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Radon
Radon (Dave above)
Diatribe: I’ve met a surprisingly large number of kids who know nothing about Radon; can you give us some band history for the benefit of these dummies?
Dave: We're three dudes that went to the same High School in Miami and moved to Gainesville in the early 90's. We made two 7 inches (4 songs each) in the early 90's that were made into a CD (called We Bare All) and then recorded a full length CD (28) in 1994. We played a few times in the late 90's, people really dug our music.
Fast forward to 2005 and Tony from "the Fest" in Gainesville asked us to reunite for ”The Fest IV". He flew us in and it drew a huge crowd. It was a real mind-blower for us. And inspired us to write again and actually promote and do interviews this time around. Now we've added a bass player (Mike from Billy Reese Peters) and are putting together a live set that will slay nerds everywhere.
Diatribe: What have you guys been up to since 1998? Where’s everybody at in life?
Dave: I've got 2 sons (6 and 1) and have been working for a decade. I always wanted to get to Columbus with the band but we never made it out of Florida. One of my jobs did bring me to Columbus to visit the metals association. I met a cool Indian cab driver with a tale of buried treasure in his homeland and went to a couple of cool German pubs and a pizza joint. Columbus is a completely different version of a college town than we have in FL/GA/AL/TN in a very cool way. Make a road trip down south and come check it out.
Diatribe: If we can make it out of the frozen tundra’s of Ohio, we’ll definitely come down…and we’re bringing’ the beer. How would you describe your sound to someone who's never heard your music?
Dave: I’d say,” Hatred Crayon, Turn in your balls" and leave it at that. Its loud and crazy dork rock. fast drummin’, some stupid fresh songs, some way too serious songs. We like to try new things. I think growing up in Miami creeps into our music a little. And the sound of the bands from Gainesville pre-90's (the doldrums) is in us as well.
Diatribe: How did it feel to be back in the studio recording after what, almost 8 years? Was it hard getting back in the saddle, so to speak?
Dave: It was great to be back. The longer you're away from the saddle the more intense it is. Things have changed and developed over time in recording. It’s always cool to get a chance to hang with your friends; we don't get that much of it. We recorded with Rob McGregor in Gainesville. He gave me an education on Amps, and played us some awesome Harp.
Diatribe: What can you tell us about the new record?
Dave: This record has a lot of firsts for the world of music at large on a global scale. Ha! We have the world’s first song about a blog (‘Turn In Your Balls’). The first song ever to refer to a penis as a "Wee Little Leprechaun". A song about Reanimator. A song about a lady I work with (‘King Of The Shitlist’), A cover of a song by N.O.T.A. and a harmonica hardcore song (first ever that I know of).
Diatribe: Yeah, I love the song titles on this record; in the review I gave extra points for that. As far as the harmonica hardcore song…I give it two weeks before some scene kid gives that genre a name, probably Harmoni-Core. Will you be touring behind this record, the aptly titled “Metric Buttloads of Rock”?
Dave: We just got back from the West Coast. We made it out of Florida for the first time ever. We played in LA/SD/Las Vegas for Punk Rock Bowling. God-willing, one day we'll make it to Columbus and play the Gaunt cover I’ve had in my back pocket since '94. Those guys were awesome; I looked up Gaunt recently and was really shocked to hear that the singer was killed. I am a big fan of theirs. That album with ‘Fuck the Rich Kids’ on it was awesome. It was one of those albums that made you feel that even though you'd never met these people you considered them family.
Diatribe: That’s cool you mentioned Gaunt. Most people I hear talking about Columbus punk mention the New Bomb Turks. I know tons of kids who love punk rock and whatnot, but never form/join a band, at what point did you realize you wanted to make music?
Dave: There's that moment when you decide that you would rather play and suck than not play at all. Then you go for it. Especially for singing, there's that moment that you say "Oh well... I guess I’ll do this in front of people".
Diatribe: Any particular musical influences?
Dave: Husker Du, REM, Minor Threat, Misfits, The Smiths, Op Ivy, Bob Dylan, Crimpshrine . And growing up in Miami you get to hear what's popular in the Caribbean, like the Mighty Sparrow, Celia Cruz, King Sunny Ade, Soca, etc.
Diatribe: That’s a world class list! What do you think of all the new bands out there today? Any newer acts catch your ears?
Dave: The Ergs!, Vaginasore JR, This Is My Fist, Billy Reese Peters, Timversion, Ash County Sluggers and World War IX .
Diatribe: There are tons of great bands that hail from Gainesville, FL, notably Radon, HWM, Against Me and Less Than Jake. What makes the bands so good down there, is it something in the water?
Dave: They put boredom in the water… boredom and frustration. It’s so unbearably hot and swampy that there's not much to do until the sun goes down, and then the whole town has this weight lifted off it and gets into a state of euphoria. College (UF) is so frustrating for everyone until midterms and finals are done and again everyone’s feeling relief at the same time and goes out and gets crazy. You don't really get this anywhere else I’ve been with everyone being in sync like that. And the UF student ghetto makes it real easy to get to a party. You basically go outside on a Friday night and follow the noise. All the other zombies are doing the same thing. We also have the same things that keep the Columbus scene moving. Indie record shops (Y&T, etc), an underground club/hangout - (The hardback /Common Grounds), and a cool label or two (No Idea, FBR, Sabot). Kids keep coming thru town to go to college and adding to the chaos.
Diatribe: Will this album be a new beginning for Radon, or was this the last dance?
Dave: I think our heads are full of big ideas just waiting to be realized. We got big dreams and we gotta make them real.
Diatribe: That’s great to hear! We have to get you boys up to Columbus sometime. Alright, I used to write for another zine that always asked the bands they interviewed for top fives and I’m feeling nostalgic tonight, so can you give me your top five records of all time?
Dave: I can’t stop at five:
Minor Threat – “Out Of Step”
Misfits – “Walk Among Us”
Sex Pistols-“Never Mind The Bullocks”
Husker Du – “Zen Arcade”
Bob Dylan – “Highway 66”
Op Ivy - “Energy”
Against Me! - “Reinventing Axl Rose”
Marvin Sease - “Candy Licker”
REM – “Murmur”
Diatribe: Thanks for doing this interview with us, it’s been great.
Dave: We hope to get up to Columbus one day. Come and have a look down here when you get a chance. There's more to Gainesville than just college football and basketball titles...what's really important is that we also have the Ultimate Frisbee and Dancing with the Stars champions.
Diatribe: Yeah, I don’t care about football, but I thought OSU was gonna snatch that title, but you guys owned us. Thanks again.
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