NEW YORK - BALLZY AS HELL

Some people compare Cerebral Ballzy to Bad Brains but that's just 'cause there's black people in the band. They formed about six months ago and kinda sound like Black Flag and Minor Threat and early Beastie Boys but ultimately they sound like hardcore that doesn't suck. Their hit single "Insufficient Fare" stirs up pit antics like you don't even know.  They're going on a little tour with the Death Set, Ninja Sonik, and Team Robespierre so if they come to your town, make sure you check out this band before they blow up or implode. I did a drunken backyard interview session with Honor, Jason, and Mason, which turned into a basement tiny-bike session.

Vice: Where'd the inspiration for "Insufficient Fare" come from?
Honor: I think every New Yorker understands "Insufficient Fare."  It's about wanting to get it.  It's versatile in that not getting in applies to a lot of things whether it's a train or club or girl.

You have that song "Shitrag." What's the oddest spot where you've pinched a loaf?
I pinched a loaf in Paris in a random alleyway.  I wiped my ass with notebook paper that I had in my backpack.
Mason: I took a shit in the middle of the street before, mid-driving.
Honor: I've taken shits in sinks and urinals.

A urinal? So you were in a bathroom but you couldn't make it all the way to the toilet?
I did it cause it rules.  Someone walked in while I was wiping standing up at a urinal and I just finished and walked out.
Mason: You can't get a good wipe at a urinal cause you're not full squat.
Honor:  It's not about the horizontal squat, it's kind of diagonal.

What's Puke Song about?
Puking.
Jason: Brain's all askew. Gut full of brew. We like to drink beer. Sometimes you puke.
Mason: For the record I never puke.
Honor: I puke all the time. At the Shank I puked and then got laid five minutes later.

What are the other songs?  "I Want To Underage Drink Forever"?
Mason: "Underage Drink" is the new one.
Honor: That song rules.
Jason:  That song's for everyone no matter what your age.  I'm 21 and I'm sad that I can't underage drink ever again.  It's kinda like "Insufficient Fare." There are things in life prohibiting you from doing what you want. There's always someone breathing down your neck.  We're just saying "Do what you want to do."

What else you got?
Mason: We got "Dollar Slice"… "Dollar Coors"… It speaks for itself.  That's what we do.  We eat dollar pizza and we drink dollar Coors.  A lot of people can relate with this recession.  Pretty soon upper class is going to be dropping down to middle class, middle class down to low class and uh…
Honor: Fuck the classes, we're just trying to get by.  We're just playing hooky.

The opening bassline of "Insufficient Fare" gets me pumped in the same way that the opening to "Six Pack" gets me pumped. 
Jason: The shit we do after the show is the shit we sing about at the show.  We don't sing about broken hearts or depression. Or dancing or lost friends.
Honor: We start every show with the notion that you're our friend. We don't have to remind you. There's no awkwardness. We want you to be down. You dance and mosh, you nod your head, you leave, you fuck someone in the corner. We're here.   
Jason: We're not gonna reinvent the wheel we just spin it really fuckin' fast.

How do you think the tour's going to be?
Mason: Ruckus.
Honor: When we go to Alabama all I want is to buy a carton of cigarettes and a Jack Daniels track suit.

NICK GAZIN