Label
Catastrophe Records

Interviewed by
Mike Ramirez

Visit
SMP on the Web

Visit
Catastrophe

Last Edit/Update
30 June, 1999

Imagine taking the raw attitude of punk, the lyrical style of rap,
 and the abrasive rhythm of electro and molding them into a new concoction.
 The result:SMP. After two successful albums and tours, Seattle's finest
 are still at the reign of the up and coming electronic movement. Without
 being piegonholed into one particular area, SMP's notable style has led
 them to an extremly diverse fan base, which is not much to say for other
 acts today. Here's an exclusive interview with band members Jason Bazinet
(programming, vocals, drums), Matt Sharifi (drums, additional programming,
 and Sean Ivy (programming, vocals, drums, and guitars).
Special Thanks to Deirdre for her time in helping with this interview

SMP's style is surely unique and original, especially when you are automatically placed in the *industrial* genre with most of the acts today being just recycled material from yesteryear. The band meshes punk, rap, and electro all into one melting pot. Do all the band members share the same taste in music and influences?

Sean: I wouldn't say the same, but there are similarities. It probably would be difficult to be in a band and not have some common ground between members.

Matt: I personally have been involved in the punk/hardcore industrial scene and I am also a fan of rap.

Jason: I listen to hip-hop mostly but I've been getting back into elektro- industrial. There is some good stuff out there.

When "Dust To Dust" was released, did it receive a lot of exposure? A lot of people have never heard of the band until "Stalemate" came about. Was this even a full length album, or just an EP to get things on the run?

Jason:  No, Dust to Dust was a limited release and it came out on a 7 inch record. It only had 2 songs on it. So it was real inaccessible being that most people didn't have turntables when it came out. Also a lot of the records were stolen on our first tour back in 1996 so I don't even have a copy of it. If anyone out there wants to mail me a copy I'd be most appreciative.

Sean:  We had, at that time put out a demo tape or two but the record was our first release. It had no distribution, we sold it at shows so not too many people have a copy, I think there was only a few hundred pressed.

When SMP was first heard by the general, or underground public, what was the first reaction that came along from them, as well as the critics? I once heard that the band was compared to Pop Will Eat Itself, but with more attitude.

Sean:  I remember getting a pretty good response, we sounded different than your average electro band and I think most people appreciated that.

It seems like every area in the SMP camp is filed in the "D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself)" cabinet. The band has established it's own website, faxline, 24 hour tour hotline, and books its own tours. Does the band find this hard to maintain, keeping up with all of the activities?

Sean:  It is very hard to maintain and very expensive but we don't have any other choice. I suppose if we were on some major label that gave us a shit load of money all the time we could hire people to do it for us. I think if we were in that situation, we still would do a lot of it ourselves, we just wouldn't have to worry about money.

Jason: Well we do have a crew working with us but we have our hands in pretty much everything. It's a big hassle sometimes but the alternative would be to wait for someone to do it for us. I don't expect anyone to do anything for us  but us. That's the one piece of advice that I give bands when they ask. Don't expect anyone to do anything for you. The music biz is full of thieves who want to turn your dreams into money for their pockets. A lotta people would love to put OUR neck on the line for THEIR personal gain. My attitude is if you don't wanna share my risks then you can fuck off.

Back in 1992, SMP helped create the NEC (Northwest Elektro-Industrial Coalition). Since then, how has the success been for this organization? Can you name some of the other artists who are also active in this ring?

Sean: The N.E.C. is a long story. The short version is that there was almost no electro scene in Seattle but there were a few bands that wanted to get some shows and exposure. The N.E.C. was born from this. Devin from K.S.K. got us all together at a coffee shop one afternoon. The founding members were Kill Switch...Klick, SMP, And Christ Wept, Noxious Emotion, and Noise Box. The organization served its purpose, after a few years there were clubs that were basically forced to recognize us, all the bands received some exposure and most of them got signed to a label and were able to put out their music. After this, the N.E.C. was no longer needed and ended around '96. Not too long ago some new bands in the scene tried to get a version of the N.E.C. going but it never took off. They probably thought that since we did it, it would be easy but I remember the N.E.C. wasn't always easy or fun. There were a lot of fights between bands but I think Devin really kept it together and weall had a common goal.

Jason: Seattle has got a great scene now thanks to the NEC and all the DJs, promoters, writers & fans who cared.

What is the band's standpoint on such artists as Public Enemy, Download, Atari Teenage Riot, Meat Beat Manifesto, and Crass?

Matt: I've always liked Atari Teenage and Crass for their punk energy, PE and Meat Beat for rap and dance flavor, and Download is straight up bizarre.

Jason: PE was a big influence on me. The bomb squad were known to get pretty noisy for hip-hop. Chuck D had the lyrics too. The rest I don't really listen to although Consolidated we're a big influence on us. Cop Shoot Cop as well.

While creating "Ultimatum," was there any specific goal that the band was striving for? Was there a hole to be filled after "Stalemate?"

Matt: Yes, we are trying to reach a wider range of listeners by writing more structured songs and a variety of sounds. Stalemate was raw sounding versus Ultimatum's cleaner productions.

Jason:  Artistically I don't think there was a goal, I just wrote songs that I was feeling at the time. Otherwise the goal was to put SMP back in the public eye. Ultimatum was like Stalemate in some ways due to the way it came about. There were a lot of songs in between Stalemate and Ultimatum that never got released so it feels like a third album to me.

Live, what can one expect from SMP? What instrumentation and actions are used for the live performance?

Sean:  Basically you can expect to see one of the best shows you'll ever see. It's load, full of energy, three guys pounding on drums, sparks flying. If you want to see two guys hiding behind some keyboards, and some supposed vocalist yelling through a distortion peddle, then don't come see SMP.

Matt:  Our live shows have a lot of raw power from the hyper riffs, apocalyptic sounds of multiple drum sets, catchy rhythms and an occasional shower of sparks.

The band is about to embark on another tour in the U.S. starting in September. Will you be traveling elsewhere later on, or is this tour mainly focused on the US audiences?

Matt:  This time its only US but we are planning on hitting different countries later on. Europe and Canada are next on our list.

Down the line, what do you want SMP to evolve into? Is the band the sole dedication with the members, or is there life after music?

Matt:  We want to expose more people to our sound. There is no question of our dedication and at this point Plan B doesn't exist.

Jason: Well, I'd like it to take the organization to a higher level. Play the industry game a little and keep our heads in the control room so to speak. I've got a million ideas and we're getting hungrier all the time. My life pretty much is SMP. My world view keeps getting smaller. Peace.

Sean: I would like the three of us to stay together for a while, make a lot of records, maybe bring in a fourth member some day when we find the right person. I don't think any of us will stop doing music, in some form or another but it just might not always be as SMP.

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