Total Chaos
Anthems From the Alleyway (Epitaph)
An interview with drummer Suzy Homewrecker
by Scott Hefflon
You joined the band after the last tour but before the recording of Anthems From the Alleyway, were you also part of the writing process?
Yeah, I think so. Even though I’m only the drummer, I had a lot of ideas about when songs should end, and when a certain guitar lick should stop repeating itself 2000 times.
Were you a big fan of the band beforehand, or did you become friends first, or how did you meet?
Some of the other bands I was in had played with Total Chaos a few times, and I liked a few of the songs off the older albums. They were very high energy, but a little too metal-edged for me. Gearbox was an awesome drummer, but he had a more speedmetal style. I liked the band, but that’s not my musical preference. I’m more into old school punk.
You were in both U.X.A. and Snap-Her; did you record the new Snap-Her CD It Smells, It Burns, It Stings (New Red Archives)?
Yeah. We had some problems in the band; it’s hard with girls in bands. It gets pretty crazy. When Rob (Chaos, vocalist) told me they lost their drummer, I asked for a try-out. They seemed against the idea of a girl at first. Total Chaos is kinda a big, hard band, but we jammed together and it just worked.
What about your other bands and projects?
Total Chaos is my only band now. I’m totally psyched. I really like the new songs, and we get along really well.
How much of the new style change do you think is due to your playing?
I think most of it came from Shawn (Smash, guitarist) because he wrote the guitar lines and songs in his style, which is a lot like mine. He’s also a big fan of the old sound of punk, so we fit together right away. We still play some of the older material, and I’m up there killing myself trying to keep up with Gearbox’s drum lines. But that’s fine because I like to play fast. Also, Rob finally got what I think he kinda wanted all along. He was into old punk, but it’s hard to compete with two guitarists and a drummer who are into speedmetal.
The new style and sound seems much more crisp and clean, as opposed to the older stuff that was like driving a bunch of bulldozers really fast.
While we play a lot of the older stuff, I actually like the way I play it better. My drumming is more direct and simplified. Sometimes less is more. I like the separation of different sounds. If you put too many different elements into one song, it just comes out muddy. I’m sure a lot of people’ll not agree because they liked the old school Chaos.
It seems the new style has opened up for more vocal diversity as well.
Rob really took if further on this record. He’s not just screaming, he’s actually singing. He’s really happy with the way the vocals came out. A lot of people seem to think there’s someone else sharing vocals, but it’s all him. We had Steve Kravac as both our engineer and producer, and he really coached Rob and pushed him. He really got the most out of Rob’s vocals.
So is the new sound something you discovered in the studio, or did Steve just help make the most of it?
Steve fine-tuned the sound, especially Rob’s vocals, but we recently played live on a radio show and I couldn’t believe how close it sounded to the album.
You didn’t play any live shows between the line-up change and recording the album?
No, not a single show, believe it or not. We were pushing to learn all the new songs and get them tight, then we recorded them all before we had even played them out. The chemistry was so positive, and we just wanted to get it down. So far, it’s getting really good response.
Besides style and sound, is there any real change in the lyrical content of the songs?
I think his political beliefs are still there, and I think they still come through in the songs, I just don’t think there’s so much anger in the way he expresses them. There’s still anger, of course, but I think he feels better about about the band and better about this record.
For you personally, what was it like to join a band that already had a record deal with Epitaph and all you had to do was join?
It’s very different. Snap-Her had quite a bit of exposure, and was really building a good buzz, so it was kind of a bummer because the band was not working on the inside. No one in the band was really happy and it was getting really stressful. The biggest change for me was playing in a band that didn’t fight, that really got along well. Label-wise it’s been quite a change. Right before I quit Snap-Her, we got signed to New Red Archives. Now I’m in Total Chaos and signed to Epitaph; it just opens up so many doors. There’s a lot more support, not just money-wise, but emotionally as well. Epitaph is like a big family. When I joined Chaos and quit all my other bands, that kind of shut off my income from playing shows. Epitaph asked me if I wanted to work part-time doing data entry until the tour started. So I said yeah.
So you’ve got a better understanding of the label that puts out your records and the way things work than most other bands.
Yeah, it’s been totally rad. I hope the album does the label right. But I can’t wait to get out on tour.
When’s the tour start?
July 12th we’re starting the U.S. tour for about seven weeks. Then we’re supposed to be going to Europe, Japan, Australia, South America, and all that. I’ve never done a tour like this, but they have. They know what it’s like. I don’t know about the dirty socks that’ll be happening on the road. And being the only girl, it kinda worries me.
