Without pretension and without much exception, The Binz is one of Vancouverâs most exciting and refreshing bands to emerge from a growing scene with their raw, back-to-the-basics style of punk rock and roll.
"Yeah, I donât think thereâs anything superfluous with our music," bassist Rob Mangelzdorf says. "Itâs not too self-indulgent, I donât think. When we play live, we just try to play fast and loud and not take ourselves too seriously – and the crowd likes it. We owe it to them to play as hard and fast and the best we can."
On a sunny afternoon over several lukewarm Budweisers, Mangelzdorf and lead singer and guitarist Gary Robert sat down with Punknews interviewer Gen Handley to chat about Vancouverâs increasingly notable music community, their excellent new album, How to Freak Out Responsibly About the Rise of the Robots, and how public urination played a pivotal role in naming the band.
So are you guys pretty happy with the new album?
Gary: Yeah, we recorded it with Jesse (Gander - Japandroids, White Lung, Anciients) and couldnât be happier with it. We originally wanted to record it has an EP, but then we had a lot more songs.
Rob: We had eight songs mixed in like three daysâ¦
Thatâs pretty fast. Was there just a good flow in the studio at the time?
Gary: I guessâ¦nothing on that record had more than three takes.
Rob: And it helps that the songs are like two minutes long (Laughs).
What were you guys trying to do, to maybe achieve, when you recorded this album?
Rob: Worldwide domination, really.
Gary: Weâre pretty casual. It started as something for fun and now, itâs just gotten out of hand. I didnât think weâd play shows even.
How long has the band been together?
Gary: Only about two years now.
Rob: Weâre all good friends though. The band is really just an excuse to drink beer and hang out and play some songs. But then the songs got really goodâ¦
And it became more than just hanging outâ¦
Rob: Yeah, for sure.
Gary: We played the odd show and a few people took an interest and helped us along. Like Not Yer Buddyâs - the guys that put out our CD.
Rob: Seamus McThirteen.
Gary: So yeah, itâs pretty awesome. I hadnât played in a band for a few years and I started with this again - itâs been a blast.
Who writes most of the songs?
Rob: Gary definitely brings the most ideas.
Gary: Yeah maybe. At first I wrote one hundred percent of the songs, but thatâs kind of curved downwards.
Rob: Each of us wrote at least one song.
Gary: There are some songs where Iâm like, "I definitely wrote that from beginning to end," but there are others like, who knows? We were jamming and it just came outâ¦
Bits and pieces from everyone.
Gary: Yeah totally. I was watching this thing about Nirvana the other night and Kurt was the main guy to write songs. But would "Smells Like Teen Spirit" be that song without the hard drums. (Gary and Rob start imitating heavy drum beats.) Everyone in the band contributes to the songs in some way.
And thatâs what happened with this album.
Gary: Yeah. Most of the songs were like, from all of us.
Where did the album title come from?
Rob: (Laughs)
Gary: It was from an article about robots taking peopleâs jobs.
Rob: In Atlantic magazine.
Gary: When I read it, I thought it was going to be coolest article ever but after it I was like, "Great, machines putting people out of work."
Rob: In the thank yous on the album, we credited the guy who wrote article.
So is it a bit of a concept album?
Gary: No, but there are themes that are reoccurring like robots and aliensâ¦
Rob:â¦and the end of the world. But we donât take ourselves too seriously.
Are you actually afraid in robots taking over?
Rob: I think we should all be afraid, to be perfectly honest. (Laughs) First they come for your job and then they come for the women and children.
Do you think they could ever replace a rock band?
Rob: They already have - Captured By Robots.
Gary: Stephen Hawking says there could be some pretty terrible shit coming up.
Rob: And he should know, he is a robot. We should heed his warning.
What do you think of the state of punk rock? Is it alive and well or the opposite?
Gary: I donât think itâs dead as long as thereâs angry young people picking up guitars. And there is no shortage of angry young people.
Rob: And no shortage of reasons why they should be fucking pissed off, especially in this day and age.
(Pauses)
Rob: In Vancouver, it seems like thereâs a punk renaissance happening.
What do you mean? How is the scene here?
Rob: Itâs great. You have bands like White Lung and Japandroids - theyâre doing amazing things. And bands like the B-Lines , theyâre just a fucking ton of fun. Needles//Pinsâ¦
Gary: Yeah, Needles//Pins are my favourite.
Rob: They are the most fun band in Vancouver and we are the sweatiest.
What do you credit the renaissance to?
Rob: I think for us, when we started getting back into the loud stuff, I was really frustrated there was no punk rock to listen to so we wrote some ourselves. I have a feeling a lot other bands felt the same way.
There was a hole to fillâ¦
Rob: There was, yeah.
Gary: Especially for the garage-ier, punk rock stuff.
Is there a distinct Vancouver sound?
Gary: I donât think so. At a ten-band show, youâll see so many variations of types of music.
So if you had to pick one adjective to describe the Vancouver punk scene, what would it be?
Rob: Eclectic.
Gary: Yeah, look at a band like The Ballantynes who are like a soul band, but are totally in the punk scene.
Is it a good time to be a punk band in Vancouver right now?
Gary: I think so. Venues is always an issue, but itâs a nice community and itâs down-to-Earth and coolâ¦
Rob:â¦and super supportive too. Whenever we play shows, there are always so many familiar faces out there - other bands that we know who come out. Whenever you come to a show, youâre going to run into 15 other bands that are there that night.
Gary: It seems like everyone is in a band and they want to participate. If you expect people to come to your gigs, you should be going to their gigs - itâs give and take.
Vancouver isnât the first city that comes to mind when you think about places for bands and music. Do you think we have the potential to become that city for music?
Rob: I think that potential has always been here because thereâs certainly a plethora of talented musicians here. The problem we have in Vancouver is that weâre completely isolated.
Gary: Itâs a bit of an outpostâ¦
Rob: Yeah, if you want tour, the next notable city other than Victoria, which you need to pay for a ferry to get to, is really Calgary - thatâs a 12-hour drive away. You have Seattle, but you have the border to deal with and those visas are very expensive. So as a result, itâs financially almost impossible to live off your music here - if youâre in Toronto, you can hit the whole eastern seaboard and never drive more than three hours.
Itâs a bit of a trend with local bands moving out to Toronto because of thatâ¦
Rob: Absolutely. If you want to take the next step, I think you have to.
Would you guys ever take that next step?
Gary: No. I donât think Iâd like it.
Rob: No, we have lives here. We all have proper jobs here. (Pauses) We donât have any delusions of fucking rock stardom. Itâs a road trip where our gas money is covered and we get to meet really cool people. I mean, even if we were able to get the time off work, we could never do like a month-long slog because thatâs not fun.
Gary: Actually, it could be pretty fun. (Laughs)
Going back to that question about a distinct Vancouver sound, do you think the rainy weather gestates good rock and roll in any way?
Rob: I think it does. I think that when itâs shitty out, you hole up in the basement and play your fucking guitar. The weatherâ¦itâs kind of like an incubator, you go underground. Itâs the same thing as Seattle, everyone plays music in their basement when itâs raining outside. In Miami, theyâre out on the beach, drinking all day and theyâre not doing anything productive (Laughs).
Gary: Los Angeles has a lot of good music though, too.
Rob: True. A lot of those bands moved there from other places.
You started The Binz only two years ago. Why start a band now? Especially during these tough times for music?
Rob: Weâre not in this for money.
Gary: Yeah, weâre not trying to make a career out of itâ¦itâs just a lot of fucking fun.
What are some of best venues to play at in Vancouver right now?
Rob: I would recommend the Railway Club for any touring bands that come through Vancouver because thereâs always a built-in crowd there and itâs great to play to a packed room.
Is it hard to find places to play these days?
Rob: I donât think so. Thereâs about a half-dozen places that put on punk shows. Like, you can play LanaLouâs, Railway, Astoria, Funkyâs, Patâs, the Media Club, the Electric Owl. You always want more but thereâs no shortage, really. And of course good promotion gets good shows and most people who complain about no one showing up to their shows, usually play in bands that are terrible and do terrible promotions.
Gary: Thatâs the double-whammy, right there. (Laughs)
Your new album is pretty refreshing in that itâs just straightforward, fast rock and roll.
Rob: Yeah, I donât think thereâs anything superfluous with our music. Itâs not too self-indulgent, I donât think. When we play live, we just try to play fast and loud and not take ourselves too seriously - and the crowd likes it. We owe it to them to play as hard and fast and the best we can.
What artists inspire your sound?
Gary: Fugazi, thatâs a big one.
Rob: Dead Kennedys and Hot Snakes. A lot of older and newer punk like Sex Pistols and Bad Religionâ¦that was my high school, thatâs what was in my Sony Sports Walkman. (Laughs)
Gary: I think also a lot of local bands too and bands we play with. I like music that I can sort of reach out to and meet the people and talk to them.
So youâre perpetually inspired being part of the sceneâ¦
Gary: Yeah, thatâs the hope. The bands in this city are awesome and Iâm always getting ideas from them.
Where did the band name come from?
Rob: (Laughs)
Gary: We were looking at anything, just coming up with stupid names and shit, and our drummer (Richard Melroze) was taking a piss on a garbage bin and was like, "What about the Bin Pissers?" and Brian (Hughez, guitarist) was like, "How about The Binz?" And that was it. Great story.