Dear Kenny,

Im so sorry for the delay but i stayed in the outback for a little longer, i could check stuff on my phone but writing a proper email with questions was not an option till i got back to melbourne which i have finally now done! It was so beautiful, saw a ton of animals, plants and jaw-dropping rock formations! anyway, hows the tour prep coming along?i hope to be in england by april so will be definitely catching as many of your shows as i can and the zine will be done by mid feb so just in time to spread the word! the questions will focus on experiences and feelings rather than straight up biographical facts that anyone can read on the internet.  These will fit into a biography, info on the records and my own feelings about the material, hope thats cool? thanks again for offering to answer these questions!

1. The Moving Targets started off with a more ‘HARDcore’ sound before progressing into more melodic/experimental territory, I think your first gig was supporting Scream and Bad Brains at CBGBs?!  What an event! Tell us about that and what attracted you to punk in the first place?

2. As a side note and for the tape traders out there, apart from the three comp tracks off Bands that Could Be God LP, Radiobeat, 1984, is there any other recorded material from this era of the band that hasn’t been released?

3. Was the change in musical direction a natural step or were there outside forces at work, it seemed pretty dramatic at first?  The drumming continued to pound, or even seemingly got faster with each release, whilst the guitars and vocals became more melodic, making for evermore epic sounding releases using that juxtaposition, was that something you guys were consciously working towards?

4. The Burning in Water LP contains one of my favourite MT songs ever, ‘Shape of Somethings’ which contains a killer sax solo by Evan Barr, an accomplished jazz musician, and various ‘jazz-like’ dissonant guitar phrases.  I have always thought punk was heavily indebted to jazz in breaking musical traditions, and as this song indicates such crossovers can give seriously awesome results.  How did that collaboration come about and what are your thoughts on jazz’s influence on punk?

5. The biography is quite choppy with apparent break ups after each record? What made you keep coming back together, albeit with a rotating line-up, and then reunite for shows in the 90s and 2007?

6. Boston in the 80s was quite the hub of punk/DIY creativity, what were some of your favourite venues/record stores/zines?  What in your opinion made that time/place so special?

7. Leading on from that, it seems that there were many people/labels that tried to bring together different sounding bands.  Specifically I’m thinking of Taang! Records who you guys released music through and also released bands like Negative FX, or Modern Method Records, and surprising gig line-ups like Last Rights supporting Mission of Burma’s last show!  Was the scene quite unified? What bands did you guys befriend and grow together with?  I think you guys were quite close with Proletariat and Sorry?

8. Either way there existed wonderful strands that linked bands with seemingly nothing in common.  You guys shared a comp LP with Outpatients and Deep Wound (Bands that Could Be God LP) which was put together by Lou Giordano, producer of Hüsker Dü!  Thats just something you don’t find today.  Why did you continue working with Lou and what made the recording special between you?  How does the recording process work with him?

9. Some people say that Moving Targets were definitely inspired by the Hüsker Dü but I think if you look beyond the production link there was definitely more in common with Modern Method bands like Sorry, or in the earlier recordings bands like Squirrelbait.  In Brave Noise I’m even hearing a little Cure in songs like ‘Lights’!  Were there out of town bands/tours that inspired you guys and what bands have consistently stayed on your playlist for you personally?

10. How many musicians from your Boston circle are still playing today and which ones did you/do you still rate?

11. You’re about to embark on a solo European tour in April playing some Moving Targets songs in an acoustic set, how are the songs translating into that mode and what musicians are we going to see joining you on stage?

Those are the questions!  I didnt want to push you into talking about Pat if you didnt want as I am sure its still a sensitive time for you but if you wish to talk about the remembrance motives of the upcoming tour please do by all means.  please also send me an address so I can send you a ltd ed. of the zine for contributors once its finished or I will just give you the copy in april! thanks again and looking forward to hearing from you!!!

Aleks x

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Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:41:01 -0800
From: kennychambersjr@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: questions!
To: greennutter@hotmail.com



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Aleksandra, Not a problem. I will answer these questions a few at a time if that's o.k. All the best, Kenny   1. Well, our first club gig was a very big deal to us. The three of us ( Pat Leonard, myself, and Pat Brady ) were huge fans of the Bad Brains. We used to cover the ROIR cassette in sequence, minus the reggae tunes. We had seen the band on a couple of occassions and came up with a plan to roll the biggest joint we could afford, with the intent of presenting it to them to secure a future opening slot. They played one night at a club in Rhode Island called "The living room". We got backstage before their show, sparked up the doobie, and let Pat Leonard  sweet talk their manager Anthony. We ended up giving him a rehearsal tape with his promise to call us in a week.   A couple of weeks went by, so we found his business card and gave him a ring. Anthony explained that he had mis-placed the tape and to kindly send him another copy. We asked if we could just do an audition over the telephone for him, and he agreed. We had Rusty Brady (Pat's mom) hold up the phone while we blasted through a couple of quick songs, and Anthony offered us the show that you previously mentioned. It was Christmas eve, 1982 and we drove down with two friends Kevin Cordima and George Norris. We had finally arrived.   I think like alot of punk style bands from the early eighties, the Targets started out hardcore because we wanted to find a place for ourselves to fit in with what was going on. Musically aside from a few adventurous groups, the hardcore scene was everybody looking over their shoulder to make sure they were still on the same team. It didn't last too long with us because we were never really part of that, we just liked that style because it was fun to show off with a drummer like Pat Brady who could probably play circles around most other drummers, and it opened the door for us to play with bands like our heroes the Bad Brains. It's something you grow out of once you either learn how to play your instrument more efficiently and/or you open your mind to other styles.   What attracted us to punk? Well, I was pretty much devoting all my record listening to punk rock since 1977. In turn, I started playing alot of albums for Pat Leonard while we hung out jamming. He took to the music right away, and loved groups like the Dead Boys, The Clash, The Pistols, The Stranglers, etc. Before we got with mr. Brady in June or 82', Stuff like the Bad Brains, Black Flag, Husker Du, were kicking around alot. The first time we stood in a room with him, Pat and I knew he was the one. The guy could fucking play. We just turned him from a Led Zeppelin type drummer to a super fast punk dude in the first week. Brady ended up loving punk rock, and he know about some of the bands before meeting up with him.   2. We recorded 8 songs with Lou Giordano at Radiobeat in 1983. That's where the B.T.C.B.G. tracks came from. The other 4 songs minus one, ended up being re-recorded for Burning in water 2 years later. There are a couple of radio tapes that we did with Garrett White, a local musician/songwriter from Ipswich, MA. who let us use his studio in 1985. There are a few other things on tape, but no groundbreaking unreleased songs. Curtis from TAANG! gave me some money to add overdubs and have Lou mix a song called "Never" that he never did anything with. Maybe he's wating for the 25th anniversary edition of B.I.W.   3. The musical change was natural in a way. See, the Moving Targets kept splitting up and getting back together. I still wrote songs and every time we regrouped, offered them to the band. I was listening to Husker Du and Mission of Burma alot. My guitar style and songwriting reflected this. Brady and Leonard were only to happy to leave the hardcore ghetto and start adding melody and sensitive-guy feelings to our menu. It wasn't like we as a group suddenly decided to spread our wings, to quote that awesome Boston band Aerosmith. People missed the gradual change in songwriting and performance that occured between B.T.C.B.G. and B.I.W.  People at the shows that we played between 1983 and 1986 were able to see the band change. To the rest of the world, it must have seemed like a bigger change than it actually was.   As far as the albums progressed, it's a bit more unnatural. Brave Noise and Fall were recorded at the same time with Lou Giordano at Fort Appache in Boston. Curtis from TAANG! Approached me while the Targets were broken up and I had recently joined Bullet LaVolta on guitar. He wanted to see if we would regroup and record the 30 or so songs that never made it to tape. We did a few rehearsals with Chuck Freeman on bass who had replaced Pat Leonard in 1987. Chuck wasn't keen on a few of the tunes, so Pat was good enough to come back in for those. We did the basic tracks for 27 songs in two days, and picked the songs that we wanted to become "Brave Noise". The rest we considered leftovers, but they eventually made up the album known as "Fall". I think it's a fairly weak record songwise, as they really were leftovers. 2 or 3 songs on it were pretty much decent, and it featured "Away from me", which was a Curtis favorite. With less of a rush to do it and a little more rehearsal, I think "Fall" could have been a much better record. Oh well.   4. Aside from Pat Brady who was an accomplished Jazz player before we ruined him forever, Pat Leonard nor I knew much about Jazz music at the time. I'm sure Brady brought an aspect of it to the Targets, and he also suggested Evan play somewhere on the recording, as they were friends from high school. "Shape of somethings" never had much of a guitar solo or anything in the middle section, so Evan wailed away during that part. The rare times I get to hear that song, I'm always surprised again when the sax solo comes in, it just sticks out (in a good way) so much to me on that record.   Knowing what I now know  about Jazz (not too much ), I think guys like Art Pepper were totally punk rock in their approach to music and lifestyle. My friend from "Dredd Foole and the Din", singer Dan Ireton, played some freaky Jazz shit for me while I was a guitarist in that band. I was a bit too young to appreciate music like that at the time,, but I did notice how wild and free some of it was, although I think most punk rocknever dealt in that kind of freedom. The avarage punk back then might have viewed Jazz as something his parents listened to.   5. Why did the band keep going back and forth? Since I'm the only one answering these questions, it wouldn't be fair to elaborate too much on this. I think during the break-ups we missed the music alot, and each others company to a certain extent. I also think so very highly of Pat Brady's talents as a drummer, as does Chuck, and I'm, sure Pat Leonard felt the same way. A band is only as good as it's drummer someone once said, and with a guy like Brady behind you, it was just something that we wanted to experience whenever we could. Pat's a busy guy with 4 children and his own business, so it was hard for him to do the band for any lenth of time. We played a few shows in the 90's and again in 2007 because he was available to do it. The shows we did in 2007, especially the 2 we played with Buffalo Tom in New York and Boston, were in part celebrations of the band, not really looking ahead too much. I think Chuck and I feel it was a gift to be able to get out there on stage and be as good as we ever were, with such little preparation.   6. Jed Hresko had "Smash" fanzine, Al Quint had "Suburban Punk/Voice" (which featured our first ever review), and they covered the Harcore scene for the most part.  Gerard Cosloy had "Conflict" and he covered alot of other stuff, especially "Outsider" type of music. He was surly and funny as shit in his reviews of bands. For some reason he liked the Targets and of course gave the rest of the world a taste of us with B.T.C.B.G.   During the 80's we played/went to clubs like "Chets last call" a dive bar across from the Boston Garden. Chet was a good guy and would let alot of bands find their sea-legs in his humble abode. "The Rat" was another mainstay, a little classier than "Chets", but that isn't saying alot. My guitar would smell funny for a week after playing there. "T-T the bears" was another nice place to play, and they have a pool table to boot. Lots of cool record stores like "Second Coming" and especially "Rocket Records" where I used to spend alot of time.   Boston was just a great place for music from the late 70's through the 80's. Mission of Burma,The Dangerous Birds, Human Sexual Response, The Bags, LaPeste, The Neighborhoods, then into all the Hardcore bands in the early 80's to stuff that happened towards the end. It was a town where every night you could go out and see a decent to great rock band, and many including myself did just that.   Well, there is part one. I'll finish whateveris left in the next day or so..   As always, Kenny   ps- check for spelling!!! .. .. Here's more...   7. Last Rights/Mission of Burma was an exception more than a rule. The Hardcore bands played with other Hardcore bands. Bands Like Big Dipper, Christmas, Volcano suns, Busted Statues, and Sorry did alot of bills together. The Targets sort of had a foot in both camps, although I don't think we were ever chummy with the Boston Hardcore scene. All those groups like D.Y.S., Slapshot, S.S. Decontrol, Gang Green had their own thing going, and we weren't really ever a part of that. The Proletariat were sort of off to the side as well. I never got the impression that they were part of any gang. If we played a show with them, it was only once. They were a great band though.   I think the two bands that we felt most close to were Sorry and Busted Statues. We did quite a few shows together and always loved seeing the bandmembers. Somehow, we all ended up driving to a campground in New Hampshire ( sort of a forest w/ concrete and red necks) to play a show. The kids didn't know what to make of the music and hated the bands. That was something that bonded the 3 groups together more closely.   All of the different labels concentrated on their own styles for the most part. Oddly enough, I think TAANG! was one of the more diverse labels around. The had The Lemonheads, The Moving Targets AND Kilslug.   8. The Bands that could be God compilation was put together by both Gerard Cosloy and Lou Giordano. I think the line-up of bands reflected Gerards taste more, but I'm not sure. I do know that it's a pretty solid record and deserves to be released on c.d..... it's kinda a forgotten record over here.  Lou had alot to do with getting the songs recorded and and was involved with alot of the bands in one way or another. Shit, it's been over 20 years since I've listened to or even looked at that l.p. In 1988, Curtis from TAANG! had me add some overdubs and re-mix the 3 tunes with Lou at the helm. Nothing was ever released...   Working with Lou was a really great experience. He was the first person we ever worked with who had knowledge of the studio and could see where things should go. It was tough for me to trust some of his suggestions at the time, being a little stubborn and egotistical as I was, but I know the record has stood the test of time, and Lou deserves alot of credit for that. He was a great champion of the band and really put alot of his heart into it. The two of us became good friends and I learned alot from him, not just about music. He's a smart, soulful cat. As we came to do the second and third records, I tried to have more imput in the studio and it probably took away from the production a bit. Looking back, the sound of B.I.W. is the sound of the Targets. Lou was just into making the band relaxed in the studio, thinking about the arrangements, and not being afraid to do things a little out of your relm of comfort. Things I think all good producers try to do.   9. Gosh, Husker Du was an influence on the band, as was Mission of Burma. But I gotta say I think we always did our own thing. We were poppy in ways that Burma never would consider, and way more varied musically than Husker du. I'm not knocking Husker Du at all. They were the proto-type band for a certain open chord, ringing, aggressive music. I just think we had more wepons in our arsenal with Brady and Leonard in the band. Mission of Burma practically invented post punk indie songwriting. We were always the more radio friendly little brother band to them. Roger Miller really re-invented the way a guitar could be played. Very arty, very experimental, but with a total punk approach. Almost like Jazz.   Other than the influences I've mentioned so far, after a while we just made Moving Targets music. Any band moves past, or forgets who they took things from at a certain point. We had our own groove to contend with.   I really don't listen to much music anymore. Things I do like when I'm in the mood have nothing to do with what I listened to 25 years ago. Burma are still making great records and their old stuff still sounds new to me. I like the records Bob Dylan has been putting out for the last 10 years. I still love the Velvet Underground and The Stooges. I just don't have the desire to find great new bands anymore. I did that when I was younger, and it was a blast. Like movies, music seems to want very badly to please people in a very non-threatening way these days. Most current music is not really music to me, just package.       More to come........

 

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