JOEY BRIGGS
By Matt Cote
Being in a touring band for a decade can give you a lot of stories and a lot of opinions. Lucky for us, JOEY BRIGGS took all those experiences and put them together in a collection of songs, his first solo record entitled The Traveling Salesman, Pariah, ME. Best known for his role as the front man of long time Los Angeles punk favorites THE BRIGGS, the record invites the listeners to meet a new side of the punk rocker: sometimes softer, sometimes sarcastic, but an always brutally honest side.
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So did you set out to write and release a solo record, or did it just happen?
Yeah, it was intentional. I have a lot of songs I write that I have a very specific vision for that I don’t think is quite THE BRIGGS’ speed, I feel. So I decided that it needed to be its own thing. Plus, a lot of my songs are quite… opinionated, and I figured if it’s just my name attached to it, I could be totally responsible my opinions and not drag anyone down with me (laughs), especially in the event of opposition.
Did you ever think your solo songs would be released as an album?
Well yeah, because this album is a complete story, it’s not just a collection of songs lying around. They are in accord with one another, a “concept,” if you will.
When you write a song, how do you decide whether it’s going to be for your solo project or for THE BRIGGS?
Well, usually it’s pretty apparent just in terms of style and format but occasionally it was due to conflict of interests, aka I liked the songs and they didn’t (laughs). No, but sometimes it just didn’t feel like a BRIGGS song.
How did you end up connecting with Suburban Home records, and how has the experience been?
Actually, Virgil (Suburban Home) and I met through a mutual friend, Mike Davies, who has the punk rock show on BBC radio. Mike and I were having lunch and he said, “you know who would be a perfect match for this,” and I showed Virgil the stuff I was working on about a year and a half ago and eventually we hooked up. We have a very easy, laid-back relationship. It’s not super intense business, just putting out music.
I think, being a solo record, it by nature has a more personal feel, and a lot of the songs definitely are personal, whether it be your opinion on a past president or the state of the scene. Does the therapeutic nature of songwriting change at all when it’s a solo song?
Yeah, it does. I think you should always be as brutally honest as possible with your songs but sometimes when a band gets into a certain thing or vibe, it kinda cuts off certain avenues and thoughts. I guess doing something more singer/songwriter style lends itself better to digging deep into your head and spill shit out on the table. For me anyways.
The CD itself is split up into three sections, with the themes of the songs following the same general outline. Can you explain what it is you had in mind when naming the sections – the ‘Traveling Salesman,’ ‘The Pariah,’ and lastly ‘Me’?
Well, I am in every sense of the word a traveling salesman. All musicians are, we go city to city selling you our product and moving on. Not in a derogatory way, it’s just true. There are a lot of reasons I feel like a pariah to the music industry. Having been in a punk band for 10 years, in the beginning you were cool for being in a punk band, now no one gives a shit. Kids, labels, magazines – to them it’s old people music. On top of the fact that I’m a Scientologist always created a lot of controversy amongst fans and bands. There isn’t a single Punknews article that doesn’t get bombarded with comments from people who love to judge me for my religious beliefs. Lastly, ‘Me’ of course all these things represent who I am but I felt I wanted to really drive home in the last and most vulnerable chapter that this is me, this is who I am, insecurities and all.
As I mentioned earlier, one of the songs, “So Let Down,” deals with the punk rock scene and the crap that it has become. Do you find it hard to continue writing music, being in a band, and touring when you see the entire industry, and especially our scene – as you say, burning to the ground?
Well, when I wrote that song, I definitely felt that there was absolutely no hope for music and bands but that was 2 years ago and I do see it turning around. I am very encouraged and inspired by a lot of new bands and I feel there is some really good shit coming around. As it always happens, when things get really stale people make a change. They somehow find a way to keep things interesting.
You also take aim at the overabundance of shit-talking done on the internet. We’re in a day and age where it seems being deemed “cool” by the internet crowd is the only way to make it in music. While the internet does have its pluses – the ability to get your music worldwide immediately for instance – do you miss the days we grew up with, before there was such things as message boards and blogs?
Well, I found that it’s just not where I belong. Let it exist, let people live in their world of make-believe. I don’t have to be a part of it. There is nothing useful that comes out of it. It’s more productive for me to write songs and dream up new shit then to read what all these 14- year- olds are saying.
The songs “First Page of My Book” and “Here’s To You” are tracks 9 and 10 on the CD, and have a very different take on love. While “First Page” shows your very un-idealistic view of marriage, “Here’s To You” is a heartfelt love song. Is Joey Briggs a romantic at heart?
Well, “First Page” reflects on a particular tour story, when a friend of mine was cheating on his wife and I was like, ‘you can’t do that’ and myself and several people on the tour argued about what was acceptable to get involved in when it came to getting in your peers’ business. I just wanted to stop him from doing something that he would regret the next day but then realized that other people’s definition of love and/or marriage doesn’t necessarily match up with mine and I’m not gonna be able to “save” everyone I’m on tour with. People just need to be responsible for themselves and figure shit out.
Do you plan to do any tours in support of the CD or are the solo shows only for those lucky enough to live in the LA area?
Yes, of course. Tour plans are pending. I have tons of travels ahead.
So what’s up with THE BRIGGS? Any news, anything in the works?
No, not really. Everyone is pulled in different directions at the moment.
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