(All Questions Answered by Chase Stain, Singer and Bassist for Numbers On Napkins)
****This Just In****
Laundromat Productions and Management is proud to announce that Joe Queer, best known as the legendary frontperson for The Queers, will be producing Numbers On Napkins new CD. NON has not yet named the new CD, but they have promised that it will be very unique and diverse, and unlike anything that they have ever done. The pre-production phases have already begun, and Joe Queers will be producing the album for the most part in absentia. Joe Queer is set to be in the studio with Numbers On Napkins on September 23rd, and then performing live with The Queers and Numbers On Napkins later that evening at The Clubhouse Music Venue in Tempe, AZ.
On with the show.....
How did Numbers On Napkins get Started?Tad, Moe and myself played in a band called Yars Revenge with another guy. When Yars broke up, The three of us created Numbers On Napkins. After a couple years we added Matt.
Were any of you in bands prior to Numbers On Napkins?Oh yeah. I was the bassist, singer, and guitarist for Dirty Laundry at all different times during our ten year duration. I also played bass for the screamo/metal band, Forever Falling. Tad was in the reggae band, Stuck in a Groove, also known as "Stucky". Moe was the front man the pop punk band, Cobalt Bloom. Matt was the guitarist for The New Republicans. Of course, Moe Tad and I all played in Yars Revenge prior to Numbers as well.
Tell us about your band.Not too much to say. We just play music that we enjoy. Music we think is funny, or music that is just something that can cause you to think or feel emotions. Whatever. We play what we like, Our styles are very diverse and it's hard to put us in a category. We just love music and hope that we can make people have a good time, laugh, or take something away from our songs.
Style of music (Political, Emo, Funny, Hardcore, Rockstars, Etc.)?That descoribes us perfectly. Political Emo Funny and Hardcore Rockstars. No, actually that's a hard one. We have been called Humor-Core, Party-Punk, Pop-Punk, Alternative, and just plain Punk Rock. So I'm not sure where we belong.
Favorite place to play and why -There are so many places that we enjoy. So many cities give us love. So many venues and fans have treated us great! Although when it comes down to it, I think our hometown of Phoenix is where we like to play most. Venues like Alice Cooperstown, The Clubhouse, Jughead's, The Cypress Lounge.....there are really too many venues to list. We love so many venues in the Calley.
Funniest thing you've seen at a show?I would say that the funniest was at our CD release show for QuickerDrunkenLouderHarder. Our guitarist Moe was having a bad night. We were shooting a music video before our set at the show, so we are pretending to play and lip-syncing to a song and jumping around. It was totally awkward standing in front of like 300 or 400 people and playing pretend. Moe jumps in the air and his strap broke as he landed. A couple minutes later, he's running across the stage and hits a girls smoke, which she ends up putting out on his chest! Then after that, we were getting a little too into it and I was playing the bass behind my head and I spun around right as Moe ran and jumped into the air, and his head collided with my bass. I mean, his head hit hard! He almost fell over and afterwards he told me that it almost knocked him out! After the shoot, we started playing the show, and about three songs in, the tubes in Moe's Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier fried. Man, it really wasn't his night!
Craziest place you've played?Kris and Kelly's house. All house parties tend to get a bit crazy, but when we played their the whole place got trashed during our set. Furniture got smashed, beer was spilt, even the ceiling fan halfway got pulled down cuz someone tried to swing on it!
Are you on a label? If so, who?We are currently signed to my label that I started in 1995. It's a small indie label out of Phoenix called Bad Stain Records. We've put out a couple dozen albums from Arizona bands, and bands throughout the U.S. and Canada. Check out the label at www.badstainrecords.com
Any groupie stories?Hahahahaha. Ummmm..... Let's stick with "No Comment" for that one.
Who are your favorite bands right now?We all have different tastes. I've been really enjoying Panic at the Disco lately......although I feel embarrassed saying that. Of course I still have to say that I love Mars Volta. Ummm... Plain White T's, ATM, Gnarles Barkley, and Peeping Tom are all in my CD player right now. I know Tad is really into the new Yellowcard and Blue October lately. Matt can't get enough Wolfmother and She Wants Revenge. Moe....well..... he doesn't listen to new music as often I think. I think that last album that he really talked about loving was Hard Rock Bottom from No Use for a Name. But hey, that's my favorite No Use album too.
Who writes your songs and how are you inspired to write them?We all write the songs. I know that the songs that I write are inspired by the people around me, as well as my own personal experiences. My lyrics work like personal therapy for me to be honest. I've written several songs through my friends point of view. Shit, all the drama in my crew at times. Like, it feels like 90210 sometimes! Hahaha. The funny songs..... well, I guess I write them cuz I'm in a goofy mood, and I've always enjoyed making friends laugh and smile. I think I'm a bit of a comedian at heart. I know that Matt and Tad write about personal events in their lives, and Moe does as well.
When you play at a show are you all serious, or do you just fuck around?We are usually too hung over or drunk to remember how the show went when we wake up the next day......so I guess we don't know.
Any pre-show rituals?I have a ritual that I do. I put Gold Bond all over my balls. It's a little trick I learned when my old band, Dirty Laundry, played with The White Kaps. Those guys insisted that we do it when we opened for them, and it's a tradition I do about 50% of the time. But actually, I think our only pre-show ritual is that we each take a good luck shot before hitting the stage.
Does or did any of you get stage fright?Not me....and none of the other guys have ever mentioned anything. I thought Matt might get a little scared for the first time he played with us cuz his previous band only played two shows I think, and there were only a couple people in the crowd. Then he joined us and his first show was opening for The Queers and The Independents. There was a good turnout, so I expected he might be nervous. But if he was, he didn't show it.
What's your favorite song that you play right now and why?Don't know about the other guys but I like "Forget This, I'm Going to Tokyo" because it's a bit more complex and it's challenging for me to sing and I love watching Tad go crazy on the insane drums beats for the track.
What does it mean to you being in Numbers On Napkins?Poontang and booze.......I could say something deep, but c'mon, it's party punk.
What do you do when your not playing?We write music, practice and spend time in the studio. I run my record label, and all the guys help with that. I also have a booking agency called Laundromat Productions that we all help run. If we aren't doing that, we are promoting shows, drinking with friends at bars, and supporting local artists by going to shows. There are some great bands in Arizona. Right now I'm enjoying ATM, Adam Don't Care, The Dames, and Sigma.
How do your families evaluate that fact that you're musicians and not bankers or whatever?Actually, we are all bankers by day, and just do music as a hobby. Haha. No....they are all cool with it for the most part. Although it's hard sometimes. When we are on the road I really miss my daughter, and I feel guilty cuz I'm missing out on some parts of her childhood. That breaks my heart man, and sometimes I just want to quit doing this for awhile to be honest. And whenever anyone in the band has a girlfriend, I know they hate being away from them. It gets lonely, even if your drinking with a bumch of people and having one night stands every night, you still feel lonely at times......weird to say, but I think other musicians will understand what I'm saying.
If you check out TV on any given day, often you see "Punk" video clips or sound bites from bands like Something Corporate, Rise Against, AFI, Greenday, etc.... What are your thoughts on the influences of punk rock in the mainstream?I have nothing wrong with it. When I was young, I would have called those bands sellouts, but that's just being young and stupid. They are musicians. Let them do what they want. I personally would never change my musical writing for anyone because I consider myself an artist, and my music is my therapy, and more for me than anyone else. I just couldn't change my writing style...well....maybe for Rick Rubin, cuz he has produced some killer shit. I think most of the mainstream punk bands are doing what they love and proud of the music they're making. And most of these bands worked hard to get there, playing dive bars and parties, on the road making $16 a show, sleeping on couches, for several years before getting picked up. So good for them! They deserve a reward. Also, I know that my style of writing has changed a lot over the years. My old bands sound nothing like Numbers On Napkins. Not because I sold out, but because I listen to a lot of different music. I have a CD collection with over 3,000 CD's. Including rap, hip hop, jazz, blues, alternative, grindcore, hardcore, pop, rock, thrash, pop punk, punk, ska, metal, reggae, new wave, glam rock, experimental shit, techno, emo, screamo, emotronic, folk, anti-folk.... I mean, pretty much almost everything. I love all types of music. Tastes change, styles change, and I think that if a band is still in control of their music and songwriting, and can write anything they want, it doesn't matter if they are on a major label. They are only a sellout if they change their music in order to sell their music in my opinion.....and even then, I guess if they don't mind it, I don't really give a shit. That's just not something I could ever do, which is why Numbers On Napkins will most likely never be on a major label.
What is your current evaluation of the current punk scene?
Well, punk rock died over 20 years ago. What most "punk" bands are today is sort of an alternative rock and punk rock inspired mix of something, with ska and blues, and rock n' roll mixed in.....it's just totally different for most punk bands. It all comes from punk, but real punk rock isn't popular anymore at all in the mainstream, and really never was. It almost seems like all bands start off as punk bands....shit, The Beastie Boys started off as a punk band! It's easy to classify yourself as punk, but in reality, most punk bands today are not really punk. What's cool is that punk rock has a style that is timeless. It's not like New Wave or Glam Rock that fades away. It's a community and every generation adapts the style and changes it, and makes it their own. I think the punk scene is as strong.....it's been stronger, but it will get stronger again.

Who are your musical influences? Please don't say Johnny Cash.
Shit. Johnny Cash is one of them for me, but not that much. I mean, A Boy Named Sue was awesome, but Shel Silverstein wrote the lyrics, so he doesn't get that much credit. Johnny Cash is good though. But I think some major influences are anything Mike Patton related.... Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, Peeping Tom, Fantomas, Tomohawk, and so on.... Guns N' Roses, The Beatles....there are just too many to list. I know Tad's all time favorites include Buddy Rich, 311, and Quiet Riot. Matt's are The Rolling Stones, Hanson Brothers, NoMeansNo and Face to Face. Moe's are Simon & Garfunkle, No Use for a Name, and Bad Religion.

Any bands you want to do a show with and why?
Too many bands to list. There are some producers I would love to work with though, and that's a way smaller list. Of course I would love to have Rick Ruben produce an album. Also Donnell Cameron, Ryan Greene, Darian Rundall, Matt and Andy Wallace.... damn. That we would be awesome.

Who's the craziest band you've ever done a show with?
E.T.T.S. Hands down. Those guys are awesome. Enough said.

Describe the stage presence of Numbers On Napkins.
Drunk.

Has your style of music changed at all since you started the band?
Yeah, of course. It's always changing cause we are always growing and evolving. I try to write different styles, but I keep the basic punk influence in all my songs. Punk rock is like, my heritage or something, so I need to stay true to my beliefs. But I'm always exploring musically. I'll next CD will be much different than our last.

Favorite band of all time, from each member.
Mine is The Beatles.....I know it's a common answer, but I have to give it to them. Tad's is Buddy Rich or Steel Pulse I think. Matt's is The Rolling Stones. Moe's is Bad Religion I believe.

What are your general thoughts on the world today?
No comment. I don't even want to think about that.

What's your favorite part about being in a band?
The constant meaningless sex with underage girls.

What are personal thoughts on the mentality of today's America?
Moe and Matt seem very happy with the way most things are going with the way the country is being run. Tad hates it. I'm in the middle. If we are talking about the Iraq shit I mean. It's a shitty situation, and I see points from both sides. It's funny, because after 9-11, every single person that I talked to was gung-ho about stopping terrorism, and now half of those people say that they never supported it. In general, we all tend to think differently in retrospect, and I think it's important that this country really thinks hard about the actions that we take. I mean, even John Kerry claims that he was never in support of going to war, but his voting record proves that he's full of shit. I would say that America may have jumped the gun, but emotions get the best of all of us. That's basically what happened in this situation. It's like when we dropped the bomb in retaliation of Pearl Harbor. I don't think anyone really stopped to think about the consequences of such action. It showed the world that we have that destructive power, and to date, the U.S. is the only ones who ever actually used it. That ended up putting the United States in an awkward situation, because now we showed that we have the power and will use it, and became the world police. So now we feel like it's our obligation to try and stop anything wrong going on in any other country. And what we may think is wrong is not always right. I can honestly say that I would never want to be president. I think Bush is doing the best he can and doing what he really feels is best for our country. I think the same thing about Clinton. I honestly think that most politicians are shitbags, but sometimes I feel bad for them. Nothing they do is right for everyone. They try to make a difference, but have to go along with their parties or they can't get re-elected. They all end up being corrupted after time. I could babble about politics for hours, but America's biggest problem is that everyone is either Republican or Democrat, and we desperately need to realize that both of those parties are doing the same thing, killing the middle class. So I'll play Switzerland and just stay neutral.....even though thats not really true cuz Switzerland isn't really neutral....Wait! I'm not getting into this. Hahaha.

What are your thoughts of the whole Warped Tour traveling circus?
Good show. Always two or three great bands. When we play there are 3 or 4 great bands. Hahaha.

When you look into the crowd, what kind of people are at your shows?
Drunks.

How did you come up with the name Numbers On Napkins?
Moe came up with it. We have a napkin signed by Ron Jeremy that says, "To Numbers On Napkins.... I jizzed on this. Ron Jeremy". That has nothing to do with how we came up with the name, but it's a better story.

What makes Numbers On Napkins different from other bands?
I would have to say that it's because we rock and all other bands suck in comparison. In fact, I'm pretty sure that pretty soon all other bands will just give up and stop playing because we are so good. I feel bad for other bands, especially when they play a show with us. It's got to be hard to realize that you can never be as awesome as my band. I'm actually thinking of opening a school for bands so I could attempt to help them become as awesome and punk rock as Numbers On Napkins, but I'm not sure if it's something you can teach. It's really something you are born with. As far as I know, the four of us are the only ones who can do it.

Anything you want to add or say?
Buy our new CD QuickerDrunkenLouderHarder.