share with Mom. The Crier tracked down Billy Crooked, lead singer.

Jess Hopsicker: First of all Billy, how’re you doing?

Billy Crooked: Pretty good, but I caught a cold in Kansas City.

JH: Ah, that sucks, does it affect anything? Touring and playing out?

BC: Last night was okay. It didn’t bother me but I feel a little worse today, so we’ll see how it goes tonight. There are only two more shows left in the tour. So… I think I’ll tough it out. I don’t think it’s the bird flu or anything.

JH: Well that’s good. So how is the tour so far since you’re two short of the end?

BC: Tours are great, we had a great time. There haven’t been any days off so it’s a little trying but it’s only two weeks. I think we’re going to be sad when it’s over, a little relieved too. To get home and sleep in our own beds. But we’ve been big Dwarves fans forever and so it’s been a real honor to see those guys play every night fourteen times in a row. It’s cool and the Turbo A.C.’s are a good band as well. We’re just lucky to be on a good bill, you know. Especially for us since things are fairly fresh were getting out to a lot of these cities for the first time. So to be on a good bill like that we’re really lucky.

JH: I heard you were 91 on the college chart. How’s that going for you?

BC: 91, yeah it climbed up our second week. It debuted at 120 something and it climbed up. We’re just excited to have this record come out and somebody calls and tells you that its up 91, it’s crazy, we’re on a chart.

JH: What do you attribute the success to?

BC: Really just the fact that Blackheart believes in us and took a chance. They’re really helping to get our name out there. And were doing whatever we can, we’ve busted our asses on the record and give it all every night playing. Other than that there’s this label with so much history. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Kenny Laguna, they just took a chance on us for no other reason than they liked something they heard or thought we were nice guys or whatever. They’re really behind us 100% and it’s helping to really get the word out.

JH: The record carries a nice message.

BC: Yeah, there are a couple of them, what one did you get?

JH: The “damn the man” and “think for yourself” one.

BC: Yeah it’s not like anything that hasn’t been said before. We’re just putting our own twist on it. The people we’re most influenced by had a certain kind of message you know, people like Joe Strummer and Bob Marley, John Lennon, even the Ramones had a certain message to them as well. People like that you get inspired when you listen to it. Not only are the songs great but that certain line will make you think. Not to put ourselves in a category like that, but as far as the message goes it’s definitely goes along the line of being frustrated when everyone makes you live a certain way, whether its religion or whatever. It bums me out when you can’t say what you really feel and when you do it’s frowned and looked down upon. Beliefs don’t hurt anybody; ideas themselves don’t hurt anybody. It’s the lunatic and fanatics that believe so much that they’re blowing people up or fighting wars. But if you don’t believe in something as far as religion or politics, you’re made to feel like the enemy you know?

JH: Yeah, I get it. There’s another message too primarily outlined in Radio Revolution, it seems as though many of us have lost faith in the radio and modern music today. It’s pretty much sugar-coated pop punk reproductions, or whiny emo nobodies that cry whenever it rains.

BC: Yeah, nothing against those bands, they’re doing what they do. Some bands are good at what they do. But with anything that gets over-saturated you know, and there’s so much of the same thing happening, you’re bound to get frustrated. Eventually you’re just going to throw up your arms and say “Gosh I’ve had enough!” basically we just try to keep a real message and play what we play because of what we like. I don’t think
we’re following any trend or setting any trends we just do what we’re doing, in the traditional sense of honest songs and honest lyrics.
Well, punk’s not about what kind of clothes you wear or just you can play three chords and scream into a microphone. I mean, where Punk comes from, it was a real art form. I’m infatuated with the idea of New York when punk started with The Velvet Underground and The New York Dolls. And yeah, its not about being a super-talent you don’t have to have great voice like Barbara Streisand, or something like that. But at the same time it’s not just about three chords and making noise. I think that sometimes things get a little lost along the way. You think back to when “punk” started and what it was about, it was good music, it was stripped down rock and roll. The way it should have been done without the crazy ridiculous antics, glitz and glamour, you know, which is kind of like how things are nowadays. There’s a line on our record about how Hollywood is shoved down our throats and eventually you jut want to fall on your knees and shout “God! Just give me something real!” And I think that’s what punk started out as it was a bunch of people, they were artists and they wanted to start bands because they were frustrated and sick of what was happening. And there’s bands today that are great too, but its just so under the radar you really have to dig for them and many people don’t have the energy or the know how to dig and you just hope to one day- I don’t know, I’m rambling now.

JH: Actually, no, ramble on…

BC: You just, in a way, wish you can go back to when music was really good and people were still accessible- and…

JH: Indeed

BC: Oh yes.

JH: So how does it feel to be working your way up to the Big Time, did you ever think you’d make it this far?

BC: Well, no, it didn’t seem like a realistic thing for us, what kind of level would we want if it was even an option. There are some bands that have a lot of success commercially and on the radio and you know everything else and they’re able to maintain integrity and just stay true to what they do and reach a big audience. But at the other sense there are some bands don’t work out at that level, and that’s kind of a scary thing. Were just taking it one day at a time and going with the flow. And if anything happens we’ll deal with it if it comes to that. If not, we’ll just tour and play for those that dig our record.

JH: How did you get the name The Vacancies?

BC: Well, I think we all have a different idea. I guess the best way is to paint a little picture. For me, music is this important part of life and has been for a long time now. I think it has something to do with- imagine yourself driving down a highway, and there’s nothing around you but desert, or a blizzard and you can barely see the road and your windshield wipers are on as high as they can go. The road in the middle of the nowhere and your almost on empty, and you see that neon light that says Vacancy and there’s that warm feeling in you stomach and you’re like “Ahh” and you get a warm place to sleep for the night. It’s kind of like that. Or when you listen to one your favorite songs. You know what it’s like when you pop in your favorite bands or a certain song that means a lot to you and whether its your mood or you need to get pumped up for something, or for anything. It’s just such a tie into to people in general. If you’re tuned into that it’s an amazing thing. Just that little association with that feeling of safety or relief, whatever it is. So that’s my take on the band name, if you ask the other guys in the band what they think they’ll have another idea on the band name.

JH: Cool website by the way.

BC: We lucked out with a friend of a friend. We left that one to the web designer as far as creativity goes and he did a really good job with that.

JH: Well, I think that’s all really. Hope you feel better and have a good rest of the tour.