Interview: Warren (S.H.I.T., Urban Blight)

"Life is all about the groove."

A couple years ago S.H.I.T. released their demo. Even though there were six songs on it, it was impossible to listen all the way through without repeating the opening track, "Feeding Time," a few dozen times. Repetitious and gross, like a day spent on the toilet thanks to food poisoning. This year they've released two records and have finally played the west coast. Afraid of adding another regret to the long list of regrets my life has become, I made sure to see them at Los Globos in Los Angeles. They played Orange County the day prior but THIS IS LOS ANGELES, NOT ORANGE COUNTY. Seriously, Orange County is a real depressing place. Everybody should move out of their parents' place, get a job and move to Los Angeles so nobody has to go there to see touring bands. That county can best be summed up by a weed filled field covered in rocks. You figure out the punchline.

An hour before their set Ryan, the vocalist, did shrooms. I've never seen them play before but his stage presence seemed influenced by the psilocybin. He wiggled around on the stage between caustic shouting. It reminded me of Axl Rose dancing underneath a leather flamethrower. Throughout the set his mic stand got smaller and smaller, bits and pieces were breaking off as his odd movements slipped under the jousting front row fists. The rest of the band was good, but they didn't command attention like that slithering weirdo. They eventually played "Feeding Time," and as promised, the crowd went ballistic. Hopefully they come back soon.

Oh yeah, I interviewed one of their guitarists, Warren. He used to play in Urban Blight and some other bands. S.H.I.T. is his main focus now, as well as some other projects that haven't recorded yet. One of which is with Jonah from Fucked Up. Even though I don't remember the name of the band there's no way they'll be anything less than the best. We talked about S.H.I.T. but we also talked about being horny. Warren, if you're reading this, I sincerely hope you're still horny.

Painful Burning:
This is your second day of tour, are you horny right now?

Warren:
Always horny.

Painful Burning:
But are you hornier than normal right now?

Warren:
Absolutely.

Painful Burning:
Why?

Warren:
Because we can't fuck each other.

Painful Burning:
Why do you live in Toronto?

Warren:
Toronto is the best city in the world. [Pause.] That's a lie. Toronto's really nice. There's lots of really good people in Toronto. There's some good bands in Toronto. We have a good venue in Toronto. We run our venue in Toronto. Toronto's great. If you've never been there you should go.

Painful Burning:
You've been to every major east coast city, right?

Warren:
And west coast city too.

Painful Burning:
And you still think Toronto is better than all of them?

Warren:
Yeah. I like Toronto more than I like New York...

Painful Burning:
Why though?

Warren:
I just really like Canada. Canada's got a way different vibe than America. I'm kind of sick so please pardon my voice crack.

Painful Burning:
I won't include any voice cracks in the interview. But isn't Toronto the most American Canadian city?

Warren:
People say that, but that's like when people say Montreal is like going to Europe. It is, kind of I guess. I guess you could say going to Toronto is like going to America. But if you spend enough time there you'll notice that it's absolutely different.

Painful Burning:
What in particular stands out the most to you?

Warren:
It's cleaner.

Painful Burning:
Fucked Up is Toronto's biggest punk band. Why don't you guys take yourselves more seriously and be like them?

Warren:
We play with Fucked Up all the time and we're all friends with them. But it's way different, they've been a band for twelve years. We've only been a band for two years. If I'm doing this in ten years I give you permission to find me and kick me in the nuts.

Painful Burning:
They've famously never changed their name even though they've gotten fairly large. If you guys start winning prestigious awards would you change your name?

Warren:
No.

Painful Burning:
No?

Warren:
Gotta have our artistic integrity. If you're going to make a claim you should stick to it no matter what happens to you.

Painful Burning:
What's your claim?

Warren:
Your guess is as good as mine.

Painful Burning:
Make a claim. What's your claim?

Warren:
As an artist?

Painful Burning:
Yeah.

Warren:
You said I don't have to answer everything, right?

Painful Burning:
Yes.

Warren:
Perfect.

Painful Burning:
This year you've released two seven inches. Why did you guys release those instead of riding that demo indefinitely?

Warren:
You can't ride a demo forever.

Painful Burning:
Yeah, but it's really good.

Warren:
What, riding a demo indefinitely?

Painful Burning:
No, your demo.

Warren:
Thank you. As a band you want to progress, right?

Painful Burning:
Yeah, but the demo was so good.

Warren:
We were only setting ourselves up for disappointment then.

Painful Burning:
That was a weird question.

Warren:
It's not a weird question. Riding a demo forever is boring. It's boring for everybody. You think you want to go and see the same band play the same six songs every night? Every time they come through town? I don't want to play those six songs every night.

Painful Burning:
Do you guys still play songs from the demo?

Warren:
Yeah, we play three.

Painful Burning:
Is it still fun? Or are you over it?

Warren:
It's definitely more fun playing new stuff. We've been playing those songs for basically two years. They're still fun to play and it's cool because people go the craziest for those songs. But if I never had to play "Feeding Time" again I'd be a happy person.

Painful Burning:
That's my favorite song.

Warren:
It's everybody's favorite song. People go crazy and it's super fun to watch. On this tour especially because a lot of these people have never seen us before. And they've been going pretty ballistic.


"Always horny."

Painful Burning:
I think that's because it's your most groove oriented song.

Warren:
I agree, it has a unique vibe.

Painful Burning:
Why do you think people in hardcore are so groove-phobic?

Warren:
I think that kind of thing is starting to come through. That's what is getting popular now.

Painful Burning:
But why is everybody so scared of groove parts.

Warren:
I don't know, hardcore is stupid. You gotta have groove. That's life. Life is all about groove.

Painful Burning:
That's going to be the tagline by the way, the large quote above the band photo.

Warren:
That's my artistic statement.

Painful Burning:
Life is all about groove?

Warren:
Life is all about the groove. THE groove.

Painful Burning:
I don't want to stir any trash talk but there's a New York band called Warthog and they were initially called Chain Wallet. How stupid is it that they changed their name?

Warren:
Very stupid.

Painful Burning:
Yeah?

Warren:
Great name.

Painful Burning:
That's what I've been saying.

Warren:
Is that actually a question?

Painful Burning:
Yeah. Has the drummer from Warthog ever followed you on any form of social media and unfollowed you the next day?

Warren:
No. Naideau still follows me on Instagram.

Painful Burning:
I wonder what I did wrong.

Warren:
He even occasionally likes my photos. Maybe I can follow you on Instagram?

Painful Burning:
Really?

Warren:
I'm gonna drop you a day after though.

Painful Burning:
Oh boy. Next question: Turn down for what?

Warren:
We listened to that song earlier. That shit is heavy. Turn down for nothing.

Painful Burning:
So your answer is "nothing"?

Warren:
My answer is that song is sick.

Painful Burning:
At this point in the interview is your level of hornyness the same as before?

Warren:
I'm less horny.

Painful Burning:
You're less horny?

Warren:
Significantly less horny.

Painful Burning:
Am I turning you off?

Warren:
A little bit.

Painful Burning:
Good. Why are you guys in a band together if you don't like each other?

Warren:
Who said we don't like each other? Did the rest of the band say they don't like me?

Painful Burning:
I had an anonymous tip. They said it seems like nobody likes each other in the band nor do they like the band itself.

Warren:
Really?

Painful Burning:
Maybe?

Warren:
We like each other.

Painful Burning:
If there was one thing about the band that you don't like what would it be?

Long silence.

Painful Burning:
Is that question too much?

Warren:
No, I'm just thinking. There's a lot of things. I'm just trying to think of the thing that annoys me the most.

Painful Burning:
It doesn't have to be the most, how about just one that stands out.

Warren:
Jose always drops his drumsticks.

Painful Burning:
During the songs?

Warren:
Yeah. Thankfully he bought tape for this tour.

Painful Burning:
He tapes them to his hands?

Warren:
No, stick tape. For gripping.

Painful Burning:
I didn't know about that, is that a move?

Warren:
Apparently, I didn't know about it either.

Painful Burning:
If you think the band had one collective complaint about what would it be?

Warren:
That's tough. That's like picking out your worst quality. What's your worst quality?

Painful Burning:
I ask really bad questions in interviews.

Warren:
You're doing well so far.

Painful Burning:
Ah.

Warren:
I'm just worried about my answers.


"We're very hard to look up."
Painful Burning:
Your answers are perfect. So the same person who gave me the anonymous tip before told me to ask about Greg's condo.

Warren:
It's nice.

Painful Burning:
My question to you is: Why did he want me to ask about Greg's condo?

Warren:
Because it's nice. Exposed brick. Air conditioning. Big couch. He's got like fifteen thousand records.

Painful Burning:
Really?

Warren:
No, but he's got a lot of records.

Painful Burning:
Is that a Toronto thing?

Warren:
Greg's condo?

Painful Burning:
A nice condo like that.

Warren:
Condos are, yeah.

Painful Burning:
I've heard you're a condo band.

Warren:
Three out of five.

Painful Burning:
What?

Warren:
Live in condos.

Painful Burning:
So you're sixty percent condo residents?

Warren:
That would be the math, yes.

Painful Burning:
What's up with that venue, SHIBGBS?

Warren:
It's huge. You can probably fit three hundred, three hundred fifty people in there if you really wanted to. No, three hundred. It's in the basement below a catering company. The catering company always works through the night while we're having shows and they're totally cool with it. A couple of times people have walked in their backdoor and passed out on their stairs. They just come down and they're like, "Someone's sleeping in our stairwell... We're trying to move all this bread. We're cool with it, just wake them up."

Painful Burning:
Are they punk people?

Warren:
No. They're just kind of down for whatever. Because they could very easily be like, "Fuck you guys, we want nothing to do with you."

Painful Burning:
I feel like if that was LA or New York that would be the response. Is that a Toronto thing?

Warren:
That should be the response in Toronto.

Painful Burning:
That's an abnormal response?

Warren:
For sure.

Painful Burning:
Iron Lung released your first seven inch and Lengua Armada did the second one.

Warren:
I see you've done your research, Nardwuar.

Painful Burning:
Very specific question. This interview has been nothing but very specific questions. You know, I tried to google you guys and got nothing but pictures of diarrhea. Does that happen a lot?

Warren:
Yeah, I like that we're very hard to look up.

Painful Burning:
You guys are like the Sex Vid of 2014.

Warren:
Exactly. Our biggest inspiration, bro.

Painful Burning:
Ungoogleable.

Warren:
I think it's good to be hard to look up. Makes people more curious about it. So they can't find anything about you right away they're like, "These guys must be cool." Very elusive.

Painful Burning:
You guys are bringing back the mysterious hardcore.

Warren:
I loved that shit, man.

Painful Burning:
A lot of the music might not standup that well.

Warren:
Have you tried listening to it now?

Painful Burning:
I'm afraid to.

Warren:
It's terrible.

Painful Burning:
But it looked cool.

Warren:
It absolutely did.

Painful Burning:
Anyways, before you interrupted me.

Warren:
Rude.

Painful Burning:
Yeah, very rude. Do you guys have plans for what's next?

Warren:
Ummmmm, no.

Painful Burning:
There's no LP plans at this point?

Warren:
No.

Painful Burning:
Come on.

Warren:
I'm not kidding.

Painful Burning:
You guys haven't written new stuff?

Warren:
We have a song on a comp. That's really cool.

Painful Burning:
I'd ask you about it but...

Warren:
Who gives a shit.

Painful Burning:
Is it a SHIBGBs comp?

Warren:
No, it's Beach Impediment. It's actually pretty cool.

Painful Burning:
Beach Impediment?

Warren:
Beach Impediment Records. Schubert in Richmond, his label.

Painful Burning:
That was not the answer I was looking for. I wanted some dirt.

Warren:
You wanted some LP information?

Painful Burning:
You don't have to lie. Your bandcamp url is "whatwedoissecrete." What are you secreting?

Warren:
What aren't I secreting?

Painful Burning:
Fair. And now, with that last question, what is your final level of hornyness?

Warren:
Lower than it's ever been.

Painful Burning:
Not like negative though, right?

Warren:
It's almost negative.

Painful Burning:
Is it a one?

Warren:
On a scale of one to what?

Painful Burning:
Zero to ten. It's not a flat zero is it?

Warren:
It's not a flat zero. Maybe like a three.

Painful Burning:
Okay.

Warren:
I'm usually day to day a six or a seven.

Painful Burning:
Damn.

Warren:
That's right.

Painful Burning:
I'm always a flat nine. Thank you.

Warren:
Nothing else?

Painful Burning:
Nope, that's it.

S.H.I.T. Bandcamp

-Z