The Thousands

The Black Lips just may have finally grown up. Sure Jared threw down and got punched in the face by some Brooklyn band, but that punch won’t make them any better. There are fewer and fewer reports of the Lips whipping out their junk unexpectedly and pissing off (and on…) their fans.

What has become apparent through talking with Jared Swilley in this interview is that they surely used to be little pukes, but these days they’re all about bringing rock to the under rocked, working with Canadians, and living their dream, which is to spit in the faces of everyone who was sure they’d end up homeless.

PC: So Jared, this is covered territory but back in the day your family had a band, The Swilley Family Band. Have you guys ever thought of covering one of their songs?
JS: Yeah, the Swilley Family Band was a couple of my twice removed cousins. I don’t think we’ll ever cover them but, well maybe I should go back and listen to them again. It’s just that they’re more of a novelty.
PC: It’s Southern Gospel stuff right? Not really your guys’ scene.
JS: Yeah, pretty straightforward Southern Gospel music.

PC: You boys got into some trouble in India while you were out there, do you think you’ll ever be going back?
JS: (laughs) No I don’t think any time in the foreseeable future.

PC: You have said the Middle East is a great place for any band to play since they are so starved for rock and roll. What other places do you think need a good influx of rock?
JS: Beirut and Syria definitely. And places like Tehran. Tehran is really liberal, it’s just their government that holds them back, despite what CNN would have you believe.

PC: I’m going to ask you a bit about Cole, you guys went to high school together right? How was that?
JS: Yeah until we got kicked out. My parents sent me off and I ended up going to a school in Montana but what they did kind of backfired and now we’re more successful than our teachers or the kids that went to college.

PC: I have a source that says Cole got expelled from school for writing a graphic essay detailing his first memory which happened to be his own birth. That seems a bit harsh don’t you think?
JS: Oh no it was a pamphlet we passed out. It got a lot of people angry. It was this mag called Meat Beat Manifesto and we did fake exposes on teachers and wrote about how the jocks were all homosexuals. They once cancelled a pep rally because they thought fights were going to break out all over it. It’s why I got sent to Montana.

PC: Did you ever know that Cole once lost a friend (in high school) because he wasn’t Batman enough?
JS: No, I didn’t know that, wait let me ask him… ‘Hey. Hey Cole. Hey did you ever lose a friend for not being Batman enough? Oh. Okay. Hah.’ Nohe lost that friend because he wasn’t Bruce Wayne enough.
PC: Oh okay, my mistake.

PC: What was it like recording a record with King Khan and Mark Sultan (as The Almighty Defenders)? Are they your stereotypical Canadians?
JS: Yeah man, totally. They like poutine. They pronounce words differently than me. They’re really nice. It’s lots of fun and we have a few more tour dates coming up with them.

PC: Those guys were just arrested recently, how about you guys, have you been arrested more as rock and roll stars or before as just crazy kids?
JS: Oh we were in way more trouble as kids. Since being in this profession I’ve only been arrested twice, and they were both kinda bullshit. Well everytime has actually just been a misunderstanding.

PC: So it’s easier to be a rock star than a kid?
JS: Yeah because there are so many rules as a kid, it’s easier to get in trouble.