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24-year-old Spencer Crispe is but a mere lad by the world's standards, but he's been around hardcore for a long, loooong time. His band, My Revenge, are readying their Thorp Records debut for a spring release to follow up Both Feet Over The Line (2001, Breakaway Records), the back cover of which stated: 'Don't pay more than $8 for this record, f*** high prices, what kind of bullsh** is that?', which we find hysterical. The band was recently in Ottawa for a show with Miles Between Us and Buried Inside; after witnessing the mayhem the Burlington, Vermont quartet wreaked - on a very small stage - I decided I simply had to get a piece of this guy's mind, and here it is.
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sd: Tell me about My Revenge; this is your baby?
Spencer: Yeah! I was in another band called In Reach for four years and then that band broke up because our bass player got married. So he tied the knot and that was over. Seven months after that I formed My Revenge; I sat down and wrote all the songs, and then the drummer from In Reach volunteered to play, and we got two other guys and played our first show July 6, 2001.
sd: So it's practically a brand-new band.
Spencer: Yeah, just under two years now.
sd: What's been the highlight of this little endeavour so far?
Spencer: We did a Twelve Days to Destroy America tour last August [2002]; that was some fun stuff.
sd: *laughing* That's awesome. Twelve days to destroy America. How far'd you make it?
Spencer: Oh, we made it down the east coast, out to Iowa. Two weeks, twelve shows. We share some members with another band called Fight Back, so we played together. That tour went really well, because I found that the promoters really cared about helping the bands, and the kids were really supportive and cool.
sd: Did you guys have a hard time getting through the border?
Spencer: No, because we took a car. *laughter* It was awesome. We just packed as much stuff as we could in and took the car. We took as little as we could get away with and borrowed from other bands. Miles Between Us let us use some stuff.
sd: What is that, an Altima?
Spencer: Honda Accord.
sd: Nice. The machine of choice.
Spencer: It was a lot cheaper because we didn't have to rent a van, and we barely came to a complete stop at the border.
sd: What makes you so enthusiastic about all of this?
Spencer: Hardcore's always been about energy to me, and thing I love about it is that there's no division between the audience and the band. Half the time we'll play on the floor anyway; even if there's a stage, we'll play on the floor. I feel like the band and audience feed off each other; there's that kinda dynamic going on. The audience goes off and that fuels the band more. I've always been into fast, high-energy music. I went to my first show in '91, so it's been twelve years now.
sd: So name the top three bands that've influenced you.
Spencer: Minor Threat are my all-time favourite band. To me, there's no better hardcore band than Minor Threat. 7 Seconds, 'cause of everything they had to say. After that....ugh...it gets so tough. Bad Brains or Misfits.
sd: What about the new stuff? What's turning your crank nowadays?
Spencer: Man, there's some really good bands out nowadays, like, I really like Tear It Up a lot. Kill Your Idols are one of the best bands around.
sd: All these New York bands are like the nicest people around; Sick Of It All was here a while ago and Lou Koller had the club eating out of their hand. He had charisma.
Spencer: Well, that's what hardcore's all about. A lot of these bands, they're not all holier-than-thou. They're just everyday people; we're all on the same level, you know what I mean? Everyone just hangs out, a lot of the bands dance for the other bands.
sd: Some word association now. Government - yours.
Spencer: Falling apart.
sd: The Gap. And Hot Topic. I just wanna see you go off. *laughter*
Spencer: Mindless.
sd: Organized religion. We're Christians running this 'zine.
Spencer: I'd really like to talk to you about that, actually, because I have a really different view on it. I definitely have a lot to say about Christianity, because one of the things that really bothered me, we have a song about it, was the whole thing that went down with the Catholic church in America, and especially in Boston, with the whole molestation thing, and the fact that they covered it up. Wasn't it bad enough that seventy or eighty priests were involved in that, and the church, as a matter of policy, covered it up. To me, that was just completely antithetical to anything Jesus would support. A lot of organized religion has completely lost or perverted anything Jesus would stood for. That's what bothers me.
sd: You're a believer in Jesus Christ and the crucifixion, the resurrection and salvation. The whole nine yards.
Spencer: Exactly, but I'm not a believer in most organized religion.
sd: Do you go to church at all?
Spencer: Yeah, I do. I taught Sunday School.
sd: Really?
Spencer: I did.
sd: You go in there, 'COME ON, you mothers, let's go!!' *laughter* Had to tone the language down for the Sunday School kids.
Spencer: Yeah, I did. I'm a bit of a potty-mouth, tried to keep it down.
sd: I have one of the worst mouths I know; my parents hate going to the site. 'Why'd you say 'damn' in this article?'
Spencer: The thing about swearing, I don't think swearing is as bad as saying something bad about someone. I'd rather say the f-word than say, 'I hate you' to someone. Words are words, and it's the meaning we ascribe to them that makes them bad.
sd: What do you think Jesus would've thought of the f-word?
Spencer: I don't know; it's tough. People forget that Jesus was one of the biggest rebels that ever was. He hung out with the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the dregs of society.
sd: Are you any particular denomination?
Spencer: I was raised Episcopal, but I think you can totally have your personal relationship with God and Jesus Christ and keep it to yourself, but if you find a good church with a minister you like, or a community or congregation, you can have that for fellowship.
sd: I didn't know you were a Christian coming, but it's interesting that you are.
Spencer: I think the most upsetting thing, the thing that would disappoint Jesus the most, is the amount of hypocrisy and perversion that's gone on.
sd: My friend Robyn is a Mormon, and she can't talk to her mom anymore, because her mom was disfellowshiped, lives way up in Quebec. Like, what is that?
Spencer: I think if you wanna have faith or get involved in religion, that's fine, but I think you should get involved with something loving, that embraces and accepts, rather than being divisive.
sd: Do you ever write songs from that standpoint?
Spencer: Our songs are definitely political, but there's morality behind them. Not explicitly, up-front 'Christian songs', though.
sd: What about the new movement in Christian hardcore, with Stretch Arm Strong and P.O.D., who are huge and maintain that they're Christians from the very start; is there a place for that?
Spencer: It's cool if you can avoid selling yourself out. Like, weren't MxPx Christian?
sd: I still think they are, but they've been torn up by the Christian market. The secular market doesn't care. The Christian market eats its own, once they get to a certain level of success. If I was you and wanted to start a Christian band...don't do it. Don't put yourself in the Christian market. MxPx are Christians, but there's a lot of Christian bookstores and outlets that won't carry their records.
Spencer: That's the hypocrisy that I'm talking about; people alienating other people.
sd: Is that why you got into a band to begin with? A sense of helplessness on your own?
Spencer: That's every reason I'm in a band. Well, I love music, but also to try to say something.
sd: What would you be doing if you weren't doing this?
Spencer: Probably skateboarding more. *laughter* I've skated my whole life. But no, it's something I'm passionate about; I feel like I need to do it, I'm driven to do it.
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