We don't know whether to thank MorbidZine.com or smack them for giving us the straight skinny about punk/hardcore/crossover legends D.R.I. The online magazine recently interviewed guitarist/founder Spike Cassidy, and the results were less than stellar.
As Cassidy notes, there's plenty of good, bad and ugly going on in the Couch Slouch camp at present. He has overcome his battle with cancer, which became public knowledge a couple of years ago. That's good. However, it has resulted in a long-term day job and no plans for the quartet. Any efforts at working together are further complicated by distance, which is bad.
"We live in four different states across the country. Washington, California, Texas and Florida. Just to practice will cost thousands in plane fare alone. Money that we don't have. We all have our own lives and families now, conflicts in scheduling keep us from touring right now. We might be able [to] put together some shows, but it won't be easy. We have a long way to go before we are working on a new album again. I just hope we can play a few shows."
While Cassidy clearly wishes to record and tour, his next comment is a complete about-face. He perceives fans have a lack of interest in new material. So, for all intents and purposes, he reveals that the Dirty Rotten Imbeciles have been relegated to little more than an occasional weekend gig. That's the ugly.
"[Last effort, 1995's] Full Speed Ahead did not sell many copies. Why would the next record?! Our fans really didn't want a new record; they just wanted to hear their old favorites from the '80s over and over again. We didn't mind playing them for them."
As Cassidy notes, there's plenty of good, bad and ugly going on in the Couch Slouch camp at present. He has overcome his battle with cancer, which became public knowledge a couple of years ago. That's good. However, it has resulted in a long-term day job and no plans for the quartet. Any efforts at working together are further complicated by distance, which is bad.
"We live in four different states across the country. Washington, California, Texas and Florida. Just to practice will cost thousands in plane fare alone. Money that we don't have. We all have our own lives and families now, conflicts in scheduling keep us from touring right now. We might be able [to] put together some shows, but it won't be easy. We have a long way to go before we are working on a new album again. I just hope we can play a few shows."
While Cassidy clearly wishes to record and tour, his next comment is a complete about-face. He perceives fans have a lack of interest in new material. So, for all intents and purposes, he reveals that the Dirty Rotten Imbeciles have been relegated to little more than an occasional weekend gig. That's the ugly.
"[Last effort, 1995's] Full Speed Ahead did not sell many copies. Why would the next record?! Our fans really didn't want a new record; they just wanted to hear their old favorites from the '80s over and over again. We didn't mind playing them for them."
