USUALLY I DON'T GET ANY KICK OUT FOR MEAN ROCK BANDS ALA SCANDINAVIAN STYLE, BUT HEY, TIHIS TIME I FOUND A GOOD DEAL: ADAM WEST COME FROM WASHINGTON DC AND, EVEN IF THEY LOVE AND ARE FRIENDS WITH ALL THESE BANDS I DON'T LIKE, THEY HAVE THE FUCKIN' COOL SOUND!!! IMAGINE AN AMPED UP VERSION OF BLACK SABBATH MEETS THIN LIZZY MEETS STOOGES MEETS MISFITS AND YOU GET THE POINT.... THIS IS A CHAT WITH JAKE STARR, SINGER AND FRONTMAN OF THE BAND.... HERE WE GO!!!

GD- Tell me something about the beginning of the band, your Misfits fixation, the Fan Club stuff....
Well, Adam West was officially formed in December 1991 when my high school buddy, Bill Crandall, and I decided to form a band to perform some songs that we had written together. We were both into 60s garage and Bristish Invasion bands, along with 70s mod bands like the Jam. My Misfits fixation? I think they're one of the best punk bands of all time. Glenn Danzig was a great singer and songwriter. He still is, but the Misfits were his high point, in my opinion. Since my voice is similar to his (and Jim Morrison's and Iggy's), it seemed natural that Adam West cover some Misfits songs over the years. What was very sad is we got to open for the (New) Misfits a few months ago and it was the worst show of all time. We sucked but the Misfits sucked even more! The Fan Club? I started the fan club to release our 2nd single, a cover of the Misfits "Cough/Cool." I released 108 copies on green wax and it disappeared immediately. People who joined the fan club really appreciated it, so I kept releasing an occasional fan club record. Although in the past couple years, I've let the fan club kinda slip away cuz I'm too busy.

GD- Why you chose the name of the first Batman as your band name?
It honestly wasn't my choice! Bill Crandall thought of it when he saw an autographed picture I had of Adam West on my wall. We all agreed it was a funny, tongue-in-cheek name. I wanted to change it in 1994, but when Steve joined he said we shouldn't. The good thing about the name is that nobody ever forgets it.

GD- What about your tour in Europe? Any remarks? What's different from the USA?
We've done two tours of Europe so far and our 3rd is coming up in June/July 2002. Europe is the best place to tour. The USA sucks. The clubs suck, the booking agents suck, and there are too many rival bands that try to fuck you.

GD- You also run Fandango Record label, and you have a lot of cool releases out, please this is your chance to get free commercial
I started Fandango Records in 1993 to release the first Adam West 7" single and it just blossomed from there. After 8 years and 29 releases, I'm gonna release a 7" for Gluecifer (Norway) and a 7" for Thee Ultra Bimboos (Finland) and then put Fandango down for awhile. I'm too busy with Adam West to concentrate on the label.

GD- Why you call yourself quite like the one of the greatest American rockers of all times? I was surprised, 'cause I loved Jack Starr too, and I'm very sorry he died...
That was Jack Starr and i'm JAKE Starr. It's my name and I'm an American Superhero, so what can I say?

GD- What do you think of the current punk rock/r'n'r scene and bands? Your faves? Do you really love Europe more than the USA when it comes to play rock? Usually, people have the opposite idea.....
I think there are some fantastic bands out these days! One of my favorites is the Gaza Strippers. But most of the bands I like recently come from Scandinavia, of course! Yes, Europe is much better to play than the States. In Europe, the clubs take care of bands, we make a lot of money and fans buy records and t-shirts more. Overall, the hospitality is top-notch!

GD- It seems like you released a shitload o' seven inches, most of which are splits.... a guy that used to be a friend of mine (and now talks shit behind) said about my band doing split records with bands I love that we're doing it to get exposure and we're sissies 'cause a band must build his fanbase by itself.... apart from this bullshit, tell me your opinion about split records, since it seems that it's a common passion between you and me.
The first split 7" I did with Adam West was only because we only had one finished song at the time... "Beauty" back in early 1996. I like the idea of split 7"s because it gives both bands double the exposure. Plus it's fun to do a split 7" with friends. We've done a couple with bands whom we've toured with, so the split 7" was a tour single too. Tell your friend to fuck off! He's the sissy.

GD- What are the bands that mostly influenced Adam West? I mean the ones from the past, since I found a lot of links with old bands I love in your sound...
All of us grew up with 60s/70s rock and 70s/80s punk rock. Every band from the Who to Black Sabbath to the MC5 to Kiss to the Damned is an influence. Basically, any good rock-n-roll is what Adam West is all about. And you can see which cover songs we've done to really show our likes.

GD- It seems like you get a kick outta Scandinavian bands, with the sound, with your label, with the splits you have done...
I just think that something is in the water in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland to produce such high caliber rock-n-roll bands. It amazes me that I still get a 7" from, for example, a Finnish band whom I've never heard of and it's fantastic! Here I am in Washington DC listening to a band from Tampere, Finland. It's great that rock is an international thing!

GD- If you love old Batman, I guess you also love b-movie flicks.... if so, what are your faves?
My favorite movie of all time is "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" by Russ Meyer. I kinda like chicks with HUGE tits!

GD- Mmmm.... girls with huge tits, that's why you always put'em on your record covers? And tell me, how many girls with huge tits are usually waiting for Adam West in the backstage?
Certainly not enough! There can never be enough!

GD- How's living in Washington now? What about shows and music in general?
Washington DC is the worst rock-n-roll city in the world. I know everybody says that about their towns, but seriously, it sucks here. Since 1985, everything has gone downhill. We have some cool rock bands in the area, like Spirit Caravan, but they never play DC. We play Baltimore more than we play DC.

GD- What are Adam West future plans?
We return to Europe in June/July. We have two CD compilations of singles, B-sides, and rare tracks coming out on Twenty Stone Blatt Records in Scotland and People Like You Records in Germany. We just got a Japanese licensing deal for "Right On!" on Myrmecoleo Records. Maybe we'll get to tour Japan sometime soon. Then sometime in August/September we'll record the next album. We already have some new songs written like "In the Back of My Hearse," "Sixth Son of a Seventh Son," "Hotsy Totsy," and "Trying to Be a Man (in a Woman's World)."

GD- Tell me something crazy happened while on tour, or during some of your shows......
My favorite show on our last European tour was in St. Feliu, Spain, at the Atzavara Club. The crowd would not let us leave the stage! We played every song we knew and they still wanted more. Then after we finished, the crowd carried us one by one to the street screaming and yelling. Not THAT'S a rock-n-roll show!

GD- Ok, that's all, say whatever you want.
Adam West is a rock-n-roll band. Do I need to say more?

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