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88 Fingers Louie

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E-mail Interview with 88 Fingers Louie singer Denis Buckley and Dan Precision, the guitarist.

First of all, thank you for having agreed to this interview. Could you give me a brief history of the group and tell me how everything began nearly 20 years ago for 88 Fingers Louie ?
Dan: In 1992, I was jamming with a singer and posted ads looking for a bassist and drummer. I ended up getting in contact with Joe Principe and Dom Vallone (our first drummer for 88FL). We worked with a second singer before trying out Denis. We even had some issues with Dom early on and let him go, but in April of 1993, we ran into him at a NOFX show in Chicago and decided to take him back into the band. Shortly after that we agreed on our band name of 88 Fingers Louie.

Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that the group disbanded and got back together already several times in recent years. Who initiated this? And what were the reasons for this getting back together? Was the idea to get back together just an impulse decision or was it something you really thought about carefully? Tell me all about it!
Denis : I pretty much take full responsibility for the two breakups, hahaha. Our initial split in 1996 was down to me trying to work on some personal issues at home; when we split in 1999, I wanted to hold things off for a bit after one more tour but didn’t do a very good job communicating it. Dan and I have talked over the years about reuniting the band but only worked on it seriously last year as it had marked ten years since we last played.

Did you get back together just to do shows or are you considering the possibility of a new album? Are you planning to compose new songs?
Denis : The initial plan was to play just the one reunion show, but all the positive feedback we received afterwards gave us cause to reconsider. At this point we are taking things an offer at a time and definitely have not ruled out the possibility of new music. We’re just taking things as they come.
Dan: At this time, we've been trying around with a few riffs and new song ideas. Who knows what will happen.

88 Fingers Louie in 1998

Joey Principe, who was the founding member of 88 Fingers Louie with Denis, is no longer a member of the band and has chosen to dedicate himself to Rise Against, how do you feel about his decision and what is your current relationship with him? Are you still in touch with him?
Denis : Don’t forget Dan was also a founding member of 88. Speaking for myself, I’ve known since the day I met him that Joe is insanely dedicated to music and, as busy as Rise Against is, he is also a new dad which you can imagine takes up a great deal of his time. Since Joe couldn’t participate in this reunion, as a founding member it was really important to me to receive his blessing. Joe and I e-mail back and forth on occasion.
Dan: Yeah, after 88FL, both Joe and I went on to form Rise Against, but after one album and several tours, they let me go due to "differences." If I see Joe now, we will talk, but it always ends up with him promising to email me or contact me, but he never does. As Denis said, I'm sure he's very busy with Rise Against and being a dad.

What do you think of his current band, Rise Against, and of its reputation on the international punk scene?
Denis : Joe wanted to make a living doing what he loved, and he most certainly is now. I myself really like the first two Rise Against albums.
Dan: I definitely enjoyed writing and playing on the first CD, "The Unraveling," but I think they have a different way of approaching music and image now, that I don't agree with. I was never one to be concerned with a "look." I just feel a band should play the style of music they love playing and not worry about the type of clothes they were or how they style their hair. I, too, like some of the songs on the second album, but after that, I felt they lost their edge.

You were on the "Punk Rock" scene 15 or 20 years ago and now you are coming back in 2010. Given the shows that you have performed in the United States, have you noticed big changes or developments on that scene?
Denis : I haven’t noticed that much of a difference, only that the crowds are younger and I’m…not as skinny, hahaha.
Dan: After my departure from Rise Against in 2001, I formed the band Break The Silence, so I was still in touch with the scene at that time. From the early 88 days, I really noticed that in some US cities, the smaller shows became more of a "meeting place" instead of a place to see bands. The shows we played in Europe and Canada still felt as though the fans were coming to see the bands. We haven't done any touring in the United States lately, so I'm not really sure how the scene is currently, but I hope that more people go out to enjoy shows and experience a band instead of just listening to their music. It is an entirely different feeling that just can't be reproduced on CD.

As far as audience is concerned, what type of audience do you attract to your concerts? Is it an older crowd who have been fans throughout the years or is it mainly young people?
Denis : we’ve definitely seen our share of old friends from the early ‘90’s in addition to some younger fans (up to and including the kids of these fans !). Most people our age are too busy or lazy to get out to too many shows so it’s been nice to see a good mix of old and young crowds.
Dan: We were very surprised to see so many younger faces at our reunion show. We did kind of have the feeling that it was just going to be our "older" fans, but it seems like after we broke up in 1999, our music still attracted a lot of new listeners, which is awesome.



How have you spent your time all these years? What are your jobs, interests, recreational activities, hobbies outside of music? I know that Dan never left the music world; he set up his recording studio, played with Break The Silence and more recently with Zero To Sixty in which Denis participated as the lead singer. What are the other members of 88 Fingers Louie doing?
Denis: I’ve been spending time with my son and played in a few bands over the years when time allowed. John has played and still does play in a few different bands and still manages to find the time to teach.
Dan: My life, over the past 10 years, has been being in bands and running my recording studio, The Bombshelter. Now that 88FL is back together, I've been trying to donate as much time as possible to the band, but it's still quite difficult. I work often with other bands, recording, mixing, and mastering at my studio. Recently, I just mixed and mastered a band from Switzerland called the Nutcutters. It was cool working with them after playing a show with them back in 2005 when I was in Break the Silence. You should check them out.

Denis, can you talk to me about your other bands? I saw that you had left Zero To Sixty several months ago. If I’m not being too indiscreet, can you tell me why you are no longer with them? What is going on with Explode and Make Up ? An album "Split" with Hellmouth was supposed to be released. Is it still in the works?
Denis : Right now, my schedule only really allows for one band, though I imagine I’ll jam some ideas with other friends at some point. I ended up leaving Zero To Sixty because I was just granted custody of my son and felt like I would hold the band back if I stayed. Explode And Make Up put out an EP recently and the split with Hellmouth will be released in the not too distant future. We don’t have a drummer presently and to be honest, the band is too busy with other projects to do too much at the moment.

Our French neighbors on the "Eternalis Records" label brought out a tribute to 88 Fingers Louie last year, how did you react to hearing all these groups performing your own songs? Which performance impressed you and pleased you the most on the album?
Denis : I’m in big trouble. I received the 88 tribute just before moving and have yet to listen to it. I had heard Shot Baker’s version of ‘Ritter’ before and their singer, Tony, joined us on stage for our reunion show.
Dan: It's funny because I'm usually not a fan of bands that change the structure of a song when they cover it, but I really liked what both Shot Baker and No Good Men did with their respective covers "Ritter" and "Reparation." Thanks to Quentin at Eternalis Records for releasing that tribute.

How did it happen that you are on the bill of the "Groezrock Festival" in Europe, did they contact you and convince you to come and play?
Denis: almost immediately after our August reunion show, we began to hear from some promoters in Europe. Groezrock was one of the first things offered to us. This year marks ten years almost to the day that we last played Groezrock so for us it was pretty easy to say yes. Of course, once the other bands started confirming we more than knew we made the right decision to play.
Dan: Sorry to be "precise," but we actually played Groezrock in 1999 so that would be eleven years ago since we last played Groezrock. I was quite suprised when they offered it to us, but as of now, I'm hoping this volcano in Iceland stops erupting so we can actually make it to Belgium.

If I am not mistaken this will be the first big performance for 88 Fingers Louie in almost 10 years. How do feel about this upcoming show?
Denis: I’m nervous as hell, hahaha. Excited for sure, though. I hope we don’t run into the technical difficulties that we did at Groezrock 1999, hahaha.
Dan: For all of those who were at the 1999 Groezrock show, you might remember the technical difficulties Denis is referring to. Our time slot was right around when it started to get dark, so we were the first band that had stage lights. Apparently there was a problem with the power and during our first song, the power went out and we had lost our sound. Luckily, after two more outages, we were back in business and we played the rest of our set.

Which group are you the most looking forward to seeing/meeting at "Groezrock", why?
Denis: I’ve done a lousy job of keeping up with new bands over the years, but two relatively new bands that I’m excited to see are This Is Hell and Banner Pilot. I am probably most excited to see Snapcase.
Dan: I've been a big fan of AFI, Pennywise, and Bad Religion from the old days. I've always liked Strike Anywhere but never got a chance to see them. I believe they play right before us, so hopefully I'll be able to catch a few songs. What I'm most upset about is A Wilhelm Scream. Not only do I love their band, but I've been friends with them since we toured together in my Break the Silence days. They are playing around the same time that we are, so I won't be able to see there set at all.



What is your favorite 88 Fingers Louie song, the one of which you are the proudest?
Denis: I’ve always been proudest of «Joyboy», a song written about my son; I like singing «Summer Photos» and «Reparation» among most of our songs.
Dan: Now that we've been playing a few of the old 88 songs live, I am enjoying "Smart Enough to Run." It is just a fun song to play. I also like playing State because of the high energy level, and "Drunk & Ugly" because of the backing vocals I sing.

There are many 88 fans here in Switzerland, have you already come to play here? Is a European tour with a performance in Switzerland on your agenda?
Denis: We’ve never played Switzerland and would love to. It’s a matter of timing for us. We’re in the midst of planning some European dates for later in the summer, so who knows?
Dan: I'm looking forward to playing Switzerland this summer. I've been there before with Break the Silence and I really loved it, especially Montreux and Basel.

What do you think of when I say “Switzerland”?
Denis: The Swiss Alps
Dan: "Smoke on the Water." When I was in Montreux in 2005, I was told that the Deep Purple song was written about a club burning on the lake.

What bands do you listen to these days?
Denis : I don’t listen to much punk rock nowadays, truthfully. I’ve been listening to a lot of The Replacements and Superdrag; a lot of The Beatles. I’ve gotten into quite a bit of electronic/experimental music as well. Not to fear, I don’t see an 88FL dubstep remix coming out anytime soon, hahaha.
Dan: I spend a lot of my time listening to the bands I record. Other than that, I listen to a lot of different stuff. I'll still put on the Misfits, Metallica, Queens of the Stone Age, AFI, Chixdiggit, Queensryche, Minor Threat, Refused, and so many others. I haven't really been listening to much new music...nothing has really been catching my ear, but I have been listening to some newer local bands.

Thank you again for answering my questions, would you like to add anything to this interview?
Denis: thank you, everyone, for the tons of support we continue to get all these years later.
Dan: Yes, without our fans, we probably never would have reunited. THANK YOU!

Interview : Lucien

Plus d'infos :

Label : Fat Wreck Chords et Hopeless Records

MySpace : www.myspace.com/88fingerslouie

Site Web : Pas de Site

Site du label: www.fatwreck.com et www.hopelessrecords.com

Interview cliquée : 53397 fois