The Tossers

The Tossers are one of Chicago’s best kept secrets that are about to make a name for themselves around the globe. With high energy style of Celtic punk that merges the blue collar attitude of the windy city alongside the traditional flavor of Dublin, they are sure to attract even the most close minded music fan. Before they took the stage for their first ever time in Edmonton, Mike and Dan sat down with me for a few minutes to discuss the tour, their hometown and the power of good music. I wasn’t as prepared as I would have liked, the interview still went rather well as both Dan and Mike worked off each other to give well thought out answers. Thanks to Mike and Dan for doing it and to Veronica for setting it up.

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Bobby: I guess starting with the basics you guys have been on this tour with The Briggs and Dropkick Murphys for around a week now how’s that going?

Mike: It’s been great, it’s been great. Every night’s been great. We had some issues, personal issues of our own getting into Canada with our merchandise; but otherwise everything’s been great. Every show’s been great and they’re great bands to tour with.

Bobby: Were you able to get in with all the merchandise? I know the Lawrence Arms came in once and lost all their stuff at the border.

Mike: That’s what happened to us. We had to turn around and go back and ship it back home. Oh well, things happen, the show must go on.

Bobby: Are you selling anything at these shows?

Mike: Not in Canada. No. We were doing really well in the States, but it’s the name of the game.

Bobby: Has there been any really memorable moments from the tour so far?

Mike: Specifically, that’s probably the most memorable for us. When it comes down to it, the shows have been consistently great. There hasn’t been any point where you can say “that was better than last night.”

Bobby: Yeah, that’s what the Briggs said too, that it’s all been constant and a good tour.

Mike: It’s been real fun. For us, the slot that we play, we get to finish our show, get our gear off the stage and then we get to watch a free show for the most part. It’s really fun.

Bobby: I know that when you guys are headlining, Tony normally does a solo set before you guys. Does he still do that when you’re the opening band?

Mike: No; and he doesn’t normally do that headlining but he is apt to do maybe an acapella song or two.

Bobby: I’ve read in interviews where Tony has said that he hates seeing bands playing only the new material live and likes seeing the entire catalogue. Do you guys agree with that? You guys have five CDs out now.

Dan: We try to play a cross section of all the records.

Bobby: Is it hard to do that, like right now you’re on tour promoting Agony, do you have to focus a bit more on the CD you’re promoting?

Dan: No, just grab songs; and every CD you put out, just grab more songs and add them in. We always try and play a cross section and when you get bored, then you just pick different songs from those records. Then, for the band, it’s really exciting again.

Bobby: After this tour you guys are going to Europe for the first time, are you excited?

Mike/Dan: Yeah.

Bobby: What took you guys so long to get there?

Dan: To get someone to get us over there and pay us.

Mike: Yeah, we almost went, I think it was about 2003 or so. 2002 or 2003. Everything fell apart within the last two weeks of the tour. The promoter, I guess he just kind of flaked out on us. But we’ve wanted to go for a long time so we’re real excited.

Bobby: How important is it to work with promoters and booking agent that you guys really trust? Like I’ve read in interviews where you said you would play in New York, then Florida then Seattle day after day. You’d go to California to play 19 shows in 21 days but it ends up being one show on day 1, a nineteen day break and then another show. How important is it for you to find someone to trust to book the shows?

Dan: Oh, super important. I mean, we’re really lucky that we’ve got Mike Mori from The Agency Group now working for us. But there’s a lot of flaky booking agents out there where it appears that they can’t read a map. But you know, you’ve just got to take your time and find someone you trust.

Mike: And even then, with a good booking agent, we still have random run-ins with odd promoters who don’t really know how to push a show and do their part. When it comes down to a touring band, every person has their parts and the promoter’s part is to draw people in and sometimes it doesn’t happen.

Bobby: At the end of 2006, the Illinois Entertainer put your CD, Long Dim Road, on the list of the top 25 local CDs for the past ten years alongside acts like Smashing Pumpkins, Alkaline Trio, Disturbed , R Kelly, and Mavis Staples. What was your reaction when you found out you were on the list and that you’d be on the cover apart of the collage?

Dan: It was great, because as kids we all grew up reading that. It was great.

Mike: Yeah, that was like one of the three things… I think when I started playing in bands and things like that there were three things in Chicago that meant something that I always thought that if that happened that would be really great. And one of them was to be on the cover of the Illinois Entertainer. So it was great.

Bobby: The article was about the twenty five best local CDs from the past ten years and, of course, you guys are very proud to be from Chicago. You have the Chicago flag with your logo on it on t-shirts. I think it was embedded in the artwork for Into The Valley of Death. How important is it to wear the love of Chicago on your sleeve? How important is it to tell people “we’re from Chicago, we love it there”?

Dan: I don’t necessarily know that it’s important, it’s just… you know, some people are from Germany, some people are from Canada, some people are from the United States. We’re from the United States, but I don’t associate with that in the same that I associate I’m from Chicago. It’s a world class, phenomenal city. It’s just pride, that’s all it is. So you don’t ever think about the importance.

Mike: I suppose it’s no different from the Murphys’ love of Boston.

Bobby: Despite the love of Chicago, I was reading an interview with Dan from 2003 where he said that, as band, your favourite place to play is in Austin, Texas – is that still true?

Dan: Austin, Texas is one of my favourite places. New York City is one of my favourites.

Mike: Atlanta, I like a lot.

Dan: Atlanta, Georgia.

Mike: But I don’t know, that was an interview with him. I would say that Chicago’s my favourite place to play.

Dan: I also really like Portland.

Mike: Portland’s fun.

Bobby: What makes a city memorable to play at? Other than Chicago being your hometown and having hometown fans.

Dan: People, stuff to do, interesting – just being interesting. Interesting people, interesting architecture, interesting stuff.

Mike: I think, when I mentioned Atlanta, I’d also throw in our shows. When we first started playing Atlanta, our shows, we would get these crazy responses we didn’t expect and we seem to have a great crowd in that town.

Bobby: One thing I find really fascinating about you guys and Celtic punk as a whole is how it can transcend generations. If you look at the Pogues, their music is just as important now as it was twenty years ago. You guys, the Tossers, I own two of your CDs, my dad owns the other two. He really wanted to come tonight to see you guys and he’s thirty years older than me. Why do you think it is that Celtic punk and you guys can transcend this generation line, this generation gap?

Dan: Because it’s good music. Good music always does. It’s very blue collar and it applies to the world around us, sometimes in very specific ways – maybe it’s like that was a very specific instance at the time the song was written and then a couple years go by and a crazy thing happens and it applies again – or in a very general way. Problems of all ages.

Mike: Yeah, I would agree. When it comes down to it, I think we’ve got a lot of eclectic influences that go into this band and with that it’s easy for a lot of people who might be married to certain genres to still like us. We’ve seen that in the bands we’ve played with before where we’ve got this huge cross section from heavy metal bands to bubble gum pop so I think we kind of apply to a lot of different tastes.

Bobby: You guys, as a band, formed in the early nineties, I think it was around 1992; and yet people still go up to you and say “you guys are trying too hard to be Flogging Molly.” Does that get annoying always being compared to them when you guys grew up with them?

Dan: It gets a little annoying in some regards. It just depends on how you’re feeling that day. Sometimes you point it out and sometimes you…

Mike: It’s kind of easy to laugh off. Because when you think about it, the band was formed before Flogging Molly was formed. So when somebody says that I think they’re a little uninformed. We love Flogging Molly, we’re friends with them, they’re great but at the same point we weren’t listening to their records and going off to write songs that sound like them in anyway. If there’s any kind of likeness between the two it would be strictly by coincidence.

Bobby: I guess just a few more questions, when you guys were growing up; whose poster did you have on your wall?

Dan: Wow, I had a lot. I had so many, lots of Led Zeppelin, lots of Sabbath and Metallica for sure.

Mike: Yeah, I was Metallica crazy.

Dan: Slayer.

Mike: I was also Bob Dylan crazy when I was young.

Dan: I didn’t get Bob Dylan crazy until later.

Bobby: If you guys could have one thing at this moment, anything at all, what would you have and why?

Dan: I kind of want to answer two ways. I’d either say a butt load of money so we can buy new bus and new gear; or, new bus and new gear. It would be nice.

Bobby: Either way it results in the same end, it’s just how you get to it.

Dan: Yeah.

Mike: I supposed I would answer with something that’s not really a right now kind of thing, I just want to be able to do this. That’s really the most important thing. I would like to continue being a musician for the rest of my life.