Houston punk rock act Gun Crazy is playing a gig at The Axiom this Saturday, July 3rd. Please make sure to check them out before they leave for their tour of the West coast. Also on the bill are Austin’s Sex Appeal and the Pink Swords.

Gun Crazy plays loud, fast, and great punk rock–think The Clash, The Saints (in a minor way), and (at times) Social Distortion (hey, I hear it so it must be true). The band is vocalist/guitarist Jimmy Sanchez, lead guitarist Geoffrey, bassist Steven Garcia, and drummer Ken Dannelly.

Jimmy Sanchez from Gun Crazy recently answered a few questions for Houston Calling. Enjoy.

Ten Questions for Gun Crazy

HC: How did Gun Crazy get started?

Jimmy: Me and Geetha Mahadevan, who also played guitar, started the around 1999 or so. Like a lot of bands, it took us a while to get going cause of line-up problems. She left the band in 2001–right after our first real tour. Since then, we’ve had a ton of different line-ups…with the band always hanging on by a thread.

HC: What do you consider to be your primary musical influences?

Jimmy: That’s always a hard question. As far the band goes, we’re influenced by anything from the obvious punk rock stuff like the Saints, X, the Weirdos, the Real Kids…to earlier bands like the New York Dolls, Iggy and the Stooges, MC5, and Dr. Feelgood to 60s bands like the Yardbirds, Pretty Things and the Small Faces…to even older stuff like Chuck Berry, Larry Williams, and Eddie Cochran. I mean, we definitely don’t sound like any of these bands…we just kind of get inspiration from them. It’s not really a secret or anything new, we’re just taking rootsy rock and roll and playing it faster and louder.

HC: What do you think of the music scene in the Houston area?

Jimmy: There are just way too many bands here. There are so many shows going on at once, its sometimes hard to get good crowds. Shows also seem to be set up around genre types, which can be kind of a drag. Its boring as hell when all three bands on a bill sound like Billy Childish or like Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers. Also, I wish the main clubs weren’t scattered so far from each other.

HC: Your album was released on Mortville Records (out of Austin). What can you tell me about the label? Good experience so far?

Jimmy: It’ s a cool label out of Austin. They’ve put out some good recordings?mainly Austin bands. I’m happy that they released our album.

HC: Your album Dropping Like Flies is described as being in the same vein as The Dictators and The Saints. Do you think that’s an accurate description?

Jimmy: Yeah, I think the description is adequate enough. Even though I know we don’t sound like the Saints or the Dictators, two bands I really like, Mortville’s mentioning of those bands just gives someone a general idea of what we’re like. These days, you can’t just say that we?re a punk rock band, cause punk rock can mean a lot of things. The same goes for referring us as a rock and roll band. That?s really generalized…someone might get the wrong impression and think we sound like Buck Cherry or something…or some classic rock band like Foreigner or Bad Company.

HC: What can you tell me about the record–where did you record it, how long did it take, who produced it, etc.?

Jimmy: We recorded the album at the Bubble in Austin. Frenchie, from the Young Heart Attack and formerly of Sixteen Deluxe, runs the studio. It took a few weekends over a four month period to finish the album. Mike Mariconda produced the album. He used to play in a great band called the Raunch Hands and he’s produced albums by the New Bomb Turks and the Devil Dogs.

HC: What’s your take on the state of the music industry? Are you for or against the MP3 “revolution”?

Jimmy: Again, there are too many bands…the market is just saturated. I don’t own a computer so I’ve never messed around with MP3s.

HC: What is the one description that you hate to hear about your music?

Jimmy: That it sucks.

HC: If you could have any band cover one of your songs, what song would it be and what band?

Jimmy: The Medicine Show or J.W. Americana.

HC: What’s next for Gun Crazy?

Jimmy: We?re doing a two-week west coast tour in mid-July 2004. We’ll be playing shows all the way up the west coast to Portland and Seattle, then to Missoula, MT and Denver…and then we’re coming back. It should be about 13 shows.

HC: What is in your CD player right now?

Jimmy: A Bukka White comp I just got, Elvis Costello’s Get Happy, a live Ike and Tina album, the Kinks’ Arthur, Dr. Feelgood’s Down by the Jetty, Skip James, Bowie’s Hunky Dory, Love’s Forever Changes and a Solomon Burke best-of.

Thanks to Jimmy for taking the time to answer the questions. Please be sure to pick up Gun Crazy’s great album, Dropping Like Flies, from Mortville Records. C’mon, it’s only $10–you really have no excuse.

Visit the official Gun Crazy website here. Be sure to check out the band this Saturday night at The Axiom with Sex Appeal and the Pink Swords.

Also playing this Saturday night are The Pleased (from San Francisco) and The Shore (from Los Angeles). Both are great bands. You can catch their Britrock stylings at Fat Cat’s. Cover is $10.

Now Playing in My iPod: Wilco — A Ghost is Born