|
Warped
Tour Feature:
With
three vocalists,
Hurry Up Offense nails down tight harmonies and pushes their
punk sound to the forefront.
Hurry
Up Offense Interview w/ Jason
Friday, August 6, 2004
Camden, NJ
Hurry Up Offense is:
Jason - lead vocals, guitar
Pete - drums, vocals
Max - bass, vocals
|
Cityzen: Could you introduce
yourself and your role in the band?
Jason: Jason, singer and guitarist.
Cityzen: How did you guys get together
as a band?
Jason: We all come from different places
in America but we all met in New York and started playing
downtown together just for fun and now it’s become
a business.
Cityzen: Hurry Up Offense, or Hurry
Up Offence?
Jason: Either one, as long as it’s
not Hurry Up Accent, or Slow Down Defense, or Hurry Up Off
a Fence (laughs)…we get a lot of typos.
Cityzen: What does the name mean?
Jason: The definition of hurry up offense
is a highly aggressive last minute situation…
Cityzen: Oooo
Jason: We made that up
|
 |
Cityzen: (Laughs) Well it does make sense
as a definition.
Jason: Yeah, and it describes the music as
well, very fast and energized.
Cityzen: You guys were the house band on
Last Call with Carson Daly a few times.
Jason: Yes.
Cityzen: How did that come about?
Jason: Someone got our music over to NBC
and Carson really liked us so we ended up playing on the show
– we discovered we’re pretty good at doing it. It’s
a fun gig – have you seen the show?
Cityzen: Yeah, and actually I’ve been
on it a few times.
Jason: Oh cool.
Cityzen: When did you guys start on Warped?
Jason: Two days ago – we’re on
it for four dates this year.
Cityzen: Were you guys on it last year as
well?
Jason: Yeah, we’ve done it for three
years. The first Warped Tour show we ever did was here actually,
three years ago.
Cityzen: How’s Warped? Enjoying it?
Jason: Um well today I like it a lot –
nice weather, not so hot – it’s fucking noisy though!
It really is, they’re all good bands but it’s just
way fucking noisy! Right now I hear this band over here on the
main stage, and I can hear this band next to us – it’s
way too fucking noisy. I have ADHD so I can’t focus on everything
that’s going on. But overall I think it’s a great
thing.
 |
Cityzen: Which band’s
set would you recommend checking out on Warped?
Jason: The Matches.
Cityzen: Awesome, we love them!
Jason: They’re my favorite band
on this tour by far.
Cityzen: Yay!
Jason: I didn’t catch them today
but I saw their set yesterday and they were awesome.
Cityzen: Have you just seen them on
this tour or previously as well?
Jason: This is the first time I’ve
seen them live but we went on tour with a band called Limit
Point and they have the same producer – both bands
are very similar – so we heard about The Matches through
them.
Cityzen: Awesome. They were on tour
with Maxeen in the spring, have you heard of them?
|
Jason: Maxeen? Yeah I’ve heard of them.
That single is really cool – I heard it because it’s
on the warped tour compilation. I really like it.
Cityzen: They’re a great band.
Cityzen: What are some necessary items on
this tour?
Jason: Food, wine, champagne, ladies (laughs).
Cityzen: Ladies! We like that word –
we’ve decided that it’s our favorite word.
Jason: I would describe all of you as ladies
– all three of you are gorgeous – green eyes, blue
eyes, green eyes – incredible!
Cityzen: Haha thanks!
(Peter, drummer for Hurry
Up Offense, enters the tent)
Jason: You guys this is Peter!
Cityzen: Hey peter!
Peter: Hi my name is Peter!
Cityzen: What do you do in the band?
Peter: I’m the drummer and singer.
Cityzen: Drummer and singer?
Peter: Yeah I sing too.
|
|
Cityzen: Who’s the lead singer?
Jason: Me and the bassist sing most of the
time.
Cityzen: So everyone does vocals in the band?
Jason: Yeah, to summarize it: we all sing.
We try to do the most we can.
Cityzen: We’re a fan of harmonizing,
so rock on.
Jason: Let’s hear some from you guys
then!
Peter: Then you’ll looooove us! Man,
if the selling point was that easy, we would be billionaires...
Cityzen: How would you describe the local
NYC scene?
Jason: It’s kind of like Warped Tour
– there’s so much shit going on, it’s too noisy,
and it’s hard to find good music because there’s so
much going on.
Cityzen: You don’t like noise huh?
Jason: I just want everyone to shut up –
I just want peace and quiet man!
Cityzen: Awww
 |
Jason: I want to read
a book! But seriously, the NYC scene is really busy and
it’s good, and if you were really dedicated and not
that busy, you could probably find some good music if you
really looked. But if you’re in a group of friends
and you just want to check out some good music, it’s
going to be a tough job.
Cityzen: What are you listening to
you right now?
Jason: Elliott Smith…I’ve
been listening to the Bronx, they’re a great band.
I also like the new Wilco record – I bought it but
I haven’t had a chance to fucking listen to it! It
won’t play on my living room CD player, how crazy
is that? But I have it on my iPod. I’ve been listening
to Story of the Year actually – that’s Warped
Tour related. I do like them; the first 6 songs off the
record, at least – the rest I don’t like. And
The Matches – I’ll plug them again.
Cityzen: Yay!
Jason: They’re so great, it’s
undeniable.
|
The interview had to be cut short because
catering was at 7PM,
and no one wants to miss out on free food!
