Poison Idea
from Long Shot #3
LS: How long have you guys been with the current line up?
PC: The current line up is since December.
LS: Who is in the band now?
PC: Me and Jerry, Slayer Hippie, Myrtle on bass, we got him in July. We just got Al form Salt Lake City in December.
LS: Is this your first East Coast tour?
PC: THE FIRST!
LS: So why haven't you toured in the past?
PC: Because we were lazy and didn't have our shit together. Basically, I don't really like playing live that much. I'd rather record. I'm more into making records than playing live.
LS: How long has POISON IDEA been around as a whole?
PC: September of 1980.
LS: Where do you guys get your punk roots? Who are you influenced by?
PC: Overall, I'd say GERMS, BLACK FLAG, DISCHARGE, that type of stuff, early eighties hardcore.
LS: How did you get a column in MRR?
PC: Johann called me up and asked me if I wanted to do one so I did it.
LS: Is it going to be regular?
PC: I think so, I've got to write another one in about a week. Yeah, it's going to be regular.
LS: Are you being paid?
PC: No, the only person that gets paid at MRR is MRR.
LS: What has kept you guys together for so long?
PC: A FIERCE AND POSITIVE DEDICATION TO THE SCENE!! No, really just the desire to want to make records that are powerful and piss people off. That's basically it.
LS: Has that always been POISON IDEA's goal?
PC: That's always been my goal.
LS: Is that the feeling of everybody in the band?
PC: Ah, well it's the feeling of the most important people in the band. Well, whoever is angry at the moment and we can all beat up that.
LS: Have you guys gotten a lot of static and feedback from putting Ian MacKaye's name on your newest album?
PC: Not really just mainly by interviewers unfortunately. We've gotten no hate mail. There was some voodoo letter from Holland and somebody said they put some bullshit black magic crap on the letter and said we were going to die an evil crystal death from Holland but it hasn't happened. OUR WILL SHALL OVERCOME!
LS: Have you received a personal phone call or letter from Ian MacKaye?
PC: No, he sent a letter to the record company that put out the record. The guy at the record company sent him a copy. In fact Ian had a copy of that record before we did. Then he sent a letter to Calv, and he read it to me over the phone. It was curt and short. It was upsetting.
LS: Why do you feel you had to use his name?
PC: Because he's an asshole!
LS: Is it because of the straight-edge thing? Or do you just hate him as a person?
PC: He's a good figurehead for everything we're against. I don't know the man so I can't say that I personally hate him. I know what I've read in interviews. His interviews make me want to vomit.
LS: Do you feel a personal grudge toward him?
PC: No, not personal. His name, most people now would think s/e was started by someone else but we had to go to the source and since he was the brilliant bald-headed genius in 1979 or 80 that came up with it we decided to lay into him. Maybe the third and fourth pressings should be called Ray Cappo, or something like that.
LS: Do you guys put out your own records?
PC: Yeah.
LS: The 7"s are pretty high priced. Are they made that way?
PC: When we first started pressing them up we thought they were going to be limited but then we found out that as soon as the word went out that they were limited thanks to all the collecting fanaticism that's going on right now the prices were going up way too high. I mean we sell our 7" records for two dollars and less wholesale. Distributors just charge them fucking up the up the asses for them because some of them had numbers on them and some said limited so right away they know if it's a POISON IDEA record. So what we're doing now is all the 7"s are $4.00 postpaid and $3.00 direct at a gig. They were $5.00 for a while because they were going to be limited but now they're not so we dropped the price.
LS: So those high prices weren't set by POISON IDEA?
PC: Not in the stores, no. But if you have a bitch about the mail orders well you're talking to the guy who set those prices. Five bucks was high but we thought we were only going to do 1,000. But, then Pick Your King got bootlegged over in Germany and some other stuff is being bootlegged form what we hear of. So, we are just going to try to get everything in print and keep it in print. Just keep the prices reasonable.
LS: Was the reissue of Record Collectors a bootleg?
PC: No, that was authorized.
LS: In your ten year existence does any one show stand out in your head that you'll never forget? Good or bad?
PC: Yeah, there are a couple but probably the best one lately was when Jerry was eating coins the other night on stage. People were throwing quarters and dimes up there and he was swallowing them.
LS: What's the craziest thing you guys have done on stage?
PC: Umm, I don't know, eating coins, pissing in people's mouths, collapsing stages, stuff like that.
LS: You guys are really anti straight edge. Have you ever been put on a bill with s/e bands as of lately?
PC: Sure.
LS: Name the biggest one you guys have played with.
PC: We played with a bunch of straight edge bands in Seattle; BROTHERHOOD, RESOLUTION, Ron Guardapaz the straight edge scenester in Seattle but it was cool. We don't get up there and rail against s/e. We put it on our records and stuff but if s/e kids want to come and see POISON IDEA that's fine.
LS: So, do any s/e kids give you shit?
PC: No, no they're too scared.
LS: Do you guys strictly play for punk kids or just anybody that wants to see you guys?
PC: Anybody.
LS: Have you guys been offered bigger labels than your own?
PC: Yeah, sure.
LS: What labels have you been offered?
PC: Middle-sized independents who are just offering a few thousand here and there and we're not going to sign with them, we're not interested, we've already done that. Kings of Punk came out on PUSMORT, that got held up a year then War All the Time came out on another independent label and that got held up.
LS: If CAROLINE came knocking on your door would you do a record with them?
PC: No.
LS: Is AMERICAN LEATHER your company?
PC: Yeah, that's ours.
LS: Are you guys gonna put out anything besides POISON IDEA?
PC: Maybe, eventually but that would be way off. Like a year.
LS: Closing comments?
PC: Live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse.
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