How do you guys feel when people compare you to Kid Dynamite?

Pretty okay. It’s a bit played out by now, but it is what it is. I’ve always we thought sounded more like None More Black, and always been most stoked when people say we sound like Lifetime, but it’d be silly to get bummed about getting compared to your favorite bands. We’re not ashamed or fronting on it. Nobody’s trying to reinvent the wheel, just trying to have a good time rolling that shit around.

You’ve got a great cover of one of my favorite Sicko songs, “Bad Day.” If you had cover a few other songs, what would they be?

We’ve covered a lot of things over the years, but I think the only other one that got recorded was Leatherface’s “Not A Day Goes By”. We did a Sunny Day Real Estate cover for a while, which I thought sounded pretty rad. The next time we actually record a cover, I think the idea is to keep it Northwest-centric. We talked a lot about doing some by Vancouver heroes D.B.S., maybe “Galleon’s Lap”.

How many times have you played the Fest before and what is your most memorable Fest moment?

I think this is going to be our third. Musically, it would have to be the 2nd floor apartment show with Paint It Black. Literally thought the roof was gonna cave in, and the police were unbelievably awesome about it. I’m not particularly fond of the police as an institution, but Gainesville cops have always been super rad about the various house show shenanigans that have happened in Fest times, so it’s really fucking whack that some dumb shits had to go and ruin that last year. Way to go, dickheads.

I’ve never been to the Fest. What should I expect?

Expect that every time you are going to see a band, you will run into at least half a dozen people you know on the way and be faced with the choice of standing in line to see that band, or getting falafel with your friends. And if you drink, expect a wicked hangover.

What band(s) are you most excited to see at the Fest this year?

Hour of the Wolf, Broadway Calls, Comadre. I love friends.

Aside from playing the Fest, what else are you guys currently working on? Any upcoming releases?

We’re spread a little thin these days – Funds has got some serious touring with Black Breath, Bo is working hard on So Adult and Boat, Jimmy’s got the Dear & Departed, and I just started grad school. That being said, there’s been talk of trying to get together and work out some shit for the next LP. We’ve always got songs brewing, it’s just a matter of pinning down some time to get ironed out and recorded. Being broke doesn’t help with that.

What have you guys been listening to in the van?

Ha ha. This doesn’t really apply to us, as we don’t tour much. The last serious van time we spent was with Title Fight in Europe, and our drivers were way into Supertouch (shout out to Sike and Stief). So there was a lot of that. And for the couple days he was with us, Ricky Bobby was blasting some serious pop rap. Apparently the Young Money LP hadn’t quite hit Belgium yet, so I turned him on to that and he was pretty stoked.

How do you guys feel about music blogs? Are they are similar to what fanzines were in the 90′s? Discuss.

I’m not sure I have strong feelings one way or the other. I don’t hate them, by any means, and even use them to track down free music (what’s up to internet piracy), but I don’t think they engage the community at large the way zines did in the 90s. That’s not from lack of quality or ambition, it’s just a different age now. I guess I check Nah Right an awful lot, which technically would count as a music blog. And that actually seems to have a pretty widespread impact in the hip hop community, so maybe I’m not entirely on point. But it doesn’t seem like, for whatever reason, there’s any punk-related blogs that have that sort of clout, for better or worse. The B9 or comment sections of Punknews get way more action than any punk/hardcore-related blog I know. Take that as you will.

Any closing comments?

Thanks for the questions and caring about our band. This lesson plan ain’t gonna write itself.

In my mind, Seattle’s Shook Ones have always been the world’s greatest Kid Dynamite tribute band despite playing (to my knowledge, at least) zero Kid Dynamite songs, but with their new album The Unquotable A.M.H. the band has moved past that despite their singer still being a dead ringer for Jason Shevchuk. Yeah, Shook Ones still play fast and melodic hardcore-influenced pop-punk with more than enough hooks and breakdowns to easily satisfy the toughest critics, but this time around it’s a wee bit slower, the songs are longer, and there’s a bit more melody. There is (however) no shortage of fuckin’ awesome. I liked their last album Facetious Folly Feat a bunch, but this is better. The Unquotable A.M.H. isn’t groundbreaking, but it it really couldn’t be much more fun and fist-pumpingly enjoyable than it is. Besides, who doesn’t love “woah oh’s?” Get it NOW! from the ridiculously good Paper & Plastick label.

MP3 | Shook Ones – They’re Very ‘Yes’ The Unquotable A.M.H.
MP3 | Shook Ones – For Collards The Unquotable A.M.H.