Born Again Savages Uncivilized Music for an Uncivilized World

Slaphead's Interview with Tom

Slaphead: Here with Tom Carpenter of the Born Again Savages after a show at the Stag Bar for the Promise Breakers. Could you explain what that group is? Tom: Yeah, the Promise Breakers is a coalition between some local underground bands and local underground artists. They get together about 4-5 times a year & we put on a show. It's usually around the big festivals in Syracuse like Blues Fest or the Sammys. We get together have a couple bands play, a bunch of artists come out and show, everyone has a good time. We turn the art crowd onto some good music and the music fans onto some good art. Everybody ends up having a good time in the end. S: How did you get started as a band, when did you decide that this is what you wanted to do? T: As for myself, I knew when I was about 7 years old what I wanted to do. I was given a KISS record as a youngster and I saw KISS and I'm like 'My God, this is what I wanna be in life. You know, these guys are incredible.' The crowd went crazy, it was some cool stuff. Then I was turned onto the Sex Pistols at about 9 by these guys Mark and Mary who used to live next door to us, and that's exactly what told me what I wanted to do and then I got into a couple of punk bands in high school…stuff that never got out of our friends' garages. Later on, some of the stuff we wrote then, eventually, became stuff I'm using now, lyric-wise. As for the Born Again Savages, it was after our guitar player, Joe DiRenzio, finished college. He bumped around the country, playing in different bands with limited success.

He moved back to Syracuse and decided to start a new band. He got a hold of his cousin Stephen, or MC Fritz or MC Illin' as he's more known now, and John Thomas. They got together and John had just gotten back from the Navy. They put together a band and John originally had a speaker and a bucket for a cabinet, that's how he was playing out through a crappy little amp. They eventually got me as a singer, they went through two other singers. I stepped in and I filled the shoes correctly and that's exactly what they were looking for. And they rest is, as they say, history.

S: Who, if anyone, is your music based on or inspired by?

T: The Savages have tons of influences. All of us are fans of jazz, they all like heavy rock, old rock, Fugazi, the Damned, a lot of old school punk, a lot of older metal bands. Heavy stuff, Black Sabbath...Christ who were some of the other bands we were talking about? Iggy and the Stooges, you can hear definite influence of them in the music. You can hear a lot of the heavy stuff, we've been compared to Pantera, White Zombie. One person even said 'Fugazi, but more complicated,' like a complicated Fugazi. I thought that was pretty cool comment. There's quite a few major influences, but by the time you blend it all together, it's hard to spot some of the stuff. Some of it's very obvious, but there's a huge, huge mountain of music that came together to create an influence of becoming.

S: If you were given the opportunity to tour with any band, whether in the past or present, who would it be?

T: Joe and Stephan would probably pick, like, the Queens of the Stone Age, Sonic Youth. Myself, it would be The Sex Pistols, maybe Social Distortion. For John, John would like to maybe go out and be playin' with, you said living or dead, right? John would kill to go out and tour with Zappa, he's a huge Zappa fan. And, basically, anybody who would let us come out and play with them.

S: You're going into the studio in January for the new album right?

T: Yeah.

S: Do you have any songs written for it and, if so, how many do you have?

T: We have, well, it's gonna be a mix of some old songs we haven't got on any tapes or cd's yet. We have been playing for about 2 years and people are like 'Hey, when are you going to record that?'. So we're going to put a couple of those up on there. We got a bunch of new stuff we're working on right now. It's going to be a little bit of a different direction for the Savages. It's still the Savages and it's a different writing state for us now, whereas before we were guided by one part of the band and now, we are all putting in ideas. It was directed, we had 4 directions coming from one part of the band and now we are writing better as a band. We have all matured in that department where we are able to work together and come together and make something tangible and put it into a musical portrait if you will. And we are going into the studio in January, and then, if you figure mix-down time, around March should be the time for the new CD. And, as of yet, there is no name for it.

S: What do you listen to when you're not performing or practicing your music?

T: I listen to tons of stuff. I listen to, like, Frank Zappa, I listen to a lot of the Sex Pistols, Hank Williams Sr., Hank Williams III, Johnny Cash, a lot of old-school county. I'm really into old school country. I listen to a lot of Fugazi and the Ramones. I listen to Slayer, Megadeth, Tool (I love Tool), Clutch. I listen to a lot of stuff. I have a huge mix of music.

S: Do you have any upcoming performances planned or not yet?

T: We've got a couple of things we've been thinking of doing. We are booking shows right now. We're lookin' to maybe put a show at CBGB's if they'll have us down there. John's got a connection to play down in Pittsburgh. We're looking at booking some stuff down in those cities. John's thinking about going down the east coast near Atlanta, some shows in the city itself. I wanna get up north, I have some friends up in Maine. I was telling them we should go up and play; they can get us a gig at a club up there. That would definitely get people goin'. They've got a good scene out there. We'll be all over the place.

S: What is the weirdest thing that has happened to you on the road?

T: *Laughs* Oh man...the weirdest thing to happen to us on the road. Well, I gotta give you the 2nd weirdest thing because I don't think the first weirdest thing you can put in your report. Well, let's just say...I'm going to give you some details, I won't go to far in depth. Let's just say: black van, no windows, purple interior carpet, me, a female fan and my band wanting to load gear and I'll leave it at that.

S: Any last words for the readers or your fans?

T: Yeah, if you're ever in the back of a van with no windows with a female fan after the show, lock the doors!

S: All right, thanks for doing this.

T: No sweat, man!