Interview with By The Throat at the Midway
By Jim Slimedog
By The Throat is a four man Boston punk band that formed with an equal amount of members from the Dimwits and the Blood Vessels. They are a hardcore band taking their influences from a lot of the original 80’s hardcore bands but putting their own original twist on the genre. The last time I saw them play I told them their set was “blistering” and they laughed at me but ….it really was. Intense might be a better word to describe their sound with shifting rhythms and brutal guitars. One of Boston’s best punk bands with a great cd called “One Good Night.”
Slimedog- So how did you guys get started?
Sean- We all played in different bands, pretty much, around the scene and when our various bands kind of fell apart- me and Chris Dimwit were in the Dimwits- we were talking with Niff and Chris Brat about getting something going.
Chris Dimwit- We (the Dimwits) had played with Niff’s band, the Blood Vessels, before and also with the Acro-brats, Chris Brats band, so we all kind of talked and ended up in a room in Allston, January 2010.
Niff- Also, me and Chris were trying to revive the Blood Vessels which hadn’t played in awhile and that didn’t quite work out so we were like, “Hey, let’s try to start something with Sean and Chris.”
Slimedog- So, you (Niff) and Chris were in the Blood Vessels and Sean and Chris were in the Dimwits.
Chris D- We actually played a couple of Blood Vessel songs in our set tonight.
Sean- They kind of fit in with what we’re doing so we threw them in ‘cause we’re too lazy to write a couple of new songs, but they’re great songs.
Slimedog- How about that “Summer Revenge” song?
Chris D- That’s new.
Sean- That’s just based on a couple of riffs I wrote and Niff wrote the lyrics and it’s one of our newest creations.
Slimedog- It sounds a bit different from the other tunes.
Niff- Yeah, maybe a little more rock’n’roll.
Slimedog- How about influences?
Chris Brat- Drugs (he says, in we hope, a sarcastic tone).
Chris D- Ah, early hardcore. Well, Niff has the D.C. influence.
Niff- Yeah, I grew up in Baltimore and went to see shows in D.C., a lot, so that was a big influence when I was younger. When we first started talking about doing this we were, “Let’s do a hardcore band, classic style, but we all listen to different stuff- like I listen to reggae and these guys like a lot of pop/punk. Chris Brat likes a lot of that.
Chris B- I don’t know anything about hardcore or playing the bass so I’m the weak link across the board.
Chris D- (Chortling) you know he’s an amazing bass player.
Slimedog – Though you mention classic hardcore I didn’t pick that up in your style, I thought you maybe had more current influences.
Chris B- Theirs an amazing amount of Coldplay that inspires us (much chortling)
Chris D- Linkin Park (chortling)
Sean- A little bit of Mariah Carey, comes out in everything.
Chris B- I don’t think theirs a little bit of Mariah Carey anywhere. She’s a big, big girl.
Sean- She’s full bodied.
Chris B- Big boned.
Sean – Large.
Chris B- Roomy.
Sean- Anyways, I don’t think anyone’s gonna listen to us if we sound exactly like Black Flag or whoever. It don’t come out like any particular band, definitely, a little bit hardcore, a little rock’n’roll.
Chris B- I think its very Marie Osmond.
Chris D- A little bit country, a little bit rock’n’roll.
Slimedog- Who writes the songs?
Chris D- Sean writes the riffs, Niff writes the lyrics and then we all arrange it. Niff tells me what to play and then yells at me if I don’t play it right.
Niff- A lot of it is someone will come to practice with a riff and we’ll be like, “Oh, that’s cool, let’s jam on that, “and then we come up with other ideas.
Chris B- Or I write a drum line and then you write a song. The closest I came to writing a song is- I know three drumbeats and one is really awesome and I’m really good at it and Sean wrote a bass riff on it and I know it’s the best song in the world.
Slimedog- Is that the song that sounds like Coldplay?
Chris B- No, no, no, no, no!
Chris D- It sounds like Linkin Park (he says, we hope, in a sarcastic tone).
Niff- I’ve rewritten the words to that like nine times.
Chris B- That’s another thing, I have no idea what any of our songs are about.
Sean- Yeah, the brat still has to ask us when we’re gonna play a song, he’ll be, “Which one is that,” and I go, “It goes like this,” he doesn’t know.
Slimedog – Do you wanna talk about Winter Records? (Sean and Chris Dimwits own record label).
Chris D- We just put out the “One Good Night” seven inch, By The Throat’s first seven inch and we’re gonna do a split with Your Under Arrest this summer and then we have some other stuff we might put out but I’m probably gonna concentrate on my own bands unless, me and Sean really, really like some other band and we wanna help them out.
Sean – And since winter is cold, like Coldplay, we hope to put out all new Coldplay releases, if possible, if they let us.
Niff- I wanna give a plug for Your Under Arrest their recording is already done. They’re awesome, pretty new so check them out.
Slimedog – What’s the best gig you’ve had?
Chris D- The 007’s Club last show at Charlie’s Kitchen with Your Under Arrest, that was probably my favorite show, so far, and it was a Monday night, go figure.
Slimedog- How about worst gig?
Chris B- A Brooklyn gig, we got shitfaced, I fell asleep on Seans’ shoulder. I remember I had guacamole all over my jacket the next morning, I don’t know how that happened.
Slimedog- How about the funniest thing at a gig?
Chris B- Spontaneous blowjobs, awesome.
Sean- Yeah, Chris Brat blew a lot of people that night.
Chris B- Yeah (much chortling) Word.
Sean- You just went around blowing people, it was awesome.
Sean- I think that was the Brooklyn show where you blew me and what he thought was guacamole on his jacket was not. He’s like, “Oh, my God, it’s white guacamole,” and he bought it at that point.
Slimedog- So who in the band would you most like to grab by the throat?
Chris B- I have such a good answer but I’m not gonna say it (pauses) well, somebody in the band has already been grabbed by the throat by someone else in the band but (loudly) WE’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT IT.
Slimedog- Any question that I didn’t ask that you wanted me to ask?
Chris B- You didn’t ask me how I was feeling.
Slimedog- Well, Chris, how are you feeling?
Chris B- Kinda sleepy, I did have the best squirt today. I’ve never gone to the Midway and not have the squirts.
Chris D- You can all know, I’ll go on record, that both Chris’s in the band took dumps at the Midway today on different floors!
Sean- This is the first time I’ve been downstairs here, it’s pretty cool.
Chris B- And by downstairs you mean anal?
Sean- Obviously (sounding incredulous) I mean anal.
What follows was a discussion on who has shitted in their pants before. Chris B claims to be only one but Chris D and Sean correct him in his claim. Niff takes the fifth.
Slimedog- Well, I thinks that’s all the questions, I think the consensus is your gonna continue as a Coldplay cover band and see where it goes from there.
Chris B- Pretty much.
(By The Throat had played earlier after a band called the Barroom Heroes which was a trio comprised of 12 and 13 year old boys)
Chris D- We’re gonna try and open up for the Barroom Heroes, I’ll talk to them later, an opening slot for them.
Check out the links to videos, websites and reviews we have here of By The Throat on Thrash N Bang.
