Strung Out is still part of the in-crowd
By Naughty Mickie  notymickie@earthlink.net
 
Punkers Strung Out are on the edge of celebrating 20 years on the scene. The band, vocalist Jason Cruz, guitarists Jake Kiley and Rob Ramos, bassist Chris Aiken and drummer Jordan Burns, has maintained a growing fan base, as well as influenced a list of artists, including Rise Against, Thrice, AFI, Avenged Sevenfold and Blink-182. They released "Agents of the Underground" (Fat Wreck Chords) last September, a nice addition to their clutch of studio albums, 7- inchers, EPs, non-album tracks and other offerings. Strung Out was signed to Fat Wreck Chords in 1992.

"I was 17 when we formed, so I think that was 1991, 1992," Cruz begins. "I remember when we did our first demo, we did it in Orange County. We had to drive through the L.A. riots to do it. We all went high school in the same shady little town of Simi Valley (California). There wasn't very many punk rock bands going on and I think people who have the same interests find each other in a small town. We all found each other through music."

I ask Cruz how the band creates its material.

"Mostly everyone just comes to practice with musical ideas and we work on the music first and get the song arranged and solidified and everybody in that sense writes," responds Cruz. "Some guys come in with riffs and some guys come in with full laid-out ideas and then we all work on it together. I take that with my little recorder and write all the lyrics and the melodies to it. We usually get the music done first, it's like a template to work over and it creates a mood or something to work against. (I find inspiration in) Different places, just whatever is going on-- being broke, whatever life throws at you at that moment, sometimes movies. It's hard to say."

Has Strung Out evolved?

"People say it has. I think we've gotten a lot better at what we do, at our formula," Cruz counters. "To me, I think we're kind of a one-dimensional band, we're good at what we do and that's what we do good so we keep doing that, but we just keep getting better doing that one thing. I guess we've just gotten better at the thing that we do. Individually, we're all good at other things, but as a collective we're good at that Strung Out sound."

We discuss "Agents of the Underground."

"It came at a time when we, me personally, being at sort of a crisis stage where you've been doing this so long that it's hard to find inspiration after a while. Punk rock's not being what it used to be, you reevaluate what you want to say or what your place is in the world and I think that's what this record is. It's less political, less singing about the war." Cruz explains, "It's funny, George Bush left office and it left a whole new climate for myself and the country of introspection- Who are we? We've come this far, what have we accomplished? - and all that stuff."

"What new issues are you exploring?" I prod.

"Mostly issues within myself," says Cruz. "This last year was the year of personal turmoil for everybody and I guess it's looking back at everything you've done and been through and appreciating where you're at and accepting it."

We talk about the beginning of Cruz's musical path.

"My mom was a music lover. I remember I was ditching high school one day, ditching first period, and I remember the specific moment when I told myself that I was going to make music my life." Cruz tells me, "I never really cared about money and I never really cared about making money with music, it's just something inherently that you know. I feel fortunate that I knew early on what I wanted to do when everyone else around me was trying to figure it out. And sometimes it's hard, when you decide to make your living with art or music it's a long, hard road. I'm fortunate that I have a path, but that's not always the easiest path.

"(In high school) I was in AP art classes and I had an art school scholarship. I had portfolios to go to art school, but I abandoned that to travel the world." Cruz continues, "I hated school and I wanted to get out and I just wanted to bail on it and see the world and I did. I've seen the world, I've lived four lives and now that I'm 35 I want to go back to school, I want revisit all those things that I put off and I think that I have a lot more to offer myself and the people around me now."

Cruz is also an artist. He created all of Strung Out's album covers and worked as a tattoo artist for two years.

"I'm serious about oil painting now and I work towards that, I do shows. I love photography, but painting is the real challenge." Cruz shares, "I would like to do a series of paintings where I interpret Strung Out songs. I think that would be fun. To me, writing a song is like painting a picture and painting a picture is like writing a song, they both go hand in hand."

So what else is going on in Cruz's life?

"I'm trying to start a family, that's important to me, home life and having something valuable and important to come home to." Cruz goes on, "I would like to do a children's book too. I think that hanging around a bunch of band dudes my whole life and writing lyrics is perfect, writing a children's book is the perfect next step. I have some ideas for that and I have a lot of things I have to do.

"I'll come up with a story and illustrate it. Some of the children's books I collect, they're pretty freaky and dark sometimes. Kids dig that ominous tone sometimes, so I want to see if I can pull that off. When I was a little kid, I used to get lost in the illustrations. My teachers were always sending notes home saying I was daydreaming and drawing pictures and staring off into space and I guess it never really went away."

Moving back to the band, I ask Cruz to what he credits Strung Out's staying power.

"I don't know." Cruz pauses and then offers, "Maybe it's the fact that people can relate to us on an emotional level. We were never that cool, we never looked that cool and I never thought we were that cool so  people picked up on that. We weren't trying to sell something or shove something down someone's throat and I think that's important when you're doing anything, to let people discover you and not try and shove it down their throat."

"You're pretty good looking guys," I reply.

Cruz laughs, "I never felt that we were that kind of band. We just relied on what we had, our tools, and they weren't looks or fashion or style. We were just an odd group of guys that got together and sounded good together. Kids like that, Bad Religion's like that. When all you have is your words and the music you create that means so much more than having to rely on other superficial things."

Strung Out will be playing weekend shows on the West Coast through the end of February. In March they will be going to Europe and then on to South American and Australia. They plan to tour the United States over the summer, but don't look for them on the Vans Warped Tour, as in previous years.

"We did Warped Tour for a while and it's not our thing anymore," says Cruz. "I think we've exhausted what it can do for us. It's good for younger bands, but I think we make more money going off on our own. I like playing at night, rock and roll's meant to be at night in dirty, stinky clubs, playing in a field at noon was not my thing.

"I like smaller venues better," continues Cruz. "The older I get the more I appreciate kids crashing into you, the smell, I like that. To me, that's what it's all about. I think of ourselves as in the trenches and what better way to do it than in some shithole club? I love losing all my sweat and coming out of a show completely drained."

"Any final thoughts?" I ask.

"I'm glad I'm here," Cruz replies. "I appreciate everything that I have and thank you for taking the time to talk to me."

Find out when Strung Out is coming to your town at www.strungout.com

Also visit my blogs at http://mickieszoo.blogspot.com and www.insidesocal.com/doodah

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