Seattle's Wimps have always brought the bravery of succinct of Northwest know how. The trio of Rachel, Matt, and Dave have given us songs about life stuck on "Repeat", and the encoded indulgences of "Secret Message", and today we debut the video for "Dog Pills". Found on their recent Party at the Wrong Time EP for Help Yourself Records, the Washington three ask the questions of what are you going to do and where you going to go with the chemical courage dries up.
From the alarm clock opening that reads the digital display of, "Dog Pills", the adventures in Adderall, addiction, and dependency begin with a bang. Wimps' pop punk economy of minimalism is wisely used over the course of two minutes for a farce on humankind's contentious and complicated relationship with substances. The video flips through the void of vices, supported by appearances from the who's who of the Seattle scene. We will leave it to you to spot members of Tacocat, Pony Time, Chastity Belt, Killer Ghosts, Ubu Roi, etc, as they assist on a song and video about sorting through the stash of life. With literal visualization of lyrics, Wimps crash through parties stuck at the kid's table, social stigmas, fight the fear, and keep the humor quaint, quirky and contained like Coke cans in a Ziploc bag.
We had the opportunity to catch up with the band to talk about pizza sponsorships, a forthcoming new album, capturing the energy of performance on their recent Help Yourself 7", and more.
"Dog Pills", is this kinda like that old vintage punk adage about when your skint, and can't afford human good you start a dog food diet?
Yeah! It's like when you've done all the human drugs and they just don't do it for ya anymore, so you turn to your pet's meds. Totally hypothetical of course. But yeah, speaking of eating dog food, did you know it's a sad but true fact that a lot of elderly folks supplement their diets with dog food? And a few years back when there was a lot of news about a pet food recall it was as much to protect pets as to let people know not to eat it?
The "I don't wanna" chorus, was this i any way an homage to NODZZZ ode to drug jonesing alternatives, via "I Don't Wanna (Smoke Marijuana)"?
Ha! I forgot about that song. My friend put it on a mix tape for me years ago. I wasn't thinking about it at the time but maybe it was subconscious.
Love the video for this too, especially the bag of Coke cans! Was this in anyway made as a statement that expresses or reflects the new legalization laws of Washington with a need for perhaps better gear supply so that one does not have to resort to say, knicking doggie pain killers from the vet?
Thanks! It was fun to make, we got a lot of friends and fellow musicians from Tacocat, Pony Time, Chastity Belt, Killer Ghosts, and Ubu Roi make cameos. I'd say it's less of a political statement about the legalization of marijuana and more of a cocaine related pun. I think ultimately it's a tongue-in-cheek way to describe a person who's reaching a pretty low point in life.
We are loving your Party at the Wrong Time EP, what did Wimps learn during the recording process?
Thanks! I think we learned that we enjoy recording best when we can play as live as possible and try and capture the energy of a performance. That's what we tried to do this time and we think it turned out pretty well.
What are the Wimps working on now? A new LP perhaps in the works?
We've been writing new songs and hope to eventually have a new LP by the end of the year. And we hope to have some free tracks available for download by the summer. And we're recording a new music video. And we wanna get a pizza sponsorship.
Wimps' Party at the Wrong Time 7" EP is available now from Help Yourself Records.
