MUTINYZINE.COM | INTERVIEW w/ THE MEASURE (SA)

It's been about two years since my first interview with you and you've been busy to say the least. I tried to count today and I think you've done no less than nine 7-inches and a 12-inch since then, am I right?

- That's right! We just recently put out a split 7" with Flamingo 50, this awesome band from the UK who just broke up and that's our most recent release. Lou was probably my favorite female singer in a punk band and I'm really bummed I never got to see them play.

When and why did Mike Regrets leave the band? What is he up to now?

- Mike left the band a little over a year ago and it was an amicable parting of ways. He chose to pursue other interests and went back to school. He's an amazing writer and put out the zine "Defibrillatorism" a little while ago.

Have you made any other changes in the band during these last two years?

- When Mike left, Fid switched from drums to guitar, so Mikey Yannich became our drummer. Big A, who played bass for most of our existence, also chose to leave the band, so our friend Tim Burke stepped up and is now playing bass. He always went on tour with us, so it made so much sense.

I must say that I've really heard you evolve with each new release. Are you putting more time and energy into it as time goes on, or have you simply become better players?

- I think it's more about us becoming better at collaborating and writing songs in general. I definitely think I've gotten better at singing and playing guitar, since this was my first band it took some getting used to. The guys are more experienced than I am in that regard, so I think we've just gotten more comfortable with each other, if anything.

Kiss Of Death Records released your first eight 7-inches as an LP collection last fall. What's the idea behind the collection?

- We put out so many 7"s that we thought it would be a good idea to collect all those songs in one place. It was fun to see how they'd all work together as a whole and give people the opportunity to listen to what we had been working on without having to track down all the 7"s individually.

How would you describe Kiss Of Death Records with three words?

- Smart, determined, rad

How did you get in touch with the label in the first place?

- Bryon, from Kiss of Death, plays in the band New Bruises who were on tour through New Brunswick a couple years ago. We played a show with them and hung out for a while. We kept in touch after that and eventually it just worked out that we would work together.

Apart from the collection, they also released your split with O Pioneers! and the "Historical Fiction" 7-inch. How would you say it is to work with KOD?

- It's awesome. They really know what they're doing and think about what's best for the label and band combined. They're always on top of things and are so helpful and supportive with us. They're just as excited about music and records as the bands they work with.

Do you have any fun stories about Bryon and the label that you'd like to share?

- I think this isn't so much a funny story as just ridiculous, that we all really wanted to move to Tampa throughout this last tour solely to hang out and possibly work for Bryon. He runs Vertical Merch as well so we all wanted to get odd jobs through him and live on the same block as him and Eric the Red. In theory it sounded really awesome but it wouldn't work out too well in reality. That's how much we like hanging out with those folks.

Have you been thinking about maybe doing another album? Or would you say that you're strictly about the 7-inches nowadays?

- We're working on another album right now, so, yes!

I've always admired the artwork of your records, which you, Lauren, design. How did you come up with the concept of having famous people's portraits on the covers?

- It's very Smiths inspired. Fid came up with the idea to have "cover stars" on each 7". I had been drawing a lot of portraits so combining the two sounded like a good idea!

Which one is your favorite?

- I think every time another one comes out, that one is my favorite. But I really am happy the way the Diana Ross and the Supremes cover turned out. It's on our recent split with Flamingo 50.

Who's going on the next cover then? Or is it a secret?

- Our split with the Ergs is going to be Chevy Chase and Norm MacDonald. That's as far ahead as we've figured things out.

You've playing a bunch of songs by other bands such as "Fascist Radio" by J Church, Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" as well as songs by Soltero and The New Dress. What band would you'd like to record a song by The Measure (SA) and why?

- Some of the covers we've done have been of songs where the original is acoustic, or not played with a full band. I think it would be interesting to hear a cover of one of our songs done that way, just acoustic or without drums. I'd love the day that pigs fly and Billy Bragg covers "Autonomously".

What are the plans for the next couple of months for the band? Let me guess, new 7-inches?

- We're recording another 7", yes, but then we're concentrating on writing out next LP and taking a break from too many shows.

Well, thanks for taking the time once again to answer my questions. Something else you'd like to add?

- Thanks for having us!