The Useless Fucks was my first “real” band. I played drums, we pressed up a few 45’s that sold pretty well, made Tim Yohannan’s top 10 list in Maximumrocknroll, and did a bunch of touring. I would skip out on class from High School on Thursdays and Fridays to do long weekend runs and stuff like that. It was super fun! One day, I ran into Joe Queer at the Elvis Room (A coffee shop/show space in Portsmouth, NH), and he mentioned getting signed to Hopeless but had no band to record for the release. B-Face had just left, and Hugh was diagnosed with brain cancer.
I randomly said, “Well, I play bass, hit me up if you need somebody.” I didn’t play or own a bass at the time, but I knew I could probably do it, so why not try. A few weeks later, I got home from school, and my dad said some guy named Joe Queer called for you. Within a few months, I was in the studio recording as a bass player, with Mass Giorgini coaching me. We did the Everything’s OK ep, Punk Rock Confidential, and the Drunken Cholos album, plus I filled in for random shows and tours and all that. It was a great learning and networking experience. From that, I met JJ and all of the Nobodys (another Hopeless Records band). They had just finished up the XXX album and needed a 2nd guitar player for touring. I was asked and took the gig. I spent a year out in Colorado as a home base, but we were on the road pretty much the whole time. Then I came back to New Hampshire and started the Guts. After that, I started The Connection with my buddy Brad Marino. Around the same time as the Connection was getting rolling, Kurt Baker’s group The Leftovers broke up. Kurt wanted to put together a new band and I joined him forming the Kurt Baker band. We did a bunch of records and are still active, just released a new album this year! That brings us up to now with the solo records. I have also done a bunch of other projects and side-bands in-between or at the same time as the groups listed above.
The Guts album Let It Go was a high point for pop-punk at the time of its release. The songwriting is stellar, the production superb. It's an all-around great album. Do you feel that it got the exposure it deserved? To me, it always seemed underrated.
Thanks for the high praise on the album. I am proud of "Let it Go." Everything came together at the right time and very quickly. The writing, recording, release, and everything in between went smooth. I think we had just enough experience at the time as a band to know what we wanted. I was keen to work with Rally Records. He set us up for a week in Wisconsin at Butch Vig's Smart Studios, with Justin Perkins running the board and Ben Weasel coming around to give additional input. My best buddy Kurt Baker and Andrew Rice from The Leftovers rode out in the van with us from New Hampshire, so the vibe from day one was totally on point. Nothing but fun! As far as exposure, I felt the record did very well for us.
When we would tour, people came out to the shows and knew the songs in the states and Europe, so it must have been working! At the time I wasn't looking at numbers, asking too many business questions, or watching how many units moved other than what we sold at shows. Later I did find out that something like 500 CDs got "lost" when the distro the label used closed down. In 2018 for the 10th anniversary, we did a limited vinyl pressing of 250 copies, and that sold-out super-fast. It's cool that people are still enjoying the album. Anyways, could it have done better? Yes, albums can always do better, but it did a lot for the band and me, and I would not change anything.
There were other bands out at the time who had a similar flavor as The Guts. One that comes to mind is The Leftovers. Was there any camaraderie between the two bands? In particular, did you relate to Kurt Baker's approach to songwriting? Both bands played pop-punk, but in a more classic rock n' roll sense.
As I mentioned above, Kurt and Andrew came with us to record "Let it Go." Kurt is one of my best friends and pretty much family at this point. Jackie and I are friends with his parents and extended family, and our parents love Kurt too. Jackie's dad went to a Kurt show in Germany by himself. He texted us pictures, haha! The Guts played with The Leftovers all the time. One of the Leftovers first shows was with us, so, yeah, it's been a long time. Kurt and I have always hit it off with music (and pretty much everything else). We play in punk and pop-punk bands at times but listen to so much music from all corners of the world. A good song is a good song, and I don't care who wrote, who is performing it, or if it's "cool" or not to like. Suppose the song catches my ear, then for me, it's okay. It's hard not to pull in influences and styles when writing, and when you've got so many, it is bound to change your writing and sound over time.
The Connection is an outstanding band and one that saw your songwriting renew its focus in a very impressive way. Did you have any prior experience writing material with such a timeless rock n' roll sound? How would you compare your experience being in The Connection to The Guts? Was it interesting to cross over into a totally different scene?
Again, thanks for the compliment! I know the bands are different, but the songs are the same when you boil it down. It's more the production and what you choose to do for textures within the songs. It's hard to say but something like that! When I'm writing, I don't say this is for this, and this is for that. I write and then use the songs that feel right for the project at the time. It was cool being in a setting that allowed some production ideas to work within the songs' writing and arrangements that would not have worked if The Guts did the same song. I'm very proud of all the work I've done with the Connection. It was great making those records, and they have all sold very well in the states and even more in Europe. I've always been a fan of power pop and garage rock, but there was no meeting or planning out the band. We wanted the band to be whatever the songs called for and not be in any box.
I was hanging out with Brad Marino, listening to records, drinking beers, and playing guitars. We started passing around song ideas and decided to start a band. We both played in punk bands before, but again, we liked all kinds of music, so the 60's style garage rock with a more Ramones style backbeat came naturally. As far as crossing over into a new scene, I was not worried. I knew that The Connection would not be something of interest for some of the Guts' fans, and that is ok. Being in a band and a songwriter, I get excited to be in new territory, meet new people and play new places. Not that it's better or worse, it's the growth of your circle of friends and experiences that I value the most.
How did you first come into contact with Steve Van Zandt? What has it been like knowing that a member of the E-Street band is a huge fan of your music? Must be pretty damn cool! Did you ever talk to him about punk music?
Funny story, we almost missed our opportunity to get in front of Steven and The Underground Garage team. A music scout who worked for them sourcing new bands for the station wrote to us about the track "Seven Nights to Rock". I forget the full details. Brad would probably remember, but something like the email went into the junk folder or looked like spam, but for some reason, Brad saw it and was like, oh wow, this person is legit. He called me, and I went down to the post office that same day to send them the CD. A few weeks later, we found out we got picked as "Coolest Song in the World". We both had already been a big fan of the station but never thought our band would be on there. Having tracks on Sirius XM is fantastic for bands. It totally changed everything almost immediately. It's such a large audience that loves this type of music and is hungry for new artists. We started getting so many orders for CD's, the vinyl we had pressed ourselves, and digital tracks. It was pretty crazy. Then labels started asking to release stuff, and booking shows became much easier too. We got to go to Steven's office a few times and hang with him. He's such a friendly and kind gentleman along with everybody who works at the station. He loves punk and totally gets what we had been doing. We still get played, and both of our solo stuff gets played too. I'm so grateful for everything they have done for us and so many other bands! I should mention that the Kurt Baker band that I'm a member of dropped a new album named "After Party," on Steven's label called Wicked Cool Records.
Brad Marino is a guy I've known for a long time (since the Rydells days) and also someone you've collaborated with a lot. It seems likely that you also had a big influence on him becoming the multi-instrumentalist hit-maker that I know and love today. How did you guys meet and how has that relationship served both of you in terms of musical inspiration and growth?
Yeah, The Rydells, a great band, played around the same small scene The Guts did in New Hampshire. Actually, The Rydells, The Guts, and The Leftovers all played a show together once. I'm pretty sure. I knew the band but did not personally know them at the time. My girlfriend Jackie knew Brad from high school. We all happened to be living in Portsmouth, NH, and one night ended up being at the same bar, so we all sat together. That is when Brad and I officially met. We kept in touch and started hanging more at our places, listening to records, and shortly after started the Connection. Brad had been singing in a band called Way to Go, and I liked his voice. It seemed to fit well for the songs we had been writing, and the vibe the Connection was turning into. I encouraged him to be the singer, but he had already been singing. As far as songwriting, I think we both pushed each other to a new level, and our ideas meshed well together. We would both have songs or parts of songs, and helped each other finish them up.
Your solo material is outstanding, just like the rest. When you struck out on your own to record your own solo records, what goals did you have in mind? Are those recordings more special to you by virtue of you being in total control of the product? Do you find that your success as a solo artist is comparable to your experience playing in successful bands?
The records say my name, but I don’t look at them as solo records. I mean, yes, they are solo records, but it’s more like I form a bunch of bands. I have so many super talented friends working with me on them, from the production, song arrangements, performing to some co-writing. I get a batch of songs, three to four written, then get a group of friends together and book a session. I like doing it this way because it makes the batch of songs slightly different each time. I enjoy the chemistry of working with other people and want to keep the atmosphere open and comfortable for people to suggest ideas if they have any. As far as goals, I honestly didn’t have any when I started other than to record some songs for fun. I like to keep busy, and music is my preferred outlet. The goals now, basically the same but with a bit more focus. I do want to build a solid band to be ready to do some touring for the next album. Comparing the success of solo records to any of the records I’ve done with bands is hard. I’m proud of all the work I’ve done, and I judge the overall success in my happiness. Of course, it’s nice getting royalty checks, but any income generated from music goes into an account and right back out to fund the next project.
What have been your highest highs and lowest lows as a musician?
Let's see. I try not to get bummed out about stuff. Sometimes things suck, but later, when you look back, it isn't a big deal. I like to keep my sights on the next project and not dwell on "how it could have been". Once something is recorded, then it's set and done. With that said, low points are probably the few times when I couldn't find people on the same page to play with somewhat locally to wherever I was living. It makes it hard to keep things moving when you can't connect on the sound with people. Highs are still hearing my tunes on the radio, and seeing my records in stores, never gets old. I remember being a little kid and thinking how cool it would be to have an album in a store, haha! It's the little things in life!
What is your theory on the "magic" of songwriting creativity? Where does your inspiration come from, and how are you best able to channel that inspiration?
Oh boy, I don't think I'll go as far as calling it magic, maybe more something like setting yourself up to be lucky? I don't know! If you have a knack for something and do it enough, the odds are in your favor that you will have a quality product at some point, right? For every song I bring to the table, I have two or three I don't, they are probably similar, and I might keep a bit of each one: product testing, prototype, or a warm-up exercise for writing, whatever you want to call it. I tend to write in the morning (it's 5:45 am right now). I get up, make a coffee, check on my lazy dog Waylon (he's not a morning guy), and then head down to my music office studio room in the basement to play guitar or listen to some tunes before I head upstairs to my other office for my real job. The inspiration comes from all over the place, and it could be a funny line somebody said in a movie, book, or from a conversation I had. I keep a notepad with stuff like that. Inspiration also builds from listening to records and not writing for a while. Sounds and ideas build up in my head, and then a cool riff or lyric idea pops out one morning. That is my basic process, no rules or laws, and I'm not upset when I don't have any ideas or only bad ideas and stupid songs. No stress, it's all for fun.
Who are your favorite pop-punk songwriters?
Specifically, in the pop-punk world, and to be honest, I’m a bit lost as far as what is and isn’t pop-punk nowadays, but historically, Blag Dahlia, Bill Stevenson (and all the ALL and Descendents guys), Dan Vapid, Dee Dee Ramone, Paul Westerberg, Ben Weasel, Bob Dylan, Rancid, The Briefs, Joe King, Fat Mike, Dr. Frank, Jimmy Vapid, Billie Joe, Kim Shattuck, ya know, probably the same as most of the people reading your interviews.
As far as songwriters for newer pop-punk, Ryan Young (Off with Their Heads), I’m not sure who writes in The Menzingers, but they have some great tunes, the new Machine Gun Kelly album is killer, Lucy Ellis, Kurt Baker, Wyatt Funderburk, Pavid Vermin (Glenn Robinson), Phoebe Bridgers, Death by Unga Bunga, White Reaper, the band MOM has some sick tracks, I could go on, but that is a few from the top of my head.
How did you end up working with Ben Weasel on your cover of Love Love Love? That is a great cover!
I met Ben on tour with the Queers. We went to his condo in Chicago. He made us tea and gave me a sealed copy of the SW Ramones LP. Then the Guts played in Wisconsin a few years later, Ben had moved there, and he came out to the show to hang out with us. We loosely kept in touch, then the whole Insubordination Fest with us backing him up happened, which was super fun. When we signed with Rally records to record “Let it Go” in Madison, Wisconsin, at Butch Vig’s studio, we had Justin Perkins engineering, so at this point, we all knew Ben, and he lived like 10 minutes from the studio, we asked him to come down. He came down almost every day. Somehow, we talked about Love Love Love and said, hey, let’s record it! Then the Guts and The Leftovers opened for Ben at Reggie’s in Chicago. Good times, Ben was always super friendly and helpful.
What are your future goals for your own music and beyond? What can we expect in the future?
I just finished recording a new "solo" LP that will be out in 2021 on Stardumb records! I'm pumped about it. My buddy Zack who I've been playing with for a long time in many groups over the years (GU group, the Connection, Kurt Baker Band, solo stuff), worked on pretty much the whole thing with me. Mike Kennerty mixed it, and Dave Minehan recorded it. We had a great team! And as always, I've got a few other projects cooking for the new year. I'll mention one of them, a new band with some friends from around town called KEWPID. We will announce the band and release a single in Feb., so stay tuned for that.
We will see what happens with live music in 2021, but I would like to do some touring for my solo stuff and with the Kurt Baker Band if it's safe. It would be awesome to support the albums and reconnect with so many friends I haven't seen in a few years worldwide. That's a big part of why I love being on the road. I love playing, but I also highly value the friendships I've made and enjoy hanging out and seeing new sights.
