A month on
tour--crashing at people's houses and playing hit-or-miss shows--can
wear
out even the most intrepid band, but after 30 days on the road, the
Thumbs
aren't run down. If anything, they seem energized. On their first night
back
in Baltimore, they play a hard, fast, seamless set at the Ottobar.
Guitarist
Bobby Borte and bassist Mike Hall play the way they speak--finishing
each
other's sentences and clarifying one another's thoughts--and Roman
Kuebler,
the Thumbs' 10th drummer, has no problem keeping up. His aggressive
drumming
is a perfect match for Borte's guitar and Hall's sturdy bass work.
Maybe their energy comes from knowing that four years of recording,
touring,
and generally working their asses off is about to pay off. The Thumbs
are
being courted by two labels, punk-rock stalwart LookOut! Records and
Adeline
Records, the fledgling imprint of Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong. The
choice basically boils down to whether the Thumbs want to "be a little
band
on a bigger label or . . . one of the only bands on a new up-and-coming
label," Borte says. Either way, before you know it, anyone with access
to a
well-stocked record store will be able to hear what Kuebler aptly
describes
as "tough-ass rock music with no pretense."
"The main reason I play music
is to
tour," Thumbs drummer Roman Kuebler says, "to get out there and have
that
experience."
Things are looking great for the Thumbs now, but it has been a bumpy
road.
The band was formed in 1996 by Rubber Soul guitarist Borte (founder of
the
Annapolis-based Sneezeguard label); his fellow Rubber Souler, bassist
Mark
Minnig; Pee Tanks bassist Hall, who switched to guitar to join the
band; and
drummer Randy Davis. Since then, they have had a veritable revolving
door
for drummers, most of whom have left because they couldn't commit to
the
Thumbs' intensive touring schedule.
Clearly, this is a band that knows that it's difficult to keep a band
together. Borte compares the task to carrying a flag into battle. As
you get
older and have more responsibilities, he says, it "gets harder and more
complicated--'I've got these bills to pay, but I've got to hold this
flag.'"
A year and a half ago, Minnig decided he couldn't carry the flag any
longer,
leaving the band to move to New York and pursue a career in animation.
Minnig was an integral part of the band--he supplied many of the
vocals, and
his distinctive powerhouse bass playing largely contributed to the edgy
pop-punk sound of the Thumbs' only full-length release to date, 1998's
The
Thumbs Make America Strong (Soda Jerk Records).
Borte and Hall never really considered replacing Minnig; instead, Hall
returned to his first love, the bass. He says he was happy to make the
switch: "I love it, it's definitely what I'm most comfortable playing."
The
transition from quartet to trio also meant streamlining guitar parts,
but
the process left the Thumbs with a harder edge and the kind of cohesive
sound--with no one instrument standing out--that few bands achieve.
Kuebler, who joined the band in April, appears to fit in both musically
and
ideologically, becoming the Thumbs' first drummer to enlist for two
tours.
The musician says he loves touring, whether with the Thumbs or one of
his
three other bands (including Roads to Space Travel). In fact, Kuebler
says,
"the main reason I play music is to tour, to get out there and have
that
experience."
The Thumbs may be well-loved in Baltimore, but it's nothing compared to
their out-of-town reception, Borte says. Of the audiences of hometown
gigs,
he says, "If we had a party, the same people would be at our house."
But in
other cities, the Thumbs play bigger venues, before crowds of fans who
sing
along with the band. At one out-of-town gig, a guy got so excited he
jumped
onstage and knocked over half of Kuebler's drum kit. The kid
apologized, but
Kuebler loved it, egging the fan on with, "Take it all out next time."
What has made the Thumbs so popular? Lots of hard work and good, clean
punk
rock that's in the classic vein but still manages to avoid sounding
overly
familiar. Fast, up- tempo sections alternate with slower, more
dissonant
parts, making, as Hall says, "the tough stuff catchy and the catchy
stuff
tough."
While the Thumbs mull over their future label options, they plan to
release
their next recording, a five-song 7-inch single (that also comes as a
seven-song CD EP) titled All Lesser Devils, on Adeline in July. An
advance
listen to the songs (recorded with Davis on drums) finds the band still
working to get its new live sound onto tape intact. The jumps between
the
catchy, up-tempo parts and the slower, more staccato sections of
"President
Street Station," for example, slow the momentum of an otherwise
fantastic
high-energy song filled with great lines like "We're gonna go full
throttle
with rocks and bottles" and "If it's not pure, at least it's simple."
All
Lesser Devils may not be as seamless as the Thumbs' live show, but it
showcases the band's genius for making music that's straightforward
without
being simple.
Opposable Thumbs
by Jeff Stratton
taken from Boulder Weekly- June 1998
When it comes to deflecting compliments, Mike Hall from The Thumbs is
an expert. His band's new album, Make America Strong, is an
enthusiastically strong record, loaded with fast potent punk tunes. Most
of them belie above-average instrumental and vocal skills and an
unusually firm grip on satire and witty lyrics -- but Hall shies away
from too much praise.
"Man, you're crazy," a bashful Hall says from a roadside pay phone.
"Get outta here!"
However, though all four members (singer/guitarist Hall, drummer Phil
Spence, bassist Mark Minnig, and singer/guitarist Bobby Borte make
impressive contributions to Make America Strong, it's a couple of
Hall-penned tracks that are among its standouts. "Luddites and
Websites," for starters, is a sure indication that The Thumbs have an
articulate take on subjects punk bands don't generally broach, and
"Looking for the Cure" comes complete with an unbearably catchy,
pop-stutter chorus and lines like "Weakness is power/Illness is your
strenth/You'll never cross the line/Stunted by design."
"We put a lot of effort into the lyrics," Hall says. "Sometimes we
think we get looked at as a punkish pop band who doesn't really have
aything to say. We just put our lyrics on there so people can judge it
and see if we do have anything to say." The band took the trouble to
include the lyrics to the 12 songs on the inner sleeve so that the
clever wordplay of songs like "My Rods and Cones" and "Lance Boil" are
unmistakably clear. "It's realy important to me to have the words on
there," confirms Hall.
The band officially claims Washington, D.C. as home, which puts them in
good company in terms of historical hardcore and the hordes of famous
punk bands that have emerged from that particular area. But as Hall is
quick to caution, rather than live in the perennial shadow of Minor
Threat or No Trend, The Thumbs are a more modern punk offshoot.
"I wouldn't say that being from D.C. is a lot to live up to," he says.
"The bands I really listened to a lot that came out of D.C. haven't even
been around for 10 years." But some of the old school does enter the
equation. "That's what we aspire to," Hall continues. "But I don't feel
any pressure or anything, ‘cause you gotta come from somewhere."
And in The Thumbs case, he clarifies, the members aren't strictly from
D.C. either: "But it's easier than saying we all live in three different
states."
Colorado has been a source of income as well as support for the
foursome, who are signed to a Boulder-based indie label called Soda Jerk
Records and report some memorable conquests at the tiny, sweaty and
temporarily-defunct Club 156. The Thumbs' last 24 months of travelling
wasn't all fun and games, Hall reports, and he figures a trip to Boulder
may help the band erase some bad road memories.
"The last tour we were scraping by on fumes; we had shows fall through
and some weren't so good. We were coming away where, if we made 15
bucks, that would be good. And that's after spending about $50 a day on
gas ... So, we were taking money out with our own ATM cards and whatnot.
And it's tough, when we're not on tour -- we're at home working our
asses off, saving money. I've got to find a way to come up with the rent
even when I'm gone."
"It's tough," Hall admits. "It's tough to find a job where you can save
enough money that you can afford to come out here. It's not so easy, but
we're having a blast, and we love doing it."
Though used to changing the subject when hearing words of
encouragement, Hall will allow a brief moment of speculation to get the
better of him when he considers a possible turnaround in the band's
fortune.
"I don't know what we'd do!" he says. "That would be amazing."
Interview
by Taylor, 1997
from Going Nowhere #3 (Boulder, CO)
The Thumbs recently put out an amazing 7" with Soda Jerk Records, that I
liked so much I decided an interview was warranted with this great band.
They play an original combo of many styles -- pop, punk, and emo, all
mixed together, with a hard edge. These guys are a great band, who will
have their full length out on Soda Jerk in the near future. Also, be
sure to check them out at Club 156 when they come through town, because
from what I hear, their live show is not to be missed as well. Enjoy!
Names and Positions:
Bobby: Bobby, guitar and vocals.
Mark: Mark, bass and vocals.
Mike: Mike, guitar and vocals.
Lee: Lee, current drummer.
When did the Thmbs start and who has/is in other bands?
Bobby: We started in the spring of ‘95 after the drummer of Rubber Sole
finally called it quits. (Rubber Sole was Mark and I's band). Mike, at
that point, was in the Pee Tanks and Rubber Sole, and so with 2 new
members in the band, we changed our name, got a new drummer, played one
show, and toured Canada.
Do you guys feel that the punk rock scene in general is doing good right
now?
Mike: I think the punk rock scene has changed a lot since I started
going to shows. Shows used to be big events that were unpredictable, and
to a certain extent, scary.
Bobby: Yeah, things have changed so much even in the last 5 years. I
would say everything seems a little watered down. Fun, definitely, but
that element of fear is gone, and I miss it a little.
Where do you live? Are there a lot of kids at shows?
Bobby: We are really lucky because we live in an area that lately has
produced a lot of great bands. Unfortunately, there's no unity in our
scene. We are really close to D.C. and Baltimore, and there are tons of
kids in the suburbs, but only a diehard few go to shows everywhere. It's
really discouraging, especially with the recent closing of the #1 Club
in Baltimore. It's all ages, it's huge, it's got decent sound, and still
people would rather sit home than come see good bands play their hearts
out.
For what reason are you in a band?
Mark: It's just something that we love to do. I think I started
imitating our favorite band, when we were younger, and then over time we
learned to play our instruments. It just became this addictive thing
that we couldn't stop at this point even if we wanted to.
How is Sneezeguard Records doing?
Mike: We've got a bunch of things in the works right now. We're trying
to keep everything in stock, so we are re-ordering things, putting
things on other formats, trying to keep ads in our favorite fanzines,
etc.
What advice do you give to humankind?
Mike: A professor one time wrote "24375" on the blackboard and no one
knew what it meant. He later told us that that was the number of days
the average person taking the class has to live. The moral is to do what
you want now because your're running out of time.
What political party are you guys and do you vote?
Bobby: I want the government to have as little influence on my
day-to-day life as possible. I don't trust it and I don't expect
anything from it, except what I've earned. I find it hard to call myself
a member of any political party because they all cater to whatever
faction can swing the most votes. I still, however, vote for the lesser
of the evils.
What are some of your hobbies?
Mark: We don't have time for anything but the band right now so we play
as many shows as we can and work as much as possible to save up money
for tour.
What do you think happens to people when they die?
Bobby: I think the worms get you.
Anybody have a wife or family?
Bobby: No, but we have plenty of bills and responsibilities. I'm even
considering getting a dog.
What is your favorite soda pop?
Bobby: Dr. Pepper
Mike: Diet Pepsi
Mark: Coke
Do you guys get a lot of women because you're in the Thumbs?
Mike: No, we don't have any groupies.
What is the best book you've ever read?
Bobby: Confederacy of the Dunces, by John Kennedy O'Toole.
What do you want to accomplish before you die?
Bobby: That's hard- to maybe just keep being able to do what we want
without having to compromise ourselves.
What do you have to say to the readers as last words?
Mark: Start a band or a label. Book shows and get involved with your
local scene.
Bobby: Give me a call if you are a touring band coming through Maryland,
and we can give you at the very least information on where to get a
show.
The Thumbs are a punk band from Washington, DC. This interview was conducted shortly before their 3rd U.S. tour from May 1 to July 3 of 98. Their latest release is a full
length- "The Thumbs Make America Strong," on Soda Jerk Records. Here's
a few ways to track them down- 309 Annapolis St, Annapolis, MD 21401.
Or, email them for Thumbs info or Sneezeguard records info at
thethumbs@earthlink.net. Or, check out the Soda Jerk web page at
sodajerkrecords.com.
The Thumbs at the time of this interview were:
Phil Spence- drums
Bobby Borte- guitar, vocals
Mike Hall- guitar, vocals
Mark Minnig- bass vocals
Discography:
The Thumbs- self titled 12"- Sneezeguard Records
The Thumbs- Sprague Dawley Rats 7"- Sneezeguard Records
Sweet Merciful Crap, It's The Thumbs! 7"- Soda Jerk Records
The Thumbs Make America Strong! cd- Soda Jerk Records
MM: Where do we start? The basic stuff, the background stuff? Like
former bands.
Phil: Yeah, I've been in enough.
MH: Rattle those off, man.
Phil: Well, let's see. I guess I've mostly been in garage bands. The
last serious band I was in was Latebloomer. I was in that band about a
year and a half, the same time the Thumbs started. Got tired of it;
thought the thumbs were awesome, they had an opening for a drummer, and
I jumped on it.
MM: One of the few times.
Phil: Yeah, this is my second time being in the band.
MM: Two Rubber Sole guys, right? ( Mark and Bobby used to be in a band
called Rubber Sole.)
Bobby: Yup.
MM: Have you guys been in any other bands?
Mark: The Fuses, and The Invisibles- but we were only around for a
little while. We played a few parties. But those guys moved away.
Mike: What about the Boneheads?
Mark: No, we're not going back that far. That's me and Bobby, still.
That was basically the founding of Rubber Sole.
Mike: The Pee Tanks and Cleophus.
MM: Alright, you guys put out your stuff on Sneezeguard Records, right?
I mean, primarily, but you have a new record coming out on Soda Jerk?
Bobby: Well, we started out putting out all our own stuff on
Sneezeguard. And then, on tour we met Mike from Soda Jerk. He's a great
guy. It was kind of a big decision for us, to not put out our own stuff.
MM: You guys had to sign a contract with Soda Jerk. Did you feel weird
doing that?
Bobby: Um, yeah. Well, before we signed to the record on Soda Jerk, we
had kind of a bad experience with a label in D.C.. It was just one of
those "too good to be true" kind of offers. The deal started out with
1,000 seven inches for nothing; they would put out the stuff,
pay for all the recordings, and just give us all the records.The red flags were there but we gave them the benefit of the doubt. But by the end of it, it got
whittled down so that it wasn't such a great thing anymore. It started off
with a handshake , and by the end of it, it was like, "well, you gotta
sign this stuff or we won't pay." We ended up paying for the recording session out of
our own pockets, which was hard because we hadn't even planned on recording anything before they approached us. This
label in D.C. sent us into the studio, and they told us they were going to
pay for everything, but then they put this contract in front of us thinking we wouldn't have any choice. They were wrong.
MM: Have you ever had any trouble with Soda Jerk?
Bobby: No. Coming out of that last situation, we totally put Mike Soda
Jerk through the wringer. We asked him all kinds of questions. I mean, I
think we did a really good thing, you know. I mean, I think we were kind
of sweating it at the time. But we all just took our time, and made sure
we knew what everything meant.
Mike: I don't really have anything against signing a contract. It's
pretty much the same thing as a handshake agreement, except that it's an
easy way to remember what the handshake was about. You know, it's like,
"Well, no, it says this, right here." You just have to think, be smart.
I don't think it's a bad thing, necessarily, unless you're signing
something that's loaded with things that are going to screw you. But
that's no dumber than shaking hands with someone that's going to screw
you.
MM: How many tours have you been on?
Mark: 3
Mike: One very brief Canadian tour in the summer of 1995, and then two
U.S. tours from January to March 1997 and then again in September and
October, 1997.
MM: The Canadian tour, that's when you first started or something?
Bobby: Yeah, we had played one show...
Mike: The first Thumbs show was at the Bohemian Cafe in Baltimore. And
then we went on tour. The second show ever was in Canada.
Mark: Was that Randy's idea?
Mike: That was Randy's idea, it was a great idea, because it was so
ludicrous.
MM: How have the tours been going, besides the first one? You mentioned
the first one went pretty well....
Mark: Well, that tour didn't go well, number of show-wise. We
probably only played 5 shows, out of 2 weeks. But it was a great time.
Mike: We had some car problems on the second tour. For the first U.S.
tour, we started out in Bobby's car, an old Volvo station wagon, and a
trailer. And we toured the first two weeks with a band called Webster.
We got through the first two weeks okay, and then we busted the rear
axle of the car. We just destroyed that car.
Bobby: We spent 3 days in this Chop Shop/Junk yard in Lafayette
Louisiana with a one-eyed Cajun midget mechanic.
MM: What happened with the chickens on that tour? That's a story I'm not
supposed to ask you about?
Bobby: Yeah, I was asleep in the junkyard in Lafayette, you know, in the
chop shop. And, for 2 solid days, we were just stuck. We had nowhere to
go. We spent nights in hotels, and the car thieves, or whatever they
were, would give us rides to the nearest hotel. And in the daytime,
we'd get back up to the shop, and we'd just have to sit there. It was
the middle of winter, but it was really warm and nice. So, I guess we
were pretty much a blight on the landscape of Louisiana, laying out next
to the highway. But anyway, there was a pack of roving chickens and
turkeys and roosters at this junkyard. I was attacked by a rooster when
I was a little kid, so that kind of freaked me out. And these guys were
all laughing, sitting across the street.
MM: Obviously they've never been attacked by chickens.
Mike: We were trying to take pictures.
Bobby: I was asleep on the grass, and I woke up, and there were chickens
and big turkeys, all around me, eating stuff. I had to chase after them
with a stick.
Mike: I wasn't going to let them peck your head or anything, it was just
a good photo-op.
It's all for the publicity.
Bobby: Yeah, from like a mile away, you were gonna be like " STOP! STOP
THE CHICKEN!"
Mark: Plus we met our drummer on tour. Phil had to stick around, to work
and stuff, and we found Jason.
Mike: We sent him a tape about 10 days before the tour. He lives down in
South Carolina. We started the tour with Lee from Webster filling in.
So, we played Harrisonburg VA the night before, then we drove all night
down to Columbia to meet Jason. We got there, practiced with him once
that afternoon. He played the show that night, and played the whole tour
with us. 53 shows. He was our savior.
MM: Your joining the band (motioning to Mike) eminently led to the
breaking up of the Pee Tanks, pretty much.
Mike: No.
MM: You don't think so. Alright, how do you see it?
Mike: When the Thumbs started, the Pee Tanks were still going strong.
But in the Pee Tanks, the longest tour we'd gone on was 3 weeks. It
really wasn't a conflict to be able to do both bands. I mean, Mark's in
two bands right now that both tour nationally. He's getting ready to
leave for a month to go out with the Fuses. I definitely could have
stayed with both bands, if that's what I wanted to do. If I was happy in
both bands, I would have stayed in both.
MM: A lot of people were always curious why you quit the Pee Tanks.
Mike: Well, I did it for 7 years. You have to quit some time, unless you
die, or get kicked out. So, I quit after it stopped being fun for me.
And I didn't think that we worked together as well as we had in the
past.
MM: Do you still talk to those guys?
Mike: Well, I didn't talk to them at all for a long time.
MM: The Pee Tanks are on Sneezeguard, too. Does that make things a
little tense at times?
Mike: Well, not really, because like I said, we weren't really
discussing a lot of things. It wasn't tense at all, because we were in
separate worlds. But, now it's a little more amiable, I guess. I'm sure
part of that is because they're not doing the band anymore. That was
hard.
MM: Mark, you're in the Fuses? What are the plans with the Fuses? Do you
foresee any problems regarding the 2 bands?
Mark: Not really. I really like both bands, just as much.
MM: The Fuses are a lot different from the Thumbs, though, don't you
think?
Mark: Yeah, I love playing with those guys. Everybody's influences are
so different, within this area. And theirs are, you know, different from
mine, and they turned me on to new music.
MM: It seems like originally you guys leaned more toward the pop edge,
but lately you are getting more of a harder sound?
Bobby: I think the first stuff, on the 12", a lot of it was stuff we had
laying around.
MM: Was that like leftover Rubber Sole stuff?
Bobby: Yeah, some of it. Mike sort of came in to Rubber Sole and said,
"I've got all these songs I've been working on...
Mike: They didn't really seem like they would work as Pee Tanks songs..
Bobby: Yeah, and umm, I had a couple things, and Mark had a couple. We
had all these songs for Rubber Sole, that were like instrumentals, for a
year, we would just play them. And they were pretty good. And there's a
bunch that aren't even on the 12", you know, they never really made it.
So it just sort of started out like that, and then we started writing
together in the Thumbs, it started to get more harsh.
MM: Mark, I heard you almost died on tour.
Mark: That I almost died? I almost die every time I set foot outside the
door.
MM: Wasn't there some kind of incident in Atlanta?
Mark: With a rusted out tin roof? Yeah, I was a little intoxicated, and
I was feeling too brave. I almost met my maker.
MM: You guys seem to do that a lot. Do you get drunk a lot on tour? One
time, didn't you and Bobby get in a fight in the Descendents compound?
Mark: Yeah.
Bobby: Yeah. I wasn't really that drunk though. Well, yeah, I guess I
was alright. I was feeling okay. I was just... For me, it really wasn't
so bad, it just was like... we were just communicating, you know?
Mark: That's how we communicate.
Bobby: And it just turned into that, but it wasn't a big deal.
MM: What were you guys doing at the Descendents compound?
Mike: We played in Fort Collins that night at this semi-cheesy bar, I
guess. No, I take it back, it was a pretty cool place.
Bobby: Yeah, it was pretty cool.
Mark: You got to throw your peanut shells on the floor. And there was
that gay cowboy who was in love with me.
Mike: Yeah, every time he talked to you, he'd get to within an inch of
your face, and spit these crumby peanuts into your mouth.
Bobby: He told me that I looked like I could wrestle a steer.
Mark: He looked like Scott Reynolds, though.
Mike: He did look like Scott Reynolds. So anyway, Bug was at the show.
And that was really cool, because he's from the D.C. area.
Bobby: That was like the night his wife left him or something.
Mike: Yeah, he was kind of down in the dumps.
Bobby: Well, he was down, but he was like "Yeah my wife left me. I'm pretty sad. You guys should come
back and hang out. It would be cool." He was living there at the time.
It was pretty cool, though, we got to see the marks on the floor where
the descendents drums go and stuff. Like they had it marked off in duct
tape.
MM: They've been a big influence on you guys.
Bobby: Well yeah in the beginning. I think everybody sort of looked to them, but nobody
really sounds like them.
Mark: They're probably one of the first bands that I saw- like I saw
their Final tour, well, what was supposed to be their final tour, in
1988 or 1987- and that was one of the bands that really made me want to
go out and play an instrument, because it looked like they were having
so much fun. I mean, I had seen a lot of
bands, but no one inspired me to do music as much as they did. But I feel
like, the feeling is sort of soured now, with them back together.
MM: What do you think about bands getting back together like that- The
Descendents, The Mifits, Jane's Addiction, The Sex Pistols?
Phil: I don't think the Descendents really ever broke up, though, I mean
when you think about it. They still played the same songs.
Mike: I don't blame anyone for doing that. If they write songs in 1980,
and they want to get back together and play them 18 years later, who am
I to say that's dumb or bad? But, at the same time, I can't guarantee
that I'm going to feel the same way about that band as I did when I was
15 years old. I mean, I've grown up and I've heard a lot of stuff, and
it might not do it for me, anymore. So, you know, they can do what they
want.
MM: I heard there's another band called the Thumbs. Are you guys aware
of this?
Mark: There was. They were from Austin. We met the guy, he was a crazy
dude.
Mike: We went to Austin and played this place called the Hole in the
Wall, and we saw a Thumbs sticker in the bathroom.
Bobby: But it had a horse on it or something.
Mike: But we were all worried about there being this other Thumbs. We
weren't really in the mood to deal with squabbling over a band name.
Bobby: Oh yeah, these people we knew from Colorado went to go see them,
because they thought they were us. And they were like "We know the
Thumbs, and you're not the Thumbs."
And they said that one of the guys even had a neckbeard, too, so I had
to go shave.
Mike:Anyway, towards the end of the tour, we ran into the guy from the
Austin Thumbs at our show. He shows up wearing this Thumbs shirt. Did
it have a horse on it?
Mark: No, it had a car, it was an awesome shirt.
MM: So there were no major disagreements?
Mike: Well, I guess they never put out a record, and they broke up. He
was a crazy guy though. I talked to him, and then 2 minutes after I
talked to him, Brian threw him out of Fireside Bowl because he was
pouring his own beers at the bar.
Bobby: Yeah, I'm with the Thumbs!
