Friday, April 9, 2010

Interview: Drug Wars



San Diego is the new hotbed for Southern California bands. Last week we profiled Crocodiles, this week say hello to Drug Wars. Drug Wars play fantastic post-punk recalling a noisier fugazi. They have a great sound and I can not wait for the new record.

Drug Wars has a very post-hardcore sound, what has influenced the bands to development? I know that San Diego had a rich history of post-hardcore from bands like Drive like Jehu to Plot to Blow Up Eiffel Tower to you all.


Well, all of us in the band come from different music backgrounds and when we started playing we kind of wanted to go outside the comfort zone of what we were all used to. Cory (Drums) grew up playing in rock and pop bands, whereas I grew up playing in punk and metal bands, and then tommy (vocals) and Brandon (Bass) always seem to be a tag team in every band they're in from Oi! to hardcore. When Cory and I started this project we kind of had to have a middle ground. We weren't exactly going for any specific style or anything, it all unfolded beat by beat as we went along. Now, it's very natural.

How do you like the SD scene? I found out about you all from Crocodiles who recommend the band. It seems like the scene is very supportive of each other. Have you found this to be the case?

It's funny that you mention Crocodiles because Welchez actually came up with the name Drug Wars for the band name when we were at a bar one night. I was kind of weary at first because I thought of the video game, but then I settled on it and was like, "Fuck Yeah. Drug Wars? Fuck Yeah". San Diego isn't really even a small city, it's like a big town. Everybody knows everybody. For the most part, it is pretty supportive because you're usually always going to see your friends bands play with whoever else happens to be coming to town that night. Plus, everybody is around all the time. For instance, you'll stop by a thrift store and see Rob Crowe dropping off physics books, then you'll get to eat dinner at a restaurant and John Reis is sitting at the table behind you, followed up with a trip to the bar where you run into a bunch of members from a myriad of other bands from around town.


What are your plans for the year? Any plans for a tour? It looks like you all have been recording an album, when would that come out?

So far this year we're working on album that's almost done. We're supposed to record a live session at the studio where we did our 7inch because he wants to start his own Peel Sessions type thing. And for touring... we all work full-time so anything thats more then a week or two has to be planned out far in advance. In june we're going to have a nice extended weekend trip up the coast, and then there have been talks about going out for a week or so in the fall, possibly on the east coast.

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