by Morgan Y. Evans
When it comes down to picking someone I know who is a shining example of this “real punk ethos”, one of the first people I’d hold up as an example would be stand up punk J.T. Habersaat (even if the “shine” in this case is maybe the reflection of dingy club lights in his bourbon). In all seriousness though, J.T. is a former New Yorker who grew up in the same Upstate, New York scene as I did (though he’s now transplanted to Austin, Texas). I have rarely in my life seen anyone work so hard to promote, nurture, and add to the rich heritage of punk on a small and large scale. Habersaat started his own magazine, Altercation, years ago and it has since become well known for promoting the real underground and not catering to trends, finally carrying over to become one of the coolest indie-punk rock labels around. Altercation weathers the storm and releases only artists they believe in. Whatever some “punk” or “hardcore” labels tell you, many of them these days pick up whatever looks like it’ll stick when thrown against a wall. 2010 sees Altercation release the much anticipated Born To Lose’s forthcoming The Dreams Of Kids record and Altercation recently turned many heads their way when Casket Architects truly knocked one out of the park with their last CD, Future Wounds.
As for J.T. himself, Habersaat is not only a fan of music and the DIY part of being involved in the scene, he also has the comedy bug. This guy has become quite a well known figure of the independent comedy movement, avoiding more traditional roads that he feels are compromising. He has been onstage doing stand up since the age of 16 and has appeared in Troma Films, on Comedy Central and The Vans Warped Tour. J.T. has even opened for Henry Rollins AND is a regular contributor to AMP Magazine. You gotta wonder where the guy finds the time. Luckily the best material comes from real life and punk is also best when it is a snapshot of our blood, sweat, and tears. As the masthead of Altercation Records and the magazine itself says: Fight the good fight!
MORGAN Y. EVANS: Ok, man. How are you today, buddy? Been
awhile! How was SXSW this year?
J.T. HABERSAAT: Good, but busy as usual! I'm packing as we speak for a trip to Vegas this weekend to cover the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Festival with Chuck Berry. Should be rad. SXSW was a blast as usual, sold out Altercation party, performed at the LA Comedy Store's shindig, and got to see GWAR, The Bronx, Ray Davies and tons more. Great time but tiring as hell too...
MYE: That’s a lot of top notch performances to catch. I just heard (a bit late, but cool news...) that you were on Upright Citizens Brigade once? That's great, man. Congrats! How was the experience?
JT: True. I did a two day shoot with them back in the day for Comedy Central. My role was actually opposite some of the dudes who are in Human Giant (MTV sketch) now. UCP gang were all very cool and pro, the days of shooting were very long though as I remember. [laughing] Very happy to have that credit on my resume though. I think that show holds up very well.
MYE: How is it going with Altercation Records? I can't get enough of the latest Casket Architects record and you guys always really try and push your bands hard. What makes being part of DIY punk still cool for you? Just when I feel jaded I hear something like Future Wounds, The Arkhams or the new Crime In Stereo on Bridge 9 and it renews my faith.
JT: Altercation Records is doing great, but it is an insane amount of work. My business partner, Travis Myers, and I really have a solid yin-yang relationship, so we have been able to accomplish a lot in a relatively short amount of time. We've had a lot of our bands on Vans Warped Tour (including Casket Architects) for the last three years every summer, and we just confirmed our newest band The Jukebox Romantics for Warped 2010. That's a pretty serious accomplishment, so it makes me happy to be able to use our industry pull to get bands I love some big time exposure like that, as well as press. We spend a ton of money on ads and promotion, and put almost zilch in our pockets as a result, but I'm ok with that. As far as still having a thing for DIY punk, at age 34 I've realized it's just in my DNA by this point, for better or for worse.
MYE: I’m right there with you, buddy. There’s no turning back! One of my favorite things about punk rock is regionalism, which sometimes gets watered down by mass market "punk" (not that success isn’t allowed if done with integrity), but I loved how The Butthole Surfers were the way they were because they were just mutants who developed in their own way/environment, for example. You've lived in several states and I wondered your feelings on this subject and also the shift in your life from New York to Austin a few years ago.
JT: I know what you mean. That's a big part of why I tour so much I think, the desire to just experience other places. I mean, you can hear stories about the surfer / stoner California experience, or the deep south Deliverance mentality, or the Chicago windy city vibe, but unless you've actually been there, there's no way to really get a feel for a city. New York and the east coast is very ingrained in my standup, as far as attitude and work ethic, since I lived there for 27 years. But Austin is definitely my home now, and the laid back, friendly vibe of this city has mellowed me in a good way. There are some seriously great people in Austin who have made me feel more welcome than I thought possible, and these days I'm more content to sip some whiskey and chill with my dog on the porch than rage in the pit or get into a fight. I still go to a ton of shows, it's just a different vibe. Austin was the best move I've ever made, and I have my wife to thank for kicking me in the ass to take the plunge.
MYE: Music and Comedy don't always make for good survival. I am typing these questions out of necessity at a library and they are blasting the hokey pokey and kids are singing. I need to shoot myself. Do you think people take for granted the pains artists subject themselves to in order to keep the punk faith going at all costs? [laughing]
JT: Absolutely, but what are you gonna do? I'm trying to keep the punk rock scene alive because it matters to me, and to the people I meet at shows on the road. I'm not doing all of this shit - record label, magazine, comedy touring - just to look cool to some kid at the mall, and certainly not because I'm getting rich off of it. I think you either have a need to be active and do stuff and live a “punk” life or you don't. If you are a lifer then you just do all of this because you have to at some level. Damned if I know the exact reason why. [laughing] But as a huge Bukowski fan, I also definitely subscribe to the fact that “artistic pain” in some degree is needed in order for your art to be real. There's nothing lamer or more transparent to me than manufactured pain, and nothing more boring than someone without stories of life experience and strife.
MYE: My haircut hurts! So, I was listening to NOFX's The Decline yesterday and that's another one of those records that come along every once in awhile and remind us that punk can be really deep and inspiring. I love the line in that song that says "We're living in united stagnation." Again, you have traveled a lot and seen a lot of this country's strengths and weaknesses/culture. Care to harp on the state of the USA these days? Comedy can be just as powerful to convey punk ideas as anger, I think. Also, did you happen to catch the Cokie The Clown SXSW set? That is some heavy shit.
JT: I definitely agree that comedy can convey anger. My material is certainly laced with it. [laughing] Honestly, I think about 90% of standup comedy is fluff and more or less meaningless, just “entertainment”, which is fine. I like a good blockbuster movie as much as the next nerd, but I think the other 10%, the real standup shit, is amazingly powerful and almost without peer. And all of the greats have material based in anger. George Carlin or Richard Pryor are both as important to me as The Clash, and I think equally impactful on society.
MYE: Very cool.
JT: As far as the state of the USA, politics are a useless and never-ending sport that I choose not to participate in. I love Obama, hate Palin, and am not crazy about the health care debate on both sides...but whatever. As long as Bush is out I can breathe. [laughing] But I can also tell you from experience that the south is still chock full of racism and ignorance and idiots that have never opened a book. And…I was indeed at the Cokie the Clown set. I have mixed emotions about it, and the trillions of message boards set aflame have covered it pretty well, but I will say this - if you ingest a substance from Fat Mike in clown makeup then you are a fucking fool. [laughing] I've interviewed and hung out with Fat Mike many times, and he is far from stupid, and I think the degree of hype / outrage generated was exactly what he expected. But on the flipside, I was not crazy about his set. It was an intentional bummer, and I'm not buying the whole “Andy Kaufman / anti-comedy” slant. I think he set out to just bum people out and snag some free therapy, and it was obvious he was very wasted. As a big NOFX fan, I thought it was lame, because the concept could have been something really great and was instead just a downer that ended on a cheap shock gag. I'm pals with several people who work for Fat Wreck Chords, as well as bands on the label, and I can tell you for a fact that they were all pretty embarrassed and looking at their shoes during that set. I still love NOFX and Fat Mike, but I thought that set was pretty weak.
MYE: I dunno. I hear ya, but also think if you internalize stuff like that really deeply it is bound to come out in some heavy way at some point. Sure was crazy though. Anyhow, I meet a lot of bands and always am psyched when people are cool and down to earth. Some younger bands [feel they] are very entitled and have lots of ego. I always admired the way you conduct yourself in the scene. You can stand for what you stand for and not be a dick to people that don't deserve it. I met John Leguizamo a few times and Willem Dafoe and they were both so cool. Those are huge stars and were more approachable/down to earth than some shitty emo bands! When I was his waiter Dafoe even asked me to explain to some gorgeous Italian women what “girls gone wild” was! [laughing]
JT: Well thanks very much for the compliment. That is something I try to be very conscious of, because it's easy to get a big head when you start seeing yourself in magazines or on TV or are performing at a huge festival with fucking Danzig. I feel lucky to some degree, but I also know the amount of fucking work I've done to get to where I'm at, so that and my age keep me grounded. I totally agree that many young bands are assholes these days. Part of that is just youth, which I can brush off, but there is definitely a sense of entitlement amongst the current batch of 18-24 year olds that makes me want to fucking smack them in the mouth. I blame the parents to a large degree, since these kids are given everything on a silver platter. But I have seen 20 year old “rock stars” complain about catering on the Warped Tour, and that incites rage in me that I have a hard time controlling verbally sometimes. [laughing] Many so called “intimidating” people have been the coolest ever when I've met them - folks like Mike Patton, King Buzzo, Billy Idol - so there's no fucking way I'm going to get on MY high horse. [laughing] And yes, Willem Dafoe is an awesome dude, met him once as well. Antichrist freaked me out when I finally watched it the other day, awesome flick.
MYE: Let’s go back in time. How did you first find the confidence to write and also to do comedy? You have run a magazine and a label and really put yourself out there on stage!
JT: Not sure, I guess comedy-wise I just have the performer mentality. Although in person I can be pretty quiet until you get to know me, I am far from the extroverted Jim Carrey-type, and standup demands that you are confident in your material. You need to sell it big time or it dies no matter how good it is. And as far as the writing it's just something that I've always enjoyed and has always come easy to me. I'm actually working on my first book now, which I hope will be out by around Xmas 2010.
MYE: I always wanted to be a stand up comic as a kid but ended up having my life as a joke instead. [laughing]...but I guess, what has been the most rewarding part of this for you? You've gotten to perform with some really meaningful artists. Also, any Austin or other area based comics you are digging lately? I read an article for AMP you wrote about lastgascomedy.com.
JT: The most rewarding part has been getting “industry” recognition by doing everything on my own terms. I completely bypass the comedy club scene and refuse to jump through those hoops / content restrictions in lieu of an easy payday, but by doing that I've carved out a niche that you can't really buy. So now to have comedy clubs come calling to see if they can afford the Altercation Tour, that is very satisfying. Getting to perform with people I really admire like Jeanine Garafolo or Doug Stanhope is pretty awesome. Doug and I keep in touch actually, and I'm gigging with him again in two weeks. Opening for Henry Rollins was a milestone I never in a million years thought I would reach. That is a very small club, and to think that people like Hubert Selby Jr. and Lydia Lunch are the only people he usually will allow on a talking show with him...let's just say I was beyond honored, and relieved he liked my set. Doing some big festivals like Warped Tour, The Fest in Gainesville and Fun Fun Fun Fest have been amazing experiences as well. Looking out at a sea of a thousand people, and seeing The Dead Milkmen, Joey Shithead from DOA, Tom from Against Me! and all these other punk legends watching YOU perform from backstage? I feel very satisfied with the way things are going. I mean, the Bouncing Souls and fucking Tim Barry from Avail and Chuck Regan from Hot Water Music showed up at our club shows this past tour as fans. Are you fucking kidding me? So it can be weird, but it's awesome. Austin has a great comedy scene and too many comics to mention without hurting someone's feelings. [laughing] West coast I dig Mack Lindsay and Eric Lincoln Hurst, out east Duncan Wilder does great things.
MYE: In closing, how did the Metal Up Live comedy CD on Altercation come together and what are you looking fwd to about the rest of 2010?
JT: That came out from a rad sold out show we did in Connecticut that happened to be recorded. Totally spontaneous and captured some good spirit I think. I'll probably put out another album of my stuff before the end of the year, not sure if it will be strictly digital or on vinyl or what. Something out of the norm. I'm going to be launching a new super-rad website for my comedy stuff soon also, and working on that book I mentioned earlier as well, which will be a combo of tour journals and interviews / behind-the-scenes type stuff. More touring in the fall, both coasts I think, and more big festivals as well. So yeah, another slow year. [laughing] Thanks very much for the interview and letting me blather on! Thanks again man!
MYE: Cheers, brother.