BBQ Two, August 17th Party Show

Another BBQ Show at Headies-Central on Harrison Street in Wilmington. These are Madison Underground Recordings showcases, featuring the best and brightest of Delaware Punk Rock. This one starred Tit Patrol, Skinny Dick Jones and His One Man Band, the Headies, and Sexon Horses.

The Main Man, Timmy Toner, auditions to be the Headies' organo player. He wishes!

Chris Sexon Horses is very photogenic, no matter what he tells you.

Red Meat!

Sean Sexon Horses.

Grillin' up some hamburg!

Devo Sexon Horses.

The "Hot-Rod."

Wild Bill vs. the Burger.

It's Burger-Time all the time!













Your Hero.

Frasier Tildham - guitar and vocals
Butch Worthy - vocals and guitar

Rocky Highlands - drums

Tit Patrol!!!

Skinny Dick Jones and His One Man Band!!

The HEADIES!!!

Sexon Horses!!

So, y'all should come over some time! All photos by Dan, except Tit Patrol and Headies shots by Nikki, and Sexon Horses shots by Toddy.

Plow United Interview - Bloody Wanker Zine

Another Plow United interview, this one from Bloody Wanker Zine, cerca '97... hey, c'mon! I've read worse interviews. You'll read it and you'll like it!

Bloody Wanker- Name, instrument you play, age, height and weight.

Sean- I'm Sean, I'm the drummer, 5'11", 175 pounds…is that everything?

Sara- And height.

Sean- 5'11", no I'm 23- that was the age.

Sara- Oh yeah, the age (my bad).

Brian- I'm Brian, I play guitar, I'm 21 and I'm 145 pounds and I think I'm 5'9".

Joel- I'm Joel, I play the bass, I think I'm around 155 pounds, I'm 6'5" and I'm 21.

Bloody Wanker- What's the Pennsylvania music scene like?

Plow- Pretty much like anywhere else.

Bloody Wanker- Aren't you guys from Westchester?

Joel- We don't live there anymore, but we're from Pennsylvania. We're not from any specific town because we all come from different places.

Bloody Wanker- What are your favorite Pennsylvania bands or bands in general?

Sean- Ick.

Brian- Shortfuse, Super Hi-Five, Dutchland Diesel, uh…

Joel- FOD.

Sara- The Crash? (I love them so.)

Brian- They're a Delaware band though.

Bloody Wanker- How did you guys get onto Creep?

Joel- You don't really get on Creep. You kind of just…

Sean- You stay at their house long enough…

Joel- You stay at their house long enough time that they just fucking throw you in the basement and tell you to record.

Bloody Wanker- How did Plow get together? Were you all friends before?

Brian- We all went to the same high school. And Sean, naturally is two years older than us, so…Well we all met in high school and we were in jazz band together.

Sean- And marching band…

Joel- We played in orchestra together.

Bloody Wanker- What's your favorite Saturday morning cartoon?

Brian- I don't really watch it anymore but when I was a loyal Saturday morning cartoon watcher, my favorite, I think, was the Spider Man, Fire Woman, Ice Man…whatever that one was called.

Noel- Spider Man and his Amazing Friends. (Noel's a big cartoon fan)

Brian- Exactly!

Sean- My favorite was the Smurfs from 1985 when I used to watch cartoons, channel 3.

Bloody Wanker- Why did you change your name from Plow to Plow United?

Joel- We were legally obligated (For those of you who don't already know- there's another band out there named Plow).

Sean- 'Cause we started a soccer league (he laughs alone). We had to, they were going to sue us.

Noel- Were you kind of upset about that?

Sean- At first…

Joel- It was kind of annoying…

Brian- But its grown on us.

Bloody Wanker- What's your favorite Plow United song?

Joel- My favorite's "Plow II".

Mumbles all around- Sounds like they say Big Mike and Dean (but those aren't any songs we know of).

Bloody Wanker- If you could marry anyone living, dead, fictional or non-fictional, who would it be?

(Pause)

Sean- Can we come back to that?

Brian- I don't really ever plan on getting married, but I can think of a person or two that I'd like to spend a lot of time with.

Sara- Who would that be?

Brian- I'd rather not name any names (laughs all around). It would be weird.

Bloody Wanker- What do you do when you're not playing with the band? Do you work?

Brian- I work at a Lawnscape supplies place called Sweeny Seed Company. I just do that from 8:00-5:00.

Noel- Is that a plug?

Brian- Yeah, this is a plug…Come get your fertilizer, we have 80 compacts (I think that's what he said) of rock salt, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride.

Joel- Magnesium chloride is great!

Brian- Magnesium and chloride will ruin your shoes. So come down, we'll ruin shoes together.

Sean- I teach math. And uh, that pretty much keeps me busy.

Sara- Do you have to dress all nice?

Sean- I wear a tie. I comb my hair.

Brian- He also bartends too.

Sara- Teach by day, bartend by night.

Sean- It keeps me busy.

Brian- He's a little flashdancer.

Joel- I work in a CD store.

Bloody Wanker- And, uh where's the coolest place you've toured.

Brian- El Paso, Texas.Group- Yeah, El Paso, Texas.

Sara- How come?

Brian- Because the people were awesome and they treated us well.

Sean- And they've all been to jail (I think that's what he said).

Brian- And they're just great people.

Noel- Did they know you when you got out there?

Brian- I think a dozen did, but they're just such freaks and just so fun to be around. They're such good people, they really are.

Joel- What's that other place? Biloxi, Mississippi. Pensacola. Lake Charles is good.

Sara- Have you guys made it to Europe yet? Not yet.

Brian- Nope, next summer. That means it's exactly one year after we were initially told we were going.

Sean- We're not angry or anything.

Joel- We'll all look a little different from our passports. 'Cause we all hurried up and got them.

Brian- So we each spent sixty or seventy bucks for our passports this past summer to go to Europe. So we're just waiting.

Bloody Wanker- What's your most embarrassing, strangest, or funniest tour or road story?

Brian- I'd say, we were driving through Louisiana and uh, Joel was playing the End of the World soundtrack…

Joel- Until the End of the World! (Until the End of the World was a good movie, go out and rent it. It's about this dream recording machine that these people get addicted to, it's about 3 hours long though, so don't plan on doing anything else for a while).

Brian- Until the End of the World soundtrack, and I was driving and everyone else was asleep.

Joel- And soon you were too!

Brian- It was at least 105 that day. And, I was kind of tired and the heat was making me even more tired. So I started falling asleep and everyone else was asleep and when I fall asleep I have a tendency to press on the gas more. So I was speeding up.

Sean- Notice how he said when he falls asleep behind the wheel because it happens quite frequently. (Everyone laughs)

Brian- Exactly. And uh, we almost rear ended a pick up truck full of like, just, a lot of stuff. And we all woke up at the same time, all five of us. And I swerved out of the way in time and everything, but it was just really scary and embarrassing. It was funny at the same time, ha ha.

Sara- Do you have a van, how do you get around?

(Weston's "Just Like Kurt" kicks in really loud in the background…)

Joel- Mumbles… something about four vans and a go cart.

Bloody Wanker- If you could commit any crime and get away with it, what would it be?

Sean- Speeding. Oh wait, no, vehicular assault, I've always thought about this. The people that cut you off on the highway, you should have the right to hit them. They shouldn't be driving like that in the first place. If they cut you off or something like that, you know how people pass you, they'll get behind you on the highway, and then they'll pass you, but you want to get over too…

Sara- And then you're blocked.

Sean- Right, right. That's when you go and hit people, just hit em' and knock em' right off the side of the road.

Sara- I have a tendency to tailgate when people piss me off.

Sean- Yeah, exactly, that's all you can do, you can't touch them.

Brian- I have the same kind of feeling, but mine's more geared towards old people. Sean tells me I should respect them 'cause they're older, but I think when they get to the age of 65 or so, they should have to retake their driver's test.

Everyone- Yeah, yeah.

Sara- You want to go back to the marriage question? Or, if you could have sex with any cartoon character, who would it be- that's the back up to the marriage question.

Sean- Azriel. (Everybody laughs.)

Noel- You're still caught up on the Smurfs there.

Sean- I have to go back to 1953 and find someone exactly like my mother and marry her.

Sara- Incest…

Bloody Wanker- Okay, do you have any last words?

(Silence)

Sara- Buy your new CD.

Joel- Don't buy our new CD. Don't buy our stuff. If you see our van, fuckin' slash the tires.

Sean- That would be awesome too.

Everyone- All right.

So that's it, the interview ends, we go out and watch Weston. Brian lets us get a free copy of the Creep Records sampler and we go home happy with free booty (that's booty as in pirate treasure, not that other booty).

Sometimes, Brian wore glasses.

Sometime, Joel sold t-shirts.

Happy Birthday Tayler!

One of my two favorite kids turned six years old yesterday! She's as smart and athletic as her mom, and as kind and sensitive as her dad, and as pretty as her aunt! Man, I love those Frazer girls, even when they're Vitolas!

Birthday presents! This is what's hot with the youth of today. "High School Musical" notebook, a folder featuring the hunkiest Jonas brother (the one most resembling me), and Disney's "Camp Rock" soundtrack. These gifts touch on two hallmarks: the importance of early childhood education and the imprtance of rock and roll.

Fujiyama Mama

Essay the second, and I'm out! See ya in September... (or later on today).

Bill Gordon puts up a pretty flimsy argument against the justification of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings by the U.S., but it seems to be only partly an argument. The title "Reflections on Hiroshima" says it all, as Gordon muses on aspects of the bombings without strongly comitting or convincing anyone.

He begins by exploring whether the bombings were justified. In his first argument he speaks about the "hatred" many Americans "must have felt" towards the Japanese during this time, referencing a 1945 poll in which 23% of people polled said they wished we had had time to use more A-bombs before VJ Day. While this is slightly barbaric, and reveals a technical racism in a quarter of the concensus, it pales in comparison to the war-like and racist sentiments of post 9-11 Americans, and just doesn't seem so shocking. He goes on to the "deeply prejudiced oppinions" of America's leaders, specifically President Truman. Quoting Truman's diary, the week before the big day, the Japanese people were "savages, ruthless, merciless, and fanatic." Gordon calls the American people and the government racist, and claims this made it easier for them to justify the bombings to themselves. Even if all this were true, it does not determine whether the bombings were justified or not. Gordon is not claiming the U.S. bombed Japan because we hate the Japanese, which would detract from justification, rather just that American prejudice made the bombings more palatable.

Then Gordon claims that the U.S. did not pursue adequate diplomatic ends to the war before resorting to the bombings. However, his premises don't support his conclusion. He talks about how Japan proposed a conditional surrender, where Emporor Hirohito would remain the nation's head. But the U.S. demanded an unconditional surrender. He claims that the U.S. should have been satisfied with the other demands being met, i.e. - complete disarmament, relinquishment of territory seized during the war, temporary occupation of Japan by Allied forces, and justice for war criminals, to name a few. But Japan refused, even after being warned, in writing, of "prompt and utter destruction" by the U.S. The U.S. made adequate attempts at diplomatic ends to the war, but Japan refused, knowing what would happen, or at least that something bad was going to go down. He caps off his anti-argument by stating that 90% of Americans polled supported the "unconditional surrender" policy, the people were behind it too.

Gordon then goes on to say that the motivation to drop the bomb was not military, but political. He says it was done not to win the war, but to keep Communist Russia out of post-war Japan and to give us a head start on the burgeoning cold war. Again, he mentions how popular the decision was, and how Truman had a real no-brainer. Give the people what they want and use the biggest, best weapon there is, which we spent two billion dollars on, and end the war, presumably forever. This is his best argument so far. If countless lives were sacrificed soley for the sake of the capitalist/communist pissing contest, then the use of the atomic bomb was not justified. Talking about how popular the decision was (without drawing attention to the previous "racist" argument) is not very convincing however.

Next, he talks about how he used to believe the bombings were justified, and actually gives a couple good arguments for that side, such as the A-bomb being a weapon of war like any other bomb, gun, etc... and the events shouldn't be judged any different than any other wartime killing, and the bombings ending the war actually prevented what may have been a larger number of total deaths. Then he says he doesn't think those things anymore, and gives two extremely brief but believable premises. That Japan was already on the verge of collapse, and expert leaders MacArthur and Eisenhower thought the bomb to be militarily unecasarry. This is his first sound argument against the necesity of the bombings, even if he couldn't rebuke justification. He knows it, and uses the ad hoc argument that even if Hiroshima was justified, Nagasaki was not, which clearly does nothing to prove that the bombings on Hiroshima were not justified.

At this point, Gordon perfoms a non sequitor and begins to talk about how various books and movies on the topic have effected him, discussing the medium's portrayal of the "human tragedy" caused by the bombings, physical, emotional, psychological, and the way it tore a country apart. This is merely an appeal to pity, tugging at the heartstrings in place of convincing.

Finally, Gordon proposes two alternatives to Truman's method, which was to use the A-bomb in the manner most effective from a military point of view to bring about prompt Japanese surrender while minimizing loss of American lives. Gordon's alternatives: either do not use the bomb militarily but make public the experimental results, supposedly scaring the Japanese reading about it or maybe seeing a video playback of a bomb going off into reconsidering their condition, or maintain as secret as possible and refrain from using the bombs in war, which would have been very humanitarian minded and karmically sound, but that's not the way history went, and does not effect whether dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was justified or necesary.

Check out this sweet new technology they have now: movies that don't actually move.

Hamdi vs. Rumsfeld (2004)

Here's the first of two short essays I wrote for my "Critical Thinking" class in lieu of a final.

Yaser Esam Hamdi is a U.S. citizen. From 2001-2004 he was detained indefinitely for being an "illegal enemy combatant." He was detained without the benefit of presidential review, without an attorney, or hearing in front of a judge. Most appalling of all, he was detained by the U.S. government. Though this seems in direct violation of the fifth and fourteenth amendments to the Bill of Rights, garaunteeing due process to all alleged criminals, the government claimed it was constitutional. The crux of the Hamdi case lies in how one interprets the constitution.

Article II, Section 1 of the constitution states, "The executive power shall be vested in a President..." In this statement, the term "executive power" is ambiguous. It's meaning could forever be up for debate, but at its base, it gives the President the right to execute federal law. Article II, Section 2 states, "The President shall be commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the U.S." It is the combination of the two that allowed the administration to pervert justice. After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, a frightened, Republican congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force Act. Executing this law as the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, the president claimed its action constitutional, i.e. - detaining any and all possible terrorists, for as long as necessary, as deemed so by the very same administration, regardless of evidence, and without representation. What this scenario does, essentially, is give the executive branch unlimited power to detain, and what's more, apparently allows a presidential trump of the Bill of Rights.

The problem for the President started when Hamdi attempted to file a writ of habeas corpus. He was picked up in Afghanistan 2001 by the Afghan Northern Alliance, who turned him over to the U.S. military during the U.S. invasion, claiming he was Taliban. Hamdi alleges he was there doing relief work. Without a trial or any representation, Hamdi was kept in Guantanamo Bay, then Norfolk, Virginia, then finally a brig in Charleston, South Carolina. Recognizing his rights as a U.S. citizen, Hamdi had his father file a writ of habeas corpus on his behalf. The District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that Hamdi be allowed a public defender, but the government appealed and the higher Fourth Circuit court reversed the order, citing the District Court's overlooking "intelligence and security interests." With this near martial law set-up, it seems any right could be dismissed if "intelligence and security interests" were not fully accounted for.

The District Court naturally disagreed, claiming that the government's evidence for detaining Hamdi was very weak, based on hearsay and possible lies, and demanded documentation which would allow for "meaningful judicial review." Only then could Hamdi's "unlawful combatant" classification be legitimate. The government appealed and the Fourth Circuit responded in a way that only thinly veiled their evil intent, claiming the only concrete fact, that Hamdi was indeed captured in a foreign combat zone, warranted his status. Hence, if they captured a goat, or any given Afghan citizen, or me, or you in a foreign combat zone, we too are enemy combatants and subject to a very broad government's whims. Even more audaciously, the court claimed that under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution and, of all things, the principle of separation of powers between the branches of U.S. government, that no court could hear cases which may interfere with national security, as deemed so by the very same administration. This, as the executive branch attempts to wrestle power away from the judicial.

The corruption is obvious. The current administration has done so much to demonstrate the executive branch's power over the Bill of Rights. But, it is unjust. The Bill of Rights in a stop-time representation of what some very brilliant, enlightened men thought universal moral truths would look like on paper. It's direct application in our government guarantees U.S. citizens these rights, universally. What's more, giving the President certain rights does not imply other's can be taken away.

When the lower courts could not decide, the case was brought before the Supreme Court. In an understandable eight to one margin, the court ruled in favor of Hamdi, that the Executive Branch does not have the power to hold a U.S. citizen indefinitely without due process and a hearing in which he is represented in front of some kind of judicial review. Even though the court upheld these rights, they put a somewhat conservative limitation on what the rights entail. The burden of proof would not fall on the government to show, beyond reasonable doubt, that Hamdi is an "unlawful combatant," and the trial need not be in front of a U.S. court, but rather by a military tribunal. One can't help but worry that these two ingredients could lead to kangaroo courts, detaining possibly innocent men.

The usually conservative Justice Scalia had the right idea, limiting the power of the executive branch back down to where is proper. Scalia claimed that the government had only two options if they wished to detain Hamdi. One, Congress could suspend habeas corpus if and only if there was an invasion or rebellion on U.S. soil, or two, try him under normal U.S. law, which they wouldn't do without evidence. Scalia felt that it is the court's job to deem the action unconstitutional, not to invent new procedure that would render the actions constitutional.

That is what it all comes down to. In America, you are innocent until proven guilty. Whether or not Hamdi is an enemy of the state is and has been irrelevant. That is to be decided by the courts, not the president, the press, or the public. As a U.S. citizen, he is entitled to the same basic rights as all of us. Likewise, if any U.S. citizen's rights are deferred, than so could yours or mine. By finding in favor of Hamdi, the Supreme Court protected our rights from our President.

A Dream Team Deferred...

In 1989, international basketball's governing body, FIBA, allowed NBA players to compete in the olympics for the first time. European and South American pros had competed, and finally, not only would America's best be able to compete for the gold, they could utterly annihilate the world. The NBA was experiencing a golden age of popularity and talent. The initial team assembled after the rule change would boast ten of the fifty greatest all-time NBA stars. Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, Chris Mullin, and Christian Laetner made up the original Dream Team, the greatest basketball team of all time.

They assembled for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, and put on a display of American basketball dominance that would not be soon forgotten. After defeating Angola, Croatia, Germany, Spain, Puerto Rico, and Lithuania, Team U.S.A. once again beat Croatia (with five current or future NBA players in Dražen Petrović, Toni Kukoč, Dino Radja, Stojko Vranković, and Žan Tabak) in the Gold Medal Game by a score of 117-85. This was the closest game that the Dream Team would play, winning by an average of 43.8 points and never using a time out, not one. "Sir" Charles Barkley led the team with an average of 18.0 points per game and a field goal percentage of 71.1%.


Over the next few Olympics and Basketball World Championships, the team would have success, but the watering down process, which began immediately, would wear down their aire of invincibility. The '96 team that competed in the Atlanta Olympics had five original stars Barkley, Malone, Pippen, Robinson, and Stockton, new all-time greats like Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O'Neal, and stars Reggie Miller, Mitch Richmond, Anfernee Hardaway, Grant Hill, and Gary Payton. The team would again win the gold undefeated, beating Yugoslavia 95-69, but this team only won every game by an average of 32.3 points a game.

By the 2000 games in Sydney, Team U.S.A. was a whole new generation of players. Steve Smith, Gary Payton, Vince Carter, Ray Allen, Vin Baker, Kevin Garnett, Tim Hardaway, Allan Houston, Jason Kidd, Antonio McDyess, Alonzo Mourning, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim would again go undefeated to gold, but beat Lituania in the semi-final match by only two, thanks to Lithuaninan star Šarūnas Jasikevičius choking on a buzzer-bearter three pointer. They defeated France for gold 85-75. This surely was no Dream Team. This year did boast what is sometimes called the greatest slam-dunk of all time, Vince Carter over a 7'2" Frenchman!


Perhaps had Allan Iverson been there, America could have been better represented. Or not. The 2004 team that went to Athens looked good on paper. Featuring Allan Iverson, Tim Duncan, Emeka Okafur, Carmello Anthony, Richard Jefferson, Carlos Boozer, Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudamire, LeBron James, Stephan Marbury and Dwayne Wade, it seemed the team was on par with most of its predecessors. Even with coach Larry Brown, the team mentality was virtually nil, signifying the prima donna aspect that had/has dominated the NBA. The youthful squad was not ready to win, and suffered three losses, to Puerto Rico, Lithuania, and Spain. These were the first defeats of Team U.S.A. basketball since professionals entered the equation. What's more, in the long history of the Olympics, Team U.S.A. only had two previous losses, even with amateurs. This team disgraced America and the NBA on their way to a measly bronze medal.

Now taking the court in Beijing, Team U.S.A. has been christened the "Redeem Team", focusing more of team effort, defense, and fundamentals, the roster doesn't read exactly like an All-Star line-up, it's better. Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, LeBron James, Carmello Anthony, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, Jason Kidd, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Michael Redd, Chris Bosh, and Tayshaun Prince have been selected to reassert the U.S. domination on the game we invented. So far, so good, the revamped team has gone three wins and no losses, most recently defeating nemesis Greece, who shamed the U.S. in the 2006 World Championships. We take on defending World Champions Spain this Saturday at 10:15 am, Wilmington time.

Sure, this team is talented, smart, and ready to win, and will probably destroy the world like the original Dream Team, but it'll never be the same. The Dream Team was a virtual parthenon of b-ball deities who were, let's face it, playing for a better America. That team represented us at our absolute best, on the court and off. It really did seem like a dream.

Plow United Interview - F.O.E. Fanzine

Here's a wonderful old Plow United interview from back in the day. It was conducted by the legendary Frank Foe for his F.O.E. Fanzine, still chronicalling the ups and downs and downs and downs of the Lehigh Valley hardcore and punk scenes. This interview appeared in issue #29. I got more to come on this front! Watch out!

Plow are a three piece pop-punk band from West Chester that has always had a large fan base in the Lehigh Valley. Make that "Plow United." Seems the band has had a bit of a legal problem with their name. A band from Baltimore, through a series of letters to the band, claimed and proved that they had used the name "Plow" before the West Chester "Plow" began using the name.

The melodic and energetic band has recently had an onslaught of releases and will continue their furious pace throughout 1995. Their split single with fellow West Chester band Tallman has just gone into its second pressing. Their "Dance (Better Than I've Ever Seen)" single has just gone into its third pressing. The band has just released a split single with Bethlehem favorites Weston. All three singles were released on Coolidge Records, which is based in Wyckoff, New Jersey. The band also has three songs on the "Who Gits Da Deer" CD which is an eight band compilation of West Chester bands on Creep Records. The West Chester label will release Plow United's debut, self-titled CD/LP/Cassette in April. Arik Victor, who runs the label, recorded the band in his studio.

As if all these releases weren't enough, Shredder Records of California picked the song "Timmy is an Arsonist" from the band's "Dance" single to be on their "Shreds - Volume 2 American Underground '94" CD. The disc is what Shredder and friends thought were the best songs from singles released in 1994.

The band will also contribute a track to the Descendents tribute CD, to be released on Coolidge Records later this year. Plow United will do the classic Descendents song "Bikeage." Other bands featured on the trubiute will be Black Train Jack, the Bouncing Souls, and the Parasites. Plow is in the final planning stages of setting up a tour of the U.S. that will start in June and end in late July. It will be the band's third and biggest tour.

This interview took place outside the 4G's, on the lot that used to be Wally's, the legendary hard-core punk club in the Lehigh Valley. Plow is Sean on drums, Brian sings and plays guitar, and Joel sings and plays bass.

FOE: What is the meaning of your life.

SEAN: My eternal quest in life is to try to learn how to relax and have a good time, and not just half of the time. It's taken 21 years and I still haven't gotten it right yet.

BRIAN: I still haven't figured it out yet. Maybe I should try and go to school and do something. But I don't know.

FOE: Do you think you'll find meaning in school?

BRIAN: Well, maybe if I can learn something instead of working in a warehouse all day.

JOEL: He works at the Franklin Mint.

BRIAN: I probably won't be able to come back to the Mint after the tour.

FOE: What is your goal in life, Joel?

JOEL: Just to get by without doing anything I don't like to do.

FOE: What is the purpose of Plow? Or what do you hope to get out of it?

JOEL: It fits in with what I said earlier. This is what I like to do, this is what I love to do. So I'd like to get to the point where this is all I have to do. Being in the band, touring, recording.

SEAN: When I said I'm only happy half the time, part of that half is when I'm playing. Oh, yeah! Really happy!

FOE: Is there any time when you're unhappy with the band.

JOEL: The only unhappiness is weeks when we can't practice.

FOE: Because you're busy doing things that you don't want to do.

SEAN: Last weak was exam week. I am a Math Ed major. Someday, down the road I'll start teaching. I'm not ready for that kind of responsibility just quite yet.

JOEL: I'll probably end up going back to college, just cause I can't deal with working shitty jobs anymore. I've had like eleven since last May.

FOE: Yeah, it's better to hate your job sitting behind a desk than moving desks...

SEAN: Well put...

FOE: Who writes the lyrics, and how do you determine which lyrics are keepers and which ones get tossed aside?

JOEL: The whole thing has to do with honesty. If I can't feel it, then it isn't really worth doing anything with.

FOE: Do you think you will still be doing Plow, like when you get to be Ramones aged?

JOEL: I don't think it's really worth thinking about.

BRIAN: As long as they are happy.

JOEL: They might just be stupid at this point. Needless to say that when bands get to the point where they are playing shows for $20 and they don't see anything wrong with that, then it is pointless anyway, and they've lost eveything that we're talking about here. Part of the thing that makes things tougher is that we're always going to do things the way we want to do it. So we end up turning down a lot of stupid shit. Like when we were going in to do the album, we had a couple different labels looking at us, and there was one particular one in New York, that if we had done it with them, I probably wouldn't have to work right now. Brian wouldn't have to work. Sean could just go to school. And we could just work on the album. But it was a cheesy label, and it just meant alot of things that we weren't happy with. We ended up putting the album out with one of our friends. The guy who records us, his label. I'm really adament about that. That's the best way to do anything, like deal with your friends.

FOE: What's up with your upcoming tour?

JOEL: I kinda went nuts booking the last two tours, and since this one was going to be a lot bigger in scope than the others, we got Chris Newmyer to help us out. (Chris is a local guy who sets up shows at the Stage Door and stuff). I wrote him like a nine page letter, detailing what we wanted to do, the numbers we had from the last tour, a proposed itinerary. We'll hed down south in June, go out West, through California, and back through like Chicago. Like a big rectangle. Previously we just did the East Coast, as far out as Nashville. We played like Georgia, Florida. It was this past winter. I really wouldn't recomend touring in the winter.

BRIAN: You have to go really far South to stay warm. Georgia was freezing.

FOE: I fucking hate winter... What are your five favorite albums, in no particular order...

JOEL: Descendents "Milo Goes to College", Bouncing Souls "The Good, the Bad, and the Argyle", All "Allroy's Revenge", Dwarves "Thank Heaven For Little Girls", Pogues "Red Roses For Me."

BRIAN: Stray Cats first album, not the one they did here, the one they did overseas. Screeching Weasel "My Brain Hurts", the Muffs album, and I guess umm the Bouncing Souls album and umm... ah, shit, umm...

JOEL: Nothing against the Dwarves but I have to change my Dwarves one to Screeching Weasel's self-titled debut album.

BRAIN: Alright umm Eddie Cochran, anything by him.

FOE: How do you feel about the mention by Ben Weasel in his column in MRR? (Note: In MRR's February 1995 issue, subtitled - The Selling of a Culture - Ben Weasel States in his column, which was about the industry attempts to pick up the next big thing, "I mean, they read magazines like MRR to find out what's gonna be the next big thing, but they never bother to actually go out and BUY a record to find out if it is indeed good enough to be the next big thing and the stupidest part of all of this is that what's gonna be the next big thing is what THEY DECIDE is gonna be the next big thing (for the record it's gonna be a Ramones-style pop-punk band from Pennsylvania called Plow.")

JOEL: I took it kind of differently than everyone else did. In the context of the article it's kind of implicit that a)the next big thing is kind of negative, and b)the next big thing implies mass media and we all have ethical problems with that. I thought it was kind of condescending on his part. Like he was assuming a lot of things when he doesn't even know us. But, I don't know. Say what you want just spell my name right. I know what we want, and I know how we want to do it, and that is all that really matters.

Brian McGee
Joel Tannenbaum
Sean Rule