Trash Talk / Interview

"They wade through pestilence. We call them wasted youth. The kids are running restless without a single fucking thing to lose. Give them enough rope and they'll fucking hang themselves for lack of things to do". One of the more impressive bands I've heard and seen in the last couple of years is California's Trash Talk. They have a sound all of their own that is bleak, urgent and truly violent. After doing EP's on various labels, they recently recorded an album with the musical prodigy known as Steve Albini and will be on tour forever, or at least until doomsday. I had a brief talk with their singer Lee...

What's up Lee? What's good?
Not much really. I'm in Philly at Mook's house chillin' out till tour starts on the 28th. We are going out for 57 shows straight. That is the most we have ever done. It will be an epic journey of life. Philadelphia is one of my favorite cities ever so I try to make the most of any down time we get here. I'm gonna head out to the Blacklisted record release on Sunday. I'm pretty siked on that gig.

Trash Talk just finished recording for an album at Electrical Audio with Steve Albini, how was that? You recorded the whole thing in 2 days, how did that work out?
It was a good experience. They had a lot of people working there/working for you so it made a lot of things pretty easy. We prefer to record all of the music live. Steve also likes to work this way so it went pretty smooth. We recorded the music the first day and then did vocals/mixing on the second day.













What's recording with Steve Albini like? Did he offer a lot of advice or bring any of his own ideas to the table? What is he like as a person, from what you could tell? The one time I saw Shellac he was wearing these weird tight jeans and an XL Burzum shirt.
It was awesome. He kinda just set us up with the tones/sounds we were looking for then let us do our own thing with a little incite here and there. He seemed a little weird but who doesn't. The guy definitely had a lot of childhood stories to share which was pretty cool. This time around he was rockin' some wild Electrical Audio coverall jumpsuit.













How did you come up with the idea to record with him? Were there any specific aspects of his past work that prompted you to work with him, or was it more like a gut instinct?
It was Garrett's idea. We all dig a lot of his past work so he got at them and it just happened to work out. We wanted to record this LP analog and that is Albini's preferred method of recording. The dude refuses to touch the computers. That is what we wanted so we went for it. We made the drive straight from California to Chicago with a few jail stops on the way. That was pretty wild to say the least.

Does the album have a title already? If so, what is it?
Yes it does.. Trash Talk:
















Lyrically, Trash Talk's subject matter has always been rather bleak and pissed off. Has that changed at all? What kind of evolution would you say you have gone through from "Walking Disease" to "Plagues" to the new shit?
The plot thickens...

Surprisingly after doing an EP with Malfunction/Deathwish you have decided to release the upcoming LP yourselves, with some help here and there. Is that a case of you guys wanting total control over everything involved with the process of putting out a record? Or more of a challenge? What do you think the advantages are?
Self releasing our own records is something that we have been wanting to do for a while. It is sort of a challenge but so is everything else. Doing it this way ensures that our record will be exactly what we want it to be. There will be no one to blame except for ourselves if something gets fucked up. We are all really siked on how well everything has been going. Running a record label is always something I have wanted to do so this opportunity is golden.

Trash Talk tours pretty much non stop. What is it that makes you love touring so much? What drives you to do what you do?
My goal has been to see as much as I can and stay away from home as much as possible. I have been doing pretty good at this lately. There is nothing for me at home anymore. All of the familiar faces have blurred together except for a select few. Lately the van has been feeling a lot more comfortable than my bed.













What do you guys do to pass the time while you're in the van? Any games or other interesting occupations?
We smoke a lot of blunts and drink a lot of beer. We make fun of our drummer Ham a lot but it's all in good fun. Spencer likes to listen to the radio rather than just pick something on the iPod. I guess he gets more variety that way. Garrett likes to sleep. We just got this wild catholic prayer candle that looks super cool lit up in the dark. Lately we have been jammin' a lot of Beatles, David Bowie, Madball, OM, Floor, Infest. I have been been drinking mad energy drinks and trying to drive as far as I can before I pass out. That's always fun. Talking with Spencer about aliens/conspiracy theories is always a good time too. Having Chucky Edge with us for a little while was constant entertainment.

I can imagine dates, places, shows and faces just become one big blur after a while... What have been some of the most memorable moments/shows in recent Trash Talk history?
Our record release show in January was definitely one of our more memorable shows. It was a bunch of friends bands hanging out and raging. Tons of kids showed up. Kids flew out from a few different places. A lot of blood was spilled. Good times all around. The Allegiance (RIP)last show a few weeks back was rad. That band means a lot to me and a ton of other people in Northern California so it was cool to be able to take part in that show. It was a sold out 924 Gilman St. show. That is wild...













Rumor has it that Spencer and Garrett are Five Percenters... I don't know if that's true or not, please clarify...
I'm gonna let Garrett answer this one... "All praises be to Allah, Arm Leg Leg Arm Head".

After roaming the US for the next few months, you'll be in Europe in June... Do you have any expectations what so ever of Europe? You do know that weed is legal in Holland, right? For anyone out there wondering why the initial tour with BraceWar and True Colors got cancelled, could you briefly explain why that happened?
I don't want to have any expectations for Europe. I just wanna get over there and enjoy it. None of us have ever been over there so we just wanna see/do it all. Expecting things is how good times get ruined. If kids know us and are into it that will rule... If not I'm siked on the fact of playing overseas. Bracewar wasn't going to be able to make the tour due to work obligations and what not. We were going to be splitting all of the costs and what not so it just didn't work out. It's kind of a bummer but it happens. We will be heading to Europe in June and September this year and probably one more time in the winter. I can't wait. It's going to be a rager. Weed being legal = Heaven on earth.

Last of all, what have you been listening to as of late? What bands have kept you excited about hardcore?
Sabertooth Zombie, Trapped Under Ice, Violation, War Hungry, Antidote, Outburst, Justice.... There is tons more but my mind is blank right now....

That's it, thanks for your time Lee...
Thanks for the interview Bjorn. We will be hanging out in Euroland very soon....