When you talk 'Clockwork Oi! & Punk' a couple of bands come straight to mind and without a doubt that the Lower Class Brats are one of them. These Texan droogs have been going strong for nearly twenty years and it will be twenty more if it's up to vocalist Bones!

 

Hi Bones, thanks a lot for doing this interview! What’s going on with the Lower Class Brats at the moment?
Well, we just got out of rehearsal. It was a good one tonight. Another new song down. Working on a lot of new material at the moment. Things have been going pretty smooth as of late. Just cracking away at a new LP and digging up some old tunes that we haven't played live in a long time!

Recently you sent me your latest work, the “Rock N’ Roll Street Noize” 12” that got released in 2012 through Turkey Baster Records. A local label that restarted after a hiatus of 12 years with you guys as its first release, something that didn’t work out too well right? What happened?
Actually, "Rock N' Roll Street Noize" was our first release on Turkey Baster. We did our second 7" ("Ultra-Violence" split with The Reducers S.F.) in 1996 on Pair-O-Docs Records which was a subsidiary of Turkey Baster, but never T.B. itself. The new 12" was their first release back after 12 years. That's why the catalog number reads 'TB 1.' They put out one more release after ours and folded.

What kind of impact has this on you personally, and to the band, when you find out the label that released your latest work goes bankrupt? What were the consequences?
Well, truthfully, I was much more concerned with my friend Rick, who ran the label. He really wanted to start a legitimate record label and not become the fly-by-night DIY he was in the '90s. He was taking all of the right steps and registered as a business and got nabbed by the IRS for some reason right away. He was fine, but they wanted a ton of money for the business and he just went under. Poor guy.
So, in turn, I would buy our records off him and start contacting record stores online and soliciting our records that way. 

It’s a shame that “Rock N’ Roll Street Noize” didn’t get all the press coverage it should have because of this, there are some fantastic tunes on it! Usually when I ask someone about its latest release it’s still fresh and just came out of the oven, so obviously ‘it’s their best work yet’. How do you feel about “Rock N’ Roll Street Noize” two years after its release?
I'm still pretty happy with it. I'm usually pretty happy with everything we do. Yet, I've never been one to think or say that "this is our best work yet." Because when you tell yourself that, you are only inflating you own ego. And when you tell other people that, chances are you are just plain lying. 

Lower Class Brats has been around since ’95, almost 20 years! I noticed how active you guys were in the first ten years, two demo’s, three full lengths, two compilation 12 inches, a compilation CD, seven EP’s and three split EP’s opposed to one full-length, one live CD, one 7”, one split EP and now the “Rock N’ Roll Street Noize” 12. That is 18 releases opposed to five releases. What is the reason of this? Life, inspiration, changes throughout the band, money?
I would have to say changes. The original line-up only lasted 5 years. We put out a majority of our material in those years. After Rick and Rob Brat left, Marty and I went through a lot of rhythm members. We have had some great players and made some great friends. But life starts to happen. People get married, baby's are born and people relocate. Marty and I were just talking today about our current line-up and Marty commented on how strong he thinks it is at the moment. I have to agree.

You guys got anything planned to celebrate next year’s anniversary? Or anything new in the works in general?
Nothing really planned as such for a celebration. After all, isn't age just a number? As for just general plans, yes. Quite a few really cool things. But I'm sorry that I won't go into them here. I hate jinxing ourselves. Once you start talking about things yet to happen publicly, things start falling apart. I'm not a very superstitious person, except when it comes to the band.

In 20 years of Lower Class Brats you’ve seen an incredible amount of faces on various places all over the world! Can you share some of the highlights of playing shows and doing tours with the Brats that stood by to you?
Yeah, we have got to play and tour with some of our favorite bands. Some of them were really cool people and we made some really strong friendships. Some of them not so much. Some of the stand-outs that come to mind are playing with Cock Sparrer at Riot Fest in Chicago, being main support for the Circle Jerks for two weeks (on what would become their last ever tour), opening dates for Rancid in Texas, damn, I could go on forever.

And what about the worst moments of the touring life?
Well, truthfully, almost all of the worst moments of touring life are usually brought on by yourself. Mine being when I was still boozing. Being too drunk to remember playing, embarrassing myself or even worse, my band. These are the times I look back on and cringe. 

You’ve seen bands come and go through all those years... are you still ‘addicted to Oi!’? What are you listening to at the moment? Any, perhaps local, recommendations?
Yes, I sure am! Oi! music is bigger now than ever. I guess you would call this "Oi! The 3rd Wave!" Ha! Ha! One of the biggest local Oi! bands that's going right now is Concrete. Great band. For newer bands, I really like Bishops Green, The Old Firm Casuals, The Young Offenders, Victory, Marching Orders, Noi!se... Shit, there are so many good band coming out now days it's hard to keep up!

Okay, I’m about to round this interview up... how do you see the future of the Lower Class Brats? You think you can last another 20 years?
As Elvis said, "The future looks bright ahead." Well, I guess that didn't work out too well for him did it?! Ha!
I hope we can last another 20 years! Let's put it this way, as long as we still have people who want to listen to our music, we'll keep making it.

That’s it, thank you very much! If there’s anything you would like to add to this interview, feel free to do so!
First off, thanks for the interview! You're doing a great job contributing to our scene! Something everyone can do on the smallest level. You don't HAVE to be in a band, put on gigs, publish a fanzine or run a record label to support the Punk scene. Just go to the gigs, buy a t-shirt or record from your favorite band at that show and get your friends involved!
Please feel free to contact us!

LOWER CLASS BRATS
P.O.Box 4333
Austin, TX, 78765

Email: lcb_roadcrew@hotmail.com

Facebook.com/lcbarmy