They Are The Ones

It is often said that rock ‘n’ roll is 90 percent attitude. In few genres is this statement more pertinent than in the world of “punk rock,” where how you do it is often just as important as what you’re doing, where attitude is as much a part of the music as guitars or bass or drums. But as of late, the true nature of attitude has come under question. For many, punk rock has become less a state of mind and more of a dress code. Attitude has become a question of hairstyle, patches, pins and footwear. For others, the punk rock attitude has come to be embodied by a dogmatic brand of inaccessibility; punk is just an endless quest for the most obscure, the most underground. If either of these is the true measure of punk, then I guess the Inverted Nines should not be considered a member of the punk fraternity. But if you subscribe to the notion that the true attitude of punk rock is nothing more than “Fuck You, I’ll do what I want. Like it, or get the fuck out of here,” then maybe the Inverted Nines are punk rock after all. Truth is, the Inverted Nines don’t really care, and neither should you.
Formed in the fall of 1999, the Inverted Nines immediately became regulars in the blossoming Chico punk rock scene, releasing the 1999 EP in the winter of that same year. Along with fellow Chico punk bands Union of the Dead, Hit By A Semi and The Whitewall Slicks (a group of bands that would later be known collectively as “Team Chico”) The Nines began to venture throughout California and Nevada wreaking havoc upon unsuspecting punk scenes and building a reputation as a band that wasn’t afraid of getting drunk, playing too loud, or driving all night. The product of three years of touring and songwriting, the bands debut full length, We Are The Ones, plays like anything but a first release. A mix of brand new songs, and songs from the days of yore, We Are The Ones is the Inverted Nines playing rock ‘n’ roll the way they want to play it, like it or not. In celebration of the release of We Are The Ones, and in anticipation of the forthcoming CD release party, the Synthesis recently sat down for a candid discussion with the members of the Inverted Nines: C.C. Huber (vocals / guitar), Steve Linquist (bass / vocals) Scott Petersen (guitar) and Travis Merrifield (drums).

Let’s talk about We Are The Ones. Where and with whom did you guys record it?
C.C.: We did it with Will Carroll at his studio in Chico over a two-day period, 14 songs. We did all the songs live. We didn’t really even go back and fix anything, just busted through the songs live-played a couple of them twice-and went back and did the vocals the next weekend. Amazing, huh (laughs).

How do you feel it turned out? Does it rock or is it beat?
C.C.: It’s pretty much the awesomest thing ever.

Should high school kids buy it?
C.C.: If you’re under 18 you’ll relate to it more. That’s how we think. We think like a 16-year-old girl.
Steve: It’s sweet; it comes in cellophane.

Is it UPC coded?
Steve: Yes it is, actually.

Wow.
C.C.: We’ve got our own barcode
Steve: We always wanted a CD that was actually professional looking, and I think that we’ve accomplished that.
C.C.: It’s only taken us 3 years.
Steve: It sounds really good too.
C.C.: This is our first real release since we started the band. After a number of lineup changes, finally we’ve got something solid, and I think we’re all very pleased with it.
Steve: It you like punk rock, you’ll probably like it. (laughter from the rest of the band). If you wear one of those studded belts and walk around, you’re gonna love it.
C.C.: You could bum change for half an hour and probably buy our CD. It’s real cheap.
Scott: Have you heard it?

Yeah, I’ve heard it.
Scott: What do think about it?

It sounds like you guys live, only coming out of a stereo.
C.C.: I think that was our goal. So I guess we accomplished our goal.

What kind of feedback have you gotten about it so far?
C.C.: I think we’re gonna start getting big in London. We’ve gotten a number of e-mails from over there that say they really like and that we’re a good “California punk rock band.”

Really?
C.C.: Yeah. We got on this comp over there called No Front Teeth with Smogtown, Bonecrusher and a bunch of other bands that have been doing it a lot longer than we have. They say that our songs really stand out against the others, and it seems like a lot of people are really enjoying it.
Steve: We’re probably gonna rock Europe this summer.

Seriously?
(everyone laughs at my face) C.C.: No. We’re probably gonna rock Willows this summer.

When are you guys gonna hit the road again?
Steve: There’s a few possibilities. There’s the rumor that we might be on the next Old Skars and Upstarts compilation…
C.C.: I’d say that’s pretty factual.
Steve: …and Disaster Records said that there’s a possibility that we could go on tour.
C.C.: We’re still doing the same thing that we’ve always done though, weekend trips all over the place. We just went down south just to play 3 shows.

How did that go?
C.C.: It went good. Two of the shows we didn’t do any promotion, and neither did the clubs it seemed like, and for being a band from Chico, it went real well. So I think that we’re gonna keep that same philosophy, just trying to book 3 days in a row, and go down there and go back to the same places because, especially down south, there seems to be more people at the shows.
Steve: We can actually play a bar down south easier than we can play a bar here. It just seems easier to get shows down south.

Why is that, do you think?
Steve: I don’t know. A lot of venues up here that we used to play all the time just don’t exist anymore.

So what are your feelings about the scene at present? How has it changed in the three or so years that you’ve been around?
C.C.: I still think that there’s a lot of people putting in a lot of hard work to make things better, even with all the places that have closed down in the last year. I definitely think that there still needs to be more all-ages places. We played a show in Paradise, and there were tons of kids there. There’s plenty of kids out there who want to see live music. There’s just not enough……….there’s people like Zeke doing the list, and the Synthesis, which people check out to find out what’s going on, but I don’t think that it really reaches the under 18 crowd. I don’t think enough of the kids know about what’s going on.
Scott: We definitely want to play for kids more.
C.C.: Definitely
Scott: The older people seem to just go to drink and socialize. It’s bullshit.
C.C.: Sometimes you end up being a jukebox and people are kind of just staring at you. Kids always seem to go crazy. The Tiger Army show that we played, there were so many people there and the kids were going crazy for it. It was great. That’s the best feeling to play for people who are stoked about what you’re doing instead of a couple people coming up to you wasted in a bar at the end of a show going (makes drunk person noises.) That’s still great; anybody that likes the music, that’s fabulous.
Steve: There’s just this animosity in Chico. We’ve been asked about the scene in every single interview. And it’s like, “Yeah it’s cool, only if you’re supporting our band.” No one really cares. Everyone’s always saying, “Yeah it’s so great,” but it used to be so much cooler. You can’t play at the Blue Room anymore. The Epicenter costs like $400 to rent. The Brick Works is great, but there’s like 800 local bands trying to get booked for 2 or 3 shows.
C.C.: This is a depressing interview so far.
Steve: Everybody’s always trying to kiss ass in interviews, it’s stupid. We have so much more happiness when we play down south. All these bands down there are stoked about bands from Chico like Hit By A Semi. I’m ready to get out of here.

You guys are moving as a band right?
Steve: We’re going down south, hopefully by next fall. The Inverted Nines will still be alive next year.

But it’s not like “Fuck Chico,” or anything?
Steve: No, I mean I don’t mean to piss anybody off. But I don’t like to kiss ass just because we’re getting a word in the paper. No one kisses our ass. I say fuck ’em. Put that in the fuckin’ interview.

You guys still have a pretty loyal fan-base here in town.
C.C.: We have core fans that been there for us the whole time. If those people went away I think it definitely would’ve slowed us down a long time ago. The same people, Pigpen and all those guys, who came to our first show ever, were the first people knocking on our door to buy a CD.
Steve: Dave Singletary has been there for us from the beginning. He totally hooked us up and he’s hooking up all these other bands. He’s a big reason why the scene is still alive. I’m not trying to jack him off or anything.
C.C.: You kind of are, but that’s cool.
Steve: But without Mr. Lucky’s we would have been nothing.
Scott: I just want to say thanks to Mop, for always letting us use his shit.

How do you feel about people who say that you guys aren’t punk?
Steve: Exactly. Fuck ’em.
Scott: We never claim to be.
C.C.: We’re out to play music and that’s what we do.

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