-->WHIPPERSNAPPER INTERVIEW DECEMBER 2003

This is a very important day. As far as I'm concerned, I've always considered Whippersnapper as a band ten years ahead of their time in their particular style of music. That's why it is a great honor to have them talking here today. I did this interview with their singer, Andy Munn. It wasn't easy to convince him because as it will be explained below, it seems like a complicated and painfull story. The only thing that I know is that it's a sad story. Sad for all the fans that the band made across the world, amazed by their incredibly sincere and well written lyrics, originality of their melodies and talented musicianship. Whippersnapper were a gifted band, that's why I'm proud and happy to bring their name back in the spotlight for a little while.You might find this interview a little bit long and personnal. It's personnal because once again, I'll never get over their separation, this band influenced my tastes so much. And it's long, because there were so many things to ask. Whoever will read this, if you don't know them, just listen some of the "Long walk" songs and you'll understand they were different from all the melodic punk bands you've been listening too. It was time to come back and explain why those guys from the old south decided to put an end to the band...it was time to "break the silence".



FEVERISH: Can you tell me what you and your band members have been doing since Whippersnapper broke up?

WHIPPERSNAPPER : We're all still kind of finding our bearings since the band broke up. Andy Belote and I are enrolled at the University of Georgia in Athens. Mike Fink is going to Georgia State University in Atlanta and is planning to move to Los Angeles in the summer. Patrick Kerr is still living with me in Athens, but has started tour managing the Drive-By Truckers, an up and coming southern rock band who fucking rock. I'm pretty sure he's keeping his eye out for another drumming gig since that’s where his heart lies. Jason Joseph is working in Atlanta and planning to move to California with his girlfriend by the end of the next year.

FEVERISH: What are your projects now?

WHIPPERSNAPPER: Well, musically I'm not doing much and neither is anyone else. Belote and I are starting a production company to put on shows here in Athens, but I think everyone is still a little shell-shocked from ending such a long run with whippersnapper to really start anything else yet.

FEVERISH: Will we have another chance one day to see Whippersnapper coming back together or any new musical projects with the same people?

WHIPPERSNAPPER: You'll probably never see the snapper together again. No last shows, no reunions. I think if anyone has ever really listened to what I'm saying in the songs, they would know that I believe in moving on, but keeping the lessons you learn along the way close to your heart. Patrick, Andy, and I may end up working together on another musical project in the future; we'll just have to see. We're all still playing. Music is not something you just shed like a snakeskin.

FEVERISH: As a lot of people don't know exactly what happened, can you explain what are the exact reasons that made Whippersnapper broke up after the release of your third album "appearances wear thin" on FBR records?

WHIPPERSNAPPER: Too many broken promises, too many people we trusted failing miserably to work the way they had agreed to. Seeing people around us who were just rehashing the same old ideas, melodies, and chord progressions move forward. We're all in our middle twenties and we started wondering if this is where we wanted to be when we were thirty. Pressure is a bitch. Towards the end we were even having trouble communicating with each other artistically.

FEVERISH: This last album was really different from your two previous record, it was a lot more Rock'n'roll...do you think that people who were into Whippersnapper fast melodic Punk rock were lost with this new musical direction ? what do you think of that ?

WHIPPERSNAPPER: I don't know if they were lost or not. I think if the production had been a little different, the style changes wouldn't have been as noticeable. Some songs like I Was Only Dreaming or Don't Leave Me were very much in the same style as The Long Walk, only a little more fluid. I was really proud of Appearances as a record, for me songs like Fine Line Life were the culmination of several ideas we had attempted in the past, but hadn't quite made happen. The missing elements for the fans were the lack of backing vocals and vocal collages we had become somewhat known for, and the bass lines, which are amazing, but somehow just didn't cut through in the mix as much as they should have. It was more rocknroll, but, to me, that’s never a bad thing.

FEVERISH: A lot of changes on this album : you even changed the way you sing, a lot of people even asked me if "it was the same singer", you're pushing a lot more your voice...was it a sound you wanted to give to Whippersnapper ? I mean, did you want to step out this "melodic punk" etiquette?

WHIPPERSNAPPER: I always felt like the vocals on previous records didn't sound much like they did when we played live. I have a lot more versatility in the texture I can put into my voice then I ever actually used in whippersnapper songs. If I had more time there would have been a better mix of rough and smooth vocals. I wasn't completely satisfied with the vocals on AWT, personally I wish I could have had more time to work on the songs and more time to listen to the mix. I would have liked to have the vocals more down in the mix instead of blaring out in front of everything. But ask any musician if they're completely happy with any record they make and if they're honest they'll tell you they're not.

FEVERISH: To be totally sincere, I think the production on Appearances is weaker than your two previous records...we barely hear Andy B bass details which was one of Whippersnapper greatest force...what do you think of this production ? were you satisfied with it ? were you happy to work with Roger Lima ? Do you think you had enough time in the studio, etc ?

WHIPPERSNAPPER: I loved working with Roger, but this was the first time we put a lot of trust in the producer's hands. On The Long Walk, we told Jason Livermore that we didn't want him involved in working up the songs, we just wanted the best sounds we could get. Still, if he had a good idea we were open to it. Producers always want to cut things, and usually they’re right. Roger was great to work with, but sometimes I wonder if we should have put up more of a fight about some aspects of the record. There was a lot of discord in the band about what happened with AWT, some people felt like we cut too much. The bass definitely needed to come up in the mix and we probably should have insisted using more of the backing vocal lines in the songs. With any studio project there are compromises and you always feel like if you had just a little more time you could have done more. AWT was no exception. I love certain things about the record like the huge drum sound and the guitar sound. Basically it comes down to how the record was written, which was less of one long session of writing like we usually did and more a song by song construction, grabbing moments to write whenever we could.

FEVERISH: This last album was recorded for Fueled by ramen records after you left Lobster records. Now that the monthes have passed, do you think it was a good decision ? what decided you to leave Lobster ? I mean, Lobster is doing really good right now, Yellowcard got big, Over it is in Japan right now, they work with the best producers, etc..

WHIPPERSNAPPER: We still feel like we made the right decision. We had massive communication problems with Lobster. We had been out there pushing their name, touring as consistently as we could and trying to take as little support as possible, but we felt like we weren't much of a priority there. The label went through so many changes. There was a period when distro was a major problem. We just didn't click with some of the people working there. FBR just seemed like people who would work hard for us. Lobster actually offered a larger recording budget, but FBR seemed like the better spot for us because they were close by and had good connections through Roger and Vinny of Less Than Jake. They had promised to find a decent booking agent for us, which pretty much sealed the deal. In the end, they just couldn't deliver. I'm glad Lobster is doing well. I love Steve. He did so much to help us start out. I hope they sell millions of records and go down in history as one of the greatest indie start-ups ever. But we just didn't feel appreciated there and I wouldn't have made a different decision.

FEVERISH: When you look back on Whippersnapper history, do you have any regrets ? Do you think the band was under promoted ?

WHIPPERSNAPPER: We were at a disadvantage from day one. We were from the south, we were young, and we didn't know anybody in the business. But to go from that through all of the tours, records, and friends, I can't say I regret anything.

FEVERISH: I must come back on "the long walk album"...I know a lot of people (myself included) who consider that this album was years ahead of its time. A lot of bands still say it's a reference for them....I mean, it was so above anything that was played in this musical style, it was so original and well executed. I still consider it as the best melodic punk album of all time that's why I'd like to have your sentiment. The production, structure, rhythms of the songs, everything was just perfect and I'd say "modern" on this album. Were you aware of that when you recorded at the Blasting room? Do you still love this album now ?

WHIPPERSNAPPER: The Long Walk was an amazing writing experience. The way we went about the writing was what made the record. When we put it out everyone was like, whoa, what happened? Just like they are now with Appearances Wear Thin. Livermore at the Blasting Room thought we were just too busy sounding and that all the backing vocals were superfluous. Even Lobster was kind of worried about how people would receive it. We knew we had something special for ourselves, but it took a long time for anyone to really catch on to what we were trying to do. We spent six weeks in Kansas working on it in a cabin by Lone Star Lake. That’s why if you look at the vinyl, scratched in the center it says "the lone star sessions". We just holed up with a supply of food and liquor and wrote day and night. Immersing yourself in a project like that really allows you to explore ideas. The record isn't perfect, there are plenty of things we wished we had done differently or hadn't done at all, but we all still love the record.

FEVERISH: And "America favorite pastime" ? I think, still now, it's one of the best super melodic punk album, catchy as hell. Do you listen those songs sometimes ? Do you still love this style of music ?

WHIPPERSNAPPER: I like to listen to it every once in awhile. I still love it, but it embarrasses m sometimes since I wrote some these songs when I was sixteen years old. Listening to AFP reminds me of the days we toured in a blue 89 Dodge Ram and everyday was an adventure. It reminds me of old friends. It reminds me of the days when new school punk rock wasn't a bunch of kids gunning for a video on MTV.

FEVERISH: What was your greatest souvenir with Whippersnapper ? We had the luck to see you in Grenoble during your euro tour 2001...what a night !

WHIPPERSNAPPER: There were so many great times, I can hardly pick one. Once in Spain in a little hall, we played every song in our set and the crowd sang that "ole, ole" chant they do at "football" games for more. We played every song we ever wrote that night. I remember feeling so connected to the people there that night. It was the crowds that joined their energy with ours that we remember the most.

FEVERISH: You gave a lot of importance to lyrics...to you was it more important than music ? what was the subjects that touched you ? do you still write ?

WHIPPERSNAPPER: For me it was very important. Sometimes people would come to me and say that a song had helped them through a hard time, or that it touched them in some way. This was the reason I wrote, to reach out to people. Even if I was writing about something very specific in my life, I always wanted to keep the language vague enough that someone else could find a moment in their life that related to it. Because we all go through the same things, we are all completely different, but exactly the same. And yes, I still write.

FEVERISH: If you should make a new Whippersnapper album, how would it sound ? hard question...=)

WHIPPERSNAPPER: It would sound like the beach boys playing metal.

FEVERISH: It seems that Punk music is "phased out" in the US and that metal music is getting more and more attention (with bands like Beloved, soilwork, killswitch engage, etc...) what do you think of that ? what do you think of Punk rock now ? what kind of bands are you listening to ?

WHIPPERSNAPPER: I don't think that punk is phased out at all. I think that it's washed up. It's mainstream. Or at least Melodic Punk is. Metal has always been around and if you look at punk, you can see how metal has influenced it and vice versa. I don't really listen to many new punk records. I just hear the same things over and over. It's the curse of being exposed to so much music, sometimes it's all just too predictable. Lately I've expanded my musical tastes extensively. I listen to jazz, to Latin music, to old rocknroll. I still love punk rock, I'm just waiting for someone to come along and blow me away again.

FEVERISH: Any last word? Anything you'd like to say to a Whippersnapper fan who can't get over your separation?

WHIPPERSNAPPER: Start your own band and write better songs than we did. Thanks for listening, y'all. It was an honor to play for you.

FEVERISH: Thanks a million times to Andy who really took some of his time to answer this long long interview. Whippersnapper is gone but certaily not forgotten...so long guys, thank you and good luck for everything.

Tristan

www.whippersnappermusic.com

www.lobsterrecords.com

www.fueledbyramen.com