MEET THE NAKED AGGRESSION – interview by pr!
SLAYER! SLAYER! SLAYER! I’m at 4th and B, in downtown San Diego, chanting with Kirsten Patches of Naked Aggression fame, and a thousand others. The beer is flowing and the rednecks and beading with the sweat of metal perspiration. Kirsten and boyfriend Rick came down from Los Angeles to check out Slayer and Hatebreed, and work a little interview about her new band, Meet the Virus.
The following morning, after (I’m sure) an intense night on my blow up mattress, and a PR-made breakfast including eggs, waffles (in a waffle machine, old school!) and orange juice, we sat down on the couch and talked about shit.
How did Naked Aggression get started?
I was involved in a lot of anti war protests at the University of Wisconsin, which I went there due to my boyfriend, who I was living with at the time. He would take me out there, and I would scream, and incite riots. Just go nuts, and yell at cops. So he wanted me to start a band with him, which I was pretty against, because I didn’t know how to sing. The only time I had sung anything was when I was in church choir, but he convinced me to start a band. So we started writing songs against the Gulf War, and we played them at coffee shops and open mic’s, announcing during our set that we wanted a bass player and a drummer.
You were a coffee shop band?
Yeah! Just the two of us. Him playing the guitar, and me screaming about war. Total Naked Aggression songs, just acoustic. We started getting people calling to jam with us, and we came up with the name from George Bush, who always used it as comparison to the war.
Who designed the logo?
Our first drummer, who we recorded our first seven inch with, Cyrus. He was a really talented designer, and actually, that’s what he does for a living now. It’s a great logo; he just pulled it out of nowhere. To this day, when people see the logo tattoo on my arm, they ask me about it.
Have you ever heard of Fag Rabbit?
Umm… no, I haven’t.
They use a similar logo (draws it out)
Whoa. Are they a newer band?
Actually no, I got this from a small ad in punk planet years ago. I sent them a few stamps and they sent me stickers and pins.
That’s cool.
How did you get into Decline of Western civilization Part 3?
Actually, we heard that they were filming, and the squatter punks that always came to our shows kept telling Penelope to put us in the film. Especially Squid, who got everyone into Naked Aggression. So she finally called us, and we sent her a CD, which she was totally cool with, and we ended up being good friends.
How long was the filming?
It started in ’97, but it seemed to be over a year or so’s worth of filming. When we were in it, we were playing at the Showcase in Corona, where they sprayed water on us as we played.
Is Squid the one with the full iron soldier stud jacket? Asian?
No, Squid’s the one who… well, I would give away the whole movie. That’s Troll, who you are talking about.
Yeah? I saw him a day after I saw the movie, in Taang! records.
Yeah, Troll is still around.
R: Squid got murdered by his girlfriend.
Damnit, that’s the whole plot of the movie. Rick, your out of the interview!
(laughs)
R: Sorry. I was just letting you know your not going to see Squid walking around.
Ah.
One of Troll’s good friend Evil just passed away from a overdose not too long ago, so…
R: Just as a public service announcement, there is some super strong heroin going around on the street that’s killing a lot of people. We’ve known two people that have died from it already.
So, is it really bad, or really potent?
R: Really potent.
Does this have something to do with Afghanistan?
R: Of course
It’s Osama, that little squirrelly bastard.
It’s a bunch of things. It’s like how they put crack in the ghetto’s.
Was Naked Aggression ever part of the Mumia protests?
Yeah, we hung out with Aus Rotten and Man is the Bastard to support that. We’ve played so many benefits, it’s insane.
So is it hard to cover your shows and expenses?
Well, we don’t come away with the cash that other bands get. Our first tour made us $10 after we got home. The last tour we did, we quit our shitty jobs and hit the road. Phil, my late husband and guitar player, could build/make whatever, so that kind of helped. He was always fixing our van.
Someone always becomes the default mechanic in a touring band.
Totally.
What was your most memorable show?
We played at a insane show in Mexico city in a bullfighting ring. It was crazy, you could tell the crowd to run to the left, or run to the right. I got hit with a mango, so I stopped the show and started cursing in Spanish, and they stopped throwing stuff at us.
In your opinion, is it better or worse being a girl?
Well, when we first started, I was treated like shit, because they thought I was a groupie or some shit. But as soon as I got on stage, they respected me. I wasn’t sure what that was all about.
Now you’re in Meet the Virus, or MTV. Coincidence?
Actually, we’re stupid. We did that on accident. We just named the band because of one of our songs, called Meet the Virus.
How has the response been? Is it difficult shifting to MTV from Naked Aggression?
Sort of. We have fans from both bands come to our show. So many bands are just dragging their band name out, because they are afraid to start over, and end up ruining the name. That’s why we changed the name. I can’t sing Naked Aggression; it wouldn’t be right. So we changed the name, but let everyone know that I’m singing and the message hasn’t changed.
Do you play Naked Aggression songs?
At the end of the set, if the audience is REAL good… (laughs). We decided that we always would play them, but more as covers. I’m proud of those songs, and I don’t want people to forget them. It’s also a part of a grieving process. Rick encouraged me to start this band; I didn’t want to at first. So I guess it’s a tribute, sort of.
So your a teacher now. Ever play Naked Aggression for the kids?
I work in a South Central school, so the parents don’t give a shit. It’s a middle school, and sometimes I’ll bring in a live tape, which the kids love to watch.
Who did you vote for?
I unapologetically voted for Nadar. He is not the one to blame for Bush. The democrats can find someone else to blame. 100 years from now, people are going to ask “How could America voted for such a Nazi” and I’ll be able to say that I didn’t.
You think it’s a sad state of affair when George Bush Jr. is a president?
YES. It’s sad that corporations control everything now. It freaks me out.
What are your top five bands?
Um. Uh, why don’t you ask me about influences?
I’m not going to ask that. Nobody cares about that lame question. C’mon. What’s in your CD player? Mariah Carey?
Rick’s the DJ in our house. Lately, I listen to the Jazz radio station, so I don’t get mad in traffic. Classical also. I always have my punk mix tapes, too.
Tapes, huh?
Dinosaur punk! Hell yeah.
What band do you want to go away?
KROQ bands. All of them. There are so many, it’s disgusting. I want britney spears to go away. I cant stand that cooperate rock shit.
Pepsi please!
Oh, God. I want her to go away. My kids in class want to hear Snoop Dogg, or Dr Dre, or Linkin Park. Sometimes I freak them out and bring in NWA, or Ghetto Boys. I like to listen to Blondie.
Blondie rocks.
Johnnie Cash is cool, but I haven’t listened to him since Phil passed. Maybe someday
R: what would your mom say about you listening to jazz
She would go off on me.
Final words?
Final words? Lately… hmm. Uhm. Don’t do something. This is hard. Punk rock till you die.
You can find out more about MTV at their website, nakedaggression.com
