CVLT Nation
Artist to Artist Interviews
Trap Them Vs. Theories

Interview between Ryan McKenney (Trap Them) and Rick and Joe (Theories).

We found a way off of the island, so Gilligan, Skipper and I just got back to civilization and discovered all this new technology, including something called the Internet. I’m really pissed at all the time I’ve lost, cracking coconuts and building rafts that fall apart. On the bright side, now that I’m on the mainland, I’ve discovered all of these new forms of music, including your band. Tell me about the noise you make. Don’t worry, you don’t have to sell yourselves to me….I just want to know how you view your band.

Rick: Brutal, angry anti-societal grind
Joe: Pissed

Switch bodies with an outsider. Someone not playing the music you play. Someone that hasn’t written your songs. Would your perception of Theories differentiate due to the seperate sides of the looking glass?

Joe: I can never definitely say what my thoughts would be on subjects if I switched bodies or brains, I can’t separate from my thoughts. I believe everyone’s personal perceptions are their absolute truth. If someone believes something to be true, that is their answer, and you can’t convince them different, that makes it true to them. I was actually having a conversation about this a couple days ago, so before I get completely off topic…We play fast, pissed off music, I never expect people who aren’t into the same kind of music to completely understand what’s going on. Thats fine. We aren’t here as a band to convert people or even to help people understand the music we play, we just want to play it.

Rick: It’s difficult to say, really. I’ve been listening to this kind of music for years and years, so it’s something I’m completely used to. I suppose I would hope that if someone wasn’t familiar with grind or other similar styles that our music would come across that much more intense, but who’s to say?

Interview & West Coast Tour Poster after the jump!

Let’s get blunt. All genres and sub-genres and sub-sub-genres of music have their own roots, the ones that created some sort of foundation on which to build. For the music you’ve created, who do you give a nod to? Who got your wheels turning?

Joe: Starting to name band names would make a list too long for this interview. Basically, musically, what we write is trying to capture the anger, aggression and general pissed off(ness) of older grind and crust bands, definitely would give a nod to that genre as a whole.

Rick: Like Joe said, there are too many bands to name. We’re all music nerds and it’s the genre as a whole that inspires us, rather than being major fans of any particular band.

An extension of the previous question. Remember, get your honesty on. How much do you feel you owe to those roots, those bands that broke ground? Do you think it’s a cop-out to go through a rolodex of obvious answers and then throw in a couple cult groups to look like you know your shit?

Joe: I think we owe everything to our roots.

Rick: Totally. The bands that have come before us paved the way in more ways than just music. Without the groundwork that other metal and grind bands have been laying for years, there would be no venues to play and no fans to play to. Without them, we’d be nowhere. If you’re absolutely dying to know what bands specifically, I guess you could come to one of our shows and check out what shirts we’re wearing.

An extension of the extension. Agree or disagree: You can trace all music back to another group, another artist or songwriter, so on and so forth. The six degrees of Kevin Bacon game works with music as well. We can probably trace Cephalic Carnage back to Little Richard if we wanted to. Do you think the “if it wasn’t for those guys, this style wouldn’t exist…” way of thinking is pretty insulting to modern musicians? Do you align with the thought that if “they” hadn’t made it, someone else would have found a way to?

Rick: I agree. I recently found out that I can trace myself back to the original Misfits line-up, so I can die happy now. I don’t think the view that “If it wasn’t for those guys…” is insulting at all. Maybe some other band could have made the music, but the early bands laid the tracks that we all use now. Early hardcore/crust/grind/metal bands dealt with so much shit that modern bands don’t have to go through because of the fact that these early bands kept pushing. Our shows don’t get raided by cops for the most part (except Cali Discord Fest), we don’t have to fight the audience, venues are generally good about paying bands, and we know which venues & promoters to avoid. These are things that early bands dealt with all the time, and I’m not sure how many bands out there are tough enough to roll with the punches like they did. We’re not playing top 40 hits. Grindcore, like hardcore, punk, crust, death and black metal, is a different world musically and socially. It’s the wild west of music, and every inch of progress achieved has been through the hard work and grit of the early bands.

Joe: Everything we hear as people gets stuck in our minds and whether we like it or not, either directly or subliminally, it influences everything we do from then on. If it wasn’t for everything that has happened to us in our lives, we wouldn’t be who we are today, and if it wasn’t for the music we listen to, and the music that who we listen to listened to, we wouldn’t sound like we do as a band.

When Blake and I started writing music for Theories we had decided that we wanted to do a simple band, straight forward and to the point, nothing technical or complicated, but through what we were listening to heavily, and what has been stuck in our minds influencially, we ended up with the songs that we recorded for the demo. Then with the addition of Rick, Kusha and Rob to make the band that we are, their influences also bled through in writing as well. So yes, if it wasn’t for every band before us, ever, we wouldn’t sound like we do.

Politics. You got ’em? If so, what are they worth, in regards to the band?

Joe: Sociopolitical, but I’ll leave this up to Rick since I don’t write lyrics, I just hit shit.

Rick: Well, I can’t speak for everyone in the band, but I write the lyrics and I’m pretty passionately anti-political. My views are pretty hostile to any and all forms of government, capitalism, religion, hierarchies and any agents of said systems. Politicians don’t represent me or any of my friends, money only serves to keep us in a more G-rated form of slavery, religion clouds the mind and spirit into subservience, and all these systems create and reinforce racism, sexism, classism, nationalism, homophobia, etc…I think we’ve been in a tail-spin since the agricultural revolution, and even more so since the industrial revolution. I could go on forever. Western civilization is irreparably fucked and, in my mind, Theories is the soundtrack to its downfall.

Most of you dudes are older and have had the opportunity to travel far off lands in pursuit of the ultimate show. Does Theories harbor some of the same motivation that found you on tour in the past?

Rick: Well, Theories has only toured the West Coast so far, but I have had the opportunity to tour nationally with previous bands. I’m a road warrior and feel much more satisfied touring than being in Seattle at my day-job all the time. I believe in this band, and there’s nobody else I would rather be able to play and tour with on either a musical or personal level.

Joe: I personally don’t see a point in being in a band that doesn’t tour. I’ve been touring heavily for the last 13 years with various bands, it’s the one thing to look forward to in a generally mundane and repetitive world. So needless to say, if I ever feel unmotivated or unenthusiastic about touring, that will be the day I stop playing music. Everyone in Theories has the same outlook it seems, and it makes touring that much better when everyone is on the same page, and realizes that doing this is a priviledge and something to be stoked about

On December 21st, 2012, you have the privelage of playing two shows in one night, each one with three other bands. The all ages one at 6pm, you are allowed to pick three bands you’ve shared the stage with. The 21+ show starts at 10:30pm. You’re allowed to pick three other bands that Theories has not crossed paths with yet. List them motherfuckers.

Rick: I’m not going to do that. There’s too many awesome bands, both musically and as people that we’ve played with that I would feel bad having to leave some out. And as far as bands that we haven’t played with yet: Noothgrush, Crowbar, Wolf Brigade I guess.

Joe: I wanna do a tour with Napalm Death, Terrorizer.

Screw it…it’s the end of the world. All Hell’s going to break loose…while buildings crumble and tidal waves drown the infants and the elderly, you get one more show. Your last hurrah. You find the ability to bring the dead back to life. Three bands that no longer exist because of breaking up or getting all dead and stuff. Who’s going to welcome the apocalypse with you on stage?

Rick: Nausea, Moonshine, Misfits (Earth AD Line-Up).

Joe: I agree with Rick on Nausea, but now I’m getting a headache trying to pick the perfect show.

Does this band grant you the opportunity to do things that have previously been unattainable, be it musically, lyrically, physically or emotionally? As in, when Theories writes a new song, do you feel revived, like it’s an actual progression in not only the band, but your own self development? I’m not trying to get all Freudian on you, but that’s what music of this nature is built on. Anger is emotion and all emotion is built through perception, so what goes on in your head once you’ve finished something new, something you’ve created.

Rick: Absolutely. I’ve played guitar in most bands I’ve been a part of, so it’s awesome to be able to be able to write lyrics and scream about all the things I think and feel. The band is constantly developing, getting more and more dirty and brutal, and I’m constantly going further and further down the rabbit hole of self-education and unlearning all the lies society has drilled into my mind since birth. Each new song is an opportunity to write about whatever new idea I have or subject I’m learning about. The evolution of the music definitely compliments my evolution as a lyricist.

Last question, and it’s not meant to be funny. I fucking hate joke bands. I don’t like humor in my music, at least not in aggressive music. Do you find it annoying that this sound, fueled on bitterness and/or rage, has been somewhat compromised by people and bands that mock what they supposedly embrace?

Joe: I don’t wanna get too into this question, cause I will end up writing a fucking book on it, but in short it’s not the joke bands that piss me off as much as the bullshit bands that try to steal this form of music and expression from us and all the people before us that worked so hard to make it. The bands that try to turn this into pretty, socially palatable, teeny bop bullshit – if you know what I’m talking about, than you understand. I don’t need to start naming names. Fuck, ok, breath, change the subject.

Rick: I don’t mind a good chuckle now and again, but joke bands never last. They’re a novelty and rarely remembered. Honestly, I could care less if someone wants to diminish their music with corny lyrics and imagery. It’s not something I’m interested in and I have much more important things to worry about.

Ok, last last question. Are you glad you didn’t have to answer one formulaic question?

Joe: I knew if you were asking the questions, than formulaic wouldn’t even be on the table! Ha, thanks Ryan!