The Joykiller

Greeting all you slick-hipsters in the valley of Zion! I’ve got great news, so perk your ears! On September 9th the fine people at Epitaph will be releasing the new Joykiller CD titled Three – and yes, it is their third release for Epitaph, and yes, a lot of thought did go into that title!

The main puppet master here at SLUG HQ passed along the advance-copy CD to me for my listening pleasure. Well, that and because he knows The Joykiller has one of my all-time favorite sets of vocal cords –  that’s Mr. Jack Grisham to you. I’ve got to be honest with you, mashing, moshing, stage-diving, balls-o-sweating Punk Kids; this is my favorite Joykiller CD.

This shit is so original, so new it’s going to blow you away and put a smile on your mug. And for the crowd that feels like they’ve grown out of the punk phase, but once in a while you still like to live a little dangerously, even if the experience is vicarious, there’s even a handful of gems on this disc that you’ll love and make you a little misty-eyed because “you’ve been there, man!”

I liked the disc so much, I had to call Jack (that’s Mr. Grisham to you,) myself and tell him how stoked I was about it! After we conversed about the fluctuating stock market, endangered species, the problems in Ghana, and the capturing of Pol Pot, we talked about the new CD, the ever-changing scene of cutting-edge music and what it means to really be a true punk.

Right now the current Joykiller team is looking like this: Jack Grisham on mouth, throat and other organs; Sean Greaves on guitar; Billy “Bad-ass” Persons on bass (Jack told me about fights, Billy!); Ronnie King on piano, Fuzzbox, Mellotron, B-3 and Kurzwell 250. They are currently searching for their third drummer (three records, three drummers… hmm).

SLUG: The other day we were talking about how Punks always want to be different from the rest of the crowd and when it comes to dressing or hairstyles or whatever, they are very open minded and on the cutting-edge, but when it comes to music they don’t want their favorite bands to change and they are really not interested in different directions their fave bands might be going. Tell me about your philosophy on this.

JG: Yeah, well, this whole punk rock thing is supposed to be about how you express yourself — you do what you want, individuality, don’t follow along with the norms, so you step out, and they say all that crap, but then they want to be confined within their stepping-out. It’s like “OK, we’re not going to follow this, we’re not going to follow this,” but to do that, you’ve got to follow this, and to me that’s just ridiculous. That’s not punk rock man, there’s no freedom of expression. You get these kids that want the bands to all sound exactly alike, to dress alike and look alike and they all want to hate the same things and basically a bunch of them are just ignorant about a lot of different issues, they hate something because their friend hates it and they don’t know anything about it. And I don’t know, to me it’s just real stagnant. It’s bad. That mentality is killing punk rock. It’s killing creativity and it’s killing the scene. It used to be you could go and see shows and you would see the craziest bills, like really cool line-ups. I remember one time I saw Black Flag with the Go-Go’s. They were on the same bill. That’s unbelievable. But it was so cool because there were so many different kinds of bands playing and everyone was for a common cause. It really felt like a whole gathering of people united for the same thing. Now it’s not like that. Today if you try to do something different, all of a sudden you’re not a punk anymore; or because you do this, or you don’t do that or because you use strings, punks don’t use strings, punks aren’t on major labels, just that whole crap.

All right people, if you want a brief glimpse into the life and times of a Joykiller, pick up this CD. Remember, September 9th is the release date and Epitaph is the label. I think it’s going to take you by surprise because it’s so good, and yet so different from anything out there right now. I love it. And if you don’t want to change or don’t like the change, sit at home and don’t come out to play with the big dogs; you may get hurt. Check out the songs, “What it’s worth,” “Ordinary” (my favorite), “Super Vision,” “The Doorway,” and of course the last song on the disc “Once More,” which is a perfect way to end everything. Also, watch the local listing for upcoming shows because The Joykiller will be passing through here again to wreck shop in your neighborhood – probably in the next six to eight weeks. Until next time, pull up those baggy pants, wipe your nose and get some direction in your life, loser! I’m out! —P. Parker

Read more music interviews from the 90s in the SLUG archives:
Buck-O-Nine
The Muffs

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