Joe "Squishy" and I agreed to chill at the More Than Music Fest, 2000 after meeting briefly via the Internet. He told me to look for the kid in the "Top Gun" thong. The spock rockin' elite cowered in fear as they met the fury of the thong in Good Clean Fun's circle pit.

Since then, I've been a die-hard fan of Joe, The Chase, and his "live and let shake your booty" mantra. Our second meeting left me pining for the days when posi-core was "It." The Chase turned Athens upside-down with a 30-minute set of their Baltimore-bred brand of punk rockin'. A broken window in my friend's living room was the only casualty of a pile of sweaty living room moshers. This is music for your ghetto blaster kids!

Interview conducted via e-mail, July 2001.

Name: Joseph Mariano Esperanza Mitra Esq. III
Band: The Chase

Tim: Where are you from?
Joe: Oxnard, Calif., home of XnardcoreX.

T: What are your wearing?
J: "It," very well.

T: Who are the rest of your band and what do they play?
J: Ethan, sloppy guitar and vegan death farts; Dan, forgetful guitar and being the funniest man alive; Justin "dude, I bailed" Patrick, bass; Andrew Field Pickering, uncircumcised cock rockin' beats...and I'm the singer.

T: What is your most memorable experience with the band?
J: Most memorable bad experience: Fort Reno, a summer outdoor concert series in DC was quite possibly the worst show we played. We left our cords at home, our guitarist's headstock snapped clean off, we had tuning problems when borrowing a guitar, the soundmen "helped" us off the stage so they could go home early. The kids who came out had fun, though.
Most memorable good experience: Tired and delirious, we were coming home from a show in the north, passing a sign that said "TA Trucks," Ethan goes "oh shit! Rick... fuckin'... RICK TA TRUCKS!" Bad Rick Ta Life reference, silence...then the whole car goes nuts, literally crying from the laughter.

T: How would you describe The Chase? What are your personal musical influences?
J: Most reviews say "...sounds exactly like Lifetime/Kid Dynamite." The band's influences are tracked down through Green Day to the Victory Style II compilation, then on to Lifetime and various harder indie sounds (Drive Like Jehu, Hum, Fugazi) and heavier stuff like The Swarm and Orchid. Factor in our personalities and you have The Chase.

T: What are your plans for the next six?
J: August 9-23 we're on tour, and then probably recording with Brian McTernan for our last EP. Then we'll tour for that and break up.

T: Your guitar player plugged my brother's toilet with brown flushables twice when you guys were in Athens...can he operate a plunger? Has he ever thought about adding prunes to his diet?
J: Just as long as he brings his own bedpan, he can divvy up his fecal matters into three, maybe even four bombardments of intense human waste.

T: Would your rather chase or be chased?
J: Are you the type of guy who goes "Hey Joe" every time you see someone named Joe? Or "Joe Schmoe?" Yeah? DIE.

T: Any parting thoughts?
J: Due to my receding hairline, I don't part my hair much anymore... but you can contact The Chase through me, emoposer@erols.com, or Andrew, xontheradiox@hotmail.com. Our webby pagey is www.thechase.tsx.org. You love it. Ask about our ten song CD, The Better Part of Six Months, on Submit Records, http://www.angelfire.com/biz/submitrecord/index2.html!

T: What is your current playlist?
J: Nuggets II; Trojan Records, A Jamaican Story; Hum, Downward Is Heavenward; Aloha, The Faint, Danse Macabre; The Last 40 Seconds 7", D-Story; Cannibal Ox; and our new songs.

Pictures courtesy of The Chase