CD RELEASE SHOW TONIGHT >>>
Phasers on Kill has been fighting the pop punk fight for nearly four years since members of the defunct West of Waco formed this quartet, grabbing the name from a Screeching Weasel song. Phasers on Kill's latest, Write Home, is a five-track EP — a jump-up-and-down-and-smash-something sort of album that at once rocks like the bejezus yet is melodic.
Chris Adkins (guitar, vocals), Mikey Waco (guitar, vocals), Ryan "Timebomb" Smith (drums) and Dan Rankin (bass) will showcase Phasers' new work tonight at Jazzbones with Big Wheel Stunt Show and True Holland in support.
I previewed the Phasers on Kill show earlier in the week, but had an opportunity to chat with Adkins about the new release, Write Home.
WEEKLY VOLCANO: You must be excited to have the CD complete.
CHRIS ADKINS: We're just really excited to play these songs and give people the chance to take the music home with them. We've been working on the CD for the better part of 6 months now, and seeing the disc in everyone's hands will be rad.
VOLCANO: Six months?
ADKINS: We started in the studio May 2012, so I guess it's actually been 7 months. The recording itself only took a couple weekends, but getting the mixing and mastering done, finalizing the artwork etc. tacked on some more time.
VOLCANO: Who mixed, mastered and recorded it?
ADKINS: The recording process for this EP was really awesome for us. We recorded at Monkey Trench Studios in Bremerton, which is owned by Mike Herrera of MxPx. The studio is top-notch, and really brought out the best in us as we laid down these tracks. It was recorded and mixed by Bradly Miranda. He's a freakin' savant. I'm sure he'll be a part of some amazing music projects in his career. We were lucky enough to have it mastered by Stephen Egerton of the Descendents. So obviously we've had some of our biggest influences involved in this project - it's been amazing.
VOLCANO: Did you enjoy the process?
ADKINS: The process is fairly collaborative. Either Mike or I will bring some music/lyrics to the table, and the rest of the band chips in where they feel appropriate. There's always an element of healthy banter before we get to the (somewhat) final version of a song, but at that point it's in the best state possible, so definitely worth it.
VOLCANO: What inspires you Chris?
ADKINS: Inspiration I think comes from different avenues for each of us. I think one thing that always inspires us is other music; I know when I hear a song or album that I love, it just gets the juices flowing, and I want to pick up the guitar and start writing. Most of the songs on this EP are pretty introspective, so a lot of personal inspiration here lyrically.
VOLCANO: What's in the future for Phasers on Kill?
ADLKINS (Pulls out crystal ball, dons psychic garb): Ooooo what do I see here? A West Coast tour in the Spring? Ha ha, OK enough of that, but yea we are planning a West Coast tour, in April, to take this EP on the road. We might be doing a split 7-inch record with another local band; so all you vinyl lovers take note. I think we'll be back in the studio at some point later in the year, as we've already started writing new songs, so it should be a busy 2013.
Music fans can listen and pick up digital copies of Write Home at http://www.phasersonkill.bandcamp.com.
JAZZBONES, PHASERS ON KILL CD RELEASE PARTY WITH BIG WHEEL STUNT SHOW AND TRUE HOLLAND, SATURDAY, DEC. 29, 8:30 P.M., $5, 2803 SIXTH AVE., TACOMA, 253.396.9169
