This interview with Buck-O-Nine was done November 24th, 1999.

Josh Nacho: You're on tour right now, and you've seemingly been on tour non-stop since the release of "Libido", what are your plans for when this tour ends?

Buck-O-Nine: Well we havent actually toured that much on this album, but after this tour we will finish work on the next record, play some more shows, and hopefully start recording again next year.

J.N.: Of all the bands that you've toured with, who would you have to say is your favorite and why?

$1.09: Shit that's a hard question to answer....we've had lots of fun with Suicide MAchines and VGS in the past, so probably those guys.

J.N.: One of the first albums that I picked up that crossed punk with ska that got me into a really good type of music was "Twenty-Eight Teeth", and it's still one of my favorites to this day. I was wondering if you had any albums or bands you could say that about?

$1.09: Yeah definitely...Energy by Operation Ivy and Devil's Night Out by the Bosstones really influenced us when they came out..in fact I got hold of those before I was in $1.09...i was in a two-tone style ska band that wasn't touching anything like that, so when that band broke up and $1.09 came along, I was ready for mixing it up.

J.N.: What's a really funny story of something that happened on tour that you care to share?

$1.09: One time this club pissed us off, so we took a shit backstage, then pissed all over the front of the club and threw bottles at it...that was pretty funny.

J.N.: One of my favorite songs is "You Go You're Gone", because the words are great and it just has a lot of meaning to mepersonally, never feeling quite stable, but yet knowing there's always something to fall back on (i.e. the quote, "You can always go home"). Do you have any songs that you feel that passionately about?

$1.09: Yeah, Tom Sawyer by Rush...it really says alot about society.

J.N.: Can you think of anything off hand that costs $1.09?

$1.09: Yeah, 40-boats of Laser malt liquor...but you have to find a liquor store somewhere on MLK street that stocks it.

J.N.: If you could tour with any band, past or present, who would it be and why?

$1.09: Past or present? Well that would probably be the English Beat...thats one band that I havent got to see from the old two-tone days...and they are also a big influence on us in subtle ways.

J.N.: I know a lot of bands have shows that seem to be described as "violent" and even as far as "Satanic", but the general feel of your show always seems to be fun, and the music always seems to make people smile and wanna dance. Do you think kind of having that good energy vibe has helped you, or do you some times just want to write a sad ballad or angry metal song?

$1.09: Well yeah, when we first started out, it was all Nirvana and teenage angst, so we wanted to show the flip side of that, but sometimes you arent happy, and you just want to belt out an angry song, so i think you'll see a little of that on the next record, it will be more of a realistic representation of what makes up our band emotionally and psychologically.

J.N.: You did the Warped Tour this year, and I know a couple of years back a band by the name of Limp Bizkit was on that very tour. What do you think of the success of Limp Bizkit, and how they went from Warped to Mtv? Do you ever think, like, "Hey, that could be us one day", or do you think they suck?

$1.09: Nah they don't suck, they're a fine band, in fact i just saw that new video with the dude from wu tang and it was pretty cool....yeah we dont think about mtv too much, but we do want to be successful in the end.

J.N.: On the subject of Warped, what do you think about the content of Warped going from, basically, punk, ska and hardcore to the addition of rap acts, and the variety just becoming larger? I know it started with bands like Pennywise and NOFX, and now Eminem was on it and the Roots. Do you think that maybe the commerciality of it all has cheapened it, as people see this now as somewhat of a new Lollapalooza?

$1.09: Well I think the people that run the warped tour are paying attention to what kids are listening to out there...a lot of skaters arent into pennywise anymore, theyre listening to hip-hop and shit like that, so you have to pay attention to that...hopefully they will keep it real though..like the roots, and black eyed peas were great on the tour, but eminem? c'mon that was all hype and no substance.

J.N.: In "Little Pain Inside" you mention a lot of fast food joints, Jincluding Taco Bell (which I love), do you eat there a lot? Where do you think you eat the most and what do you like the best. Like, if I said, right now you could have anything from any fastfood place, where would you go and what would you order?

$1.09: Yeah we eat taco bell on tour quite a bit, but our favorite fast food is the authentic taco shops all over southern california, where you can get a fat carne asada burrito and a cheese quesadilla at 2 am when you're all drunk on your way home from the bar. (please dont drink and drive).

J.N.: What are your thoughts on TVT? How have they treated you, and have you ever considered leaving them, or do you feel you're fine where you are?

$1.09: They've been very supportive of us, and have given us a lot of artistic and creative freedom, and even if we wanted to leave, they own us for a few more records.

J.N.: You're probably one of the biggest punk/ska bands out there right now, and your shows are definitely packed and many people have heard of you and buy your albums. When do you think the point in time was when you looked up and just said, "Wow, we're big... We made it"?

$1.09: Actually we haven't done that yet...we still make poverty-level wages, we still work our asses off, and we still have a long way to go before we'll say we've "made it" if that ever happens.

J.N.: I know you kick ass in concert, have you ever considered putting out a live album?

$1.09: Yeah we've been thinking about that for the last year or so, but we haven't been able to get the mobile recording set-up yet..we were gonna do it in japan, because the shows go off over there, and the sound is really good, but it didn't happen last time...maybe sometime after this next studio album, we will do one...id say sometime in our career we're gonna put out a live album, definitely.

J.N.: What do you think about the fact that, you kind of appeal to both the punk and ska crowds, because you mix the sounds and a lot of kids with Dead Kennedys shirts will show up, but then also kids wearing plad and Toasters shirts show up too?

$1.09: WE love it, and always have...because most of us in the band grew up listening to thrash, punk, metal, ska and reggae, so we have always embraced the crossover potential of our fan base. Just look at the variety of music we have put out over the years.

J.N.: What do you do on your time off, when you're not on the road or not working on new music, what are other things you enjoy doing?

$1.09: WE like snowboarding when the snow is around...golfing a little, software piracy, hacking corporate websites...smuggling micro chips into mexico...you name it, we've got our little mitts in it.

J.N.: If you had to describe your music to someone who had never heard it before, how would you describe it?

$1.09: Good-time frat-boy poundin' party music to date-rape to.

J.N.: If you could say one last thing to me, or anyone else who maybe reading this, what would it be?

$1.09: Don't be a slave to technology...make it your slave...fuck shit up!

Photos taken from BuckONine.com, if you are offended by this, email me and complain.)