Beware the evil that lurks in the shadows... Interview By Vinnie Apicella courtesey of ballbusterhardmusic.com For a band that just started out only a couple of years earlier, The Nerve Agents have been making quite a name for themselves-and with a name like theirs, you'd expect something less? But in all seriousness, they're a band at the forefront that might be a little difficult to be taken seriously with an image and a look right out of the pages of Fangoria! Dangerous, disarming and anything but hideous however, when it comes to their music, they've effectively struck a "nerve" within their hard-core home base of San Francisco, that's quickly spreading into uncontrollable proportions around the rest of the country. Lead Screamer Eric Ozenne, better known as Sheric D., in a surprisingly sedate state-then again he wrote in all caps, so maybe not!-took the time to answer some questions about how the band got their start, their offbeat style, and what fans can expect now that the "Days of the White Owl" are upon us. VINNIE APICELLA: What exactly is a "Nerve Agent" and how did you come up with the name? ERIC OZENNE: Nerve agents are a form of chemical gas used by terrorists or countries to strike an enemy. It kills, and it destroys your nervous system. It falls in a family of chemical agents-like blood agents, blister agents, choking agents, and nerve agents... I think there is one more. I learned this stuff in nuclear- biological, and chemical warfare training in the marine corps. Neat huh? VINNIE: (Yeah, that is cool-I wish I had a follow up question for that!) So how long has the band been around for... how'd you get started? ERIC: We've been around since 1998 (February). Andy (Outbreak-drums) kept bringing up that we should start a band together, and finally one night at a Powerhouse show at Gilman St., I gave in, and the band was formed as a four piece in 24 hours! VINNIE: The new album--"Days of the White Owl"--what's it representative of? What other album's or releases has the band done prior to this one? ERIC: We did an EP on Revelation Records-it's self-titled. That came out in November 1998. We also did a split 7" with "Kill Your Idols" on Mankind Records that came out in February or March 2000. We have a song that was done for a Sessions Records comp. called "The Way It Should Be..." The song is called "Bitterseed." It is solely on that comp. VINNIE: Going through the lyrics, I notice many of the songs come from an angle of perseverance and overcoming despair-a common thread in most Punk music. Was there an overall theme in mind when you went into preparing for the album-is there a statement being made? ERIC: Just what comes out of my head. I have a rather positive outlook in terms of my overall life, but there is quite a bit of negative reality lurking around every corner. It's simple, my lyrics are my life... And I have many issues that I have dealt with and am dealing with, so that is what you get. But there is no revolution here, unless that is what you personally get from the lyrics, then by all means start one. VINNIE: What's with the character names-Andy Outbreak... Timmy Stardust... not to mention the ghoulish make up-do The Nerve Agents model themselves or are you influenced at all by an image (The Misfits) or has there been anyone that's influenced you up to this point? ERIC: We have heavy influences--T.S.O.L., The Misfits, A.F.I., 45 Grave--but also Youth of Today, 7 Seconds, Black Flag, Blas't... So no we are not trying to be like anyone, just ourselves. We don't wear make-up because The Misfits did... I was inspired by make-up because of segregation in the crowds at shows... We have a strong hard-core following, because of past bands, so a lot of these kids were having a hard time with punk kids showing up at the shows. So in a classic rebellious fashion, I wore eye black around my eyes at a show one night, modeled after my early days, looking like early mike ness. What I got from that was this response like why are you wearing make up? Thats stupid. But those same kids still would show up to hear us, and see us play. So the reason: it doesn't matter what you look like, it's whats inside. That's basically it, and there really was quite a stir over the make up so I kept it up... But occasionally when i'm in a shitty mood, I won't wear it! *Here's a note: dante (bassist) has worn eyeliner since the day I met him, so make up was nothing new to him. VINNIE: Aside mainly from the opening and closing Intro & Outro, most of the songs are very fast and aggressive-what are your playing influences and what sets you apart from many of the other punk bands? ERIC: Well, I named some influences earlier, but I guess T.S.O.L., Antidote, Youth of Today, Black Flag, The Misfits, Samhain, Morrissey, Rancid, The Clash... We are really deep in influences when it comes to playing... They get weirder, depending on which of us you ask. Dante listens to industrial stuff; Timmy (guitar) likes a lot of earlier 70's stuff; Zac's (The Butcher-guitar) favorite band was Screw 32... Seriously, there is a lot of stuff we pull from. VINNIE: There's often this dividing line that seems to focus on bands from Southern California or San Francisco... and also NYC. What, if any, is the difference do you think? There's no great difference lyrically from what I've seen, yet we usually always hear of this band from the "Bay Area" or that one from NYC... does it matter? ERIC: No, because we are nothing like most bands from around here. We have a strong East Coast influence. Sometimes you can find it but that is usually in a lot of the bands that group themselves together and try to sound like everyone's favorite at the time. Like at one point you could see how everyone was trying to sound like Rancid, and in Orange County you would find a lot of Strife, Earth Crisis, rip offs. But usually a band will step out of that if they have their own thing going... Not that you don't see similarities in bands that step up... You know what i'm saying, right? VINNIE: "Spring Heeled Jack" as an Intro to the album is an interesting title. Is there any tie in with the group with the same name-or where did it come from? ERIC: It came from a little mini mag that I collect along with Nick 13 of Tiger Army (that's props for the mini mag club). It's a little book that costs $1.19 at the check out stand at your local grocery store. There was one called... Oh shit! I forgot, anyway it was just like "Spooky Tales," but this had a different name, oh well. So "Spring Heeled Jack" was this thing in the supposed true horror story about whatever it was that jumped like two stories high, and creeped around through yards, in London... And this was like some sort of monster, or demon... Anyway I brought the idea of calling the intro to our record that, to Dante, and he loved it, because he had read the story too... And he thought it was perfect. VINNIE: So when's your big commercial hit due? In fact, if there were any one song that stands out here that in retrospect you hear as more accessible for a bigger audience, what is it? ERIC: Uh... none of it. My voice is too high pitched. Maybe "Spring Heeled Jack," or "The Blue Lady..." Great piano tracks. VINNIE: So after the recent lineup changes, are things pretty well set with the band now? Who are the primary songwriters at this point and do you ever deal with outside writers or ever been geared to copping someone else's tune and do your own cover? ERIC: We do covers, like "Suffragette City" by David Bowie, "Evil" by 45 Grave... But Tim, Zac, and Dante write everything along with Andy. I add quite a bit of direction into the writing process. That is what makes this band so much fun, I feel like I help shape the songs. VINNIE: Upcoming events... You have a new 7" on the way and a new Sessions Records Comp. What's happening with these and other upcoming projects? ERIC: Those are both out as I mentioned before. We are about to record in early December, a 4 song 7"/cd ep for Adeline Records out of Oakland, CA... Other than that, we just left Revelation and are going to sign to a new label very soon, but that is all I can say at this point. It will be much better for us, as a band. VINNIE: Since the latest album was released in June, what have the last few months been like and what are some of your more memorable moments on and off the stage during this time? ERIC: We toured in August and July, around the U.S.... We left Revelation Records... We have gotten offers from other labels... We played shows with A.F.I., T.S.O.L., Good Riddance, Tiger Army, and we are doing a northwest tour with Good Riddance. Its been fun. VINNIE: Are you comfortable with either term of 'Punk" or "Hard-core" which presumably you guys still are... How would you define the difference? ERIC: Rancid is punk and we would love to tour with them. Punk is whatever it is to that individual... Everyone has their own thoughts on it. VINNIE: Any place for fans or potential listeners to go to keep up with The Nerve Agents or current happenings related to the band and/or tour? ERIC: We have a website: www.acornweb.com/nerveagents/. VINNIE: Why are we finally beginning to see so many more punk bands/artists today--and is there room for the music to grow or expand? ERIC: Well it already expanded, and it will keep going I think. Mainstream music is a dying moose at this point... People are searching for something different. I think the mainstream labels and such will pillage the hell out of the underground and different forms will pop up... Hybrids of different sounds, and punk music taking on many different faces. It's all about keeping it real. It's out there you just have to sift through a lot of garbage to get to it! Copyright 2000, BallBuster, The Official Int'l Underground Hard Music Report