I got this tattoo of I.D. tags (dog tags) for my 30th birthday, in October 2010. It is located on my left leg, outside calf. One dog tag is mine and the other is my grandfather’s. He served in WWII. I don’t know much about his tour overseas in the war. I’ve asked my mom, uncle and grandmother, and no one seems to know much about his service.

The reason I got the tattoo is because I was very close to my grandfather. He passed away from cancer a long time ago. I felt like he would have been proud that I served my country just like he did. I joined in ’02, shortly after the Sept 11th attacks. I was one of the many angry Americans that wanted to go to the desert and kick some terrorist ass. I did go overseas, but not to a war zone.

I got the tattoo at The Cage in St. Petersburg, FL. I brought in my tag and his tag, and the artist drew up an actual-size sketch on the spot. My tag is missing a line from my actual ID tag: my religion. I left it off because for the tattoo to be readable and not have the ink run over time, I had to take a line out. The numbers on my tag are my daughter’s birthday 504-12-2005 — 5 for her age when I got the tattoo, 04 month April, 2005 year she was born. It’s in the form of a social security number because that is what they put on all I.D. tags for all service members. I didn’t want to have my social tattooed on my leg for the world to see. So the next best numbers to use were my daughter’s birthday. My grandfather’s tag is as is, no edits like mine. Right down to the notch. This is by far my favorite of the many tattoos I have. I am very proud of it and him. It’s my daily reminder of him and all soldiers that have fought, continue to fight, and die for our country.

Spc. Traci Fixler served as a wheeled vehicle mechanic with the U.S. Army Reserves for six years.

What’s your tattoo story? Send it to us at tattoos.guyliner [at] gmail.com, or via Facebook.

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A San Francisco Bay Area native, Brandon Baumann is co-founder and frontman of Los Angeles-based hard rock band Diamond Lane.

From now until the end of time (or until too many people die for us to continue), DGT&G will be interviewing rock ‘n’ roll artists—famous, not-famous, and the vast numbers in between—and asking each the same five questions. Over time, their answers will become a repository of the heart of why people play rock music. Read on and enjoy … 

Brandon Baumnan
(Photo by Bill Boscacci)

DGT&G: Why do you play rock music?

I believe that everyone on this planet has been pre-wired for specific things. Some call this “purpose,” some call this “destiny” or another variation thereof. The sooner we find what’s inside of us, the sooner we acknowledge our calling, then the sooner we can begin the work to develop the tools necessary to grow, excel and challenge ourselves to be the best version of ourselves possible. To be quite honest, I play rock music because it’s a part of who I am and has been engrained in eons ago. There is not a “shut-off switch,” and I refuse to ignore my purpose, for that would be a waste of a blessing.

DGT&G: What else could you see yourself doing?

Hard to say really. It’s been tunnel vision from the start, so I don’t really contemplate “alternative routes,” so to speak. Although, if I could get paid to take naps, I’d cash those checks any day. Being a professional beer drinker would also suffice.

DGT&G: Do you have any regrets about taking this path?

Life is too short for regrets. We are the sum of our experiences and decisions. As long as something is learned through mistakes and failures, then there is something to be gained that can help define our character through future application. Knowing what you don’t want is just as essential as knowing exactly what you do want. Sure, there’s a lot of shitty stuff about this business, but as Dimebag Darrell would say, “Roll with it or get rolled over ’cause that’s the highs and lows of rock n roll.” Truth.

DGT&G: What is your favorite part about creating and playing rock music?

There really is no way to replicate the feeling that inhabits every fiber of your being when performing live—bringing people together in celebration of music, getting lost in the moment and not caring about anything else in the world but that time and place, that’s something special right there. Without those fans though, none of that’s possible. We’re all one and the same in that experience. A two-way street. You are us and we are you. To have an impact on someone’s life, if only nothing but to show ’em a damn good time, that’s what it’s all about. It’s all about the fans.

DGT&G: Who would be in your dream rock band?

Layne Staley and Steven Tyler on lead vocals; Jerry Cantrell, Billy Gibbons, and James Hetfield on guitar; Dusty Hill on bass; and Dave Grohl on drums. And Zakk Wylde can be their manager. I suppose he could play on a few songs, if he wasn’t busy with his managerial responsibilities! As for me? I’ll be the guy enjoying the show!

Why, you ask? If you’re gonna dream, make it big!

Diamond Lane presents a raucous good time with nods to the guitar-fueled madness of Ozzy as much as the party-heavy groove of modern rock. Their sophomore album, Sapphire, is a true redefinition of badass music in 2013 that pays homage to both its past and future. Available digitally worldwide on June 2 from the usual outlets (iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, Spotify, et al.). Join the Diamond Lane mailing list to be notified when the physical CD will be available … if you can’t make the CD release party on June 1 at Dragonfly in LA.

Follow us by email for exclusive interviews and more. Don’t miss a rockin’ thing!

Diamond Lane
(Photo by Julie Bergonz Photography)

Swedish sleaze metal/glam punk rockers CrashDiet visited San Francisco’s DNA Lounge in late March, and a few hours before the show, DGT&G snagged a corner table in DNA Pizza that provided an sort-of-quiet spot to chat with guitarist Martin Sweet and frontman Simon Cruz (and the tour manager and a roadie …). Simon was off exploring the Haight-Ashbury when we began, so he strolls in partway through. Topics in this interview: why many of the songs have Biblical under/overtones, crazy South American fans, staying true to Dave Lepard, Simon’s musical influences. (And a reappearance by mushroom balls. See part 1.)

DGT&G: So, what’s your best Spinal Tap moment? 

MS: I mean everything’s happened.

Arvid (tour manager): The whole tour is.

MS: You mean a Spinal Tap‒like moment?

DGT&G: Yeah.

MS: I think that scene when you can’t find the stage has happened to us too often. It’s like—

DGT&G: That seems to be a common one. [Laughs]

MS: [Laughs] Well, now we have Arvid.

DGT&G: [Laughs] You find the way.

Arvid: I’d say the best Spinal Tap moment of the tour was Simon through airport security.

Simon Cruz, performing with CrashDiet at DNA Lounge, San Francisco

DGT&G: Oh, does he have piercings and stuff?

Arvid: Oh, he has a whole bunch of jewelry and metal and is always the last one to come out of the airport security. And I think that he actually, I think it was, which airport—

MS: He brought scissors.

DGT&G: He brought scissors to the—

Arvid: He brought scissors to the security in Stockholm and then we yelled at him. Where was it? In South America, somewhere, he insulted the staff in Spanish, like a joke. But he was so close to not getting onto that flight.

MS: [Laughs]

Arvid: It’s a real Spinal Tap moment.

DGT&G: Yeah, that’s a real Spinal Tap moment.

Arvid: That’s why I always have to wait for him. Going to get him.

MS: I think he managed to get this big pair of scissors through the security. He talked to the security guy. “What are you using this for?” “Cutting my hair.” He had his mohawk, so he actually got to keep it. [Laughs]

DGT&G: Well, you know what, if does anything, he’s pretty instantly recognizable, so—

MS: We’ve done signings when no people show up. [Laughs]

DGT&G: [Laughs] That sucks.

MS: Like a lack of promotion or whatever.

DGT&G: Like before or after a show, or a whole separate deal?

MS: No, like a separate thing.

DGT&G: You’ve been fairly established now in Sweden for a while. Are you kind of rock stars in Sweden?

MS: Swedish people aren’t that crazy about rock stars, I think, in the same way as they are in South America or the rest of Europe. They’re pretty—there’s too many bands visiting the country. So they’re kinda like—it’s hard to explain. It’s not like people run after us when we go shopping.

DGT&G: That’s nice. You can actually live.

MS: I mean, we’re famous in England and Sweden in the rock community. In South America, they’re fucking crazy. They want to rip you apart.

DGT&G: You can’t leave your hotel room?

MS: Yeah, we can leave, but they’re waiting. They waiting outside, sleeping in the rain.

DGT&G: Do you ever get stage fright?

MS: I used to when I was much younger. But I don’t have a problem with that anymore because I’ve been touring. We play so much. You know when I started out playing in bands, we had very few songs, few gigs. We had one gig and you get very—you get this anxiety almost. [Laughs] But as soon as you get playing—

DGT&G: night after night

MS: It’s no problem at all. I’m older, I don’t have that anymore.

DGT&G: The song “Sin City”—oh, is this one of you? [Simon walks in, incognito, no mohawk, hood up, sunglasses on]

MS: Oh, it’s our singer.

DGT&G [to Simon]: I’ve got questions for you.

[Greetings]

DGT&G: So, where did you get lost?

MS: You’ll have to redo some questions.

Simon Cruz: In the hippy portion.

DGT&G: The Haight Ashbury.

SC: It’s beautiful.

MS: Buying vinyl?

SC: Yeah, I bought Perl, Janis Joplin. Walked around and bought some jewelry.

DGT&G: I like your jacket.

SC: Thanks. It’s still quite cold out there.

MS: Yeah, it’s fucking cold.

DGT&G: It’s a shame you weren’t here two days ago, it was gorgeous, but now it got cold.

Martin Sweet & Simon Cruz

MS: There’s the keyboard player.

DGT&G: Keyboard player?

[Roadie starts eating the mushroom balls]

Roadie: Ooh, can I have one?

DGT&G: Yeah, they’re mushrooms.

Roadie: Ooh, ’shrooms?

DGT&G: Not magic ones.

[Roadie leaves]

DGT&G: Simon, I had some songwriting questions. Where do the lyrics come from? From personal experience, from world affairs, from observations of other people?

SC: Yeah, exactly, you got it.

MS: Next question.

DGT&G: Can you elaborate?

SC: I have to kinda look at the songs and try to—

DGT&G: For example, several of the songs, “Garden of Babylon,” “Change the World,” “Anarchy,” “Circus,” there’s a Biblical theme that comes through there. Where does that come from?

SC: “Garden of Babylon” is obviously—Babylon was mentioned in the Bible. The “whore of Babylon” or something like that. That one was mostly inspired by a girl that I met, and then I just talked to Martin about it, and we should try something out. We came up with a riff. So that hasn’t got so much to do with a Bible theme. Actually, “Circus” was sort of written out of—I had just read a book about Richard Dawkins, which is called The God Illusions, it’s sort of inspired by that. And it’s my own experiences with religion and stuff like that.

DGT&G: What about “Snakes in Paradise”?

SC: Yeah, that’s the most clear one I guess. It’s about my childhood. And about leaders who take advantage of their position. There’s snakes in every paradise, in every kind of culture. It’s just about thinking for yourself and not being too easily led astray by leaders in general.

DGT&G: “Sin City” is quite—it makes quite a damning statement about men who make their wives have plastic surgery and breast implants. [Laughs] And they’re just assholes.

SC: [Laughs]

DGT&G: Did that come from your first tour in the U.S.?

SC: I don’t know. My first experience of the U.S. somehow felt a little bit like that. I much more like it the second time. Sometimes it feels very plastic and artificial. And that point when I was in Vegas the first time, I used to—I felt disgusted by the whole thing. [Laughs] Even though we do it too, we go there and we hang around and drink. We kinda like the scenery, everything, but sometimes I felt disgusted, so it’s kinda like that. Yeah.

Fans at CrashDiet’s DNA Lounge show

DGT&G: Martin talked about this, but do you enjoy interacting with the fans in the forum or on Facebook or Twitter?

SC: I’m not so good with that. I wish I was better. I do sometimes. I guess it’s a good thing.

DGT&G: Yeah, people have that personal connection, they become diehard fans.

SC: It’s kind of difficult to know what to post, because if you’re—you wanna keep a bit of mystery too, so it’s kind of a balance.

MS: It’s hard to balance.

DGT&G: You seem fairly extroverted, but if you’re introverted it’s hard to be out there all the time. Simon, you almost joined the band in 2006 after Dave Lepard died, way too early, but you didn’t. What made you come on board later?

SC: Well, I actually just spoke with them briefly about it.

MS: We were kinda hunting for him, keeping an eye on him. And we wanted to—

DGT&G: So you guys really wanted—

MS: Yeah, we knew what he was doing and we saw some YouTube clips and we wanted to try him out.

DGT&G: He seems like the perfect fit.

SC: That’s good. [Laughs] I wonder if it would have been different if I came along the first time. Maybe we could have saved that second record [The Unattractive Revolution]. [Laughs]

DGT&G: I haven’t listened to that one.

MS: We actually wanted to—a dream for us is to re-record the whole album because we—

DGT&G: That would be interesting.

MS: That was actually when Ollie was in the band and we got some, I don’t know, he panicked in the middle of everything. We had a video, we recorded the album, it was gonna be out in a month or a week. And he was like, “I’m quitting the band.” So we started to look for him again actually. What should we do? Either we convince Ollie to stay or we find someone to re-record the lyrics or the vocals on the whole album and release it. [Laughs]

DGT&G: He stayed long enough?

MS: The record company kinda threatened him. ‘Cause, they, I don’t know. I don’t know the true story. The next day, he just changed his mind. “Let’s do this.” [Laughs] So we just went along with it, but then in the end, it didn’t work out because you could tell that he didn’t want this. So—

DGT&G [to Simon]: So then, you came along. Cool. How do you warm up? What’s your preshow routine?

SC: We warm up together usually. Sing. Start to hum a little bit.

DGT&G: Because Taime Downe [of Faster Pussycat], he just screams and he’s good to go.

SC: I had some trouble with my voice this time, so I’ve been trying to warm up. But before, I didn’t usually warm up. It’s got to do with the key that we’re singing in.

MS: The dry air.

SC: Yeah, that too.

MS: We try to warm up—the four of us, just to go through a few songs and just—’cause everybody sings quite a lot. A lot of choirs, so it’s nice—

DGT&G: I love the harmony.

SC: Yeah?

DGT&G: Yeah.

SC: And it’s a good way of getting into it, of singing a lot.

Dave Lepard
Photo by María Encina Carballo Blanco [GPL (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

DGT&G [to Martin]: You and Peter [London] and Eric [Young], after some time and discussions, decided you wanted to continue the band to keep Dave’s spirit alive. What was his spirit?

MS: Something with his—you know, that whole era, the songs that we wanted to kinda continue playing live. Because if we wanted to continue to playing together and we changed the name, we would not play any CrashDïet songs. Well, not many at least. And the Rest in Sleaze album, which is a legendary album, but not so big as it is today—that’s what we think, at least. We wanted to carry on his legacy, and we always try to talk about the guy who formed this band. Dedicate a song to him almost every night. That’s how we feel. We followed our hearts, in that matter.

DGT&G [to Simon]: So, why do you play sleaze rock? What is it about it?

SC: I don’t know. I’ve always, since I grew up—that’s the stuff that got me most intrigued.

DGT&G: ‘Cause, you’re half a generation later.

SC: But I was kinda like—I don’t know. I found out about bands later than everybody else, I think.

DGT&G: You were like ten years behind everyone else. [Laughs]

SC: Yeah, something like that. [Laughs]

MS: You listened to all these Christian replicas of like Ratt—

DGT&G: Stryper?

MS: No, not like Stryper but—

SC: Yeah, that’s where it started for me. Guardian.

MS: Whitecross, they sound exactly like Ratt. Exactly like Ratt, but they’re Christian. It’s awesome.

SC: And the singer, he sounds exactly like David Coverdale. We have all that. [Laughs] It’s kinda like, I heard these bands first, then I saw the real bands. [Laughs] It’s still the same music.

MS: That’s the thing, we want to make fresh songs but in our favorite package. We don’t think our songs are retro. We have a modern way of writing songs with an ’80s vibe. It invokes—

DGT&G: That excitement, the fun.

MS: Yeah.

Part 1 of this interview

A CrashDiet show. Energy, excitement, fun.

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What’s your favorite CrashDiet song? Is there one that has particular meaning for you, that has helped you through something, one that motivates or inspires you? Which one do you play at full volume when you’re mad as hell? Tell us in a comment.

Many of you will remember Brent Muscat from his Faster Pussycat days. These days his hair is shorter after being shaved to support research into childhood cancers, but he’s still playing a mean guitar – since 2008 with his band Sin City Sinners. Next time you’re in Vegas check them out. You’ll have a great time!

From now until the end of time (or until too many people die for us to continue), DGT&G will be interviewing rock ‘n’ roll artists—famous, not-famous, and the vast numbers in between—and asking each the same five questions. Over time, their answers will become a repository of the heart of why people play rock music. Read on and enjoy … 

Brent Muscat performing with Sin City Sinners at Vinyl, in the Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas

DGT&G: Why do you play rock music?

Brent Muscat: Keeps you young. It’s fun and gets me out of the house.

DGT&G: What else could you see yourself doing?

BM: When I was in high school, I had an arts scholarship to Pratt New York. I could have gone there and been an artist, so I could see myself doing that. Or also, I like animals and would have been a veterinarian.

DGT&G: Do you have any regrets about taking this path?

BM: No. No regrets.

DGT&G: What is your favorite part about creating and playing rock music?

BM: Well, I guess it’s always when people say, “Hey, you know, your music touched my life.” Even in my old band, Faster Pussycat, when they said, “‘House of Pain’ really meant something to me. It really got me through high school or it got me through a really difficult time in my life.” That’s probably makes it all worthwhile.

DGT&G: Who would be in your dream rock band?

 BM: Who would be in it? I’m trying to think. I think Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, and—trying to think of who else. Maybe John Bonham, and who else, who would be the bass player … Billy Sheehan on bass.

I had so much fun at the Sacramento show, I had to go to their San Francisco show!  In case you missed the photos from the Sacto show, you can check them out here.

Back in 1994, my then-boyfriend Kent and I were madly in love and lust with each other. We found each other at the perfect time. After having gone through a series of truly awful dates, horrible relationships, and (cough, cough) nightmarish one-night stands, we were both ready for a serious relationship. Kent wanted someone he could have fun with, and I wanted someone that could make me laugh. He wanted someone to have serious conversations with; I wanted someone that would patiently listen to my rants. We each found in the other what the other was missing, and that summer we were inseparable. From concerts, street festivals, and camping, to grocery shopping, quiet dinners, and laundry dates—we did everything together. Like Forrest Gump said, “We was like peas and carrots.”

By the end of summer, we wanted something to commemorate our love, but we weren’t quite at that “ring” stage yet. After a memorable day playing tourist in Sausalito and two pitchers of margaritas later, we decided that getting a tattoo would be a unique way of showing the world how we felt. It was late in the afternoon and we had a long drive back to the East Bay. We stopped at a tattoo shop in the Mission where all of my friends got tatted. After looking at the artist’s book, we thought that the “Smile now, Cry later” tattoos were appropriate because they told the story of how we lived our lives up until we met. The whole way home, I kept thinking about how romantic this gesture had been—that one day, we would have the best story to tell our grandkids.

A year later, we got engaged; and a year after the engagement, we had our daughter. But, as the saying goes, all good things come to end. By Y2K we had broken up and were not on speaking terms. At first I resented that I had let my heart dictate the art on my body. Over the years though, the tattoo has come to represent how I have always lived my life—I may be crying on the inside, but I always keep a smile on my face. Funny thing is, for years, I have wanted to cover the fugly thing up, and I just can never find what to replace it with. My daughter loves the story of this tattoo and has on numerous occasions stated that I shouldn’t cover it up—that I should keep it as a reminder of how much fun young love can be. Hindsight is 20/20. What was I thinking? A tattoo instead of ring, seriously?

“Smile now, Cry later”

Do you have a tattoo with a special story?

Leave a comment or send us your story with a good photo of the tattoo to tattoos.guyliner [at] gmail.com or facebook.com/TattoosandGuyliner.
We’ll consider it for Tattoo Tuesday!

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Swedish sleaze metal/glam punk rockers CrashDiet visited San Francisco’s DNA Lounge in late March, and a few hours before the show, DGT&G snagged a corner table in DNA Pizza that provided an sort-of-quiet spot to chat with guitarist Martin Sweet and frontman Simon Cruz. Simon arrived a little later, as he was off exploring the Haight-Ashbury, so for Part 1 of this interview you get to enjoy reading Martin’s thoughtful and forthright answers.

(Click here for part 2 of this interview)

DGT&G: So, you’ve been on tour for about a month now. How’s that been? 

Martin Sweet, performing with CrashDiet in San Francisco, March 25, 2013

Martin Sweet: We have?

DGT&G: According to the website, yeah.

MS: Yeah. Time flies. [Laughs]. It feels like it’s only the beginning actually.

DGT&G: Really? Well, that’s good. It means you’re not burned out yet.

MS: No, not me at least. [Laughs]

DGT&G: So, what have the audiences been like?

MS: It’s been quite a variety of audience actually. What shall I say? We’ve had a few shitty gigs and few good ones. So, it’s been a bit mixed, but all in all it’s been quite good.

DGT&G: We were told the gig at the Whiskey was really good.

MS: Yeah, that was really good.

DGT&G: I heard that Nikki Sixx wanted to be on the guest list for LA. Was that true?

MS: I don’t know what to believe. They had this list that had Steven Adler, Duff McKagan—yeah, right.

DGT&G: [Laughs]

Ashley Purdy

MS: Ashley [Purdy] showed up from the [Black  Veil] Brides. He was a big fan. We wanted to tour with them so bad. But it’s hard to—we’re always on different continents when we’re touring. They’re playing the same venue as us in Sweden a month later.

DGT&G: That would be a great double bill.

MS: Yeah, and they know it too. But they’re quite huge these days and it’s a lot of—it’s real expensive to join that kind of package.

DGT&G: What do you mean by expensive? Expensive for you guys out of pocket?

MS: You kinda buy yourself onto the tour bus. That’s how it goes. That’s how it works in this tour.

DGT&G: For a double-bill tour?

MS: Yeah.

DGT&G: But you guys are the headliners on this tour.

MS: Yes.

DGT&G: So other people are buying into your tour?

MS: Yeah.

DGT&G: OK, that’s better.

MS: We paid a lot too, but Crucified Barbara and Snakeskyn Whiskey paid a lot of money for the bus.

DGT&G: So, they’re getting exposure riding on your coattails.

MS: Yeah. And that’s the same thing if we were to tour with the Brides. It’s just not—just to hop on the bus and go. It’s gonna be quite expensive, I’m sure. Otherwise, we’d have done it a long time ago. But hopefully, now that we’ve talked to the guys and—it’s always fun to help other bands. We kinda do it with this tour, and even though our music styles are different, it’s the same message, same age of crowd.

DGT&G: When you’re travelling for this long, how do you stay sane and motivated?

MS: Good question. We don’t stay sane. We become a bit weird after a while. I don’t know, we kinda—we’re still adults, and we know how to take care of ourselves. Take a break from all the partying when you need it. Like yesterday, we all slept for the whole fucking day. We had a bus stop yesterday. Where was it? Sacramento? [To tour manager] Was the bus stop in Sacramento?

Arvid (tour manager): Yesterday? Yeah, we stopped at the—short stop in Sacramento.

DGT&G: Coming from where?

Arvid: San Diego.

DGT&G: That’s going out of your way. That’s longer.

MS: We needed somewhere to stop. So then we slept to 7 in the evening. So that kinda recharges your batteries, and I don’t know, you get into this touring thing. After a while it just works.

DGT&G: Get up, get ready, go.

MS: Yup. Repeat cycle. [Laughs] And the body kinda—you know when you need to rest. [Laughs]

DGT&G: If you’re paying attention. Not everybody does. [Laughs] I saw you had a detour to the Grand Canyon.

MS: Yeah.

DGT&G: Had you been there before?

MS: I’ve been there before.

DGT&G: What did you think when you first got to the rim of the first time you went? ‘Cause I know how I reacted.

MS: I thought it was a bit surreal. Kinda like, looked more like a painting. It’s so deep and so huge that you can’t take it in.

DGT&G: The colors, you can’t take it in.

MS: No, you can’t really believe what you see. It’s so far down there. [Laughs]

DGT&G: Did you walk along the rim a bit? It’s really nice and quiet.

MS: Yeah, we took the whole sightseeing. Some of the crazy guys, they went off to the edge. [Laughs] I didn’t do that. I will get a compulsion to—

DGT&G: Jump off?

MS: Jump off. [Laughs]

DGT&G: No, I understand that actually. Yup. So, CrashDïet’s mission is to bring back the unpredictable and dangerous rock and roll. Why do you want to revive sleaze rock? Because you guys were all in your early twenties, most of you, when you joined the band.

MS: Yeah. I guess, it’s different for every individual when they found this genre. I found out about it, kinda rediscovered it in the mid-90s when it was pretty lame to listen to that kind of music. And I found Cinderella, a compilation CD at a second-hand store. And that just kickstarted my interest of this genre. I just think it’s the best fucking music there is. Then I came in contact with the other boys and it was like destiny in a way. And at the time, the music scene was very boring in Sweden, so it was the right time, you know, for people have been longing for partying, fun music after depressing—

DGT&G: Grunge.

MS: Yeah.

DGT&G: We interviewed a guy, Johnny Lima, who was in Sweden to write songs with a partner there. He said that there’s whole kind of glam scene in Sweden. Is that right? Glam rock?

MS: It’s been around for—it kinda flourished when we got signed, then all these other bands came up.

DGT&G: You were in the forefront.

MS: Yeah, and then we kinda discovered that it actually worked outside of Sweden too. Nowadays it’s even better when we come to, like, South America.

DGT&G: There are some good audiences down there.

MS: Yeah. So there’s a need for this genre. That’s what we feel.

DGT&G: CrashDïet’s music also has a strong punk element. 

Peter London, performing with CrashDiet in San Francisco, March 25, 2013

MS: Yeah, we’re influenced by bands like Guns N’ Roses, and they were quite punk in their attitude. Some of the members—Peter has always been a punk rocker, musically. He’s always listened to a lot of punk.

DGT&G: Simon has the mohawk. [Laughs]

MS: Exactly.

DGT&G: You seem to the primary songwriter. So, what’s the process when you guys write songs?

MS: Nowadays, we write quite a lot, every band member. We kinda come up with an idea for an song. It’s almost like a finished song, you just stick in verse, bridge, and chorus.

DGT&G: That’s cool. Do you start with the music, or do you start with the lyrics?

MS: I always start with the music. Then I present it to Simon and we kinda put our ideas together. That’s how it works. Recently, on this latest album, Eric’s been writing a lot of songs. So there’s more involvement with—

DGT&G: The whole band.

MS: Yeah, it’s more like a band album.

DGT&G: That’s nice.

MS: This latest album.

DGT&G: Cause it’s your second one with the four of you.

MS: Yeah, the second one.

DGT&G: So, where do the ideas for the lyrics come from? Are they from your own lives or are they from world affairs, observations of other people? Some of them are pretty strong. And they have a message.

MS: Well, Simon should be here to answer.

DGT&G: Yeah, he should be here. Where is he lost at? [Laughs]

MS [To Arvid]: Can you pretend to be Simon?

Arvid: That’s a very good question.

MS: Lost in?

Simon Cruz being a rebel at the DNA Lounge, San Francisco, March 25, 2013

Arvid: Simon is and has always been the rebel. Playing at the Whisky last Saturday, and there’s a big sign that says no stage diving. First thing he does, the rebel, he stage dives of course. I think personally he stands for the punk in CrashDïet.

MS: Yes, absolutely.

Arvid: At least this period.

MS: I definitely have seen his spirit.

DGT&G: He does. And in the videos, it totally comes through in his movements.

MS: It’s more about the attitude than the actual punk musicality. Cause we’re quite musical. [Laughs] For being punk.

DGT&G: No, no. That wasn’t a reflection on your musicianship. [Laughs]

MS: Oh, I see.

DGT&G: It was the feeling of it. ‘Cause I’m reading the lyrics—

MS: But I mean, I’ve heard—Simon writes most of the lyrics but he’s been telling us that it’s about the last three years of touring before the album. So, a lot of the impressions and stuff that’s been happening through those years. Hard work, hard—tough tours and some business people that really fucked with us. [Laughs] And it all comes out in our songs. That’s our way of getting it out there.

DGT&G: We hear that over and over again about the music industry.

MS: We’re not very satisfied with how things are. Well, it’s getting better actually. We’ve eliminated a few things, people. [Laughs] So, we’re on the right direction, right path. It’s a fucking boring industry these days, to tell the truth. We just want to play rock and roll and sometimes it just seems hard to just fucking record songs. [Laughs] Record an album and just get it out there. But we managed to.

DGT&G: Backtrack into songwriting—do you sit down and say, “We’re gonna write an album now,” or do the songs just kind of come out over time?

MS: Yeah, we often write a lot more songs than—

DGT&G: between?

Eric Young, performing with CrashDiet in San Francisco, March 25, 2013

MS: It always ends up with like 40 songs.

DGT&G: Wow.

MS: We have to choose, and that’s the hard, tough part. That’s when we want to kill each other.

DGT&G: Is it the four of you that choose?

MS: Yeah, and of course the A&R guy and—

DGT&G: Producer?

MS: No

DGT&G: Oh.

MS: Our producer doesn’t. His job is done when— [laughs]. But I mean—this is actually our longest album we’ve ever done.

DGT&G: It’s good.

MS: That’s probably—we couldn’t really decide.

DGT&G: Now, you’re not really limited, like on vinyl. You can go longer these days.

MS: I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing. It just felt like it was the right thing.

DGT&G: Was there one song in particular that you really wanted to be on there?

MS: That didn’t make it or did make it? [Laughs]

DGT&G: Either or both.

MS: Let’s see, I put that behind me now. I guess, “Snakes in Paradise” was a song that was very threatened. It was so odd. But it’s a masterpiece. And it kinda does have a function on the album. So that’s why it made it onto the album.

Setlist from DNA Lounge show, San Francisco, March 25, 2013

DGT&G: That song and “Change the World,” “Garden of Babylon,” “Anarchy,” “Circus,” there’s kind of a Biblical theme coming through. Why is that?

MS: Yeah.

DGT&G: Where did that come from?

MS: Simon. Where he grew up—in that kind of community. So, he has a lot of feelings about that. But he likes to express himself in the songs. But I don’t wanna put words in his mouth—but that’s what it’s about.

DGT&G: “Liquid Jesus.” That song is really fun. I felt like I was at a punk-influenced black church revival meeting. Where did that come from?

MS: I could say we were drunk shitless when we recorded that. It’s a bit loose on the album. [Laughs]

DGT&G: I loved it.

MS: But that was the whole point, you know. We’re gonna play liquid Jesus, we better be fucking pissed. That’s what were  [laughs].

DGT&G: Fair enough.

MS: But it turned out to be a really good song to play live.

DGT&G: And that’s the bonus track on iTunes.

MS: Yes, on the American.

DGT&G: The first track, “Changed the World.” When I listened to it, it immediately made me think of Black Veil Brides, the latest album. The kind of apocalyptic theme, the narration, the intro. I take it that it was coincidental. 

The Savage Playground

MS: Which album?

DGT&G: Wretched & Divine.

MS: Alright. Well, it came out after our album, didn’t it.

 DGT&G: Yeah.

MS: That’s weird. [Laughs]

DGT&G: I listened to it and thought, “Wow, what’s going on in the world that these two—”

MS: I was kind of—it hit me when I saw their album cover.

DGT&G: It’s really similar.

MS: Yeah. [Laughs] And it wasn’t on purpose at all.

Wretched and Divine

DGT&G: Well, their whole album was designed around that theme. Whereas yours is a lot of different stuff. But that one song—

MS: But theirs is more like a concept album and ours isn’t at all a concept album. It’s just all songs have a—I think they’re very different actually. But if you look at the album cover, you can—it kinda looks like a concept album.

DGT&G: You guys are pretty active on social media. Do you enjoy that, interacting with the fans?

MS: Yeah. That’s the way it’s always been. That’s part of why, I think, we’ve come as far as we have come. We did a lot of website stuff back in 2003 when we started. We had a message board, forum back then too. And we were like talking—we immediately had all these fans start following us. So we’ve always been very nice to our fans. And I think that’s kinda paid off. So we like it. I mean, social media has become quite big now, so it’s a lot of work. We should hire someone to do it, because it takes a lot of time.

DGT&G: I noticed on Peter’s blog, he talks about a whole day answering e-mails.

MS: We work too hard. But it’s hard when it’s—everything we do is really fun. It’s really fun to do, the Facebook stuff and all the—I do all the video things. We did these teasers for the pre-ordering of the album. And all kinds of stuff, it’s fucking fun to do, but it takes a lot of time. Almost no time left for music. [Laughs]

DGT&G: I had questions for the other guys, but they’re not here. What’s your preshow routine? How do you prepare?

MS: It depends on which day it is. [Laughs]. In San Diego, we just had a few beers. [Laughs]

DGT&G: Does Simon warm up his voice?

MS: Yeah, he has to. He sings a lot, when we do a full show. It’s a lot of fucking singing.

DGT&G: How long is your full set?

MS: We usually play an hour. We did a few shows in Sweden and South America that was one-and-a-half hour, big venues. It was like 16 or 18 songs. He was kinda—

DGT&G: I heard he lost his voice—in Phoenix, was it?

MS: Yeah. What happened?

DGT&G: [to Arvid]: Simon lost his voice somewhere on this tour.

Arvid: Oh yeah, in Albuquerque.

MS: Yeah, we had two shows in Albuquerque, so we had to cover for him at the second show. So me and Peter sung. It was quite fun, better than cancelling.

DGT&G: Oh yes, definitely better than cancelling.

MS: Simon was standing in the audience [laughs].

DGT&G: Was he still there?

MS: Yeah.

DGT&G: That’s funny.

Arvid: He had a piece of tape [mimes placing a piece of tape across his throat] that had “Fuck You” on it.

MS: It was some sort of healing thing.

DGT&G: Oh, salve. That’s hilarious.

MS: Yeah, when we came to the States, the air was so different, so dry, I think he blew his voice on the first Albuquerque show and, I mean, if he were to do the second show, we’d probably have to cancel shows for a week after that. So, we—

DGT&G: So you just sit out that one show.

MS: Yeah. And it’s been working out quite good now.

DGT&G: I come from a humid country and it’s definitely dry here.

MS: I’m gonna have one of these cheese balls.

DGT&G: Please do. They’re mushrooms. They’re kinda cold.

MS: Mushroom balls.

DGT&G: There’s ranch dressing here if you want. So, are you familiar with the movie Spinal Tap?

MS: I’m in the movie. [Laughs]

Part 2 of this interview

In part 2, coming soon… singer Simon Cruz joins the conversation … after the tour manager spills the beans about Simon’s Spinal Tap moment … the stories behind the lyrics … how Martin, Peter, Eric and Simon keep CrashDiet founder Dave Lepard’s spirit alive … interrupting roadies … and more.

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Sin City Sinners play regularly in venues all over Las Vegas, so if you’re in town you have a good chance of catching up with them. As you should. These guys throw one hell of a party. We caught up with them in March at Vinyl in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, playing to a supercharged crowd that featured the kind of mix you only find in Vegas, soccer moms and dads, off-duty strippers, middle-aged businessmen, college bros, sorority girls, and at least one profoundly jet-lagged Boston-based writer. Many of them  were fresh out of the Ded Flatbird/ Def Leppard show, eager to keep rocking into the wee hours, and the Sinners obliged with covers of everything from AC/DC to the Violent Femmes.

In addition to playing the most diverse cover set I’ve ever seen, the Sinners also write and perform their own material. With a lineup that features Brent Muscat (formerly of Faster Pussycat and incredibly gracious to writers suffering profound jetlag) and Todd Kerns (when he’s not out on the road with Slash), how could they not?

The Sinners have released two albums of original songs– one full-length and one acoustic EP– and a Christmas album. Their first studio album, Exile on Fremont Street, was released in 2010. A new album with the band’s current lineup– including Rob Cournoyer on drums and Zach Throne on lead vocals and bass– may be forthcoming this year. But while we wait for that and for their next appearance in Vegas– this weekend if you’re in town– let’s take a look back at their debut. If you can’t make it to one of their shows, this recording is the next best thing, capturing the rollicking energy of their performances.

1) Numb– A powerful riff and pounding drums provide an upbeat backing for somewhat dark lyrics that may or may not be about sex and drugs.

2) Turn It Up– Proving that I am, as always, a sucker for a great bass line.

3) It’s Not You, It’s Me– Great title. Great rhythm that makes you want to dance.

4) Ah! Leah– The original recording (Donnie Iris) is a guilty radio pleasure for me– and I’m guessing I’m not alone on this. The harder edge on this version takes the guilt away.

5) Arianna Incomplete– This track comes closer to being a ballad than any other on the album up to this point, but it’s got a heavier sound and quicker tempo than most. I’m not so crazy about the lyrics, but the musicality here saves the day.

6) Blow Up Doll– Of course this is a song.

7) Bigtime Superstar– Definitely moving into ballad territory here. Blues and acoustic guitar stylings, and lyrics that slow down the party, but an insightful look at the celebrity experience.

8) Gotta Girl– Trashy lyrics and guitars give us a true glam sound and brings the Sunset Strip to The Strip.

9) My True Love– An anthem to celebrate the joys of music. Or maybe it’s about a girl. But I think it’s about rock n’ roll.

10) Probable Cause– Drum-driven and joyfully, sinfully exuberant loudness.

11) Goin’ to Vegas– If you’re not packing your bags and booking a ticket right now, then something is missing. Listen to it again. You’ll get it.

If you find yourself in Vegas on a Saturday night, you must check out Sin City Sinners. They usually play at the Hard Rock Cafe. Missing a Sin City Sinners show is like going to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and ordering plain chicken. HELLO? You just don’t do that.

I’ve been teaching yoga for almost seven years now and I truly believe yoga has been my saving grace. This little gem on my wrist is my daily reminder of the preciousness of life. I have battled Guillain–Barré syndrome, which is a problem with the nervous system that can be be deadly if not treated properly.

I woke up five years ago paralyzed from the waist down, and it was moving its way up to my heart. With my family around my bed watching me like hawks, high on morphine, I thought this is it … I’m dying. Doctors and specialists told me I would have long-term effects like weakness and balance problems. After more blood tests, I was diagnosed with  Graves’ disease. Graves is an immune system disorder which produces too much thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism). After a couple of years of battling hellish medical problems, I had my thyroid removed.

I’m 29 now and finally feel comfortable in my body. With the help of yoga, a healthy diet and my awesome tribe of loved ones. I know I’m truly blessed to be here. My EKG tattoo reminds me every day that death is just a heartbeat away.

Blanca Estrada’s EKG tattoo

Do you have a tattoo with a special story?
Leave a comment or send us your story with a good photo of the tattoo to tattoos.guyliner [at] gmail.com or facebook.com/TattoosandGuyliner.
We’ll consider it for Tattoo Tuesday!