FEATURE 16: NO AGE

WORDS: MONIKA MOGI

I met and interviewed NO AGE at Daikanyama Unit in Tokyo before their show awhile ago..

Randy Randall and Dean Spunt make up NO AGE. Interviewing people from L.A. was so refreshing since I grew up in Huntington Beach. They were also really nice and hilarious. Talked about California, smoking weed, tofu and 90's jams.

Hey guys, are you liking Tokyo so far?

Dean: I like the food.

Anything specific?

Randy: FRESHNESS BURGER

(Freshness Burger is a fast food restaurant in Japan)

D: So good, they have a tofu burger. We're both vegan so eatings a little difficult but yeah Freshness Burger is awesome, we went there today.

What do you think about the Japanese audience? Most bands think that the crowd here is usually quiet, like when you pause inbetween songs..

R: But we don't really pause inbetween songs much..

D: It's a little more quiet than most American audiences

R: I don't know, last night they were grabbing my guitar. They were cool.

D: I think if anything its just the cultural difference, like maybe they're more polite with the shouting?

What's your favorite song to play live?

D: Hmmm, that's a good question...

R: Well we have two new songs on the set so it's more fun. The rest we've played quite a bit.

We have a new one called Fever Dreaming, it's fun.

D: I like playing 'Teen Creeps'.

I think thats my favorite. I also like your instrumental You is My Hot Rabbit, what is that about anyway?

R: That's the myspace jam! I got the name from a translation into french. My girlfriend at the time wrote me a letter all in french and I had to go to google translator, cut and paste it because I didn't know how to read it.

That's super romantic..

D: Awww

R: At the end of the letter it said You is my Hot Rabbit, I don't know what that meant... I'm not sure what she actually meant to say in french but I thought that was the best phrase ever, so I named the song after that. We actually only played that live once.

Are you gonna play it tonight?

R: Umm, naw

You should!

D: We haven't practiced it.

R: That would be a fun one to play though

You should dedicate it!

D: Haha yeah to the kids, man!

What's your favorite song in general than?

R: Ahh man probably "Wild Combination" by Arthur Russell. He's amazing. Electronic cellist from New York in the 70s. It's very hauntingly beautiful.

D: Ace of Base.

D+R: Allllll that she wants is another baby, she's gone tomorrow..

I know you guys support all age bands and gigs. Did you ever have any fake IDs when you couldn't get into venues?

R: I had a fake one. I worked at a movie theater in Hollywood and somebody had dropped their ID. It belonged to some 35 year old guy from Florida. So, I was 19 with this guy's ID..

D: It's hard memorizing the birthday

R: Yeah, they sometimes ask 'Are you a Scorpio or a Capricorn?'

D: Or your height!

How were you guys like when you were teenagers? Dorky... gangster..

D: Hmm, GANGSTA. No, I was kinda cool? I was a music dork and skateboarded alot. But when I was like 12, I was a little bit of a gangster..

Haha me too! Like listening to Biggie, Eminem, A Tribe Called Quest...

D: YEAH!

And than I got into the Smiths, Joy Division..

D: Aw man, thats a big thing when you hear The Smiths for the first time.

R: 16, clumsy and shy..

I went to London and...

(we continued to sing Half a Person)

One word to describe NO AGE is...

R: ROCK!

What? Pick a cooler one..

R: Ballsagna.

D: No, breathtakinglyloud.

Three things you can't live without are..

D: tofu

R: guitar strings

D: and good shoes

What's your favorite kind of shoe than?

D: I'm reaaaally into Zig Zags.

How many pairs do you own?

D: Umm probably about 20.

What was the craziest thing to happen on tour?

D: This is gonna take a while..

Pick something out there, something psychedelic..

D: Something the kids are gonna be like 'woooaah'?

R: I know. Smoking weed with Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine.

D: Or smoking weed with GZA from Wu-Tang Clan.

I'm jealous. What makes the perfect party?

D: 90's jams and Boone's Farm, the wine that comes in a box!

Any last words or advice?

R: Start your own band and fuck shit up.

D: If you play music, keep playing music and don't let anyone tell you not to.