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CULTURE BANDITSOriginally formed in 1987 by Haas, bassist Jason Bowes and drummer Terry Bradley (who went on to Thrall and Queen Bee, signed to Alternative Tentacles), the three Detroit Catholic Central High School mates fused their respective backgrounds in punk, metal, & pop with technique to form a unique sound. Haas explains that, "we tried to make the music as weird as possible, with all sorts of time changes..." but what could have been limited self-indulgence captured a loyal following. After their first show at the Token Lounge (now the Mosquito Club) they rapidly progressed to opening for national acts as varied as the Vandals, Jawbox, Big Drill Car and the Doughboys. In 1990 they played the VFW hall in Ferndale with a punk band from California that had really junky equipment. As Bowes relates, "That stupid Noodles guy came up and looked at our stuff and said, ‘You guys have some pretty nice gear.’" Since the Bandits had booked a later show the same night at the legendary Finney’s Pub they couldn’t stay around to watch the set performed by the Offspring. (What ever happened to those guys?) Another break for the band that same year was being a finalist in the national Snickers New Music search which saw them being including on a compilation (on vinyl!) distributed to college radio nationwide. Also sharing space on the comp was a band from South Carolina who went on to be the ultimate winners of the search. If anyone has information about the whereabouts of Hootie and the Blowfish, please contact us here at musiczine. The Bandits carried on until 1992, when internal tensions between Haas/Bowes and Bradley split the act up. After some casting about, Haas and Bowes hooked up with a band that had just lost half it’s members due to career relocations. The Hoolapoppers were winners of the 89X Demo Derby and had performed at Pine Knob opening the first "X-ing Out The Summer" concert for bands which included Concrete Blonde, Too Much Joy and Material Issue. Shortly after this peak, the band was hobbled by the guitarist and bassist departures for Japan and Minnesota. Into this void leapt Haas and Bowes. Their addition toughened up the Poppers sound noticeably leaving their jangle-pop roots behind for a more muscular punk-infused roots-rock sound. Haas credits his time writing with singer John McLain as being useful in his development because, "Jason and I sped them up and Paul and John slowed us down from where we were." The Hoolapoppers proceeded along until 1996 culminating in the release of the CD "Trout Farm" (Static Records), a showcase at Cleveland’s Undercurrents music conference and the departure of McLain and drummer Paul Haines for jobs in Las Vegas. Returned to their duo status, they sought to reform what they had started from. With the addition of Icewater Fountain refugee Eric Klisz on drums and Fayetteville, North Carolina native Derek Cooke on rhythm guitar (and "chick magnet") they played one show under the moniker of Rocket Sled before rechristening the quartet, Culture Bandits. To understand the Bandits sound, you should take a look at the influences that each individual bring to the mix. Lead guitarist Haas learned to play guitar by playing along with Black Sabbath records. Other influential bands were Black Flag (his daughter, Kira Star, is named for the band’s bassist), Painted Willie, Dag Nasty and he feels he was most influenced by Brian Baker (Minor Threat, Meatmen, Dag Nasty). Bowes has an affinity for "cheesy pop" and when he started on bass was into U2 and the Police. He prefers Bryan Adams’ "Cuts Like A Knife" album over this writer’s choice of "Reckless" but list Carl Alverez of the Descendants/All as an icon of bass style. Drummer Eric Klisz started his musical life first as a guitarist before switching to bass, then inheriting an older brother’s drum set (using a wok as a cymbal) at 13. A fan of pop and punk, he dug bands with dual drummers like Adam & the Ants (but not .38 Special). Lead influences are George Hurley of the Minutemen/Firehose and Bill Stephenson of the Descendants. "Noir Leather poster boy" Derek Cooke started playing guitar at 16, drawing inspiration from Fugazi, The Misfits and Metallica. A fan of Kirk Hammett and Dave Navarro, he even shares their penchant for tattoos and piercings (7 and 3 respectively). During the interview, this revelation resulted in a quick band tally of body modifications: The results? "13 tattoos, 11 holes and 7 testicles.....figure it out!" Bowes shouts. With his bad-boy rocker looks, the chicks all swoon over Cooke. With the new, improved lineup together for 6 months now, they have already opened for Dread Zeppelin and are building a progressively busier gigging schedule. They plan to record in the spring and strive to make Culture Bandits a working band. Klisz pipes in, "And try to stick together to promote any [record] we produce.", referring to the alarming tendency of bands to break up shortly after releasing a CD. This issue strikes a minor nerve in Haas who states, "We’re still trying to half-ass push The Hoolapoppers album, because I’m really proud of how it turned out. We even play a few of those songs in our sets now." There has been some contact between John McLain and music publishers, so there may be some life in to ‘Poppers yet. The band also jokingly states as a goal, "One of the new guys should OD. That should boost our sales!" Like virtually every band, the guys hold a variety of day gigs. Klisz teaches creative arts to 6-12 graders in Belleville. Cooke paints car for Varsity Lincoln-Mercury, which is where Haas, a body shop supplies sales rep, met him. Bowes works for a pharmaceutical packing firm (NOT a drug dealer). He originally planned to be a lawyer, but four year interning in a law firm cured him of that. Their views on the Detroit music scene range from "there’s no scene because it’s to decentralized" to "up-and-coming". Bowes theorizes that part of the problem is "there is no identifiable sound, like a Seattle grunge or Chapel Hill alternative. Also, you used to have to look for [alternative music], now [it’s] everywhere, it’s mainstream." Haas interjects that, "If I wanted to be a rock star, I would’ve quit a long time ago. I just like to play live...jump around and put on a show." To which Bowes adds, "Yeah, he gets pretty good hang time for someone his size!" (6’6", 250 lbs). Bowes also says, "I can see myself playing in a country band when I’m fifty. I’m never gonna quit playing music." Excerpted from musiczine (April 1997) profile |
