INTERVIEW
SMARTBOMB
by Christer Davidsson, May 2006

Hi! How are you doing?

Eric Widing: Hey! Good...how are you?

For how long has SMARTBOMB been a band and how come you decided to start playing together?

Well, officially, I guess Smartbomb has only been around for about 6 months now. We had to move some members around, changed the name a few times and at that point we we're writing different songs than in the past, so it was fitting to sort of start fresh. But, about 5 years ago, I was 14 at the time. Erik our drummer approached me at school and wanted to get something going. Of course I agreed and have been playing with him ever since. Our guitarist Billy came along about 2 years ago, we saw his old band play at a show once and said "this is the guy". He left them and came with us. Then, about a month or two ago, after the record had been recorded and released we we're looking for a second guitarist. It seemed like the smart thing to do. So in the mean time, while we were scouting for guitarists, our friend John Strader was playing out with us and helping us write songs. Then we found Jay, who I had known from about 5 years ago when he and I would run into into eachother at Ska shows. Ha, it feels full circle, really. So we got him, and John just left for tour with his band No Trigger, they are supporting the Aquabats. So, good luck to him and his crew.

You have a really good new EP out now called “Chaos and Lawlessness”. Tell me about it. When was it released?

”Chaos and Lawlessness” was released on February 25th of 2006. We had our release show/party in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The title of the record came from a song I wrote with the same name. I wrote it about angry youth, consisting mostly of african muslim immigrants rioting last november in France. Standing up for yourself and beleiving in your ideas was the inspiration for this record.
The record is a huge deal to me, it represents my struggle as a person who has a blatent disregard for compliancy and pressure from the world around me.

I really like your sound. What are you influenced by?

I am influenced by a lot of bands and music. But what gets me the most is when something truly offers some inquisitive thoughts or ideas. The world is always changing for the better or the worse so there is always going to be something that us people have to be thinking about, as there are a lot of things going on that are not in our power. But if we document the events we see tightly, and from our point of view, I think, we can just better prepare one for the future. I am inspired by progressive thinking.
But thats only half of it, really. Then you gotta worry about progressive punk rock! We're not some "enter sub genre here" punk band. I listen to as many shades of the music spectrum as I possibly can, just checking out whats happening where/when/why. It's about taking it to the next level. But it's more about the people that are listening to your music.

You released the EP yourselves. Have any labels been interested in the band after the release of it?

Yeah, it’s a really liberating experience releasing your own music. It’s so exciting because it is so much apart of the underground still, like a secret society or something, Ha!
We do have a few labels that we are talking to now, but we will have to wait and see. I am hoping to get some good distribution and to get “Chaos and Lawlessness” released on vinyl. We are writing the new record now so we'll see about that one too.

Was it a lot of hard work with the release?

Yeah, of course. I mean, paying for recording and pressing and all that stuff can get costly. I have been bumming around working three or four jobs at a time and sleeping in my car for about a year now. But as far as we are concerned, its just something that has got to be done. But, it was a fairly smooth process of recording a weekend here, and all-nighter there, just whatever we could afford to do at the time. We had help from a music shop in town that let us record in the basement after hours.

Have you been getting good reviews of record?

Yeah definitly, we've got a great one on punk-it.net that says we are "pure punk rock aggression". And, "fast as fuck angry punk rock. Socially concious lyrics attacking religion, war and materialism". That’s awesome!
Our friends say they really like it too, I've been able to get a lot closer to my friends after putting this record out. It’s like something that’s been on your mind for a long time that you get to say all at once. Met a lot of new friends as well.

You’ve got a bunch of shows coming up in June. Have you been playing live a lot?

Yeah for sure, we are always playing local shows to help out friends, help out bands, have a good time. There are a ton of great bands here so theres always stuff going on. You either are willing to play or you get left out, it's like that. Very healthy competition. We are just ready to take it on the road. In june we have about 9 dates booked for an east coast tour with the High Fivin' White Guys, a couple shows with No Trigger and with A Wilhelm Scream. There is talk of heading to the west coast at the end of july. I'm up for it.

Whats the best show youve done so far and why?

Ha ha, probably our cd release show with No Trigger and another local favorite Eva Braun. There was some hardcore gang there and, they see us as a hardcore band which is understandable. So i dunno what happened because we were playing at the time, and there was a pit going and Erik's little brother Scotty got jumped by 4 guys. So he's all bloody singing with me in my microphone, he's got a broken nose and everything. So when the song stops, shit just hit the fan. Erik jumped off of his drums and Billy threw his guitar down really hard and a brawl ensued. Strader was with us at the time and he was just appauled. Best show ever? I don’t know, but it was great. We finished our set too.

What are you all doing when youre not playing in SMARTBOMB?

Usually getting ourselves into trouble. We're all really good friends and Smartbomb has got a lot to do with our livelyhood. I go to school when i can afford it and we all work hard like everybody should. Not very interesting stuff really, Erik and Billy are plasterers. I work as a janitor, a mason , and a security guard. I just came down with lyme disease, so my days are consisting of sleeping late, writing music, sleeping more and so on. It's working out great, the new record will be ready to go in no time. But i like it here as a bottom feeder, for now anyways. I know i will never persue entrepeneurism or some beside-the-point business venture.

You just got a second guitarist. How is being four people in a band different from being a three-piece?

It's great, it sounds so much tighter and you can do a lot more musical stuff with an extra guitarist. You can really rip ya know! But I've always like the idea of being in a three piece ‘cause man, you can make a lot of fucking noise with just three people.

Who does the writing, and what do you write about?

The writing is definitly a cooperative process and each song is different. I like to write songs, so theres always new stuff but writing a song and realizing a songs potential are two different things. I do write the lyrics though. I strive to write about important and relevant things. To do justice to the human race, that’s what i have to do. On the record i say my bit about religion, about materialism, the illegal war on foreign soil, my peers, greed , deciding my own fate and controlling my existence.

Hows the punk-scene in Massachusetts nowdays?

Can't complain really, it's fun to be out there playing with a lot of other good bands. Sometimes it gets a little hostile but what the fuck, its a good microcosm for whats going on in the rest of America. Going to shows is like going to school if your heads in the right place, my mother does not share that same optimism. But good times, mostly everyone around here just wants to play and feel alive, and that makes for a really good environment.
 
Are you currently working on any upcoming releases?

Yes, prolifically. I spend about 2 to 5 hours a day playing guitar and writing what i call songs. But definitly preparing for some new ground with our next record.

Anything else you wanna say?

Yeah, thanks for the opportunity and a shout out to http://www.alazair.com

Links:

http://www.smartbombpunks.com

http://www.myspace.com/smartbombpunks