My first experience of the Weekend Nachos was when i was 14 years old and had just picked up This Comp Kills Fascists vol. 1.When i had finished listening to their four tracks on the comp (which were just remixed versions of their debut 7') i had felt the true anger of the singer of the group and without a doubt was a fan.Over the last few years,I've watched WN mature and become an entity of brutal negative hardcore.On their latest output "Worthless",it seems the nachos have produced some the most aggressive and angry songs of their whole run as a band.I was extremely nervous to ask john for an interview,due to how i interpreted him through his singing,but he was one of the nicest guys i've ever interviewed.Without further adieu,the 36th chamber of thrash interview with John Hoffman of the weekend nachos.-Chris
36th:Hey John,thanks for the interview! How did the nachos east coast tour go?
John Hoffman:The tour was fantastic, dude, we had a blast.
This was easily one of the best tours we've ever had...things seem to
get better every time, which is a great sign. I'm hoping the west coast
is just as great in april.
36th:How was the A389 Festival for you? see any memorable performances?
The
A389 fest was a highlight of the tour, for sure. When we played,
somehow everybody was in there watching us and getting into it, which I
wasn't sure was going to happen or not. When we were about to start and I
looked out into the crowd, I instantly had this feeling that it was
gonna be one of our greatest sets ever, and that ended up being exactly
the case. Pulling Teeth, Full of Hell and Homewrecker also had really
great sets..those were probably the ones that I enjoyed the most all
day. Sadly, we missed Eyehategod because I was very sick and we ended up
leaving early due to my illness. I just couldn't handle being at the
show anymore, I felt like complete garbage.
36th:How and when did WN come to form?
WN
formed sometime in 2004. All 4 of us were living in Dekalb, Illinois,
which is a college town way out in the cornfields and was also home to
Chicago legends Charles Bronson and The Mushuganas. Just a bunch of
bored students that also had brutality and rage coursing through their
veins, combined with a shared musical talent. Which is ironic because I
truly believe we were not very good in the early days...in fact, I think
we really sucked. But those early days were very important because if
we hadn't stuck it out, we never would've made it this far. There were a
lot of factors that could've killed the band very quickly back
then...mainly horrible live shows and an almost non-existent fan base.
Everybody hated us. For whatever reason though, we thought we were doing
something awesome and almost 8 years later, I'd like to think we were
right.
36th:What reaction did the chicago music scene have to you guys when you first started?
Coincidentally,
I'm pretty sure I just answered that. People really did not like
Weekend Nachos at first...we were obnoxious. The focus was more on
breaking shit and insulting audience members than playing good music or
raging hard, although I do think we raged pretty fucking hard
regardless. But people weren't really down with the whole
schtick...honestly, at my age now I don't think I would've been either.
When I go to see a band, I like for them to be funny but if they're not
any good, I'm not interested. Over time, we got a lot better at playing
live and started to turn some heads. We also grew up a little, which
definitely helped, haha.
36th:What are some of your infulences as a band?
We
really bring a lot of influences to the table, I think. All of us
listen to all kinds of music, but when it comes to the songs we write
for WN, it's a lot of metal and hardcore. Lots of classic metal bands
like Eyehategod, Carcass, Obituary, Terrorizer, Earth, Corrupted, both
slow and fast but all heavy shit. Hardcore like Infest, Youth of Today,
Bastard, Madball, Merauder, Hatebreed, you know, some of the crustier
stuff and also some of the tough guy stuff. If you think you can hear
any certain influence when you listen to WN, chances are you're correct.
36th:You're lyrics are very angry,yet some of the most sincere ive ever read.What are some of your infulences when you write lyrics?
Aside
from my own negative thoughts that I can't ignore, I think vocalists
like Jeff G. from Cold As Life and White Trash Rob from Blood For Blood
influenced me to really dig deep and find the most hateful feelings I
could express. Sometimes when you're reading lyrics and you're trying to
find bands to relate to, you have to find the most honest and
unapologetic vocalists to inspire you. I don't try to write about what
they write about or anything, but until I listened to those bands I
don't know if I ever even knew a person had the ability to express such
hatred through music. It really made me confident that I, too, could be
that honest with how I feel about myself and the world.
36th:How did you guys come to be signed by Deep 6?
Well,
it's more of a friendship/trust relationship, I'd say. There are no
contracts involved, I just knew Bob would probably be down to release
our albums and one day I just asked him. He instantly was down to do it,
and honestly I kinda thought he would be, just because we had played
California a bunch of times and he was always at the shows. I'm proud to
work with such a friendly, supportive dude who has been involved in
hardcore for so long.
36th:How did you get onto this comp kills fascists vol.1? Your tracks on that comp really helped me at a low point in my life.
I'm
happy to hear that, it makes me feel good when someone can relate.
Thanks, dude. As for getting on the comp, Scott Hull of Pig
Destroyer/Agoraphobic Nosebleed fame was already a fan of WN and he hit
me up one day. He said he was putting together a compilation of
lesser-known grindcore/powerviolence bands and really wanted WN to be a
part of it. I thought to myself "Why not?", it seemed like a pretty
good-natured idea. Scott Hull's a cool dude, he's in a huge grind band
but is also knowledgeable in unknown hardcore and punk. I can appreciate
that!
36th:Your lyrics are very real and
relateable for alot of people.do you ever get approached by fans who
have changed their life or been helped by you're lyrics?
More and more every tour, man. At first it was just few and far between,
but now it seems like every show on tour 1 or more kids come up to me
and say something along those lines. It makes me unbelievably stoked to
know that something I wrote actually helped someone in any way. It
strengthens every reason I already had for doing what I do. It's one of
the greatest feelings I've ever had.
36th:I noticed you guys changed the song Scars into Unholy Victory.why did you decide to change it?
I
liked the song a lot and decided to re-use the music, there's not
really any better explanation than that, haha. I figured instead of just
re-recording the song with the same lyrics, I could add new lyrics and
create a whole new version. It's the only time I'll ever do that,
probably. I don't want people accusing us of cheating when we release
new shit.
36th:What are your plans as a band for the future?
We
just wanna keep doing what we're doing. It seems like every year, more
and more people support us and talk about our records, which is an
awesome feeling. I think we all agree that we're just gonna keep going
and see if we can do more with it. 2012 is a really busy year for us,
we've got a lot of touring in the works, as well as a few new records.
36th:and finally,What is the story behind your bandname? it is one of the most unique and righteous names ive ever come across.
Haha,
I'm glad you feel that way...I think it's a pretty great band name too.
Initially, the whole intention was to just throw everybody off. I
guess in 2012, people are still confused by it. That's fine, I just
want to teach people not to rely on image to express themselves. If
you've got something to say, say it. But don't expect to just slap a bad
ass band name on the front of a record and expect people to be
impressed. Music and art in general should be a lot more challenging
than that.
36th:thank you for the interview!
Anytime, bro. Thank you for hitting me up.
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