"We're good boys; we don't deal with groupies!"

Trevor Phipps, Keith Buckley & Mike Justain chatted with the FourteenG staff in an informal interview, a conversation.  Mike supplied us with intermittent musical interludes throughout the interview by playing the guitar. After a long day of the guys performing, drinking, photo shoots and conducting other interviews…the collective was spent. It was a real treat to be able to capture a candid conversation with Trevor & company on down time. Join us in our hysterical conversation with some of today's most prominent figures in the burgeoning scene of New England hardcore.

Karma: Sound off time guys! Please tell our viewers who you are & what you do.

Trevor Phipps: I’m Trevor.

Karma: Then there’s…

Mike Justain: And then there's ME! [strums note on guitar]

Karma: Hello YOU!  But you are?

Mike: I'm just some guy! [laughs]

Trevor: He’s Mike.

Karma: And finally we have…

Keith Buckley: I just don't want to be in the way…

Trevor: You’re not!

Keith: Dude, this is YOUR interview.  I don’t want to bother anybody!

Trevor: Dude, you’re here!!  [After much protest from Keith]  All right, I’ll carry the work load then.  I'll be the work horse!

Karma: Okay, thanks!  Here's a question for you…

Trevor: Look at that, typed up and everything!  [Laughing as he is referring to my pre-interview notes.  Always good to be prepared!]

Karma: [laughing as well] Well first off, there's a thread on your website surrounding an interview that was done and the people on the message board felt that the interviewer didn't care about the band.

Trevor: They said that the interviewer didn't care about the band? For which interview?

Karma: As matter of fact, the one that Erika did with you last time you were in town!

Trevor: REALLY!

Erika: UM, huh!

Trevor: That's HORSESHIT!!  I mean I haven't read the interview…I mean when I spoke to you guys, what twice before?  They seemed to be real interviews with knowledge.

Erika: Thank you!

Trevor: So that person's an idiot!

Karma: Okay, so how about songwriting…

Trevor: How 'bout it?

Karma: What's your songwriting process?

Trevor: It usually starts with guitar riffs then Mike brings up something, then we structure riffs on the guitar; it's a long process then vocals comes last.  I get a mood for a song and I write the lyrics later.

Karma: Do you find it [songwriting] therapeutic?

Trevor: Yeah, I'll say it's therapeutic.  It gets a lot off your chest and you can express yourself.

Karma: Okay!  So who has been your favorite act on the bill?

Trevor: My favorite act on the bill…Black Sabbath.

Karma: Childhood favorite?

Trevor: Yeah, I grew up listening to Sabbath so it's awesome to see them play.

Karma: So how has the tour been treating you so far?

Trevor: It's awesome!  Every show is huge and a lot of fun, you couldn't ask for a better tour for the Summer.

Karma: So after this are you guys staying home or heading out on another tour?

Trevor: No we're heading out after this, we're taking 17–20 days off or something like that then we're doing a headlining tour. When we come back, we're taking out Black Dahlia Murder and Terror.  It's our first, full U.S. headlining tour. Of course, the East Coast comes first then the full U.S.  I'm looking forward to it.

Karma: Congrats!  So do you guys have a pre-show ritual?

Trevor: A lot of whiskey!  [looking over at Mike]  Anything else?

Mike: I pray to the drum owls! [everyone laughs]

Karma: That's interesting!  Who are the drum owls?

Mike: Oh, they're a hoot!!  [Everyone howls]

Karma: That's a good one! Here's a weird sidebar.  What are your thoughts on what happened to Dimmu Borgir the other day?

Trevor: No, what happened to them?

Karma: It all started when a DJ asked Dimmu how they felt about Rob Halford and his homosexuality, which has nothing to do with anything let alone DB themselves.  Bottom the DJ wanted to start shit, got their goat, the band cursed [sticking up for Rob saying that it was a 'fuckin' honor to play the same stage with them] and was escorted off on the premises.  The band was saying that the station never explained that in America you can't use profanity on the air blah, blah, blah…

Trevor: Did they play that day?

Karma: Yeah they played that day!

Trevor: They had to leave the venue?

Karma: No, they got escorted from the radio station.

Trevor: They should have known better!  [Everyone laughs]

Karma: You can curse over there.

Trevor: Yeah?

Karma: I listen to a Swedish Classic Rock Radio Station called Rock Klassiker, via the net and they never censor the songs.

Trevor: [Turns to Keith] What do you think about that Keith?

Keith: I don't give a huff! [laughter from all]

Trevor: See, you DON'T have to curse!  [Laughter continues]

Keith: 'Move your couch Eddie'!

Trevor: [Look of bewilderment crosses his face]

Karma: [laughing hysterically] It's a Raw/Delirious - Eddie Murphy kinda thing...

Trevor: [Nods head] He's been doing that all day.

Keith: Yeah, I have. I just listened to him, so there!  I love him.

Karma: So what's in your CD player right now?

Trevor: [Pauses]

Keith: He has an iPod!

Trevor: I don't have an iPod!  I don't even know how to work one! [Laughter erupts from all]  Keith, what did we have in yesterday, Crowbar?

Keith: Crowbar, a lot of The Fucking Champs…

Trevor: The Fucking Champs, we just listened to that today.  We can say that right?

Sharita: You can say anything you want!

Karma: You can say anything you fucking want to say!!

Trevor: Well, fucking shit!

Karma: Where do you see yourself and the band 5 years from now?

Trevor: Touring a lot, another Black Sabbath! Main stage Ozzfest with Black Sabbath!

Karma: There you go!

Trevor: 5 years huh?

Karma: Yes, 5 years!

Erika:  So how are things coming along with your record company?

Trevor: Metal Blade or Ironclad?

Erika: Ironclad.

Trevor: Ironclad…Nothing yet, I signing a new distro deal [i.e. distribution deal] so I really can't sign anything until I sign that deal. But If Hope Dies, I'm putting them out again in November and re-release the record on Metal Blade.

Karma: Okay, here's a quickie Speed Round of Questions for ya!

Trevor: Quickie questions?

Karma: Yeah, quickie questions!  You ready?

Trevor: Yeah!

Karma: If not music then what?

Mike: Drugs.

Trevor: Booze & Food.

Karma: Booze & Food!  Okay, would serve it or cook it…

Sharita: What?  [Uproarious laughter ensues]

Trevor: I'd consume it!

Karma: So what's the craziest thing a groupie ever said to you?

Trevor: Ohhhh...

Sharita: Wow!

Trevor: Not that much, we're good boys!  We're good boys we don't deal with groupies.

Mike: What band are you in?

[Laughter from all]

Keith: YOU figure it out!

[Uncontrollable, hysterical laughter breaks out]

Trevor: What band are YOU in again?

Keith: [throws up the sign of peace]

Karma: So what's your favorite childhood memory?

Trevor: My favorite childhood memory…hummm, let me think about that!  Anybody else?

Keith: I'm not in your band!

Trevor: What?

Keith: I have one, but I'm not in your band!

Trevor: Go 'head!

Keith: No, no!

Trevor: It's a cameo!!

Keith: It's YOUR interview… [inaudible banter between Trevor and Keith]

Karma: Have at it!

Keith: Ahmmmm…no, I can't!

Karma: 'Come on Mr. English Professor, I know you have something to say! 

Erika: You have everybody's attention now…

Keith: I realized the first time I had an Oedipus complex with my mom when I saw my dad kissing my mom and I fucking put on cowboy…I went to the store and got cowboy boots with my friends and I put them on and kicked the shit out my dad because he was kissing my mom. And I tried to steal my mom from my dad.

[A stunned silence befalls the area, then laughter begins; Trevor and Mike laugh as well]

Erika & Sharita: WOW!

Karma: That's deep!

[Trevor observes with folded arms]

Keith: Every every kid, every boy has an Oedipus complex growing up with their mom and the first time they realize that their mom has an intimate relationship with another man boys get really jealous.  So I remember that as being like real like I actually went out and sought out something to hurt my dad.

Karma: Wow!

Trevor: Violent Dude!  That's pretty awesome!

Keith: Yeah, every boy deals with it…

Karma: …I guess it's just that every boy's not going to admit it though!

Trevor: Yeah!  I'll admit it!  I told my mom, I think I was 3 or 4 that I wanted to marry her!

Keith: Yeah see, you just get fucking jealous!!  You just fucking deal with it, you just blow a gauge!

Trevor: 'I'll marry you one day!'

Keith: That's exactly it!  Yeah, you deal with it!  Whether it's him telling his mother that he wanted to marry, her, or me trying to kick the shit out of my dad!  [Hysterical laughter]  That's one of the first times you realize that you're actually a human being when you realize you care so much for somebody else.

Karma: And there you have it!!  So is your glass half empty or half full?

Trevor: Always half full; gotta be optimistic! 

Karma: Well that's wonderful!

Trevor: It's true, you gotta be!

Karma: I fully agree with you!  You SHOULD be!  Do you listen to a CD all the way through or do you skip tracks?

Trevor: All the way through, I HATE people who skip tracks!  That bums me out so much!  Especially when the skip tracks and don't finish the fucking song, they just want to listen to the first verse or chorus.  I know people who do that so I'm a little offended by it!

Erika: Hear, hear!!

Karma: Hey, I only skip tracks not during the song itself!

Trevor: I hate that! That bums me out!

Karma: I only…never during the… Hey this isn't about me, this isn't MY interview!

Trevor: Tracks on the CD like Alice In Chains Facelift, that record is GOOD! [everyone agrees]  But only 5 songs are good the rest of it fucking sucks! So I can listen to that, maybe 6, but I'll pre-program the disc player to play those 5 or 6 songs.  But some of the songs SUCKED some are amazing!

Keith: So you know though? Like what we were talking about last night, Rage Against The Machine, that first CD, I can listen to ALL the way through, all day, EVERY DAY! 

Trevor: It's amazing!

Keith: Yeah!  That's one of the few records I can go all the way through.

Trevor: Yeah, there's a lot of records like that one that I can certainly listen all the way through is…[Mike's guitar picks up and unfortunately his response was inaudible]

Keith: Counting Crows August And Everything After

Trevor: Do you really?

Keith: Yeah!  I played that CD so much it warped, literally!!  Like it got screwed up because I was listening to it so much.  It's great if you listen to that one all the way through.  Uh, Stone Temple Pilots Core like I listened to that CD ALL the time.

Trevor: Really?

Keith: Yup, all the time!  I didn't think it was possible to warp a CD by listening to it so much. But constantly…[snapping fingers] 8, 9 hours when I was home from school in my room, just play the record and play video games forever, forever.  Then the CD would skip because you were playing it so much.

Trevor: Yeah!

Keith: Then you realize the CD's gonna skip because you are playing it so much.

Trevor: My Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power does that!

Keith: Oh yeah for sure! 

Trevor: The whole entire disc.

Keith: [mimics skipping noise]

Trevor: You play it and then there's this weird sound!

Keith: [makes sound again]

Trevor: Yeah, yeah!!  [breaks away from conversation with Keith] 

Keith: They're done with us!

Karma: [laughing] So what do you guys do in your spare time?

Trevor: What do I do in my spare time? 

Karma: Yes.

Trevor: Nap!

Karma: Which we disturbed you from!

Trevor: No, no [hysterical laughter] I had too many drinks of Jaeger and I came back here and took a nap.  I didn't mean to keep you waiting, I apologize!  [in reference to him being asleep and keeping us waiting until the time of the interview]  I didn't realize you were waiting, I came in and then you were with Lacuna Coil…

Keith: The thing of it was they were just ACTING like they wanted to be hang with us, and we're giving them beer…

Trevor: YEAH!  [How the hell would he know, he was asleep…just kidding Trevor!]

Keith: They don't really care about us as people their just going to bail after this interview.

Karma: That's not true!  I want to see Dimmu Borgir! And if I didn't care about you as people, I wouldn't be asking you questions such as these!

Trevor: If they go see Dimmu, they'll be back.

Keith: We'll see!

Karma: Oh ye of little faith! [We did hang with the guys after we saw Dimmu's set…come on, Dimmu's from Norway, when will I get the chance to see them again? And as my luck has been running as of late, if I miss a band they seem to lose a member before heading back this way or worse, break up!]

Trevor: They'll be back!

Karma: It's a short set!  I just want to hear that ONE song!

Trevor: Which one's that?

Karma: "Blood Hunger Doctrine"

Trevor: They'll play it!

Karma: Hmmm, probably not, but I still want to see them! 

Keith: DEMON BURGER [hysterical laughter erupts]

Karma: Basically!

Keith: I don't give a shit about Demon Burger!

Karma: [shocked] You don't give a shit?

Keith: I really don't!

Erika:  Uh-oh!! [Uproarious laughter]

Karma: I think they're entertaining…besides that's what makes this world so great being able to have a differences of opinion.

Keith: [smirks]

Karma: What's the one CD you have in your collection that no one would ever believe you'd own? 

Trevor: Uh, probably Tori Amos Boys For Pele

Erika: Alright!

Trevor: Really?

Tina (FourteenG's legal representative): I love Tori Amos

Karma: So does Erika!  So how about you?

Keith: Me?  Dude this is YOUR interview!

Trevor: YOU'RE IN IT!

Keith: [stammering] No one would believe I own Simon & Garfunkel!  I listen to Simon & Garfunkel all the time.  "Bridge Over Troubled Water", "The Boxer"…  I listen to their CD's all the time.  I bought my mother a hundred dollar ticket for Mother's Day to a Simon & Garfunkel, she had absolutely no one to go with and she wanted to see them so bad.  I was like, 'I am taking you! I'll buy another ticket!!'

Group: AHHHHHH!!

Trevor: His dad didn't get invited to that!

Karma: [laughter from all] That was a GOOD one!  Good tie in!

Keith: Yes it was MOTHER'S DAY, DUDE!

Karma: Here's the last question, who would you ask these questions of?

Trevor: Ask what questions of?

Karma: The quickie questions I just asked you!

Trevor: Phil Anselmo, that would be interesting!

Karma: Here's my final question, aren't you happy?

Trevor: WHATEVER!

Keith: Whatever [laughing]

Karma: Who would you take on a deserted island?  Who would be you desert island snuggle bunny?

Trevor: Desert island snuggle bunny?!?!?!  What the hell is that? [laughs]

Keith: How many do you get?

Karma: As many as you want!

Keith: All of you!  [first complete silence befalls the room, even Mike stopped playing momentarily]

Group: That's good!!  [laughing]

Karma: Clever little bugger!!

Keith: I had to! [laughter erupts]

Trevor: In addition to all of you, Kristi, my girlfriend!

Group: OHHHH!!  How sweet!

Karma: I'm sure she'll love that!

Trevor: What a guy! [beaming]

Karma: Well thank you very much Trevor for sitting down with us! 

Trevor: Thank you for much!

Karma: And thank you as well Keith!

Keith: I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Trevor: What are sorry for?

Keith: I shouldn't have intervened…

Trevor: You were a apart of it!

Click links for updated interviews with Trevor and Ken Susi

at the 2005 Thick as Thieves Tour

and

Click here for interview with Keith Buckley

We would like to thank Trevor, Mike, and Keith for sitting down and chatting with FourteenG, thanks guys!!