like I don't remember like how the judge
thing became but once we had the idea in
place that we were going to record this
record and give it away inside the
Schism fanzine I was like oblivious
anything else around me I was so
consumed with judges and what it was
going to be I mean I was so on fire
because I just thought I came up with
the foolish idea it was like that scene
was the family that I was looking for
like I fit in with a group of people who
didn't fit in anyway but together we
were whole
I'm like a shy introverted guy
why I wanted to sing for a banner
animals idea it's just what I
was compelled to do
it's what scares me the most now being
done all eyes on me I hate that
now really coming down
big sorrows days
day
the reason I started judge was like a
full-on like lashing out at something I
was I was pissed off about at the time I
was playing drums and youth of today and
I'm hearing all these people trying to
tear user today down and so all
face I mean he's really gonna find nicer
people than John Purcell and ray
capital I mean I was angry about it man
to the point where I got like the high
road isn't working anymore
let's let's get dirty a little bit
Mike actually approached me he said I'm
thinking about doing this band you know
I really wanted to I have been write
lyrics I want to make it kind of like Oy
and I want to make it kind of dark and
tough and that's when the whole kind of
like brainstorming of judge happened and
it was sort of a very kind of
disheartening time in her life
straightedge was kind of was kind of on
its way out I will say this me and Mike
were very serious about straighted I
think judge was really born out of this
kind of like disheartened sort of dark
place which we were actually in at the
time specially Mike
I see a lot of good people turn bad now
seeing a lot of good people get stepped
on but not anymore
we're judge next song is about people
who do drugs
no excuses I just want to have a good
time I want to miss it
we are seeing jokes he's getting your
way in the people in trucks are always
in my way
I make this band that's going to be like
the total opposite of what you two today
was it's going to be this militant nasty
band like in your face
everything that they accused you today
of being I was going to be
let's go
I'm going to write all these
militant nasty I was going to be
as mean as possible and it's going to be
exclusionary that's what I was
going to give him and just be like okay
can you tell the difference now between
this band and that band
it was very super passionate serious
about the newsman she had a notebook
lyrics I mean he was writing every day
he was like super into it now that I
know I'm gonna make this band I
just wanted like bleed on the
paper just I'm not going to hide
anything no he wanted to sing and if you
know Mike is very shy reserved guy and I
couldn't for the life of me picture him
singing in a band we recorded at dawn
Furies for $75 we freaking banged it out
like First Take correctly everything and
I'm listening and headphones like me
he's actually really freaking cool and
so Don fury sends Mike in to do the
vocals and fed-up is the first song roll
the tape
Tai's was frigging ballon what like he
open it's not it's like this freaking
lion's roar like comes out of his mouth
he pretty much she sang fed up like
first taste
ah
I really started thinking like oh my god
this is like them better than I ever
imagined so that's really like how you
know the judge thing first kind of
solidified into like we're gonna do this
BAM
I remember it must have been like 88
for sale and I and someone else had
decided we weren't gonna wear leather
that year right because we're all
vegetarian and whatnot and so I remember
I was with Purcell it goes up to Mike
he's like guy 88 no leather and and my
just turns he's like nobody tells me
what to do a lot of friends don't judge
me
it'll never hold me back we go on tour
and it was like the rumor would get
there right before us you know and they
would get there but it was like this big
and then at the next spot the rumor was
here yesterday but it wasn't this big
Malone and by the time you get to the
west coast it's like full-blown like the
stories were just attic control
the most common line was I was just you
know militant straightedge guy who just
wanted to kill drug dealers and you know
but I wish it was that simple you know
being in California and phone
rang and they they actually asked for
Mike judge and they're like filling us
in that the Klan is going to have a
rally and that you know the hammer skins
will be there and they're going to
like protest judge and whatnot
so you know when my judge gets here he
can like just take care of all that okay
I'll let my judge know you know like who
calls up and goes get
can can you get my judge down here does
the Klan is rally like what the am
I going to do you know like that is just
like that all the time like
seriously like I was a comic book
guy who's just gonna
come in Here I am the save the
day
and I couldn't even save myself man I
was trying to tell y'all you just didn't
listen the straightedge team itself
didn't have a lot of violence in it most
of the kids will enter this kind of like
more positive music when judge came
around that completely changed things
were just finally like we just
attracted it you know because I guess I
would know I wanted it and now now I'm
seeing what
never dawned on me that
words are like that
important you know like when you're when
you're in a position where you can write
something and people are going to listen
to you and you don't take him seriously
it could cause lockdown I did they
wanted an excuse to hurt someone
and I was their excuse now we can be the
you know animals that we want to
be now we can treat the weaker people
the way we're going to treat them
bring it down record I mean I couldn't
be like more honest I tried to explain
myself just say listen I'm just a
reactionary guy so you can stop with the
hard edge and these
straight edge gangs those are just the
words of
you know just up guy no matter
how hard ice creams they were
always like going back to that first
reference point the first thing here and
I can never break that they still wanted
the straightedge revenge you
know there's nothing worse than having
your own words like spit back in your
face you know and you just want to get
pissed off but then you realize
that you're the one who did it
you know who you came up with the idea
of stupid you know there was just no
making up for it man that's why the band
blew up we were doing a tour by the time
we got to Florida I was oh I was just
shot I was out of it man I just couldn't
take it
if you read Mike's lyrics he's coming
from a dark place and music for him
especially writing lyrics was a very
cathartic Nepean for him he's had this
kind of up life and he said a lot
of heavy things happen in his life and
he kind of sang about it so kids that
had up lives could relate to it
so we would play a show and would not
just be straight as kids if he's
skinheads you know because you know Mike
look like skinhead you know I went from
being it today where everyone's kind of
like positive and happy channel you can
to make a change to judge replace you
and to be like skin has hanging out for
the shows like with guns really big you
know downward turn for judges we played
this one show one of those last shows
that we played for that bringing account
or all these like white power not see
like bonafide Aryan Nazi skinheads
showed up and we're just like Jesus
Christ here we go again
some guy he wandered into the show with
even Harcourt if he just kind of
wandered in the show kind of near the
pit and all these skin had started to
pound him like he's racist skinhead
these were the guys who were up front
singing every word and a black guy comes
in and now they're tricking you're
beating them down so these are like our
fans this is what the six guys one old
guy can't you guys come to show yeah
Mike was very depressed after that show
super depressed because you know you can
imagine he's the one that's writing the
lyrics he's the one kind of put himself
out there
I remember packing up and Purcell was
driving and I was riding shotgun and for
the first time in like two tours
buildings just weren't talking I'm just
looking out the window and I knew we're
on our way home but I think finally I
just said when we get home I think I'm
gonna quit I think it says I'm like I
think it might be that time or something
like that that was it I didn't talk to
those guys for quite a long time and
just I didn't hear from them for a while
wanna make it work