The forgotten.

THE FORGOTTEN IS THE FIRST BAND I saw when I moved to San Francisco, at Stinky's Peep Show. All I can say is fuckin' amazing. A few years later I met them through a mutual friend and found out they were the nicest guys as well. I caught up with Gordy in Palo Alto to check in on the latest. Do yourself a favor and go see 'em.

Who are The Forgotten and what do each of you do?

We've got D Cash on drums. We've got Johnny "bleach jeans" on bass. We've got Craig on guitar, and me, Gordy, on vocals.

I read somewhere that you guys had played your first show 30 days before you were on TKO. Is that bullshit?

That's the truth--we got signed within 30 days our first show. We got together, played a show and banged out five songs on a demo. Craig knew Mark Rainey from TKO; he was working at a second-hand clothing store that Craig used to go into every once and awhile, and so he asked Craig for the demo. Craig gave it to him and he said, "I'm starting a new label, would you like to do it?" That was it. We just jumped right in.

Mark Rainey picked up a lot of bands at the time--The Belltones ... ... One Man Army.

The Randumbs, Working Stiffs.

The Bodies ... There were a ton that he got right out of the gate and they were all really fantastic. Mark really has an ear for bands.

A lot of the bands that were on TKO went to BYO. Now, what's the difference between TKO AND BYO?

Mark Rainey was up-front about saying that he was a stepping stone. He said, "I'm not a big label. I'm a small label. And so I want to encourage my bands to go to bigger labels." Bands go to bigger labels and sell more units, then people go, "Oh, who did they start with?" And they buy more from TKO. He's always been on the side of the bands and always wanted the bands to be successful. He knew he was a stepping stone and always encouraged us to take the next step if it was offered to us. I can only assume he did the same with all his other bands that made the jump. Obviously he's got the same ear that BYO has, because BYO picked up One Man Army, Belltones--a few of his other bands, along with us. It was cool, always amicable. Mark Rainey's a solid guy. We still believe in him 100 percent, but he did encourage us to make this move. He said they have better distribution, they can help more with tour support. So we did it.

Veni Vidi Vici, first album; Keep the Corpse Quiet, second album; control Me, third album--each one's very different. Veni sounds like older punk to me. Keep the Corpse Quiet is faster, if you wanted to maybe compare it to Rancid's second self-titled record. And then the new album's really political ...

... Probably the most political of them all. Knowing that were going to got with bigger production on it, I wanted to bring the lyrics back to something that was a little more true punk. We've always been about entertainment, but I decided to bring a bit more of the political back into it because punk has always towed that line, between political and spriritual. Punk rockers have always been the artists, the breakouts. They're the guys who think differently. I wanted to put more into it lyrically and give it something more to chew on than songs about drinking and fighting.

Have you side projects influenced you?

The other side projects that we're in have definitely helped, because they've given us an opportunity to play in front of crowds that were bigger than we'd ever played to before--people were there to hear that music. We played to 50,000 with Slayer out in Europe, but they sure as hell weren't there for us. They were there for Slayer so no one cared. Being able to play to crowds of a few thousands who are actually there for those side projects helped us--as well as Lars and Tim from rancid, who were involved in these projects. They put a mindset upon us that was different from what we were used to--a professional way of looking at things--which was amazing. Nothing's going to get you better quicker than touring and more touring. You can practice in your little studio that you pay 300 bucks a month for as much as you fucking want. Nothing's going to get you ready for shows like playing more shows. We definetly owe a bit to the side bands, but mainly it's touring. Constant touring and constant playing together, that's what put us where we are.

Is there anybody that you guys would like to thank?

Our parents and all of our fans. We do the same fucking thing on stage every night, but the difference between a good show and a bad show is the crowd. I'd like to thank the fans and the people that come out to the shows; the people that give it up on the front lines and in the pit. Those are our brothers and we'd be nobody without them. Lars and the rest of Rancid have always been in our corner helping us out. The Business have helped us out so much. GBH have helped us out. These are guys who we never thought we'd meet, much less have them in our corner.

NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND

JUST HEARD A PREVIEW CD OF THE FUCKOS, featuring Jim Greco, Jimmy Moore, Steve Olson, and Michael Wildwoon from D Generation. They've only recorded one song so far, "Anyone can be a Fucko," and it's killer sleazified NY Dolls-influenced trash punk. They're gonna record a B-side and shop it around to put it out as a 7", so look for it soon ... First and foremost on the reissue front this time around is Motorhead's Overkill LP, on 180-gram vinyl (so it's kind of pricey, but worth it if you don't already have it). From the rumble of Philthy's double bass drumset (which Lemmy described as overkill, hence the name of the record) to the amazing bass solo by the Mustached One on "Stay Clean," this record simply kicks ass. Originally released in 1979, it stands the test of time ... The Oblivians have apparently finally given the nod to a bootleg that was floating around for a while, and it's been released on Sympathy. Recorded live in Atlanta in 1991, it's got some of their songs (with a few not on there, but you can't play every song you ever did in one set ... ) and good sound for a live record. Trashified, dirty, low-down garage-blues stomp, nobody did it better ... The Fondas have more than a few things in common the The Detroit Cobras, coming from Motown, Steve Shaw on guitar, a sultry female singer, and covering old tunes. There's also some different stuff: Singer Julie Benjamin's voice sounds less whiskey-soaked and cigarette-tinged, and the songs are a little softer on the ears, neither of which is necessarily a bad thing. Their debut LP Coming Now, also on Sympathy, is kick-ass old-style R&B and rock and roll ... On the live front, just saw a great show that, I guess, falls into the "indie" category (but don't get caught shoegazing at this one). The Magic Magicians is a two piece with John Adkins from 764-HERO on guitar and Joe on the drums, and they play some cool stuff. Some of it's little quirky with weird starts and stops, but the songwriting is great. And on the more rockin' stuff I swear I detected a little Elvis Costello or Jam/Paul Weller in there. But it might've been the beer. They played with a band called Deerhoof, and they too gotta be seen to be believed. A cute, very diminutive Asian girl singing along note for note with one of the guitars to create some trippy sounding shit, combined with traffic-directing moves is enough to keep your eyes on the band. Plus the name: Deerhoof ... reminded me of camel toe or its cousin moose knuckle ... And speaking of knuckles, are you sick of shakin' hands with someone and then being offered the mandatory knuckle knock? San Diego's No Knucks play speedy and heavy punk rock, making full noise as a three piece (Roach on guitar, Rhinelander on bass and vocals, and Dodo on the skins). Their logo is a set of knuckles with a red circle around it and a slash through it. The best parts that they all skate. Maybe they got inspiration for their name from the Washington St Project? ... And speaking of live and brutal, TKO has put out a live CD from Strychnine entitled Oakland Stadtmusikanten: Live in Bremen, Germany. Brutal and punk as all get out, these guys kick it out, give thanks to the squats, and play some choice covers by the Sonics (what else? "Strychnine"), Turbonegro, X, Poison Idea and others. Yeah! ... The Constantines are making a big splash north of the border, or, more properly, have been making quite a splash. They've found, perhaps, their way into the hearts and minds of those to the south via their shine a Light CD on Sub Pop. I normally try to avoid press kits at all cost, but as I leafed through this while listening to the CD I was struck by the fact that just about everyone who reviewed their earlier stuff compared them to Fugazi or DC-area sounds. Well, it's not too far off the mark, but there's more to it than that, and I'm gonna say their first song sounds more like Scratch Acid than any of that other stuff. Which is not to say the band is another Scratch Acid. Well, whatever, it's good.--Wez Lundry ... Woodson Lateral Records out of Seattle is doing what they can, and doing what they can consists of putting out music that will make you want to stomp your cloven hooves. Mines--The Way the Wind Whips the Water. The Dutch Flat--Ghosts. These are two releases. The sound good. There are others. Do the double-u, double-u thing if you want to know more.