THE WONGS
11/05/00
Interview by Luis


WHO ARE THE WONGS AND WHAT DO EACH OF YOU DO IN THE BAND?

R: Ryan, Lead guitar, drums.
D: Don Wong, vocals.
M: Matt, bass.
My: Mundy, guitar.
L: Lenny the Assneck, new drummer.

WHY DID YOU FORM THE WONGS AND WHAT KEEPS YOU IN A BAND?

D: Formed out of boredom in the small border town of Yuma, Arizona.
M: I do it for the chicks and the alcohol.
D: Yeah, beer is a must for survival in Arizona.
L: I have sooooo much musical ability, I have to show it off.
My: I like showing everybody what a bad-ass guitar player I am.
L:  Also, I'm pushing 30 and jerking off just doesn't cut it anymore.
R: I like to break shit.


WHAT ARE YOUR SONGS ABOUT?

R: Death and destruction.
D: Sex, pain, hate, or any combination of the three.

WHAT IS WITH THE WONGS/REATARDS CONNECTION?

M: Well, Ryan moved to Memphis for awhile and there he met Jay Reatard. 
D: While we all moved to Phoenix.
M: Ever since, Ryan has been playing with both the Wongs and the Reatards,
live and on most of the recordings.
D: We did a small west coast tour of destruction with the Reatards and Ryan
played with both lineups. Drums for us, drums and bass for them.

HOW CAN RYAN PLAY FOR A BAND IN MEMPHIS AND FOR THE WONGS IN PHOENIX?

R: I fly to Memphis to play shows with them and to record, then I fly back
home.
D: Yeah, like a true fuckin rock star.

HOW WAS THAT TOUR WITH THE REATARDS?

D: A fucking blast for me. We met a lot of cool people.
My: Got drunk every night.
D: Some of us got laid.
M: Not you.
R:  Maybe by a dude.
D: Maybe. There was 8 of us in one van.
M: We got chased out of a few bars.

CARE TO ELABORATE?

M: Well, we played at this bar in Reno and before we played we were sucking
down a few beers at the bar.  There was this older guy there who was drunk
and talking to everyone.  He wasn't starting shit or anything like that, he
was just drunk-talking to everybody.  A couple of the locals didn't like that
so much so they broke a bottle over his head and threw him out.
D: While we were playing.
My: The guy came back in all bloody, so the fuckers bust a pool stick over
his head.
D: I didn't see any of this shit go down.
M: Yeah they threw him out again.
D: Well, our set finished in its usual distorted sloppy mess, and the
Reatards started playing. 
M: Jay started breaking the lights in the bar.
D: The sight of that old man's blood must have set Jay off worse than usual.
M: Yeah, he basically destroyed the place. Of course the locals didn't like
that too much. My: One of those fuckers started chucking chairs at Jay.
R: Aiming for Jay, but hitting us playing the instruments who couldn't get
out of the way in time.
My: The Reatards finished their set, and by then we were already packing up
our shit to leave as fast as possible. Those fuckers wanted to kill us.

WELL DO YOU GUYS PLAY IN ANY OTHER BANDS ON THE SIDE?

R: I have my own band, Destruction Unit. I put out a single on my own label
Discos Cagados a few months ago.

WHAT NEW BANDS DO YOU LISTEN TO?

R: The Evil Twins, that's Arrow, our old guitar player who moved to Tucson,
that's his new band.
D: The Kassos from San Diego.
R: Lost Sounds, Jay Reatard's other band.
D: The Reds.
L: Mortis, Emperor, and anything out of Norway.

WHAT ARE THE WONGS DRINKS OF CHOICE?

R: Jim Beam, baby.
D: Cheap beer and cheap gin.
My: Anything in a tall can.
M: Beer and Beam.
L: Zima through a straw with a Jolly Rancher in my mouth.

HOW ABOUT A FAVORITE PORN STAR?

M: Azlea Anistia
R: Traci Lords
My: Max Hardcore
D: Tiffany Andrews, maybe. I like squealers.
L: Chi Chi LaRue

HOW WAS PLAYING THE LAS VEGAS SHAKEDOWN?

M: It was cool. We met a lot of cool people and saw people we met while on
tour.
D: I don't really remember much of it. Too much drinking in Las Vegas.
My: I lost too much money gambling.
L: It's a fucking weird town. I had to tip everyone there, I hated that.
D: It was cool because we got to meet a bunch of people that we probably
would never meet.
My: Or ever see again.
D: Yeah, it was the biggest show that we've ever played. I think we pretty
much alienated anyone who was even somewhat curious about what or who we
were. Took care of them all in one shot.

I HEARD YOU GUYS SENT A SPECIAL RECORD TO THE TRASHWOMEN. WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?

D: We heard that the Trashwomen asked for an autographed copy of our single
because of the song, "Jerkin it to the Trashwomen". I don't know if that was
true or not, but we did it anyways.
M: Yeah, we signed them, and then Arrow and Don Wong bled and jacked off on
them.
D: Well, if they wanted it?

SICK! ALRIGHT WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE WONGS IN THE FUTURE?

R: More records, more touring, fuck off and die.