INTERVIEW: JOY SUBTRACTION

Power trio Joy Subtraction has been stirring up trouble in Denver for the last few years, outperforming expectations at clubs like Illegal Pete’s and the Hi-Dive, and generally crushing and smashing all the pretense and conformity in sight with their diamond hard attitude. That name might give readers the impression this band is depressive or overly serious. Far from it. A brand of gutsy comedy informing its output makes every song a deadpan lesson or a burning joke. The band’s expertly titled debut, The Essential Joy Subtraction, has also been described as “expertly recorded.” What does it sound like? Whatever you hate; whatever makes you feel ugly and insecure; whatever garnishes your wages. Do you like Radiohead? Joy Subtraction sounds like the exact opposite of Radiohead. Do you hate Black Flag, Burning Brides, NoMeansNo, Future of the Left, and The Beatles? Good—because Joy Subtraction kind of sounds like all of those bands rolled into one, except way better.” Guitarist Abe Brennan, drummer Brian Polk and bassist Matt Regan were brave enough to answer a few questions for RockRevolt™ Magazine recently. Read on…

THE INTERVIEW:

Zack/RR: Was there a moment you decided to attempt a career in music?

Dave/JS: I’m still waiting to meet some real musicians before I make a formal decision.

Brian/JS: Yes, but we’ve spent way more money in music equipment, recording costs, drugs, hookers, bail, lawyers, marriage counselors, therapists, and touring than we’ll ever hope to recoup. In spite of this, we keep writing and recording music because we have absolutely nothing else going on in our lives.

Abe/JS: I suppose it’s all in how you define “career” and “music.” If by “career” you mean a decades-long slog with very little validation or remuneration, and if by “music” you mean noise of any kind, then yes, there was a moment: it happened yesterday.

Zack/RR: You guys just got back from a “Rock-n-Roll Odyssey” to visit the ghosts of punk rock in Portland, where, among other experiences, you met Don Dokken in the airport. Are there more excursions planned? Please share some stories about the Portland adventure.

Brian/JS: Talk to Abe about this one. He didn’t invite us.

Dave/JS: The trip to Portland was amazing. I got three tattoos on my face in exchange for a pair of really skinny jeans that I stole from a dumpster behind the Crystal Ballroom.

Abe/JS: There are more excursions in the works, and this time I might even let Brian and Dave tag along, especially if our band is supposed to play. The Portland thing was a solo project I’d been working on called “family visit.” I chronicled the high points on our band’s Facebook page. In a nutshell, Don Dokken stole my wife and children, I got beat up by Poison Idea on Burnside Avenue, Courtney Love asked me for spare change downtown, and I started drinking and doing drugs again after a twenty-year layoff and woke up under the Hawthorne Street Bridge. Other than that, it was pretty boring.

Zack/RR: Were there other potential band names before Joy Subtraction was chosen?

Dave/JS: Yes. Yes, there were.

Abe/JS: No. No, there weren’t.

Brian/JS: I always wanted to be called the Shit Stains, but there was a band in Orlando with that name. Abe wanted to be called Mighty Abe Fronts the Retards, but he was overruled by a two-to-one vote. Matt, the original bassist, wanted to be called the Unicorns, which almost became our name after a two-to-one vote in his favor. But I only voted for it because I thought Matt said the Unitards and soon rescinded my vote once the confusion was cleared. When Dave came on board, we thought he wanted to change the name to Don’t Tell Meghan, but we soon realized that Meghan is his wife’s name, and he has a lot of secrets.

Zack/RR: Joy Subtraction drummer Brian Polk is the creative force behind a zine called The Yellow Rake. Have any other members been involved in production of this or other zines, and what role has underground culture overall played in the band’s development?

Dave/JS: I have never written anything for The Yellow Rake, but I do occasionally use it for toilet paper when I don’t want to go to the store. The paper that Brian uses is really soft in comparison to coffee filters, provided you crinkle it up for about ten minutes first. They are also free, so that’s a plus.

Brian/JS: Underground culture has been instrumental in the massive amount of debt the band has incurred, since we feel guilty charging any more than $6 at our shows. Thanks a lot, Fugazi.

Abe/JS: I’ve actually been published in The Yellow Rake—it was the low-point of my literary career (and the high point of The Yellow Rake’s). Usually, I try to publish in the glamorous and dangerous world of the literary journal, a type of publication read by millions. It is “overground” culture, unfortunately, but I can’t resist the money, fame, and women that come with it. There’s also this thing called the Internet that I’m thinking of publishing with, although I hear it’s really hard to get anything on it.

Zack/RR: Your band’s recently released The Essential Joy Subtraction, which has been a Wax Trax top seller since its release. Is this the only Joy Subtraction album so far? What’s coming next?

Dave/JS: It is the only album release so far. As far as what’s next for us, I have big plans to bring us out of the underground and into the Clear Channel mainstream. I’m thinking that commercial jingles and corporate gigs are going to be the way to go for us; once we hire a new guitarist, bassist, and drummer, that is. Abe will still sing (his voice is angelic and very appealing to the over-40 crowd), Brian will be promoted to drum tech (much less responsibility, a better benefits package, and he still gets a free bar tab), and I will still drive the band around (again, less responsibility, and I get to make the major decisions: like where to stop for the cheapest prostitutes and highest-grade bath salts). But, we are going to need to get three dudes that are much better looking than us if we are going to hit it big.

Interview: Fist Fight

Brian/JS: The Essential Joy Subtraction is the only one so far, (unless you count the ill-conceived Rappin’ Abe albums that came out in the ’80s). Right now we are deadlocked as a band as to what direction we should take. Abe wants to do a concept album about the famous Abrahams throughout history, but I’ll let him tell you about that. So far he has not procured the necessary votes in order to proceed with that particular project. I want to do a ska album of Misfits covers, and Dave doesn’t care as long as he gets a 15-minute bass solo at the beginning of side B.

Abe/JS: I am both deeply hurt and resentful of the band’s resistance to my utterly brilliant concept of an album about the famous Abrahams throughout history. Currently, I have four songs: “Killing the Son,” about the biblical Abraham; “Shot Through the Hat,” about Abraham Lincoln; “The Shaky Shot Shoot,” about Abraham Zapruder; and “Playing That Lead Guitar in the Face of an Inferior Rhythm Section,” about an incredible local musician (named Abe, of course) and the hardships he endures on a daily basis in dealing with a couple of loud mouth amateurs.

Zack/RR: D.I.Y. seems the surest guarantee of creative control these days, but independent labels lack the promotion of mega-giants. What’s your favorite underground grapevine?

Dave/JS: My favorite source of new music is other people. I tend to trust the opinions of people I know more than fifteen comments written about an album on a website from the people who made the album, or who are married to the people that made the album, or the people that birthed the people who married the people who made the album. Brian’s choice in music is a little shaky, though. But, then again, so is Abe’s.

Brian/JS: By law we are not able to promote our albums after all three band members were arrested in the ‘Nude For Joy Subtraction Promotional Parade’, which was poorly attended and ended in a public relations disaster (and a custody battle for at least one member). Now we just rely on word-of-mouth.

Abe/JS: I don’t really listen to music. Or other people.

~ Zack Kopp – Contributing Writer, RockRevolt™ Magazine

Pictures courtesy of Joy Subtraction FaceBook albums