It feels funny saying it, but Dillinger Four’s C I V I L W A R, in some ways, is like the second coming of Christ. Here we have an outstanding band with a hardcore following that’s managed to release albums that are highly relevant, yet deceptively simple, over the years. Dillinger Four’s shows became inconsistently legendary, as no two people will tell the same story, but they will be sure to mention an erratic and charming highlight or two.
Then, it almost seemed like Dillinger Four disappeared. Shows became a rarity, and the prospect of a new album became a myth: everyone predicted it, but no one thought it would ever actually happen. Well, it’s finally here six years later, and comes as a breath of fresh air in a genre that has lingered on the threshold of stagnancy.
On a cold Philadelphia night, I was lucky enough to talk to Eric Funk and Paddy Costello in the back alley of the Trocadero after their show. Getting serious answers was not unexpected, but proved to be a little more challenging than expected. Speaking with the band, and Paddy in particular, can seem like an imposing task. Everyone’s talking over each other, everyone’s interrupting, and by the end of the interview, it seemed like we were all shouting. Given this mayhem, it was impossible not to edit our conversation a little, in order to make us a little more coherent to you the reader. We hope you find it interesting, or that, just like their shows, the erratic highlights contained does Dillinger Four justice.
Dillinger Four is, in some way or other, Eric Funk (guitar/vocals), Paddy Costello (bass/vocals), Bill Morrisette (guitar), and Lane Pederson (drums). They are currently on tour with NOFX in support of their long awaited album C I V I L W A R, but promise to tour real soon as headliners. And, for those of you who are curious, my photographer assures me that Paddy smokes American Spirits, whilst Eric smokes Camel Lights.
Hey, it’s nice to have you guys back in Philadelphia. Last time you were here was for a show with the Circle Jerks, correct?
Funk: That’s right!
The Hot Water Music reunion show was scheduled on the same night, and I think people were torn between which show to go to. But, the time before that, Dillinger Four played the Unitarian Church. Do you guys have a bad track record playing here?
Funk: Yeah, we love playing here, but for some reason we had something going on, like with Paddy being sick. Actually, the first time we played here Kid Dynamite set up the show for us, and they only had a demo. Two of our amps broke in the middle of the set, and we only played four songs. That’s how we kicked off our Philly shows.
You’ve become a little elusive over the years, and it’s led to people basically speculating and wondering, “What’s a Dillinger Four show like?” and the response to that ranging from “awesome” to “completely unpredictable.”
Funk: That’s our thing! It’s not supposed to be our thing, but it ends up being like that.
At the Unitarian Church, Paddy got real sick and played with a bucket next to him, right?
Funk: Yeah, he was asleep on the church bench at the upstairs of that place, and he managed to get it together to play a few songs, but that was the best we could do.
What does Dillinger Four have in common with the Beastie Boys, Anthrax, and Guns ‘N’ Roses?
Funk: Oh my God. Paddy! I need help! [Funk calls Paddy Costello over]. What does Dillinger Four have in common with the Beastie Boys, Anthrax, and Guns ‘N’ Roses?
Costello: Oh… that we all take forever to put a new record out?
Exactly! You all have taken six years or more to put out a record.
Costello: And, we all like crystal meth amphetamines…and hightops…and, hold on a second, and appreciation of gangster rap. And, we’re all honkies. But, being honkies also means that we like Jell-O, so I tricked you! I don’t eat Jell-O!
I guess you guys get this question all the time: what took the new album that long?
Costello: Just, we couldn’t be bothered, really.
Funk: Yeah, we got over it. Then, we got under it. Then, we got inside of it.
Costello: Do you know how many awesome video games came out in the last six years? A shit-ton! Once I get done with Medal of Honor, they come out with a new…ah…what’s it called?
Funk: Call of Duty.
Costello: Call of Duty! Then, when I get done with Call of Duty… Do you know how many World War II’s I’ve won?
Actually, I think Situationist Comedy came out, then Grand Theft Auto III, then…
Costello: GTA III came out while we were making it, because that’s how I got into it, so you’re right! I killed some hookers before I won World War II.
How tired are you of hearing that question?
Costello: About Grand Theft Auto III?
No about the new record taking so long…
Costello: Oh no, we love that.
You even made shirts…
Costello: Because new records do suck.
But, people DO love the new record.
Costello: Of course they do, because it’s great!
For C I V I L W A R, was all the material written recently, or have you guys been working on it for all these years.
Funk: It’s all new. New is new.
Within the last year?
Costello: Yes.
Funk: We wrote it in the last six weeks before we recorded that shit, dude. We just shat it out like a mofo.
Taking a break for so long, was it hard to get back in the mix of things being in a band together?
Costello: Well, we never stopped playing.
And, in the studio?
Costello: We hated each other six years ago, so it really didn’t matter this time around. We’re like the Kinks.
But, the Kinks have a shit-load of albums.
Costello: Yeah, but you’re American. They got banned from the states.
Actually, I’m not American
Costello: Are you a Canadian?
No, I’m Aruban.
Costello: A Reuben? Grilled beef and thousand islands? [Laughs]
Funk: I love Reubens. They’re delicious!
The April fool’s joke on Punknews.org; was that you guys who came up with it?
Costello: Those were the wicked devils at Punknews.org.
So, you had nothing to do with it?
Costello: No, but we did have the idea to tour with those song titles.
And the cover for it was insane.
Costello: We actually got letters from Tokyo to Belgium from people who thought that was actually it. I wanted to put that cover on our MySpace page.
Or make a banner for the live shows.
Costello: If we could afford it…
Explain the penguins on the cover of C I V I L W A R…
Costello: They’re one of the only species on the planet who are distinguishable by their voices.
Wow…
Costello: I know. There’s no punch line to that. That’s some intellectual shit, son!
Now, you guys got some slack when you first signed to Fat Wreck; a major punk label.
Funk: We got so much slack, that we slacked and slacked.
Costello: We really dig the slack.
What’s it like being a Fat band with such a cult following?
Costello: We’re from Minnesota. Everyone’s into Tapes ‘n’ Tapes up there. We go on tour just to meet people who’ve never heard of us. I wash other people’s dishes for a living.
With the new record finally being out, do you feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders?
Costello: No, the biggest weight on my shoulders is every time I get into a sniper mission on Call of Duty. You can see the bling in the hilltops, and you shoot that fucker six times before he dies.
With the new album leaking on the internet so early, it kind of created a bit of a controversy.
Costello: We didn’t know about it until a week after it happened.
Do you guys really care that it leaked so early?
Costello: I suppose to a degree we care only so much as one dude did it within a half hour and all he had to do was review it. That’s kind of lame. I mean, you expect it to leak. If it hadn’t leaked, then I would have been disappointed.
Funk: Absolutely.
Do you feel like downloading is ruining music?
Costello: Shitty music is ruining music.
What’s the shittiest new music out there?
Costello: Ooh, God damn. That’s a good fucking question.
Funk: Good question.
Costello: The shittiest new music… That’s fucking hard. Almost any modern hip-hop song is terrible. I haven’t heard a good modern hip-hop song since the early 80s when so much great punk was coming out. There was such a difference in quality control between mainstream and underground. Mainstream hip-hop is fucking god-awful. All it is is huge tits and a platinum chain and a champagne company that nobody can afford. Suddenly you have a hit single.
I think 50 cent is a movie with Robert De Niro, too.
Costello: I don’t know anything 50 Cent has ever done, and I enjoy rap music. Why did anybody let him rap when he got shot in the fucking face?
I don’t think he got shot in the face. He got shot like 8 times, though.
Costello: And not one went to his fucking face? Who’d he get shot by? Stevie Wonder?
[Everyone Laughs]
The Dillinger Four back catalog is coming back out on vinyl on Vinyl Collective.
Costello: We didn’t know it even went out of print!
Is putting stuff out on vinyl important to you guys?
Costello: It’s vital.
Funk: Absolutely!
Costello: I collect records.
Why go with Vinyl Collective out of all the record labels?
Costello: They were the first to let us know it was out of print. Hopeless didn’t even tell us.
Paddy, during the hiatus you played with the Arrivals. How’d that come about?
Costello: Um…you know, I don’t even know. They needed a bass player, and I play bass.
One thing I’ve noticed with Dillinger Four, is that stuff you guys do tends to get ripped off. Like, with you getting naked, and now Fucked Up’s lead singer is doing the same thing [shows Paddy a photo of the phenomenon].
Costello: Yeah, but see, that’s a beautiful thing. Damian [Abraham] has a gorgeous body. He is a handsome man. When you have that, you can’t keep it to yourself. That’s sexy. You gotta let sexy happen. That’s rock and roll!
Another way you guys get ripped off is with every emo band these days having a long ironic song title.
Costello: Oh, you had to throw emo in there. I don’t even know what to say to that. That would elude that emo kids listen to us. I don’t have a blog. I don’t wear eye liner. I don’t know where they get this idea. Who are the emo bands we’re talking about? Because it’s so hard right now to tell the emo bands from the metal bands.
Did you ever run into Lindsay Lohan?
Costello: Yeah, I stuck my crotch into her face.
Can you elaborate on that, and is that why she’s a lesbian now?
Costello: Oh probably, because it was summertime penis I threw at her. That’s not going to transcribe well. We played the Fuck Yeah Fest in L.A. I was trashed enough that I lost my pants and my wallet. I couldn’t get on the airplane the next day. My friend drove me to a police station the next day, and we reported it as stolen. He literally gave me a pass to get into LAX to prove I wasn’t a fat honky terrorist, and that’s what got me on the airplane. I got on by myself all in borrowed clothing. I was in front of coach, and in first class I saw a lady trying to put her bag in the overhead compartment. I am a chivalrous motherfucker. I went over to first class to stick my bag in the overhead compartment, and I noticed my crotch was in this lady’s face. I looked at her and said, “Hey, you’re Lindsay Lohan” and she said yes, and I said, “I’m sorry.” And, I walked away. It’s not an intriguing story, but I can tell it again.
You’re also in Bloodbath and Beyond, and one of the songs on the 7 inch is Champipple Tonight.
Costello: Yes.
What can you tell us about the origins of Champipple.
Costello: It’s all Redd Foxx. Redd Foxx was such a hardworking entertainer, and what he would do was he would film Sanford & Son in L.A. during the daytime, and fly to Las Vegas at night to do standup. See, the normal person would drink coffee, but that wasn’t enough for Redd Foxx. He was too powerful of an entertainer. So, he figured out that if he could mix Ripple—cheap wine—with cheap champagne, it would make this rocket fuel. So, we figured we had to tap into this energy that is Redd Foxx, because he is one of the funniest comedians that has ever existed. If you listen to his stand up, he doesn’t tell a fucking joke, he just gets drunk and babbles. So, we tried it and realized all it did was give us a hangover. So, this is what you do. You can’t buy Ripple per se anymore, so you get, preferably, Blue Hawaiian, and then Cook’s champagne—preferably strawberry. Then, you mix a bottle of bourbon in there, one can of Sparks—any kind—and a can of any sort of pilsner beer. Then you crush up some Adderall and throw that in there, and it creates a magic juice. We just called it pipple. I’ve been laying off the pipple, because it makes your dick real small and you can’t pee for like two days and you don’t sleep for days, and the hangover is fucking ungodly.
Are there any variations?
Costello: Yeah, do you know the band Bananas?
Yeah.
Costello: There’s Banana-pipple. You add 99 Bananas in lieu of the bourbon. There’s a weird San Diego pipple that has vodka and syrup in it. That’s another good drink. You take a huge shot of vodka and chase it with a dollop of maple syrup. It’s fucking super good. We’re from Minnesota; we’re lumberjacks. Back in the day they would get grain alcohol, but they had nothing to mix it with. So, we incorporated all that one night in San Diego. Ben Snakepit has his own Texas pipple.
Finishing up, everyone’s been saying C I V I L W A R is one of their favorite albums this year. What are some of your favorite albums out this year?
Costello: Oh, shit. I’m trying to think what actually came out this year….
The new Bananas came out this year, New Animals.
Costello: That’s actually a great record. The new Henry Fiat’s Open Sore record is my favorite record out this year. I feel bad saying it because I haven’t been able to find my own copy, because they have no distribution. Pretty much any given year, the foreign records are the best records.
The new Tim Version also came out this year.
Costello: No, that’s the best record out this year. That’s such a good record that I can actually say all the other records they’ve put out I thought have been good, but I always thought they were better live. Their new record is fucking awesome. The new Off With Their Heads; I listen to that one a lot. I’m friends with those guys, and it’s like having a weird freaky druggie friend and finding his diary. Now I don’t have to break into his fucking room. And then, I was about to name the new Christina Aguilera, but that came out last year. Also, the new Gauze record!
Artist:
www.angelfire.com/mn/dillingerfour
myspace.com/dillingerfour
Download:
Dillinger Four – “A Jingle for the Product” – [mp3]
Dillinger Four – “AMERICASPREMIERFAITHBASEDINITIATIVE” – [mp3]
Album:
C I V I L W A R is out now. Buy it on Amazon .
