Name; Brew Zerr
Age; 38
Bands;
CLARK COUNTY OPPRESSORS (Las Vegas, NV) - June '06-Jan '07 (vocals)
THE DIRTY BABIES (Las Vegas, NV) - Nov. '03-June '06 (bass, vocals)
THE VAN BUREN WHEELS (Phx, AZ) - Dec. '98-May '00 (bass)
THE HORMONES (Austin, TX) - Oct. '96-Sept. '98 (guitar, vocals)
101 (Austin, TX) - Feb. '96-Oct. '96 (vocals)
THE NARDUKES (Houston, TX) - March '95-Jan '96 (vocals, guitar)
THE SWOOPING MONKEYBATS (Phoenix, AZ) - Nov. '93-Jan '95 (vocals)
THE ORPHANS (Phoenix, AZ) - summer '92-summer '93 (bass)
NUISANCE (Houston, TX) - fall '82-fall '83
How did it all begin? Honestly, I had nothing better to do. In the beginning it
gave me an opprtunity to vent my rage and allowed me to act like a complete idiot
in front of large groups of people and for some reason certain people liked that,
so it was fun. In the 90's I got a little more musically accomplished and started
writing and recording songs. I was more involved as a musician and it was a lot
more gratifying than working at some shit job.
Who were your original influences? So many. I'll try to limit it to the biggies:
Black Flag, Sex Pistols, D.O.A., Damned, Johnny Thunders (Dolls,
Heartbreakers... not so much solo), Really Red, Stooges, 60's garage, Yardbirds,
Kinks... but the real inspiration has always come from my dislike of the way things
are around me. Anger has always motivated me to be creative. Every day I watch
the world get a little worse than the day before, and I have no choice but to pour
my frustration into making noise.
Who are your current influences? Same as always. I've really been getting
back into the Kinks lately. Ray Davies is such an amazing songwriter. His ability to
write as a 3rd person in order to paint a picture of a certain situation or emotion is
just incredible. The Kinks really were in so many ways one of the first proto-punk
bands. Not just the obvious 3-chord 4/4 distorted angst in the music on songs like
"You Really Got Me", but in Ray Davies' lyrics (mainly on later material). He could
be venomously sarcastic in pointing out how lame then-current trends were
(Dedicated Follower Of Fashion), and took a very firm "fuck you" stance on being
an individual and not following the herd (I'm Not Like Everybody Else).
What is your proudest moment as a musician? I was pretty stoked when I
made my first vinyl record (Swooping Monkeybats). I felt like I was actually doing
something that made it all worth it. I've had other moments too... like getting to go
on a small tour with Wayne Kramer, getting to play guitar with the Rubber City
Rebels, and getting to record for free with the same engineer who recorded
"Satisfaction" by the Stones, completely on the merit that he loved my band.
What is your most embarrassing moment as a musician (or band member)
and why? I was in a certain band (I'll leave names out) with a singer who would
say the lamest, cheesiest rehearsed shit ever between songs. That was pretty
embarrassing. I used to intentionally hit big open chords on my guitar while he'd
try to talk, or count off the next song. Other than that... I don't really have any
embarrassing moments.
What do you think would have been your path through life if you had
never gotten involved with music? Prison, death, or insanity.
Tell us something about you that few people are aware of.
I have a mole on my left ball. I also own a restaurant.
When you look back on your musical path to this point. What are your
deepest regrets? That I never got around to recording certain songs.
If you had the opportunity to start over, what would you change?
I would have gotten more serious about learning to play at a much younger age.
Who has been the most influential person in your life and why?
No one person has been more influential than any other. The world and all it's
fucked up injustices has been my biggest influence.
Please summarize the highlights & lowlights of your musical career.
Highlight - touring with the Hormones.
Lowlight - Watching a great band with momentum suddenly crash and burn
because someone's ego or drug habit sabotaged the whole thing. That's
happened twice.
What are your thoughts on the current "Punk" scene? How much has it
changed or stayed the same since you got into it? Oh shit... do we have to
go there? I'll just come off sounding like some old fart. OK why not. The scene
has changed drastically since I got into it. It had to. How could anything as
spontaneous and volatile as punk was 25 years ago stay the same after that
many years? I mean there's always gonna be pissed off teenagers who don't want
to conform who are gonna pick up a guitar to state their case, so I guess in that
sense nothings changed... But punk is so commercial now. It doesn't have that
same sense of danger and threat to mainstream society that it had when I first got
involved in it. It's become part of the mainstream. All the "cool" kids are into it
now. Now kids can have a blue mohawk and ripped clothes and not be demonized
for it. That's the biggest difference. The "outlaw" nature no longer exists. Every
now and then I'll hear a new band that has that authentic feel, but they keep
getting fewer and further between. The damage has been done by the music
industry, MTV, corporate advertising, and Hot Topic. Time for something new.
What are your plans musically in the future? No plans. I've never had a
plan. If it happens it happens and if it doesn't, oh well. Right now I'm so busy
trying to make my own business work that I can't really get involved with a band.
We'll just have to wait and see.
