The Night Marchers’ John Reis, in quotes

PHOTO by WES PHILLEY

My favorite musician is better than yours—that is, unless you, too, realize John Reis is a god. Thanks to stints in Rocket from the Crypt, the Sultans, Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu and Pitchfork, the 40-years-young singer/guitarist has a resume as unfuckwithable as the Lakers will be this season (suck on that, Cleveland!). Reis’ latest act, the Night Marchers, is a high-energy quartet that further proves his prowess. The band’s 13-track debut, See You in Magic, takes the best elements of the aforementioned groups, resulting in, well, what you might imagine it to be: perfect rock ‘n’ roll.

Aside from being a talented musician, Reis is also a non-stop quote machine, as I discovered in a recent interview. In fact, dude should write a book. In the meantime, for your reading pleasure, here are a few highlights:

On his life changing after becoming a dad: “It hasn’t really. I [still] don’t watch what I say.”

On his three-year-old son Tiger’s musical ability: “He’s a genius, of course. He plays about seven different instruments, and his songwriting is really great. His lyrics are much better than mine, and he’s a very powerful performer, to say the least. He’s very stream-of-consciousness.”

On songwriting: “You have to listen and believe in this conviction in music—not just your own, but the power of music [in general]. You have to subscribe to that as if it was a higher power. You have to elevate the importance of this or else it becomes just a song. Once in a while, I have to re-affirm that it might not change the world, but it’s an important part of my life. Connecting with people is an awesome byproduct of immersing yourself in rock ‘n’ roll.”

On playing live: “A lot of bands forget about performance. You’re on stage, and there’s a certain amount of responsibility to entertain those people coming to see you. A big part of my attraction to rock ‘n’ roll music is it’s very fun and very cool. Why would you attempt to disguise the joy you get from playing? I don’t try to conceal the joy I get—and I’m obviously a massive fan of music.”

On popular music: “The mainstream has had a magnetic pull that has brought things from the underground to the surface. Now you see people’s tastes are [moving] toward things that aren’t sexy. There might be a lot of great musicianship going on, but they’ve forgotten their nuts at the door. Bands grow up and they suck; they don’t listen to rock ‘n’ roll. How can you expect a band to be good that doesn’t have Elvis or Chuck Berry as some kind of influence? It’s a soundtrack for teen dramas, and I really dislike it.”

On what’s he’s good at besides music: “I’m a good eater. I’m a good liar. I like to cook. I don’t like to run; I like to have had run. I like going to the cinema, but I don’t really know how you could be good or bad at that.”

On Halloween: “I always encourage people to dress up. It’s the coolest holiday, so why wouldn’t you want to celebrate it? For people who don’t want to dress up or look stupid, it sucks that there’s people like that who like our music. The whole thing about going to a show is losing yourself, so it doesn’t matter what you look like, what you say, how much you drink, who you throw up on or what ends up getting written on your face after you pass out. Looking stupid is all part of the thing. You’re in a group of people who are there to support the celebration. Why would they want to make you feel stupid? Does that mean you want to make someone look stupid? If that’s the case, stay home, because that’s not what it’s about.”

DARTH VATO PRESENTS THE NIGHT MARCHERS, NIGHT HORSE, DAMMIT JANET AND FAST DRAGON ALEX’S BAR • 2913 E ANAHEIM ST • LONG BEACH 90804 • 562.434.8292 • FRI • $10 • ALEXSBAR.COM

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