Interview with Ryan of Scissorhands

1)Why did you decide to name your band Scissorhands?

We were Kinda struggling to come up with a name originally, and our friend Eric from the Nerve Agents suggested Scissorhands. At first I wasn't too keen on naming the band after a movie, but it was pointed out to me that the movie was a tad older, it's not like we were calling ourselves "The Matrixes" or anything.

2)How did you guys get together toform your band? Have you had any line up changes since forming it?

Our original line up was Paul singing, me playing guitar, my friend Chelsea playing bass, and Dano on drums, who we'd met through mutual friends. Chelsea goes to UC Berkeley, and majors in smart people stuff, so after our first show she decided to put her attention into school, and Paul found fellow valley kid Robert, aka Bobby Gerbil, and brought him into the band.

3)How do you feel about kids who see bands like Blink 182 and Green day playing on MTV so they cut their hair and now call themselves punk even though they have no idea what punk really is?

Punk is really how you define it for yourself...I'm 21 now, and when I first got into "punk", things were kind of how they are now...a lot of punk bands were starting to go mainstream, bands like Green Day and the Offspring that had brought lots of new kids into the scene. Some stayed, and some moved on to the next trend. A year from now, some of these kids will remain and be the next wave, and most will be into whatever new thing they're told to like. So I'm not against these new kids brought in by MTV or whatever, because that's how a lot of people today got in it. (great answer!!...KIM)

4)How do you feel about MTV in general?

I don't have cable in my room, so I rarely watch it....when I do, I rarely see much that interests me.

5)Who are your musical influences?

This poses a problem, because the things that come across in the music I write aren't necessarily what I listen to on a day by day basis. I would definetly say that there's a lot of early 80's hardcore in our music, with enough other things thrown in to keep it fresh....or so we like to think

6)What's your favorite CD right now?

Nerve Agents, "the Butterfly Collection", or Nick cave and the Bad Seeds' newest record, "No More Shall We Part"...I try not to listen to anything two days in a row though, so if you asked me again tomorrow, i'd probably tell you something else.

7)What was the first show you went to?

March 29,1996, at Gilman Street. Tiger Army opened, it was their first show, then Limp, Groovie Ghoulies and AFI.

8)What was you most memorable moment at a show?

At our second show or third show we played, in sacramento, I jumped and just fell when I landed, I knew the second I got in the air that something was wrong, and I ended up on my back. A few days ago on Halloween, I saw our friend Nick Hart crowd surfing in a full on chicken suit, that ruled.

9)Whats the general feeling in a room when you get on stage to perform?

I think a lot of people are ready to have fun when we play, and there's a lot of anticipation and energy in the air. We have a pretty active live show, and we'd like to think the audience gives that energy back to us.

10)Who are some bands your band has played with?

We've gotten a lot of help from our friends in a lot of different ways, and getting shows is no exception....we played our first show with Nerve Agents and Tiger Army, and since then we've been lucky enough to play with bands like the Distillers, Death by Stereo, Carry On, American Nightmare, Rise Against, and just a few days ago on Halloween, we opened for our good friends AFI.

11)Are there any bands in your area that you think the people who read this should check out?

There's a lot of exciting new bands coming up in the bay area...I'm skipping the big ones you may have already heard of, and sending you to the smaller one who may be new to you: All Bets Off, Dead In The End, The Lab Rats, and Thought Riot.And even though they're from the east coast, and not the east bay, you should check out the band we just recorded a split CD with, Revolution Summer.

(interview courtesy of Kim and Megan at East Coast Anthem)