Roll of the Dice (Camp Punksylvania edition): 11 questions with Folly

Features, Interviews, Roll of the Dice

Grab your s'mores, your bug spray and pack your bags as is about to take over Northeast Pennsylvania with Camp Punksylvania! The 3-day festival with multiple stages and amazing national and local acts like The Suicide Machines, War On Women and A Wilhelm Scream, will take place from 1 September until 3 September, tickets are available here. Sussex County, New Jersey's ska-core legends joined TGEFM to discuss their upcoming appearances at for the latest installment of our Camp-centric Roll Of The Dice interview series. Check it out below and I'll see you at the campfire!

Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! Beyond a few one-offs over the last few years, you guys had been pretty quiet lately until your involvement in the Wavebreaker series… What's Folly been up to and what brought about the triumphant return?

(Arben): Hey Ed and thanks for approaching us for this interview! What's brought about our return? Well, just being asked, really. We are cheap dates and easily swayed by compliments, so it's not very hard getting into bed with us. Lol! Mike from came to us with an exciting idea and we loved to work together on a project. Shout out to our people in The Best of the Worst! The one-off shows over the years have always been fun, representing for our homies or bands that we like, but working collectively and creatively on a project was truly rewarding. We caught the bug, we want to do more as a band. We are currently working on what that might mean now. I do know this: We have a lot of new and unrecorded songs that we'd love to share with everyone one day. Aside from that, it's balancing out life's novelties and drudgeries. Triumphs and tragedies. Strikes and gutters. I'm sorry that you rolled an 11. 

You are gearing up for Camp Punksylvania in the coming month, from Skate and Surf to Fest, you guys have been on a ton of festival stages.  What does that circuit mean to artists such as yourselves?

(Geoff): Aside from the obvious opportunity for some of the lesser known bands to connect with a wider audience, these festivals can really strengthen the sense of comradery for whatever musical community they serve. They usually provide a better setting than a typical club type of show for bands to hang out and get to know some fans or some fellow bands as well. It's a pretty neat feeling to see your community or “tribe” take over a town or field or whatever place, if only for a day.

I won't call it a ska revival because ska is something that's never gone away, but there is a massive rejuvenation of the scene with Dissidente, Poindexter and Catbite.  What is going on out there that has gotten so many people back on their boards to ride this latest wave of ska?

(Jon): At the genre's core is jubilee right? Not talking Hawaiian shirt silliness. Like, joyful RELEASE. Catharsis. Makes sense that as the world seems to spiral out of control, with so much social heaviness and pressure in an agitated political climate, people re-emerging from the traumas and fears of the COVID pandemic naturally seek fun, encouraging, positive outlets and activities that balance that shit out. Ska is not just a genre, it's a channel. Through it we find a release from the woes of the world, but we also tap into it to exploit the woes and fight back against helplessness, peril, and chaos. Also, ska has so many faces and continues to be highly adaptable. Recently saw a girl's post on IG that Folly is the only “ska band” she can “tolerate”, which sort of justifies that the genre can cater to all people, even people who are only willing to dip their toes in the water. The ska scene today has ramified everywhere, with all branches seeking their weird place in peoples' hearts. Different strokes for different folks, yeah? Politically charged lyricism, fusions of other genres, social activism, inclusivity, etc. It continues to welcome all because it shape-shifts to reach all walks of life. All musical genres should be so lucky. 

Folly is from NJ and was well-represented in the Jersey Interchange collaborations. It's such an interesting, diverse and generally under-appreciated place that has bred so much amazing music.  Why do you think the area churns out so many brilliant musicians and songwriters?  How does the area feed into the music you are writing, if at all?

(Geoff): The Jersey Interchange project was such a fun outlet to take part in during the Covid lockdowns and really highlights the diversity and unity of the nj scene. There must be something in the soil here. It could be that this state, despite its dense population was often overlooked by national touring acts because of its proximity to the more major markets of NYC and Philly. Those places were often out of reach for the average nj showgoer from the suburbs, so our local scenes became much more important. We put more energy into that and I think that propelled a lot of our hometown bands out into the regional and national circuits. The proverbial fertile soil at home really allowed for branching out into the world.  

What's the state of the live scene from your point of view?  We are living in a “just deal with COVID” world and everything about this timeline is some level of completely fucked.  What impact, if any, does the current cultural and political landscape have on the band and the scene in general?

(Arben): I think there are a few different answers to a question like that. In some aspects, the live scene appears better than ever. It makes sense that after the deprivation and uncertainty many of us felt during the pandemic, that live shows have taken on a bit more importance nowadays. On a broader level, Ska, punk, and hardcore, as genres and as social movements, have always been enmeshed with socio-political awareness and action, on some level.  However, these genres are also a refuge for many of us. A place of respite where we can “let our hair down” so to speak and take a break from a world that you might feel at odds with. That includes taking a break from the insanity of the world around you by listening to your favorite records or going to shows. The world is absurd and it fucking sucks in a lot of ways, but it's also immensely beautiful. This music, and this scene as a larger idea, helps me identify some of the goodness out there. So, basically the current cultural and political landscape can have both an enormous effect on the scene and on this band, and it can also have no effect at all. I'm honestly ok with that. We are all entitled to obtain what we need from music. 

Every artist has 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?

(Jon): I'm bummed we never made it across the pond. Always wanted to tour Europe, or Japan, or Australia… I think if we stuck with it a few more years when we were full-timers we could have gotten somewhere WILD and mysterious. Not to say our interstate travels weren't wild or mysterious— USA is vast and varied— but I feel we missed an opportunity to learn new cultures, customs, and understandings of things outside ourselves, all of which would have become tinges and nuances in our sound.

Any summer camp worth its salt knows there needs to be a lot of different activities to participate in.  What activities would the members of Folly be in charge of if Camp Punksylvania was an actual sleepaway camp?

(Anthony): Probably whiffle ball or some baseball related game. When we were stranded in Indiana for 10 days we devised a pretty in depth pitching game and kept meticulous records. Well, the game itself wasn't too in depth. The point was simply to throw strikes. One pitcher, one catcher. But there were 4 umpires. One behind the plate, two in the field, and someone standing in the batter's box who could also contribute to the call. I guess that's more of an umping game. Fun fun. Maybe we'd stick to whiffle ball. Although, I have been pretty hooked on Survivor lately and would love to organize some Survivor-style challenges. Blindfolds, knots, relays, puzzles, square-offs, lots of tile-breaking. I think I'm alone in the band on the Survivor front, but I know Agim has been into The Challenge lately.

End of the season Campfire; What song are you performing?

(Arben) Jane by Jefferson Starship with a full Wet Hot American Summer intro reenactment. 

Camp Punksylvania is a smorgasbord of fantastic acts. Which bands are you most excited to see on each stage?

(Anthony): so many great bands and so many I am still discovering. Been rocking the Camp Punksylvanka mix for a few weeks now. Just a few off the top: Stop the Presses, Days n Daze, Suicide Machines, Escape from the Zoo, Homeless Gospel Choir, Mikey Erg, Working Class Stiffs

What's next for Folly? Perhaps some big plans for next Spring's 20th anniversary of Insanity Later?

(Arben): No, nothing like that but it probably would have been a good idea! Insanity Later was re-released in 2019, and that's a one-time thing. Maybe a re-release of another kind? We'll see! 

Was there anything I missed that you'd like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?

(Jon): 25 years ago we were blown away that anyone gave a shit about Folly. 25 years later, we're utterly baffled that anyone still cares. The appreciation is beyond comprehension.

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.