Daniel Colussi | Washington D.C.’s Ian Svenonious has spent the last twenty-odd years releasing records, shrieking into microphones, and touring the all over globe. Over the course of this long non-career, he has established himself as one of the most thoughtful fixtures of underground culture; his time in the trenches fostering a unique perspective on the evolution of independent music and art. That perspective is very much what guides his newest endeavour, Chain And The Gang. In keeping with the punk rock spirit that has informed all his bands, Chain And The Gang is all caveman-thudding drums and ultra rudimentary guitar licks. But overtop this proto-rock’n’roll din are Svenonious’ ingenious critiques of culture. It’s kind of like Derrida fronting The Troggs, making for hilarious but also incredibly perceptive music — a social commentary that you can dance to. I asked a few questions with Svenonious and bandmate Katie Alice Greer for their Vancouver swing, and this is what they told me…

The new album’s entitled In Cool Blood all about? Whose blood are we talking about, and what makes it cool? Ian Svenonious: Reptiles are cool blooded, as are insects, plants, rocks, and most ghosts and other supernatural creatures. So it’s really most of the planet’s inhabitants. I love the new album’s cover art.

Any story there? Katie Alice Greer: A wonderful person named L’eggs Luthor designed that record sleeve. But if you can keep a secret, we don’t even think L’eggs went to design school or nothing like that.

Katie, this is your first appearance on a CATG album right? What brought you into the fray? Katie Alice Greer: Well, Ian was going to play a Chain And The Gang show in DC without another vocalist to sing with him. And I didn’t really know him or anything, I thought he was just some guy who was gonna play a show and I was bored. So I said, “Hey guy, I’ll betcha a pizza I can make up good songs and sing ’em just as good as you. Heck, maybe I can even sing WITH you.” And Ian was just flipping this coin around on the side of the stage waiting to go on and he said, “Ok, you’re on. But you gotta wear these prison stripes.” So we wore the prison stripes and we sang pretty good together and afterwards, we bought each other pizzas. So it was a tie and we just kept playing shows together.

Ian, this is a broad question, but do you have any notable reflections on punk/underground culture today as compared to 10, 15 years ago? Ian Svenonious: It’s gotten a lot more recent in recent years. Whatever happens in the early part of a century goes unnoticed through the rest of the century, since it’s difficult to reference (as opposed to “the 90s” or “the 20s”). Therefore, the last 12 years have been marked with both a desperation and a wonderfully liberating sense of anonymity, nihilism, and existential futility.

Something I’ve noticed in recent years: bands with revolving membership, in which albums and tours feature different players. CATG, I think, employs this approach to some extent. So why is that? Is it just that the price of real estate has destroyed the possibility of maintain a band full time? Ian Svenonious: It’s not just real estate, it’s the expectations of musicians now and the general climate and economy which discourage dedication to often penniless pursuits like cooperative creative endeavors like rock’n’roll bands. But groups will prevail despite such hurdles; our programming runs deep…ever since the Hair Bear bunch and Partridge Family.

Chain And The Gang, Mecca Normal and Channels 3+4 played The Waldorf on Saturday, September 8th.

Daniel Colussi is the Music Editor of Scout Magazine and a contributing writer to Ion Magazine. A veteran employee of Zulu Records and tuneage aficionado, he DJs on an infrequent basis (about four times a year) and is a musician around town who plays in several ensembles.