Permanent Bastards “IS NOT A STAGNANT OPERATION,” and going by their recent schedule there is no reason to doubt such forceful words. Since the bands 2007 inception they’ve played countless shows, released a constant flow of material including a forthcoming 7″ titled “Young Girls” set for an October 11 release through Anchorless Records and have been showered in praise from their peers and the industry alike.
Permanent Bastards are anything but their band name as we found out in our recent interview with the bands guitarist Simon Paik. Simon kindly discussed the term “punk as fuck” and what this means to the band and the term in general, their recent signing to Anchorless Records and having Chris Cresswell (The Flatliners) be an honorary member of Permanent Bastards, not just a guest vocalist. Check out the full interview here.
Interview by Corey Auger
First off, those who aren’t familiar with Permanent Bastards can you fill us in with a little background?
A group of people who thrive on writing and playing music with everything we’ve got. Simple as that.
You describe your style as ‘Punk as Fuck,’ what are some influences for the band?
The term ‘punk as fuck’ was more of a cheeky remark than anything. It was more to incite people and give them something to argue about. What does ‘punk as fuck’ even mean? Mohawks? Leather jackets? Bad hygiene? The band Fucked Up used to say that they hated each other and were only a band cause they wrote music together. That’s obviously not true but its funny what people will believe. I think for the people who don’t know us personally don’t really understand that we don’t take ourselves too seriously. There’s a healthy amount of “don’t give a fuck” in this band. Most things should be taken with a grain of salt; you should take a handful of salt when it comes to what we say. Influences? Marco Pierre White.
The term ‘Punk as Fuck’ feels a little redundant in today’s society where everything we come across is mass produced and marketed. So much so the ideologies that punk was built on have changed and almost cease to exist within the scene these days. How do you keep yourselves ‘punk as fuck’ and maintain lives in the real world at the same time?
It depends on how you look at it. The term ‘punk’ has such a broad spectrum from the way people dress, the style of music to the ways of living, socially and financially. I never really thought of punk as a genre of music or a fashion statement, I’ve always thought of ‘punk’ as an attitude. We write how we want and I say how I feel. I never had the intention of writing a ‘punk’ song or put the basis of our song writing into a corner because it has to sound a certain way. I could care less about that. Where some people will see it as a movement or a scene, in many ways it’s a very independent state of mind for me. Some people will agree, many won’t. Sorry.
Permanent Bastards recently signed to Anchorless Records, how did that come about?
Neil emailed me a while ago asking to send him our stuff. We gave him our full length and some demos and kept in touch throughout the last year. We proposed the idea of releasing a 7” to Neil while we were in the studio and he jumped on board. To be honest, we’ve never met Neil in person. I’ve talked to him once on the phone just to personally introduce myself and we’ve only kept in contact through email since. Mad respect to Neil for taking us under his wing; he’s a fan of ours solely through our music and I feel like he has that kind of passion for the rest of his bands. With the music industry being where it’s at, not many labels are helping out bands that they really appreciate; they need to find the flavor of the month. Neil is doing what other labels don’t have the balls to do which is taking care of the music he loves. I cannot be more stoked being apart of Anchorless Records. We’re touring the States in October so I guess that will be our first official meet. I’m excited.
Your new 7″ “Young Girls” is set to be released this fall, what are some themes behind the new 7″?
It’s about being young and fanatical. It’s that ever-changing moment where you gain a glimpse of wisdom and try to understand all sides of a story before making rash decisions. Innocent times….if there was even such a thing.
What was the writing and recording process behind the new material?
We recorded at Drive Studios with Steve Rizun, which was the same place we recorded our full length, “Emericans.” We recorded all the instruments ‘live off the floor’ this time instead of recording each part separate; we wanted a more looser, ramshackle feel for the songs. We established a close relationship with Steve over the past couple of years and he’s been a good friend and mentor to us so we asked him to jump on as producer. He has a habit of recording perfectionism and we have the habit of fucking that up. A good contrast if I do say so myself.
We had two friends join us on the record, first being Britton Allison who reprised her vocals for the full band version of ‘Constance’ (second song on Young Girls). She has the most amazing voice ever; I could never imagine anyone else singing her part on the records. Watch her play live (with Cavaliers); you’ll be a 15-year-old boy with a hopeless crush.
Chris Cresswell of The Flatliners has been a friend for a long time now and we asked him to be on the record with us, not just as a guest vocalist but as a member. He sang all the backup vocals with us and added his touch of genius to each part. I consider him to be an honorary member of this band. He can come and go as he pleases. Probably the nicest and most genuine person I’ve even met. It’s good to know there’s people like him around.
Coming from Toronto, do you find it a hurdle gaining a name for yourself Stateside?
The only hurdle we have to endure were visas; they are such a pain in the ass. With the internet being around now, Myspace, Facebook, Bandcamp, etc. it’s not really hard to get your music across from place to place. We’ve actually been getting more hype in the US, Europe and Japan over Canada, haha. I guess it’s just time for us to get over there and play.
I saw you were listed on my Pouzza Fest flyer; did you guys end up getting to play the fest? If so, how was the experience?
To be honest, I don’t think anyone was expecting Pouzza to be as good as it was being that it was there first year as a festival. It was an amazing event; everyone was organized; all the bands were super friendly and it seemed like everyone had an amazing time. We got to hang out with a lot of our friends and we played an amazing set. No complaints. Hugo Mudie and his crew did an amazing job. Hopefully we can play next year.
How is the current scene in Toronto?
There’s a scene in Toronto?!
Any bands people reading this should familiarize themselves with?
Junior Battles are more tech than hardcore bands, Stuck Out Here and The Hunters have more fun being in a band than everyone else and The Snips, well, just listen to their ep, Blackouts. I just heard Sharks recently when we played with them on Warped Tour; they are incredible.
Finally, what does the immediate future hold for Permanent Bastards after the new EP drops?
The US is going to be our main focus in terms of touring this year. We’ll also be back in the studio soon. THIS IS NOT A STANGNANT OPERATION.
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