California melodic punks Strike Twelve recently celebrated their 20th anniversary with their new album, Last Band Standing. Available digitally at the Thousand Islands Records Bandcamp, with streaming, merch, and more options via this link page. To celebrate the new record, the band’s vocalist and bassist Joe joined TGEFM for an installment in our Roll of the Dice interview series.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Congrats on the upcoming release of Last Band Standing. What can you tell us about Strike Twelve and your sound for readers just discovering the band?
We’re just three dudes that grew up in Southern California listening to 90s punk rock and have been honing our own sound for the past 20 years based on those early influences.
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst?
If I’m being totally honest, Blink 182 Dude Ranch was the one that opened the floodgates. Went to my first concert in middle school and learned to play most of those songs. From there, I discovered The Vandals (Hitler Bad, Vandals Good), NOFX and Lagwagon.
We’ve all got a few, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn’t take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?
This is a really minor regret but it still bugs me. We started as a three piece for the first several years. When Andy started joining us on second guitar, we would sometimes play as a three and sometimes as a four because he and I were both in medical school and it was pretty hard to make our schedules line up. After our album Moonshine came out, we decided we would only play shows as a four piece. Then we were offered a show with Pulley at the Slidebar in Fullerton and ended up turning it down because Andy couldn’t do it (it’s pretty rare for us to turn something down). I think he had his dates mixed up and he would’ve actually been able to play it. So I wish we wouldn’t have turned down that show. But we eventually did play with Pulley at the Slidebar so I guess it worked out.
The world has been going through some shit over the last few years. What effect, if any, have the cultural and political landscapes of the last few years had on your music?
I’m very much a glass half full, always a bright side kind of guy. In the past few years, I’ve definitely discovered my dark side. I’m still overall pretty hopeful and positive but there’s definitely a lot more negative in the mix these days.
What can fans expect from a Strike Twelve show? What’s the state of the live scene in light of the last few years?
We are three best friends since early high school who get to jam and hang out on a stage. We’re always surprising each other and making each other crack up with something silly that we say or do. I think we’re a band that truly enjoys what we do, and I hope that our showgoers can feel it and share in the enjoyment. The live scene hasn’t changed that much. There’s more people filming and taking pictures and posting on social media instead of giving it their full attention. The drink options at the bar have changed – seltzers and such. It’s still great.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?
Oh man, there are so many, but here are some of my favs right now:
PunchCard (San Diego)
Cadaver Pudding (Riverside)
Old Cross (Portland)
The Frickashinas (Denver)
1335 (Fresno)
Let Me Downs (Tacoma/AZ)
Last One Down (Reno)
Now that the world has its hands on the record, what’s next for Strike Twelve?
Hopefully people like the record and it opens up some cool show opportunities. We’re looking to do more 2-3 day runs in far places where a band we know will backline us. Also more CA runs where we team up with (and can backline) another band. We’d love to hit Canada and Europe too. And we’re already well on our way to writing the next album.
What do you wish I asked about or that you had more of an opportunity to speak about during this interview?
Great set of questions, I don’t have much else to say. Thanks for having us and if you want to check out the new record, get it from thousandislandsrecords.com !
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
