BETTY ALREADY Betty Already is: Icky Boom, Murphy, Eric S. "The Postman", Kitty, and Scott TR: Are you punk and do you want to be considered punk? Ick: First off, I've always considered PUNK to be rock & roll. As to whether or not we, as a band, fit comfortably in the PUNK shoes, yes. If people call THE CRAMPS punk, then they can call us punk. I realy don't care what people call us, PUNK, NEW WAVE, NEW OLD NEW WAVE, CRAP, just as long as they don't call us boring. Scott: Are punk shoes pointy toed shoes? TR: Or is it just rock and roll? Scott: Rock and roll is an umbrella term for so many genres, so I'm sure we qualify. TR: How important is Fun and humor in music and should there be more if it in general? Ick: Well, I'd say that it's just as important as depression and death. To me, music is like a mirror that reflects our most basic emotions, happy, sad, horny, satisfied, it's all there, it just depends on what you happen to need at the time. That goes for listening to it or making it. Murphy: Music is fun in general... so is thinking. Kitty: I couldn't be in a band that didn't have a sense of humor about ourselves and our lifestyle. But as for more of it, people seek out their own preferences both as musicians and consumers. TR: How important is the LA sound of early 80's Whiskey a go goRock n' Wave period to your sound? Murphy: What are you talking about, I have never even heard of that. I did see John Doe once He plays an accoustic guitar. Ick: I think that it gives the people something to compare our music to, that's about it. Postman: I was too young to know anything about whiskey. TR: If you were to make a family tree for your band what bands are your parents and ancestors? Postman: My lineage reads like the old testament, long and dragged out. Icky: Our musical family tree would be too long and varied to list. Scott: The loggers took our family tree and sold it in Asia. They made it into a house. TR: Are your songs anthems? Icky: Yes, all of our songs are anthems. Sing them out loud and proud every day. Murphy: No. TR: How Kentucky do you feel when you make this music vs. how Circle Jerks? Murphy: About as Kentucky as you look with your cock in that goat. Scott: Hmmmm... in that case I might be a little Kentucky. Ick: I feel more CIRCLE JERKS when we play. Postman: Not being from Kentucky it is really hard to say but I would never ever, and I mean never ever, touch any one of their penises for the betterment of my musical career. Next question! TR: How long did you play together before you recorded the album? Postman: About a 8 or 9 months. Icky: We played together about a year before we recorded AMERIMANIACS. Murphy: 1.5 yrs. Scott: Since we all agree on that one let's move to the next question. TR: How often do you tour? Nationally or locally? Scott: We play locally all the time. We get out of town as much as we can. Icky: We go out of town 3 to 5 times a year. Postman: I hear we're HUGE in Italy and Portugal. Kitty: No, I'M huge in Italy and Portugal. Outside of the U.S., you boys are just my back-up band. TR: How often do you practice as a band? Icky: 3 times a week too many... Murphy: ... in the dark. Not kidding. TR: Do you have a day job and what is it? Murphy: yea ...working...making money. Postman: Day job hahahahahahahahah I am an employee of the United States Postal Service and remember, guns don't kill people, postal workers kill people. Ick: I own a business that regulates the quality of cheap beer. Low pay, high times. Scott: I am currently unemployed. It makes me feel more like a musician. TR: Would you sell your songs to a pop-star band if they wanted to record them? Icky: I would sell every song we ever make to a pop-star band if it gets me laid. Murphy: How many millions are we talkin' here? I have my integrity, but I am not rich, yet. Postman: Not while I can still play them myself. Scott: I am unemployed with no real skills. I will break both of the Postman's arms, and sell all of our songs for whiskey and toothpaste. TR: Would you be happy being a one hit wonder? Postman: Who cares one hit 10 hits no hits. None of that should be in the thought process of writing as song. Write it from the heart and keep it real. Ick: Being a one hit wonder would be the coolest, because we would probably get to go on a lame radio tour with lots of other one hit wonder bands and get to swap sex partners with them and get to visit the same VD clinics and there would be a good chance that we could meet some famous people and fuck them. Scott: If that one-hit-wonder was called "Stairway to Heaven", then just maybe. I would like to point out here that Postman has a good job with a future and Icky needs therapy. Kitty: Jesus! I'm pretty happy being a miserable nobody band. You mean there's more? TR: Has the mp3 made an impact on the life of your band? Icky: Mp3's are cool because people who are too cheap to buy stuff can still get our music. Postman: We have a few out there now but as of yet I haven't seen a check. Scott: Yes, they helped with our domination of the Italina and Portuguese markets. Kitty: We don't have a frame of reference for not having mp3s. We get emails from all over the country and the rest of the world from people who have picked up an mp3 of ours, so to us it seems normal. But if we would have been doing this 10 years ago, it would have been pretty unlikely that someone in Britain would be emailing you and telling you they liked your stuff, having never seen you and never heard of you. It's a small impact, but it's cool. TR: Are indie bands even the underground anymore? And if not them, who is? Postman: "Indie" music will never outgrow underground status because in the pure sense of the word it's about small time bands playing music for little money and the love of playing it. When you rise above that status your not really indie anymore anyway. Ick: Are indie bands underground any more? I think that to have UNDERGOUND status, you have to be like a cult. You know, people who are truly obsessed with your music. Yeah, that still exists. (p.s. BILLY IDOL, restraining orders are merely a suggestion made by a judge). Murphy: How can they breathe underground, and isn't it dark and smelly? Scott: That's why we practice in the dark, Murph. Hey, would I look good in pointy shoes? learn more about Betty Already at their website http://www.bettyalready.com