The Urgencies - Power Puke Rock'n'Roll from Austin, Texas!

By Jens

Two of my all time favorite records are The Replacements’ “Sorry Ma Forgot To Take Out The Trash” and Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers’ “L.A.M.F.”, well, imagine my delight when The Urgencies’ “Desolation Chic” arrivied at my door. The Austin 4-piece totally combines the melodic punkrock of early Replacements and the decadent swagger of Johnny Thunders into an irresistible r’n’r cocktail. A cocktail that’s drunk on hooks, attitude and memorable choruses, a classic r’n’r high. Guitarist/Singer Jarrett JT Trash was kind enough to give me an in-depth look at the band, it’s history and especially the pre-Urgencies groups and numerous sideprojects the youngsters are involved in. Other bandmembers are Al G (guitars, vox), Mike McWilliams (bass, vox) and Shawn Ptera Peters (drums, vox).

LC: Your myspace site describes the band as ’the cum stains of New York Dolls, Dead Boys and Replacements’, which is not far from the truth?

Jarrett: I think that The Urgencies sound is a amalgram of all our punk / glam / power pop influences. We have honed in and arrived at a really cool original sound using all our favorite bands records as a template and starting point to build upon. Call it Power puke rock n roll!!

LC: Urgencies band history. You previously played in Teen Cool, The Materialistics, The Ritchie Whites, and The End and Pure Rubbish?

Jarrett: Me, Al G, Mike, and Shawn started the Urgencies in Augest 2003. Al G, Mike, and Shawn had all previously played together in their teen years in the Houston punk band, Teen Cool between 1994 - 2002. Shawn headed for college in 1998 and Al G and Mike moved to Austin. Teen Cool released 2 7” EP’s ”Rock N Roll Bitch” (1997) and ”Skips Skool” (1999) on Mortville Records and the ”Adolessons” CD EP (2000) on Pelado Records. Mike eventually had to bail out in 2000 because of the heavy touring schedule of the Houston sleaze band Pure Rubbish. Al G continued Teen Cool till 2002 while also playing drums in the Ritchie Whites and lead guitar in The Ends. Al G appeared on the Ritchie Whites ”Snitched Get Stiches” LP / CD (2002) on TKO Records and after a slew of 7”’s The Ends ”Sorry XOXOXO” LP / CD was released in 2003 on Pelado Records. (The Ends ”Concrete Disappointment followed in 2004) Al G then formed the Materialistics in late 2002 and released the ”Tomorrow Is Fat And Old” CD EP in 2003 and continued to play many shows. Meanwhile Mike and I (ex Baysides, Forgotten Boys) were busy playing in Pure Rubbish who started out in 1995. (Al G also played in Pure Rubbish from 1998-1999). Pure Rubbish recorded 2 independent EP’s ”Heavy Trash Day” 7” (1998) and ”Tejas Waste” CD EP (1999), did many tours and then signed to Ozzy Osbourne’s Divine Records in 2000. In Pure Rubbish, Mike and I released a ”S/T” CD EP (2001) on Divine Records, the songs taken from an album that never was officially released called ”Glamorous Youth” (2001) produced by Mike Clink (Guns N Roses). The band toured on Ozzfest 2001 and opened shows for Motorhead, Nashville Pussy, and the Dictators.

LC: Ozzfest 2001? That must’ve been quite a trip?

Jarrett: Great times but bad tour to be on only cuz we stuck out like a priest at a titty bar! Pure Rubbish’s music was more Hanoi Rocks / Guns N Roses and we just didn’t relate to the aggro crowds. We had nothin in common with the other ”nu-metal” bands but did still manage to have a blast on that tour!! In fact we were the youngest band to ever grace the Ozzfest. Pure Rubbish also opened for AC/DC in Paris, France in 2001 and appeared on MTV, MTV 2002 Movie Awards backing Kelly Osbourne, VH1, Rolling Stone, Spin, Guitar World, etc. The band broke up over musical direction in April 2003 and this led directly to the formation of the Urgencies in August 2003. All four members of the Urgencies had all played together in one form or another for years and felt the chemistry and cosmos were aligned just right to bring forth this new endeavor. Since then, The Urgencies recorded a debut album in winter 2004 that was released as ”Desolation Chic” CD on Bubble Empire Records in summer 2005. The band then made a video for the song ”Ten Minute Smile” and toured the west coast in October 2005 to promote the album.

LC: How has the reaction been to ”Desolation Chic”?

Jarrett: For the most part the reactions have all been great! We got a cool writeup in the March 2006 issue of Classic Rock Magazine and have been getting really complimentary reviews from all over the globe. The songs ”Gotta Have It” and ”State Of Confusion” from the album have been used on a No Front Teeth / Caustic Rock compilation called ”The Kamikaze Broadcast” and a skate compilation cd and video. The album is on a small home grown Texas label called Bubble Empire Recordings ran by Chris ”Frenchie” Smith from the band Young Heart Attack. For being on a small label the album has gotten good distribution and is available through http://www.bubbleempirerecordings.com and http://www.interpunk.com

LC: You cover ”Million Miles Away” by The Plimsouls?

Jarrett: Yes we recorded that song for the ”Desolation Chic” album. The Plimsouls are one of our favorite bands!

LC: Do you play other covers in your set?

Jarrett: We recorded a version of Aerosmith’s “Sick As A Dog” and have played it in the set list many times.

LC: You’re based in Austin/Houston. Austin’s like the alternative hippie capitol of Texas. Do you met Roky Erickson lately?

Jarrett: The Urgencies are now based solely out of Austin. Roky is still that elusive reclusive but has made more public appearances now than he has in the last 10 years!! He played a solo show and with the New York Dolls on piano last SXSW 2005. It’s great to see Roky playing out again and Brian Wilson too. Brian Wilson completing his lost “Smile” album I think made him cast off those old demons. It sucks about the death of Syd Barrett but he retreated into oblivion over 30 years ago and hasn’t been heard from since!! (Syd just died, ed.)

LC: If you could bring only 3 things with you to a remote island, what’d that be?

Jarrett: Ramones ”S/T” album, 6 pack of Guinness, and an egg cracker.

LC: Is rock’n’roll in good shape in 2006? Just heard that Axl Rose & G’n’R played a Christina Aguilera song at Roskilde festival…

Jarrett: Rock n roll will always be around!! In great shape for 2006 mass consumption…probably not. But still it will never die…you can try to kill it with all the fake watered down fabrications of real rock n roll but like a cockroach it will always survive the most enduring conditions albeit in smaller homegrown scenes. The problem with Axl is he has forgotten who he is!! His “new version” of Chinese Democracy will most likely suck cuz he has 2nd guessed himself so many times and has tried to create this “utopian” rock n roll album that just doesn’t exist. The songs are meticulously thought out to the point where there’s no balls left in em'. If he would drop the inflated ego, reunite the original lineup, and just take 2 days to record an album of 12 new songs without self-consciously trying to create a “masterpiece”, it would blow away everything he’s ever done after “Appetite For Destruction”!

LC: Are you working on a new album?

Jarrett: New album in the works for 2006.

LC: Future plans, euro-tours?

Jarrett: A second album and touring again. Would love to tour Europe!!

LC: Anything to add?

Jarrett: Be sure to check out Al G’s other band The Ends on http://myspace.com/theends Also Mike MC and me (JT Trash) both have new bands the Modern Kicks and Sister Devastation. Check out these myspace pages for new tunes! http://myspace.com/modernkicks and http://myspace.com/sisterdevastation And don’t forget to pick up the ”Desolation Chic” album and check out the band happenings and mp3’s from the album at:

http://myspace.com/theurgencies