Yo What's going on this week I had the interview with one the dudes from a sick band from Wisconsin. When you think of Wisconsin you think Lifes, Mellow Harsher, Lake Effort, Sfn & Deep Shit. Well I'm interview Kyle of Sfn and Deep Shit... Here it is the interview enjoy
-State your name and what band do you play for??
Kyle Boerger, I played bass and did 1/2 the vocals in SFN.
-how are you doing?
K: I'm doing! Hope you and yours are well in the midst of everything we're going through.
How is the scene in Wisconsin?K: Wisconsin is Wisconsin. I've seen the scene eb and flow throughout the years. Venues come and go, kids would rather buy beer than donate covers (sometimes). It's always there though. There's always been great bands, in my opinion. It's just a college town, so it is stronger sometimes, and others it isn't. At a certain point, I was out at shows and realizing "Holy shit... it seems like Graem is the only person booking shows anymore!" I think that when he stopped booking so often, it caused a surge in others stepping up to the plate, but only once they realized there were less shows to attend. Every scene has this though I'm sure, Wisconsin's scene birthed us though. So many great bands, High On Crime, Murder of Crows, Weaving the Deathbag, Tenement and all the Appleton bands, and the Virginia Suergeons all brought us up. No Question, The Central, Black Cat... there's bands doing rad shit there still, but I haven't lived in Wisconsin the past 5 years, so I can't speak to the scene today.
-How did you get into punk??
K: Punk i feel like was always right there. Even back to being a kid in diapers, my father would play a lot of Talking Heads and that type of proto-punk shit. I had some friends in Madison with older siblings that introduced me to like Green Day's Dookie and that sort of stuff in 2nd grade. It was really through skating in 5-8 grades though. Graem and I were listening to a lot of NOFX and 80s hardcore, then one day at the Stoughton Bowl this older skater came up and asked "you guys like punk?" (I hade a big ass blue mohaek, and Graem's head was bright orange). He told us about a basement show, that ended up being IFARM who fucking rule, at Subvert city. That house was ran by the dudes in Discider, and they taught us a lot about PV. Honestly, that was the end of it for us. Earwax in Madison was the record store we found all the PV and Grind, Graem and I used to sign up for these elective field trips to go see plays in Madison once a semester in HS, then we'd spend the lunch break going there and digging through the crates, trying to out spend each other.
-How did you get into Deep Shit???
K: Deep Shit was me and some dudes from a band called Murder of Crows and Lauden from Pain Tractor, at the time. Lauden and I started another band called No Question that has some records out now. I moved to Austin before they were recorded and left that band, but they rule! When we were like 14, Murder of Crows took us on the road for the first time longer than 4 days. I even tried out to play bass for Pain Tractor when they lost theirs. We were just all homies. The drummer Matt actually filled in on drums for SFN for a tour, and Lauden hit the road with us. Deep Shit came soon after that
-How long were you in Deep Shit??
K: I helped write all the stuff on the demo tape and the split we did with Have Fun. We had a tour with Loaded for Bear, it was shortly after that I decided I couldn't swing both bands (I was constantly playing two sets at every local show, with both bands wanting to tour. SFN was always my main priority). I was still going to class, and had a job on dietary staff at an old folks home ran by nuns, and SFN practiced 5 days a week.
-How did you do your Split with Have Fun???
K: Have Fun were new like Deep Shit when we were first playing out. They were neighbors, Rockford, IL is real close. We just got tight and they asked us. I'm actually just remembering that I did the original mock up for that 7" cover before we had our friend Tommy Washburn spruce it up (check his IG, he's sick @washbeast)!
-How did you get into Sfn???
K: So, SFN was a cover band for a few years going by Something For Nothing. Graem would hate me for saying this, but they were covering everything from NOFX, Anti Flag, Lagwagon - to Finch, Tenacious D, Metallica and Nirvana... I was in a pretty cruddy street punk band called Armed Youth. We all went to school together and this was like grades 5-7. Taylor was playing bass at that time, and around the age of 14 his parents thought the band was getting in the way of his football commitments, but SFN were offered to open for MDC. Taylor had FB practice during normal SFN practice for the weeks leading up to it, and a game the night of the show. I was supposed to fill in for a show, I was always at their practices anyways and hanging out at shows, Taylor- Graem -Bryan all thought it just made more sense for me to be in the band, I had a different style and we were playing everything faster haha. So by my third gig with them we were opening for Asschaple and Taylor was there. He watched the set and was like "you should take my place" That was when SFN really started as we know it now, and the first demo came some months later
-How did you guys get the name Sfn???
K: Well Something For Nothing was a terrible name, and even before we were playing originals, they were putting SFN on flyers. We felt we played enough we didn't want to change it, so we just fucked around with what it stood for. Skull Fuck Nuns. Scholastically Forced Numb. Sticky Fat Nugs. STANDS FOR NOTHING.
-What are some Influences for Sfn???
K: We were influenced by all the greats, Spazz, MITB, Despise You, Crossed Out, Infest and on and on. I loved so many of the bands we were playing with, and you gotta remember we were still in High School, so it was all molding us: Running For Cover, Hatred Surge, Iron Lung, in Disgust, Laughing Dog, Lords of Light, Endless Blockade, Disrobe outta Chicago.... I literally could just keep listing bands. Honestly, our biggest influences were probably NOFX and Steely Dan. For real.
-What was the best show or Tour you played with Sfn???
K: Too many great ones to choose from, playing Gilman really stood out for us Midwestern boys. That was the 2009 Speed Trials. Everytime we hit Lima, OH was sick - we got tight with those Pizza Hi-Five dudes and loved it there. I recall running from police after shooting fireworks there. Oakland with Strains of the Apocalypse was sick. Buffalo and Rochester... Our last shows in Madison and Chicago was something really special.
-How did you guys get the split with In disgust??
K: Rich from ID also played drums for a band called Hostile Takeover. Graem did a lot of booking shows when bands would come through, and he booked them in our homie Steve-o's parent's basement (That's the vocalist for Mellow Harsher), when we were all 14/15. Called that place the Flamingo Lounge. We really got along with those dudes, and always linked back up on the road. What's funny is, both bands were procrastinating I seem to recall, and we knew we were gonna do it for years before it happened. In Disgust had a Thrasher interview they mention the spilt in, and I feel like it was recorded two years later! Yeah, we just loved those dudes!
-Do you have any things in the works???
K: I just moved across the country for the third time in 5 years, so I'm currently looking for a drummer in Northern Colorado in the middle of a pandemic. If anyone reading this knows anyone around me, I'd appreciate the tip! Bryan and I have plans to figure out how to do something again in the future (he's still in WI) that I'm 100% will eventually happen. Graem and Steveo have been killing it in Mellow Harsher for a long time, they had that split with Suppression recently... that fucking record rips. SFN is gone, had a good 12ish year run playing together, and were only 30! Maybe another T-shirt some day or something, but unless I get a call unexpectedly someday, we're done.
-Do you want to give any shout out???
K: Yeah, s/o Max at 625, Malokul who helped release our last LP, EVERYONE that has put us up, sold our records, booked us a show on the road, traded records with us, Mitch who is the only guy I know to collect all our releases and their test presses, @tommywilsondesign , Will Butler and To Live A Lie, Final Draft, Pat in Running For Cover, MAMA H AND PAULEY, Mellow Harsher, No Question, The Central, dudes in Abrade and the whole Madison/Chicago scene, Rhode and Eric for being the two dudes i know with SFN tattoos, and everyone that's listened to us, bought a shirt or a record. Much love
-Thanks for your time
K: Thanks for asking me some questions
