Interview with Tim from Get Dead
Hey, my name is Tim. I play bass in Get Dead. I’m originally from Sonoma, CA, but the band is from San Francisco. I’ve been in a bunch of bands you’ve never heard of.
1. First Punk Rock band you ever saw Live? And where/when
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I saw the US Bombs and hometown heroes, The Bodies, at a dive bar in Sonoma when I was 15; it must have been ‘96. My buddy and I pulled back the plywood covering the window to get in. We got to talk to Dwayne Peters after the show as he changed some bandages on his ribs, I’m guessing from a fall on his board.
2. First Punk Rock Record you bought? What made you buy it?
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I would say Dookie, but I didn’t think I was buying a punk rock record then, and I’m not too sure about that now. Most of my first punk records were inherited from my older brothers, so this is a tough one.
It might be Rancid - Let’s Go. I had seen the Ruby Soho video on
MTV and probably thought that song was on the record. I’ll do you
one better, though. One of the first punk records I got was
Punk in Drublic. My friend actually bought it with his own money for my 13th birthday, which happened to be at the start of 7th grade.
So there I am, first day of class, reading the liner notes under my desk, and the teacher caught me and decided to make me an example.
He snatched the liner notes and proceeded to read them in front
of the class. He got about two lines into a song, realized this was not
going to work in his favor, and then quietly slipped the liner notes
back in my hand.
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3. Favourite Venue to play in? anywhere in the world
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Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco. It’s not only our hometown
crowd, but I’ve seen so many great shows there that I feel like part
of that history when we get an opportunity to take the stage.
4. Influences?
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That’s a really tough one. I don’t listen to a whole lot of punk rock
these days, so that you might be surprised. What I can say is that I get a lot of influence from parts of songs, or maybe even a whole song, but rarely someone’s entire catalog or even an entire album.
This is especially true when it comes to skacore, which we’ve been
likened to. It seems I either love it or hate it, no in-between. In that
vein, I like Operation Ivy, Mouthwash, The Skints, Suicide Machines. It’s a tough thing to get right, and few do.
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5. What’s the future look like for you and for Get Dead?
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At this point, I’m not sure anybody knows what the future looks like, but I’d love to get out there and play this record for people someday. Maybe even write a new one.
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6. Why the name Get Dead?
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I actually came up with it, and I just thought it was a cool sounding name for a punk band. It’s simple, abrupt, somewhat offensive, and has this sort of existential thing going on.
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7. What is the craziest, most memorable thing which happened on tour or at a show?
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Everybody asks us this question, but we can never really answer honestly because it might result in some sort of legal trouble. I’ll throw you a bone, though: On our first European tour, we got turned around at the Slovenian border because two in our group had lost their passports. This sort of trifle would stop most bands, but we drove about 50kms to the next border crossing and stuffed the two illegals in with the luggage. After a thorough search at the border that was a sleeping bag away from going horribly wrong, we were allowed entry. It wasn’t until we got to the show and boasted to some patrons about our border crossing. They stood mouth agape as we told them and then let us know that, had we been caught, they would have likely imprisoned us and put us to work clearing minefields as is the usual punishment for such infractions.
8. If 2020 was a person?
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Who’s that little shithead king from Game of Thrones?
The one with the blond hair and bean teeth? That dude.
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9. Guilty pleasure?
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I listen to a lot of emo. There. I said it.
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10. Is Punk Rock Dead?
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Only if you think so.
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11. Any advice for young bands just starting?
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Listen to the Beatles.
Interviewed in January 2021
