By Gregg Kirk
April 1993 Big Shout Magazine

Don’t feel uninformed if you’ve never heard of them. White Man’s Overbite has kicked around and been kicked around the Delaware Valley Music scene for several years and hasn’t exactly risen to the top of the notoriety heap. But after months of browbeating and pestering this magazine for an interview, we felt that out of sheer sympathy, not only would we grant them an article, we decided that the fool’s month of April was the appropriate time to actually give these guys a showcase. Again, most have probably never heard of the band. In fact, many deny that they actually exist, and in the month of April (April Fools and all), who can say?

Formed in 1983 as a progressive-rock band heavily influenced by Yes, Kansas, and Genesis, original members Joe Manners, Rick Cheeze, Stuart Pidass, and Larry “Guitar” McKenzie quickly switched to New Wave the following year after finding that playing prog rock actually required some degree of musicianship. During this Cure/Duran Duran/Culture Club-influenced phase, Larry “Guitar” McKenzie became Larry “Keys” McKenzie as the group took up synthesizers and drum machines and began recording a synth-pop demo that was never released.

In 1988, the quartet made yet another style change; they became a garage punk band and released their first EP, I’m More Punk Rock Than You & All Your Friends Combined, as a five-song endeavor that mired the group in controversy.

Unfortunately, unlike some units who find it possible to turn a bit of negativity into increased popularity or sales, the band lost almost all of their immediate following because all of the songs on the EP happened to be written about the group’s actual friends. Songs like “Jerry’s Got a Secret (He’s Gay!),” “Sheila’s Birthmark,” “Phil Can’t Get It Up,” and “We’ve All Had Sex With Jane” are all songs about… you guessed it, actual people with actual problems.

The single, “SissPool” didn’t do much to endear the group with their families either. The song’s subject matter – a fantasy about all of the band members’ sisters in a pool of Hawaiian Punch – has reportedly caused permanent severance of communication with several band members and their siblings of the opposite sex.

After this disastrous release, the group took to wearing bags over their heads – out of necessity at first and then later as a gimmick for live performances. Their latest incarnation finds them in a grunge rock mode – a style of music the band claims they have been playing all along but the rest of the music scene has just now caught onto.

What follows is the exclusive Big Shout interview conducted over the telephone after the band had finished rehearsing at McKenzie’s house last month somewhere in Delaware.

Big Shout: Hello?

Old Woman’s Voice: Hello? Can you speak up?

BS: This is Gregg from Big Shout Magazine. Is someone there from the band White Man’s Overbite?

Old Woman’s Voice: Oh, you must want Larry and his friends. They’re in the basement playing music. Just a moment… (an ungodly din erupts in the background) LARRY! LARRY WALLACE MCKENZIE! LARRY, TELEPHONE! (the music dies down and the phone clicks).

Larry: Hello?

BS: Hi, Larry? It’s Gregg from Big Shout. Are you guys ready for the interview?

Larry: Yeah, hold on a second… MOM, I GOT THE PHONE. YOU CAN HANG IT UP NOW! MOM?!

Larry’s Mom: Larry, it’s that fellow from the magazine. Don’t forget to ask him if he’s hiring. You can tell him you used to have a paper route…

Larry: MOM, GET OFF THE PHONE! I GOT IT! GODDAMN IT!

Larry’s Mom: You don’t need to swear, Larry! Good bye (click).

Larry: GOD! I can’t believe it. Hold on a second. Let me get the other guys on the phone… (rustling on the other line).

Rick: Yo.

Joe: What’s up?

Stu: How’s it going?

BS: Hey, how did you guys come up with your name?

Larry: It comes from a description of the way Joe looks when he’s dancing. You know, he sticks his jaw out real funny and looks like a chipmunk trying to have sex… (laughs).

Joe: Oh, that’s great. I thought we agreed that you guys wouldn’t tell that story… You dicks!

BS: What are some of your musical influences?

Larry: Sex Pistols, the Clash, J.S. Bach, Revolting Cocks, Brahms…

Stu: I’m into early disco, you know, before it all became a sell out.

Rick: The usual – Zeppelin, Sabbath, Nugent…

Joe: I’m more influenced by poetry, I think, than what’s on the radio. Like, I’m really into the Romantic period. Byron and Shelley, man, those guys were really wild. They were like the rock stars of that period, you know what I mean? They would go out, get totally hammered, drill some babes, and then write some awesome poetry that would freak everybody out. They were totally hip.

BS? How would you describe your sound?

Stu: I don’t know, I think we sound like us.

Rick: We don’t’ really sound like anybody else. We definitely have our own style.

BS: But after bouncing from genres over the years, haven’t you settled upon a form of music that is extremely popular today – namely grunge? Aren’t you in essence playing it safe and jumping on the bandwagon?

Joe: No way. We’ve been playing our type of music for years now.

Larry: Yeah, whatever we play, it ends up sounding like WMO – even when we had synthesizers instead of guitars.

BS: WMO?

Larry: Yeah, you know, short for White Man’s Overbite.

BS: Oh, of course. But that’s really a stretch saying that synth music has anything to do with grunge…

Joe: Grunge? What the hell IS “grunge?” I thought it was one of the things along with blood, ketchup, and grass stains that Tide could get out of your dirty clothes. That’s just a label, man. People are always trying to label us. What’s up with that? That’s like saying we’re “alternative.” What IS alternative? What is music? Who are you? Where am I? You know what I mean?

BS: That’s very profound, but apparently you guys have been paying attention to the current trends and watching your MTV because every time there is a considerable change in music, it seems you go with the flow…

Larry: Maybe you should listen to our new EP and that would change your mind. It’s the most serious thing we have ever done, and it doesn’t sound like any of our influences. We’re already getting some major labels interested in it.

Rick: We are?

BS: What’s it called?

Joe: It was going to be released in November, right around election time and we were going to call it Homos Electus, but some gay rights groups heard about it and forced us to change it. So we’re calling it Have Sex With Yourself, and it should be out in June.

BS: What’s taking you so long to release it?

Larry: We’ve been trying to get the right mix for our single, “Have I Got a Job For You” – a tune about safe sex and killing cops.

Stu: Plus, we owe the studio a lot of money and they wouldn’t give us our master tape.

Larry: You’re not going to print that are you?

BS: Of course not. Is it my imagination or are you guys a little homophobic? With your Homos Electus release and the song “Jerry’s Got a Secret (He’s Gay!),” it seems like more than a coincidence…

Stu: It’s not our fault. Jerry’s the one who’s gay.

BS: But… never mind. It seems like you guys are going out of your way to be controversial, and every time you do, it backfires…

Joe: That’s not true. We’re suffering for our art. We’ve been through so much crap over the years… you just wouldn’t believe it if I told you. We’ve definitely paid our dues more than any other band in this area. We eat, sleep and crap WMO every day, but it’s all we know. We’d rather eat dirt, sleep in the street and live in rags than sell out… (rustling on the other line).

Larry’s Mom: Larry, would you boys like some brownies? I just made a fresh batch and they’re still warm…

Larry: Aww, Mom, will you get off the phone?! We’re still doing an interview!

Larry’s Mom: Well, they’ll be waiting for you when you get finished…

Larry: MOM!!! (the other line clicks).

BS: One last question, guys… what do you think of the local scene?

Stu: It sucks, man. There’s no place to play, all the club owners suck, ‘MMR sucks, there’s no good radio stations, the press doesn’t cover local music, and the Cabarets suck. Plus, all of the bands are trying to stab each other in the back and most of them suck. They don’t support any other bands and they’re all into themselves.

Rick: Hey, Gregg, are you gonna give us a record review when our EP comes out?

White Man’s Overbite could not be scheduled for a live showcase appearance this month because the band has no upcoming dates slated.