LiveFastDie
www.myspace.com/livefastdienow
Whats up with Live Fast Die? Its just you? Was it supposed to be like that?
Yeah, I was a little disgruntled with playing music and I had to make some changes in how I was going about things. Problem is its a lot harder to change other people. So I figured if I do everything myself I get 100% control over the amount of effort and decision making. Of course if it eats shit than I got no one to blame but myself. Surprisingly enough some people have been into it, so thats a big plus.
Youve got a band now with some (in)famous musicians making up the band..whos who?
Originally, I wanted to have a bunch of different members. Assemble a band do a tour. Next time out see whos available and do it again. I figured I could just pull from bands that I knew and werent busy at that moment. Right now Ive got Mike from the DC Snipers on bass, Aaron from the Electric Shadows on guitar, and Matt Billiams Williams on drums. The lineup is pretty good, but Matt lives in Chicago, and were all in Brooklyn so practices are a bitch. We played our first show with Matt when he was in town with The Baseball Furies for the DotDash year three shows this past summer. He was at the bar when I got to the first show and had already decided he would play drums and arrange a slot on the BBQ that Saturday. I said sure and now heres LiveFastDie Mach 1.
Howd you come up with the name?
Always a big GG fan. Growing up in Littleton, NH you dont have a shitload of things to be proud of. About the only thing you can count on is that some older kid loves GG and youre gonna hear about the geege sooner or later. As it turned out my best friend told me about him in like 4th grade. His step aunt, thats a real word right, his step aunt was Merles roommate in Boston at some point, and his step dad was into GG, Ramones, shit like that. So I had the idea that this band was gonna be everything the 13 year old me wanted to do, but could or didnt know how too. LiveFastDie just had that feel.
Tell me about the process of making a song for LFD. Is it easier when its just you?
Yes and no. In other bands you can collaborate, like I got some music and somebody else has an idea for lyrics. That can be productive, cool, whatever. Other times I got a whole idea and I know how the song should sound, but I cant get there because someone else has to play bass, or sing, or play guitar. When I record I do everything so I dont have to explain or demonstrate and it ends up a lot faster, though some times I wouldnt mind a little help. Generally, I either hear a whole song in my head and just lay it down, or Ill sit down with a bass till I do something I like and build the rest of the song around that. Sometimes its just a title, then a bass line, then a song. I write about 80% of the songs on bass.
What did you set out to sound like?
I didnt really know what I wanted to do, I just knew I hadnt been doing it for a long time. Like I said GG was a big part of my formative years and for about 11 years I wanted to cover his entire first album. So I guess that was the sound. But I didnt want to just bite off him, I wanted to take what I loved about the early stuff and update it a bit. I really wanted to work in some Roky Erickson shit too. Paradactyl is that type of song, mythical evil nonsense shit.
Influences? Current and past.
Well I already beat the GG horse to death. I dont even really know what influences me. For the first 3 months I was working on these songs I swear I didnt listen to anything but LiveFastDie. I was really excited and for maybe the first time in my life writing something I felt I would want to own. Not that I havent liked what Ive done in the past, but I think doing everything myself made that possible. Sometimes youre at the bar just fucking working to go home with some chick that you cant stand sober just trying to get her home only to find out you got whiskey dick and she tells all your friends. Sometimes it better to cut out with a buzz, jerk off, and go to bed. Thats a solo project.
Upcoming releases?
Next month the first single, Guitar star, comes out on Paddy from the Shop Fronts label, Your Permanent Records. Its like 3 songs in 5 minutes. I havent heard the test pressings yet, but Im fucking excited. If it doesnt blow one set of speakers Worldwide I failed. I think were gonna have a few comp tracks out, but thats always tricky. One band meeting a deadline is hard enough, let alone 10+. We should have something out on Mikes label, Baby Killer Records, around the New Year. I got a couple of other things in the works, but I dont want to jinx anything just yet. Mostly just set up some shows and write four or five more records this month.
Whats it gonna be like to go on tour? Nervous? Are these gonna be your first shows as a band?
No, Im not nervous, when we get to the first show Ill feel like I need to puke and shit at the same time, but right now I cant wait for that moment of indecision. The guys in the band are great, Billiams is like a machine, Mike is always good for some chatter, and Aaron can fucking solo while I change all the strings on my axe. Its the first time out, we played three shows with three different drummers and now were gonna play like nine shows in seven days. By the second or third night we should be playing pretty well. Really I just want to have fun. Believe it or not, I dont do this cuz I love losing money on the road.