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| Interview by Burt Wolf with Junior, singer for COUNTIME. Interview done October 11th, 2006. |
| CAN YOU GIVE A BRIEF HISTORY OF COUNTIME, HOW YOU GOT TOGETHER & ANY PREVIOUS BANDS MEMBERS WERE IN BEFORE? Well, I used to play bass for a band called DIFFERENCE OF OPINION & my guitarist Mikey played for a band called SET ASIDE, 2 well known East L.A. bands. It was a side project that evolved into what it is today. WHY WAS THE NAME COUNTIME CHOSEN AS THE BANDS NAME? It's a jail term WHO OR WHAT HAS HELPED INFLUENCE OR INSPIRE YOU IN MUSIC & IN LIFE? Ummm people I grew up with, my surroundings & all the shit I seen growing up! |
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| HOW WOULD YOU BEST DESCRIBE THE STYLE & SOUND OF COUNTIME? Straight to the point real L.A. style, heavy & in your face!! YOUR DEBUT CD "BROKEN, BLINDED, BETRAYED" HAS BEEN OUT FOR A LITTLE WHILE NOW. HOW HAS THE RESPONSE BEEN TO THIS DISC? It's been doing well with the kids & other people from different styles so we have no complaints... NO JOKE RECORDS PUT THIS DISC OUT. HOW DID YOU GET HOOKED UP WITH THEM? HOW HAS IT BEEN WORKING WITH THEM? They heard our demo online & liked what they heard got in touch with us asked us if we wanted to put out a record with them CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE ALBUM COVER A BIT & THE MEANING BEHIND IT? Well, where we grew up that's pretty much what happens, drive by's & young kids dying, so we wanted to let the world know growing up in East L.A. ain't no joke homie! |
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| WHAT IS SOME OF THE LYRICAL CONTENT OF YOUR SONGS? WHO DOES THE WRITING OR DOES EACH MEMBER HAVE A HAND IN THE WRITING PROCESS? I write the lyrics for COUNTIME, they're basically true stories & confessions. Everything is something that happened or it's something I'm going through... WHICH COUNTIME SONG IS YOUR FAVORITE & WHY? My favorite song would probably be "From The Heavens Above". It's about my son Christopher Anthony U. That even though things are rough with my baby Mama, not a day goes by that I'm not grateful he was born...no regrets! |
| DOES COUNTIME PLAY OUT A LOT? IF SO, WHERE ARE SOME OF THE PLACES YOU'VE PLAYED & WHO ARE SOME OF THE BANDS YOU'VE SHARED THE STAGE WITH? Yeah, we play out a lot. We've been really blessed with the things that are happening to us. We play all over SO-Cal & we just got back from doing a summer U.S. tour. We've shared the stage with so many great big names & locals that it wouldn't be fair just to drop names & single anyone out... WHAT IS ONE OF THE CRAZIEST OR MORE MEMORABLE THINGS YOU HAVE SEEN AT ONE OF YOUR SHOWS, FROM A FAN OR BAND MEMBER? The craziest thing, I dun no. We haven't got there yet but I'm sure there will be some story to tell. The only thing I could think of is propably almost getting blasted during the video shoot! HOW DO YOU FEEL THE BAND HAS IMPROVED SINCE YOUR DEMO "LET THE LEGACY BEGIN"? We've become more of a family than a band. When we did our demo everyone was scattered & had their own seperate ideas for the band. Now we're one tight unit working together instead of working against each other. DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW MUSIC OUT OR NEW MATERIAL IN THE WORKS FOR THE NEST RELEASE? WILL THIS BE PUT OUT BY NO JOKE RECORDS AS WELL? We just put out 2 new tracks "Black Candles" & "Proud To Be..." We've been talking about a new release, but we don't know who's going to put it out yet. There's a lot to talk about. ARE YOU INTO ANY OTHER STYLES OF MUSIC BESIDES WHAT YOU PLAY? WHO ARE SOME OF THE BANDS YOU HAVE CURRENTLY BEEN LISTENING TO? I listen to a lot of Rap, Oldies, Funk, Old School, Reggaeton, DOWNSET, BLOOD FOR BLOOD...if you get a chance pick up BROWNSIDE from South Central. It don't get more real than that... I mean I love Hardcore music, but I play it all the time, so when I'm out & about I like to kick it. |
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| WHAT DO THE BAND MEMBERS DO WHEN NOT DOING ANY WORK FOR THE BAND? JOBS, HOBBIES, ETC? We have jobs. We usually work warehouse jobs cuz they're easy to get away with days if we need em off for shows. WHAT CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING NEXT FROM COUNTIME? More tours, honest records & a good time with real G's from East L.A. |
| WHAT WAS THE FIRST ALBUM YOU REMEMBER BUYING? WHAT WAS THE FIRST CONCERT YOU EVER WENT TO? First record I ever bought was "NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS...HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS". I was like in 6th grade & my first show was at the Hollywood Palladium I saw HR with BAD RELIGION (NO CONTROL TOUR). I was like fuck that's the shit...the rest is history! WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE GROWING UP IN LOS ANGELES? DO YOU FEEL THIS ADDS TO THE STRENGTH OF YOUR MUSIC? Most definately. I've lived in L.A. all my life. I was born in East Los Angeles, lived in all parts of the city growing up cuz we were really poor, so we bounced around a lot. So I got to see a lot of shit at an early age, drugs, gangs, drama, but to me I was like, it's just my family. So it is with out a doubt the strength for my music. I get to tell my story of L.A. as seen through my eyes! WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE ANSWERING THIS INTERVIEW? WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW THAT IT'S OVER? Clowning with my homie Flexer from the TAC mob. Hang out & get something to eat... THANX FOR TAKING THE TIME TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO CLOSE OUT! Much love & respect to all my gents from the East of Los Angeles, Christopher A U. La Famila Serafin, T.A.C., Diane, Fuss, Happy, Flex, Klever, China, NELA, Pitbull Dan-FSU & of course my city of fallen angels!!! COUNTIME-HARDCORE-LIVES! |
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| Jr5150 - Throat Mikey - Guitar/Vocals Israel - Guitar Adrian - Bass / Vocals Erik - Beats ignitekid@yahoo.com www.myspace.com/COUNTIME |
| ALL PHOTOS & GRAPHICS COURTESY OF COUNTIME INTERVIEWS MAIN PAGE |