Joey C & Righteous Jams

HYE – Yo, how’s your edge?

JC – Good. It says hi!!

HYE – When did you fully realize what straight edge was? And what does it mean to you now? What role has your big brother Jesse played in this? Finally, how does it feel to be the last NASE (North Andover Straight Edge) dude?

JC – I dont really think there is a set definition of straight edge, and I dont think there should be. I do my own thing and I always X up at RJs shows because I want people to know I’m still proud to be edge. A lot of its just visual, like when I go to the gym and I’m curling 60 lb dumbells I like what it does but more than anything I just like the way it looks!! I just never thought drinking looked good ya know? I mean no diss, I lived in a frat house for a year and I loved those guys… But that’s just my edge, I dont care about anybody else’s or anybody else’s definition. Yeah, and over the years Jesse, Elgin Gains, and I have put our own spin on things and what it is to be edge for us, ya know, we like to lift weights a lot and stay ripped and just take really good care of ourselves. I just gotta stay young man, that’s just who I am. If I started drinking I’d feel like a banker.

HYE – What’s the history of Righteous Jams. Start with Right Brigade and ending up at current time. Feel free to bring up any funny stories from your recent EU tour.

JC – Hm. Well jesse me CC and mullet started Invasion. Then me and CC got bummed that Jesse didnt want to play out more so we started RJ’s with Jimmy Carrol, DFJ and Cooch. Nathan joined the band when it became obvious that Jimmy was too busy with his other bands to put any time into RJs. And then CC got super busy with school so Paul joined the band. When Paul joined I think Righteous Jams really came into its own. Him, Nathan and DFJ were unstoppable! We went to the gym every day of tour, we went tanning every day, we spent some serious hours in Tijuana, we played a show here and there. Paul and DFJ were like twins separated at birth. Some of the shit that those guys are into man…I cant discuss it publicly, lets just say I was uncomfortable a lot of the time!

HYE – Elaborate on Paul RJ and why he’s not in the band.

JC – Well there’s not much to elaborate on. He just cant commit now that he’s married. We all respect his choice. So Derek is playing bass and cooch is on guitar. Who knows what the lineup will be a year from now. I’m hoping Scace is down for good though because he’s my favorite person to be on tour with and he’s a great stage presence.

HYE – Whats up with RJ having a manager and a booking agent now? Who are you guys Seven Mary Three?

JC – Hahahaha. At first RJs was my baby and I really wanted to have total control over everything we did. But it got to a point where the band started to develop its own energy and I had the choice of sacrificing some of that control or halting the band’s momentum. Sometimes having total control over your own band is more hassle and responsibility than its worth. When band members were late for shows 2 years ago, I’d be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, pacing around clubs, calling everybody. Now that’s all Mark’s responsibility. I’m really easy going on tour now, I just get on stage and sing. I don’t organize a thing. It’s a lot of stress off my back, and it allows me to focus on my job which is singing and writing songs. Nathan, DFJ and I are ambitious but we’re in our own worlds. We need an uptight guy like Mark to stay on us like a nagging mother. As far as a booking agent goes…I know that decision is going to rub some people the wrong way. But we decided to do it because we want to play to more people and we want to step up our game and stop doing everything by the seat of our pants. But for everyone who has booked us in the past, our bookiing agent is super chill, her name’s Angie and her compnay is called lucky artist booking. Shes totally down to earth. Shes not snobby or arrogant or anything. And yeah our new stuff sounds like 7 mary 3!

HYE – You have a new album coming out someday, Business As Usual. What can we expect from this full length? What label is it going to be on?

JC – The record is going to be on Kung FU. We put a lot more effort into this record and I like it a lot better than ROD. I wrote the record so that kids would have an entire album to lift to. I put more thought into the lyrics this time around and tried to express who I actually was rather than trying to sound cool or angry or something. Nathan and my friend Buckley helped me edit all the lyrics and they just kept on urging me to come out of my shell more and be honest.

HYE – What happened at the “no moshing” TYF/The Trust show in Lawrence? And what about the autographed hat?

JC – What happened? The kids had their say that’s what happened!! everyone moshed anyway and the show got shut down! Then the Trust signed my hat!

HYE – When is the next issue of Face Tomorrow coming out? What was your favorite interview/piece of that zine?

JC – I am not gonna do another issue. My favorite part of that zine was probably the Jesse interview. I love Jesse. I’ve seen some great front men and no one has shit on Jesse.

HYE – What bands get you psyched these days? Psyched on the edge and psyched on the core?

JC – Iron Boots, Down to Nothing, Rampage, Bane. Most of the music I listen to isn’t hardcore, but all those bands I just mentioned are rad as shit. We’ve played with all those bands and they impressed me every single time.

HYE – Describe your perfect day. Does it involve sleeping until 4pm then nerding it up, or does it involve waking up early, lifting and then perfecting your mosh? As many details as possible, please.

JC – Hahahaha wow! perfecting the mosh! No, I am not a good mosher. A perfect day would involve working out and doing something unexpected. The last perfect day I had was in Cali when we were on tour. We played a sick show, went out to eat, and then went back to my friend’s hot tub. I was having so much fun that I couldn’t sleep so I went to 24 hour fitness for 2 hours, did chest, got back, ate, went in the hot tub again and then we all went to TJ, ate, and then played a show that night.

HYE – How have you gone through hardcore as a guitarist and now a lead singer without one tattoo or even a piercing?

JC – You don’t put bumper stickers on a Mercedes.

HYE – How did you get so into weightlifting and bodybuilding?

JC – When I was in college I was hanging out with this girl all the time. I knew nothing about girls because I’d gone to an all guys prep school. So yeah let’s be honest this girl was my friend and flirted with me or whatever and I just totally fell for her. Hey I was just a beb. People that know me know I’m a really nice guy and that doesn’t fare to well when you’re trying to nail a superficial college girl. Yeah so I fell for her and went for it and I totally got shot right down. I internalized the whole thing and just asked myself “what’s wrong with me?” and it just so happened that right as I was having this internal dialogue I was walking by the cafeteria – and there was my answer. I looked over and saw these three juice heads with orange skin wolfing down food like they’d just returned from Somalia. Their arms looked like beach balls. They had these huge things popping out of their necks (which I later found out were called traps). They had these really blank looks on their faces and didn’t say anything, they just kept on eating while their girlfriends shared a cup of cheerios. So I just said “fuck it!” Totally illogical. I knew at the time how ignorant my mindset was but I didn’t really care. Teen angst, some kids had Morrissey, I had Gold’s Gym. So I started hanging out with these guys. They were just like hardcore kids, you know, extreme, always talked about the same thing. But instead of youth of today and the cro mags it was test and creatine. So they taught me how to lift and eat so that my muscles would grow. I had moderate success. To the people that knew me when I was 150lbs I look huge, but as far as gym culture goes I will always be skinny. I’m ok with that. But for anyone who was as into it as I was for the past four years, it always stems from some sort of internal complex. It’s not just about discipline. Yeah, if you can really transform your body you have discipline, but you also have issues, and they need to be worked out with a shrink not a dumbell!

HYE – How much tuna would you say you eat a week? What’s the current weight lifting schedule look like? Can you elaborate on “anabolica” and “muscle sports?”

JC – I dont eat that much tuna. maybe a can a week. i dont have a set schedule I just work out every muscle group as hard as possible at least once a week. Anabolica! Thats what our German friend Marcel said to us when we stayed at his house. There was a lot lost in translation. We were trying to communicate to him that we wanted to go to the gym. And after a minute he finally realized what we were saying and got this really excited look on his face and said “Anabolica!!! Muscle Sports!” We were like, “YES!!!!”

HYE – Who is your favorite edgeman of all time? And why? Think in terms of inspiration or influence.

JC – This is a tough one but honestly I think it might be Aaron Bedard. Because he’s got nothing to prove ya know, he’s just himself. Everybody who is like super straight edge and super righteous, you know they are kinda funny at first but after a while you realize it’s just a big front you know what I mean? Aaron’s my favorite because you can tell he is just doing his own thing and isn’t trying to impress anyone or whatever. Plus he’s a good friend which makes him cooler to me than any HC hero that I’ve never met.

HYE – How did RJ get hooked up with Chad from NFG?

JC – Nathans good friends with him. He loved RJ from the beginning though, before Nathan was in RJ. I love Chad. His band is awesome too and their new record is the best.

HYE – Which would you have rather seen: the Alone In A Crowd show, the Last Rights show or the Steve Reddy singing for YOT show?

JC – Steve Reddy. Obviously. I love all the YOT songs but when their singer told me to sit down at the reunion it really rubbed me the wrong way and ruined that band for me. I cant listen to them now, the only thing that could redeem them is if Steve Reddy sang.

HYE – It seems as though hardcore bands now more than ever have a reputation of being “players” on tour and living like rock stars. What are your thoughts on this and what is your role in it?

JC – That’s cool I support them. Not my thing never will be. But I mean let’s be honest most of those kids are posers. I mean, I walk into greg’s room and I’m flexing my arms for all my friends, but if Ronnie Coleman walked into the room do you think he’d have to flex for anyone?

HYE – What was your favorite show, and why?

JC – The first FP show at the first and second church. I was still just a beb and I didn’t care about anything. I just wanted to see FP and get all my teen angst out on the dancefloor. HC was the only thing in my life that I actually enjoyed. It was before I discovered working out or girls. FP was the best. Mark Porter was a great frontman. Billpunch was incredible. That was when all the older kids still were into HC, before I became one of the older kids. As goofy as we all were, it was a glorious time.

HYE – What music have you been giving a lot of play lately? How (if it does) does it get shifted when you are chilling with a special lady?

JC – I listen to music that has a good hard beat. You can’t lift to music that doesn’t get your heart pumping. When I lift I listen to Madonna, Life of Agony, Larry Ransom’s Bust it, Wrong Side, Annie, because those bands are hard. When I hang with my girlfriend we listen to a lot of cool shit but do you honestly think I’d give away the keys to the candy store that easily?

HYE – List your top 5 shirts/records you
a) owned and gave away
b) never owned but wanted badly
c) currently own

JC – I gave away an AF shirt with a nazi on it and people hanging from fish hooks. I always wanted a warzone superbowl of HC shirt. The top 5 coolest HC things I own are 1. SSD “Kids” 2. DYS “brotherhood 3. SSD “get it away” 4. the cro mags shirt Jesse gave me when I graduated 5. the life of agony shirt Buckley lent me!

HYE – Set the record straight. Who is the better stage diver: Ed Healy, Mothy, Jay Bill or someone else who surpasses all of them?

JC – My favorite stage diver is Greg’s roomate Zac because he has no idea what a stage dive is hes just losing his mind ya know? All those guys you mentioned are awesome as well.

HYE – Better 7″: Hardcore Pride or Division One Champs?

JC – PORTER.

HYE – Now personally, would you say you have better moves when holding a mic or when rocking a guitar?

JC – I get embarrassed watching either.

HYE – Any closing thoughts, shout outs or positive mental attitude statements?

JC – Thanks a lot to you, bmurph for the interview. You’ve always been a great friend. Thanks to everybody who goes to RJ’s shows. Check out Larryransom.com. Wanna send a shout out to Bob Shedd, Mike Twambly and Louden Swain. Also a shout out to my friend Tim McMahon. I interviewed that guy when i was 16 and he was as chill and down to earth to me then as he was last week when we played with Triple Threat. You can’t say that about everyone.