Empty Exchange: THE SPITS

If I had to describe THE SPITS in one phrase it'd be "short, sweet, and to the point." A philosophy that transcends both their music, and  their daily lives, THE SPITS aren't ones to fuck around. Read on as I carve some jack-o-lanterns with the kings of all things gruesome and discuss what really happens when you crowd surf with a broken leg, the making of their not-so-wholesome merch, and what "Punk for the People" means to them...

The Spits GIF

ASHLEIGH DYE: WHY THE MOVE FROM MICHIGAN TO SEATTLE? I KNOW THE BAND ROUGHLY ORIGINATED IN MICHIGAN AND IS NOW BASED IN SEATTLE-HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT?

ERIN WOOD: Well I moved out there in 1990 and Sean soon followed.WAYNE DRAVES: And then I soon followed after that.

AD: So it was a trickle affect?

EW: Yeah, and Josh was already there.

AD: So you guys have successfully mastered the DEVO synth-70s punk revival-hybrid. How did this combo come about? Was it as intentional as that or something that just sort of happened?

SW: Kind of intentional. We wanted to do something different than garage music, and fun, and it just came out the way it did. We’re just music masters.

AD: Seems like it came pretty naturally, you guys have talked before about various tough upbringings or childhoods etc, but what initially drew you to the punk scene, why was this the genre that you found the most release in?

SW: Because everyone else was doing it. [laughs] I think it was just a cross over from being heavy metal and rock and roll, no one was tough anymore. Punk was tough and the music was good, pretty much just kind of slid in there in the 80’s. A natural path, I guess.EW: All of our friends were listening to it, too.SW: Yeah we grew up in the country, it just seemed like an urban, cool thing to do.

AD: Having dropped out of school myself, 1 year and a half in because fuck our education system, I can really relate and vent through listening to your music, especially the song  ‘Dropout’ (obviously). Does writing songs based on your on lives and point of views inspire a lot of moments like this? Do you get a lot of stories like this?

SW: Yea, we’ve always got people coming up to us and saying you know ‘I was listening to your music when I was breaking up with my girl friend’ or when I killed my dad, or when I’m plowing the field. We relate to the people and the people relate to us.  We are music for the people.

AD: On the ‘Spits Punk Philosophy,’ that’s on your very informational website, it says “[The Spits] wanted to play exactly what they wanted to hear.” How does it feel knowing that thousands of people want to hear the same thing?

SW: It feels great. It feels awesome. I think its an honor, I take it as an honor and I’m really thankful. I think its cool.

AD: So guys have some Doomsday Dulls out in circulation. What was the process of making those like? How involved were you?

EW: We handmade them, we hand make all our toys; we are the little elves behind the packaging.

AD: That’s pretty rad – what other kinds of merch have you guys made, or want to make?

SW: Whatever I buy in downtown LA in the toy district, then we manipulate them in our factories. We’ve done wallets, watches, bracelets, urban defense gloves, sunglasses, lighters…EW: We did some toilet seats, 2 custom toilet seats. Sold em both in one night!

was probably Andrew W.K, Misfits, Marky Ramone, it was fun opening with him and filled in for a few songs.AD: Wow, that’s quite the roster.SW: We’ve done it all!EW: Nah, seriously I think TV Ghost was a fun group to tour with, a little off the hook, but they were fun. These kids we’re touring with right now, Useless Eaters, they’re really fun, too.AD: I just moved here from Athens, Ohio and I saw them there a few times, that’s where I saw Nobunny, too, The Useless Eaters have played Blackout Fest there a couple times, I really like them.EW: Yeah, most of the bands we’ve been out with have been pretty fun.AD: So your guys have a philosophy of ‘Punk for the People’, what does this mean to you?EW: A good hamburger?SW: Well it would take 20 minutes for me to give an answer, it’s a very in depth answer. Basically we don’t feel that we are higher than anybody else. If anything we’re lower. Everyone’s equal, lets just rock out and have a good time.