Grab your s’mores, your bug spray and pack your bags as Riot Squad Media 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. Buffalo’s Working Class Stiffs joined TGEFM to discuss their upcoming appearances at Camp Punksylvania 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! What can you tell us about The Working Class Stiffs, your sound and what you stand for? What can our readers expect from your live performances and what’s next for The Working Class Stiffs?
Mat: We’re basically a shittier version of the Jackson 5. Familial ties and what not. We’ve been kicking around in one form or another for close to 2 decades and we just keep finding a little more blood to squeeze from the ska stone. We definitely sound like we’re in our mid 30s and refuse to believe our next song isn’t going to be released on MySpace. Musically I would say we’re somewhere between the Suicide Machines and Ace Of Base. We try to be crowd inclusive in our live shows. We ask the tough questions like “How are you guys feeling tonight?!” I plan in the future of giving the crowd an opportunity to ask us questions instead. We’re keeping this summer a little lighter than usual. We’re recording our next ep. The singles “What Can I Say?” And “Our Time” may or may not be released by the time this is out. Buuuuut check that Spotify! Hopefully we also turn into a better band next.
Joe: Mat pretty much nailed it. I’d like to think we will leave a bigger mark on history than the Jackson 5 though. We’re a dysfunctional family that’s always looking for more members. Our songs are about life and growing up. From good times, bad times, the friends we’ve lost along the way, and slowly realizing that there’s no way to win in the Working Class. If you see us out and about, come say what’s up!
You are gearing up for your return to Camp Punksylvania in the coming months, what does the festival circuit mean to individual artists like yourself and what makes Camp Punksylvania so special to The Working Class Stiffs?
Mat: The festival circuit is awesome for us smaller groups. You get a little taste of being like a grown up band with the amount of moving parts happening around you. It’s something to witness from behind the scenes for sure. It also gives bands like us an opportunity to play in front of people that we might not have otherwise. We’ve pulled an awful lot of good friends out of being able to participate in these types of functions. Especially a set up like Punksylvania where you have the opportunity to mingle with the patrons 100% of the time and have people sit in on fireside jams and party with until the wee hours of the morning and I remember I’m 34 and my brain and liver will hate me for the rest of the month. All the diy love and vibes are there. It’s great.
Joe: Camp has turned into a so much more than a show to play for us. There’s so many people we only get to see that weekend. And we’ve made some amazing friends in The What Nows?! And Fat Chance and the core group of people that run it over the last 3 years. We’ve also become insanely close with the ladies of riot squad. Without them, I don’t know where we’d be. A special HUGE shout out to Laura, she works endlessly not only with our band but bringing awesome shows year round around the northeast and is really doing one hell of a job reviving the scene here in Buffalo. If you see the Riot Squad name on a flyer in your city, check that shit out. You won’t regret it.
Any summer camp worth its salt knows there needs to be a lot of different activities to participate in. What activity would you be in charge of if Camp Punksylvania was an actual sleepaway camp? What song are you performing at the end of the season Campfire?
Mat: I’ve been trying to get giant suction cup dildo lawn darts going for a while now. Maybe this will Kickstart it? I’m definitely scream/cry/singing the “Graduation Song” by Vitamin C with no musical accompaniment.
Joe: Honestly I’d just be the cook. But more like the cook from Wet Hot American Summer. Campfire song you say? I do an amazing cover of the Full House theme song and I’ve been told I’m the best all kazoo Hall and Oates cover band in the Northeast.
Camp Punksylvania is a smorgasbord of fantastic acts. Which bands are you most excited to see on each stage?
Mat: Hands down looking forward to seeing all of my friends in Fat Chance for hugs and music. Fuck it. Kisses too. You hear that? You’re all getting smooches. It’s always a pleasure catching The Mostly Dead as well. I love whenever I can see Tail Light Rebellion or Condition Oakland as well. Phenomenal acts and phenomenal people. I implore you all check them out as well. I’m always interested in seeing what kind of performance art an excessive amount of beer and Cardboard Homestead can produce. I have front row seats to that one as I’m playing bass for them. There’s so many good acts and good humans performing that weekend. Check out everyone! Watch some sets and make some friends!
Joe: Shit, that’s a tough one. Fat Chance, The What Nows?!, Cardboard Homestead, The Mostly Dead, Doc Rotten, Tail Light Rebellion, The Chemical Imbalance (really really excited for that one), No Complyance and that’s a short list of bands you need to see. Honestly, don’t miss anyone. Every band is killer. Check out that side stage!
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/
