2002 Interview with "James Kaspar", A.K.A Tim McIlrath, from Decoy Online Zine. "One of the better interviews i’ve done and ive done a bunch.”—Tim Mcilrath
DM: When did you guys decide you wanted to make music?
After I heard Cave In’s “Until your Heart Stops” record.
DM: How many members are in the band and who plays what?
Four sick, sick weird beards who go by pseudonyms to protect their loved ones. Todd Rungren shreds on Gibson’s played thru Marshall’s, no less. Botchy Vasquez registers on the Richter scale whenever he sits down to play the drums, Jean Luc Rue stinks up our practice space with his French scent and tortures his fingers on old Fender basses, and I (James Kaspar) break guitar strings and chip teeth on microphones.
DM: Where are you guys from and is there much of a music ‘scene’ there?
No. There was. It’s getting better. There’s been a recent crop of Chicago
boy band punk (you know like saves the confessional and new found rufio)which is really interesing. Otherwise, Chicago is good for working-class punk like Pegboy and the Blue Meanies and notorious indie rock like Tortoise, 90 Day Men, or Sweep the Leg Johnny. Hardcore has a pretty high turnover rate in chi-town.
DM: The Killing Tree, sounds fairly (political?) I’d say especially after seeing the image from your website, can you elaborate on the nature of the name and what it means?
The Killing Tree has no political agenda other than the politics of the
heart and soul. TKT represents a place deep inside us, a place where a
paranoid voice is always telling us you that you are ugly, you’re friends
all hate you, you’re lover doesn’t love you, the world thinks your shit, and
you are a fucking fake. TKT is a medium where we can lash back at this voice and at these feelings. It’s about making a conscious choice not to be the victim. Ever read The Giving Tree (by Shel Silverstien)? We’re the sequel where the Tree wins this time…
DM: Your lead singer is also in Rise Against, does this pose a problem or is Rise Against taking some time off to pursue some other interests? Are
the other members also involved with other projects?
We are all involved in other projects, but The Killing Tree is an ex-girlfriend you keep coming back to…
DM: I have to say you guys absolutely rock, I enjoyed every minute of the LP ‘Romance of Helen Trent’ what influences do you guys have?
We all listen to different shit, but some common grounds are Helmet, Turmoil, Sabbath, Guilt, Nirvana, His Hero is Gone, Failure and Unbroken.
DM: Is ‘Helen Trent’ a real person or a fictional character and is there a
meaning behind the album name?
Helen Trent was a single woman who had her own radio show callled The Romance Of Helen Trent. It was about being single and middle aged in the 50’s. She died single. The samples on our record are from an audio diary by a girl named Helena Marie. Her cassettes were found in the garbage and we have no idea who this person is, only that her words were incredibly moving. Look for a full document of Helena Marie at Foundmagazine.com soon.
DM: Being from Chicago, I bet there’s a huge scene for this style of hardcore, are the kids from Chicago say different than other places you’ve played? Chicago has a very divided, stuck-up hardcore scene. We have been fortunate enough to bring together a lot of people who normally would not be caught in the same room with each other. Chicago is a big city, but our scene is small. We have yet to tour extensively so I can’t comment on this stlye elsewhere.
DM: I see you have released an EP through Government Music entitled ‘Bury Me at Make-Out Creek’ .. isnt it kind of odd to release an EP right after your LP or was it out before?
It was out before, we released it our selves. But the kind people at Govt. Music offered to re-release it, which came out again right around the same time as our LP. Purely coincidence. The demo has some of my favorite songs though.
DM: There seems to be a lot of buzz around you guys right now, are you planning on continuing with TKT and taking the band to new heights? What happens to Rise Against in all of this, as well as any other bands the other members are involved in?
TKT has not yet begun to rock. We are very excited about our future and plan to be around for a long time. Prior commitments and priorities only help us become more well-rounded individuals, and ultimately we are not
interested in competing interests. Crossing bridges when we come to them seems to be our most effective method right now.
DM: How did you guys end up with Onedaysavior Records?
We played shows with Thursday 2 years ago and they recommended us to some of their friends on the East Coast. Eventually we ran into Chris who was one of the few that approached us. His enthusiasm and heart alone were reason to do a record with and we knew immediately he was a member of our fucked up family. We were nothing when he found us, he knew about our previous commitments, but he had faith in our sound.
DM: Are you guys’ planning on touring around so us West Coast fans can get a little taste of what your live shows are like?
Be careful what you wish for…yes, we will be touring in your town soon.
DM :Who have you guys enjoyed touring with the most?
Sky Came Falling and Most Precious Blood.
DM: Who would you like to tour with in the future you just havent been able to hookup with yet?
Nirvana. Whatever happened to them anyway?
DM: Are there any bands you feel that are about to blow up that until now
have been mainly small…it seems like major labels are signing artists left and right, most recently Island grabbing Thrice and Thursday..seems as if labels are picking up these underground bands left and right, is this the sound of now and do you think it will continue into the future?
5 years ago tha same thing happened with Jawbreaker, Shleprock, The Smoking Popes, Samiam, a dozens of other bands. I think Green Day and The Offspring are the only ones still there. The rest all got stepped on. I will say that the guys in Thrice, Thursday, Poison The Well, and AFI all deserve fame and fortune because they are people who have a lot of heart.
DM: Do you guys have a favorite alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage?
I think our drummer will drink anything mildly fermented. I’m partial to Orchata, Jean Luc drinks lots of coffee and roll his own cigarettes and Rundgren loves Vanilla Coke.
DM: Do you have a favorite metal band from the 80s?
Todd will kill me if I don’t say GNR. The tablature book for “Appetite…” is treated like a bible in our house…
Dm: What is in your cd player right now that you can’t seem to stop listening to?
Celebrity and the new Hot Water Music.
Are there any bands out there that you feel deserve some recognition that might not get it? Open Hand. They are amazing. I think they will get recognized, though I’m surprised they haven’t yet.
DM: If you were stuck on a stranded island what one item could you not livewithout? One person?
My respiratory system. Myself.
—-Interview did turn out very well for an email interview, I’m stoked on it as we now have a pretty damn good idea of what TKT is all about—-Aaron Troy
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Che tipetto hardcore che era u.u
CITAZIONE
DM: Do you have a favorite metal band from the 80s?
Todd will kill me if I don’t say GNR. The tablature book for “Appetite…” is treated like a bible in our house…
On no ti prego o.o
