seen The Thumbs rock the hell out of the Stokes St.
Project in Huntsville Alabama last summer. No stage,
shitty PA, lots of Budweiser, fireflies, humidity, no wor-
ries; Mike was assigned to the worst microphone stand ever-
whenever he'd go up to sing it would turn right away. We
wanted to tape it still for him but he wouldn't let us. He was
just as content to chase the fuckin' thing around in a circle for
the better part of an hour. Most people you ask will say that
The Thumbs are the hardest working band they know. -SC
Roman drums
Bobby guitar/vocals
I heard that Adeline wanted to sign you and
they had never seen you play live.
B: We sent them a tape of stuff we'd recorded and
got a phone call the next week. I sent a letter basi-
cally saying that this was about to get put out on
our label as a last resort, but we ere very proud of
the songs and felt they deserved to be put out by a
label with some real distro so they'd actually have
a chance to be heard. Definitely a shot in the dark,
but we got a call right back simply saying "Lets do
it. We want to put out those songs." It's a cool story,
but a real testament to Adeline's very down to
earth attitude. They just want to put out good punk
music whether it comes from friends' bands in
Oakland, or a band they had never heard of from
Baltimore. That should always be a label's first pri-
ority. And with them, it is.
Your band was built up through a DIY ethic.
With a rise of independent labels that act like
majors, do you see that ethic slowly dying?
M: It's hard to say if it's dying, or just going
through a dark time. I can't pin it solely on "inde-
pendent labels that act like majors," either. The big-
ger issue is the general feeling or attitude in the
scene, to use an over-used term. The whole point.
is supposed to be that the bands and the crowds
are the same people. Anybody could get up and do
it. But I see a lot of bands that feed the star men-
tality. It's disturbing to see bands play the part of
the unapproachable rock star, and it's even more
disturbing to see people come to the shows in awe
of a band. If you're really into a cool punk rock
band, you should be able to walk up to them and
have a conversation with them. If the band treats
you like a fan club member, then you might as well
be a Britney Spears fan.
Do you still see this as a time period where
The Thumbs
bands can put out
their own records and
become successful, or
is the label aspect so
dominant...
M: It can be done.
When we've been on
tour, Bobby's mom takes
care of the mail order
stuff, but it's tough. We
have become very good
at juggling work and tour
and our personal lives
but everything is meticu-
lously planned out far in
advance and isn't very
flexible. We all have to
be on the same page and
willing to drop every-
thing for a few months a
year to go off and do this
around the country or
world. We decided after
a couple Thumbs
records on our own label, Sneezeguard, that it
would be better for us if we could concentrate on
writing songs and touring, and find cool people
with similar attitudes to put out the record and pro-
mote it. Between Soda Jerk, Snuffy Smile, ADD,
and Adeline, we've met a lot of amazing people,
and feel very comfortable putting the records in
their hands.
Mike bass/vocals
B: It's all about the songs. Dillinger Four did well
ing our own tours. It's six years later and things
aren't too different, except now you can find cer-
tain records easier in stores and we get more hits
on our website. It's been a long road and we've
loved almost every minute of it. DIY is the only
way we know and we haven't spotted a shortcut or
a way to guarantee everyone out there buys our
records. I want them to get the records because
they think they're good, and come to shows
because they know we'll throw down.
Can geography effect a band's growth?
B: Well, we're lucky because there are tons of
great bands in our area, but a relatively small scene.
Not so many bodies, and that's both good and bad.
Imagine seeing your favorite band and there are
only 15 people there. On one hand you're pissed
because more people don't "get it" but you have a
good time and they play like they would to a thou-
sand people and you realize something amazing
has taken place and you were front row center.
Geography can definitely help, but I think it ulti-
mately comes back to being good. You just have to
be satisfied whether or not you grow or play to
empty rooms. There's no payoff or instant respect;
I don't think I'd want it if it wasn't earned.
Any final thoughts?
M: Start a band. Write a 'zine. Set up shows in
your area. It's a lot of work, if you do it right, but it
feels good, too. Don't complain about how all the
new bands suck. Start a band and rock it!
B: Buy the new Jack Pallance Band record and
anything by Hello Shitty People.
-Scott Kaplan
"Don't complain about how all
the new bands suck. Start a
band and rock it...
with those early records, and they shocked people;
but it wasn't because they sounded so revolution-
ary. What was so different about them is that they
were and are the best at it. Their songs are better.
Their words are smarter. They rock harder and
actually entertain you. And then they step off
the stage and buy you a beer. That's why
they are different from most of the bands
having success out there today. It's not
brain surgery. If people want your
records then distributors want
your records. If people want
your records, labels want to
put out your records and
zines want to interview
you. We didn't know.
what to do, but to
begin somewhere. And
that began with us putting
out our own records and book-
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