SKA AIN’T DEAD
Heading into this year’s Warped Tour, The Interrupters was a band that really stood out for me from the start. They were super tight live including the vocal harmonies that are such an important part of their sound… at least in my opinion. They recently released their sophomore record Say It Out Loud which is the first album in 2016 that I’m putting my stamp on as a ‘Record Of The Year’ nominee! So yeah, it’s safe to say that I love this record. Produced by Rancid’s Tim Armstrong (AKA Tim Timebomb), their sound is authentic to the musical styles they represent and their lyrics are probably some of the best storytelling I’ve heard in a long time. If you are headed to any of the remaining Warped Tour dates make sure you note their set time!
THE INTERRUPTERS INTERVIEW
SONIC HIGHLARK: You guys are my favorite band of the whole Warped Tour.
AIMEE ALLEN (VOCALS // THE INTERRUPTERS): Woah!
KEVIN BIVONA (GUITARS // THE INTERRUPTERS): Us!? Thank you man, that means a lot.
SONIC: And I didn’t say this to every band (laughing).
AIMEE: Haha, that means a lot though thank you.
KEVIN: Dude, that’s so awesome!
SONIC: When I heard you guys for the first time I immediately said Hellcat Records. I didn’t know you were with them yet but seriously where else would you guys be with? It’s such a perfect fit I feel like?
AIMEE: Yeah totally.
KEVIN: When we first started recording our first record, Tim (Armstrong) was producing and collaborating with us and we were working on a bunch of stuff with him at the time. Then we got together to do this band he was involved and it was kind of always in the stars for us to be on Hellcat. Everything kind of fell into place from there. We’ve done all types of different music as individuals and even collectively. Before this band we were doing more Reggae or Rock-Steady or Rock’n Roll tracks and some of us played in a more traditional ska band. We flirted with every kind of thing around the genre and when we focused our energy it kind of ended up as a pretty quintessential Hellcat sound I’d say.
SONIC: There hasn’t been a Ska-wave like back in the mid 90s, and there are no apparent scenes for this type of music now, was it difficult to get noticed?
KEVIN: You know what though, there are. I didn’t realize it till I was playing and getting to open up for the Bosstones (The Mighty Mighty Bosstones) and there was a 3rd band on the bill from whatever town we were playing in and it was a rad Ska band. We played with 7 Seconds in San Antonio one time and this band The Bandulus came out and they do this Soul-Ska thing, so it’s out there. It hasn’t really bubbled up to the top of the bathtub yet but this kind of thing is always going to be happening. This type of music has been happening ever since punk rock started in the 70s and it never really went away.
JUSTIN BIVONA (BASS // THE INTERRUPTERS): It’s awesome.
AIMEE: It’s kind of timeless.
SONIC: For sure, you guys have an awesome sound.
AIMEE: Thank you!
SONIC: What are some very common interview questions you get asked?
KEVIN: What’s it like working with Tim (Armstrong)?
THE INTERRUPTERS: (laughs)
KEVIN: You want us to go there?
SONIC: Who’s Tim?
THE INTERRUPTERS: (laughs)
KEVIN: It’s awesome working with Tim.
SONIC: I don’t like to ask questions that you probably have heard so many times especially on a tour like this where you do several interviews a day.
AIMEE: Feel free to ask us anything!
KEVIN: Even if we’ve answered it a hundred times, if it’s new to whoever we’re talking to it doesn’t bother us. We’re just telling our story.
JESSE BIVONA (DRUMS // THE INTERRUPTERS): It’s like when people ask us if we’re twins (Justin and Jesse).
