Everyday Dollars

I don't even remember anymore how I got my hands on the Bumps, Bruises and Ballantine demo, but I do know I like that shit from the beginning. When the 7" got out, I ordered a bunch of them to sell to some friends (most of them were forgotten on a train), and now the first album by this New York band is out. Knowing that these guys are all in their mid thirties and have been involved in hardcore since a really long time, you just know they have a lot to say. Here's an interview with Sean.

Who is Everyday Dollars, who is in the band, when did you get together?

Everyday Dollars is me Sean Money on guitar, Rob Daly vocals and Rich O'Brien on drums, Take plays bass and Tomoki plays guitar. Me, Rob and Rich got together in the fall of 2003, with Sean O'Brien on bass and started playing the style of hardcore punk that we all grew up listening to early Agnostic Front, Warzone, Cro-Mags, Side By Side. We recorded the Bumps, Bruises and Ballantine demo in our practice spot and in Robs apartment and started selling it in 2004. We also recorded a Necros cover that didn't make it onto the demo but it did make it onto the 7inch that came out on A389 Records in 2004.

What does the name Everyday Dollars stand for?

Everyday Dollars doesn't stand for anything in particular, it can have several meanings though. Rob actually came up with the name, and I thought it was cool and kinda different.

Though the music is not that original, it sounds fresh and intense. What is the sound you wanna have?

I want our stuff to sound raw like the original Warzone 7inch "Lower East Side Crew." or Agnostic Front's "Victim In Pain". Although we did spend some money in a nice studio my favorite track on the cd is "YouthFight" Live at CBGB's. Also because I have so many fond memories of CBGB's. That was the ultimate club for hardcore shows. Every show that I ever went to at CBGB's was a memorable show.I've seen all my favorite bands there. I really miss that place.

You must really miss that place? Was it an honour to play there?

Yes I really miss CBGB's. That place was an institution, it was home. It definately holds a special place in my heart. The sound in that place was better than any place I've ever been that featured punk and hardcore bands. There will never be another CBGBs ever. I have been going to CB's off and on for over twenty years. It was an absolute honor to play CBGB's. To walk on that stage and know that just about every one of my favorite bands had played on the same stage was a great feeling.

Which were the best shows you've seen yourself at CBGB's?

I can't pinpoint one particular show that was better than others, but some of my favorites were 7 Seconds, Token Entry, Pagan Babies in the summer of 87, as well as YOT, GB's, and Side by Side that same year. The numerous Cro-Mags shows over the years, Agnostic Front was always special at CB's, of course Warzone, Underdog, Super Touch, Maximum Penalty, Krakdown, Sheer Terror, Murphy's Law, The Icemen, Raw Deal, Killing Time, Leeway, Breakdown, Dmize, Madball, all the benefit shows over the years were special, Absolution, I can go on and on. The Bad Brains. The Bad Brains were fucking dope at CB's. Like I said before there will never be another CBGB's period. At any point you could walk into a CB's matinee and see a bunch of old heads, newer kids, just a fuckin dope mix of hardcore history.

So how old are you guys? In which bands have you been before?

We are all in our mid to late 30's. Take and Tomoki were in Hell Brigade, Tomoki was also in Homicidal, Richie is in Darkside NYC, Rob was in The uprise, and me (Sean$) and Rob were in Brickhouse.

What's the goal with this band?

The band wasn't really started with any real goals in mind, we just wanted to have fun and write the kind of music that we grew up on. Me and Rob hadn't played in a hardcore band since Brickhouse broke up in 1991. We actually recorded a Brickhouse song ("No More Favors") on Before the Supply... As long as its keeps being fun we'll keep playing and recording. We are not about following any trends and we aren't trying to do anything that hasn't been done before. It would be cool to maybe tour Europe or Japan.

NOW IT'S TIME is a great song, and the Warzone reference matches perfect. What's this song about?

I've enclosed the lyrics for Now It's Time. Rob and Raybeez were good friends when Rob was in the Uprise, around '87, and they stayed tight over the years. He, like all of us, were very upset when Ray died and I think Rob just wanted to give some props to him and he actually sampled him on our cd. We played a Raybeez tribute show in this passed year to honor Ray, he died in 1997 and a lot of the bands who played were younger bands who didn't know Ray but were influenced by him and it was cool cause Rob actually was boys with him and Rob shared his memories of Raybeez before almost every song.

NOW IT'S TIME

Now it's time

I've got a powder keg here

And the while I've just been sittin in gear

And all I hear is

"Always keep the faith"

Now it's time

I've got nothin

and all the while you know there's somthin'

and all I know is go-go -go -go!

Two black eyes, but I'm still believing

Beaten down, but I'm never leaving

Now's the time--as good as any time

I've got-- two black eyes, but I'm still believing

Beaten down--- I'm never leaving

Now's the time--as good as any time

Now it's time

I've got a powder keg

And the while I've just been sittin'

And all I hear is

"I can't take it no more, I'm buggin out"

Now it's time

And I've got one more to go

and the while -just another show

and all I know is go-go -go -go!

Two black eyes, but I'm still believing

Beaten down, but I'm never leaving

Now's the time--as good as any time

I've got-- two black eyes, but I'm still believing

Beaten down--- I'm never leaving

Now's the time--as good as any time

Days, into weeks, into months, into years

It keeps goin, and, goin and, goin and goin, and goin--HEY

Drip to a trickle to a stream to a flood

It keeps flowin, and flowin, and flowin, and flowin, and flowin

What's up with the label Satan Wears Suspenders.

Satan Wears Suspenders is a label out of Brooklyn and the brainchild of our drummer Rich O'Brien. We decided to go with Satan Wears Suspenders because it allowed us the freedom to do what ever the fuck we wanted with the music and the artwork. Also we knew that every cd would be accounted for and we weren't gonna get fucked. Satan Wears Suspenders has an impressive list of releases planned including Darkside NYC, The Uprise discography, Devils for Islam black metal from Yemen, the Confusion discography, and the next Everyday Dollars release, "The Age of Demand". We are currently writing new music for that new cd. You check Satan Wears Suspenders at www.myspace.com/SatanWearsSuspenders

Tell me about Brickhouse

Brickhouse formed in 1989, it was me Sean$ (vocals), Rob Daly (drums), Dan McGinnis (guitar), Chokes (guitar), Sauce (vocals) and Tweets (bass). Rob was in The Uprise and Dan was in The Pagan Babies, and me (Sean$), Sauce and Tweets roadied for the Pagan Babies. We got cool with The Uprise guys because Pagan Babies played with the Uprise a bunch of times, and played City Gardens a bunch also, and that was The Uprise's home base and The Uprise played Club Pizzaz a bunch and that was our home base in Philly. We were all boys and Brickhouse was all about having fun and hanging out. We played a handful of shows, it was a real tough time for hardcore because violence was everywhere, there were hardly any shows in Philly and NYC was just crazy violent too. There were just nowhere to play. We recorded a demo and a seven inch that came out on Street Level Records, I think there were like 500 of them, not sure. Everyday Dollars actually covered a Brickhouse song on "Before the Supply..." called No More Favors. We played with Killing Time, Jaw Box and some other bands that I can't remember.

Ok, we're going back in time, but who and what were the Pagan Babies?

Pagan Babies were a hardcore band out of Philly that were around between 86 and 89. They were and still are good friends of mine. They had a seven inch record that came out on Positive Force Records and a full length that came out on Hawker Records. They had a solid following when they were around and they toured across the country in the summer of 1988. I roadied and sold merch for them. They played with all the bands that were around at that time, Raw Deal, YOT, 7 Seconds, Uniform Choice, The Exploited, Token entry, Gorilla Biscuits, Warzone, Operation Ivy, etc. They did a reunion show this passed summer and it was a blast. You can check them out at www. myspace. com/paganbabieshardcore

There's a lot of bands playing this NY style of hardcore these days. Do you follow some of those bands?

I don't know if I agree that there are a lot of bands playing this NY style of hardcore. I see a lot of bands playing a lot more metalcore than what I'd call hardcore. I have friends that say that hardcore died in 86. I don't agree with that either. I say it started to change around 89 and I think a lot of bands started to become influenced by metal. Bands like Leeway, Raw Deal/Killing Time, Breakdown took hardcore to another level of musicanship, and then in the 1990's bands like Bulldoze, Fury of Five, Merauder, and All Out War took it even further towards a metal sound and now I think a lot of bands are influenced by that style of hardcore/metalcore, than by the earlier stuff that we are influnced by like Necros, early AF, Warzone etc.

A lot of bands are doing reunions these days. How do you like that?

I think its cool if it's done right, there's nothing worse than seeing a band do a reunion show and sucking. When a band does a reunion show after not being around for awhile it gives the younger kids a chance to see bands that they were probably too young to see the first time around. Some of the more notable reunions in last few years or so were Sheer Terror, Negative Approach, Killing Time, Leeway. It bummed me out when Reagan Youth did a reunion show in the summer of 2006 because they dragged the name through the mud. I'm not crazy about seeing a band do a reunion show with a different singer either. It will be cool to see Breakdown and Fahreinheit 451 at the Super Bowl this year.

What are the future plans for the band?

Right now Everyday Dollars is in the studio recording our second cd, "The Age of Demand." It's all new songs and maybe a cover or two and it's all gonna be recorded this summer as opposed to "Before the Supply..." which was recorded over a couple years and had various tracks from other releases. We have some shows lined up this summer, the biggest probably will be with Have Heart and Killing Time in Philly. We'll see how things pan out with upcoming shows and recording and we'll take it from there. We would love to come to Europe, and we would love to play in Japan, but since we do everything ourselves, no booking agent, no management that might be tough.

Any last words, shout outs?

Yeah 2009 is gonna be the year for Everyday Dollars! We'd like to shout out to Wim and The Hardway Zine, Emmanuel and Hardcore For Life Magazine in Puerto Rico, Doll Magazine in Japan, Bader Super Hero Records in Germany, Mike Awake Strong, and anyone else that gave a fuck and reached out to us.

Check out the band at:

http://www.myspace.com/everydaydollars