An Interview with Colin and Kevin from The Damaged by Paffy.

Markus Paffhausen, m.paffhausen@jungbluth.com

Background on the band: Colin and Kevin Moran, brothers, founded The Damaged in 1999. Colin is the lead singer; Kevin is the guitarist; Alan Taylor is the bassist; and Mark Jagiello plays drums. The Damaged has played extensively along the East Coast of America at venues like the world famous punk rock club CBGB's in New York City. The Damaged have recorded two albums: "Small Town Hell" (2000) and "Victim of Circumstance" (2001).

Paffy: Tell us about your political views. How do those views come across in your music?

Kevin: Our songs are about politics, but we do not think of ourselves as a political band. Politics isn't just about the government. It's about society. It's about where you live. It's about people. It's about work. It's about why life is good sometimes and about why life is bad. Most of all, it's about what we believe in and how we see the world. Our songs reflect that. The song, "Small Town Hell," is a perfect example of our type of politics.

Colin: I don't think of myself as political, but rather opinionated. I observe society and see how they treat each other. I observe the government and see the how they fuck the people. It makes me sick that hard working people all over the world get taken advantage of everyday. The blue-collar worker is the only real hero this world has got left. So thats why I try to write my lyrics for the outsider and the working stiff. Anyone who's been picked on and put down while trying their best. In a song you will always know what I am talking about, because I want you to know that I am pissed.

Paffy: Tell me what "Small Town Hell" is about...

Colin: "Small Town Hell" is about living and growing up in an area that you feel out of place in. The town we live in is by no means a metropolis, only about 9000 people. So by your 18th year of living here you get really bored and apathetic. That's when you get sucked into small town hell. Then all you do is work, drink, and sleep.

Paffy: Who writes the songs?

Kevin: Colin writes the lyrics and I write the music. But Colin and I work on a lot of songs together first, so we have a lot of collaboration. We've written dozens of songs that we've never even played. We just try to pick the best ones and play those.

Paffy: How would you describe your music?

Colin: Its kind of a mix of punk with some old school hardcore thrown in. I always hate labels so I just tell people that its loud, hard, fast rock and roll.

Paffy: How do you guys support yourselves?

Kevin: I work for a newspaper. Al, our bass player, works at a musical instrument store. Mark, our drummer is in college.

Colin: I've been pumping gas since I dropped out of college 2 and a half years ago

Paffy: Do you like what you do for work?

Kevin: We all hate our jobs. But if we didn't have our jobs, we wouldn't be able to afford to play in a band. We do everything ourselves and pay for everything ourselves. We'd rather be touring Europe or the U.S. all the time if we had the money. I have a feeling we'd be really popular in Europe.

Paffy: Could you tell me about the song "Out of Today"?

Colin: "Out of Today" is a song about escape and frustration that you could be doing alot better. Escaping from your town, your friends, your job, anything that is pissing you off. Sometimes you just want to pack up and leave for a while so when you come back maybe your perspectives have changed and you can cope a little bit better with the monotony of daily life, if that is ever really possible. Monotony is really what drives most working class people, like myself, to drink so that things don't seem so boring.

Paffy: Which song is most meaningful to you?

Colin: I'd say "Seven Hours to Go". Because it captures some really sincere emotion and it was the first song Kevin and I wrote together.

Kevin: I agree with that.

Paffy: Can you describe the music scene where you play?

Colin: The scene around we where we live is small but dedicated and playing to them is always a good time. As for the east coast as a whole, I think its one of the best scenes around. Great kids, great bands, and good venues. It makes me feel really great to contribute to it and know that punk rock is still well and alive in the underground.

Paffy: When did you first start listening to rock 'n' roll?

Kevin: I'm 30 years old, so it must have been a long time ago.

Colin: I started listening to punk when I was 13 years old and have never looked back since.

Paffy: What do you do for fun?

Kevin: I drink lots of beer. And I go fishing a lot.

Colin: Drink hard liquor, smoke, and listen to music.

Paffy: What do you think about punk bands in the mainstream like Blink 182 and Sum 41?

Colin: Can't really call those bands punk anymore really. Its just a friendlier version of punk with cute lyrics and poppy riffs so you can listen to it with your parents. I'm not too worried though, their fifteen minutes of fame are almost up anyway.

Paffy: What do you want people to get out of your music?

Colin: I don't think our music is gonna change the world but I do hope that the people who listen to it do get the message that life is a battle and you need to keep up with it so that you don't get trampled. We've all got our problems, we just can't let them destroy us.

Paffy: Do you think that punk is dead?

Colin: Hell no! It's alive and well. And it will always be around as long as there are pissed off kids who want to be heard. Punk will die the day that there are no more outsiders, I don't ever see that happening.

Contact: kdmoran@hotmail.com, http://www.detriments.com.