Scene Point Blank: There are a lot of nods to ska, punk, and pop culture at large in your lyrics. “2 OFUS” has an MU330 reference.
Russ Wood: Completely on accident.
Scene Point Blank: Wait, really?
Russ Wood: I heard the song after someone told me about it on Twitter. They were like, “nice MU330 reference.” I had no idea what they were referring to. Ultra Panic was really the only MU330 record I heard.
Scene Point Blank: Regardless, Reade [Wolcott, We Are The Union] has the Third Eye Blind reference in that song, and you tend to drop a lot of references in your songs that someone might not expect from a hyperpop artist. You sneak it in, almost like, “It’s cliché, but I'm gonna reference Minor Threat. I'm gonna wear my Skankin' Pickle shirt in the music video.”
Russ Wood: “Minor Threat, I’m a little sheepish.” [Laughs.]
I came up with that line when I was at work, just writing lyrics in my head. I cackled out loud. “HA!” And put in my notepad. [Laughs.] And like juxtaposing that Minor Threat reference with a fucking One Direction reference? “Insecure. I don't know what for” is from “What Makes You Beautiful.” By One Direction. And then the Streetlight Manifesto reference…
Scene Point Blank: Are you a One Direction fan?
Russ Wood: Not at all. I remember Jaake and Will [Bowmen, KiLL THE BATS] being really into them and playing that song in the van. I was like “This suuuuuuucks.” [Laughs.]
Scene Point Blank: Why do you make those references and how important are they to you?
Russ Wood: I am such a huge fan of Craig Finn [The Hold Steady] and lyrics that mean different things to different people -- your perspective of how you're raised and your reference point to popular culture. So the Minor Threat reference might not mean anything to some people. But if you grew up listening to punk and you liked hardcore punk and [Discord Records], you might get it.
I want there to be as much depth to my lyrics as possible without being pretentious. I still want it to be fun.
Scene Point Blank: It's interesting, because the ska revival right now is very post-ironic, and I think that you embody that well. A lot of newer ska can be: “Remember, third wave? LOL.” But also, “Hey, let's talk about how good this music is and how important it is.”
Russ Wood: Totally. I think that We Are The Union has had a gigantic hand in that.
Scene Point Blank: How did you get hooked up with We Are The Union and JER?
Russ Wood: I found out about SkaTune because someone sent it to me on Facebook a million years ago. I really admire JER as an artist, a person, and a pillar of community. I kind of saw them at the forefront of this scene and resurgence of the genre. Then I found out that they're in We Are The Union. I really liked the first song and the last two songs on Great Leaps Forward when I was in college. Those were my fucking hype songs.
Scene Point Blank: What new artists, ska or nah, are inspiring you right now?
Russ Wood: JER is my favorite ska band right now. If you're looking at what people think of as “ska” post-third wave -- like the apex of a ska punk song -- JER is writing it and has written it. They’re so deep in the genre and the culture that they know how to craft the perfect thing -- but also mix in that nostalgic 2012 Tumblr emo that we were speaking about earlier.
I keep coming back to that Bad Operation record. Obviously, We are the Union -- I’ve really come to admire Reade as a songwriter. How she wrote Ordinary Life and her professional pedigree in terms of artists she's worked with/written songs with is very inspiring. And I feel like she gets it: she's the right amount of professional and down-to-earth.
I feel like so many of the artists are my friends now. They're people I've come to know through the internet and really really admire. It’s just a bonus that they make really fun, good music!
Honestly, that Kmoy record The Precure Album is super inspiring to me. I don’t know If you've listened to that.
Scene Point Blank: No, I haven’t.
Russ Wood: You gotta hear it. Kenny Maloy is an incredible musician and an even more incredible singer. Dude has a capella chops like it's nothing. All the songs are so catchy and so poppy. This entire concept album's loosely based on an anime that he's never seen.
Scene Point Blank: [Laughs.] What?
Russ Wood: It's fucking nuts. He studied music in college and has a background in composition. I was trying to learn one of the songs but could not figure out these fucking crazy ass chord changes in the bridge. I tweeted Kenny about it like, “I was trying to learn ‘Since 1989,’ but I cannot for the fuckin’ life of me figure out the bridge.” And Kenny’s like, “Oh, it's just this” and then spits a bunch of diminished and flat seventh chords at me. I’m just like “Dude! What? There’s no fucking way I would have gotten that.”
Scene Point Blank: You have so many connections to the ska scene, and you have a completely new take on the genre. Were your more tenured friends -- Mike Park, Adam Davis [of Link 80/Omnigone], or Brent Friedman [We Are The Union] -- supportive of what you're doing?
Russ Wood: Everyone's been fucking stoked. “This is so cool that you’re doing this -- and so you.” Adam was like, “That was the weirdest ska record I’ve ever heard. Keep doing it. This is tight.” [Laughs.] I feel like the only person who's been unsure is me.
Scene Point Blank: You were on the most recent The Shape of Ska Punk To Come, Volume II compilation, and your new album is being released by Bad Time Records. How did that relationship develop?
Russ Wood: When I released i may b cute…, I had been following Bad Time for a bit and was trying to figure out how to push “txt me tmrw” as a ska song. I remember cold DM’ing Mike on Bad Time, like, “Hey, I’m like a big fan of your label. I just put out this ska song,” and then never heard back. [Laughs.] Fast forward a couple months. I was making friends in the ska scene and getting really into the bands on Bad Time, and Mike followed me back on Instagram. We just started talking and he heard my songs. He's very good friends with Adam; they live in the same city. Adam and I have been friends for a while. Somehow, out of nowhere, [Mike from Bad Time] asked me “Would you have a song that I could use? I'm putting together The Shape of Ska Punk to Come, II.” I was fucking stoked. That made my month.
I’d written “BUMMERPUNK” like a year before and subsequently erased [it] from the internet.
“What if I made that into a ska song?”
I sent that to Adam when I finished it and a SoundCloud playlist of mostly finished MCF songs. “Highway 2 the Errorzone” was on there. He was like, “You should do this song for the comp instead. It almost has a trad-ska feel”. “Trad” like traditional '60s Jamaican ska. Then we remixed that song and sent it to Mike.
Scene Point Blank: Your previous album, i may b cute, but im dumb af, was a co-release between Solidarity Club and Honey TV. Are you still working with them?
Russ Wood: Yes, but in different capacities. Gregory from Solidarity Club is going to be my touring DJ for the foreseeable future. We're gonna rock the ska together! Honey TV is absolutely a clothing company and in no respect a label. They helped release my cassette as a favor. Sam [Kless, Just Friends/Mom Jeans] has been one of my best friends for a while. He was a big reason why I started pursuing Eichlers seriously. I would love to do more work with them because I admire them as people and creatives. Cody's done a couple of my music videos, Joel is one of my favorite artists, and Sam is one of the most inspiring people in the world to be around.
Scene Point Blank: Modern DIY emo bands and newer DIY ska bands seem to be in their own worlds, but there's an unspoken crossover hidden in plain view. Whether it's Honey TV putting out your record or Counter Intuitive doing the Pick It the Fuck Up comps for SkaTune, it exists -- but I don’t feel like it's represented in shows or tours.
Russ Wood: I hope that that changes. Mixed bill stuff is so fun. Everyone who came up in the same kind of alt/punk stuff has some ska in them -- whether they are too cool to admit it or not. I really hope that we're getting to a point where people are jazzed to see a ska band on the bill instead of like, “Oh god, there's a ska band opening the show.” I [was supposed to play] this show on New Year's Day with awakebutstillinbed and Worst Party Ever, and was really hoping that people get mad that I'm playing ska. [Laughs.]. At the same time, I want people to be excited. I feel like what's holding the genre back from getting more fans is that ska bands [only] tour with ska bands.
Scene Point Blank: Lastly, why do you think ska is having a revival now? What burst the bubble?
Russ Wood: At this point, I think it's because the way things are in the world. The pandemic and all the racist, fucked up shit, the polarization of politics and the spotlight on police brutality that we saw during the Black Lives Matter uprisings. I feel like people are escaping into nostalgia. And ska, for people our age, is a very pleasant, nostalgic thing. Things have calmed down for me a bit, but the last two years have been the worst years of my life in terms of mental health and existential dread. The fun positivity that's ingrained in the upbeat music of ska is a natural antidote to that, coupled with nostalgia from being a child. People found out about ska the first time from the Digimon Movie or Tony Hawk [video games] -- very positive memories. I think that has a lot to do with it.
And then the community aspect on top of it. All these people finding each other, being supportive, open minded, and progressive in terms of personal politics and beliefs -- there are so many really positive and progressive gender and race politics that go into New Tone and modern ska that you don't see at the forefront of other scenes. I think that those are the most important and cutting-edge issues that we're all facing today. Police brutality and homelessness are what people are talking about and making efforts to address in this community. There's an effort to try and help rather than just escape into nostalgia.
Scene Point Blank: I feel like it starts with that. That seed to pull you in -- the lowest common denominator -- [is] nostalgia. Then you're like, “Wait, this shit’s been rooted in progressive social politics the entire time?”
There's a lot of stuff that was happening back in the '60s, '70s, and '80s still fucking happening today, and this music’s still here. [Previous ska scenes] were pushing to take these issues head on. Shit. We should be doing that too.
My Checkered Future is out on March 25th via Bad Time Records. Pre-order it here.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
