Blank Generation Magazine

I”m looking for more writers to help me do this zine. Right now I’m a one man workshop with very little time to do everything on my own and I really want to make this zine great but I need some help!

Please if you can at all let me know if you can help or send this info around to someone who can help me!

POP PUNKS NOT DEAD!

We will shortly be back to work on a new “mini issue” entitled The Pop Punk issue.This will be our four issue but will be a mini issue in a mini format which will include many fresh and old style pop punk bands. Many interviews and coverage will be in this issue and we hope to make the issue better then before! Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Polar Bear Club Interview!

1.First off who are the members of the band and what do they play?

Jimmy sings, Nate plays guitar, Goose plays bass, Emmett plays drums, Tracker tour manages, and my name is Chris and I play guitar.

2.Are any of you really in a Polar Bear Club or is just a catchy name?( Or did the band Silent Majority have any influence?

Our name comes from a song of the same name by Silent Majority. None of us have ever done the swimming-in-cold-water thing, although the real Coney Island Polar Bear Club did come to a show and invite us to join them once. We really thought we got suckered into doing it, but luckily for us our van broke down the next morning before we could make it there.

3.What did you guys listen to growing up?And what was it like growing up in your music scene?

We all listened to different stuff and got into punk and hardcore at different times, especially given the somewhat wide age range in our band (anywhere between 20 and 28). But some stuff we mostly had in common were hardcore bands like Bane and punk bands like Lagwagon and NOFX, and a lot of local bands that our friends were in and we grew up seeing. As we’ve toured more together and spent more time together our tastes have probably become more similar, but stylistically it’s a bit more all over the place. As far as growing up in our scene - a few of us grew up in Rochester and a few of us in Syracuse, and again we became involved at different times, but Rochester and Syracuse have been really close for a long time now and we were all in bands with the same people (and each other) before this one. We grew up with a great community of kids that cared about each other, and still do to this day. And there have been great bands from upstate NY through the years and there DEFINITELY still are today - especially current bands like Forfeit, Like Wolves, Another Breath, Mayflower…the list goes on and on.

4. We find your sound unique from other bands who are your biggest influences as far as bands go,and do you try to incorporate your influences into your music?

We really just write what we like and try to make something we’re proud of without intentionally incorporating other bands’ sounds. Obviously we often listen to things and are like “that’s really cool, we should try something like that,” but usually that happens with stuff that people would never think we sound like. We always get compared to bands like Hot Water Music and Small Brown Bike, and those bands were certainly great. But we also all love a lot of different things ranging from The Weakerthans to Third Eye Blind to Aesop Rock to Minus The Bear. And when we write, it’s just us in a room trying things out and getting stoked when it’s something we like. Those bands are those bands, and we’re us, and we like it that way.

5. As far as touring goes you just got done touring with A Wilhelm Scream how did that go?

Now your touring with a couple of notable bands too and also you guys will soon be leaving the states and touring with Gaslight Anthem what are your guys thoughts going into all this non-stop touring and such? All the recent touring has been amazing. We were a part-time band that had real jobs and school for a long time, so being able to wake up each day and do what we love is beyond rewarding and I really don’t see it ever getting old. And we’ve been REALLY lucky so far…we’ve only really been full-time for about 5 months now and we’ve already became good friends with bands like Wilhelm, Gaslight, Broadway Calls, The Swellers, Crime In Stereo, Fireworks, and Cancer Bats. We always talk about how awesome it is that we hit it off so well with these bands and instantly want to tour together again. Europe with Gaslight is going to be incredible, and we’re all really psyched on Frank Turner’s music right now as well so that will only make it even better.

6.What do you all listen to now a days and is there anyone who you think our readers should check out?

Like I said, we all listen to different stuff, but lately some of our most played stuff in the van has been Attack in Black, Kings of Leon, Minus The Bear, Lagwagon, and of course the classic that is Hulk Hogan’s lone solo record. Check out all of the above, especially Attack in Black’s “Marriage.” I think that record is criminally underappreciated, especially in the U.S.

7.I’ve heard through the grapevines that “The Redder the Better” is being re-released is this true or is it just impossible now to find that album?

We’re working out details at the moment so we’re not sure…but I’d be willing to bet that it’ll be available in some form again soon. Stay tuned.

8.Also are you guys thinking about putting out your “Demo” as its called or is it just a mp3 only release?

The demo is out of print unless you want to get in online or steal it from someone (which we totally encourage). We’re really a different band now and we feel like we should move forward with this lineup and these songs.

9. Ok we have to ask who came up with the idea of a Polar bear in between bread and called it “Polar Bear Club”?

Our best friend in the world, a legendary man named Bobby Griffiths. Bobby has worked merch for us many times in the past and surely will in the future, and he did that drawing and we all loved the idea and made it a shirt (and a tattoo). Bobby also likes long walks on the beach, vodka, art supplies, and dumb bars in Buffalo, NY.

10.Lastly the new record “Something just disappear” has been called by critics as the “most important” melodic hardcore record in a while. Did you guys plan on writing a classic hardcore record?

We wanted to write the best record we could possibly write, and we feel that way every time we create anything. We definitely didn’t say “man, let’s make this a classic,” or anything. We were holed up in a shitty warehouse in upstate NY, just trying to make some music we liked. The fact that anyone thinks it will have lasting importance, or that anyone even likes it besides us, is and always will be an amazing compliment. We know we can always improve and we may not really agree with that sentiment, but if someone takes away something that profound from the record then we are unbelievably grateful.

11.Any last things?

Seriously, check out every one of the many bands whose names I’ve shamelessly dropped in this interview. There are a great deal of really talented people making music in punk rock and beyond right now, and they all deserve your attention and support. We’re part of an awesome community and we’re really proud of it, and we’re not going anywhere. Read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=396114006&blogId=458703748#ixzz0uwOMoVOF