Losin' streaks.

I CAN'T REALLY REMEMBER how I got the Losin' Streaks LP Sounds of Violence but it looked like something with potential, with a sound that might equal its promise to be the anti-Simon and Garfunkel record from which they got the title. The record turned out to be one of the best records I've come across in ages, and months later the thing still resides on or close to my turntable. Then the single came out, and it was more of the same: stompin', no-holds-barred garagified punk, choice covers and amazing originals with one foot in the '60s and the other kicking the ass of every subsequent decade. As it turned out, a West Coast trip coincided with two of their shows, one at the outdoor smash-'em-up known as Crasharama, and another that night. The live show lived up to expectations, and we sat down and talked the next day. Present were Matt (drums), Tim (guitar), Mike (guitar), and absent was Stun (bass). Vocal duties are shared. We started talking about some of their previous bands (including stints in the Zodiac Killers, Groovie Ghoulies, Alkali Flats, the Shruggs, the Troublemakers, the Lizards, the Warlords, and plenty of others) when this gem popped out of guitarist Mike Farrell.

Mike: I was also in a band called Bozo Knows Jones, where we dressed like clowns and played all Tom Jones music. It was a moneymaker to say the least.

Tim: Gary Larson liked the band.

Gary Larson the Cartoonist?

Mike: The thing that actually broke away from the shtick a little was that the singer actually sounded like Tom Jones, he had a really good voice and he sang very well, and he sounded just like Tom Jones. It was a fun band.

What was this band called? (Pointing to a copy of the Sacramento News and Review, which had a lifetime achievement award for Mike and an old picture of him wearing an '80s metal outfit.)

Mike: Sin Minister.

What year was that?

Mike: Oh, that was about '83, '84, '85.

Do you ever break out the striped pants and Flying V? I guess that's not a Flying V ...

Mike: It's an Ibanez Destroyer.

How did this band get together?

Tim: Well, me and Stan wanted to play more than what the Troublemakers were playing so we put together a band called the Alamos, which was one of the guys from Count Backwards and us, and one of the guys from the Tiki Men, and that band was really fun but those guys didn't want to play, they were really busy. So after about six months or a year of that and it not really going anywhere we shit-canned that and wanted to start a new band that played a lot. So it was me and Stan and we talked to Matt, and the Shruggs weren't playing much either, so we just started as a three-piece. We were playing the same songs, a lot of them--I was playing leads, and we had one of the guys from the Alamos who wanted to be in that so he came in and played rhythm guitar for about two weeks, and he decided we were playing too much so he quit. I ran into Mike the next day, and he said, "I'll come by and check it out when you guys practice." He brought his guitar and that was it. That was almost two years ago now.

What's the story behind the Mystery Machine van?

Tim: The Mystery Machine van was free! Our number one fan JR had brought some friends of his to see us and one of the guys was in charge of storing that van. He was going to lose the storage spot and the guy who owned the van had been told to get rid of the Stabbin' Cabin. He was heartbroken and couldn't imagine selling it, because he really loved this thing and didn't want to get rid of it. So this guy told him "I know this band, and they would really love it." So he said, "If they are gonna love it, they can have it." So it'd been sitting for a couple years. We had to hotwire it to get it moving, do a little tweaking, but it's a '69 E 100. It's been chopped two inches, all the windows were welded in, it's painted sparkle blue, the fenders were flared, it's got a positraction rear end, dual exhaust, and a 302 motor. Stan and I installed white fake fur on the dashboard.

What's the worst show you guys have ever played?

Mike: New Year's Eve in LA. We didn't go on until four in the morning.

Tim: For me what made it so lame was, y'know, I hate the "rock and roll" lifestyle. I fucking hate it, and there was a backstage area in the warehouse and there were these fucking shitheads back there in white suits doing cocaine and I just wanted to take a baseball bat and wipe 'em all out. I had to be back there all the time, dicking with the equipment, and they were just raging rock star assholes. It was everything I don't want playing music, dealing with fuckheads like this. And I had to deal with them for two hours while I was tuning guitars, tweaking with stuff, getting ready to go on. And it was this tiny little backstage area with these assholes, and people were just wasted. We might as well had just not played; people were so fucked up in the audience. And on top of that we were just so fried that we played poorly. I don't think there was anything good about that night. It was brutal. And it was supposed to be some garage punk and rood party or whatever, and I think the security guards they hired were all gang dudes and the gang dudes were letting all their friends in so there were all these people who didn't know shit about the bands. There were like 10 bands, and there were all these total thugs getting wasted and picking fights and being totally creepy. I almost got in three fist fights that night. I haven't been in a fist fight since sixth grade! People were getting in my face and being assholes. It was unbelievable.