 Media Credit: April Kaos A scary-looking soldier in the Tiger Army.
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Northern California trio Tiger Army aren't your ordinary punk band. No, I mean it. Way back in 1996, during the short-lived ska craze, when it seemed like every punk band had its horn section, Singer/Guitarist Nick 13 had something else up his sleeve. Mixing 50s style rockabilly to their punk rock roots, Tiger Army were already part of a new genre of punk music known as Psychobilly, quickly making their way to the forefront of the movement spawned by groundbreakings bands like the Meteors or the Nekromantix. Playing their first show ever in Montreal as part of a three-date Canadian tour and opening for The Damned, the Army was set to conquer new grounds.
After a respectable set by Ottawa-based punkers Poxy and a short wait, the lights went out and the curtains parted, revealing three heavily tatooed psychos facing the crowd. Let's start with a little introduction: on drums, Mr. Fred Hell; on bass, Mr. Geoff Kearse and on guitar the General himself, Mr. Nick 13. "Hi, we're Tiger Army from California," said Geoff from behind his impressive standup, as the band kicked into their first song.
Playing tunes from both their first self-titled and second
The Power of Moonlite LP's as well as a couple of songs from their upcoming EP, the trio got a good response from the crowd, especially on favourites such as "Nocturnal," "Incorporeal," "True Romance" and "Fuck the World."
On stage, the band was relentless, Geoff thumping hard on his bass, Fred banging those drums and still managing to smile and Nick, who resembled a gothic Elvis, handling both jobs of guitar and vocals remarkably well, dismissing any rumours I had heard of him being unable to properly coordinate the two. A highlight during the show was probably Geoff standing on top of his instrument and playing it at the same time, leaving me wondering how it didn't just collapse under his weight. On the other hand, absent from the set list was "Anabelle Lee"––a standout on
The Power of Moonlite––neither did they perform "Outlaw Rebel" or "In the Orchard," the two country music songs which appeared at the end of debut record, which would have been quite hilarious to see live.
By the time the show ended, there was confusion over which band the crowd had really come to see, as a number of mohawked psychos begged for more. It was time for the army to retreat, however, as The Damned were about ready to do their thing and Nick announced the last tune of the evening, reminding us that they would be back and that "The Tiger Army never dies!!".
As I walked out into the hall and met up with my friends Oli and Diego who had been busy talking to Damned frontman "Captain Sensible" (every legitimate punker should have a cheesy stage name in my opinion), we decided that we hadn't had enough. Armed with a sketchy mic and emboldened by the few beers he had had before the show, Diego convinced us to sneak backstage and interview the man behind it all. I guess it was a lucky night. We sat down with Nick13 who gave us his opinion on music, literature, the war on Iraq and much much more...
Tribune: You guys have been on the forefront of the American Psychobilly movement lately. It's been big in Europe for a while and it seems Americans, who after all spawned the genre, are finally catching on.
Nick 13: Psychobilly started in the US and in my opinion, so did punk with the Ramones but Europeans put a unique touch to it. I don't know why the transition never happened, if you look at the skinhead, Goth, death rock or two-tone ska movements, they all came to North America, but Psychobilly never really did.
Trib: Let me ask you about AFI. You guys are from the same town aren't you?
N: Yeah, it's a small town in Northern California called Ukiah.
Trib: How many members from the band are from that town?
N: Right now AFI have three members out of four originating from that town and Tiger Army has two members out of three from there.
Trib: What do you think of AFI's move from Nitro records to Dreamworks, a major label?
N: I think it's great.They have been working hard for a long time, touring non-stop since about 1995. I'm really happy for them.
Trib: What about Tiger Army, are you staying on an independent label or would you ever consider moving to a major?
N: I'm really happy with our situation right now. Hellcat records is a great record label and Tim [Armstrong] believed in us all along. We just want to keep touring and making music.
Trib: Have you heard the new Transplants record [Rancid frontman-Blink182 drummer side project] yet?
N: I have, its a really good record. It has many different elements in it, but it's quality is that it really doesn't sound complicated at all.
Trib: Growing up you listened to punk rock but it seems it wasn't your only influence. What bands influenced you as a musician?
N: Well as you said, I grew up listening to all those early punk bands like the Sex Pistols, the Damned, the Ramones, which had punk attitude but also all touched on 50s-style rock and roll. I listen to a lot of straight forward rock 'n' roll like Johnny Cash, Elvis, all those Sun Record Artists and a lot of Psychobilly of course.
Trib: The Nekromantix seem like one of your bigger influences along with the Misfits. How was it to tour with them?
N: That tour was great. The Nekromantix are very cool guys along with being an obvious influence on Tiger Army. Sometimes you don't really interact with bands you tour with but we were really on the same page with those guys. It was the same with TSOL, I got into them when I was 11-years old and touring with them was amazing. They're one of the few bands that can still rock the way they did 20 years ago.
Trib: Do you get along with the Damned?
N: The Damned are cool so far. We've usually been pretty lucky with the bands that we got to tour with.
Trib: What are your favourite punk bands in the new scene if any?
N: To be honest, there's not a whole lot out there that I like, but I think the Explosion are great. I like the Distillers, the Bodies and there must be some I'm forgetting.
Trib: It almost seems like punk rock is at a stagnant point. Do you have any take on why that is?
N: I don't know why that is, but I really think there is less good music coming out of that scene than there was 15 to 20 years ago. I don't want to sound like an old fart and say "everything was better back then," but objectively I think it's the case. Hopefully, Psychobilly will open up the scene a bit more.
