Interview with Jesse Michaels of Operation Ivy/Common Rider/Classics of Love

Operation Ivy
Photo by SFWeekly.com
By Chris Carlton

Squid Pro Quo: Thanks for taking the time to talk with Squid Pro Quo, Jesse. People know you from your days in Operation Ivy and Common Rider, but I want to ask you about your current band, Classics of Love. Can you give us a little history on the band and how you got together?

Jesse Michaels: "The band started in 2009 when I was making some demos. A friend played a tape of the band, The Hard Girls, for me and I really liked it so I reached out to them and asked them if they would like to play with me. As soon as we played, there was instant chemistry and we have developed a good working relationship. I also really like them as people and we get along and have fun together. I never realized it but to me, this is actually the single most important thing. Given a reasonable amount of inspiration, almost any group of people that get along will produce something worthwhile because with bands, the whole is definitely greater than the sum of the parts."

SPQ: You, like myself, are a big fan of all styles of music. From Cole Porter to Patsy Cline to Buddy Holly. What musical influences do you bring to the table when you're writing songs?

JM: "Lately, the primary influences are '80s hardcore and current neo-hardcore. So as far as old stuff, I am talking about Jerry's Kids, The Necros, Minor Threat, Black Flag, Youth Brigade, Seven Seconds, The Fix, Die Kruezen and so on. As far as new(er) bands, I am talking about bands like Set to Explode, Wasted Time, Government Warning, Socialcide, Nightstick Justice, Double Negative, early Fucked Up and so on. In addition to this, I have so much mid-tempo melodic punk ala The Clash, Menace and Stiff Little Fingers in my blood that it just always comes out somewhere."

SPQ: I know Classics of Love released the "Walking In The Shadows" EP in 2009 as well as a single for Art of the Underground last year. Are there any plans for a new EP or full length? Or a possible tour?

JM: "Yes. We have recorded demos for the LP and are very excited about our engineer and the songs. We have everything written, we are just waiting until the studio is available. So we are going to record the album in August."
SPQ: You were in the band Big Rig back in the early '90s. That band only lasted a few short months. If you don't mind me asking, why such a quick demise?

JM: "That band was primarily a project. I really liked those guys and liked the music they were playing but I did not want to turn it into a band proper because I couldn't exactly write songs in the vein that they were doing - it just wasn't quite the style I was used to. We managed to do a couple nice songs and Lookout! Records agreed to put out the EP. We also did a gig and it was fun. I am still in touch with several of the guys that were in that band, many of whom have gone on to do interesting things."

SPQ: I understand that you are/were a breakfast cook. Being a cook, I find it relaxing to do something I love. How did you get started cooking? Was it a life long passion or just something that fell into your lap later on in life?

JM: "Well, I am a good cook but I was not a very good professional cook. However, I managed to pull my weight and I tried to do extra things and be reliable to make up for my lack of natural ability. This is not false modesty, it's just how it is. The head chef at my restaurant was and is a great guy and he helped me to do it and taught me a lot about cooking and about having an incredible work ethic. There are things you can only learn by having jobs. It was a good experience and something I still do for fun."

SPQ: In this day and age of skinny jeans, bad haircuts and "mall punk" bandwagon jumping, do you feel the punk idealism and energy has been dragged through the mud in order to make a quick buck?

JM: "Every social movement that begins underground and with extremely creative, intelligent energy, eventually gets co-opted by the more normal, mainstream crowd. They take what's cool and make it tacky and obvious, and they are the ones that get the money. It happened with the hippies, it happened with the beats, it happened with goth, it happened with hip-hop, it happened with rave culture, it happened with gay pride, it happened with skateboarding; it happens. That's the nature of the world. Of course, all those crappy bands are annoying but really, who cares? I have been into music for literally 30 years and as far as I remember, there were always crappy bands. Some of the shit that went on in the '80s and '90s was so God awful, it made me want to scream. It's true that so-called hipsters are the single most annoying example of this dynamic in history because nobody has gone so far to co-opt symbols of non-conformity and make them into bland fashion, but what can you do? There are still great bands. These days, all you have to do is find one and follow the connections on the various social media. If you find one that you really like, chances are you will find 100. I think a person could spend an entire year on great Japanese bands alone and never get to the end of it. So yes, there is definitely a lot of shit out there, but there is also a lot of great stuff. The digital age means there's more of both, for better or worse. Well, the hipsters have taken tattoos, collecting obscure records, funny hair, tight pants and screaming into microphones. If real outsiders are so unimaginative that they can't come up with something different, beyond what we are all used to, then they deserve to be co-opted."

SPQ: Are there any newer bands out there that you feel are true to the music? A band where you think, "yeah, they have the right idea?"

JM: "Well, I am not very in-the-loop these days to be quite honest. But just in Oakland alone, there is a great underground hardcore scene; bands like Face the Rail, Comadre, Punch, E-Coli, and so on. Shit, there's dozens of good bands out here. La Plebe is astonishing for example. Frankly, I think the scene is better than ever, it's just that there is such a glut of underground music everywhere that it's harder to get noticed. There are always great bands in Portland and Chicago. Young people are getting smarter, not dumber. If you want to know about a lot of great bands, just use the standard web-research tools and one can find about a million in an hour. I remember just out of curiosity, I went on Interpunk once and started following all the little "people also bought" links from well-known bands I liked and within a few minutes, I had discovered this lesser-known but incredible band called The Observers, who changed my whole perspective on music. Actually they are pretty well-known in the underground punk scene but I mean lesser-known to an old fuddy duddy like me. The Spits were an incredible pop-punk band in the true sense of the word, meaning not just another Ramones knock-off. I don't know if they are still around. Government Warning was fantastic. And so on. The whole Richmond, VA hardcore scene. Out Cold from Boston - not around anymore, but they got it right all the way. In the larger stage stuff, Sharks are phenomenal. At the really commercial level, The Vaccines are great. Don't even talk to me about metal, it's ridiculous. There is tons and tons of great stuff out there. Plus it's all free now apparently, ha ha. Things are way different from when you had to dig through five record stores to find the Descendents 7" and then put it on cassette tapes to give to all your friends."

SPQ: You've played ska, straight-up punk and singer/songwriter acoustic music. What's next for Jesse Michaels? What can your fans expect from you in the coming months?

JM: "They can expect the band I am in, Classics of Love, to record a record. I don't want to jinx it but from the demos, it looks like it is going to be pretty good. So what's next is an album of '80s hardcore-influenced songs, very fast and short, with intermittent mid-tempo punk, ska and rock influences thrown in."

SPQ: Is there a website where we can find out out about news, new releases, upcoming shows and merch?

JM: "Probably either the Asian Man site or my public Facebook page."

SPQ: I want to thank you again for taking the time to talk with Squid Pro Quo. It was great to interview you and I'm looking forward to the new Classics of Love record. Thanks again.

JM: "Thanks for the questions and best wishes to you and all your readers!"

Interview with John (Jughead) Pierson of Screeching Weasel/Even In Blackouts/The Mopes

Photo by A.V. Club
By Chris Carlton

Squid Pro Quo: A lot of people know you from your time in the Chicago punk scene as founding guitarist of Screeching Weasel. But they may not know that you're also a talented playwright. What was your first play, and how did you get started in theater?

John Pierson: "Well actually, if we are talking about Chicago, I think more people know me from theater. I get many more acknowledgments on the street from my theater projects than any of the bands I have been in. My first full-length play was in high school as the waiter in "Death Of A Salesman." But at Columbia College, I went there for five years and never auditioned once. I was more into taking literature classes than acting. I studied improvisation for about 10 years and still teach classes in that. I toured for a couple years with an improv troupe called Sheila. The first play that I wrote and performed was called "The Philosophy Of Nonthings," which was the inspiration for my production & publishing company called Hope And Nonthings."

SPQ: Can you give our readers a little history on The Neo-Futurists?

JP: "I teach 8 week classes on Neo-Futurism so a brief history leaves out a major understanding. Here is the website. But we do have a manifesto, which I am including right here:

"Neo-Futurism In A Nutshell"

Neo-Futurism is a new approach to performance that advocates the complete awareness and inclusion of the actual world within the theater in order to achieve a goal: to bring people to a greater understanding of themselves and each other.

Rather than upholding contemporary theatrical conventions of character, setting, plot, and the separation of audience and performer, Neo-Futurism aims to present actual life on stage by creating a world in the theater which has no pretense or illusion. This means that:

1) You are who you are. Your name is your name. Your age is your age. Your appearance, physical condition, and way of speaking, as well as your personal history and life experiences are none other than your own. You grew up in your hometown. You're gay, you're straight, you're married. You've never been to Seattle. You know who you are and what you've done. Use it.

2) You are where you are. In most cases this means on a "stage" in front of an audience. Currently, specifically, this means you are probably reading this interview off a computer screen. That's not a T.V. you're watching (maybe it is). This isn't a castle in the Alps. The gun is fake. If you need a prop, get it. If the ambience is wrong, change it.

3) You are doing what you are doing. All tasks are actual challenges. If you can't do something, you must be actually physically unable to do it. If you're pulling, really pull. If you're having sex, really have sex. If you forget your lines, you've forgotten your lines. If you're not supposed to know what's going to happen next, make sure as hell you can't know. You're not sleeping on stage, you're lying there with your eyes closed. No need to "act" tired as you enter the stage with an empty suitcase. Fill it up with rocks, run around the block three times. You'll be tired. No need to dredge up a lot of emotion to endow that sheet of paper you're holding with all the seriousness and poignance of your father's death certificate. Bring it in. If your father's alive, what are you doing saying he's not?

4) The time is now. Deal with real events in your current life in your current world. If you broke up with your boyfriend on Tuesday, don't say you're still together on Friday. If a politician pissed you off by what they said six months ago, don't complain about it now. It's history. Write about how it affects you today. Theater is the medium to reflect what is going on now, because theater is going on now. Theater takes place in real time and space. That audience is right in front of you right now. Deal with that.

The bottom line is that Neo-Futurism does not pretend or buy into "the suspension of disbelief" - it does not attempt to take the audience anywhere else at any other time with any other people. The idea is to deal with what is going on right here and now.

These guidelines are not set forth as "rules and regulations" but more as a jumping off point with which, it is hoped, people can find a greater meaning in their everyday lives. The aim is to empower and affirm not just the lives of the performers but the lives of the audience members as well.

Greg Allen
Revised May, 2008"

SPQ: Do you find more pleasure in writing and performing as an actor, or as a musician? Or is there an even balance in both?

JP: "For many many years my production of plays was exactly equal to the number of albums I was recording, now they are off a bit, but I think they hover somewhere around 24 each. With Even in Blackouts, people say I was consistently the happiest they have ever seen me. I can feel that while playing with that band. We didn't have as many rules and stress as Weasel. So with EIB, it trumps being onstage for theater. But I really don't think I could live without writing and performing theater."

SPQ: You have also written books for Hopes And Nonthings publishing. One a book of your plays you had written up until that point, and one called Weasels In A Box. Are there any plans for a new book release in the near future?

JP: "I have a new novel coming out in October called "The Last Temptation Of Clarence Odbody". Which is an alternative story to the famous movie and short story, "It's A Wonderful Life." I'm pretty proud of it, I never thought I would write this type of parody book (fan fiction) but I just couldn't get the story out of my head, and after a year I gave in and started writing it. Three years later, it is about to be finished."

SPQ: Besides your writing and acting, you have been a part of some amazing bands over the years. Screeching Weasel, The Mopes and Even In Blackouts have all made such an impact in the Chicago scene, your influence is undeniable. Who influenced you as a musician?

JP: "My influences are varied depending on the band. Growing up I was a huge fan of the guitar work of Brian May (Queen), Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow), and Martin Barre (Jethro Tull) I think those type of bands besides Traffic and Oingo Boingo taught me that it was OK to be weird. I think this added to my odd clothes wearing in Weasel. Most of the solo work that appears in Weasel I believe was influenced by bands like Judas Priest and AC/DC, with perhaps a little Descendents thrown in. Even In Blackouts was my clashing of those influences with the acoustic bands of my youth, Bob Dylan, Jim Croce, Cat Stevens, and later, Tom Waits. Punk bands that I would consider influences are few, beyond the people I knew like Lint from Operation Ivy and Chris Barrows from The Pink Lincolns. I loved Keith Morris from The Circle Jerks, and Adrenalin OD were another of my favorites."

SPQ: In the early Weasel days, did you ever think the band would influence a whole generation of punk bands?

JP: "No, I don't think you can ever really know that. But being in a band had always been one of the few things I wanted to do. As a child most kids talk about wanting to be a scientist, doctor, astronaut, but I never had a single thing. I think my family was so busy dealing with divorce, violence and drugs that I never had a chance to consider that stuff. So when I graduated high school I just basically did whatever the hell I wanted, and worked hard to make it happen. And that is still what I do now. I don't ever really settle on being any one thing, but they all seem to have something to do with creativity."

SPQ: When you formed Even In Blackouts, you literally invented a style of music that was never seen until that point, acoustic punk rock. How did you come up with that idea?

JP: "I don't really believe I invented anything. Nothing the band does is very unique. I think it is great and actually pretty smart, but it's all taken from many different influences. It is rooted in the same philosophy that started Screeching Weasel. We just played the things we were interested in void of any positive repercussions beyond our own enjoyment. I think the fact that Ben and I were just pretty damn dedicated people is what made that work. So when I started EIB I purposely said to myself that I needed to start from scratch and do something different. So I started with elements that I saw as very different from SW. A female choir-trained vocalist, acoustic guitars and what I believe to be darker concepts and instrumentation. But what I tried to apply to the band is the energy that excited me from playing punk rock. I think this shows best in the live performances of EIB. It is difficult to play an acoustic guitar that hard and fast, but the wonderful thing is that it creates a desperate energy, like constantly falling off a cliff. It hurts to play like that. For the first couple tours, I couldn't sleep at night because my fingers hurt so badly. Some nights I even cried.
And what could be better than ending this interview with the fact that I do indeed cry?"

SPQ: A huge thanks to John for taking the time to talk with Squid Pro Quo. Such a talented and diverse gentleman. Thanks again, John.