All right, here's the basics: the Fastbacks formed in 1980, fueled by equal measures pure punk and really LOUD pop. The FBX are Kim Warnick (bass, vox), Kurt Bloch (guitar), and Lulu Gargiulo (guitar, more vox), along with a truly endless succession of drummers (including, at one point, Duff McKagan, the skinny guy who plays bass for Guns and Roses these days). In the 14 years since then they've released four albums, several EPs, a couple of live thingies, and a pile o' singles. They've also appeared on about a million compilations; good luck trying to find them all....
So here they are in 1994, with a new album just out (it's called ANSWER THE PHONE, DUMMY and it's reviewed somewhere else in this issue, but you should go out RIGHT NOW and buy it, ok? [why? you're asking me WHY? well, because it's godlike, is that good enough for you? hah!]), and they're actually going to TOUR for once, so catch them if you get the chance. In the meantime, hear what Kim had to say in the face of DEAD ANGEL's annoying interrogation....
DA: When and where was the new record recorded?
KIM: The new record was recorded at Hanzek Audio, which is a 24-track studio that we'd never recorded in before, but Kurt had worked at producing Les Thugs and Flop. It was recorded over the last two weeks of June.
DA: It sounds different than ZUCKER -- what's changed?
KIM: I don't know what's changed to make it sound different. Maybe the fact that we were able to do the whole thing at once. I think also that Kurt's just gotten better at mixing. It sounds pretty cohesive considering we played with six different drummers. (From Mudhoney, Love Battery, two from Flop, Posies, and Dharma Bums.)
DA: Are you still without a permanent drummer? There are a lot of them on this new record....
KIM: Actually we just found out that Mike, ex of the Posies, will be touring with us this November. I don't know if he will stick around, we can only hope 'cause he's great!
DA: Have the FBX been touring since ZUCKER?
KIM: No, we haven't toured since ZUCKER, cause we haven't had a drummer. The last tour we did was in August and we went to the mid-west for a couple weeks. We did go to Japan last December and that was the funnest thing I've ever done. But we've all been busy doing other stuff., i.e. Kurt producing every band in the world.
DA: Any plans to tour behind the new one?
KIM: Yes, we'll be touring for this record. Our west coast tour starts on November 2 in Portland, OR and runs through November 19, ending in Chico, CA. We also will be going to TX for the first time on this tour. (see you there) Hopefully we'll make it out to the east coast in February and we hope to go back to Japan next year.
DA: I know the band prefers the low-profile method of being a band... do you think that's why the band's lasted so long?
KIM: Low profile. Well, I don't know how much we think about that idea. I mean, we just do what we do and really it's not like we're trying to not do much, it just works out that way. We all get tired of people thinking that we are trying to have this image of a band that dosen't care or is a "slacker" band. That's not the case, we care very much. We just all have things going on that are not the FBX. And I, personally, hope it stays that way. I have no interest in becoming a rock star and having to tour all the time and worry about the band constantly. I've seen what it does to my friends and I don't want that. I'm much happier working here at SubPop and staying home with my husband than I ever would be touring. I get bored after a couple weeks.
DA: Do you think the band's low-key, "we'll do it when we're ready" approach results in better albums?
KIM: We try to make every record our best one ever, so I don't think our attitude has much to do with it. We're just getting better at what we do. Who knows. If we were on that stupid track of having to make records when we weren't ready, maybe they'd be extra shitty. Thank God that hasn't happened.
DA: How do you see the new record in relation to the past ones?
KIM: Well, I really loved the last one a lot, but I do love this one as well. This one seems more like older FBX records. Kind of a lot of different songs on the new one. And I think we worked harder on this one to really make it sound good. Maybe having all our friends play on it made it sound different. It was fun.
DA: No covers this time -- what happened? :)
KIM: Oh, but you're mistaken. We actually recorded a lot of covers, we just didn't put any on the record. But look for b-sides galore. We recorded a few UK Subs songs and "Alison" (Pixies), "Ball of Fire" (Tommy James), and others I can't think of now. We recorded about 30 songs to pick and choose from, all in two weeks, of course, they aren't all finished.
DA: Any obscure but happening bands you'd like to champion?
KIM: Obscure bands? Hmm. Yes, Zumpano from Vancouver BC. New SubPop signing and I love them. Also, The Steamkings from the UK. Non-obscure bands: The Muffs and Flop and The Posies.
DA: Seeing as how Duff McKagan was once in the FBX, what do you think about the news that he's reformed his old punk band?
KIM: I didn't know he's formed a punk band. I think you're getting that mixed up with his solo thing he did, which was not punk. [cw: They are indeed different things. The punk reformation is a recent development.] We still see him occasionally, he's since moved to the northwest. He even got up and played a song with us last year. By the way, he gave me the white bass I play. He's very nice. Hi Duff.
DA: Any places you haven't played that you'd still like to play eventually?
KIM: We'd really like to go to Europe sometime. I don't care, really. I'll go and play just about anywhere as long as there are people who want to see us. It's sort of strange to be in this same band for almost 15 years and people still care. I'm constantly afraid of getting really bad, like most bands that are still doing it. Why is it that most bands suck after the first 3 records? Somewhere along the line they turn down the guitars and write slow songs. I hope that doesn't happen to us.