SPIKE of DRI
Interview from Uptight Citizens zine #6, January 1986
Q – What does the band's name mean?
A – It's kind of a nickname that Kurt's father called us when we were practicing at Kurt's house driving his father crazy.
Q – How long has the band been around?
A – About 3 years and 8 months now. We're originally from Houston but presently we're in San Francisco.
Q – What bands influenced you when you got started?
A – Early quote on quote punk bands like Black Flag and Minor Threat.
Q – Do you classify yourselves?
A – Not really.
Q – Who writes most of the lyrics/songs?
A – Me and Kurt split it; Kurt writes most of the lyrics and I write most of the music.
Q – What do the lyrics deal with?
A – Mostly social problems.
Q – Most of your songs are short and fast, do you do that for any particular reason?
A – We don't like to drag out things too much.
Q – On Dealing With It it sounds like you have some metal influences now.
A – I guess you can say that, and we're just learning how to play our instruments and getting tired of not progressing.
Q – How often do you tour?
A – We try to tour at least once a year. The first two tours were 5 months each and this one was 3 months. This year we're gonna do two smaller tours of two or three months each rather than one long one cause it burned us out.
Q – Do you like to tour?
A – Yeah, we like it cause we don't have a place to live.
Q – What's your definition of a good show?
A – An energetic crowd. If the crowd's dead, then I'm dead or if it's energetic, then I'm energetic.
Q – What are your reasons for being in a band?
A – I like to play guitar. I like music. I used to work 9-5 and make lots of money, and I turned that in for this and I'm not making any money.
Q – What advice do you have for bands to make it?
A – Get out anything you can- demo tapes, vinyl. If you can do it, you got to get out of your area. You just can't sit around playing your little town hoping someone is gonna come around and discover you.
Q – Have you toured Europe yet?
A – No.
Q – Any plans for it?
A – We're trying to but it's hard to do, and a lot of money. We're shooting for it this spring.
Q – Do you feel you've accomplished something after playing a show?
A – Sometimes, sometimes not. Sometimes we hate it or love it. It depends.
Q – Have any of your shows been raided?
A – Not inside but outside, like in L.A. once they came in a bunch of cars and they started chasing everybody down the street and hitting them with their clubs. They wanted to clear the streets, so they cleared the streets.
Q – Do you think your music mixes well with your lyrics?
A – It kind of destroys them because it's so fast you can't understand what he's saying.
Q – Any final last statements for the people of Buffalo?
A – Sorry, once again, for our second time we didn't make it. Actually, we made it this time, but a little late.
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