Skratch Magazine
Interview by Marcia Taylor
Huntington Beach, CA, has produced its share of punk bands over the years, including T.S.O.L., China White, and The Vandals (just to name a few of the earliest). Joining the list is Amerikan Made, a quartet that's been playing punk rock for the last seven years, performed with such acts as D.I., Channel 3, and Death on Wednesday, and will be releasing their new album in February (available on their website).
I spoke with vocalist/bassist Ryan Subsonic and guitarist/back-up vocalist Josh Neel about the band, what it's like playing with a former member of legendary band Fear (drummer Pat McGrath), and the tribulations of working with high school student/guitarist Nick Name (yes, it's just his age).
SKRATCH: What kind of music do you like to listen to that you feel shapes the sound of Amerikan Made?
RYAN: Both Josh and I grew up listening to punk-rock bands like NOFX, Bad Religion, D.I., and T.S.O.L. We also both grew up being taught classical music: Josh played classical guitar, and I played classical piano. Pat's a little older than we are; he's played with Fear and done a lot of work with professional people, a lot of studio work. He's influenced by old blues and jazz. In fact, he teaches drumming, and he starts his students with that. Josh lived in Seattle in the '90s and was into Nirvana and other grunge-type bands.
SKRATCH: So you went from classical to punk? Or was there a transition period?
RYAN: I don't know exactly. I first got into Queen and metal bands like Slayer. Both Josh and I were in that "outcast" area as freshmen in high school. So when someone played a punk record for us, we threw away our old stuff.
SKRATCH: What was it about punk that drew you in?
JOSH: The whole lifestyle that we lived fit in more with punk music. We liked the aggression and rebellion. We just wanted to party and throw it all away.
SKRATCH: It sounds like you and Ryan were the founders of the band. Is that true? How did you meet?
JOSH: Me and Ryan have been best friends since Cub Scouts in second grade. We started writing music together when we were 12 or 13, and we established ourselves as a band at 17.
SKRATCH: So how did you get from that original band to the current line-up of Amerikan Made?
JOSH: We continued to write and played as a three-piece (with a drummer). We grew up, and our voices dropped. The band became more aggressive and tighter, although a little less "angry youth." And the topics of our songwriting definitely evolved.
SKRATCH: How did you hook up with Pat McGrath?
JOSH: A friend of ours had played with him years before. When we really started getting serious, Billy (our rhythm guitarist) said we should meet Pat. He listened to our CD and agreed to meet with us. We got 10 songs down at the first practice. He brought such an expansive influence to our sound; it tuned it up a notch. It went up another notch when we got Nick.
SKRATCH: Tell me about Nick.
RYAN: It's funny. He's a lot younger than us. We met him through a friend of my girlfriend's younger sister. He bugged us about being in the band, but we thought he was too young. He kept on bugging us, so we gave him the CD and told him to learn the songs on it. He learned them overnight! He's brought a lot of his friends to our shows. He'll be a senior in high school next year, so we've had to deal with things like him being grounded!
SKRATCH: Where do you guys live?
RYAN: We're all in Huntington Beach, except Pat, who's in San Dimas.
SKRATCH: Just like Bill and Ted.
RYAN: Yeah. Pat drove us to the place where the Circle K used to be. It's gone now.
SKRATCH: In your press packet, there was a headline about a skate show you played getting shut down and the band unplugged. What's the story behind that?
RYAN: There was this underground skatepark in Huntington Beach in a warehouse in an industrial area. They couldn't afford to keep the lease, so the threw a benefit concert to raise some money. It was a big place! Although we raised a lot of money, it was not successful because not enough people came. Plus, the police showed up early and roughed up some kids and literally unplugged us. There was a kid from a college newspaper there who did the story about it.
SKRATCH: What are some bands that Amerikan Made likes playing with?
RYAN: Youth Brigade. We love playing with all the old punk bands. We've played with D.I. and Final Conflict. We're big fans of Fat Wreck and Epitaph bands. We're not into all the sniveling that is going on about losing girlfriends in some current music. But we'll play with anybody we can get a show with; and we frame our sets around who we're playing with.
SKRATCH: How or why did you come up with the name "Amerikan Made"?
RYAN: When we were younger, like 17, we were more into anarchy and "fuck the government" and all that shit. I read a book by a guy called Mark Amerikan. It was an anarchist book. So we spelled "Amerikan" made with a "k" like he did.
SKRATCH: Did you ever had any problem with the "k" thing and people thinking you were a white power band because of all that crazy "k" stuff they do?
RYAN: Sometimes people we knew heard rumors that we were some Nazi band and that people had said not to book us.
SKRATCH: That's too bad.
RYAN: Well, we have several songs that mention anti-racism, so I don't know why anyone thought we were a racist band.
SKRATCH: You mention in your press packet that you guys are independent-minded enough that your songs often have contradictory points of view. Can you tell me about that?
RYAN: We've had songs that are majorly anti-government, but also songs that support some aspects of the government at the same time. We like to raise questions about issues, like, "What about this? We don't have it figured out, but let's think about it." On every release, we've had something about America. "Amerikan Made" is the song on the newest release.
SKRATCH: Is there anything you guys would like to add before we finish up?
JOSH: People just need to get out there and see bands and support their local scene. When you see a band and everyone onstage is putting out 110% of what they have, the whole atmosphere rises. You can lose yourself in the music, like the musicians. I'd also like to say that we're a great band to skateboard to, ride motorcycles to, or to listen to while you're doing any kind of sports or sports video.
For more information about the band, visit the Website at www.amerikanmade.com and check out their next show where they will be headlining The Roxy in LA where special buses will transport people from all over the 714 and 909 area codes. Make sure to check them out!