Normally I write an intro about the bands I interview but you know what?? This time I won´t; Did you read the title?? This is an interview with PENNY-FUCKING-WISE!!! If you don´t know who they are, I´m sure there are plenty of websites about cooking or gardening that you would like. Ladies and Gents with you FLETCHER!!!
First of all how was Mighty Sounds Festival for PW?
Fletcher: It was great a really good festival. Stormy weather when we arrived there we were told that there would be muddy or muddy so we got a little bit of both. The winds were really high so they were all scared that the big merch booth could go down, the backstage almost flew away when we were there drinking vodka but at the end it didn´t rain too hard the crowd was great, they were more and more people coming when we were playing, they were partying till late, late in the night till 5 or 6 in the morning I heard. Good show really good response on the crowd.
Most of the old school generations who grew up with you stopped to hear punk because they claim they are now grown ups, or married, and the list of excuses is long. So now tell me how PW has been refreshing for the new generations?
Fletcher: I don´t know how but I know that anybody who is a young kid or 20 years old, 30 years old is fed up by the music on the radio or MTV or Kate Perry or any of these bullshit, I saw a video the other day that was so fucking bad on MTV oh my god it was so bad they were like twins these 2 guys but I´m not sure if they were even twins but it was really, really bad and I was just like what is the point of this, so I think that people who gets sick of the system and/or what the television, government and teachers feed you about this is bad, this is good so they eventually finish on to punk rock, heavy metal or even rap and u know they find PW and they can relate to our music and have a new perspective, for example from the audience today I saw kids around 14 years old and they were singing to the lyrics so that is really important to the future of PW. So when the old people go early to bed and change the diapers the young kids discover the taste of beer(laughs)
During the Bush administration there was an anti-U.S.A. feeling all 
around the world, did that affect in anyway PW and now with a new president, how the situation changed for you?
Fletcher: We had always been an anti-government band and period, I feel like government controls the world, and mostly all the countries of the world not just the U.S.A. they take from Korea, Japan, North Korea, Africa and I think that the government is corrupt you know? and government is not for the people and wether it is republican or democrat or if Bush or Obama it really doesn´t mean anything, they make promises to the people and the people say “yeah we believe you, we will vote for you” and then they(presidents) get there and the congress simply say that they can´t keep those promises and the system in the U.S. and many other countries one guy cannot lead the country not Obama or Bush, they cannot control the whole U.S. the congress make the decisions, the advisors make the decisions, Bush couldn´t make the decisions for the U.S. It´s really simple if you make me president I can fix the problems right away in 1 month I can tell to the U.S. public here are all the problems, here is the truth, here are the lies make a vote ok, take it away and is simple but is set up so no one person have a say. And no The U.S. haven´t changed, it got worse, you know what I mean? The healthcare system?mmh and what? I thought Obama was gonna fix healthcare it and is not fixed, the jobs are down and you know we are still at war, there is still a lot of bullshit happening we are getting involved in more war shit, maybe we could get a change with the independent party or the green party so that way probably we could get a change in the U.S. and get away of always the same shit like promise break the promise, promise break the promise, deficit here, deficit here, deficit there I mean we are gonna be the next Greece.
Pennywise was and still is an inspiration for probably 99% of the punk bands in the world and we know which bands inspired you like The Adolescents, Black Flag, Minor Threat, and myny others but now a day what Inspires PW?
Fletcher: Punk is only attitude you know, is not the music anymore is not the lyrics, I mean it is the lyrics of course but anybody can make a song that sounds really punk but not with the proper words anyone can say fuck the government but they have to really mean it not just for being cool at school or stuff, I mean the real shit comes from here, from the heart, people have to really believe on what they say, on what they see everyday on real life, that´s a real punk rocker and it has nothing to see with the clothes or the hair or the sound is everything about what you feel inside and how you walk on the streets everyday.
What do the PW members make in a regular day life,? I mean with this when you are not on tour?
Fletcher: Everyone makes different things for example Randy has 3 kids and another one on the way so he spends a lot of time with his family, He spends time surfing, he likes to drink and fall down and crack his chin open; Byron likes to have a couple cocktails at local happy hours at the beach; I do a way lot of shit I have a tattoo studio I opend a Tattoo shop in Hermosa Beach, I collect old cars and motorcycles, trying or learning to do cool tattoos again, I´m always busy doing a lot of stupid shit.
After more than 20 years rocking all around the world, where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Fletcher: probably in Costa Rica drinking Cuba Libres, Margaritas, Daiquiris, whatever.
When will you release something with Zoli?
Fletcher: Well we are working in the new album now, we´ve been working a long time on it, we haven´t finished the vocals yet, because Zoli is still trying to learn how to sing haha no just kidding, It´s already a long process to release this album is kind of strange not to have Jim in the band, so you have to find a new path, me and Randy had been working in a lot of new PW songs but we don´t want to make just a song where Randy and Me say what to sing so he(Zoli) has to bring his own elements for the whole situation, we are not in a hurry I mean, I think we will have an album out around christmas time, the music is already recorded so it´s just about to finish the lyrics and let´s see what happens, I´m really happy with what is going on and I think is gonna be a mix of old school PW with some new elements as well.
Anything you would like to say or add?
Fletcher: I would like to say fuck off to randy our bass player standing in front of us hahaha.
Randy: I deserve it.
Fletcher: Randy was found wandering the streets of Czech Republic at 8 a.m. and he couldn´t speak or walk some guys drag them to the hotel he fell down again and he slept at the hotel floor throwing up on himself everywhere.
Randy: I wasn´t asleep I just fell down at the entrance of the stairs for 1 minute hahaha.
By: Miguel Guinness
Photos by: www.mck-photography.com
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