ARMY
She don't give a fuck, not
a single fuck, not a single
solitary fuck, she don't give
a fuck, motherfucker. Her
name is Boss and her new
album is Born Gangstaz.
Ask her why she's coming
off so hard and she'll tell
you, "It's the way I feel."
Hailing from the streets
of Detroit, Lichelle "Boss"
Laws and her partner Irene
"Dee" Moore chant raw
rhymes with songs like "Mal
Sista Izza Bitch," "Drive
By" and "Recipe Of A Hoe."
"Life is fucked up." says
Laws. "It's easy to get step
ped on. So I just think that
it's more business-like, if
they're going to fuck with
you, shoot 'em, I know you
can't just do that, but at
least if people know where
you're coming from, then
more business is going to
be taken care of and more
money is going to be made.
One of the most in-your-face and use your-brains bands to ever take the
stage, New Model Army has established a tradition of energy, conscience
and conviction. The band's sixth release is titled The Love of Hopeless
Causes, and though it is a little polished around the edges, it delivers the
revolutionary instinct, introspective insights and haunting themes the
band has been known for all along.
Guitarist and lyricist Justin Sullivan explains that the name New Model
Army came from the English Civil War, "They were the first properly
organized, paid soldiers who fought out of political and religious fervor. The
New Model Army was comprised of people who wanted to fight, not
merely a band of conscripts.
"Here Comes The War," the first song on the new Lp, is an ominous
promise of impending mass destruction. "I've gotten letters that say it
Pisn't a proper war song "Sullivan says. "Well it's not supposed to be an anti-
war song, it's just a sense of what's on its way."
"White Light" deals with death from electrocution while picking up
a stage light during an encore, an experience Justin knows first hand.
"Yeah it's a reference to that," he says. "It's kind of a personal thing, but I've
got to say it outclasses any drug!"
That long look at things after man has vanished is covered with "Living
In The Rose," a song about love, not crotch rock love, or mushy love, but
about love that lasts after the earth crashes into the sun. "Mother Nature.
will be dancing on our graves when we are long gone." Sullivan says. "Oh
yeah, we can destroy ourselves, and take most of the mammals with us.
but life will go on-that's the kind of love I write about."
Boss was going through
hard times when Born
Gangstar was written, and
it definitely sat the mood
for songs like "I Don't Give
A Fuck." Laws explains,
"There was a point where I
was determined to do what
I had to do. So I didn't give
a fuck, whatever. I did every-
thing I had to do. I wasn't
going to sell no pussy. But I
was just doing what I had
to do, struggling.
Saying that Boss is asser-
tive is an understatement,
she's out to determine her
own destiny, to do and say
whatever the fuck she feels
"I just want to do my own
shit," she explains. "That's
why my name is Boss, my
father named me that when
I was little, because I always
wanted shit my way. And
most of the time I got it."
When it comes to taking
care of business, Boss
ROSS
-Don Redondo
believes in looking out for
number one. "If you want to
do something, do it," she
says, "The only person hold-
ing you back from doing
anything is you. Just stay
focused and do what you
want to do, because you're
in this world yourself, you're
going to die by yourself, so
you've got to be true to
yourself, that's it. Make
some money too, while
you're at it."-Brian Brannon
DE
Offspring
Spoonfed on legendary Southern California punk bands from
the early eighties like TSOL, Social Distortion and The Vandals,
The Offspring have emerged as a power-packed group chock
full of creative cries
backed by surges of har-
monic conduction. Bryce
Kanights called lyricist
Brian Holland to find out
what's in store for the
band as they continue to
etch their marks into the
scriptures of hardcore.
Your lyrics cover suicide,
pyromania, fighting and
police brutality. Are they
based on personal expe-
riences?
It's just everyday life.
You can watch an hour of
news on television and
have enough material for a
whole record.
That song about the
LAPD is incredible.
Thanks. We didn't know
about that one because at
that point in time, there
had already been a bunch
of songs about the riot and
we thought that we were
going to get shit for it and
people would say, "Oh,
another LA riot song."
Have you ever experi
enced police brutality?
Oh yeah. I went to this
Dead Kennedy's show in
Wilmington about eight
years ago and people were
breaking windows and
the riot squad came in.
Wilmington is south of LA,
it's an industrial town, so
there was a big union hall
and it was huge, six or
seven hundred people big.
and they shot in tear gas and came in and chased
everybody around. It was total anarchy. Me and
my friends weren't afraid because we thought
that the police weren't going to hit us because.
we weren't doing anything wrong. We just want-
ed to go smell the tear gas and sauntered over
to the exit and then the cops came up behind
us and started beating us with billy clubs. It kind
of sucked. That's what happens when you go to
punk rock concerts.
Did any of the band skate at all?
No, but we'll say we did.
What about your discography?
Back in '86, we pressed our own single called
"I'll Be Waiting"We only did about one thou-
sand because that's all we could afford, but we
couldn't even get rid of them for about three
years. We had them forever. Distributors didn't
want them. Finally we got rid of them and now
people ask about them. Then, Nimbus did our
album in '89, which is self-titled and a year later,
we did an Ep called Baghdad. Now we have
Ignition on Epitaph.
What do you guys want to say to the readers
out there?
Just rip it up.
hree o'clock on
la sunny Mon
day afternoon, local
punks Rancid are
cruising the streets
of Berkeley in drum
mer Brett Reed's
green 1972 Dodge
Cornet (with a purple
four ball automatic
gear shift), that he got
for free after he fixed
the vehicle with a fifty-
cent piece of wire.
Guitarist/vocalist Timi
Armstrong (also known
as Lint) is rid
ing shotgun as
bassist/vocal
RANCID
ist Matt Free-
man reclines in
the back. After a steady
month of recording for
their debut album on
Epitaph, a little time off
for the band is just what
the doctor ordered.
Tim hits on his and
Matt's last band, Opera-
tion Ivy, a project that
broke up nearly four years
ago, and whose lead
vocalist is now a Buddhist
monk. "We started off by
just playing at punk parties
and at Gilman, and then it
just blew up," he says: "I
think it's really important to
keep that grass roots men-
tality going and not to get
jaded. I always make an
effort to treat the new punks
with respect, because when I
was a kid, I wanted respect."
With Rancid being together
a little over a year, starting
fresh isn't so bad. "The coolest
thing is that we're now part of
the new school, even though
we've been around since the
old school," says Lint. "Other
people can become jaded and
that's not punk. I hang out with
punks. I always go to shows. It's
not like I'm punk once a month,
I'm punk rock everyday."
I'll tell you what it is for me,"
Matt cuts in, "because people do
different things for different rea
sons. Some bands will play in the
punk scene as a stepping stone to
something bigger, but I like punk
because I can play the music I like
and get away with a lot of shit."
Tim adds, his voice becoming
louder as noisy cars room by,
"There are so many new punk rock
bands, and some are really phony.
Just because you're a vegan and
don't wear leather and say all the
right things doesn't mean you're sin-
cere. You could totally be a big
phony. I want bands to be honest,
to me that's punk" Sara Tassione