Pleased To Me Me: Guerrilla Teens
Portland, Oregon punk ’n’ roll five-piece Guerrilla Teens return October 16 with Sympathy for the Decibel, a new EP on Sonic Jett Records and the latest chapter in a rock & roll story that stretches back through decades of West Coast noise. Frontman Scott “Deluxe” Drake and guitarist Jeff Fieldhouse first made their names with Long Beach garage-punk hellraisers The Humpers, whose gloriously unvarnished collision of punk, garage and old-fashioned rock & roll took them from Southern California bars to Epitaph Records and stages across the US and Europe. But Guerrilla Teens aren’t a reunion, and nostalgia only tells half the story. With Saul Koll on guitar, Tim Connolly on drums and Anna Andersen on bass, they’re a Portland band built from people who never really stopped doing this in the first place.
Introduce yourself… (Where are you from, what band do you play in etc..)
SD: I’m Scott “Deluxe” Drake, singer and co-songwriter (with Jeff Fieldhouse) of Guerrilla Teens.
Why do you play music?
SD: Self expression. I love writing, rehearsing, performing, recording, mixing, etc, etc….all parts of the creative process. I would still enjoy creating and playing music even if no one was listening.
What was a major influence on you as an Artist/Band? What’s a favourite book or film?
SD: My biggest influences are the first wave of punk rock: Ramones, Sex Pistols, Damned, etc. Right now I’m reading “Crone” by Keith Rosson. He’s a great horror writer from Portland, OR. My favorite film, “The Devils” by Ken Russell has just been re-released.
Do you prefer the recording process or performing live? What would be a dream collaboration?
SD: I love both….but they’re so different it’s hard to compare. I’d love to do something with Tyler Keith at some point.
Describe a favourite album.
SD: Holy smokes, how can I choose just one? I recently picked up Allen Toussaint’s first LP “The Wild Sound of New Orleans” (1958)….he was really only known in New Orleans at that point. It’s mostly instrumental….just super-fun rocking rhythm and blues….the perfect thing to throw play on a Saturday night when you’re mixing up some cocktails.
What's your favourite local haunt?
SD: Lone Fir Cemetery.
What's your strangest experience while performing live?
SD: I’ve been performing live for a long time, so there are many! Once, in Austin, Texas, my old band (The Humpers) was playing an after-party in a garage and a bunch of kids climbed up into the rafters…..and they rafters collapsed on top of the band. But the band played on!!!
If I were pursuing anything other than music it would be…
SD: Painting?
What are some of your favourite aspects of being a musician in Portland ?
There’s a lot of camaraderie between the bands here….which isn’t common in a lot of cities. Also, the city is small enough that is easy to get to venues and shows are generally inexpensive.
If you weren’t playing music in Portland where would you be ?
SD: New Orleans
Any sage advice for young musicians?
SD: If you don’t love it….stop. The odds of getting famous and/or making a living are pretty slight so if you’re not in it just to express yourself and have fun, you should be doing something else. Cheers!Self expression. I love writing, rehearsing, performing, recording, mixing, etc, etc….all parts of the creative process. I would still enjoy creating and playing music even if no one was listening.