No Use For A Name Interview

No Use For A Name

Interview with Tony Sly and Matt Riddle on May 13, 2008 by

By: William Jones

Here is a band that really needs no introduction...or name. Known affectionately by most fans as NUFAN, No Use for a Name has been tearing it up with its San Jose brand of melodic punk for more than 20 years. The band's high-energy live show puts many a younger band to shame, and Tony Sly is still writing some of the best lyrics (both heartfelt and sarcastic) in punk rock.

Last year, the band commemorated its two-decade milestone with All the Best Songs, a "hits" compilation that went above and beyond what these scorned album breaks usually offer. And that release was no sign of a band that's slowing. NUFAN jumped right back into the studio, for the first time with producer Bill Stevenson (though Best Songs was remastered at The Blasting Room), to record the quartet's latest and most sarcastically titled effort, The Feel Good Record of the Year.

Tony Sly and Matt Riddle took some time during the Fat Tour to discuss the new album, the history of NUFAN, Cake Boy, a professional wrestler, internet videos and anthropology.

To start, how has the Fat Tour with NOFX been going?

Matt Riddle: It's great! You've got to figure. We're out with some friends of ours. We went out with The Flatliners for a little bit last year and that was a lot of fun. NOFX-we've known those guys for 20 years now or something. So, it's been awesome. We've had a great time for sure.

After numerous albums with Ryan Greene, why did NUFAN decide to shift gears and record with Bill Stevenson for The Feel Good Record of the Year?

MR: We just definitely needed a change of pace. It got to the point that when we were doing records we already knew what they were going to sound like when they were done. We definitely needed a breath of fresh air here somehow. So, out of nowhere, Bill, he wanted to do it, and we knew some friends of ours had already worked with him and said it was just amazing. So, we said, "You know what? Let's give it a shot." It was the best experience it could have been. We had the best time making this record, no matter what.

Thematically, how do you think Feel Good compares to previous NUFAN work?

MR: I think, especially on the last record, we kind of got a little lost. Again, it goes back to working with Ryan, and you kind of get stuck in a certain zone. This time we approached it in a completely different way. We started looking back on what made us who we were and all that. We kind of found that again and it made it so much fun. We had a great time in there, and we're really happy with it. It seems to be getting really good reviews too, so we're happy about that.

In one of the studio updates, the band posted a suggestion list for album names. How did you finally arrive at The Feel Good Album of the Year?

Tony Sly: You know what? It was one of the ones on the board. It was kind of a process of elimination just back and forth with the label, asking them what they thought. It was one of the earlier names for sure. When you're a band and you're picking album titles, you tend to get out of hand with a lot of them, to the point where your sense of humor is so ridiculous because you've been in the studio for a month that no one is ever going to understand it-everything becomes an inside joke. You're like, "isn't this great?" And you tell the label and they're like, "No, it's not." That happens a lot.

MR: If you have to explain to people what it means it's no good.

TS: I told somebody the album title and they were like, "Oh, does that mean the lyrics in it are real soft or something?" No, it's sarcasm. It's obvious sarcasm, I think.

MR: We should have put "sarcasm" in quotes next to the title.

TS: I wanted to.

MR: These are the people we're dealing with nowadays. [Laughs]

What was the writing process like this time around? After 20 years, do you guys have this down to some sort of science?

TS: It was cool. It was really fun just writing again. A couple of the songs were things that had been lying around for awhile, like that song "The Trumpet Player" on there. That's just been sitting around since 2002. It was fun writing though. Everything was coming out like it was going to have so much variety on it, and then by the end it became a full-blown effort to make it that way.

After 20 years, what keeps you guys going? Do you ever get the Danny Glover/Lethal Weapon feeling of "We're getting too old for this shit"?

TS: Yeah, but there's always the sequel. Or you bring in some comic relief like Joe Pesci. Dave's our Joe Pesci, I guess. [Laughs] Though it's been like nine years in the band. Okay! You're right! We're done after this album. Cool? [Laughs] I'm just kidding.

But seriously, is there ever a been-there-done-that feeling?

TS: Yeah, but it's the greatest job in the world. How could you have the been-there-done-that attitude? As soon as I get the been-there-done-that attitude I kick myself in the ass. Not literally, but I just kick myself in the ass and say, "Wake up, dude, cause you're really lucky." One out of 10 million, or 10,000, or something like that...

MR: ...one out of 10, nowadays, to be in a band...

TS: ...unless you have a Myspace account. Then you can be in a band and be as big as you want...

MR: ...Myspace and a good cell phone and you're good to go...

TS: ...shit songs, red hair and tights pants...

MR: ...and ProTools...

TS: ...Bingo! Shit songs, a good hair line and tight pants...

MR: ...you're stoked. (And ProTools).

TS: That conversation's like five years old though.

What kind of music influenced the band 20 years ago and what are you listening to now?

TS: I still listen to the same music I listened to 20 years ago, sadly enough.

MR: Yeah, me too.

TS: He was listening to Rudimentary Peni yesterday, and I don't really like them. And I realized all that stuff is nostalgic to the person that listened to it...only. He and Fat Mike were like, "Listen how rad this is." It was just [makes static noises] and I was just like, "No." [Laughs]

MR: But it was a time, you know? It's like watching Star Wars again. I remember what I was doing that moment. Listen to it again and it gives you a rad feeling. That's why you listen to the same stuff.

TS: Yeah, especially melodic stuff like Bad Religion-their old albums. I can always go back to those. They're old mainstays.

MR: It's great when you listen to a song or watch a movie, but for us it takes you to a time. You remember what was going on the first time you heard that record. Nowadays, that'll never happen. You'll go, "That was a catchy little tune," and that's all you're going to know about it. Back then it really meant something when you bought a record.

You guys released a "best songs" compilation last year. A lot of people tend to scoff at the greatest hits-type albums. Was there any reluctance on your end to do it?

TS: Yeah, because it's the lame thing to do between records. "Hey! We're still around but you've got to hold on, so here's a bunch of songs you've already heard. You should buy it for the same price that you've already bought ‘em before." That's lame. So what we decided to do is that 24-page booklet with an explanation of each song instead of lyrics-make it worth somebody's while if they want to buy it. And the disclaimer is, "Don't buy it if you don't want to buy it," but a lot of people did, so that's good.

MR: I wanted to call it iTunes Setlist.

TS: He did want to call it iTunes Setlist, because now, if you have all our records, you just make your own playlist, and you can make up your own cover art on Photoshop.

Was it cool for you guys, though, doing the booklet and getting to revisit some of the last 20 years?

MR: Yeah, I had a blast writing some of that stuff.

TS: Just digging up some of the old pictures and stuff. I had to go get some of the reels and some of the tape was stuck together from being in my garage. You're not supposed to put them in heat. They remastered it at The Blasting Room, which is where we did the album, so it was kind of cool that it came out so good. So it's remastered, 24-page booklet, 26 songs, 2 unreleased songs, so we thought it was kind of worth it for $8.

What do you guys think you'd be doing right now if you had never been part of this band?

MR: I'd probably be an anthropologist. That's what I started studying in college before I quit doing it and started touring. I was loving it, too. I thought, "Oh, this is what I'm going to do."

TS: I probably would have given up on music awhile ago. [Laughs] I think I was headed down the path of being a bum when I was 19. I would have been one of those guys that lives with his parents until he's 37. Then they would have been like, "That's enough," and I'm homeless, looking for beach towels, playing guitar on the street...

So it would come back to music anyways?

TS: Yeah, on Venice Beach, though, with the cymbals between my knees. One-man band.

Do you have plans for any more solo and/or acoustic work?

TS: On Venice Beach [laughs]. But seriously, yeah. I have a bunch of songs that are just lying around, so why not put them out at some point. The thing is for me, though, No Use for a Name keeps me so busy I don't really have time for a side project.

How did the silly update videos get started?

MR: I don't know. I learned how to use iMovie. I'm like, "This is funny. I can move this here. Check this out, guys." And I started making these movies. It's a blast.

How did the "Push it to the Limit" skits get started?

TS: I remembered the montage-which is the worst montage of all time-from Scarface. When he's coming up as being the greatest coke dealer of all time, that song is playing. And it's got him walking down, he's got a cigar, and he's showing people his tiger that he's got caged up and that song is playing.

MR: And it's the worst 80s-sounding song ever...so we had to use it. And we've been using it every time. We play it as an intro when we come out and nobody knows what the fuck it is.

TS: It's from the montage from Scarface, which, looking back, is one of the worst movies ever it turns out.

Have you ever been confused for pro-wrestler Tortuous Tony Sly?

TS: I have heard of him before.

MR: You have?

TS: I've heard about that because I've Google searched my name before and he comes up. That's weird that you said that, because it's been awhile.

MR: And you didn't change your name to that? That's crazy.

How close is the way roadies are treated in Cake Boy to reality on a NUFAN tour?

TS: It depends how new they are.

MR: We treat them a lot worse than that. How do you get treated?

Roadie: Like shit.

TS: Where you guys staying tonight?

Roadie: The Sheridan.

MR: There it is. There's your answer.

Where is your favorite place to play in the world?

MR: Japan, I think. It's my favorite country because it's a giant Disneyland. You walk around and go, "Look at the shiny lights and the weird people and everything is crazy." "It's a Small World" all the time for me, on acid.

TS: Um...you can't answer that, because it's not fair to other countries, or other cities, but it's definitely Belgium. Actually, I like clubs better, so I'm going to go with Spain, Madrid, South America, Argentina, Buenos Ares. It's Buenos Ares-currently my favorite city in the world to play.

Do you have a favorite place to eat on tour?

TS: Camp Washington Chili in Cincinnati, but we didn't get to go there yesterday because of the snowstorm.

MR: In Japan, there's a little restaurant...

TS: ...it's a place the promoter took us, and it's called the shabi-shabu style food. It's kind of like the Melting Pot thing with a boiling pot that you put the vegetables in then you dip it in your sauce.

MR: It's fucking amazing.

How do you feel about the changes in the punk scene? It seems you guys are the torchbearers of a skate-punk/melodic punk genre that not many bands are picking up nowadays...

TS: I know what you mean. For us, we've seen a lot of different changes in music throughout the years. The skate thing-it's something we never realized, being torchbearers or whatever. We just keep doing our own thing, or what we think is our own thing, because I guess it is. I don't know how I feel about that, but it's cool to still be doing it. We're fortunate.

How do you feel the album turned out?

MR: I can say I'm happier with this album than I've been in a long time. Even though everyone says Making Friends was your best album, or Hard Rock Bottom, every time we get done there's always this feeling of "God, we could have done it better. We could have done this better or that better." But with this one, there's no way, we don't feel that. We listen to it now and go, "That's exactly what we were hoping for." That's rad. That's great. I don't want to say, "Even if no one likes it, it's my favorite record." I hope everybody loves it, because it's good. We're really happy with it.