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Road Sick Puppies
Topics: Sick Puppies, interview, Bakotopia, June 2009, Bakersfield, Shimon Moore, Emma Anzai, Mark Goodwin, WWE, You're Going Down, Rock, Australia, Jerry's Pizza
Posted by matt Tue Jun 23, 2009 14:32:15 PDT
Viewed 1399 times
0 responses 0 comments Location: 1817 Chester Ave., Bakersfield, CA 93301

Road Sick Puppies
Exclusive Interview: Sick Puppies’ Shimon Moore puts the blame on a diet of asphalt - returning to Bakersfield July 9! WIN FREE TIX WITH BAKOTOPIA!


Above from left, Sick Puppies' Mark Goodwin, Shimon Moore, and Emma Anzai.

By Matt Muñoz, Bakotopia Editor

The road can be very a wicked place.

But for Sick Puppies, it’s also turned out to be a place of exhausting inspiration, and maybe a good thing.

After a steady rise from the southern hemisphere aka the land “down under,” to the concrete jungles of LA, the power rock trio of Shimon “Shim” Moore - guitar/vocals, Emma Anzai - bass, and Mark Goodwin - drums are back!

Returning to Bako Thursday, July 9, to sweat it up at Jerry’s Pizza, 1817 Chester Ave. at 7 p.m., the band has a new CD “Tri-Polar,” dropping July 14.

Not content with waiting for the shrinkwrap to settle, the band already has two new hit singles - “War” heard on the new Street Fighter IV video game. Plus a second, titled “You’re Going Down”, and currently being used in WWE TV promos. With a modified bass-line reminiscent of the Dead Kennedys’ “Holiday in Cambodia,” “You’re Going Down” is destined for Wrestlemania-like immortality.


Above: Sick Puppies at the X103.9 Very Merry Xmas Show in 2008.

YouTube addicts are familiar with the Puppies’ touchy feely video for “All The Same,” from a couple years back. Well, you won’t find many free hugs on the heavier new disc. And while many bands like Metallica may hire a shrink to hash out personal issues, these mates wisely took it to the studio. From the opening tracks to the end, Sick Puppies have upped the ante in both musicianship and songwriting.



Noticeably a bit more serious in conversation since the last time Bakotopia shared a chat,  guitarist Shimon Moore, 26, did allow for some quality promo time, via telephone recently.

During our last interview (Bakotopia 2-21-08,) you were in the middle of heavily promoting your last record “Dressed Up As Life,” and the “Free Hugs” craze associated with your '07 single “All The Same” was everywhere. Is that movement still welcome, or would you rather clock the huggers in the face?

SM: Oh yeah, it's still welcome, of course. That was a cool single, we had some fun with it, and it opened a lot of new doors for us as a band



After 4 years in LA, do you consider yourselves Aussies or full-fledged Angelenos?

SM:  We've been here 4 years, but it’s still kind of a dichotomy. We’ve spent a lot of time here, but we still grew up in Australia. It would be like if you grew up in America, but spent a lot of time in Australia.



Are there any pubs or places you go in LA to get an “Aussie fix,” to remind you of home?

SM:  There aren’t any places really. You find an Australian here and there, and just listen for the accent. The radar will go off in your head then you walk over to talk to them about anything that pops into your head.



The name and sound of your new CD “Tri-polar,” tells me the band must have dealt with a lot of emotional issues this past year. How did this record get put together?

SM: It’s a little bit more of a chaotic record than our last, and definitely came out of two years of touring and that really takes its toll.

People will be surprised that there is a daily lifestyle that comes with being on the road. That life is comprised of three things - eating, sleeping, and playing music. Throughout that whole time, you don’t always get that sleep you need, and after 6 months of eating poor food, your diet goes out the window and you’re eating nothing but sugar, salt and other crap.

Sometimes you go onstage after eating just one little pack of chips. You do an hour workout and you’re spent. After a couple of years of that you just get exhausted, and it starts to affect the rest of your life. After you get off the road, you go re-juice to do it all over again and keep going. We were lucky we had 8 months off the road to make the record.

What we did was just take all of that, and put it on record. It really sounds fantastic, and we’re super proud of it. Every song came out better than expected.



Your latest single “You’re Going Down,” can be heard in WWE commercials. Are you a fan of pro wrestling?

SM:  I wasn’t until they asked us to contribute the song. I actually went backstage and checked it out - that is when I became more of a fan of it. I also saw the movie, “The Wrestler,” and that was really good.

You’re playing at Jerry’s Pizza, considered the CBGB’s of Bakersfield, on July 9 - is this toured scaled down production-wise compared to last?

SM: Well, we never had things very scaled up the first time. But I think we’re in good shape, because last time, we had one guy doing the sound, no one on lights, and we’d just go up there and play our songs.

Our main focus was connecting with the fans. As long as there’s an audience, I don’t think we’re ever going to do a bad show. We’re just going to have a little more lights, and a larger sound. The record has a much bigger sound in general but we’re just going to keep on tapping into the audience.

As part of an ongoing study, I’ve asked this question to both Chris Carraba of Dashboard Confessional and Joe Trohman of Fall Out Boy, now it’s your turn. What the hell is ‘Emo?’

SM: “Emo” defies definition. It’s not a word as far as I’m concerned, it’s such a crock. Someone somewhere made it up in the cosmos, and businessmen use it to describe “modern music with guitars”…that’s it.



Would you like to throw out a personal invite for Bakersfield?

SM: Yeah, forget about the state of the economy because we guarantee you a show you’re going to enjoy. And if you don’t like the show, I’ll give you your money out of my pocket.

Will you be offering free hugs, should fans throw their arms up?

SM: Free hugs are always up for grabs. Of course, Emma usually gets a lot more offers from the guys.

RELATED STORIES - BAKOTOPIA 2008 INTERVIEW WITH SICK PUPPIES

www.sickpuppies.net


Sick Puppies - LIVE!
•Thursday, July 9, 2009
•Jerry’s Pizza, 1817 Chester Ave.
•7 p.m. doors / All Ages
•$17
www.timgardeapresents.com

Story also printed in Bakotopia magazine, issue 57, 6-25-09

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