IR:
WHEN DID YOU GUYS GET TOGETHER? I.E. BIO OF THE BAND.
PAT KIM:
We started in 1987. Reggie & I decided that we wanted to form a power pop band
and contracted Brian, who had just left the Reactions. In 1995, Brian left the band
because he didn't want to tour and wanted to settle down and get married and
have a family. It took us two years to find our current bass player, Josh. It's really
hard to find great bassists who can sing harmony really well.
IR:
WERE ANY OF YOU "FORMALLY" TRAINED IN MUSIC?
PAT KIM:
As a matter of fact, we all have various degrees of formal training. Reggie is a
jazz/classically trained drummer and had been playing and reading music since he
was five. He also took piano lessons for a short time I started on classical piano
when I was around eight years old. Since I could read music, it was really easy for
me to pick up other instruments. I picked up guitar when I was thirteen, and bass
shortly after that. I also began playing drums some time later and played in a
few punk bands before starting Beatnik Termites. I started singing when I was
very young. My two sisters and I would go Christmas carolling and do our three
part harmonies. Josh has been in the high school choir, so I guess you could say
he is a formally trained vocalist. He taught himself how to play bass, but I don't
think he can read music. We all know music theory very well, which is a requirement
to be able to do the barbershop style harmonies that we have. Our formal musical
background is one of the major things that sets us apart from most other punk bands.
One reason why it took us so long to find a bass player is because there are not too
many people in punk rock who understand complex music theory.
IR:
CURRENT LINE-UP?
PAT KIM:
Pat Kim - guitar / lead & harmony vocals
Josh Yakunich - bass / harmony vocals
Reggie Silvestri - drums / harmony vocals
IR:
DISCOGRAPHY?
PAT KIM:
CDs and LPs
- BEATNIK TERMITES, "TASTE THE SAND!!" Full length CD. Cover art is three fantastic full
color hand painted animation cells. Lotsa punk for your hard earned buck.
- BEATNIK TERMITES, "TASTE THE SAND!!" European 12 inch vinyl LP. Same songs as the
CD, few copies remain.
- BEATNIK TERMITES, "LIVE AT THE ORIFICE!" Full length CD and 12 inch picture LP on
Clearview Records. 14 tunes. Art by Chris Applegren from Lookout! Records.
- COMPILATION, "POP A BONER!" Outrageous 17 song CD compilation with simply som of the
best punk and pop punk that you'll ever hear! In Europe, write Get Happy!! Records,
Gauss Str. 7, 60316 Frankfurt, Germany.
- BEATNIK TERMITES, "BEATNIK TERMITES" 12 inch EP. No longer Available
7 INCHES
- BEATNIK TERMITES, "SCHOOLBOY'S DREAM" Blue vinyl 5 song 45 rpm 7 inch on Get Happy!!
Records, Frankfurt. Features most excellent full color glossy artwork by Ray Ahn from the Hard-ons.
- BEATNIK TERMITES / PARASITES, "I DON'T WANNA BE BAD!!" /w "I ALMOST LOVED YOU" split 7
inch single on transparent red vinyl. You'll hate our song.
- BEATNIK TERMITES / SHOCK TREATMENT, "RAMONES RIP-OFF" Spain's Shock Treatment with the
Termites on a white vinyl split 7 inch EP. One song from each band's full length, and one cover tune each.
- BEATNIK TERMITES, "LINEAGE" Two cover tunes to pay homAGE to a seminal band, the Descendents'
"Suburban Home" and "Minute" by All. Cover art by Karl Alvarez from All. Also available through Coolidge Records.
- BEATNIK TERMITES, "STRAWBERRY GIRL" b/w "WHEN SHE'S NEARBY" American 7 inch on Recess Records,
European 7 inch on No Tomorrow. Recess Records version has full color sleeve. Two songs from our self
titled debut 12 inch. Write No Tomorrow, APDO 1134, 12080 Castellon, Spain for European issue because
we don't have any more copies here.
- BEATNIK TERMITES, "ODE TO SUSIE AND JOEY" b/w "TERMITE HOP" A re-issue on Recess of our
self-released 7 inch. Faster versions than those on "Taste the Sand!!"
- BEATNIK TERMITES, "UNDESIRABLE" /w "MARY LOU" One sided 7 inch on Get Happy!! Records.
Not worth the money because both songs are also on "Taste the Sand!!" I don't have any
more copies, the label doesn't have any more copies, so forget it.
IR:
HOW IS THE CLEVELAND RESPONSE TO THE TERMITES AND WHAT KIND OF
TURN-OUTS DO YOU GET FOR SHOWS?
PAT KIM:
Although we hardly ever play locally, when we do play, we get a very enthusiastic response.
I would have to say we're probably the largest drawing punk band in Cleveland. We
usually bring over 400 to a show.
IR:
WHAT ARE YOUR INFLUENCES? (ANDY GIBB?)
PAT KIM:
Mostly music from the 50's and early 60's. My songwriting is heavily influenced by
professional writers who wrote a lot of the made-for-the-top-40 commercial hits.
Some of these are Carol King/Gerry Goffin, Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich, &
Feldman/Goldstein/Gottehrer. They wrote a lot of songs for groups like the Shirelles,
Herman's Hermits, the Angels, the Shangri-Las, the Ronettes, the Archies, and even
some early Beatles stuff. I also like a lot of the one-hit-wonder stuff like Gerry and
the Pacemakers and the like. Dion & the Belmonts are really cool too. There's also
a surf 60's element that includes the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, and the Ventures, as
well as the instrumental jazzy stuff like Santo & Johnny. Basically, everything that
you would hear on an oldies station that's British invasion and earlier has influenced
me. I'm also heavily influenced by the Ramones and the Descendents. If you think
about it, our music is simply a hybrid of the two styles of music. It's essentially oldies
with distortion and a surf beat. If you took away the distortion, we'd probably sound
right at home on a oldies station.
IR:
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THE "LINEAGE" 7"? (ALL/DESCENDENTS COVERS)?
PAT KIM:
Well, the Descendents have always been really good friends of ours as well as a huge
inspiration to us. We all thought it was a great idea, so we contacted Jack from Coolidge
and he was stoked to put it out.
IR:
YOUR MUSIC SEEMS TO BE AN ECLECTIC TASTE OF PUNK, SURF, AND STRAIGHT OUT R&R.
AS A BAND, HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR MUSIC?
PAT KIM:
If I had to classify us, I would say that we are a punk band in the vein of Rocket to Russia -
Pleasant Dreams era Ramones style, except with a more pronounced oldies influence.
IR:
ANY NEW FULL LENGTHS IN THE FUTURE?
PAT KIM:
Yes, we actually have a full-length, entitled 'Bubblecore', which is due out sometime around
the end of this year.
IR:
THE RAMONES COVER ALBUM ON CLEARVIEW IS GREAT, HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED IN THAT?
PAT KIM:
Well, Todd released our Live album, and we indicated that we were interested in doing
Pleasant Dreams, so he went for the idea.
IR:
ANY TOUR DATES? MD PERHAPS?
PAT KIM:
None so far, but I will keep you posted. Also, I keep any tour info on our website at
http://home.att.net/_beatnik-termites
IR:
"LIVE AT THE ORIFICE" IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES, DESCRIBE WHAT MADE YOU THINK TO DO THAT.
PAT KIM:
Actually, Todd wanted to do a live album from us, just like he got from the Queers, so we decided to do it.
IR:
THE ART ON THE MAJORITY OF YOUR 7"S IS BY RAY "HARD-ON" AHN, DO YOU STILL USE HIS WORK?
PAT KIM:
Sure! We have a future T-shirt design as well by him.
IR:
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR THE TERMITES?
PAT KIM:
We're going to release and tour! Keep an eye out for us!
