Deep from within the blackened bowels of the city, a haunted wail echoes through the night..."Shit, we sucked!" Those are the overly-critical words of Mark Starr, lead vox for The Gimmicks, following their "debut" performance at Garage Shock '97. Plagued by the jitters and severe technical problems, the band still managed to blaze through thirty amazing minutes of ferocious rock 'n roll. But, "the feeling wasn't right", they said. Black-clad and seething, Seattle's sinister sons of hi-treble dimentia, have no need to worry. For over a year now, The Gimmicks have been knockin' 'em dead, driving audiences loco with their kinetic concoction of bad-blood rock 'n roll meets horror movie. The "feeling" is an integral part of The Gimmicks' agenda. Imagine an ear-melting, sonic knife fight betwixt Aussie demi-gods The Scientists and early Birthday Party, and you'll get a glimpse into that particular circle of hell in which The Gimmicks inhabit. Prior to their much-anticipated, self-titled debut EP/CD, I wanted to find out more on these mysterious ambassadors of ill will, so I called up head Gimmick, Mark Starr.

Mink Sedgewick: Give me a short history of where and how The Gimmicks got started.
Mark Starr: Well, we all met through the grapevine, about a year ago. It was Dave on guitar, Luke on drums, myself on guitar and vocals, and Lisa (ex- Inhalents) on bass. Lisa was pretty busy with her other band, so Steve took over on bass and we've been rockin' ever since.

Mink: How would you describe your sound?
Mark: Art Chantry says it's scary, but I don't think it's scary. I hate to use quaint rock terms, but it's pretty "raw" sounding. It's not very ground- breaking music, but our high energy approach keeps it alive and screaming.

Mink: Many songs from the new EP seem very bleak, oozing with the kind of soulful despair The Scientists were known for. Were they influences?
Mark: Definitely. And the Yardbirds, Stooges, Nick Cave, Chrome Cranks, all big influences. I listen to many different kinds of music, though, and it all filters through.

Mink: The new record is a killer. How did super-producer Tim Kerr influence the proceedings?
Mark: Tim was great. He taught us how to work together as a band. He schooled us. The School of Tim, what can I say? His patience and skill is fuckin' limitless. If we sound great on record, it's largely thanks to Tim. He didn't hide anything and he really LISTENS, unlike alot of people. Tim is also a big influence on us.

Mink: What do you think of the current state of rock 'n roll?
Mark: (groan) I'm so picky about new bands. I dunno, some people are so quick to follow the dumbest fucking fads. I'm talking about people that should know better, too. The current state of rock 'n roll doesn't concern us much.

Mink: What do you hope to accomplish with The Gimmicks?
Mark: To keep on growing as a band, yet playing every show as if it were our last, and hopefully enjoy ourselves doing it.

Mink: Were there any stand-out fave performances you remember from last year's Garage Shock?
Mark: The Makers, Lord High Fixers, Gasoline...all the bands I saw, were real rock 'n roll machines.

Mink: Any plans for a tour in the near future?
Mark: Yeah, we're gonna do the west coast in late July and August, hopefully with The Makers.

Mink: Any final words?
Mark: No comment.