The Mr. T Experience
From Punk Planet #9, September 1995
PP: It's getting harder to find your older records.
DF: They're outta print. Lookout is slowly but surely going to reissue the "pre lookout" records. There's the first one which we put out ourselves and then the two on Rough Trade. Lookout's gonna give it the whole bonus track and raritites deal. Hopefully that's all gonna happen by December.
PP: Have you been finding more people turning on to your new records?
DF: Well, generally, yeah. I don't know if the records are the cause of it or if it's just that we've been around so long. Eventually, if you keep at it long enough you gradually acquire enough weirdos who like it and buy a few records. I think the "Our Bodies, Our Selves" record alienated people because it had some sorta different stuff on it, which I'm glad it did. But it wasn't what everybody expected when they put it on. I know the "Professional Punk" people like MRR, were scandilized by it. They thought it was beneath contempt apparently. Actually, ordinary people like you and I, who go to shows because we like the music, not because we feel we have to, they were into it. Some people say it's their favorite record, it's weird. A lot of people that liked that record like the new one. It's just weird because it's a CD-5 format and I don't think it gets out as much. The general reaction to the new one, the EP, seems to be good. Everybody likes it, uhh, except again for MRR (laughs). I don't know what's up with those people. It's not just a reaction to unfavorable reviews, though that's of course the way it's gonna seem. I hesitate to say anything about it but they seem to have just gotten crazy in the last year. It used to be that it was just a lot easier to be in their club. Membership requirements have gotten more and more restrictive. The whole thing of banning bands and kicking bands out of there is weird. The comparison that used to be made all the time in the last couple of years was that Tim has turned into this dictator, this Joseph Stalin. To me, it actually seems like he just skipped Joseph Stalin and went straight to Ming the Mercifuless (laughs). It's a strange thing, I mean pretty soon they're just gonna ban everybody and then it will just be all ads.
PP: What in specific, do you think it was that put them off?
DF: Well, there's some acoustic stuff there and the cliche with that is that when a band starts doing stuff like that they're lame or soft or whatever. I think that kinda bothered people. I don't mind bothering them though, bothering them is cool but the thing is that the acoustic songs on there aren't like sappy bubblegum ballads. Not that I have anything at all against that but that's not what they were. If anything, the softer sounding songs were more lyrically messed up than others. It's just the "spokespeople" punk people didn't get it.
PP: I'm finding that a lot of old Green Day fans who are too embarressed to admit it are turning to you guys as a safe alternative. Do you ever see yourself in that situation at some time?
DF: It's a different kind of thing in someways but I think Green Day is a great band. I think when people complain about them it's one of two things. One, it's people who were in that original scene or bands from that period and it's just like sour grapes, jealousy. Also, it's the new people who've been influenced by the first group of people, and just say "ooh, sellouts" because it's cool and they don't know any better. That record's great, I don't think anyone can say it's not but even if you have the mindset that they're sellouts, well Mr. T Experience is certainly not in that category. We're just a dumb little band that does dumb little songs.
PP: The new EP is done in pretty much the same style as your last record. Is it safe to say you are sticking to a certain overall feel?
DF: Yeah, I just make up the songs and get everyone together and we play 'em. That's just what it is and that's how it comes out. You learn things every time you do it. Some people disagree but I think everyone gets a little bit better cause you learn a bit more. Listening to the old records is like looking back at snapshots of your old vacations you're like "Oh, remember when we did that? That was cool." or "Boy, that didn't really work out, nice memory even though I don't wanna listen to it." I think a lot of bands' records are like that except ours are even more so.
PP: The band has had its share of lineup changes, how do you assess the current lineup?
DF: I think its the best yet. So many people have quit, it's like quitting the Mr. T Experience is a badge of honor. I don't blame anyone for quitting, it's hard to be a member of the Mr. T Experience. I kinda feel like they graduate. I'm like the Mr. Dixon of punk, I get my class in and teach them everything I have to offer and they have a wonderful year and then eventually move on. They get promoted, graduate to different schools. We do shows now and Aaron or Jon Von will be there and it's like the alumni are coming back, we hit 'em up for money every now and then. Our new bassist Joel is dynamite, he just graduated from high school. He's been listening to this band since he was about ten, he was basically bred to be in the band. He knew all the songs and has been basically gearing up for this his whole life. We couldn't find anyone to play bass for us for quite a while and I met him by chance at Gilman one day. I was there hanging out and he came up and asked if we were still together and I told him no because we couldn't find a bass player. He said "Well, I play bass", and as soon as he showed up it was like the moment he started playing there was divine intervention. He's fairly in tune with the conceptual thing as well, which is rare, he gets it. I kind of feel like we had some little guardian angel who provided Joel to save MTX from extinction. The main reason this lineup is so great is because it's like three people who get it, and like it. You know, it's a strange thing to be in this band, you may have heard I'm a strange guy. The whole way of doing things is probably a lot different from a lot of bands. The band has been around like nine years and the consistent theme or pattern has stayed the same: There's basically no reason to be doing what you're doing, but you do it anyway. For some reason, for whatever motivation that ends up being kinda cool. You end up in this place where there's no reason for a punk rock band to be playing at all but you play it anyway. It ends up being cool, not necessarily a financially successful venture but it's these moments that are just amazingly weird and you can't explain it or recreate it. Thats why I like to do this.
PP: What's the biggest misconception about your band?
DF: Hmm, well I put a lot of time and effort into songwriting. Really, I take it pretty darn seriously. I think a lot of people are surprised to hear that. They just think, anyone who's into the band thinks "these are just a bunch of stupid songs". It's only after they really sit down and listen and read the lyrics when they realize just how stupid these little things are. You have to really try hard to be that stupid, I think a lot of people don't recognize that. Or they do see it and think "Wow, this guy really is an idiot" to be spending all this time and effort on something halfway inteligent people would have given up on a long time ago. Another thing is there's this weird like 60s counterculture thing that your music is your platform for the message you speak. A lot of that still hangs on and when you think aboit it that's not music, that's a political platform or something. I think that puzzles people, especially with punk bands like us that don't do that. A lot of people are looking for that, "what are you saying...?, what do you mean? tell us what you want us to do.....". They're either saying that or they'll say "How could you tell people to do that because they should be listening to what I want them to do!!!" That's what throws people with this band, I just write from this point of view, this general experience or maybe even a character to write this song. I try to do it in an amusing or catchy way that sums it up but it's not really my position on how one should live their life or how one ought to do things. This whole "Ought To" thing is kind of alien. I think a lot of people who have kind of an immature political outlook, which includes a lot of people in punk rock, don't get it. We have a real degenerate political culture in this country in general but it seems even more so in the fringe groups than in the mainstream. Its just sillier. There's a whole lot more to life than whether or not you check the yes or no box by the left wing or right wing political slogan of the day. Some people expect this call to action or whatever from bands and when there isn't they think "Oh well, there's nothing going on with them". Some people have a tough time latching on to the fact that it can be just music too. I mean, a message? People will ask me, "What's your message?" and it's like of all the people to ask that, I really don't wanna have a message. That would be terrible.
PP: Have you, over the years, ever had a chance to meet uo with the bad man, your namesake himself?
DF: No unfortunately. It's funny, I don't even think about it anymore but a lot of people say they don't even associate the band with the guy anymore. I guess he's slipped out of culture or whatever. The name was kinda this accidental thing. We didn't know we were a real band, we made the record as a joke and a lot of people liked it and that was the name on the record so we stuck with it. There was kind of a concept behind it because ten years ago, Mr. T was like the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers of today and he had all these products. There was like Mr. T air fresheners, socks, cereal, deoderant, and whatever. We thought we'd be the punk rock band, just another in the long line of products. Ok, (laughs) not a great concept, but hey.... One of our records, the title was "Too Late To Change the Name". The closest we've had to an encounter was on one of Mr. T's recent comeback attempts he had a new comic book out. He was doing the comic book shop tour, signing it and all that and he came to this one store in Santa Rosa. A lot of kids showed up and a substantial number of them brought their Mr. T Experience records to autograph. He was really mad, he threatened to beat up a kid, he was really, really upset. He didn't take it in a kind, loving spirit, he was ready to bust some heads. Some wonderful person was wise enough to snap a photo of this so there is actually a photo of Mr. T himself holding up a copy of our first LP which has a little cartoon of him on it. That photo is part of the packaging in the reissue of that record. So, if you buy the record, you can see this for yourself. All you kids can pitch in to buy this and our mothers can finally have those operations or at least keep me able to buy hot dogs from the donut store.