If you love hardcore raw and angry, Jungle Juice is definitely a band worth your attention. Their recently released debut album delivers nothing but a pissed off music backed up by a 'fuck the world' attitude. If you feel like breaking the law today, this might be a good soundtrack!
First of all, congratulations on a new full length. For those who have never had this chance, how does it feel to hold your own record in your hands?
JAKE: Thank you, and really it is overwhelming to think how far we've really come.
STAN: It's crazy to think that less than a year ago, we started this band as a joke. And I never thought the day would come where we would actually play shows, much less have an album of our own.
TED: Yeah, it feels INCREDIBLE, it's something I'm really proud of.
Mad Mike: I'm still trying to let it set in; still surpirses me everytime i see it and play our songs on my ipod.
What kind of response have you received since the Jungle Jamz hit the streets?
JAKE: Nothing but positive feedback.
STAN: Everyone seems to dig it so far, which is good.
TED: Everything that I've heard is very good, nothing negative.
MIKE: People have been very supportive and have given us the best compliments, the response has been better than i imagined.
CHRIS: We have lots of good friends and kids we have never met that come out to a lot of our shows and buy our CD then turnaround and tell us how much they liked it which is cool.
How would you describe the overall style of the record?
JAKE: A pissed off style of music with various influences. We really just wrote this record for ourselves not anyone else.
STAN: My current mindset.
TED: A really raw, intense plethora of experiences, opinions and emotions jam packed onto a disc.
CHRIS: Expressing the daily bullshit that goes on that everyone has to deal with in the world, in a pissed off way.
Are there any songs on it that you are especially proud of?
JAKE: Blood which was the first song off of 'Jungle Jamz' we released. We were skeptical since we had only released demo tracks prior to it but the feedback was awesome.
STAN: Nowhere Fast, for sure, probably one of the best things I've ever written, I can just sit back and admire that.
TED: Officer Down because it was the first time I tried vocals and it turned out great.
MIKE: Barrell Roll, I like seeing people go nuts everytime we play that.
CHRIS: No Glory, it's sweet.
There are a lot of 80's hardcore influences in your music. How do think the band fits into the hardcore scene nowadays with all the metalcore bands getting the most of the attention?
STAN: We're inspired by 80s hardcore big time, however I think we've kind of developed a sound we can call our own, which makes us stick out.
TED: I try not to focus on metalcore bands and their attention. Kids seem to like our music so we seem to fit in fine in the hardcore scene nowadays.
CHRIS: Well, I don't really care about any metalcore bands. I am doing what i like to do, so i am happy.
Given the name of the band, what's your stance on alcohol and drugs?
STAN: We're game.
JAKE: None of us do like hardcore drugs, but we're down to smoke weed and we're down to drink booze.
TED: Life would suck without 'em.
MIKE: Not too much my style.
CHRIS: I'm down for the occasional drink and smoke.
Is anybody in the band Sxe?
ALL: No.
Many of your lyrics deal with society and it's fucked up ways. How is living in a place as Little Rock like?
JAKE: I love little rock, but it really has it's shitty qualities. Shitty people along with even shittier cops.
STAN: I've been more observant of my surroundings, and I've come to realize that if I were to drop dead, or not be able to keep food on the table or if I was going through any kind of hardship where a helping hand is needed, the average person, really doesn't give a shit. Regardless of location, a lot of people suck everywhere.
TED: I never really liked Little Rock, or society.
Mad Mike: Little Rock is the bible belt capital, where the religious bible thumpers frown down upon anything.
In Officer Down you deal with a police harassment issue. Does it happen often in USA that cops stop you because of your look, tattoos or stuff like that?
STAN: There's so many small, rural towns in Arkansas, where the cops really have complete control. I don't hate cops in general, however I'm not too fond of anyone who has authority and chooses to abuse it. I've actually been pulled over on my way home from work and had my car torn apart by a cop, and after he asks me if there is anything in my possession that would get me in trouble, I tell him no, he smiles back at me and says, "now, son, you can't bullshit a bullshitter", already making his assumption simply by appearance and nothing more. Then after he couldn't find anything to use against me, he left, half the shit it my car broken, or fucked up. I wrote officer down in my head on the way home from that experience.
TED: I'm young and have only had unfortunate experiences with the police.
MIKE: Profiling is part of the job now and it's bullshit.
Being against the Iraq-war, how do you feel about the Barack Obama winning the election?
TED: The fact that Bush is out of office and McCain didn't take his place is what I'm most proud of.
STAN: Let's hope things start getting better in that area. I'm hopeful.
You've shared a stage with a wide range of bands. What were some of the memorable gigs you've played?
JAKE: The first house show we ever played or Murderfest in Tulsa. House shows are always cool.
MIKE: This frat house we played in OKC.
TED: Definitely our show with What Life Is and our CD release show with All Teeth.
CHRIS: well me being new to the band i have only played 5 or 6 shows with jungle juice but my favorite was with our boys in ALL TEETH.
What are your views on downloading and file-sharing?
STAN: I think it's cool. With the type of music we play, it's not like we'll be rolling in cash from record sales.
TED: I could care less, I know I wont be getting rich off of this band.
MIKE: If you like a song and can get it, go for it. You get a song and show your buddies, then they get it and show theirs, it'll benefit the band through exposure.
CHRIS: For touring bands it is nice to get some money for selling merch and cds but i could careless if someone got ahold of our music in any way.
Is it threatening to the hardcore scene in any way?
TED: Hell no. If bands like us were featured on TRL and money was needed for mansions and cars, but the only thing good hardcore bands need money for is to tour and live off of.
CHRIS: I don't think too many people in the hardcore scene care unless they are in it for the wrong reasons.
What are Jungle Juice's plans for the future?
STAN: Expect some new stuff very soon. We've done a lot of writing recently, and I think it surpasses anything we've done so far.
JAKE: True Violence on Tape (www.myspace.com/tvt714) will be putting out a rerelease of 'Jungle Jamz', we're really stoked on that.
TED: Yeah the TVT cassette release will include some new bonus tracks. Besides that, we want to do a split and tour as much as we can.
MIKE: I don't see us slowing down anytime soon.
CHRIS: We are having some fun right now, and plan on heading west this summer.
JAKE: Pick up our cd and merch from www.fuckhellfish.com
MIKE: Listen to our stuff, and let us know what you think.
STAN: Be on the lookout, tons of touring this summer, so give us a place to eat, shit, and sleep.
TED: Do drugs and set your preacher on fire.
CHRIS: Fuck the pigs.
Jungle Juice at myspace