Thrash N' Bang!!!

Interview with BarRoom Heroes at the Midway Cafe

By Jim Slimedog

 

BarRoom Heroes are a punk trio of 12 and 13 year olds straight outta Weymouth Ma who can rightfully hang with bands twice their size and three times their age. Playing straight ahead traditional punk they play it exceptionally well. So though we here at Thrash N Bang don’t mind the “old farts” bands that play punk in Boston- Yeah, I’m looking at you The F.U.’s and Scrapes; we’re also glad to welcome these “new farts” as well. What follows is an interview with the guys in the dungeon below the Midway Café. Manager Carrie accompanied them and I have never seen a more controlling manager in all my life. From my understanding she tells most of the band what and when to eat, where they can go and when to sleep! Let’s hear now from these new farts, … what ya say.

Slimedog- So how did you guys get started?

Jake (Vocals/Guitar)- I started playing guitar. My brothers friend, Dylan, he really inspired me to play. He’s really good and he played an ensemble program and I really wanted to do that. I took lessons and every week I’d ask my guitar teacher, “Am I ready yet, am I ready yet?” And it was fun.

Slimedog- And how did you guys hook up with each other?

Jake- Nick (Bass/Vocals) is my brother and Sam (Drums) lives down the street so it’s pretty easy for us to practice.

Slimedog- So how would you describe your style?

Jake- Punk rock. (Laughter)

Slimedog- Pretty much says it, right?

All- Yup.

Slimedog- Straight ahead punk- Do you get any prejudice from older bands because of your youth or are bands pretty receptive toward you?

Jake- We get both on our feedback.

Nick “The Knife”- Mostly the bad stuff’s from school.

Sam- Yeah.

Slimedog- How come, are kids jealous you’re in a band?

Nick- Some people are jealous, some people straight up hate us.

Slimedog- Really? And why would they hate you? Do they hate punk or it just…

Nick- They hate punk.

Slimedog- Oh, so they hate you ‘cause you’re in a punk band.

Jake- Yeah, we hate pop. (Laughter)

Slimedog- So the pop guys hate you.

Jake- So it’s like a clash.

Carrie (Manager and Mom of Jake and Nick the Knife)- The punk community has been so positive. Nothing at all, ever, but warmth and welcome.

Slimedog- Let me say that any prejudice against anyone playing music whether its age, gender, race or sexual preference is not what Thrash N Bang is about. What band most influenced you guys to form a band?

Jake- We listened to the Dropkicks (Murphy’s) in the womb. (Laughter)

Carrie- Probably in my stomach, the Dropkicks came out in 96.

Jake- I was born in 97.

Slimedog (To Nick)- How about your influence, was it your brother threatening you? (Laughter)

Nick- Mostly like hardcore bands… I like the Dropkicks but I like Black Flag and Minor Threat, stuff like that.

Slimedog (To Sam)- How about you, what band got you going?

Sam- I liked the Dropkicks but my mom signed me up for drum lessons because I liked banging on everything.

Slimedog- So you were just banging on stuff and so they said, “Maybe you should play drums.”

Sam- Yeah. (Laughter)

Slimedog- I think your originals blend in well with your covers, who writes the music?

Jake- We all sorta do. We get together and we come up with a riff or something and make lyrics and sometimes it’s on our own, but if its not written together we don’t take individual credit.

Slimedog- You guys have any recording plans?

Carrie- We’re hoping. They have been recorded by their ensemble teacher but as far as actual studio, we’re hoping to do that.

Slimedog- Well, I think you have a little time to get to that. (Laughter) Where do you see yourself ten years from now?

Jake- Hopefully, if we do make it big we’ll be able to help a lot of bands that need to be helped.

Slimedog- So you all are in for the long haul?

Jake- We don’t want to get our hopes up but it would be really cool to make our living off of music.

Nick- We’re definitely gonna play in the band a long time. But if we keep practicing we will get better and eventually, we might make it big.

Carrie- They’re very dedicated, they’re working hard on their own.

Slimedog- I started playing guitar when I was eleven; I read something about people who start early in music tend to stick with it.

Jake- Me and Nick started when we were in the first grade, we were about seven years old.

Carrie- They had to wait for their fingers to grow.

Slimedog- Really? (Laughter)

Carrie- Sam was five; he couldn’t fit in a drum set yet.

Slimedog- So you had to wait until you could physically play, is that true?

All- Yeah (Laughter)

Slimedog- If there was one band that you could see from the past who would it be?

Jake- Joe Strummer, whether with The Mescalero’s or The Clash. They were a big influence on me.

Nick- Maybe The Sex Pistols, the original, I’d like to see Sid Vicious in concert. He’d probably be terrible but it’d still be fun to see.

Slimedog- Yeah, he’d be terrible (Laughter) he never learned to play. How about you, Sam?

Sam- Ah, maybe Dead Kennedy’s ‘cause I like a lot of their songs.

Slimedog- They’re kind of still around, but without Jello Biafra- I don’t think it’d be worth it.

Sam- I was gonna see them but then I’m like Jello Biafra’s not there so why bother.

Slimedog- When I was young I used to think, “Adults are so stupid,” now that I’m older I think “Adults are so stupid,” what’s the stupidest thing, you think, that adults do?

All- (Silence) as Manager Carrie glares at them in an intimidating fashion.

Jake- I honestly don’t know.

Nick- When they don’t know when to stop drinking. We had an incident, probably three weeks ago, when this drunk guy went onstage and wouldn’t get off. The whole club had to throw him out.

(Slimedog realizing he was this person Nick is referring to quickly moves onto the next question before being recognized).

Slimedog- Who most likely in the band will become a serial killer?

Jake- I’d have to say Nick. (Carrie gasps in horror)

Sam- Yeah, Nick.

Slimedog- Pretty unanimous and why Nick?

Sam- He’s pretty aggressive.

Jake- He’s pretty creepy. (Now I realize where “The Knife” part comes from)

Slimedog- What do you have to say about that Nick?

Nick- That’s all true. (He says with a gleeful look in his eyes) (Laughter)

So as we leave the guys (and Manager Carrie, sobbing and wringing her hand’s saying over and over again, “Where did I go wrong?) Be sure to catch these guys, in the next half century or so, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. You can find the BarRoom Heroes’ band profile here and EP review here.