with
Insolence
by Kim George

It’s no longer a death threat. 

These cats from San Jose, CA are back and they are ready to crush the world - with a new drummer, new attitude, new flavor and soon-to-be new label. 

The revolution began in 1995 in San Jose, CA.   The tightest elements of hip hop, reggae and the heaviest riffs of hardcore merged together to form one new sound: INSOLENCE.

Shortly after forming, INSOLENCE (also known as the I.N.S. Crew) gained a loyal following in the Bay Area and were regularly selling out at local clubs.  Soon after, the band entered the studio and created four indie CDs:  Within, Universal, Terrorist (the band’s only all hip-hop album) and Poisonous Philosophy.   As a result, many doors opened for the band and they moved on to eventually play bigger shows with national acts such as:  Kid Rock, Incubus, System of a Down, Sevendust, Jane’s Addiction, Papa Roach, Machine Head, (hed) P.E., Staind and Cypress Hill. 

In 2000, INSOLENCE inked a deal with Madonna’s label, Maverick Records, and released their first major label album, Revolution, in June 2001.  Not long after the release of Revolution, the band began touring the States in support of their new album, with bands like Hoobastank, Ill Nino, Soulfly and Insane Clown Posse.

The revolution was heard.  Their first single “Poison Well,” was played on MTV’s The Real World, Road Rules and TRL.  Tracks from their disc were also featured on the Soundtrack “Little Nikki” and the trailer for “Last Castle.”   They even made an appearance on USA Network’s Farmclub.   INSOLENCE tracks were also featured on Sean Palmer’s Pro Snowboarder for Playstation 2.

2003 just doesn’t mark a new year for INSOLENCE.  It means a fresh start.  The band has a new line-up and have since parted ways with Maverick Records 

I recently had a chance to kick it with Paul Perry, bass player for INSOLENCE.  And so it goes.....

Kim George for antiMUSIC:  I know you guys formed back in ‘95 and Jimmy Silva was directly responsible for the band hook-up.  I always thought your band name was rad.  With there being so many meanings of the word INSOLENCE, what does it represent to this band? 

Paul Perry:  Yeah, you’re right it does have different meanings but for us...as a band...it means “going against the grain” ya know? Total non-conformists. That’s us.  We are leaders, not followers. 

KG: Your music is so multi-cultural and just overall tight.  What are your musical  influences? While you guys definitely have your own flavor,  I hear a lot of bands in your music from RHCP to Bob Marley to even my favorite band, (hed) P.E. 

PP: Oh girl, no doubt.  Those bands you mentioned? They have definitely influenced our music.  Insolence is a combination of a lot of styles from old school 70s funk to 80’s hardcore reggae, metal to music like Machine Head.  A mixture of a lot of different styles. In addition to The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Suicidal Tendencies, Bob Marley and Mad Lion being big influences, I have to say for Mech 1, KRS-1.  And for Mark, The Dead Kennedys.  Mikey loves old Van Halen. 

KG: Many people don’t realize prior to your major label release, Revolution, that you put out four indie CDs. Are those totally obsolete? If not, where can diehards get hooked up? 

PP: Oh, it’s out there.  You just gotta look for it. 

KG: Like on eBay.com? 

PP: Yeah, that’s one place and there are others.  We quickly sold out of the quantities we had but you know what? We seriously are thinking about re-releasing the material later.... like on one CD. It’s a very good possibility. 

KG: I’m curious about the song writing process for INSOLENCE. Is there some method? Like what is written first, the music or the lyrics? 

PP: The song writing process is so not set in stone. We write as a result of inspiration - totally. Inspiration can come from anywhere, at any time. I mean, when I get off the phone with you, I could be inspired right there. Straight up, we are not conventional at all in our song writing process. It’s all about inspiration.  Some times I’ll get an idea in my head, a riff or whatever, and then go into rehearsals and bring it to the table or we just look at each other and start writing.  Most of our songs are written like that. 

KG: INSOLENCE has played shows with some pretty cool bands, such as Machine Head, SOAD and those freaks from (hed) P.E. What band did you enjoy shows with most and why? 

PP: Oh girl, all those bands you mentioned, they are all just flat out great people, really. We have played gigs with nothing but cool people. I’m real good friends with the cats in Machine Head. (hed) P.E. - they are awesome too - I mean, they are friends of ours and I have a great deal of respect for them. (hed) P.E’s Broke CD was completely off the hook.   I’m interested to hear their new stuff. 

(we talk about (hed) P.E. for a while and I tell him how amazing their new material is) 

KG: Yeah, but you have to have that ONE favorite band that you loved to tour with - give it up. 

PP: Ahhh, they are all cool, really.  But honestly, I would say my favorite was when we toured with Soulfly and Ill Nino back in 2001. It wasn’t like we were just playing shows with these guys. I mean, how cool is it to hang out with a bunch your great friends that are normally spread out all over in different cities? No rock star attitudes, just friends hanging out and totally having a good time, enjoying what we do.  So yeah, Soulfly and Ill Nino would be my favorite tour. 

(we proceed to talk about how killer Max and Gloria Cavalera’s bus is) 

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