By ERIC SCHELKOPF
The members of Chicago band Poison Boys were heartbroken following the unexpected death of rhythm guitarist and his fiancee.
To honor them, the band decided to carry on with a new lineup. To celebrate the release of its new EP, "Headed for Disaster," the band will perform March 4 at Cole's Bar, 2338 Milwaukee Ave., Chicago.
American Breakfast and The Glyders also are on the bill. The show starts at 10 p.m.
I had the chance to talk to lead guitarist Matt about the new EP.
Q - Great talking to you. Congratulations on the upcoming release of your EP, "Headed for Disaster." I know the band has been through a lot of heartache following the unexpected death of Mike and his fiancee. How did you go about making the decision to carry on the band following his death?
Hey, thanks Eric. Yeah, that was a tough decision.
Basically, we decided this was a way to carry on playing in Mike and Jenna's honor as well as continue making bad ass rock and roll that we love in the vein of what me and Mike were writing for this band.
I believe that's what they would have wanted.
Q - How did you go about finding your new bassist and what do you think he brings to the band?
Our new bassist Adam sort of fell into the spot. He and our drummer Andy had previously been in Scoundrel together and we had known each other for years.
He was coming to Poison Boys shows prior to being in it so it was natural. He brings the joint...ha ha.
Besides that, he brings a lot of commitment and dedication as well as some unexpected bass lines that make the songs sometimes. Plus, we've sort of wanted to be in a band together for years and have very similar musical tastes, so yeah, it's awesome having him in the band.
Q - In sitting down to make "Headed for Disaster," what were your goals and do you think you accomplished them? Is there a meaning behind the EP's name?
Our goals for this EP were to get a record out. We just took three songs from an LP we recorded for partly during Mike's time in the band, but mostly afterward during early 2015.
The label we recorded the LP for dropped us after we basically finished the record, so we figured it was cheaper to do an EP rather than find a label to release an LP by a band who was virtually unheard of at the time.
The title of the song comes from the story behind the song. A person getting into a relationship that they can already see is headed for disaster, but down to take that risk anyway.
Q - Who are your biggest musical influences and how have they shaped the band's music?
Our biggest musical influences are the New York Dolls, Dead Boys, Nervous Eaters, the Joneses, Slaughter & the Dogs, etc. Just trashy rock and roll and punk mostly from the 1970s era, but also bands that sound like that from any other era.
Also girl groups from the 1960s like the Shangri-Las and the Ronnettes. And of course also Chuck Berry, Vince Taylor, Jerry Lee and endless other early rock and roll gods from the 1950s.
Q - What do you think of the Chicago music scene and how do you think the band fits into it?
The Chicago music scene is really diverse. There's too many scenes to really put them all into one catagory... We sort of fit into the garage rock scene I guess? The Chicago punk scene really just melted into the hardcore scene now and we don't really fit into that type of music.
Q - What are the band's short-term and long-term goals?
Short term - Play a bunch of sick shows and get people having fun, movin' n shakin' to our rock and roll sounds. Put out more awesome records for people to listen to and love.
Long term - Tour internationally, continue releasing and playing killer tunes (again same as short term), become a go-to band for people to put on when they want to get stoked and party to some rock and roll.
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