NO USE FOR A NAME
GOORTIDANC
Coming out of Columbus, Ohio, with a high
and mighty punk rock sound, the guys in
Gaunt collectively constitute some of the
greatest brains of our day. Their latest Lp,
I Can See Your Mom From Here, broadcasts
their brilliance with the song "Rich Kids."
The resounding chorus of "Oh, oh, oh, oh...
Fuck the rich kids!" showcases rare insight
known to few. The songs are short, fast,
snotty and quite possibly produced by Steve
Albini. Aside from, "Leave me alone," here's
what they have to say for themselves:
Do you have watches on? (Referring to "Silly
Watches" on their Ep, Whitey the Man).
Jerry Wick (guitar and vocals): Yeah, I'm not
a punk.
How do you feel about that?
Jerry: That song's really not about wearing
watches. It's more like punk is timeless. People
are still pissed-off and they don't want to hear
fucking James Taylor singing about it, they
want something to relate to, something sin-1
cere, not James Taylor singing. "I'm so mad..."
(sung in a feeble little voicel. It just doesn't
work. Well, at least not for me. You gotta
always have punk rock.
Let's see, Jovan Karcic (the guitarist) doesn't
work. Jerry, you work at a record store, and
Eric Barth (bass) has his own frame shop.
Jeff Regensburger (drums), what do you do?
Jeff: I work for the world's largest full-service
restaurant chain.
McDonald's?
Jeff: Uh, no, that would be Red Lobster.
So, do you like working for The Man?
Jerry: No, none of us work for The Man...
except for Jeff. Jeff, he works for The Man.
Jeff: I wear a goddamn hair net for The Man.
Jerry: See, that is why I started the band, to
get Jeff out of the grips of The Man. He is
being toyed and puttied.
Would you say this isn't a normal record?
Jerry: No. It's a really normal record. Wait till
you hear our new record in January. It's called
Chuck Berry's Breakfast.
Chuck Berry's Breakfast, that's shit!
Jeff: You're there. You're an insider.
On Gaunt's second seven-inch, Fielder's
Choice, in the song "Revolution," what do
you mean by "Fuck the Revolution?" What
revolution are you speaking about?
Jerry: TV. Short attention spans, subliminal
Christian morals, radiation, etc.
Would that be like the information revolu
tion or like the progress revolution or...
Jerry: No. As silly as it sounds, it's the imagi-
nation revolution. It's dying.
The imagination revolution?
Jerry: Sure. Flashed culture. People sit and
watch all these images on radiated screens
and just drool at the mouth while their brains
ooze out their ears. Including myself. I'm not
saying I don't have a short attention span. I
do. And I don't like it. And that's why I have a
need to sing. "Fuck, fuck, fuck the revolution!"
I'm trying to break out of my socialization,
perhaps. I just don't have the attention span
to figure out what that song is about. Sorry.
So, is there a book in preparation soon to
be released nation-wide about drinking in
Columbus, Ohio?
Jovan: How to drink in Columbus, Ohio, on
zero dollars a day.
Jerry: Chapter three is pretty impressive.
Jovan: Chapter three, get in a band and get a
bunch of tabs.
Jerry: Maybe it was chapter two.
Jeff: To wrap this interview up, I'd like to share
a fun pastime with the readers of this fine pub-
lication. Go to the railroad tracks, and when
you see a train come by with one of the car
carriers on it, one that's got brand new, shiny
cars on it, throw rocks at it. It's fucking awe-
some. It's just the most senseless vandalism,
but who the hell are you hurting? General
Motors? They can afford it, the fucks! It's fuck
ing great. I've never felt better in my life.
Jeff and Eric have since left the band after
recording I Can See Your Mom From Here
to pursue their careers at Red Lobster and
the frame shop. Nick (nineteen and in high
school!) now plays drums, and Brett (the
only chance Gaunt will ever have at being a
cute band alert) plays bass. -Jennie Boddy
What do you get when you cross No Use For
A Name and a forty-foot Barney the Dinosaur
at a big-time concert in Phoenix, AZ? "Nothing
but shards of purple and green splattering the
sea of people," according to
one eyewitness.
Apparently, the boys in No
Use told the raucous crowd to
destroy the cartoon dinosaur
and the rest, as well as the big
ol' Barney, is history.
Straight out of Sunnyvale,
CA, No Use For A Name fea
tures Tony Sly on guitar and
vocals, Steve Papoutsis on
bass, Ed Gregor on lead gui-
tar and Rory Koff on drums.
Their latest album, Leche Con
Came was co-produced by Fat
Mike and has a curiously fast,
melodic and powerful NOFX-
esque sound. The band's been
trying to pass off the title as
the name of a Spanish war
song, but it originally came
about on a hot and grueling
day of touring when, "Every-
body in the van just started saying stuff in
Spanish that made no sense," says Sly. "And
Leche Con Carne to us was one of the funniest
ones. I think it means pouring milk on meat."
NUFAN has seen many changes and paid
their dues on the road. "Our first US tour
didn't do very well," says Sly. According to
bassist Papoutsis, they had several projectiles
thrown on them from the
audience, a shoe nailed
Papoutsis on stage during a
live video shoot and Sly was
struck by a lead Dungeons
and Dragons figurine.
Bummer. Taking it like the
tough guys they are, the No
Namers finally did get some
pay-back and linked up with
The Offspring for their sec-
ond US tour where things
finally began to roll.
This tour went smooth but
lacked some of the excite
ment of the first. "The Off-
spring were pretty low-key
guys," says Sly, "so it was
pretty hard for any funny
stuff to happen. But I think
someone dressed as a rabbit.
and did some stage dives in
New Orleans." -Sara Tassione
GAUNT