John Holmstrom said he started up PUNK Magazine again because of The Bullys.
Joey: Yeah, it’s funny. I mean, we’re flattered and everything but it’s very strange to have people talk about you like that. There are so many great bands out there that we’re fans of. I don’t know but obviously we touched on something that was not there before, that the scene was lacking. You know, if we can fill that void we’re more than happy to do that. You know, I always said this about - John (Heff) and I started The Bullys. We used to be in a band before, and we left for obvious reasons. I mean, we just didn’t get along with the rest of the band and we kid of hooked up together and we were kind of like standing out in the street together and we’re like, “what the fuck are we gonna do now?” I have no idea what to do. We didn’t know what we were gonna do, but we knew what we did NOT want to do, and that was what we came from was we were doing the same old hard rock crap that everybody else was doing. We kind of had a few ideas about the direction we wanted to go in and one of the problems we had with the band we were in was that you know, one of the songwriters of the band, every song was just about relationships, and about chicks, and getting laid.
I mean, I hate that crap! When I hear a song about relationships and shit, I mean, we’ve all been through enough relationships. I don’t need a song to tell me what I already know. So we said, listen, if we start this band we’re not writing any songs about getting laid, having relationships, and breaking up and you know, I hate her, and this and that. That’s what we’re not going to do. And we didn’t do that. And that’s good. I just think it’s so easy, I mean, if you go outside of that, obviously you have to try to pull things in that are a little more serious. You know, The Ramones wrote songs about dysfunctional family life.
But they did it like, “We’re A Happy Family”!
Joey: Exactly! It’s not a downer. It’s not to depress everybody. It’s the actual celebrating the fact that hey, you know what, most of us have some dysfunction, or came from broken families. And you celebrate it, because, you know what? We survived that. The abuse, all your parents’ mistakes. You know, a lot of people don’t survive that. They become alcoholics or drunk addicts, or end up in jail, and they miss out on their lives. They don’t take control of their lives because so many people fucked them up. That’s part of the center of the Bullys.
How did the song “Fast Food” come about?
Joey: Walt wrote that song basically because his love of fast food. I mean, it’s not… it could be a commercial for, you know, like any fast food chain. It’s a very fun song. We thought it was fun to put on the album because, you know, we thought a lot of people could relate to it. A lot of people eat at fast food restaurants. You know, listen, it’s a song! We don’t get too involved, it’s a song. You listen to it, you have fun, and then you move on with your life!
So what’s your favorite fast food joint?
Joey: Well, probably not a chain. I’m gonna be going over to San Loco over here on 2nd Avenue. That’s probably one of my favorite. Probably Mexican, and you know, White Castle. We were famous for stopping at White Castles after gigs and hanging out and stuff. That’s Walt’s favorite. Everybody likes, what is it Mad Burger? Out in Jersey?
Danny: What about that place in Philly?
Joey: I enjoyed that place when we were there. We went to like a cheese steak place in Philly, like authentic cheese steaks. You have to go to like a place that’s been around for a long time, like an authentic cheese steak place. You know what I mean, cause there’s so many of them.
Joey, what’s going through your head onstage? You always look so pissed off.
Joey: Well, you know, if you look back at some video footage of The Bullys with Johnny Heff and Bobby Steele (The Misfits), it was, I believe John Holmstrom’s birthday party, or it was a PUNK Magazine anniversary party. I’m sorry but my memory is limited. If you ask John he’ll tell you what show that was. You’ll see the original Bullys there.
What it was about was, it was like, we’re called The Bullys, so I mean what are we supposed to do? I mean, we’re not gonna get up there and be nice. We were about being in your face and probably scaring you and intimidation, and that’s what it was about. If we didn’t do that, we shouldn’t be called The Bullys. On the other hand, I take all the words personally, all that stuff Johnny and I grew up with. And we are angry, we are pissed off. I’m singing the song, I mean, I’m pissed off. I’m pissed off about a lot of stuff, you know? But I don’t walk around like that. I mean Danny will tell you I’m a mellow guy. I’m not always pissed off, but when I start singing about stuff that starts making me remember stuff it pisses me off, and I get into it. I’m delivering the song the way it was meant to be delivered. You know, I’m not gonna get up there like a karaoke thing. That’s probably why I look that way, cause I’m pissed. I’m still pissed off about losing John. So after we lost John, I’m pissed off that Johnny’s not onstage with me. I’m singing his songs and I’m singing words that he wrote - that he was sitting alone, thinking about, and putting down on paper. And he’s not there, and that pisses me off. Because he was going to work.
