by Matt Dixon, August '08

1. Please list members + give a brief history of the band.
Dave Kaufman -guitar/vocals Jim MacAlpine -guitar/vocals Josh Kogon -bass Nick Wombolt-drums. Mark Gillis played bass and sang a bit before he moved to Montreal. Dave Mark and I lived together and when other bands we were in were slowly dying we decided to throw something together. I knew Nick from another previous band and thought he might be up for it.

2. What does VKNGS mean to you?
I don't know. It looks cool when you write it down.

3. What were the original goals of the band, and have they changed over time? If so, what are your new goals?
Every time we achieve a goal we set new ones. New goals include getting this new record out, playing places we haven't yet.

4. What politics and/or ethics, if any, take part in the band's writing and business choices.
We don't have any strict ethical policies that come into play for anything. We work and deal with people we know and like, and we don't deal with assholes. We are punctual to a fault. Nick and I are really big on that kind of thing.

5. What is your take on the current state of the punk/diy scene locally in Halifax and nationally within Canada?
That's a hard question to answer as we haven't been west of Ontario as a band. In Halifax? I guess it's good. There are a lot of bands, but not too many venues for younger bands. I'm old. I don't get out that much anymore.

6. What is your musical background? When did punk/hardcore/whatever come into play and how have your past bands influenced you to where you are now?
I got into it through skateboarding, meeting new people and getting turned on to new bands. My then-girlfriend's mom took me to a record store and said I could pick any cassette I wanted, and I got Black Flag's 'My War' and it ruined my life.As far as learning from past bands, you learn from your mistakes and hopefully don't repeat them. This band is alot heavier than anything I've done before, but I've always been into this stuff. We were talking about this the other day, we have never had a shitty practice. We always have fun. This band is an outlet for so much shit, you can't not have fun playing these songs. With some other bands I used to dread going to practice because you knew it was going to be 3 hours of bullshit, walking on eggshells around whoever is in a pissy mood, or dudes would be so fucking high they couldn't remember songs we'd been playing for a year. We practice so infrequently that half the time we just yak and catch up and make fun of each other.

7. What do you think sets VKNGS apart from other bands?
That's not for me to say. I don't know. The burl factor maybe.

8. I read an interview in which you stated that you never plan on providing lyric sheets to your music; can you elaborate on this position? What are some of the things you try to communicate through your music, if not lyrically?
We try to write songs that keep us interested musically, lyrics are secondary. None of them are any good, few make sense, and most are lifted straight from books or other bands. Now you know.

9. Tell me a little bit about your relationship with Truro's Noyes Records. They released your s/t 12" and are set to release your latest effort. What initially drew you to Noyes and what has made you stay on?
I was in North of America. Chad is a huge NoA fan. He moved in next door to me and we became friends. I started a new band, he started a new label. It seems pretty natural. I think we stick out like a sore thumb on that label but that's fine with me.

10. You've been noted as being one of the most powerful bands in Halifax. I saw a video in which you overwhelmed the power supply at a show in Truro. Apart from this, what has been the craziest thing to happen at a VKNGS show?
Shit I don't know. People clapped, that was kinda crazy.

11. Is it true that your music is featured on an Italian snowboarding video? If so, how did this come to be?
Apparently it is, and I have no idea. Chad owes some Italian dude a favour now I guess.

12. If you had to choose a VKGNS song for a mixtape that includes Fucked Up, Career Suicide, Ampere, A History Of and Van Johnson, which song would you choose and why?
I would say 'ugh, Van Johnson? Really?' and I'll say some random number that corresponds to a song that nobody's heard. So, 19.

13. What are the last five records you bought and your current top five?
Latest would be Superchunk, Envy, Sebadoh, Metallica. I've mostly been buying the cd version of cassettes I used to have at used record stores, or getting vinyl from eBay.

14. What plans are in the future for VKNGS?
Get this record out so I can stop thinking about it. Maybe by September it'll be ready. We're getting more active towards the end of the summer, tour plans tba for Feb/March.

15. How can ppl contact you?
www.vkngs.com

16. Any final Words?
Start today.