Brace yourself. These guys are characters.

First off, why don't you tell us a little about yourselves?
Shawn: Wow, broad question to begin with. The band, or ourselves? I'll tell you about the band, because I'm not interested in myself. We've been "The Matches" for about a year and a half. The three of us have been playing together for about 5 or 6 years. We met at the beginning of our high school careers.

Justin: We released our first full length CD in March, six months ago. We've pretty much been touring hardcore behind that. We're completely independent at this point. We're just doing it ourselves in our band, going everywhere we can, playing everywhere we can, trying to get as many CD's out as we can.

How old are you, what are your names, and what instruments do you play?
Shawn: I'm Shawn. I'm 21. I play guitar, and I sing.

Justin: My name is Justin. I'm 21. I play bass, and I sing, but not as well, or as much, as Shawn.

Jon: My name is Jon. I am 17. I play guitar, and I also sing, just not as often as Shawn.

Shawn: That's not true.

Justin: Well, I just said that, because I didn't want to hurt Shawn's feelings by saying that I'm a better singer than him.

Jon: Yeah, me too.

Shawn: But I know you're insinuating that already.

Justin: He's fragile, so we have to be easier on him.

[laughs a little]

Shawn: When Justin says I'm fragile, he means that often times I throw down my guitar in the middle of the show [laughs], storm off...

Jon: twice. [laughs]

Shawn: Have the whole crowd repeat mantras about how they're f***ing angry. [laughs]

Shawn: Which is just my thing.

**Editor's note: Shawn is talking about Justin - he did that at the show :)

How did the name "The Matches" get chosen as the name for the band?
Justin: 'Cause I was f***ing angry. [laughs]

Shawn: Justin told us.

Justin: I had a vision. [laughs]

Shawn: It was the only one word name that wasn't taken, already.

How would you guys describe your music?
Justin: Gay. No, just joking. Don't put that in.

Stacy: I just might.

Shawn: That is how Justin would describe touring hardcore. [laughs] I think we all love going to punk rock shows, and I'd say that out of every style of music, going to live shows, punk rock shows are the best. None of us was completely enamored with our punk rock records. We've always gone to those shows, but we're musically into stuff like Queen, Joe Jackson, more recently stuff like Weezer, Green Day, Rancid, and but all these bands. I don't know, we listen to a bunch of crazy stuff, Bjork...

Jon: I listen to a lot of jazz.

Shawn: Jazz and sh*t. Techno, rap, all that stuff, so I guess we're somewhat a bastard child of a punk rock band and this smorgasboard of stuff that affects how we play our instruments.

For the new fans, why don't you tell us a little about L3?
Shawn: L3's our show back at home in Oakland. We started doing it, because we didn't feel like there was a venue, a place to go see shows that was kind of inclusive, instead of exclusive. There were a lot of clique-ish genres and clique-ish clubs that a certain type of person could go to a certain type of show there. We'd always gone to the shows growing up, but never really fit in. So, when it came time for our band to start making a local kind of home for ourselves, we chose to start our own show, and we found that a lot of people were attracted to that idea of having something that was more open-minded and basically based on love of music, rather than being trendy and all that.

That was the beginning of L3. It stands for Live, Loud, and Local. We've been doing the show for about 2 years, and it's getting really big right now. We do it once a month and all the shows are selling out, now. It went from the first show with only like 40, 50, 60 people there, and by word of mouth the show grew.

We like to have bands from out of town come play, and we trade shows with them. We go play their hometown venues. It's really good. I think it's the way to do shows in the future. You can get a network of bands that are all trading hometown shows that are guaranteed to sell out, because you've got the hometown band playing with their out of town guest.

If you could go on tour with any artist or band, who would it be, and why?
Justin: I would like to tour with Green Day. That'd be cool.

You're currently on tour with Reel Big Fish, Zebrahead, and Wakefield. How's that going?
Justin: It's going awesome, really cool.

Shawn: Zebrahead was the first show I ever saw 6 years ago. It was my first concert, so it's surreal to be on the road with them. They're soooo genuinely great guys, and they're really good to us, and we're learning a lot from them.

Justin: Yeah, we're kind of the new band on tour. Like this is our first big tour.

Shawn: We're trying to soak everything up.

Justin: Yeah, like we've f***ed up a lot, and they've helped us out.

Shawn: Like their guitar tech has showed us how to repair guitars, and the guys in the band have showed us how to efficiently tour.

From what I've seen, you've had tons of positive feedback from the fans that have seen you on tour. What do you think about that?
Shawn: Sucks. They should just stop liking us. [laughs]

Shawn: I don't know what they see, really. [laughs]

Stacy: Nice guys, good music.

Shawn: And then The Matches come on... [laughs]

Dawn: I think she was talking about you to start with. [laughs]

**Editor's note: they're joking!

Do you feel it's harder to make it in the music industry without being signed to a major label?
Justin: I think in general, even if you're signed./.[laughs] Let me break it down...

Shawn: [starts to beat box] [laughs]

Justin: The record industry is designed so every band fails, pretty much, even if you're on a major label.

Shawn: Basically, life is designed for everybody to fail. [laughs]

Would you guys rather stay a small group with dedicated fans, or be a well-known group with many, many fans?
Shawn: Can we be huge with a bunch of dedicated fans?

Justin: Can I just put a little quote in? I don't know if this applies to that, "blah blah blah blah blah blah blah".

Shawn: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. [laughs]

Justin: Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray, I read an interview with him. He seems like a really cool guy, but he said that "better bands than us are being dropped from labels everyday", kind of saying that even if you're a great band, it doesn't mean you're going to make it.

What do you honestly feel about the term "sell out"?
Justin: [sings a little] With me tonight.

Shawn: I feel that it's a really good Reel Big Fish song, and if you put it in the past tense, it's a really good Wakefield song, so "sold out". In the mid to late 90's, when we were in the midst of Green day and all these bands coming up, the term was just thrown around everywhere. To be honest, I think it's kind of a dead term. By definition, you can sell out, but I don't think it has anything to do with what record label you're on anymore at all. Major labels are signing some really crazy indie stuff and independent labels are signing bands that have this really glossy pop sound to it.

Justin: Like super marketable, like ideal, perfect.

Shawn: Like Radiohead, one of the biggest amount of fans in the world, they're on a major record label, and they haven't "sold out", so you know it doesn't have much to do with what label. I think selling out by definition would mean changing your style of music to make more money, and not just changing your style of music, because that can be changed on passion, but based on making money.

Justin: It's a really loose term, and people throw it around without knowing what they're talking about.

Shawn: I hate hearing people throw that term around. It's very rarely used correctly. It's kind of like the term "ironic". Nobody knows how the f*** to use the word "ironic".

Justin: [laughs] That's true.

Shawn: And that's the ironic part about it.

Justin: Everybody should look that up in the dictionary. Let's say we got signed by a major label and we have all these fans saying we sold out, the thing is that in a couple years, we wouldn't be able to do this anymore on our own as independent. It might just totally break down and we may no longer be able to function as a band, in the same way as if you go to a major label, where you're going to have the money that supports you and backs you and you're going to...

Shawn: [whispers] I think you should scratch that.

Justin: [laughs a little] I think we should scratch that and I'll substitute another band, because right now we're completely self sufficient and I see that continuing along.

Shawn: I am a rock.

Justin: A lot of bands, a lot of great bands that people listen to now, know that if they hadn't been picked up by a major label then they would have disappeared and would not have been able to continue functioning. So many bands you hear on the radio today are bands that if they hadn't "sold out" they would have just faded into nothing. Nobody would have ever heard of them, but they get all this sh*t for being this band that everyone likes.

Justin: They don't even know what they mean.

Shawn: Going back to the subject about how Justin said we would make it and some people can't, we live with our parents, all of us live with our mommies and daddies and stuff, so we have no rent to pay, we have no kids to feed, or wives to come home to. We live on 10$ a day that we get from the venue and that's plenty and I'm saving up with that money. I've saved about $40 this past month, and I'm saving up to pierce my eyebrow. This is the life I'm leading right now, and pretty much all of us are leading.

[laughs]

Stacy: If it works, it works.

Shawn: And it works. I mean, we can do this, but that's because we're lucky as f***, and we're at the age that we are, and we have no prior commitments, we have no monetary commitments, and the goverment doesn't barely even know we're alive, so they don't tax our asses [laughs a little] You know how it goes.

What CD/s are currently in your player/s?
Shawn: You've gotta check out these bands.

Justin: Yeah, these are our friends, bands that are from where we're from.

Shawn: Locale AM.

Justin: F***in' awesome. I just got my first copy of "Dear You" from Jawbreaker, f***in' awesome.

Shawn: There's a really cool ass band out of Toronto called "The Salads". They're really cool, actually.

Stacy: It always makes me wonder how you guys come up with these names.

[laughs a little]

Shawn: Actually, when we were looking for a name, that was the other one word name that wasn't taken.

Justin: But it was taken.

Shawn: Yeah, then we found out it wasn't a good name, but they're a good band, so it's cool.

You guys have come a long way without having a record label (independent or major-). Do you have any tips for aspiring bands, looking to follow in your footsteps?
Shawn: Play as many shows as you can.

Justin: Shameless self promotion.

Shawn: Meet bands, live with your parents.

Justin: But yeah, one of the most important thing is meeting other bands and hooking up in a community. Like, you can meet other bands through bands, and trade shows. Some of the best shows we've ever had, we've gotten because of the bands we've met.

Shawn: Find out what a label does for a band and do it yourself. I mean why do you need a label? Do you need a label to promote yourself? Promote your f***ing self. Do you need a label to get you on tour? Go and get a DIY "How to Book a Tour" guide. Go get friends in other cities, e-mail bands that you hear about from Chicago, go check out MP3.com, find out where these bands are from, attend trade shows. Say "Hey I can get 100 people in this place in California. Can you get 100 people in this venue in Chicago? Can we trade a show?" Set up tours like that. What else can a label do for you? Sh*t, they can get you distribution and put out your records. Figure out ways to get your record sold. Record your own CD and put it up on the internet. All that.

Justin: We recorded our CD completely by ourselves, just bummin' time off our friends and having recording drums in basements and vocals in living rooms and stuff, and using computers that our friends had.

Shawn: Yeah. You will only outgrow, you're not going to just graduate into this glamorous world of rock and roll stardom. You only graduate these stages, if people are impressed with what you're doing. Oddly enough, in order to have people with labels interested in you, you have to not need them, which is ironic.

Justin: Yeah, that's ironic.

Stacy: There you go.

Justin: Isn't it ironic?

Shawn: We're at a state like that, where we're actually just thinking among ourselves, "Do we need a label?" and "Why do we need a label?". I mean, if we need a label, what can they do for us that we can't do? When we're talking about it, we really have to look at that.

Do you have any messages to your fans?
Justin: I love you, Mom.

[laughs]

Justin: Message to the fans.. See you soon!

Shawn: Make art.

Justin: Make art, yeah.

That's it! Thanks for your time!