Joe Queer Interview

OK, I post this cuz the Queers are absolutely the best, but also due to the mention of a certain punk rock band from Wilmington... Thanks Joe!

"The Return of the Queers"
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
By Mike Sembos

If everyone who saw the Ramones went out and started their own band there would be too many bands that sound like the Ramones. For a while this was the case. Joe King started his band, The Queers, in 1982, and while much of the competition from that original wave has long since traded in their second-hand Marshall stacks for business casual, he has kept The Queers at it in some capacity for 22 years.

We caught up with King as he was about to hit the road.

Advocate: You've had no less than 30 other members of The Queers. Do you find this constant rotation liberating or annoying?

Joe King: Liberating. It keeps everything fresh. It doesn't matter who's playing with me. If it's me on stage with your grandmother in a muu muu, it's The Queers.

What's this about doing a pop tour? I hear there will be a keyboard player, too?

Not for the New Haven show, but next month we're doing a pop tour. I'm thinking of doing a whole set with lots of covers and cool songs we all love that never get played live. Beach Boys and Lesley Gore and shit like that.

How is the new record coming along?

We'll record this winter. I keep putting it off as I have a studio and I've been busy as hell doing that. Then, my wife and I just moved back to Atlanta from New Hampshire and I had to move all my gear to a new studio. I'm getting my two inch MCI JH24 tape machine today, actually! I'm pro analog. I hate recording with some fucking nerd with glasses staring at a fucking computer screen - you know the asshole hasn't been laid in about 15 years and has nothing to share about life...looking like the fucking trombone player for Reel Big Fish. I need some dude that's lived life with a huge tape machine going, telling me about cornholing some young chick the night before or something. It gets you in the vibe to record. It's a spiritual thing really.

Name some favorite places to play in Connecticut.

Oh man, it seemed there were lots of hardcore kids back in the day. But yeah, Connecticut? Shit, we opened up for The Ramones in '86 at the Agora in Hartford. This was before we ever toured. There were about 4,000 people there. We'd never played in front of 400, never mind 4,000. We got up and played for about 58 minutes. Played everything we knew and a few we didn't. Got offstage and Joey came up and told me when you open up for bands just play 22 minutes and get offstage cause the crowd doesn't wanna see you anyway. Best advice I ever got.

Are there any new bands that you're into that we should know about?

Eh, Unbelievers, Tit Patrol, Riptides, though they're not really new. Mostly underground punk bands.

You played at Cafe Nine last year and now you're coming back. Do you remember anything about that last show there?

Yeah the owner is great and there's a good vibe to that club. The crowd was energetic. I liked it a lot. Can't wait to get back.