The Explosion play fist pumpin’ punk rock like nothing seen in the last 10 years of pop-punk purgatory. Now with a major label backing them and a dozen new anthems, these tattooed Bostonians are ready to raise everyone’s adrenaline level. Life In A Bungalo caught up with bassist Damian Genaurdi just before heading out on tour with Most Precious Blood.

Is it strange going from playing small venues to having commercials for your record getting airtime on Fuse?

It’s not as strange as you’d think… If we had commercials on FUSE 3 months after being a band it would have been very odd. The way it is now, you see commercials for bands on indie labels on Fuse. Plus, I don’t have cable and we’re always out on the road so I never get a chance to see it!!

Now that you are on Virgin, what’s going to happen with Tarantula?

Whatever we want!! Tarantulas is a fully independent record label. Virgin is aware of it, and even encourages it… they have no desire to interfere with it at all. We are currently working on new releases by some really great bands: Spitzz, Darker My Love, The Lot Six, and The Static Age.

By combining both hardcore and punk styles into your sound do you feel you are helping blend two scenes that have been become quite a bit separate in the last ten years? (i.e., fans of The Casualties probably wouldn’t listen to Most Precious Blood, but they might listen to you)

I would hope so… we all grew up in scenes where it was normal to go to different shows. Ever since we started we played with all different types of bands whether it was H2O, The Unseen, Jets to Brazil, Rocket From the Crypt, Cave In, Nerve Agents… we even played a few shows with the Promise Ring!

You guys formed way after the 1994 punk explosion, sadly during a time when Boy Bands ruled the charts. Do you feel it was harder to get shows and release records at a time when fanzines and VFW shows were waning?

Actually, at the time we formed, the scene in Boston was really amazing… even if it was towards the end. There were so many great streetpunk bands (Unseen, Pinkerton Thugs, Vigilantes, The Trouble, Ducky Boys, Dropkicks, etc) and also a great hardcore scene (Fastbreak, Right Brigade, In My Eyes, Blood For Blood) both of these scenes were putting on shows at churches and VFW halls around Boston. Sadly, it did die out… places became less willing to have shows and there was a pretty bleak period for a while. By that time, we were starting to tour a little bit and play out of town more on weekends.

What about now? Has the punk/hardcore scene been rejuvenated by the influx of Hot Topic bands like Good Charlotte, or has it just drawn a line between the BIG bands and the underground scene?

Hmmm… it’s a tough call. I can sometimes liken it to watching all those hair metal bands on MTV when I was a kid. Bands like Warrant, Whitesnake, etc. were HUGE bands with their hard rock single, then they’d follow it with a ballad. They had the look down and the tough metal chic. But it was pansy pop below the surface. How was a kid to know that Motorhead was a thousand times more ripping??? I see the same thing happening now… you have a lot of bands that ‘look’ and ‘act’ punk but they’re corporate pop acts. At the same time, since their success IS there, it creates a higher demand for that type of look or music. That’s why ALTERNATIVE PRESS isn’t a numetal magazine anymore. BUT, Alternative Press finds places in their magazine to cover bands like Strike Anywhere, The Bouncing Souls, and tons of other indie bands. Same with Fuse, or MTV2 (more so back when it first started) you’d see an At The Drive in video or something by the International Noise Conspiracy.

Can you tell me a little about what it was like recording the new album? Was there a sound you were going for, and did you achieve your goals?

We were really conscious of staying away from any ‘tricks’ or studio cheese. We wanted a record that had loud, rock guitar tones and a good natural feel to all the instrumentation. A lot of records sound so processed–triple layered vocals, guitar in a can, and everything is compressed. We tried to use older analog equipment, marshall amps, and vintage guitars. Matt’s (Matt Hock, singer) voice has developed so much since we started that we knew his range and melodies would be stronger. I think we worked hard and came out with a great result. Of course, we’re looking forward to the next record because then we can take everything we learned and apply it to the next time around.

Black Tape sounds almost like a rallying call against a higher power, but you don’t name who or what it is? Some would say the government. Would you be willing to elaborate on the writing process of the album?

Everyone brings in their contributions and then we all work on them together… sometimes it’s as simple as adding a bridge or tweaking some chords or rhythm. Lyrically we all tend to write about what’s going on around us… be it the personal, political, or even mental.

There’s definitely some political songs on the record. I think a listener could draw their own meanings as to what exactly the song addresses… I don’t think it’s that obscure but we prefer not to make something so blatantly obvious that it wouldn’t even seem relevant in 5 years.

Where did you get the name Black Tape? Is it a reference to Red Tape or a literal meaning like studio recording tape?

We had an ep called Red Tape, but that was more an allusion to the full length title, Black Tape. Yeah. it’s a reference to the analog studio recording tape that we used, because in the end all the bullshit, the fights, the labels, etc. it’s all about what you commit to that tape.

You’ve toured with many different bands over the last few years ranging from International Noise Conspiracy to AFI. Is there anyone one sound or band that really motivated you to write?

We’ve been really lucky to tour with so many great bands. I don’t know if certain bands motivated us to write one way or another. We certainly get inspired by most of the bands we’ve toured with. Just seeing them perform makes us want to be even better. Going on tour with Rocket From the Crypt was like a lesson in rock and roll every night. Speedo was just an amazing front man and the band was so tight. We just got off of a tour with Social Distortion and seeing how they operate as a band and how Mike Ness controls the stage–there was something to be learned there.

What do you think of the current Boston punk scene? Rumor has it that the local government has been shutting down a lot of shows and clubs, much like Giuliani did in NYC a few years back. Is there any worry that it might hurt some of the up and coming local acts?

Boston has always had great bands–established and up and comers. We haven’t been around much lately to know everything that’s going on, but I do know that a few VFW halls have been consistently having shows without much hassle like the ICC in Allston and the Elks Lodge in Cambridge. The Middle East is even starting to have all ages shows from time to time. As always, it’s in our hands and it’s up to the kids that are involved to make sure we don’t spoil something for ourselves again. We’re tired of playing places with barricades and meathead security, we’d love to have more options and better places to play.