KUNG FU RECORDS
The Vandals from left are drummer Josh Freese, singer Dave Quackenbush, bassist Joe Escalante and guitarist Warren Fitzgerald.
Making their mark
The Vandals perform at Pipeline
Cafe and will soon release a DVD
So what if you're feeling smug about doing the politically correct thing of buying only "dolphin safe" canned tuna? You're still responsible for the deaths of all those fish!
The Vandals
With local opening bands the Enhancements and the Ex-SuperherosWhere: Pipeline Cafe, 805 Pohukaina St.
When: 7 p.m. tomorrow
Tickets: $17.50, all ages (those under 18 must be accompanied by an adult), available at the Blaisdell Arena box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com and by phone at 877-750-4400
Call: 589-1999
It's an observation offered by the Vandals on the song "The Unseen Tears of the Albacore," off their current album, "Internet Dating Super Studs."
"The point we're trying to make is, be careful what you make a big deal out of ... and think things through," bassist Joe Escalante explained via cell phone from a street somewhere in Tokyo. The Vandals were in Japan on the final leg of an international tour, ending with a one-nighter at Pipeline Cafe tomorrow.
"If you're making a big deal about the dolphins, I can come and point out one simple thing that makes your entire passion for saving dolphins seem ridiculous, so why care about anything to that point?" Escalante asked rhetorically. Like, why care about only one form of ocean life while slaughtering others? And would there be a passionate campaign to "Save the Albacore" if tuna could be trained to jump through hoops and entertain us the way captive dolphins do?
Well, it's not that the band have suddenly gone vegan or something. Escalante and the others also apply their cynical humor to topics ranging from propositioning a soccer mom to the plight of a kid with a oversize head.
Inspiration for such material comes from many places -- the TV shows and movies the band members watch while they're touring, for example. And there are some "private jokes that become songs."
"We're sarcastic, mean and cynical but still lighthearted," Escalante said, "and so it's a balancing act to try to be entertaining but not be too ugly. It all comes from being in a band with the same people for 14 or 15 years. It just comes out.
"There's a lot of things that are funny to one person that aren't funny to the rest of the band, but we spend so much time together, we all kind of know what everyone thinks is worth saying."
THE BIG NEWS of the moment for Vandals fans is the imminent release of the group's next album, "The Show Must Go Off! -- The Vandals Live at the House of Blues," which Escalante says is ready for release in little more than a week as a special package that includes a conventional CD soundtrack of the show, along with a DVD version that will include such extras as band commentary and a special "Josh Freese-cam" that allows the viewer to see what the drummer is doing at any point in the show. English subtitles will also be available, as well as an assortment of extras.
Escalante describes the nine-camera, 24-track production as "a good representation of what our shows are like."
"We've been making DVDs for a long time, and the quality that we've come to from the first one to this one is staggering. It's a long set with a lot of songs we don't normally play, and we're really proud of it. The audio is more mixed for television speakers, (so) it's not gonna sound as great as a normal live album we'd do, but the video is good."
Escalante, who handles much of the Vandals' financial matters and is also co-owner of the label the band is on, Kung Fu Records, says that DVDs are the "albums" of the future, but record labels are going to have to learn to keep production costs down if the format is to become truly viable -- spend too much making it and the label will go broke, charge too much and people won't buy it.
He adds that the veteran Orange County, Calif., band isn't slowing down in 2004. They're primed to start work on a new studio album that will be released in June. A movie, "Cake Boy," directed by Escalante and starring guitarist Warren Fitzgerald, will be released on DVD in June or July.
"It's shot on 16-mm and 32-mm film and stars Warren and the band No Use for a Name (they're on Fat Wreck Chords), and it's been described (by our distributor) as a combination of 'Jackass' and 'Muriel's Wedding.' ... The soundtrack album, featuring seven No Use for a Name songs and some other stuff, will come free with the DVD as a package set."
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