Interview by Jason Schreurs
It’s probably safe to say that most of the bands associated with the emo-rock movement of the ’90s were, at some point, influenced by Washington, DC’s Fugazi. In the case of Justin Max, drummer for longtime Philly emotional rockers The Jazz June, it was the Washington, DC emotional hardcore legends’ debut album, 13 Songs, that first gave him the Fugazi bug. Over 25 years after its release, Max doesn’t hesitate in the slightest when naming 13 Songs his all-time favourite Classic Platter.
Max: Yeah, that one’s easy: 13 Songs by Fugazi. That was the album that got me into underground music; that was the one, for sure. I don’t know if it would still hold up today as my favourite album, musically, but as far as importance in my life, and also a kick-ass album, that’s the one, for sure.
Did you grow up in DC, or did you come across it in Philly?
No, I grew up in Philly, but it’s one of those things where a lot of the guys in The Jazz June would credit an older brother who was into punk rock, or a friend’s brother, or someone they knew that turned them on to it, but for me we just had this really killer record store in town, and it’s still there. It’s called Siren Records, and the owner was super cool to all of the kids in town, and it was one of those places where you’d go there and hang out and listen to music, because there wasn’t much going on. I remember someone put 13 Songs on the record player there and I’d never heard anything like it. It had the album art with just the red cover, and the black and white punk-rock photos of the guys in Fugazi just freaking out, and it just blew my mind that this kind of music even existed.
Do you remember what you thought the first time you heard the opening of “Waiting Room”?
Absolutely. It starts with that bass line and it’s so powerful; so good. 13 Songs is absolutely still a top-five album for me, musically, but in terms of importance, it’s number one, for sure.
It’s interesting, because it depends on when you are exposed to a band. For me, Repeater was the first Fugazi album I ever heard, so it’s the one that stands out as their classic one, but it’s all about a time and a place, isn’t it?
Oh, absolutely, right, right… and that music will immediately transport you back to the first time you heard it. Yeah, it’s true. At the time, the guys in The Jazz June were already into hardcore and stuff. When they were in high school they’d already known about Minor Threat, and Gorilla Biscuits, and Youth of Today, and I was a little later to it, but I think that’s why I liked that Fugazi album, because it was different. It came out in 1989, but I think I heard it in 1991.
Have you checked out their new demos release yet, where they finally released their original recordings? It’s weird to hear that even Fugazi, at one point, were an upstart garage band that were just trying to figure out what the fuck they were doing.
I think I’ve heard a couple of songs. Yeah, it’s validating for anyone in a band who’s gone through the process of writing music in the garage, or a basement, or whatever, to hear a band that you revere so much that also had such a growth curve.
Is it fair to assume that your drum playing was influenced by Fugazi?
Oh, for sure. The rhythm section of that band is just ridiculous. So, yeah, they were a big influence. They’re right up there.
Fugazi’s 13 Songs was released on Dischord Records in 1989.
The Jazz June’s After the Earthquake, their first album in 12 years, is out now on Topshelf Records.
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