Whats up everyone this week I had and enjoy this interview i got hooked up by Parker from Boston. I talk to Trevor Fairbanks he told me his history in the powerviolence scene and how he turned into an author of novels. Can I also mention he was in one of my band influence band Peter Mangalore and was in Lack of interest for a short time. Enjoy
State your name and what bands did you play with?
Trevor Fairbanks (aka VOR) I was the singer for PAIN! (a short lived punk group with Mitch Brown and Paul Chatem) I was the bassist in RITUAL (an LA black metal group in the 90's) and, of course, the short-lived vocalist for LACK OF INTEREST, SCALP-LOCK and peter mangalore. My last gig was as the guitarist for an instrumetal surf bar band called THE MYSTERIANS.
How are you doing?
Same old same old. Still gratefully standing on this side of the dirt. I'm really happy to be doing this interview although it seems weird to me that people want to know, or even care about, music I made over twenty years ago. Guess maybe we were doing something right.
How did you get into punk??
As a teen-ager I started off by listening to a lot of thrash, mainly MEGADETH, METALLICA, ANTHRAX, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, etc. My first concert was ANTHRAX with PUBLIC ENEMY, if you can believe that. Although I dug the speed and intensity of thrash metal none of the songs really related to me in any way. I was a kid with long hair and a skateboard. What did I know about nuclear war or any of that? Then I heard the self-titled MISFITS album and everything changed. The song 'Teen-agers from Mars' immediately became my personal anthem. Because I was a fan of old horror movies the lyrics really resonated with me. I also liked the more primitive approach to song-writing, the bare basics of power chords without a lot of solos or flashy technical stuff. That seemed to have more of the intensity that I was looking for. Then I met Mitch Brown who was way into death metal at the time. I was way into punk, but we would go to shows together. I would take him to see YOUTH BRIGADE and he would take me to see BRAINSTORM and a lot of the LA undergrund bands. We kinda discovered hardcore when I was a senior in high school and it was a style of music we could both relate to.
How did you get in Lack of Interest??? Alot of people probably don't know bout it I know you were one of the key vocalist of Lack of interest.
The LACK OF INTEREST/SLAVESTATE split was actually the first 7 inch I ever bought (I mostly bought CD's, LP's and tapes at this time). I completely fell in love with the band and got to see them play at the Hong Kong Low (the only other band I remember seeing that night was DOGMA MUNDISTA) and I got to meet Bob through Mitch. A few months later I met a guy named Ron Kuka (aka Tugnut - Rest in Peace). Me and Ron were jamming for a while, him on drums and me on bass and vocals. Then he told me that LACK OF INTEREST were looking for a singer. I auditioned and, for some reason, got the gig. I was twenty years old at the time.
Is there any other Lack of Interest recording your on???
No, just that one record that never got released. I'm actually surprised that anyone has ever heard that thing. It's the exact same recording as the Double Whammy split with SPAZZ just with Rick's vocals instead of mine.
Did you leave lack?
Oh, they kicked me out. I was mad at the time but now, hindsight being twenty-twenty, I see the reasoning behind it. They had a definite vision for LACK OF INTEREST that I just did not fit.
You started Scalp-Lock and Peter Mangalore at the same time?
SCALP-LOCK came almost immediately after my time in LACK OF INTEREST. I knew Sean Soccocore from shows, etc. He gave my phone number to Scott Burton (aka Kincaid). They were starting a band and needed a singer. I was a singer and needed a band.
How did you start Peter Mangalore??
peter mangalore came right after I quit SCALP-LOCK. I met Steve because he was a high school friend of Max's (the bass player for SCALP-LOCK). Me and Steve hit it off immediately, sharing a mutual love of skateboards, alcohol and literature. And I knew Mike Flores (aka Rookie) from his time in EXCRUCIATING TERROR. Both of them were in RUIDO. For some reason Mike was out of RUIDO but he and Steve continued to jam and I just sort of joined up with them.
My band is influenced by Peter Mangalore and I was trying to read the lyrics and it said it was from the Bible?
The name peter mangalore comes from a Charles Bukowski novel (Ham on Rye). The front cover of the 5 inch is a photo of Robert E. Howard. Pretty much everything we did have something to do with literature. I always really looked up to a lot of the political bands that we were playing with but I have no real political affiliations of my own. Still, I wanted to sing about something that was important to me so I chose books. Most of the peter mangalore lyrics are taken right from the novels I mention, therefore the lyrics don't really make any sense if read on their own. So instead of having a lyric sheet I put a Bibliography in the liner notes so if someone wanted to know what the songs were about they could go find those books at their local bookstore and or library.
Did you play any shows with any of the bands??
PAIN! did five or six shows, mostly at the Hong Kong Low. RITUAL was about the same. I did a few shows with LACK OF INTEREST including a Fiesta Grande which was a lot of fun. SCALP-LOCK gigged around for a few months and we got to play with CAPITALIST CASUALTIES and a few memorable shows with CROM. peter mangalore played ONE time and that always bothered me. I really wish peter mangalore had gone on to do more stuff. Out of the three hardcore bands I did peter mangalore was definitely my favorite.
How did you switch from writing powerviolence songs to writing novels, what inspired you to make the switch?
Well I was always a novelist/poet so it was more about making a switch from writing prose and poetry to playing music. And when I was done playing music I just went back to writing novels. Playing music is a lot more fun. No one offers to buy me a drink after I write a good poem. No one claps or whistles after I write a good chapter.
What was the 1st novel you wrote?
I wrote my first novel the summer between fifth and sixth grade. It no longer exists but I have self-published work from high school. Since then I've self-published about ninety books through RAW YOUTH PRESS and TELSTAR LITERATURE.
Is there any novels your working on?
Right now I'm working on a rather long book called ALLISON'S OBLIVION. I'm going to have it out sometime in July, self-published through the TELSTAR LITERATURE imprint. ERIC C. HARRISON from GRIEF agreed to do the cover art. He's done art for me before and always delivers. I'm hoping he'll get me something soon.
Any shoutout you want to give ?
Rest in peace RON KUKA. Rest in peace SHAWN ELLIOT. And rest in peace GRANDPA.
Thanks for your time
I got the time. Thank you for the interest.
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