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A View-Master Exploration of The Scaries
An Interview with The Scaries's Matt and Bill
by Fake Train
The sea of pop-punk bands is a deep and plentiful source indeed, but while there's an endless amount to feed on, the chances of one really standing out apart from the vast array is a rare occurrence. With Infectious and catchy melodies, The Scaries were one of these bands that shined above the rest. Shortly after their latest release, Souvenir, The Scaries played their last two shows in mid-December 2003. With this interview, conducted pre-breakup with Mike and Bill, they were kind enough to discuss about their new album Souvenir released on Law of Inertia Records, living in Chapel Hill, N.C., the coolness of View-Masters, among other things.
Fake Train: How did the origin of The Scaries moniker come about?
Matt: All the good names were already taken.
Bill: It had to do with Sean Husick (the original guitar player), but he really wasn't very scary...and these guys were retards before they knew me.
The Scaries have been going at it for awhile, since '97. What's the motivation to keep at it?
Matt: We're friends more than anything, so the band is more just an extension of the hanging out we'd already be doing. I don't understand how people could be in a band that didn't consist of their best friends.
Bill: We still enjoy it.
Do you ever feel frustrated or tired of playing?
Matt: Sometimes we get stuck on a song during practice and it's tough for that night. Or we're in some whack town playing a show that doesn't matter to people that don't care and its like, "What am I doing here?" But hey, no matter what you do, there's always the occasional bad day.
What sparked the idea to name your new release Souvenir?
Bill: We weren't smart enough to come up with a name that wasn't a song title.
Matt: We thought that the recent proliferation of ridiculously long album titles was getting out of hand, so we figured we'd lead by example.
How'd the artwork for Souvenir come about? Taking notice of the View-Master reel on the cover, any favorite View-Master reels as a kid? I remember The Smurfs and He-Man were in constant rotation in mine.
Matt: The cover was designed by Mark Owens, who did covers for Further Seems Forever's The Moon Is Down and Rainer Maria's Atlantic. If you look at those three albums, you can see the common layout motif. The View-Master reel was Mark's idea. I had one of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. When you ordered stuff from the JC Penny catalog back then, it would take weeks for it to come.
Bill: Snoopy and the Red Baron. Oh yeah!
Souvenir was released on Law of Inertia. How'd you hook up with Law of Inertia Records? And how has it been working with them?
Matt: We first met Ross and Law of Inertia when they reviewed our record before this one, Wishing One Last Time. They had gotten it for review before it had gotten released, and we almost ended up recalling the CD and releasing it on Law of Inertia instead. In the end, we ended up releasing this one with Ross. Ross just likes what we do, and we like what Ross does, and we love Ross as a person, and it works very well.
Bill: We also had friends (65 Film Show) that were on Law of Inertia, and liked it. Ross has been awesome, and he's a cheap date.
How'd the members of The Scaries wind up playing together?
Matt: Some combination of fliers or friends.
Bill: No Matt, we were all on the lacrosse team together, and it just progressed.
Is The Scaries a fulltime livelihood for the band right now?
Bill: Yes, but I have to live in a ditch.
Matt: No, not until there's health insurance in the deal.
How do you feel about the music in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and how would you say The Scaries fit into it?
Bill: There are lots of different kinds of bands here, but most are friends...and that's pretty cool. I think it's pretty annoying when a town produces bands that all sound alike.
Matt: Chapel Hill is known for one genre of music and we're tangential to that. Sometimes I think we're on the fringe of the indie rock scene here; we draw the same or better as a lot of the indie rock bands and sometimes play with them, but there are a lot of people that have no idea that the whole genre exists and thrives in NC.
What do you think sets The Scaries apart from other bands?
Matt: What happens off the stage. We have the best tour stories.
Bill: Our fine asses.
In an interview with Milemarker about their reasons for leaving Chapel Hill, they said they just wanted to get away from the small college town mentality. Would The Scaries ever consider packing up and relocating to another city?
Bill: From what I've seen, Chicago just has a really big college town mentality (just harder to park and easier to get beaten up). But no, I really like my town.
Matt: The music community in Florida, California, or New Jersey is more partial to what we do. I think at one point we all agreed that we'd move to Gainesville, FL, in a second. But we're probably not doing so this month.
Does life in Chapel Hill, North Carolina influence your music in any way?
Matt: Not unless our music exudes laziness.
What are some records that you are currently spinning?
Bill: Dillinger Escape Plan, Small Brown Bike, Gunmoll, Jay-z.
Matt: The Notwist's Neon Golden, Minus the Bear's Highly Refined Pirates, Creeper Lagoon's I Get Small and Go, and Minikon.
Any albums you've picked up recently that you were really disappointed with? I have to admit, the last Neil Young album Are You Passionate? was a real let down for me.
Matt: Yeah, our old drummer played it in the van. I don't think we got halfway through it. I always download the stuff first before I drop $15 on it.
Bill: In general, Neil Young albums have been letdowns to me forever. So yeah, that thing probably sucks. But luckily, I get to listen to most things before I get them.
Ever find a great record in one of those dollar bins at a used CD store? My one great find was Bob Evans' The Bradley Suite, and has been one of the best investments I've ever spent a buck on.
Bill: Our local college station uses the local record store as a trash can for promos, and they generally have poor taste, so there's lot's of good stuff to be had here.
What would you say was your favorite record released in 2002?
Matt: I didn't hear Small Brown Bike's Dead Reckoning until last year, so probably that.
Bill: Yikes, is it 2002 already? Andrew W.K.'s I Get Wet, hands down.
So what's up with the Japanese craze for The Scaries?
Bill: They think that we are abnormally large and pale.
The beginning of "Counting Scars" has that Lifetime feel to it, especially with the pitter-patter of the snare drum and feedback of the guitar. You can definitely hear their influence throughout Souvenir. How much would you say Lifetime has influenced The Scaries sound?
Bill: We all like Lifetime a lot, but I sure hope we are not one of those bands that annoy the hell out of me by poorly imitating Lifetime. I would have to flush myself down the toilet.
Would it be safe to say that I also hear Samiam, Seaweed, Gameface, and even Descendents influences in The Scaries music?
Matt: Somebody in the band loves each of those bands, so I imagine that they're going to shine through.
Bill: Wow, we are transparent as hell.
What band or album really sparked your desire to play and create music?
Matt: Superchunk's On the Mouth.
Bill: Van Halen's 1984.
So, how many scars can you count? I count just two for me.
Matt: At least four.
Bill: Matt, I will give you many scars if you don't shut the hell up.
Are there certain films, books, or paintings that have really opened your eyes and inspired you as an individual, and a musician?
Matt: Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense, Le Petit Prince, and Monet's "Coquelicots."
Bill: I don't think I pay close enough attention to notice that sort of thing. I assume it does happen to me though?
What do you like to do in your downtime? Any hobbies other than rock 'n roll?
Matt: Swimming, soccer, playing with computers.
Bill: Fixing shit, and kicking Matt's ass.
What's the future hold for The Scaries?
Matt: Going back to California, Japan, and New Jersey. We're going to add "fruit bowl" to our rider, and we're working on getting a team of high powered lawyers for the negotiations for our next record.
Any last words?
Matt: I think "Cheer up!" would make a good epitaph on a gravestone.
Bill: Matt Tomich might have just said his last words.
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