Crizzy - of the band Crizzy and the Punx

By: Dominick A. Miserandino

DM) How did you come up with the name of the band?

C) Here's how we came up with the name "Crizzy & The Punx": Crizzy is my nickname (for Chris), because of my reggae style. The Punx, well, the name fits. Billy Lord and Mark Empire are actually getting pretty well known--"Hey, you're one of the Punx" ...nobody knows their real names!

DM) Who are your influences?

C) Our influences are pretty diverse. While in Jamaica as a teen, I was turned on to Reggae. My influences range from Bob Marley to Rage Against the Machine, not forgetting Kurt Cobain. Mark Empire's older sister was a big "Who" fan, and she turned Mark on to the band. They are still his favorite band and biggest inspiration. Billy Lord, well, we're not sure exactly who his influences are. (He probably doesn't really know either--punk).

DM) What is your favorite track on the CD?

C) My favorite track is # 13, "Snuffed". I wrote this song in memory of Bradley Nowell, Bob Marley, and Peter Tosh. "One mouth shut, one guitar down..." is the lyric the song is written around; it's a heavy tune that ends with some old-school reggae. This song usually ends our live set. The Punx like track #14, "We 3". It's a punk/reggae/ska tune that's kind of about the band, the beach, and touring. It pretty much describes their lifestyle.

DM) How does it sound when the "Who" influence and the "Marley" influence come together?

C) We think it's phat! We play some straight reggae tunes, and others are some old-school punk "Who style stuff". Others incorporate both styles and may even include a little ska. (Like a fast, heavy chorus into a reggae verse or maybe a ska bridge, as in "Missed Me", track #2. It's really fun for us to mix it up!

DM) What other songs have you "mixed together"?

C) One of the things we like to mix up is a techno sound with a ska sound, as in "Tight". We don't know of any other bands with this mix.

DM) What music did you listen to growing up?

C) The first time I remember hearing rock music was Aerosmith. Some of the first albums I owned were by Cheap Trick and Blondie. I listened to pretty much everything; I appreciate all styles of music.

DM) Who taught you to play reggae?

C) We're all pretty much self-taught. I listen to reggae every day; as a singer/guitarist it comes naturally to me. Reggae music is 90% bass and drums, the guitar just skanks on top. What's really cool to me as a singer is that the melody is wide open. Billy and Mark picked up a few tips from a local rasta-man. And other than that, just a lot of jammin'!

DM) How does your live performance differ from the CD?

C) We did a decent job of capturing somewhat of a live sound on the CD. In the studio we overdubbed some stuff that we can't do live, since we're a three- piece. But played live, the song is truer to its origin, and we prefer the simplicity of this. Our philosophy is that less is more. In our live performance we like to have fun, get people dancing, skankin' or moshing, and of course you get the visual. We ARE pretty good lookin', ya know.....(laughs)

DM) So how have the fans' reactions been?

C) People either love us or hate us. Most of 'em love us, and we love them too!!!

Talk to other readers about this story.