This interview was done live at the POSITIVE NOISE/CULT RITUAL show in Grand Rapids Michigan. For those not familiar with BUNNY SKULLS they are a hardcore band from west Michigan who has done two records on PUNKS BEFORE PROFITS RECORDS. The band has a couple notable members one being Scott Bentz who does a lot of artwork for hardcore punk bands. Then we have Andrew Lerston from the band VILENTLY IL. To me this band is what hardcore punk should be about. A couple of nerds getting together and making noise…it’s that simple. If you get a chance to see them live you will at first think “who’s dad is here to pick them up?”… because these guys don’t care about looking punk they just are. Also Andrew has been going to hardcore shows since the early 80’s, but he still loves it and loves seeing new bands. If you like hardcore that’s real, and being done for the right reasons then read on.
RYAN Ok gives me the names and who does what
ANDREW-I play guitar/sing
SCOTT-I play drums
JIM-BOB-I play bass
RYAN Ok so this guy Jim-Bob I have never seen in my life and Scott you have been living the Tampa Fl area for the past few years so how did BUNNY SKULLS come about?
ANDREW-well Jim-bob was a package deal he came with Scott
SCOTT-Right before I moved to Fl I wrote a letter to Andrew because I could not get anything going in Lansing Mi that was not a DAVE MATHEWS BAND cover band. So I wrote to Andrew and asked him if he ever considered having a drummer for VILENTLY IL since I have been a long time fan of the band. But I ended up selling my house and moving down to Fl with my wife. So after a few years in Fl we decided to come visit for a summer in Mi well that turned into staying in Mi and I got back in touch Andrew re sparked the idea of me playing drums in the band. Instead we decided to do a new band called BUNNY SKULLS then we started as a two-piece.
ANDREW-I never thought I would find a drummer that acted like a human version of a drum machine. You know just the one hardcore beat.
SCOTT-That is really all I can do is that one beat and that’s why I play this music and I don’t get paid.
RYAN So why the name BUNNY SKULLS?
ANDREW-Well we had a list and BUNNY SKULLS just kind of stuck and it ended up being kind of a cool hardcore name. The real story behind the name is I had this old cat that looked like she would never hurt a fly. Well she turned out to be dragging b bunnies under my back porch and massacring them so a large pile of bunny skulls started to gather under that porch and the name was born.
RYAN at first I did think the name was pretty dumb but now hearing that I am like “wow”. Plus look at older bands with lame names that eventually became classic names…
ANDREW well you can look at it as B.S. also which way cooler
SCOTT-Before our first show Andrew showed with three sets of bunny ears for us to wear so we could have became the DEAD MILKMEN of west Michigan punk and just being a joke band. Once in a while you will catch us wearing the bunny ears, but it’s not a joke.
RYAN So where the hell did Jim-Bob come from?
ANDREW-Well he is married to Scott’s sister so we just made him do it.
RYAN so is this your entrance into hardcore?
JIM-BOB Well it is and it is not. This made me more interested in it for sure. I played in other bands but never any hardcore punk bands like this.
SCOTT In the start of this we had no place to play so we started practicing at Jim Bobs house because he already had everything we needed so we just asked him to play with us and he picked it all up very easy. So it started as a two-piece then moved into a three piece.
RYAN So who writes the songs for the most part? I mean you have 51 songs that you can play right now correct?
ANDREW yes something like that
RYAN Well how do you write 51 songs that are under a minute and different enough to remember?
ANDREW This is not rocket science we are not the ROLLING STONES you just pick three cords and go it’s like playing the lottery.
RYAN So on the 18 song new ep you guys just did… my favorite songs are in the middle of the record and also at the end. You are holding people’s attention even though you are jamming so many songs on one record…
ANDREW sometimes we will steal another bands songs and we won’t even know it because are just making stuff up as we go.
SCOTT Like one time Andrew was playing a MINOR THREAT song and we were like well just change a note and it’s ours, but then you think fuck even changing it let’s just play it at least we can steal from the best.
ANDREW All the great riffs have been done so why not just steal it put some new words on it and give it some new life maybe ad a new break down or something fuck it.
RYAN Hardcore does have a great formula we can’t deny that. So I have been going to hardcore punk shows for some time and I know a lot of you have also. So Andrew when did you start going to shows?
ANDREW back when it all broke I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.
RYAN After being in VILENTLY ILL for over 20 years, how do you stay interested? Because we have a lot of old jaded guys coming back around either talking shit or started up their old band just to cash in. What do you think of the whole attitude of “it’s nothing like it was then, and these kids just have it easy”… just the entire attitude of “then then then”?
ANDREW It all just goes in circles. I think hardcore now is as strong as it was in the early 80’s. You see a lot of new energy and new enthusiasm and new bands. I mean it’s still feeding on that same basic energy
SCOTT-A lot of the same old guys see it backwards. They changed, they moved on, not the music. They hang around seeing bar bands and getting wasted and talking about the old days so they grow out of it and that’s fine.
ANDREW There are two groups of people like this. There’s the one person who gets into it because his/her friends do so they hang around the scene for a couple years then then move on to some other fucking trend to hob on. Then you have the other group that is drawn to this, that’s it, they don’t do it for some trendy bullshit thing, but because they feel it and they love the sound of it all. This doesn’t mean I am not going to play a jazz album sometime and get into that to, but I love my hardcore.
SCOTT-I think one of the huge things that keep Andrew and myself into punk and hardcore is our isolation from other punk rockers. We both live in the middle of nowhere so we have nothing going on in our area. So when we get a chance to involve ourselves we do because we are stoked. If you have a large group of punks you hang around every day and you see the shit all the time then it tends to fade, but for us it’s something we only get to do every once in awhile so it remains special to us.
ANDREW But now we are trying to spark something up in Ludington with this skate park show coming up with POSITIVE NOISE. I am sure there are kids in a small town like Ludington that have never even heard hardcore before.
RYAN So you guys all come from a small area then?
SCOTT so Jim Bob and me are from Ludington and Andrew is from South Haven about 2 hours south.
RYAN So everything that was recorded for the first two records was recorded through the mail correct?
SCOTT well we would be at practice and do our songs together then me and Jim Bob would just do bass and drums. Then send it home with Andrew and he would lay on the vocals/guitars and what not. We did record a couple times together on the four track and it was a total mess
ANDREW when the guitar is in there it just makes everything very muddy.
SCOTT So we have our recording pattern down right now. And it’s giving us the kind of hardcore sound we like.
ANDREW you really do have more control with a four track and you can get that hardcore sound from it if you work it right.
RYAN So the Tascom four track is always the weapon of choice when it comes to recording right? I love it the new ep is so raw and full of energy…
ANDREW We want the raw sound
SCOTT Most of the bands we draw from have recordings that are always off the wall and the levels are fucked up and all loud and crazy
ANDREW We think hardcore punk should be recorded raw and in your face. That’s why a lot of times a band’s demo will be some of the best stuff they ever did. I like my guitar tone to sound like an angry hornet’s nest.
RYAN When I first put on the new recording I was blown away with how loud it was. I could have put it next to a professional big time recording and it would still just have way more teeth…
ANDREW Well I never meant distortion I didn’t like. Maybe its part of my insecurity where I’m just trying to hide behind distortion but either way I love it and I just can’t get enough of it.
SCOTT Some of my favorite parts of songs is end or start with all the fucked up feedback that’s going on.
RYAN So Grand Rapids has the most churches per capita and west Michigan in general has a lot of religion going on. We also have a very strong Christian punk scene. It’s pretty fucking unbelievable but it’s happening. So you have the song “nothing fails like prayer” what do you feel about all these hip Christians around this area?
SCOTT To me it just seems like it makes more sense to go do something about your fucked up situation then complain about it. Your just sitting around waiting for some person to make everything in your life ok, but instead just do something for yourself and not waste your time.
ANDREW Hardcore punk is very reactionary and so the more Churches we get the more hardcore songs will be written against them. Its like whatever you go we’re against it
SCOTT Punks tend to dwell on things that are fucked up. Even when things are not so fucked up we will find something that is fucked up and sing about it.
ANDREW but now we think about we need to make more anti Christian hardcore songs.
RYAN Andrew you have a story about when you came to a show, and you had a run in with some kids into Christ tell us about that.
ANDREW I went to this random show at the DAAC in Grand Rapids and all these punks were hanging around the place with leather jackets and tattoos so I was like “cool a hardcore show”. So these bands are setting up and I am thinking man this looks like a good show. Then this lady comes up to me and says “we are going to do a prayer service before the show starts”, and so I am like “fuck this I am out of this place”. It was one of the most fucked things I have ever seen I could not fucking believe it. There is just no place for shit like that in punk.
SCOTT I think with modern punk it’s more about clothes and fashion and because of this the “I hate everything” attitude gets lost. So Christian punks almost make sense in modern times because these are not reactionary people. These kids are more into looking cool then playing all fucked up and hating the world.
ANDREW I like the fact that we look like straight-laced Christian dudes that came come into show and just play some narly fucked up noise and blow kids away. Then walking in with a Mohawk and getting people expectations up. I say fuck the expectations that’s the fun of it. Punk is about anger.
RYAN It seems like it’s so apathetic here in Grand Rapids I don’t even know why those kids come around…
SCOTT I think people have it too good. When hardcore first came out in the early 80’s you were right in the middle of a cold war. You had to do drills and hide under your desk because you thought the bomb was going to go off at anytime, but now we have Ipods and computers. They can skate down to the mall and go to jomba juice and do whatever. With all these good things happening it makes the hardcore scene less urgent. Its like they don’t need that outlet when things are going well.
RYAN it’s like we have enough little toys to make us feel like the world is not that fucked up… it’s all the distractions they have created for us so we remain ok and silent and calm…
ANDREW there’s nothing more fucked up then watching somebody walk down the street next to each other and just texting each other instead of having a conversation.
RYAN Its like being a at show and you start talking to somebody and they’ve got their phone and they’ve got nine other people talking all at once and its like fuck you I’m done talking to you because you don’t care. It’s just too much communication.
ANDREW That’s the best part of the punk shows is that it is direct contact with people. Because in a lot of the world people are not doing anything real. It’s like you say we have too much communication but really we don’t have enough because that is not real direct communication its fake. So really that is what is really lacking… real communication.
SCOTT It’s like you can text all your friends all over the world but you have no idea how to talk to the person standing right next to you.
RYAN One good point I have heard about myspace and other ways on the net to stay on top of hardcore was from Vasko, the singer of FPO and now SMARTXBOMB who loves that shit because he lives in Macedonia and he can’t leave and he can’t call me and we only got to spend two days of our lives together and that’s it. So things like myspace keeps us connected. It’s just sad because Americans can’t handle anything we have to take everything over the top.
SCOTT It’s the same way we drink and do drugs and everything like that. Americans want to do the most they can possibly do and a little more on top of that. Nothing I have ever sent in a text has ever got anything done. It’s all bullshit it means nothing it’s all-fake it’s not real.
RYAN So one of the best things about this band is how you guys are all over 30 and Andrew is way past that, but your still into it you still feel it in your bones and that rules. So what are some of the bands you are digging on these days?
SCOTT I am super hardcore nerd and with the net these days I can look at 15 record labels in 20 minutes and every new record I feel I need to obtain right away. I am always into new stuff and new bands coming out. One band is a band called PMRC they are from Texas and did one 7”, but nobody got into them at all. That is why a lot of things have moved to small pressings people are just not moving records like they used to. Then I get nerdier and need the records even more.
ANDREW Scott has really got me into a lot of new hardcore like TOTAL FURY and I am really stoked we have so many good local bands in this area like SHATTERED BADGE who I really hope keeps playing also POSITIVE NOISE is another great local act. Then couple international band like PIAZZA DROPOUT and ANTI YOU. Since I came from the start of it all I still love bands that have that sound of short fast and loud.
RYAN Speaking of limited pressings… it seems like if you read the pages of MRR the big talk is all about all the limited pressings of records. Like I just read about the 90’s and how the entire “pay no more than…” idea started popping up on records and the records had bigger pressings and more info inside the records. Then now we have to keep the pressings low because who is going to buy them? But if you think about 1000 BUNNY SKULLS records that’s nothing when you think about that we have a cabillion punk rockers in the world so why the fuck can’t we sell them 1000 of your records? But the shit gets old so fast so before you know it the record is yesterdays news…
SCOTT yes we do have a million punks in the world, but every one of those fuckers are in bands and they are worried about their band and that’s it.
ANDREW we also don’t care about format we just give our shit away on anything at shows or on the net whatever we don’t care we just want kids to hear this shit that’s it.
SCOTT Down loading has also killed the chances of selling a lot of records. The reason is that people hear about shit so fast that they move on even faster to another new band or record. So the idea of selling a record and selling it over a period of time is not as likely. As for BUNNY SKULLS goes a pressing of 300 if pretty logical because we can’t tour.
RYAN You mentioned before that every fucker is in a band and I can’t agree more. Its like my band POSITIVE NOISE likes to play with BUNNY SKULLS because at least there will be us into what’s going on. When I talk to you guys we are not just talking about our bands we are talking about new bands and other bands. It seems like when I go on tour now so many bands just sit outside and nobody cares about other bands because they are so tied up into their own bands. It’s like they figured out to play a hardcore song and that’s it… there’s nothing behind the music.
ANDREW we just don’t give a shit if you like us or not we don’t give a shit about anything we just play.
SCOTT Like if you look at each of our eps I made stupid limited packaging for each one for just a certain number. Like for the first one I made a metal cover with a three-color stencil on that one, and for the 2nd I made a package out of wallpaper. I didn’t do this for the eBay record I did this for myself because I like making cool shit. It reminds of those early LENGUA ARMADA releases when Martin was doing something on a paper towel because he wanted to have something he was involved in.
RYAN LENGUA ARAMDA was one of the best labels that has ever been because he just did this shit and it seemed he does like you said a labor of love nothing more. I do the same with records I have put out because you want a piece of you in the record.
ANDREW you know the labels that do that shit just to make them rare I am not going to name names but you know who they are. They create that fan boy shit.
SCOTT you know the fuckers who come to shows just to buy the record from the band whose playing just to put it up on eBay in the morning.
RYAN I have seen it so much with kids in the past couple years coming into shows and just buying the record from the cool band while they play and never really feeling the intensity of the music just wanting to be seen at the show. They felt if they didn’t have that record they just a fucking moron behind the times.
ANDREW and that’s one thing that’s nice about the west Michigan Grand Rapids scene is that it is small enough that you don’t get that kind of bullshit its just a social scene of friends playing shows together. Its like if you are getting pre orders for 300 records then fuck step up the pressing why not
RYAN because then it would not be cool anymore it’s that simple
SCOTT its like the band NEGATIVE SS they are a killer band but really have records that have a pressing of 60 at that point you are like who the fuck are they trying to get the records out to?
RYAN ok lets wrap it up with any last things you may want to say about punk or anything?
ANDREW I like to play fast
JIM BOB one thing about this entire scene is that I played in bands since I was 16 and this is the best thing for me the friendships I have made and it all just seems so real
SCOTT its like when you play some bar and like 10 people are looking at you all drunk they also just want to get laid so why the fuck are you even playing.
RYAN and they only have till 2am in most states to do so… some only until midnight.
ANDREW its not about the numbers at a shows it about how radical they really are.
