How did Police & Thieves get started?
Before my old band Worn Thin broke up I saw Rich, our bassist, and Dave, our old
guitarist, at a show and had mentioned to them that I wanted to start a band that
was influenced by bands like Dag Nasty, Embrace and Rites of Spring. But after the
last show I felt kind of burned out on doing bands and was ready to nix the idea. Our
old drummer Ben was the one who would IM and call me all the time so we could
have practice. I finally gave in and the first practice was weird, it was missing
something and sounded too much like their old band Four Letter Lies. About a week
later I found out one of my good friends roommate played guitar, so I ended up
contacting Michael about it and he was on the same page about the type of band he
wanted to play in.

Were any of you in bands prior to Police & Thieves?
Rich who plays bass was in a band called Four Letter Lies, Pauley was in band
called Bleeder Resistor, Riley is currently in a band called the Scanner Freaks,
Michael was in Balboa and Sad State of Affairs and I was in Worn Thin.


Tell Us About Police & Thieves.
Hmm, well we're a 5 piece band from Washington, DC that play a melodic style of
hardcore in the vein of Dischord bands from the 80's, as well as some of the early to
mid 90's bands from Louisville. A scene that I always ran parallel to the DC scene in
terms of musical style and socio-political issues. We started in August of 2005 with
the intention of doing something different than our previous bands. But it's funny
because when some of my friends heard our demo, they said it reminded them of
something Worn Thin would have written if we were still around. I tried to make a
conscience effort to separate the two, but ultimately being the singer it's hard to
change your voice for this style of music and sometimes that's a really identifying
factor in music. As well as on the last Worn Thin record the songs were more mid-
tempo and melodic and I think we were starting to go more in that musical direction.

What bands do you get compared to the most?
I hear a lot of people compare us to Dag Nasty, Rites of Spring and Swiz, which is a
huge compliment for us.


What makes the DC scene the frontline for hardcore punk?
I’m not sure if it's still at the frontline of the hardcore punk scene, but it is certainly
where it all started. The hardcore punk scene that started it all has grown into
something much different than what we refer to as hardcore today. You see it
nationally as well, all these splinter groups, i.e. post punk, hardcore, punk, screamo,
metal core, emo and so many other genres within the hardcore punk umbrella. Back
when it all started any loud and fast music was categorized under the hardcore punk
label and all sorts of kids would come out to see these bands. Now it’s these little
sub divisions of the punk hardcore scene that only listen to one type of music or go
to only certain shows. That’s why I am all for mixed bills, like the ones the activist
group from DC called Positive Force used to and still does today, it makes for a
diverse and fun show.

What are your thoughts on the US government right now?
There’s a ton of corruption inside of it, there's a sense that no matter how we vote it
doesn't make a difference one way or another. I know that sounds pessimistic but
often times it feels that way. Living in DC for pretty much all my life I got to
experience firsthand the inner workings of politics and government. I got to see how
outside sources with vested interests can curry favor with politicians/authority
figures who are suppose to be serving the people, when in fact they are ultimately
looking out for only themselves. In that sense you begin to see how unfortunately,
not everything is what it seems and just because someone is in a position of
authority it does not mean they will do the right thing. As we have found out many
authority figures are just as corrupt or even worse than the people they rail against.


Are any/all of you straight edge?
Yes, myself, Riley and our relief pitcher Aaron.

If so what helped you to make the decision to be straight edge?
For me it was a personal decision, based on different societal norms that growing up
I was never comfortable with. But it's not something I push on other people, I am only
concerned with my life choices, whatever other people do is fine with me as long as
they are not harming anyone else, it’s our free will as humans to make these
decisions.


Your music is full of emotion & energy, how do you continue to keep that
same level of energy at every show?
It’s something I feel every time we play live, I love the music and the lyrics still
resonate with me every time I sing them.  

Where do you stand on the new initiative towards the war?
Well what can I say about this, which has not been said. It’s obvious to most people
that we were dragged into something most of us did not agree with. It’s a mess and
there’s no easy way out of it. I oppose and hope their can be a solution soon
because at this rate it’s going to turn to if it’s not already another Vietnam.

Favorite place to play and why-
any basement/house shows, those are always the best.

Most bizarre place you've played?
The basement of a former strip club and captain t's this mega sized
chuckecheese/Dave and busters that had indoor mini golf, paintball as well as
batting cages.

Are you on a label? If so, who?
Youngblood Records, our first 7' was on Higher Conscience records.

Who are your favorite bands right now?
Cloak Dagger, The Marked Men, The Vicious, LOJ, Set to explode, Iron Age

Who writes your songs and how are you inspired to write them?
It’s a collective now, in the beginning it was all Michael but now everyone contributes
ideas to riffs that people bring into practice.

What's your favorite song that you play right now and why?
Probably all 4 of the new songs, because they are a progression of our early stuff.
In my opinion they are some of the best songs we have written. There is a good
balance of mid-tempo and fast songs but still in the same style of songwriting we
had in the past.

What do you do when you’re not playing music?
I work for a non-profit in DC as well as go to graduate school.

What is your evaluation of the current punk scene?
In my opinion I think it is doing well and will keep doing as well as long as it stays
away from the mainstream. Once it leaves the underground it begins to take a new
form, twisting and contorting to adjust to the outside forces that want to make it
palatable to the masses. But I tip my hat to punk bands that have remained true to
their roots and had mainstream success, those are the bands that are still punk
today. Their message never changed even if their appeal broadened and I admire
them for that. Unfortunately these bands are few and far between for the most part.   


Who are your musical influences?
We are definitely influenced by a lot of bands, but we set out to start a band that
was similar to some of my favorite Discord bands from the 80's. It's a bummer that
the term 'emo' has become so bastardized by the main stream media, as these were
some of the first bands that were categorized that way because of their lyrical
content and performances. They started as a reaction to the tough guy mentality
that was prevalent back then. But what struck a chord with me was the lyrical
content as well as the way the words were delivered in this sort of singing/screaming
approach. It was a fresh approach to singing in hardcore, at a time when the norm
for bands back then was this drill sergeant like barking.

Any bands you really want to do a show with and why?
Seaweed and the Murder City Devils, because they just got back together.

What's your favorite part of being in a band?
Before and after the show hanging out with my friends and seeing old friends in
different cities.


How did you come up with the name Police & Thieves?
Well we had a really hard time deciding on a name and on the eve of our first show
we had not come up with anything, so Michael our guitarist suggested “The Law”,
which to us was quite possibly one of the most unoriginal names, plus he was in law
school and that made it seem even lamer. But hey, none of us could come up with
anything better, so we decided to keep it until we had something better. We had
finished recording the demo and Tad my old band mate from Worn thin was doing
the artwork for the demo tape/cd. When he brought us the artwork he suggested we
change the name to Police & Thieves after the Junior Mervin song. We were all
pretty stoked on the name, especially Michael who is a reggae dj, plus we are all
pretty big reggae and clash fans as well.

Anything you want to add or say?
We have a 4 song 7 inch/CD EP coming out on Youngblood Records this fall. The
cd version will contain our first 7”, “Amor y Guerra”,our demo and 2 unreleased
songs, all of this will be available as well on ITunes. We will also be playing
weekends up and down the east coast. So if you want us to play your town get in
touch, house shows and basements preferred...so much fun.

Anyone you want to thank?
LOJ, Set to explode, Cloak Dagger, Eric and Parsons at Higher Conscience records,
Sean and the Youngblood Records Crew

Next - Word association, Type the first thing that comes to your mind when you read
the following words.

Punk-Rock
Drink-Honest tea
Eat -more In n' Out
Money -ruins everything
Work -find something you love to do and then do it for the rest of your life.
Sleep -comes like a drug
Police -love them, but no more reunions please
Movie - The Darjeeling Limited
Government -Warning
TV -DVR
Life -is good
Death - is not glamorous

www.myspace.com/policethieves