Dead Boy Productions

 

02/25/08
Dead Boy Productions

Deadboypro sits down with Mike from the Street Dogs on November 17, 2007

 

So we’re here with Mike from the Street Dogs…

Hello

You were on tour with Tiger Army, or are you still?

Well, technically, we’re on tour with them, tomorrow’s the last day of the tour in Tempe, Arizona where we play the Marquee Theater.

How long has the tour actually been?

It started September 21st at the Grove in Anaheim and we’ve been on tour even since.

How have the Tiger Army, no disrespect to Tiger Army, I like Tiger Army a lot, but the fans, they can be very different, you were talking on stage earlier that you didn’t anticipate a lot of Street Dogs fans at the Wiltern…

Well, when you open up, you really don’t go into it with any expectations. You just want to work hard and you know, play the songs to the best of your ability and excite the crowd to have them check you out. We found that every night of the tour we were, we’re doing well and it’s a great tour for us.

Did you think that you got more fans out of it?

Absolutely. I think a lot of people were shocked who hadn’t heard of us, how much effort and what kind of show we put on. I don’t say this egotistically or braggingly; it’s just, we take a lot of pride in what we do, and we walked up on stage every night trying to have the show of our careers. And as a band if that’s not our mandate then we shouldn’t even be doing this. It’s a great tour and it seems like for us as a band, each tour has gotten better and better and we’ve gotten a little better with each tour.

How do you think tonight’s show went off?

I thought there was a lot of energy. I mean this [the Showcase Theatre in Corona] is a punk building, a DIY building. There’s a lot of history in this building a lot of great bands have come through. There aren’t many venues like this in the United States left, and that’s sad because it’s venues like these that give young bands just as much opportunity to play as like an established national act. I like that and I’m appreciative of that. You know, I have a lot of respect for this place. The last time I was here was back in ‘96, with the Dropkick Murphys. We played with the U.S. Bombs. It was amazing then and it’s still amazing. I hope this place is always open. It’s got a good little scene. It’s good local and national shows here.

You were talking on stage about how… I hate Hollywood with a passion. I hate everything about Hollywood. If there is a band on tour playing in L.A. and if there’s a chance they’ll be playing at the Glass House in Pomona or at the Showcase, I’d much rather see a band play out here than in Hollywood.

It’s more intimate there, it’s more like there’s real punk rock kids.

It is so intimate here, I mean, just talking about the way you came off the stage to sing in the crowd, that’s what its all about, putting us on the same level.

The bands that influenced, the primary influence of the Street Dogs, like the Clash, Stiff Little Fingers, Cocksparrer, you know the Ramones, Billy Bragg, all those people are accessible to their fans, so down to earth and there’s no rock star attitude. So for us, in our perspective, there are no shows without the people who take time out of their personal life or money out of their pocket to come through the front door. So if you can’t spend time with those people or talk to them on equal footing them you have no business being in this business. I mean that’s how I feel.

And I think that’s why we have such a deep appreciation for bands like that. We’ve tried to talk to bands where they won’t give us a minute of their time or take forever to get back to us. I would never show disrespect to them, but also if it comes between them and a band that is much more eager or willing to give us a minute of their time, I would much rather talk to them or hang out with them.

There’s time when bands are genuinely busy and overwhelmed. I’ve been doing this for a while and that can happen, but when you do have time, like when I do have time I give it up readily, quickly. Because it’s a taxing and demanding business sometimes, but when I have time I give it right up. The beauty of a venue like this is that it’s not in Hollywood and there’s not a bunch of distractions, label this or that around you. You can relax after a show, kick back and chill you know.

The Street Dogs, as a band, advocate human rights and unionization and we all work union so we’re right behind you, the war, let’s talk about that. How our president will not admit that we need to leave Iraq and leave Afghanistan, and now Congress is passing bills giving money and saying it’s time. Do you think it’s time? Has it been time?

It’s been time for a long, long time. We should never have been in Iraq in the first place. I don’t dislike the fact that Saddam Hussein was deposed, but we should have taken care of that a long time ago. Um, and this situation in Afghanistan with the Taliban and Al Quada is very complex and the thing that I see that troubles me is our government and the people who run it are becoming like the very monsters we’re chasing. We shouldn’t become a monster to defeat a monster. They used the 9-11 attacks as a pretext to implement neo-con dogma, a New World Order that was in place a long time ago before [George] W. was in there, his father and Dick Cheney have wanted this for a long time. So, the invasion of Iraq is clearly motivated for oil and there is a vengeance factor with W. wanting to get even with Hussein trying to take out his father. It’s sad because a lot of American youth has been wasted in nation building and trying to force feed democracy to a Middle Eastern society. With Sunni Muslims and Shiites in the mix it’s not going to work. It’ll be a dismal failure. It’ll probably be the biggest colossal failure in foreign policy in American foreign policy history. It’ll be the biggest loss of money. It’ll put the nation into debt and put us into a recession soon. I mean, One point nine trillion dollars have been spent between Afghanistan and Iraq. That’s staggering. Never in the history of modern warfare has that kind of money been spent. The U.S. economy is going to feel the crunch and Bush should go down as one of the worst presidents.

Do you think we’re starting to feel it now with the oil prices?

Absolutely. In Street Dogs when we talk about politics I’m not trying to preach to people.

I want to make it clear that I never actually thought that.

I know you don’t, but we have to sing about, talk about how we feel, what’s inside of us. And I can agree to disagree with people, I mean I’m sure some of our fans don’t agree with where we stand on things, and that’s alright, that’s what the first amendment is for, that’s what democracy is for. It’d be nice if the Republicans could keep that in consideration when someone is disagreeing with the war, disagreeing with the policy and not being a blind sheep to the Bush administration, their practicing democracy and patriotism. I’m actually disappointed with some Democrats how they conduct themselves, not standing up to it enough. I hope that with these elections in 2008 we get, it’s clear to me that a Democrat will win because of the damage the Bush administration has done to America, abroad and domestically is overwhelming and now you know why a woman president will get elected…

So you think that’s who going to…

No doubt in my mind, because of how horrible and incompetent and just how pathetic the Bush administration has been with everything.

I see a parallel between that because you have Bush and his dad and Hillary and her husband, do you think each…

During the Clinton Administration the nation enjoyed some of the greatest economic gains and erasure of nation debt in American history. Sure some of his personal conduct was sketchy, sure some of his foreign policy decisions were less than exceptional, but I think overall his legacy will be looked on quite more favorably.

Let’s turn to union issues; the writer’s strike is going on now.

The biggest bread and butter issue seems to be residuals, royalties on new media. And clearly, I mean the people who write the dialogue, or scripts or treatments or anything for these things need to get paid a percentage of it. I mean it’s common sense and I think anyone whose of a reasonable mind would agree with that. I think they’re getting nickel and dimed and I support them and I hope they get a fair deal.

When it was last negotiated, you didn’t have things like You Tube or episodes of TV shows you could download into your iPod, so now its time to say this is what’s right.

Yeah, it’s time for fairness and equal distribution.

Fading American Dream is the last CD and how long has that been out?

Since October 2006. We’ve been writing for our fourth release, which will be out on Hellcat Records probably in June or July. We’re going to go into some preproduction and writing in December. We’re going to do some East Coast dates in December with a Boston date to finish the year out at the Fourth Annual Wreck the Halls show. Then in January we’ll write some more, and then we’ll track in February. The record will probably come out June we might go to Europe first, after we do the record, then the Vans Warped Tour. Then a headliner or a support tour will go down sometime after that.

Looks like a busy 2008 already and it’s only November.

You’re wearing a Misfits shirt. Here’s what needs to go down. Danzig needs to do his solo album or whatever, then Only and him need to sit down bury the hatchet, Doyle needs to sit down and for the fans, the fiends, around the fucking world. Bury the hatchet, put all personal differences aside, fuck the money you’re all going to get paid well, and do one final reunion tour.

Danzig has shunned it a few times, Jerry has sent some requests out and Danzig has just said no. But Doyle now is touring with Danzig, I don’t think they had a hatchet to bury.

I just think I see how powerful the legacy is and I see Jerry out their doing that karaoke act and I feel like just for the interest of the fans, this is the final run America, Japan, South America, like taking it to the grave, the Misfits original lineup. That’s it!

Were you guys in Boston when the Red Sox won? Were you on tour?

We were in Seattle when they won their second World Series in four years. I was really shocked because I didn’t think they’d beat Colorado in four. I was unreasonably confident when they were down three games to one to Cleveland. I thought they would come back on the strength of Beckett, on the strength of Schilling and I told all my friends at home don’t sweat, they’re going to take it and they did..

They had the momentum on their side with that series and that’s what it was. I mean that rest is just killer.

They are, healthy, still the best team in both leagues and with a few acquisitions and healthy, hopefully they can take it again.

Personally I’m a Dodger fan.

Well, with the acquisition of Joe Torre as a skipper and when you have Frank McCourt as the owner you’re going to see some changes. Big things are going happen. Joe Torre is way better than Grady Little; I mean I still haven’t forgotten 2003 ALCS when he left Pedro in too fucking long. Every time I saw Grady Little in that Dodgers hat I was like “fuck”. I mean we had that shit wrapped up.

The running joke is that we have a manager with a pulse now.

Yeah, he’s a player’s coach and if something questionable is going on, he’s going to get right the fuck up.

The other two of us are Angel’s fans and it’s always a very healthy rivalry whenever the Red Sox comes to town, come to Anaheim.

Oh yeah, there’s a lot of Boston transplants in California and when the Red Sox come to do inter-league, you know…

Those are good drinking games. There’s a lot of trash talk and a lot of good drinking going on in those games. Well Mike, we want to thank you for hanging out.

Sure