Not so young Turks

New Bomb Turks fight the fundamentalists with fundamentals

by JOHN TURNER

The New Bomb Turks are back to trash punk's new-found conformity. After two albums for Hamburg, Germany's Crypt Records and numerous 7" singles for other smaller labels, the group has signed a two-record deal with million-dollar indie label Epitaph. While the relationship has brought scorn from what Jello Biafra affectionately calls the "punk rock fundamentalists," it has already produced the most assaulting New Bomb Turks record yet, Scared Straight.

Still toting a sound that draws from the ashes of The Stooges, MC5 and '60s garage, the band goes back even further to the roots of rock 'n' roll, fusing elements of Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry and in the process thumb their noses at all-punk stalwarts. Animated frontman Eric Davidson took a break from a tour stop in Detroit to talk to the Mirror and bash the detractors.

Mirror: This is your first album for Epitaph. Do you get tired of answering for all the so-called evils associated with the label?

Eric Davidson: Definitely. People have a naïve viewpoint. There are no evils--we're not cutting down all the trees in the rainforest. And we're not sitting around in suits smoking cigars, either.

M: Everyone seems to be talking about the punk revival these days but I didn't realize that punk had ever gone anywhere...

ED: It's weird, especially the older I get. People seem so trapped by trends here in America. It's like all that techno shit and how these people now say how techno is the "next thing." It's a fuckin' joke. Everyone is claiming that "rock is dead," "techno is the next alternative." It's such a bandwagon thing. Trends are such crap, whether fed by People magazine or (Fugazi's) Ian MacKaye.

M: What does punk mean in 1997?

ED: It's a term that represents an attitude in music. It's fun and it's been around forever. We just try to update it some way. People say to us, "You look like a bunch of frat guys." I'm just like, "Hey, I can't afford a fuckin' leather jacket--does that make me not punk?''

M: What punk trend do you wish would go back into the closet?

ED: The whole snowboarding and fashion scene. People come to our shows and buy tons of patches and shirts 'cause they look cool to snowboard with, but they don't buy the records. It's this disturbing jock attitude that some people have at our shows. They listen to all this polished punk that is perfected in the studio. Since when was punk polished? These bands sound like fast fuckin' Air Supply.

The New Bomb Turks play at Fouf with the Spaceshits and Danko Jones on Friday, April 18, 8pm. $8.78 plus tax