The members of Drunk on Purpose and Dealer don’t take themselves too seriously.
During a Wednesday evening interview with the Star outside Kootenay Co-op radio, the guys messed around with a cardboard cut-out of their absent band mate and brushed up on their air guitar skills while they smoked cigarettes and slugged cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
They were there to plug their upcoming show with legendary punk rockers D.O.A. at Spiritbar this Saturday. When asked what concert-goers can expect from their performances, they laughed.
“Headbanging?” said one.
“Drinking?” said another. “Nothing too deep and meaningful, that’s for sure.”
According to the band, this pair of local acts, led by frontmen Jeff “The Killer” Siller and Mike Dealer, are part of a punk rock renaissance currently occurring in Nelson. Spiritbar is the largest venue they’ve played yet, and they say the scene is starting to make a comeback.
They’re hoping D.O.A’s show in town will continue to raise the profile of punk locally, and will draw out fans who might not otherwise make it to a show.
“They’re legendary,” Nelson from Nelson, who plays for DOP, said. “They’re godfathers of west coast Canadian punk, along with NoMeansNo.”
D.O.A originally approached Nelson, who works at Kootenay Co-op Radio, to play a show in the station’s basement. They decided they would need a larger venue.
While the guys slurped beer and took leisurely drags from cigarettes, they traded stories about D.O.A’s lead vocalist Joey Shithead. Many of their anecdotes were inappropriate for publication, but demonstrated their admiration for the frontman. His band’s participation will help them raise their profile in the punk scene.
“We’re going to be able to expose ourselves to a wider audience,” said Dealer. He describes their music as “high-grade, basically rock n’ roll, all the eggs in one basket kinda deal.”
And though DOP will be playing a few cover songs, he emphasized that all of Dealer’s music is original. Their band’s name is an acronym for “Demonstrating Extremely Abusive Loud Electric Rock”.
The name for Drunk on Purpose is slightly more self-explanatory.
“Usually the punk shows happen here, and now we’re playing at the biggest club in town, Spiritbar,” said Nelson. “We’re all really excited.”
“We hearken to the hardcore stuff,” said DOP’s lead singer Jeff “The Killer” Siller. “So Black Flag, we played with Dayglo (Abortions). I listened to them when I was younger, tons of punk rock. I’ve been into it my whole life.”
Siller said his onstage persona may be startling to some. “What can I say? You’re going to see me get wild,” he said.
The show is a co-production between Crank it to 6 Concert Series and On the Road Productions. Tickets are $15.