A couple of hours before a rousing and theatrical performance by the World/Inferno Friendship Society, I sat down with frontman Jack Terricloth in Madison, WI to discuss the band’s 2012 Hallowmas show, this year’s incident with The Adicts, and some jazz history. You can read the interview here.
Connor (Dying Scene) So, how’s the tour going?
J: Well we’re a week into it now, and nobody’s beaten each other up, no major disasters, so I’d say it’s going very well.
What was the inspiration for the Great Pumpkin For President campaign this past election?
Well, c’mon, it’s the Great Pumpkin. It’s 2012 and I thought it was time to get a gourd in office.
Did you vote for the Great Pumpkin yourself?
I did. I was handing it in to a couple of old poll worker ladies, and they looked at my ballot, which is kind of illegal, and they were like “You’re writing WHAT in? Who?!” They didn’t appreciate it at all. They’re like “I’ve been here for 12 hours and you’re just fooling around,” and I was like “No, madam, I really believe The Great Pumpkin can bring change to this wonderful country of ours.”
How did Hallowmas go this year?
Well as you know there was a giant hurricane in New York just before. For those of you who don’t know, there was a giant superstorm called “Sandy” that swept through New York and the subways were down, almost all of the bridges were down, and up until a couple hours before we weren’t sure if we were playing or not. But the power was on at the club and it was sold out. Unfortunately only about half the people who bought tickets showed up, but we did it and I’m very very glad we did it, and we’re honoring anybody who didn’t show up who has tickets, even if they just said they couldn’t get there, to get into any show this tour.
A half-full show is pretty good for a hurricane.
Unfortunately before we announced that, I saw on the internet pictures of kids burning their tickets because they couldn’t go. But if you say “I burned my tickets” you can still get into any of the shows.
So this year’s incident with Kid from The Adicts…what’s the joke there?
Alright, nobody’s keeping a secret. I got in a fistfight with the drummer from The Adicts. Okay, whatever. He was f*cked up, I was f*cked up, whatever. He says “You’re a fucking drug addict!” and I’m just thinking “And you’re in THE ADICTS!” That was really the joke of the whole thing.
What happened in the aftermath of getting kicked off that tour?
We had to book a few shows very quickly, but we pulled it off. It went alright, actually. We only had to skip Cleveland, which, by the way, has been the best show of this current tour. But yeah, that first night we played at a punk house in D.C., I couldn’t find a gig in Cleveland, so we went to Chicago and played by ourselves, which was perfectly fine.
I’ve counted 43 past and current members in W/IFS. Is it hard switching in and out members frequently?
It is hard, but everyone is a very good musician and it always works out. We do have to change arrangements an awful lot. Also it’s worth pointing out that people come back a lot, it’s not that we never speak to them again.
What’s the most you’ve ever toured with at one time?
Fifteen people, but now it’s usually around 9. It’s manageable.
Are there any instruments you’ve never had in the band that you’d like to have someday?
Hm…the marimba I would like to have back. But something we’ve never had…wow. Maybe the contrabass saxophone, the one that you have to actually get up on a ladder to play. Yeah, I’ll go with the bass saxophone. I’d also like to mention the book The Bass Saxophone by Josef Skvorecky. It’s a fascinating book, he’s a Czech author and wrote during World War II and played in a jazz band, but under the Nazis you weren’t allowed to play jazz, so they had to do secret underground shows. Then the Communists took over, and they also outlawed jazz. So his whole life as a jazz musician having to play basement shows in parlors.
What was the punishment for playing jazz music?
You could be put in prison for playing unpatriotic music under the Communists, and the Nazis just found it to be degenerate music and they would put you in a concentration.
Is anything ever going to happen again with your former band Sticks & Stones?
No, I don’t think so. We played last around 2003, around when the discography was released. But two of the guys (three including me) from Sticks & Stones are now in World/Inferno. I don’t think we’ll be doing any covers, but we’re all still friends.
Any other words of wisdom/warning/legal advice?
The cops can’t search your car if you don’t say they can, so don’t say they can.
I’m afraid I know that one all too well.
If you are caught shoplifting and security guards say you have to stay in the back room for police to arrive, you don’t have to do that either. That’s actually called kidnapping. So if you’re shoplifting, which I recommend you do, as long as they’re security guards and not cops, they’re just guys in black suits, and they’re holding you in the back room and they don’t let you out, call the police and they will get arrested. If they are not a police officer, you should always be willingly able to walk out of any room at any time.
That fittingly concluded the interview. A big thanks to Jack for taking the time to answer my questions and for Dan Oestrich for setting up the interview.