Make Way For An Assassination

Interview With Asshole Assassination Squad

Covina

From Issue 2.3, January/February 2006

“She wants to know which assholes we sing about,” said a smiling Casey Guldberg not before laughing in response to the question. He was asked who  the Asshole Assassination Squad likes to target in their songs.

“Most of our songs are about killing assholes,” Sergio Amalfitano said.

“Yeah, I never knew what our lyrics were until we recorded here,” Alvin said to Sergio, “and then I was like, ‘what the fuck am I playing to.’”

What the five members of AxAxS play to is a mixture of hardcore and thrashcore with metal influences. They sing about the people they cannot stand: “stupid assholes,” scenesters, people who wreck the scene, mosh jocks. Basically, the standard “assholes.”

“Because all assholes are dirty no matter what you do,” Guldberg said.

For AxAxS, which consists of Amalfitano doing vocals (21), Guldberg on bass (19), Jorge Luis Herrera on drums (18), Alvin Outcry on guitar (15) and Andres Garcia (18) on guitar, the line is fine between singing about assholes and becoming the kind of people they make fun of, which is why they sometimes poke fun at the “scene” they’re from.

“We have a song about circle pits,” Amalfitano said, “because punks and circle pits go together, but no one knows how to mix them. Every time we play that song, there’s a breakdown and a two-step. We’re poking fun at ourselves.”

Sergio and Jorge are the only original band members and only decided to start this band two years ago because they were friends. Plus, they were inspired by the music they grew up listening to and the music they are currently listening to. It only made sense that they start this band.

Before AxAxS became the Asshole Assassination Squad, they were TGS (Tough Guy Shit). They also went through a period where they were called the Gay Studs.

The fact that they have a strong following and talent worth noting is of little consequence to them for Sergio said they are not the Asshole Assassination Squad to impress other people.

This is why on a cool evening back in November, it seemed only fitting they meet up for their interview at a Covina Tasty, a vegan fast food stand in Covina, which is less than ten minutes from their practice studio.

AxAxS is a mix of vegan punks, anarchist punks, metal fans and just fans of music like Los Crudos and Code 13. They prefer playing in modest living rooms (like the one they played at in Arizona) over actual venues and they only wish more people would come up and talk with them at shows. They like meeting people and do it through the music.

In fact, they met each other through the music.

Guldberg joined after Amalfitano asked him at The Smell in Los Angeles before they even knew each other.

“I thought it was going to be emo knowing Sergio and stuff,” Guldberg said.

“That’s gross,” Amalfitano said. “You thought it was emo.”

Coming at people with reckless abandon, AxAxS music is hard to sit still to and does not fall under easy listening. Their songs are short, yet there’s a technicality to them, which drummer Jorge would probably be glad to hear about.

“I joined the band because my main project was put on hold,” Herrera said. “I just started exploring my musical interests. It’s [AxAxS] just a cacophony. It doesn’t matter if we mess up in the end.”

“Artsy ass answer,” Sergio said to Herrera of his response. “I am in the Locust. I play post-modern hardcore,” he said continuing to make fun of the drummer’s answer.

Alvin was asked to join by Sergio when he was in summer school and playing in Cream Soda.

They met each other through the music but have subsequently become friends and have made many more in the two years they have been a band most likely because they are fun to be around.

“We feel more like a family unit now,” Amalfitano said of the band.

Their practice that followed their meal at Covina Tasty included good music and good jokes.

They’ve been on a few splits and have put out a live demo with Society’s Decay. They recently released a 7” on Go Records with 500 pressings. The album is available at their shows and through their myspace Web site.

Sergio said he writes most of the lyrics and then music is done as a collaboration.

While they have many fans, they say their only goal is to keep playing and to play as many shows as possible. Amalfitano said they are in the works with El Monte band Mala Sangre to try and do a show in Mexico.

“I just want to travel as much as I can,” Alvin said.

“I have no outlook on this band,” Herrera said. “We’ve done many awesome things.”

As their practice rounded-out towards its end, two people passing by politely knocked on the door. They asked if the band had finished a Los Crudos song to which Amalfitano said, “no” but that they are influenced by that band. The two said they sounded great and Amalfitano handed them some demos-something he does regularly at shows.

After AxAxS ran through several more songs, Herrera left for a break. Amalfitano wandered out and when he returned, asked, “What are we talking about?”

“About how you buy bullshit,” Guldberg said.

“What?”

“You buy shit off every band at shows,” Guldberg continued.

“Be quiet demo boy,” Amalfitano said. “You have like 10,000 demos.”

Guldberg only smiled to the accusation, but that’s probably proof enough of how much this band is really into the music and just playing and meeting new people. It’s a revolution. It’s refreshing to hear. It’s an all-out assassination on the mundane.