Interviews

Swimming With WIVES

By Jeff Kile

Wives will rock you like only they know how. But these aren’t your traditional spouses - they’ve ditched that outdated practice of monogamy and have instead spread their glorious punk-rock destruction faster than, well, crabs. If you let them, they might just take you down to their smelly L.A. headquarters, erect YOUR youth problem and give you a night to remember. But don’t just take our word for it. Take theirs, too.

Dean - Vocals, Bass
Randy - Guitar
Roy - Drums
Forest Fire: So you guys just got back from tour right?
Dean; Yeah
FF: So how’d that go for ya?
Dean: It was good, very good.
Randy: Awwwesome, whole US.
FF: Wo Whole US, where was your favorite place to play?
Dean: Oh fuck, fuck me… Iowa State
Randy: Yeah Iowa was pretty involved… smaller towns, in the Midwest.
Dean: Smaller towns that you wouldn’t really think that there’s much happening.
Randy: (Dean chimes in) Moline [Illinois], in the basement, A little moldy but
Dean: We played in the basement, [it was] a little moldy
Randy: Moldy Moline!
Dean: Yeah, Moldy Moline…DC was good.
FF: Any good stories?
Dean: Tour stories, hmm [to Randy] Whats the good tour story?
Randy: Swimming! We went swimming!
Dean; Yeah we try to go swimming as much as we can. We met these kids at Niagra Falls Canada, we walked across the border into Canada, we met all these … we didn’t swim in Niagra Falls.
Randy: Nah nah we didn’t swim [in the falls], We went Pool hopping all through out the niagra falls area.
Dean: There was this awesome river where you could jump off the cliffs and shit. It was really hot while we were touring so we tried to swim as much as possible.
FF: So the last time I tried to see you guys was at the Fuck Yeah Fest up in Echo Park. And there was like 200 kids packed into this loft, I don’t know if you guys remember that. The band schedule was all screwed up, but we were all waiting like the Wives are suppose to come on then someone shows up and says the fire marshall shut the show down. Did you guys ever end up playing that night?
Dean: We did! The guy who lived at that place we were gona to play at was like... you know we were all set up and there was like kids packed like sardines in there, [the guy] was all “you guys gota stall for like an hour” and we were all set up and im all “I don’t know if we can do that” so im like “hey you know everybody were not gona be able to play for another like 45 minutes an hour” and people are like “what the fuck!” so we ended up just kinda waiting there. I think we waited for about 15 minutes then the kid sean ran over and was like “just fucking start.” And we started and it was Insane!
Randy: We couldn’t load our stuff on stage we had to like crowd surf it.
FF: Yeah I remember that there was like one door.
Dean: Yeah Yeah, that was an insane show.
FF: On your album the first people you thank is the Smell, an all ages DIY venue up in LA. Do you think those kind of DIY ethics are important for music these days?
Dean: Totally, it’s the most important thing to us.
Randy: We wouldn’t exist as a band
Dean: If it wasn’t for that kind of ethic. And the Smell, we wouldn’t be a band, I think that’s the most important thing in what we do. And I respect bands that do things like that.
FF: I know its super hard to get support for that kind of stuff. I mean here at Koos, like the speaker went out tonight (sorry about that guys) and the room is pretty echoy and shit.
Dean: Yeah the Smell is kinda echoey too.
Randy: I was talking to Daniel [books Koos] earlier, and we were talking with Rich Jacobs and Sam Veldien we were all talking about, they were remembering when they and Rich and Sam met at Jaberjaw. And they were like Yeah that’s where I met you, you were wearing this shirt. They totally remember everything, and its like Yeah that’s exactly what those places are all about, and that was that place are. It was like that was that place at that time and now, now [giant truck drives by] … its about community you know what I’m saying? It doesn’t matter what it sounds like, what it looks like or were it’s at as long as theres people that come together.
FF: I really like the new album...
Randy; Oh thank you.
FF: I think the album cover is sweet do you guys want to talk about that at all? Where that came from?
Randy: Oh yeah yeah it was our friends an artist, Macomber did the painting. Its beautiful, were really fortunate that she let us use that artwork. Were all really big fans and really good friends.
FF: Yeah its really cool I like it.
Dean: Wolves are cool man!
FF: Yeah, and with that dolphin!
Dean: And Mongrols, its like a Mongrol. [to Wive’s Drummer Roy] You like the art? This is Roy by the way.
Roy: Yeah yeah, Drum styles! I like the Ruca (rvca) shirts.
Dean: Yeah Ashley also designs for this clothing company called Ruca, you know like the Ruca (rvca) artist network or whatever, and they made a shirt that looks pretty much identical to the record cover.
FF: The album I think is pretty political is that right?
Dean: Yeah kinda.
FF: Do you think that’s important with like whats happening in todays day and age?
Dean: Well yeah I think, I wouldn’t say its political, but its definitely comments on whats going on.
FF: Strong statements defiantly…
Dean: Yeah sure.
Randy: Yeah just talking about the ethics with like whats going on.
Dean; Yeah I think its just important to be aware of the people who claim they run your life. I mean they have like a blanket of power over people but in the end its like they don’t really have any power over anybody if you choose to do your own thing. And in the end I think its like, what do those guys have to do with us? Really not much.
Randy: I think it goes for all levels of political agenda even in like everyday life, you know what I mean?
Dean: Yeah yeah.
Roy: Parents! Teachers!
Dean: Yeah and you always have power structures to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do. And at any point any person should be able to say what they feel.
Randy: Its not just for the sake of record or music its like everyday we deal with fucking cops, teachers, parents president and things like that. And we just happen to play music so I think inandvertintly that’s part of it. But I think even if we didn’t play music it’d still be the same thing.
Dean: We deal with it everyday, oppression man! Or whatever you want to call it.
FF: So what can we expect from you guys in the future? Whats coming up?
Dean: Reefer!
Randy: That’s gona go to print.
Dean: Reefer Dude! Reefer!!! REEFER!! In bigger bolder letters. Make it go bigger.
Randy: Were going to Europe in 10 days… Were doing this West Coast Tour with Hospitals. Then were gona go to Europe …
Dean: Were going to Europe for 2 months.
Randy: Then we get back in November and were gona record another record.
Roy: We have a split coming out with Hospitals.
Dean: Yeah, and you know we’ll just be doing our thing. Coming to peoples homes, making pasta playing, music
Randy: … and Swimming! We’d like to encurage everyone …
Dean: To Swim!
Randy: …who finds us to You know let us know where theres a good spot to swim.
Roy: and eat vegan food.
Dean: and Masterbate. … I mean uhh Vegan food.
Koos, Long Beach CA
9/12/05