WARNING: To those complaining that I ask the same questions: This yet another Interview with the same questions. If this is a problem DON'T READ IT!
The questions were sent back in May but "Metal" Mike's reply was just received mid-July. When Mike Palm agreed to an Interview first I recycled the questions. GO GREEN!!!
"Metal" Mike Saunders Singer/Drummer/Guitarist/Songwriter/Record Reviewer/Inventor of the term Heavy Metal
(Pictures From 4/24/09 at Walter's On Washington)
TX Punk: What's your favorite punk album?
Mike:
(tie)
ETERNALLY YOURS / the Saints**
GROUP SEX / Circle Jerks
esp the UK or european pressings; the american pressing on sire was seriously lousy/cheesy!
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TX Punk: What's your favorite song to play on-stage?
Mike: the spring/summer 1980 setlist of 20 songs/26 minutes was so tight it almost seemed like one unit, definitely my favorite samoans set...it went like this
ELECTROCUTE YOUR COCK
RIGHT SIDE OF MY MIND
TOO ANIMALISTIC
I'M A PIG
YOU STUPID ASSHOLE
GIMME SOPOR
HOT CARS
ARE YOU A SQUARE
D FOR THE DEAD
HAIZMAN'S BRAIN IS CALLING
CALIFORNIA SUN
GET OFF THE AIR
LIGHTS OUT
I'M IN LOVE WITH YOUR MOM
(pause)
STEAK KNIFE
YOU STUPID JERK
PICTURES OF MATCHSTICK MEN'
INSIDE MY BRAIN
TIME TO FUCK
THE TODD KILLINGS
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TX Punk: What's your favorite song that you wrote?
Mike: --i rate the 5 best samoans tracks (in no order) as these songs (writing credits in parentheses)
RIGHT SIDE OF MY MIND (saunders)
MY OLD MAN'S A FATSO (saunders)
LIGHTS OUT (music saunders-turner / words saunders)
GAS CHAMBER (saunders)
BALLAD OF JERRY CURLAN (music turner-galligan / words turner)
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TX Punk: Where & when was your favorite dance contest(that you've done) so far?
Mike: --at a Gilroy CA all ages gig in October 1996, a tall guy who looked like Darby (the later period, 1980 Mohawk version) got up and did breakdancing, mostly the move where you spin around. it turned out he was a lead singer in a local/gilroy punk band so people recognized him likewise. he has to be the narrow winner over a long list of other notables by virtue of combining breakdancing, looking like Darby Crash, and singing in a local band.
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Mike: the audiences (on the west coast) of the last 15 years are infinitely more enjoyable to play for than the bulk of the 80's out here which was violence-plagued and largely a big drag. ideally you would match the Calif bands from 1977-1982 up with the later audiences. since this entire laundry list of old LA/OC bands has done lots of gigging during the past decade, that sort of did happen: the Adolescents, the Dickies, the Crowd, Circle Jerks, Agent Orange, Angry Samoans, the Descendents, CH3, the Germs, Redd Kross, TSOL, Fear, the Weirdos, the Skulls, D.I., and one-time major-label acts Social Distortion, X, and Bad Religion
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TX Punk: How did you pick the name "Angry Samoans"?
Mike: my brother angry samoan kevin had the best recollection of the "band meeting to name the band," so he wrote up this FAQ answer many years ago --
http://www.angrysamoans.com/AngryBonze.html
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The Naming Process
With the membership roll in order, the primary concern of every band must be nomenclature, specifically, a name, not just a name, but a really cool name. Given that about half a zillion bands face this same dilemma, what to do? The decision algorithm for choosing a name, one employed by most major corporations, may be summarized thus:
1. Brainstorming: Come up with every name you can, no matter how ridiculous.
2. Advocacy: Try out names on acquaintances, twist band-mates' arms or other appendages.
3. Drunken Council: Hold a drunken council over the course of an evening in which the parties finally wrestle the issues to the floor and choke them until dead, dead, dead, and all but one name has been struck from the list. (Alas, few U.S. corporations now honor Step 3, which has had a significant deleterious impact on the quality of corporate decision making since 1980.
NB: You should avoid bootleg alcohol, even when coping with severe budgetary constraints, lest one or more bandmembers also wind up dead, dead, dead.)
As you are no doubt already aware, this band is competent in many algorithms, not least those related to drinking (save perhaps Metal Mike). "Metal" Mike Saunders, Kevin "Bonzo" "Don't call me Kevin" Saunders, Gregg Turner, Todd Homer, Billy Vockeroth, Steve Besser, and Dave Roeder were in attendance at the Council. This table summarizes the outcome of the Naming Process:
Naming Process Outcomes
Proposed Band Name /Chief Advocates/Verdict
Dead Kennedys? All Taken already
eigenvectors? "Kevin", Gregg NEIN!
Metal Mike and the Surf Commies? One Guess! NYET!
Angry Samoans? Steve, Todd IOE!
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ed note (from mike): the word "samoans" had been floating around ever since gregg's attending monthly Back Door Men fanzine meetings 1975-78, often held at DD Faye's family's house in Carson. where there are lots of big Samoans (Carson had a highschool state football dynasty in the 60's/70's and sent some players all the way to the NFL) and according to gregg, the neighborhood samoans once or twice were sitting on the hood of gregg's car when a meeting ajourned.
Steve Besser came up with/nominated the name after gregg and kevin threw their weight in for the "eigen vectors" non-starter.
TX Punk: Do you plan on recording any more Albums?
Mike: nah, there's a lot of reasons and the top 2 or 3 would be
a) can't stand digital, it just destroys guitar sounds.
b) between the various samoans recordings (inc the 1987 Mistaken 7-song 12 inch), the metal mike recordings, and
the 1969 "highschool album," i got to record almost all the different styles i ever played or wrote in. (the notable exception being the 1973 pile of Stooges-hard rock material i had, with the same CBS/Pearlman-Krugman the Dictators had -- but me/kevin could never find two more guys who wanted to play in that style to get a band together at the time, during 1974-75).
a-1) and (a) vinyl pressings went to crap (the quality of the vinyl) forever sometime around the mid-80's, AND (b) you can't even record in analogue anymore, the tape isn't made anymore
(c) oh yeah, and since about 1998 there has never been even one other person in the band with any interest in learning new material. (living 400 miles north, i haven't been at a band practice in over 10 years, so that is also a factor).
