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The other day, I got a package in the mail, and the return address simply said the Cummies. Thinking about everything from anthrax to STDs, I hesitated opening it and eventually succumbed (no pun intended). Inside, I found an amazing three-song EP chockfull of concise, catchy Stooges-meets-Bleach rockers from a smart, funny NYC band. In any case, it’s worth your time to check out the songs on their website, especially “This Dying Age" and “Sunny California." I emailed the band, and frontman Joe Tokyo replied with four politically incorrect responses to my questions. Brace yourself:
Please tell me there is an amazing story behind your band name.
My friend Cody came up with the name… I stole it because it’s disgusting, but it sounds cute at the same time. Like a little puppy that you wanna cuddle but don’t cause it’s covered with buttery, salty AIDS.
What inspired “This Dying Age"?
I thought we needed a radio-friendly song… but I kept saying “fuck, and I blew it. Oh, the fascist days of summer…
What’s the hardest part of being an independent-minded New York band right now?
Besides the absence of a clearly defined rock scene, besides the fact that tight pants are more important than good hooks, besides cocaine, besides hipster twats and besides pushing our equipment to shows in grocery carts like vampire bag-ladies, there are really no challenges or difficulties for a band like ours.
What’s your strangest run-in with a celebrity from living in NYC?
I haven’t really met any celebrities. But the day after I jerked off to Scarlett Johansson naked on the cover of Vanity Fair, my roommate pointed out her favorite ice-cream shop to me. Coincidence? I think not.
- CMJ
Discography
"Into the Nettles"
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Bio
2008 put the Dead Sparrows back in the Studio, continuing their litany of ongoing sessions in the basements of Brooklyn New York. Endless songs came together, most of which may never see the light of day, others of which mutated into compositions appearing on the most recent release, "Into the Nettles." They burned and battered a slew of dates in NYC’s Lower East Side leading to residencies at multiple venues all the while continuing work on the record with producer/musician Graham Finn behind the boards, who had just finished Dave Gahan's record "Hourglass." By Summer ’08, Finn had contributed solos to a few of the developing songs and by the fall Finn was onstage with the boys playing to a packed house at Pianos. From there things fell forward and felt right.
2009; The three had become four, and Dead Sparrows emerged from what had been the Cummies. But with new personnel the old ways had to go and the heavens will have to open up wide enough for a dying new age. "Into the Nettles" is the release and the Dead Sparrows are picking up steam.
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