Though he lives in California, Jared Stinson has had a pretty consistent presence in Vegas over the years. His punk band Sic Waiting makes it through at least once a year and the musician fills time between those gigs playing solo under the name Dead Frets or helping out other touring bands with merch. You may have seen Sic Waiting on night one of the Punk Rock BBQ at the Bunkhouse last month, but they have their biggest Vegas show yet coming up, as they share the stage with Face To Face, Strung Out, Dag Nasty and more on the mainstage of this year’s Punk Rock Bowling Festival. But even with a busy schedule, Jared still found time to answer our ten questions.
Let’s talk about your musical history. I know you from Sic Waiting and from Dead Frets, but can you give us a rundown of your previous bands? How did you get interested in music and the guitar?
I started playing guitar and writing songs when I was 14. My dad had an old nylon-string guitar that I found and tried to figure out, and it just kinda took off from there. I actually don’t really have any previous bands that count. I had one in high school but I got kicked out for partying and having sex. The dudes actually wrote me a breakup note. So that was fun. But since 2000 Sic Waiting has been my focus.
How did Sic Waiting come together and where did you guys get the name?
Sic Waiting started when I moved to San Diego in 2000. I found a studio and started jamming there by myself on some shitty songs I had written at college, found some people that wanted to start a band, and we did.
The name is meaningless. I was sitting under a “Sick Waiting” sign in a hospital the day of our first show and just picked it because the promoter needed something, anything, and dropped the “k” because I figured it would be easier to get ownership of domains, trademark etc. that way. Shittiest band name on the planet.
I feel like every time I’ve seen Sic Waiting, the lineup is a little different. Why is that and how does the rotating lineup impact your songwriting and tour schedule?
You’re right – the lineup has undergone many changes since then, and at this point it is essentially a rotating lineup, though the recording lineup isn’t as unpredictable. And the dudes most involved – Dave, Anthony, Jason, Andrew, Mikey, Blake, and more – aren’t nearly as expendable as just referring to them as a “rotating lineup” makes it sound. It’s not the most ideal situation for a band but it’s the only way Sic Waiting can keep moving forward, and we’re continuing to figure it out.
The older we all get in this scene, the harder it is to find someone who wants to join a punk band that hasn’t really seen any success in 16 years and makes no money, but requires a high level of commitment and a willingness and ability to leave their job and family and forgo any future that they might be building just to tour all over the place to be dancing, singing clowns on a nightly basis for over half the year. Go figure.
But I don’t feel like the rotating lineup really impacts my songwriting. Though it does mean that we aren’t often jamming unless we are preparing for a tour or to record, so in that regard maybe it makes us jam less and thus I tend to write less? I’m never satisfied with the amount I play or we play. Always too distracted with shit.
Touring, however, is the exact reason we have this rotating lineup. It makes it so SW rarely has to turn down an opportunity. And when one of the main dudes can’t make a tour, there are a couple equally capable dudes ready to go. I’d love to have that “band of brothers that grew up together and nothing’s gonna stand in our way” story that many people think all of us bands have, but it just isn’t the way we are. Though all of us that make these records and tours happen are great friends, we aren’t Green Day.
Outside of Sic Waiting, you also make music as a singer/songwriter under the Dead Frets name. How did that project start?
The Dead Frets stuff came about just as a way to stay busy, do some touring and put out records when SW was slow. I had songs that didn’t fit SW. I called it Dead Frets because it sounds better than my name, although it’s always a coin flip how promoters actually bill it.
What do you get from the acoustic style that you don’t get from the full band setting?
It’s an entirely different experience, the acoustic vs. the full band. More intimate. I still prefer to play a Sic Waiting show, but I love both. With the acoustic stuff, my buddy Matt Salkeld and I figured it would be fun to do a solo tour but we both thought it would be lame if we just sold our band’s merch on it. So we agreed to write and put out our own solo records and tour on them. We started a little package tour called “Drunks Go Acoustic” and tried to make it like a smaller, drunker version of Chuck Ragan’s Revival Tour. It kind of is.
So now you’re seeing my pattern of starting things that have terrible names. Anyways, it has done pretty well for what it is. We have done 5 or 6 tours, and we try to take a different friend each time. It’s really a blast.
How do you decide what’s going to be a Sic Waiting song and what is going to be a Dead Frets song?
I never have to decide where a song is going, DF or SW. The song always kind of dictates that. We don’t play any DF songs with the band, and I rarely play more than one or two SW songs in a DF set.
Sic Waiting is playing Punk Rock Bowling this year, which is awesome. You’ve been to PRB and you’ve also played Fest and other punk rock festivals so I have to ask – what is your favorite thing about PRB that you don’t get from other festivals?
I loooooove PRB. Love it. Fest is a ton of fun too. Hell even Warped Tour was fun a few years ago. But PRB is an older crowd than the other festivals we have played and been to, which kind of changes the dynamic a bit.
A common trait of most of these festivals is that it’s all good vibes. Everyone is there to party and have a great time, without any bullshit. But with PRB, you’re not just getting what’s happening now and in the future of our scene, the Sterns (and the large staff it takes to pull this off) make a point to bring bands that brought it to where we it is today. Bands like Conflict, Angelic Upstarts, Youth Brigade, Cock Sparrer, Descendents, the list goes on and on. I saw ALL with all 3 singers the first time I ever went to PRB. Where and when will that ever happen again?
It’s a really well-rounded festival whereas most other festivals are highlighting a certain faction of the scene. I don’t think one is necessarily superior to the other, but I love that PRB encompasses so much.
Who are you most excited to share the stage with this year’s PRB?
We’ve been trying to share the stage with Strung Out for years but it’s just never lined up, so I’m stoked we finally get to get that out of the way. I’m a big Dag Nasty fan so that’s really cool for me too. And even though we play on different days, the Descendents will be standing on the same stage that we will, so that’s a badge of honor. I’m stoked for so many bands, but more than anything I really just hope we don’t suck.
Outside of Punk Rock Bowling, it seems like you’re in Vegas at least once a year for a gig, either with Sic Waiting or solo as Dead Frets. What is it about Vegas that keeps you coming back so often?
I used to hate Vegas. The crazy heat/crazy freeze, the Strip and all the douche bags there, high prices, etc. all drove me crazy. But I’ve met some of the greatest people I know in Vegas, and when I come to town now it’s to see all of them and catch up. I haven’t seen the Strip in probably 5 or 6 years. The Vegas scene really is something special, different than many other cities. There’s more of a camaraderie in Vegas, there’s always something going on, someone making something of their own, and there’s always someone willing to help some jerks in a van without a second thought. My Vegas friends always call bullshit when I say that, but that’s how it feels to us coming in and out of town all the time.
And since you do play here so often, do you have any advice for bands who are making this year’s PRB their first ever stop in Vegas?
Anyone who knows me knows better than to take any advice I offer, I think. But the absolute best thing you can do throughout PRB weekend is keep mixing in waters. Seriously. If you’re playing, take it seriously, turn in your info early and BE ON TIME. And for bands, or anyone, making this year’s PRB their first ever Vegas trip, I’d just suggest you drink it in and make some friends! Everyone at PRB is there to have fun and enjoy each other, so be cool. After all, you’re gonna see everyone again yearly now.
Oh and don’t drunkenly throw drinks on the lanes when people are trying to bowl, or ever, dummy.
-Emily Matview
Photos by Margaret Schmitt and Aaron Matterrn
Sic Waiting fans can purchase tickets to see the band at Punk Rock Bowling at https://www.punkrockbowling.com/. Jared also has an acoustic charity show on May 19 at The Beauty Bar and Sic Waiting will playing the same venue with 88 Fingers Louie on July 13.
You can also follow the band in Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook.
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