Down by Law
Last of the Sharpshooters (Epitaph)
An interview with Dave Smalley
by Austin Nash
When the pebble bounced off my head at the bottom of the mountain, rendered diminutive in distinction to the boulder it once was, preceding a forever (or at least since the late eighties) grinding fall of slow destruction, my mind turned amusedly romantic rendering parallelisms between its existence and the downfall of quality music we… let me personalize that statement… I am experiencing. I have recently been cursed for articulating this notion to the public, and to this I say snyyitz!!! That means fuckemall in a language I invented yesterday where all words have two y’s.
I thus find it beautiful and consider it a pleasure to bequief, excuse me, I bequiefed, to bequeath to you words from a man among those who suck, lashing back against the inane and musically insufficient, a man acting his part while I act mine as we bind our strength to a rocket fueled by piss and vinegar screaming along the streets of a violent LA deadeye dicked on the forehead of the man with the beerstained gray T-shirt shouting at the kids spattering spittle on their Martens “PUNK IS DEAD!!!”
Good punk anyway. My doctor said this would go away. Let me give up this ugly stage to Dave Smalley and see if we can uncover some truths about this genre we exist in. I’ll start with a dumb statement meant to emphasize the fact that you are not reading this to hear me say anything even remotely entertaining or intelligent:
I just got the new album (Last of the Sharp Shooters) last night so I’ve only had a chance to listen to it a few times. I like it but it’s one of those things, it’s really hard to tell if you like it without living with it for a while.
That’s interesting, because I was just talking to a friend of mine who does a magazine outside of London called Suspective Ice. He said the same thing. He’s a very big fan of the band, and he said it took him five or six listens to get with it. I thought that was a really cool thing. I find the albums that take longer to grasp end up being worth the investment.
As opposed to Nevermind, which stayed in the CD player for a month then never saw daylight again.
I thought Dookie was like that. When I first heard it I was blown away, but after the 50th time it was no longer sustaining for me somehow. The last Social Distortion record took quite a while for me, but I ended up liking parts of it quite a bit.
You probably get asked about the Dag Nasty dynasty quite a bit, no?
Yeah, but less and less. I think the allure is still there for a lot of people, but the more history Down By Law has, the less time they have for it.
How was it for you to play one legend against another, mixed in with the whole Descendents/All thing?
When I was in Dag Nasty, and the same thing with DYS when I was living in Boston, I never had a clue that ten years later we’d still be discussing it and people would still have it in their hearts. I’m honored that that’s the case, but I didn’t know it then. I wonder what people will be saying about Down By Law ten years from now. I just know that I do what I do and love it and let the chips fall where they may. One of the things that helps distinguish, I hope, the stuff that I’ve done, is that I really believed in all of the bands I’ve been in quite a bit. They’ve all had a lot of merit for different reasons. Obviously the appeal of a band like All is very different from that of Dag Nasty. All the bands that I’ve done I’ve been really proud of and very into with my heart and head. They’ve stood the test of time.
Who wrote “Just Perfect?”
Bill Stevenson wrote that, both the words and the music.
That’s what I thought. I interviewed a band that recorded in Bill’s and Stephen’s studio, The Blasting Room, and he said he was amazed to find out how many of those songs Bill actually wrote.
They’re really into that production thing. I’m just starting out. I co-produced our new record and I’m just starting to produce bands and it’s a lot of fun. You realize the benefits of having recording experience. Most of these bands don’t have any, so it’s really helpful for them to have somebody in there who can tell them how to comp a vocal. Most bands don’t even know what that means so me being there to help is useful to them.
What do use as a measure for success?
That’s a really good question. And a tough question. I think that… phew, man… Down By Law has produced two albums that are the favorite records I’ve ever done out of eleven or twelve. Those two are PunkRockAcademyFightSong and Last of the Sharp Shooters, and I don’t mean that as a put down to the other records, but these two to me are very special records and this one has a very serious feel and I think they’re the best lyrics and songwriting I’ve ever done. I don’t know if that means success or not, it could sell one copy or something. I think that it’s going to do well and people will remember it for a long time to come.
Do you see yourself peaking out, or do you see five more in the future getting five times better?
One of the things that has marked me personally is I am very much a fascist about competing against myself. People can say very nice statements to me at a show and I can always find something that I could’ve done better. I’m my own harshest critic. I’m never really happy with myself. It takes a long time. The new record was like that. It took time to get the songs where I wanted them to be. When they’re finally done they’re done.
How old are you?
Thirty-three.
If music died tomorrow, every guitar, every amp, every radio, every punk and hippie vaporized, what would you do with your life?
I would teach. I have a Master’s degree in Political Science.
Excellent!
It was a lot of fun doing it, but when it was done I quickly abandoned it because the band was doing well. I taught when I was getting my degree and I loved it. It was a college freshman class and we all got along great because I was young instead of a stuck up old professor. It started out good when I said “Don’t call me Mr. Smalley, that’s my dad.”
So do you follow politics at all now?
Very closely.
Maybe when you’re done with the band thing you can step in and help fix the fucked up world.
I’d like to try, somebody asked me about that earlier today, maybe I’m onto something. But I think if I tried all it would take is one born-again Christian with a photo of me sweating into a mic with a tattoo on my arm to swing Mr. and Mrs. Middle America to take their vote elsewhere.
If the Kennedys can’t get away with it, you can’t. It’s no kindergarten out there.
And they’ve got a lot more money than I have. It’s a sad reflection on our society, not that I was going to actually try it or anything, to realize the difficulties I would have. It says that maybe the best people aren’t running for office.
Mr. Smalley, did you inhale?
On that one I’d be all right.
It’s been a long day and I won’t keep you unless there’s any questions you want to ask and me to answer or there’s some message to the world you want to get out that we conveniently haven’t hit on.
Why are you drinking Miller High Life?
Because I have no class and it’s my Grandpa’s favorite. Ever since I can remember it’s been MHL tall boys. I guess it’s also somewhat of a sentimental thing. I don’t actually like it. I’m also from redneck middle America and there’s some parts of that I just can’t shake.
How’s Boston doing these days, show-wise and such?
There’s so many bands in Boston that it’s always a crap shoot, and one doesn’t roll a seven in hell with nothing in the pot. It’s far too easy to step into three bad bands on a given night because, well… 90 percent of all art stinks. I think the word “fart” may be a concatenation of the phrase “fine art.”
I am so glad to hear you say that ’cause lots of people have been asking what Last of the Sharp Shooters means. I say it’s fighting for a cause that no one else believes in, specifically Down By Law believes in writing strong songs and playing them as best as we can and I see so many bands that seem like they’re in it just to relieve boredom. To me, if I’m going to be in a band, I have to do it well. I just don’t get it.
I cursed this very phenomenon last issue and used this band called The Strike as an example. They faxed the page back to Lollipop with the words “Kill This Fool!” on it.
I’m right behind you on that one, man. When we come to Boston I’ll treat you to a real beer.
Down By Law is possibly bringing their always ecstatic show to Boston for you locals around the first week in October. Get your tickets early kids and come see ol’ Austin drink a beer. Cursed, blind, and surviving repeated death threats (I got a real one from a jealous ex today, pretty punk huh?). Keep ’em cryin’.
P.S. Dave… my spellchecker keeps wanting to replace your last name with Smelly.
