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THE STOKENS
By Karen Mouradjian
The following message, "Smoke pot and be happy," comes to you via The Stokens, a six piece, free for all band out of Madison, Wisconsin.
In an off the wall interview with Zombie (drums), Dusty Wineballs (bassist), and Rex (guitars), anything goes when they've been drinking and smoking all
night! I'm not sure I would have completed the interview that night if the rest of the band members (Cruiser Monk-guitars, Jim Method-vocals, and Scooter-percussion) were there. Birthyear,' their latest release has
a Grateful Dead/Allman Brothers feel to it due to their extended jams. However, they definitely have a Red Hot Chili Peppers feel too. It's not your typical 4/4 pop rock hits. The tunes wander off in different
directions changing time signatures and it's the type of music you lay back and trip to. They do what they want to do and not what the record labels demand them to do which caused them a shelved project, but they
weren't about to sacrifice their artistic creativity for the all mighty dollar. Is it freedom of creative expression or a different 'religious' experience? Rex considers Tom Petty 'Jesus' and said, "watching him is
like going to church for me," while Zombie claims Tuesday and Sunday band practice his salvation where music fills the spiritual void.
MAXIMUM INK: Since your start in 1993, does the line-up still consist of the original members?
STOKENS: There were several changes within. Dusty used to do vocals and Jim played bass before they switched, but it's the same line-up since 1993. We
added a percussionist, but he only plays part time. Rex had left for awhile and then came back, so it's just us five dumb fucks all together again.
MI: How did you form the band?
STOKENS: We all went to junior high and high school together. Me, Jim, and Rex started playing together in the eighth grade and we added Dusty and others
along the way.
MI: Who would you consider your favorite bands to play with?
STOKENS: The Tea Party and Ground.
MI: What were your most hated or favorite clubs and gigs?
STOKENS: (Rex) The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, California. (Dusty/Zombie) A.J.'s in Grafton, Wisconsin. (Zombie) They were asking us to play Garth
Brooks. I think I urinated in their dressing room. There were condoms everywhere, it was worse than a week of partying in my room. Our favorites would be the Concert Café (now Rock n' Roll Highschool) in Green Bay,
Whisky A' Go-Go in L.A. and Woo-Hah (July 31, 1999) in Baraboo in front of approximately 300 people.
MI: You started out as 'Cradlewave,' why the name change?
STOKENS: J.J. had a dream and our music was changing. It wasn't the same as the previous albums. When Rex temporarily dropped out of the band, it
affected our sound.
MI: What's with all the nicknames?
STOKENS: (Rex) Rex means King in Latin and because I'm a pretty cool motherfucker. Besides, you guys created me like in 'Scanners' (Zombie to Rex) Does
that mean your head's going to explode?
(Zombie) We all lived on a farm together and outgrew our names with each other. I got Zombie because I like Zombie movies. I used to be called 'Yanni,'
because I was into his medieval style of music.
(Dusty) We we're kickin' hack in the milk house and it's real dusty in there. We were real wasted as usual. I got kicked in the face with the hack and
they were like, "Dusty!" and somebody else said "Wineballs" and it stuck.
MI: So who is responsible for the lyrics and composition?
STOKENS: It's mostly Jim who writes the basics of the songs, chord progressions, and lyrics. Whatever he has in his head, he presents to us. Ninety
percent of the time we like it and add to it. Rex wrote one and now Jim added to it. Dusty and Rex also have stuff they've jammed on together here and there.
MI: What's going on behind the lyrics?
STOKENS: With 'Treehouse,' Jim had a real cool tree house and used to do a lot of writing, smoking, and playing acoustics up there. 'Soul kissing' is
about making love (or fill in the blank). 'Tree house' is like the party song, 'Soul kissing' is the after the party song, (Rex: then you bend over. Zombie: shut the fuck up asshole!) Then you get to 'A walk with
the devil' when you're still trippin' and thinking crazy thoughts.
MI: In 'The specs of nailed sauce,' what are you trying to convey about the 'Lessons' and 'We Fake Until We Fuck.'
STOKENS: It's something that makes no sense. The lessons have different meanings in each line. 'Fake Until We Fuck,' is like the guy who hits on one
particular chick all night in the bar and puts on a show to impress her. At the end of the night he takes her home and fucks her. There's nothing real deep to it and JJ could be on a totally different mind wave than
us where it means something different to him.
MI: Who do you consider to be your influences?
STOKENS: Faith No More, Tom Petty, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction, Stone Temple Pilots, Pink Floyd, The Doors, Blind
Melon, Jethro Tull, Jeff Buckley, Pearl Jam, Opeth, Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Neurosis, and Dire Straits.
MI: How did you get your gigs in Detroit and LA?
STOKENS: We have connections. A good friend of ours got us a gig at the Magic Bag in Detroit, Michigan and another friend in LA. We played with Papa
Roach in February 1999, before they were big. They had eight labels there to see them. We almost didn't make it, because we broke down in Normal, Illinois for two days. We got there with about two hours to spare
before the sound check, but we were geeked because it was our first gig out of state. We were working with promoters at the time when we got the 1997 Shabang Fest in Oshkosh. Even though we only played six songs, it
was cool to play in front of 30,000 people. But Candlebox sucks!
MI: Any record label interest?
STOKENS: We were signed and it went bad. We did 'The Red Die Experiment' for a record company in St. Louis, but it never got released. They wanted to
make a quick buck off us because of 'Swig 180' (USE THE DEGREE SIGN AFTER 180) and market us like 311, but we had an entirely different sound. They wanted an album of 12 singles and we had already matured to the
level of 'Birthyear' and taken it to another level. In the end they got nine long songs with no potential airplay and it got shelved. They fucked us on an artistic level and we fucked them on a financial level.
MI: What do you consider the pros and cons of what you're doing?
STOKENS: We get to be our art and express ourselves musically. (Zombie) It's like religion to me and going to church where music fills the void. The cons
are that it sucks because it makes it hard to live and other people deal with problems differently than we do. It's hard to settle down and still continue to pursue your musical dream. Luckily we grew out of the
'rock star' phase when we were dealing with the record label. They promised us quick success with shows for 100,000 (crowds/financially) chicks, door service, limos, etc. but rock stars end up being junkies in the
end. We shunned it and did what we wanted to do instead.
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