Interview with Geoff Kresge!   

What inspired you to get into music?

When I was a really young kid, two of my uncles were sitting around listening to the album Destroyer by KISS. I was fascinated by the album cover, as I'm sure a lot of kids were at the time, and the music just kind of grabbed me somehow. As I got a little older, I started to realize that music was something that I wanted to try myself. When I was in high school, I had been planning on going to art school, but got caught up in the music thing and I've been doing it ever since, while doing some artwork on the side, either for my own bands or for friends... even for a lot of bigger bands.


What is your favorite tattoo that you have?

I don't know if I have a favorite, really. It changes all the time. Certain tattoos I have hold certain memories, and those are the ones that are in rotation as my favorites. Of course whatever my newest tattoo is at a given time seems to be my favorite for a while too!


What's the first concert that you went to?

I can't remember the guy's name but it was a country singer. The first big show I saw was Metallica.


What's the strangest thing that has happened to you while you where playing
a show?

Well, there's this thing that happens when you don't use "proper" singing techniques and you "sing" the way I do onstage... I'm basically yelling most of the time. Anyway, sometimes on longer passages, I forget to breathe "correctly" and by the end of the section, I'll be on the verge of blacking out. It feels like I'm having an out-of-body experience! HAHAHA!


Which do you prefer playing the guitar or the upright bass?

That seems like the $64,000 question these days. HAHAHA! I have a love/hate relationship with both for different reasons. I started out on guitar, so I'll always consider myself a guitar player first and foremost.

I started playing bass because my friends had a band and their bass player sucked. They asked me to join the band, but I didn't own a bass. We broke the locks on their old bass player's bass case (he had been storing it at the house where the band rehearsed) and I played that for a while until I got a bass of my own. I've basically been stuck playing bass ever since!


What bands would you like to tour with in the future?

I'd love to take Viva Hate out with Sick of it All! I've been good friends with those guys for a long time and I've toured with them a lot. Pretty much every band I've been in that's toured at all has gone out with Sick of it All, so I'd like to keep that going! Those guys are like part of the family. And I'm sure that Craig Ahead is happy that I'm back on the bass again! HAHAHA!


Were you at a time in the band A.F.I ?

Yes, I was. From 1992 to 1997. I wrote and played on the first 7" EPs (I can't even remember how many there were) and the first two full-length albums. We actually recorded quite a bit of stuff that was never released too. Anyway, yeah, I was in AFI for five years.


How does it feel when you see people walking around wearing Viva
Hate/Horrorpops t-shirts?

It's really cool to see. I still think it's cool when I see people wearing shirts from any of the bands I've been in, all the way back to AFI. I'm only beginning to see people in Viva Hate shirts, since we haven't really played that many shows yet, but I guess that's gonna change before too long.


Is there any advice that you could give to all the young musicians out
there?

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it, or that you're not good enough, or you'll never "make it" or any of that garbage! Sure, they may say it, but you can use that as an incentive to prove them wrong! Practice until your fingers bleed and then practice some more. And you might hear some players say that the whole "practice, practice, pratice" thing isn't true, but believe me, it is! I don't mean practicing scales and stuff like that, but how else can you improve on your playing!?


last question, You probably get asked this alot but, what do you use on your hair?

I do get asked that a lot, but it's a short answer so it's cool. I use hair spray. Aqua Net Unscented. Now there's gonna be a bunch of people quoting that and saying I'm not cool because of the brand of hair spray I use! HAHAHAHA!!! Whatever.

Thanks again!!

Thank you for the interview too! Don't forget to check out www.vivahate.net and www.myspace.com/vivavivahate

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