Entrevista/Interview: Scissor Shock

ENGLISH READING PUBLIC: ACHTUNG!: No, i haven't gone all spanish, i decided that from now on i'll be writing stuff in both languages, the english transcript of this interview is down where the spanish one ends. Y AL PUBLICO HISPANO LEYENTE: He empezadoa traducir la pagina entera (o mas bien lo mas importante), ya estan algunas reseñas, aun falta pero pronto estaremos ahi, segan pendientes.

Por Marcos Hassan

Scissor Shock tocan un tipo de musica que es imposible de ignorar, es corta, es rapida, esta supre amontonada con basura y ruido y es apocaliptica. Tambien es musica muy divertida para escuchar, como una fiesta en el planeta Bizarro. Pero ellos vienen de Columbus, Indiana; muy improvable de que sea un lugar donde la musica avant-garde se cree, pero aun asi nos ha dado uno de los mejores de este tipo hoy en dia. Y se podria pensar que esta banda se repita una y otra vez con un genero muy estrecho y una mission muy estrecha de solo hacer sonidos irritantes pero cada album (o fase) la banda a pasado es diferente de cada uno (o una), demostrando un sentido de evolucion que dificilmente se encuentra en el rock convencional, sin mencionar en la parte extrema de este. Una banda muy sarcastica con titulos de canciones como “Writing The President Kill Theme Song” (“Escribiendo La Cancion Tema De Matar Al Presidente”), “Santa Got Me A White Belt For Chrismas” (“Santa Me Trajo Un Cinturon Blanco Esta Navidad”), “Urethra Franklin” y “Forever Celebrating The Death Of Ectoplasm” (“Celebrando La Muerte Del Ectoplasma Para Siempre”), chance quieres ahogarlos en el lago mas frio que puedas encontrar o elogiarlos como la banda mas punk en el universo, los herederos en estetica de Butthole Surfers, Boredoms, Atari Teenage Riot, Brianiac y Wolf Eyes. Hable con el fundador/lider/occasional unico miembro Adam Cooley y el Nuevo guitarrista Sean Edwards sobre tocar en vivo, Highlander y el Papa.

Marcos Hassan (The Obsolete): Presentense
Adam Cooley: Hola, mi nombre es Adam Cooley, conocido de Scissor Shock. Somos techno ruido psicodelico math glitch jazz grind speedcore rock de Columbus, Indiana.
Sean Edwards: Soy Sean, toco guitarra.

Como empezo la banda?
Adam: En navidad de 2002, encontre una guitarra y un amplo muy baratos ($100 dolares por los dos). La semana siguiente, decidi tartar de hacer algunas canciones con su sonido naturalmente delgado y bizarro. No trate de hacer canciones raras o algo asi, solo algunas canciones que pense eran interesantes. Bueno, naturalmente, tengo periodos muy cortos de atencion, las canciones se convirtieron en locuras. Hemos explorado el grindcore de videojuego, ruido psicodelico y montones de otras cosas a traves de los ultimos 2 años y medio, pero tres cosas se mantuvieron: Un enfasis en la bateria, muchos gritos y una complejidad demente. Y asi es. Las cosas evolucionaron, y ahora Sean esta en la banda, tocando guitarra y eso.



Creen que Scissor Shock es un colectivo o si alguna vez lo sera?
Adam: Recientemente tocamos un show en vivo, y el show incluyo un guitarrista adicional (Sean Edwards) y en ESE show en particular, teniamos a nuestro amigo Norton gruñiendo en una cancion. Scissor Shock a evolucionado a traves del tiempo, y sigo impresionado que pudimos tocar en vivo. Para que todo se pudiera juntar fue muy inpensable. Aun sigo programando toda la musica y esas cosas, pero es bueno que tenga la ayuda de Sean y otra gente. Quiero que la experiencia en vivo sea interactiva; como, que la gente misma ayude a hacer las tocadas. Si alguien quiere subirse al “escenario” para ayudarnos a traves de la tocada, eso estaria bien. Si puedes aportar algo, entonces hazlo. Aunque nuestra musica esta en constante evolucion, el show en vivo, creo, sera bueno para los fans de nuestra banda, sean de antes o nuevos. Mientras mas envejecientes Baby Boomers se junten a traves de sus bifocals en la plataforma Lance Hendrix-iana de su propia mortalidad, una pregunta ocurre con frecuencia atontante: A donde vamos despues de la llamada en el Bistro Earth?

Bistro Earth, ¡por supuesto! ¿Que es lo que les hace identificar tanto con musica corta, disonante y abrasiva?
Adam: Nada, estoy mas interesado cuando la gente se siente comoda con una idea y empiezan a adoptar una forma de pensar para su propia banda como si fuera LA regla para la musica en general. Un ejemplo es Lightning Bolt. 3 cuerdas de bajo y una de banyo y un bataco que destroza su bateria. Vocales de vez en cuando, lo que sea... pero ellos escriben estas canciones basadas en estas “limitaciones” y han aceptado lo que son, y en verdad disfruto cosas asi. Ya sea que esten escribiendo canciones de 30 minutos o de un minuto, se me hacen muy aplicables. ASI es como la musica se debe oir para ellos. Pienso que si una banda puede sacar sus sonidos con musica larga, libre de forma y fatalista, eso es bueno. Scissor Shock usualmente usa la musica corta, disonante y abrasiva que describiste porque mis periodos de atencion son muy cortos. Quiero decir, se que la gente dice que la vida comienza a los cuarenta. Si, si eres pinche Highlander. Pero, sabes, el resto de nosotros trata de entender algo de este indecifrable parloteo de las suposiciones de todos los demas a esperar a lo que nos espera detras de la puerta numero 3 en el frasco de muerte de Monty.
SEAN: Hmmm... basicamente, me gusta la musica corta, disonante y abrasiva porque no sigue y sigue y te aburre. Como que va a lo que va y luego se va a algo que se oye completamente diferente. Si.

Yo estoy impresionado que hayan mencionado a Highlander, ese guey roqueaba...roquea...lo que sea. ¿Cual piensan que es el mensaje que dan en su musica?
Sean: Uh...Tenemos alguno, Adam?
Adam: ...
Sean: "Get crunk't, kill a ho."
Adam: Haha. Me gustaria que la gente llegue a sus propias conclusiones. Tratamos de abrir mentes, pero no quiero saturar a la gente con mi musica. Es como, que es esta musica para TI? Un riff de guitarra puede ser la cosa mas bella o mas fea para los oidos de cualquiera. Quien sabe? No se lo que la gente piensa de nuestra musica, solo tu lo sabes. Carajo, estoy muy cliché hoy.
Sean: No nos gustan las mujeres, las drogas estan bien, mata a una monja, y luego viola su cadaver putrefacto, y luego roba su grasa y sus musculos y vendeselos a los niños en los parques.
Adam: ...las opinions expresadas por Sean Edwards no son exactamente las opinions de Scissor Shock.

Que es lo que les gustaria lograr con la banda?
Sean: Que la gente vea algo nuevo cada vez y que la gente piense un poco diferente.
Adam: Si. Bueno, Ya he ganado $60 dolares y tengo 4000 amigos en myspace. Es un buen comienzo. Tambien, esta es la Segunda entrevista que he hecho, y acabamos de tocar un show en vivo. A parte, hemos sacado cosas en disqueras muy chingonas (xdiedenroutey, brokecore, excitebiketapes, !!!PLUG PLUG PLUG!!!). Creo que logrado algo... y estoy agradecido por eso. Creo que ahora mi meta principal en la banda es abrir un poco la mente de las personas y tartar de hacer que pasen cosas interesantes. Creo que el sue;o de todas las bandas es hacer de la musica emocionante otra vez, y yo voy y usare ese cliché. ¿Sabes cuantos discos verdaderamente originales y chingones he oido en el 2005 que hayan salido en el 2005? Ni Uno. Eso me molesta. Yo solo quiero tocar en vivo y convertirme en algo enorme. Y cuqlquiera que haya querido vernos, eventualmente nos vere y nos oira. Basicamente, en algun lugar hay alguien sentado que necesita una banda como Scissor Shock y aun no la tienen. Quiero darles esto a ellos.



¿Que es musica para ustedes?
Adam: El arte de organizar sonidos.

(pausa) Bueno, ok. ¿Alguna vez han tocado mientras estan ebrios o algo asi?
Sean: Haha, bueno...casi nunca...hmm...no.
Adam: Nunca he tomado drogas, bebido, fumado ni nada. Es raro. Nuestra musica tiene algo de “droga” asociado con ella...la gente la oye y dice "Esto esta fumado. DEBEN de haber estado drogados." Chistoso.

¿Quien piensan que son sus contemporaneos?
Adam: No estoy seguro aun...

Ustedes apenas empezaron a tocar en vivo, ¿como ha sido su experiencia?
Sean: Muy divertido...quiero decir, yo me diverti mucho.
Adam: Bueno, hemos tocado un show hasta ahora. Fue MUCHO mejor de lo que pense seria. Nada se jodio, fue muy facil, fue divertido, y la gente se quedo viendo sin saber que pensar. INCREIBLE!

Me da gusto saberlo, se nota por las fotos. Han covereado canciones de Big Black ("Passing Complexion") y Six Finger Satellite ("30 Lashes"); ¿que hace a un buen cover, en su opinion?
Adam: ¿Sabes?, es gracioso, me gustan muy pocos covers. Me gustan algunos de Kindergarten Hazing Ritual y me gusta "Take On Me" de Cap'N Jazz...no se...Creo que un buen cover es basicamente cuando tomas la cancion que estas coveriendo y la haces tuya.
Sean: Si, debe oirse similar a la cancion (original)...como, sabes de quien es, pero debe reflejar tu propio estilo de musica y tener algo diferente tambien.
Adam: Si.
Sean: Si.

Recientemente, escribieron un ensayo detallando la grabacion de su disco Super Yum Surgeon Boy, que tan importante es el proceso, ya sea de escribir canciones o de grabacion, para ustedes?
Adam: Bueno, pienso que es importante que la gente comparta sus tecnicas y eso, especialmente los artistas que hacen sus propias grabaciones con el presupuesto de unos cuantos centavos, como yo. Me preguntan mil veces al dia "¿COMO HACES TU MUSICA? QUE USAS?" Y creo que el punto que quiero reiterar es que no importa lo que use, la mayor parte de la gente probablemente no conseguira el mismo resultado con lo que ellos usen. Tu solo tienes que…usar lo que uses...uh, si. Me estoy saliendo del tema. Me gusta detallar las pendejadas que hago, porque leerlo despues me hace llorar, solo que tristemente representa el hecho de que paso mas tiempo leyendo y escribiendo sobre musica en vez de escuchar o hacerla. Pero, bueno.

Oye, Yo tengo una fanzine!! Yo lo se todo acerca de escribir y leer demasiado de musica y no hacerla, aunque me paso mucho tiempo oyendo tambien. Piensan si la musica solo vivira en forma digital exclusivamente en el futuro cercano?
Adam: Si, absolutamente. Es gracioso, compraria cds mas seguido, pero son muy pinches caros. El otro dia, vi Entertainment! de Gang Of Four en una libreria y costaba $19.99 (dolares). ¿Cuando salio ese disco? ¿1977 o algo asi? Lo que quiero decir es, en serio, ¿un disco de 40 minutos que salio hace casi 30 años por $20?. Eso es ridiculo, yo no soy rico. (Edicion: Lo que Adam no tomo en cuenta es que esa la reedicion con 8 canciones extra y muchas cosas y que el disco estuvo fuera de edicion por muchos años pero su punto es claro, yo no lo compre por el precio precisamente) Hacer un CD nada mas cuesta 43 centavos (de dolar), y esa es la parte importante, en verdad. Me gusta el arte y eso, pero acabas viendo el arte, las letras y lo demas de la informacion en sus paginas de todas formas. Entonces si, pienso que la musica eventualmente sera totalmente en MP3s y CD-Rs. Dale 10 años mas. ¿Has notado que la frase "In God We Trust" ("En Dios Nosotros Confiamos") solo aparece en la denominacion mas baja de la moneda (de Estados Unidos)? Llegas al billete de $1000, y solo dice: "Dios, Creo Que De Aqui En Adelante Puedo Solo."



Creen que Johnny Merzbow es un personaje en su musica o han pensado si puede convertirse en algo recurrente en sus discos?
Adam: Johnny Merzbow es un scanner de policia. Es todo lo que sabemos. Puede que sea solo un zombie del Departamento de Trafico enputado que te hace irte hasta el final de la fila de idiotas detras del tipo que tomo una sola clase de Tai Chi y fue a un bar de motociclistas a aprobarla. Esta paraado en frente de ti en la posicion de la gruya con un taco de billar saliendo del culo, con la parte gruesa por adentro.

¿Se inspiran en otras cosas a parte de la musica, como peliculas o libros o alguna otra cosa?
Sean: Encuentro mi motivacion de mi unico heroe verdadero, el Papa. A veces, rezo y pido de su consejo y escribo lo que siento, hombre...lo que siento.
Adam: Toda la musica que hago viene de mi vida boba.

¿Que es lo que han estado escuchando ultimamente?
Sean: GWAR, Placebo, Fantomas, Pixies, Slowdive, Pig Destroyer.
Adam: +/-, .poundsign., !!!, 1.6 band, 1905, 1-speed bike, 31 knots, 400 blows, 90 day men, a day in black and white, a handful of dust, a luna red, a minor forest, a problem of alarming dimensions, a silver mt. zion, a spectre is haunting europe, a trillion barnacle lapse, aarktica, aaron dilloway, ac newman, accelera deck, acetone, aceyalone, acid motherstemple, advantage (the), aereogramme, a-frames, achim reichel, agitation free, agoraphobic nosebleed, air, air conditioning, airport girl, aislers set, aix em klemm, akarso, akimbo, alan licht, albert ayler, albert marcoeur, albrecht d, alcrataz, algarnas tradgard, all 7-70, alec empire, alternative tv, alvaro, alvin lucier, ame son, amm music, amon duul, amon duul ii, angel hair, animal collective, antipop consortium, aphex twin, arab on radar, arcane v, at the drive-in, atari teenage riot, athenian mercury, atom and his package, babyland, bananas (the), bellini, bellmer dolls, berg sans nipple, biblical proof of ufos, big black, bill orcutt, bjork, black cross, black dice, black eyes, blonde redhead, bloodthirsty butchers, boredoms, boris, botch, brainbombs, brainiac, bread and circuits, breadwinner, breather resist, brian eno, bride of no no, broken social scene, broken spindles, bucket full of teeth, bugskull, built to spill, burning star core, burmese, burnt by the sun, butthole surfers, cali gari, c average, califone, calla, calvary, camera obscura, cannibal ox, cap'n jazz, captain beefheart, causey way, charles bronson, child pornography, chinese stars, chrome, circle takes the square, clouddead, cobra kai, computer cougar, coachwhips, coalesce, coathanger '84, cock esp, comets on fire, company flow, converge, couch, crack: we are rock, cracker factory, cranes, crash normal, cream abdul babar, crom-tech, crimson curse, crispy ambulance, cub, cul de sac, dazzling killmen, deerhoof, deftones, despise you, DEVO, die monitr batss, dismemberment plan (the), dj rotting corpse, don caballero, double leopards, dracula does calculus, dragbody, drive like jehu, drowningman, dysrhythmia, earlimart, early day miners, earth, echoboy, eighties matchbox disaster, el da sensai, el guapo, elastica, electric company, electric wizard, eligh, ellen allien, embrace, empress, enablers, end on end, engine down, engine kid, enon, entrance, envy, erase errata, esg, esoteric, espers, euphone, even as we speak, examination of the..., ex-models, ex-girl, experimental audio research, experimental dental school, fantomas, flying luttenbachers, forcefed glass, former members of alfonsin, forstella ford, four hundred years, four tet, frodus, from ashes rise, fuck, fuck...i'm dead, fugazi, funeral diner, f.y.p, gang of four, ganger, gas, gastr del sol, ghost, ghosts & vodka, giddy motors, girlfrendo, girls against boys, glass candy & the shattered theatre, go betweens, go sailor, god is my co-pilot, godflesh, godspeed you black emperor, guitar wolf, guns n' roses, guyana punch line, gravediggaz, hair police, half japanese, hanatarash, hella, henry's dress, honor role, hot snakes, hum, i hate myself, i love you but i've chosen darkness, infomatik, i, robot, ian dury, iceburn, icewater scandal, icy demons, ida, idle tigers, idlewild, ifihadahifi, ignition, ikara colt, ill bill, ilya, imitation electric piano, impossible shapes, indian summer, ink and dagger, isis, isotope 217, ivy, jackie-o-motherfucker, jessamine, jesus lizard, jim
o'rourke, joan of arc, joanna newsom, john cale, john coltrane, john henry west, john wiese, john zorn, jonathan fire*eater, joseph arthur, joshua fit for battle, joy division, joy zipper, jr ewing, juana molina, jucifer, julia, june of 44, juno, juno reactor, j-zone, kaito, kamikaze missions, kaos pilot, karate, karp, kate bush, kayo dot, kc accidental, keelhaul, keith whitman fullerton & hrvatski, kerosene 454, khanate, kid606, kid kilowatt, kid koala, kill me tomorrow, kindergarten hazing ritual, knifehandchop, kraftwerk, lab partners, labradford, laddio bolocko, ladybug transistor, lake of dracula, le shok, les savy fav, liars, lightning bolt, lost sounds, lotus eaters, love and rockets, love as laughter, love like electrocution..., loveliescrushing, low, low skies, l'spaerow, lull, lumen, lustre king, lycia, lydia lunch, lync, lynx,macrocosmica, mad capsule markets, magic markers (the), masonna, mastodon, mclusky, melt-banana, merzbow, metronome, miracle chosuke, mk ultra, mocket, morrissey, motocompo, mr bungle, my bloody valentine, my cat is an alien, my lai, my morning jacket, mystery girls, naked city, nation of ulysses, need new body, neon hunk, neutral milk hotel, no knife, number girl, numbers, nurse with wound, ocean colour scene, of sinking ships, off minor, officer may, omoide hatoba, oneida, ooioo, ooo, opal, o'rang, orchid, organ!, orthrelm, oswego, otis redding, out hud, outkast, outrageous cherry, ova!, oval, owen (the kinsella's), oxbow, oxes, painkiller, passenger of shit, pavement, pink and brown, pixies, placebo, polysics, q and not u, racebannon, radio 4, rah bras, ranger raccoon, rapeman, refused, robad pills, rocket from the crypt, rovo, ruinhorse, scissor girls, scissor shock, screamers (the), secret chiefs 3, servotron, shellac, sick lipstick, silver apples, shakhauchi surprise, six finger satellite, slint, slowdive, smiths (the), sonic youth, space streakings, spoozys, squarepusher, stagedive suicide, stylex, sun city girls, sunny day real estate, super junky monkey, sushi smash, swans, ted leo, television, thee michelle gun elephant, themselves, thunderbirds are now!, to live and shave in la, tora! tora! torrance!, turbonegro, twodeadsluts onegoodfuck, u.s. maple, ufo or die, ugly casanova, unicorns, usaisamonster, venetian snares, vicious hairy mary, violent onsen geisha, violent ramp, vss (the), wesley willis, whirlwind heat, whitehouse, wired, wolfgang dauner, wolf eyes, woorden, xbxrx, xerobot, xhol, xhol caravan, xiu xiu, ya ho wa 13, yaphet kotto, yellow swans, yoko ono, you & i, young and sexy, young ginns, zephyrs, zoviet france, zazen boys, znr, zoobombs, zweistein.



¿Que es lo que sigue para ustedes?
Sean: Universidad? Muerte? ASESINATO? No se, Me voy a ir a Denny’s en 15 minutos.
Adam: Voy a besar a mi novia en la mejilla.

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Página y tienda de Scissor Shock: www.geocities.com/scissor_shock
Scissor Shock en MySpace
Bajen como 40 canciones de Scissor Shock en Soundclick
Brokecore Records: http://brokecore.chuunk.com/
Excitebike Tapes: http://www.exbxtapes.com/
Xdiedenroutey Records: http://www.xdiedenroutey.net/
Fotos del primer concierto en vivo de Scissor Shock cortesía de la pagina de la banda
DE ULTIMA HORA: Scissor Shock los necesita!!


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By Marcos Hassan

Scissor Shock play a kind of music that is impossible to ignore, it’s short, it’s fast, it’s ultra cluttered with junk and noises and it’s apocalyptic. It’s also very fun to listen to, like a party from planet Bizarro. But they hail from Columbus, Indiana, hardly a hot spot for avant-garde music yet it gave us one of the best of this kind right now. And you think this band might repeat itself over and over with such a narrow genre and mission just to make annoying sounds, but each album (or phase) the band has endured is different from each, demonstrating an evolution hardly found today in conventional rock, let alone the extreme kind. A very sarcastic band with song titles like “Writing The President Kill Theme Song”, “Santa Got Me A White Belt For Chrismas”, “Urethra Franklin” and “Forever Celebrating The Death Of Ectoplasm”, you might want to drown them on the coldest lake you can find or praise them as the next punkest band ever, the aesthetical heirs to the Butthole Surfers, Boredoms, Atari Teenage Riot, Brianiac and Wolf Eyes. I talked to band founder/leader/sometimes only member Adam Cooley and newcomer guitarist Sean Edwards about playing live, Highlander and the Pope.


Marcos Hassan (The Obsolete): Introduce yourself
Adam Cooley: Hello, my name is Adam Cooley, of Scissor Shock fame. We are techno noise psychadelic math glitch jazz grind speedcore rock from Columbus, Indiana.
Sean Edwards: I'm Sean, I play guitar.

How did the band started?
Adam: For Christmas 2002, I got a really cheap guitar and amp ($100 for both). The following week, I decided to try to make some songs with it's naturally tinny and bizarre sound. I didn't try to make weird songs or anything -- just songs I found to be interested. Well, naturally, I have a short attention span, the songs became just ridiculously insane and it went from there. We've explored video game grindcore, psychadelic noise, and tons of other things throughout the past 2 1/2 years, but three things remain the same: An emphasis on drums, tons of screaming, and insanely complex. And so it goes. Things evolved, and now Sean is in the band, playing guitar and shit.



Do you think Scissor Shock is a collective or if it ever will become one?

Adam: We recently played a live show, and the live show included an additional guitarist (Sean Edwards) and on THAT particular show, we had our buddy Norton make growls on a song. Scissor Shock has evolved over time, and I'm still kind of in shock that we were able to play live. To bring it all together is just mindboggling. I still do all the programming and stuff, but it's nice to have input from Sean and other people. I want the live experience to be somewhat interactive; as in, the crowds themselves help make shows. If anyone wants to join us on "stage" to help us through our set, that'd be fine. If you can bring anything to the table, then go ahead. Though our music is constantly evolving, the live show, I think, is pleasing to any fans of our band, new and old. As more and more aging Baby Boomers peer through their bifocals at the haggard Lance Hendrixian face of their own mortality, one question seems to occur with numbing frequency: where do we go after last call at Bistro Earth?

Bistro Earth, sure! What is it about short, dissonant, abrasive music that appeals to you so much?
Adam: Nothing. I'm more interested when people become comfortable with an idea and they start adopting a mindsight for their particular band as if it was THE rule for music itself. An example is Lightning Bolt. 3 bass strings and a banjo string on a bass and a drummer that tears up the drum set. Occasional vocals, whatever...but they write these songs based on these "limitations" and they've accepted what they are, and I really enjoy things like that. Whether they're writing 30 minute songs or 1 minute songs, I find that all very appealing. It's like THAT is what music should sound like to them. I think if a band can only pull off their sounds with long, drawn-out, doomy music, that's cool. Scissor Shock just usually uses the short, dissonant, abrasive music that you described because my attention span is too short. I mean, I know people say life begins at forty. Yeah, if you're the fucking Highlander. But, you know, the rest of us are trying to make sense out of the indecipherable babble of everyone else's best guess as to what awaits us behind door number 3 in Monty's death jar.
Sean: Hmmm...basically, I like short, dissonant, abrassive music because it doesn't drag out and get boring. It kinda gets to the point and then moves on to something completley different-sounding. Yes.

I’m still stoked you named-dropped Highlander, that dude rocked...rocks...whatever. What do you think is the message in your music?
Sean: Uh...do we have one Adam?
Adam: ...
Sean: "Get crunk't, kill a ho."
Adam: Haha. I'd just rather people draw their own conclusions. We're trying to open minds, but I don't want to cram our music down people's throats. It's like, what does the music mean to YOU? A guitar riff can be the most beautiful or the ugliest thing to someone's ears. Who knows? I don't know what people think of our music, only you know that. Damn, I'm so cliché today.
Sean: We don't like women, drugs are okay, kill a nun, and then rape her rotting corpse, and then steal her fat and muscle(s) and sell it to little children at playgrounds.
Adam: ...the views expressed by Sean Edwards are not exactly the views of Scissor Shock.

What do you want to achieve with Scissor Shock?
Sean: To let people see something new each time and to get people to think a little differently.
Adam: Yes. I mean, I've already made about $60 and have 4000 myspace friends. That's a pretty good start. Also, this is the second interview I've done, and we just played a live show. Plus, we've released shit on some great labels (Xdiedenroutey, Brokecore, Excitebiketapes, !!!PLUG PLUG PLUG!!!). I think I've achieved quite a bit... and I'm thankful for that. I guess my main goal in the band now is to try to open people's minds a bit and to try to make interesting things happen. I guess every band's dream is to make music exciting again, and I'll go ahead and use that cliché. You know how many truly original, awesome albums I've heard in 2005 that came out in 2005? None. That bothers me. I just want to play live shows and turn that into a huge thing. And everyone that ever wanted to see us can eventually see us and hear us. Basically, there's a kid sitting there somewhere who NEEDS a band like Scissor Shock and they don't have it yet. So, I want to give that to them.



So what is music to you?
Adam: The art of arranging sounds.

(pause)...Well, ok. Do you ever work on music while drunk or something?
Sean: Haha, well...not usually...hmm...no.
Adam: I've never done drugs, drank, smoked or anything. It's odd, though. Our music ALWAYS has some kind of "drug" thing attached to it... people hear it and go, "Man. This is crazy. They MUST be on drugs." Funny.

Who do you think are your contemporaries?
Adam: Not sure yet...

You've just started to play live, how has it been?
Sean: Pretty fun...I mean, I had fun.
Adam: Well, we've played one show so far. It was WAY better than I thought it would be. Nothing fucked up, it went smooth, it was fun, and people stared and didn't know what to think. AWESOME!

Glad to hear, it shows by the pictures. You've covered songs by Big Black ("Passing Complexion") and Six Finger Satellite ("30 Lashes"); in your opinion, what makes a good cover?
Adam: You know, it's funny, I like very few covers. I like some Kindergarten Hazing Ritual covers and I like Cap'N Jazz's "Take On Me"...I dunno...I guess a good cover is just basically when you take the song you covered and make it your own.
Sean: Yeah, it should sound similar to the song...like, you know who it is by, yet it should reflect your style of music in it and have your own sort of twist too.
Adam: Yeah.
Sean: Yeah.

You recently wrote an essay detailing the recording of Super Yum Surgeon Boy, how important is the process to you, whether it is the songwriting process or the recording process?
Adam: Well, I think it's important that people share their techniques and such, especially artists who make their records on a budget of a few pennies, like myself. I get asked about a million times a day "HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR MUSIC? WHAT DO YOU USE?" And I guess the point I want to stress is that no matter what I use, most people probably won't get the same effect with what they use. You just have to...use what you use...uh, yeah. I'm totally getting off track. I like to detail how I do shit, because it makes me all teary-eyed to read it later, though sadly it kind of also represents the fact that I spend more time reading and writing about music than listening to or making it. Oh well.

Do you think music will only live in digital form in the near future?
Adam: Yep, absolutely. It's funny, I'd buy CD's more often, but they're just so goddamn expensive. I saw Gang of Four’s Entertainment! in a book store the other day for $19.99. When did that CD come out? 1977 or something? I mean, seriously, a near-30-year-old 40-minute CD for $20?!. That's ridiculous! I'm not rich. (Edition: What Adam didn’t consider was that it was the reissue with 8 extra songs and other stuff and that it had been out of print for some years, but his point is clear, I didn’t buy the album either because of the price). It costs 43 cents to make the CD itself, and that's really the important part. I like the art and shit, but you end up seeing all the art, lyrics, and all the other info on websites anyway. So, yeah, I think music will eventually be all MP3s and CD-Rs eventually. Give it 10 more years. Did you ever notice the phrase "In God We Trust" only appears on the lesser denominations of our currency? You get up around the $1000 bill, and it just says "God, I Think I Can Take It From Here."



Do you think Johnny Merzbow is a character in your music or do you think he can become someone recurrent in your releases?
Adam: Johnny Merzbow is a scanner cop. That's all we know. He could be just another pissed off DMV zombie who makes you go to the end of the stooge line behind the guy who had one Tai Chi lesson and went into a biker bar to test it out. He's standing in front of you there in the crane position with a pool cue sticking out of his ass, blunt side in.

Do you find inspiration in stuff other than music, like movies or books or anything else?
Sean: I get motivation from my one and only true hero, the Pope. Sometimes, I pray and ask for insight, and I write what I feel, man... what I feel.
Adam: All the music I make comes from my dumb life.

What have you been listening to lately?
Sean: GWAR, Placebo, Fantomas, Pixies, Slowdive, Pig Destroyer.
Adam: +/-, .poundsign., !!!, 1.6 band, 1905, 1-speed bike, 31 knots, 400 blows, 90 day men, a day in black and white, a handful of dust, a luna red, a minor forest, a problem of alarming dimensions, a silver mt. zion, a spectre is haunting europe, a trillion barnacle lapse, aarktica, aaron dilloway, ac newman, accelera deck, acetone, aceyalone, acid mothers temple, advantage (the), aereogramme, a-frames, achim reichel, agitation free, agoraphobic nosebleed, air, air conditioning, airport girl, aislers set, aix em klemm, akarso, akimbo, alan licht, albert ayler, albert marcoeur, albrecht d, alcrataz, algarnas tradgard, all 7-70, alec empire, alternative tv, alvaro, alvin lucier, ame son, amm music, amon duul, amon duul ii, angel hair, animal collective, antipop consortium, aphex twin, arab on radar, arcane v, at the drive-in, atari teenage riot, athenian mercury, atom and his package, babyland, bananas (the), bellini, bellmer dolls, berg sans nipple, biblical proof of ufos, big black, bill orcutt, bjork, black cross, black dice, black eyes, blonde redhead, bloodthirsty butchers, boredoms, boris, botch, brainbombs, brainiac, bread and circuits, breadwinner, breather resist, brian eno, bride of no no, broken social scene, broken spindles, bucket full of teeth, bugskull, built to spill, burning star core, burmese, burnt by the sun, butthole surfers, cali gari, c average, califone, calla, calvary, camera obscura, cannibal ox, cap'n jazz, captain beefheart, causey way, charles bronson, child pornography, chinese stars, chrome, circle takes the square, clouddead, cobra kai, computer cougar, coachwhips, coalesce, coathanger '84, cock esp, comets on fire, company flow, converge, couch, crack: we are rock, cracker factory, cranes, crash normal, cream abdul babar, crom-tech, crimson curse, crispy ambulance, cub, cul de sac, dazzling killmen, deerhoof, deftones, despise you, DEVO, die monitr batss, dismemberment plan (the), dj rotting corpse, don caballero, double leopards, dracula does calculus, dragbody, drive like jehu, drowningman, dysrhythmia, earlimart, early day miners, earth, echoboy, eighties matchbox disaster, el da sensai, el guapo, elastica, electric company, electric wizard, eligh, ellen allien, embrace, empress, enablers, end on end, engine down, engine kid, enon, entrance, envy, erase errata, esg, esoteric, espers, euphone, even as we speak, examination of the..., ex-models, ex-girl, experimental audio research, experimental dental school, fantomas, flying luttenbachers, forcefed glass, former members of alfonsin, forstella ford, four hundred years, four tet, frodus, from ashes rise, fuck, fuck...i'm dead, fugazi, funeral diner, f.y.p, gang of four, ganger, gas, gastr del sol, ghost, ghosts & vodka, giddy motors, girlfrendo, girls against boys, glass candy & the shattered theatre, go betweens, go sailor, god is my co-pilot, godflesh, godspeed you black emperor, guitar wolf, guns n' roses, guyana punch line, gravediggaz, hair police, half japanese, hanatarash, hella, henry's dress, honor role, hot snakes, hum, i hate myself, i love you but i've chosen darkness, infomatik, i, robot, ian dury, iceburn, icewater scandal, icy demons, ida, idle tigers, idlewild, ifihadahifi, ignition, ikara colt, ill bill, ilya, imitation electric piano, impossible shapes, indian summer, ink and dagger, isis, isotope 217, ivy, jackie-o-motherfucker, jessamine, jesus lizard, jim o'rourke, joan of arc, joanna newsom, john cale, john coltrane, john henry west, john wiese, john zorn, jonathan fire*eater, joseph arthur, joshua fit for battle, joy division, joy zipper, jr ewing, juana molina, jucifer, julia, june of 44, juno, juno reactor, j-zone, kaito, kamikaze missions, kaos pilot, karate, karp, kate bush, kayo dot, kc accidental, keelhaul, keith whitman fullerton & hrvatski, kerosene 454, khanate, kid606, kid kilowatt, kid koala, kill me tomorrow, kindergarten hazing ritual, knifehandchop, kraftwerk, lab partners, labradford, laddio bolocko, ladybug transistor, lake of dracula, le shok, les savy fav, liars, lightning bolt, lost sounds, lotus eaters, love and rockets, love as laughter, love like electrocution..., loveliescrushing, low, low skies, l'spaerow, lull, lumen, lustre king, lycia, lydia lunch, lync, lynx,macrocosmica, mad capsule markets, magic markers (the), masonna, mastodon, mclusky, melt-banana, merzbow, metronome, miracle chosuke, mk ultra, mocket, morrissey, motocompo, mr bungle, my bloody valentine, my cat is an alien, my lai, my morning jacket, mystery girls, naked city, nation of ulysses, need new body, neon hunk, neutral milk hotel, no knife, number girl, numbers, nurse with wound, ocean colour scene, of sinking ships, off minor, officer may, omoide hatoba, oneida, ooioo, ooo, opal, o'rang, orchid, organ!, orthrelm, oswego, otis redding, out hud, outkast, outrageous cherry, ova!, oval, owen (the kinsella's), oxbow, oxes, painkiller, passenger of shit, pavement, pink and brown, pixies, placebo, polysics, q and not u, racebannon, radio 4, rah bras, ranger raccoon, rapeman, refused, robad pills, rocket from the crypt, rovo, ruinhorse, scissor girls, scissor shock, screamers (the), secret chiefs 3, servotron, shellac, sick lipstick, silver apples, shakhauchi surprise, six finger satellite, slint, slowdive, smiths (the), sonic youth, space streakings, spoozys, squarepusher, stagedive suicide, stylex, sun city girls, sunny day real estate, super junky monkey, sushi smash, swans, ted leo, television, thee michelle gun elephant, themselves, thunderbirds are now!, to live and shave in la, tora! tora! torrance!, turbonegro, twodeadsluts onegoodfuck, u.s. maple, ufo or die, ugly casanova, unicorns, usaisamonster, venetian snares, vicious hairy mary, violent onsen geisha, violent ramp, vss (the), wesley willis, whirlwind heat, whitehouse, wired, wolfgang dauner, wolf eyes, woorden, xbxrx, xerobot, xhol, xhol caravan, xiu xiu, ya ho wa 13, yaphet kotto, yellow swans, yoko ono, you & i, young and sexy, young ginns, zephyrs, zoviet france, zazen boys, znr, zoobombs, zweistein.



What's next for you?
Sean: College? Death? MURDER? I dunno, I'm going to Denny’s in about 15 minutes.
Adam: I'm going to kiss my girlfriend on the cheek.


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Scissor Shock's Website and store: www.geocities.com/scissor_shock
Scissor Shock in MySpace
Download something like 40 Scissor Shock songs at Soundclick
Brokecore Records: http://brokecore.chuunk.com/
Excitebike Tapes: http://www.exbxtapes.com/
Xdiedenroutey Records: http://www.xdiedenroutey.net/
Photos of Scissor Shock's first live concert ever courtesy of the band's site
LAST MINUTE: Scissor Shock Needs You!!