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Je me souviens >> Pop-punk progenitors the Nils remembered by JOHNSON CUMMINS
Woody Whelan (Mag Wheel label owner) "I first heard the Nils in the summer of 1987 when a friend of mine literally stopped my car and handed me a tape of Sell Out Young and insisted I listen to it. I have been the biggest Nils fan ever since. My ultimate goal is, through bands like Rusty and Down By Law, to attract a whole new audience to the amazing songwriting of The Nils." Alex MacSween (ex-Nils drummer, currently with Bionic and Detention) "I never really considered myself a real member of the Nils, so much as a guy who just played with them. The Nils only really had two members, the two Soria brothers. When they wanted to exclude me in band matters at rehearsals they would simply speak Spanish. When I saw Chino recently, I thought Alex's singing was better than it ever was in the Nils. That made me really happy to see him on stage again." Bill Moser (entrepeneur) "They used to practice at my futon factory and, although I admit I wasn't that adamant about collecting rent from them, I never got anything. Those fuckin' guys rehearsed there for years and they never gave me a dime. I guess being the first person to hear those great songs, though, was payment enough." Bobby Theodore (gentleman of leisure, no fixed address) "The first time I saw the Nils was at the Peel Pub. It was such a great rock show, I dropped my club sandwich and drank a lot of beer. Before I went home, I peed on some mod guy's scooter. At least I think it was the Nils." Alex Soria (Ex-Nils singer/songwirter, currently with Chino) "1978: My big brother comes home with four records, Never Mind the Bollocks, The Clash, Damned Damned Damned and Rattus Norvegicus. Fuckin' hated the Stranglers. 1998: Love the Stranglers. 1983: Release the Now tape, opened for the Ramones. 1998: Love the Ramones, the Now tape not so much. 1987: Record company making us redo "Daylight"--hatin' it. 1997: Heard a rocking version of "Daylight" by a band called Punchbuggy. 1998: Sittin' in a bar. Someone's fartin' on my humble pie and goin' on about the Nils. Yeah, yeah, here's a Chino tape." Scratches and Needles CD launch, with Fearless Freep, at Barfly Saturday, November 21, 9pm, $3
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The Nils are kind of like anchovies. You either love 'em or hate 'em, and the people who like them really, really like them. When starting out, the Nils found themselves stuck right in the hardcore maelstrom of the early '80s. With all those bands playing at the speed of light, the Nils chose to play mid-tempo songs that burst with swagger and panache. Unlike these aformentioned bands of the time, the Nils' songs have successfully weathered the test of time... hence the tribute album, Scratches and Needles, on local label Mag Wheel. The Mirror talked to some Nils super-fans as well as chief Nil and current Chino frontman Alex Soria to see why people just won't let this Nils thing die.