Very Paranoia is composed of veterans of the sonic conflicts from the Annihilation Time/Lecherous Gaze/Hot Lunch/Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound divisions, the four of them huddled together in their San Francisco rehearsal room where they quickly hammered out an arsenal of crude missives designed to fire as roaring missiles into the heart of 2019.

The band formed in 2018 with the express intent of delivering short, sharp shocks of electrified rock and roll that simultaneously heralded both a “war on music” and offered a way forward using the scattered shards left behind on the sticky, rickety fields of battle and trapped in the structurally unsound masonry memory of those walls still standing around us. The band traveled to the Sonoran Desert where they set up camp at Midtown Island Studio in Tucson, Arizona. The Island’s sole occupant and aural wizard Matt Rendon of the Resonars captured 15 tracks over three 10-hour stretches. The LP is released in an edition of 300 copies on black vinyl via Who Can You Trust? Records. An alternate cover version with screen printed sleeve is available in an edition of 30 copies. Both include a copy of ‘A Very Manifesto’, a booklet containing lyrics, photos, flyers, and stories, as a companion piece to the album.

Cory Linstrum – vocals
Rob Alper – guitar, backing vocals
Chris Grande – bass
Jefferson Marshall – drums

“Like the very paranoia boys”

Very Paranoia, what a name!

Rob Alper: It comes from a lyric I misheard/misunderstood in a song called ‘Accident’ by the French punk band Warm Gun. Their sole 4-song EP from 1977 is one of my all-time favorites and as many times as I’ve listened to the song—which as far as I can tell is about a troubled kid entertaining thoughts of familicide—I still can’t make it out (It’s the second half of the second line of the first verse if anyone wants to give it a shot). What I’ve always heard/continue to hear is the singer say: “like the very paranoia boys”.

Chris Grande: It has a nice flow.

Cory Linstrum: Yes, from the Warm Gun song. We even tossed around the idea of covering Warm Gun’s ‘Broken Windows’ for a bit. Our version never materialized.

“The four of us had a natural chemistry.”

When and how did you all originally meet?

Rob Alper: Chronologically, I first met Cory when his band Salem Lights and my band Sonic Love Affair were labelmates (Dollar Record Records…hey, Buck!) and used to play a lot of shows together in the early 00s. I met Jefferson around 2005/06—or whenever his band Assembled Head in Sunburst Sound released their first record—when we became fast friends as Assemble Head and my band Hot Lunch both went on to be labelmates on Tee Pee Records and played a lot of shows together. And I met Chris I think around 2011/12—or whenever the first Lecherous Gaze record came out (also on Tee Pee). The Gaze and Hot Lunch played tons of shows together since.

Chris Grande: I met Rob at a gig probably. Either a Lecherous Gaze gig or Hot Lunch. Or a combination thereof. I met Jefferson and Cory at band practice.

Cory Linstrum: As Rob mentioned, our former bands were labelmates. It had been about a year, maybe two, since my last band had wound down. I had been doing a lot of writing, mostly for Ugly Things magazine, when Rob came calling. It was just the right moment, as I was itching to get onstage again. I hadn’t met Chris or Jefferson before stepping into the rehearsal room. It was evident, however, that things would click quickly. The four of us had a natural chemistry. Immediately we were on the same wavelength and were becoming a potent band and close friends.

Jefferson Marshall: I met Rob at a gig playing in another band. We kept in touch through the years and spent a lot of time talking music and hanging out when we could. It was easy to imagine being in a band together, but the opportunity didn’t arise until he hit upon the idea for Very Paranoia. He not only had riffs in hand, but personnel in mind as well. He said it was gonna be a “high energy” kind of music, so irrespective of who the people were I was all about playing drums for it. He also said we might do a Velvet Underground cover, which sounded pretty audacious, but we gave it a shot and I think it sounds good! For some reason it just worked for this outfit.

Can you elaborate the formation of a group?

Rob: It came together pretty quick. The short version is that Chris and I were throwing a few back at a show and talking about music. I professed my insatiable love for the incredible debut LP by the Melbourne band Power (seriously, I love ‘Electric Glitter Boogie’ so much I bought a second copy fearing I might wear the first one out). Turns out Chris not only dug Power, but the Gaze played some shows with them over in Australia. Mind blown, I told Chris I was dying to start a band like Power: Straight up stripped down raw dirty rock and roll. And he said “Alright, let’s do it!”

I sent Chris a couple riffs I had in mind and he was into them. Next step was getting Jefferson in on drums. I don’t think I finished describing what Chris and I had in mind before Jefferson agreed! So the three of us got into the rehearsal space and had four songs hashed out in less than two hours. The next day I reached out to Cory and told him what we were up to. I sent him the raw recordings of the four songs and he showed up with full lyrics for all of them the next week!! Chris and Jefferson didn’t know Cory before Very Paranoia, but the four of us gelled quickly and started banging out songs like mad.

Cory: I hadn’t even heard Power yet. Rob sent me some stuff to listen to and it was really cool. I picked up a Coloured Balls-vibe right away. I immediately tapped into the same energy, which was easy and natural. I already had it inside of me from being a diehard MC5 fan.

Jefferson: Rob introduced me to Cory and Chris and we got into a studio soon after that. I was excited to play with people I didn’t know too well and felt there was a pleasant amount of spontaneous combustion during those first sessions. It was invigorating and kept my interest level in returning to practice real high. At first I felt like just channeling Dennis Thompson [MC5 drummer], but I found my own footing and the tunes fell out of the sky.

“To be in Very Paranoia you must worship at the altar of the Frantic Four.”

Did you have any special concept in mind or was this just a spontaneous project to have fun and play rock’n’roll?

Rob: Despite being inspired by Power, I didn’t think we’d necessarily sound like them. But I was definitely motivated by their energy and wanted to tap into that for Very Paranoia. At the risk of taking all the fun out of your question about fun, I must confess that I did think about and tried to convey to the other guys that I imagined our songs being firmly high-energy rock and roll in the spirit of the MC5, Saints, Dr. Feelgood, Flamin’ Groovies, Little Bob Story, et al, but decidedly minimal/sparse/austere/naked in the vein of some of the colder British bands of the punk/post-punk era—think early records by Wire, Buzzcocks, Cure. And to the extent that our selection of cover songs might help describe us, we play stuff by Poison 13, CRIME, Bizarros, Velvet Underground, and Pink Fairies in our live sets, and songs by the Subsonics and Special Forces-era Alice Cooper were on the short list to get to next.

Chris: I wanted to play straight ahead boogie rock like Status Quo.

Rob: Chris does a much better job of getting to the point! To be in Very Paranoia you must worship at the altar of the Frantic Four.

Cory: Concept-wise: faster/louder! This is four high-energy rock ‘n’ roll maniacs assembled together. Rob was on an insane creative streak. He had just come out of writing and recording the second Hot Lunch album and needed a release for these other riffs he had brewing — riffs totally different than what he had just spent a year doing with the other band. The rest of us knew exactly what to do and where to take them. It’s in our DNA! We had discussed short songs, no longer than two minutes-fifteen seconds. The timing 02:15 became our calling, thus it became our concept.

Who Can You Trust? Records released a nice 7-inch, (‘Make Me’ / ‘Out Of Touch’). Is your new album a continuation of the recordings or something completely different?

Rob: Very much a continuation of the original conception of the band as those two songs were written during the same initial burst that gave life to everything on the LP. We selected those two songs in conversation with WCYT? because we all felt they served as a solid introduction to what the band sounds like.

Cory: Agreed. The debut single and the songs on the full-length were products of the same body of work. When Very Paranoia began, it was cranking out songs non-stop. Every practice yielded more material, very quickly. Before long we had a tight set and enough material for an album. I was writing lyrics every morning, trying to keep up with Rob’s introduction of song ideas.

Jefferson: I like that single a lot and if I remember correctly there was already a fair amount of material cooking. It’s all definitely stamped from the same mold and we focused on not getting fussy about things. Riff! Bass & Drums! Vocals! 2 minutes 15 seconds: GO!!! It’s like everything is a Jerry Lee Lewis single. I like that. In fact now that I think of it we should have put some piano in there.

The recording process sounds really something else. You traveled nearly 1000 miles to the Sonoran Desert where Matt Rendon of the Resonars captured 15 tracks. Can you share some further details how your album was recorded and released?

Rob: There are definitely some “further details,” but I’ll try to make it short! My wife and I moved to Tucson in mid-2019 after living in San Francisco for about 20 years. I was going back and forth between Tucson and SF every month for rehearsals and shows with Very Paranoia and Hot Lunch (which was working pretty well until the pandemic shut down the world). Even before I moved, I floated the idea of recording the LP with Matt Rendon at Midtown Island Studios in Tucson—Matt is an old friend and ex-bandmate, but more importantly for this story, has one of the best ears and studios for capturing high-energy rock and roll bands in their unadulterated glory! So, in November 2019 Chris, Cory, and Jefferson piled in the van and came down to Tucson for a week to hang out and make a record. I’ll let them take it from here…

<a href="https://whocanyoutrustrec.bandcamp.com/album/very-paranoia">Very Paranoia by VERY PARANOIA</a>

Chris: We took the Gaze van down to Tucson to record and play some gigs. It was sick. No hiccups and Piggee was there. Drove back a week later and had Thanksgiving at Denny’s.

Corry: Being in the desert, especially around Tucson, is one of my favorite spots. I feel free and relaxed in this environment. It’s my go to spot to clean out my head, forget about city life, the job and bullshit. It cleanses me. When Rob suggested Midtown Island as the studio to record the LP, I was into it! I also love road trips. WCYT? was into it, as well, as Christian is a fan of Matt Rendon’s work. The time spent in the desert was incredibly refreshing and productive. We rehearsed in a former hot sauce factory, did shows in Tucson and Phoenix, walked among the towering Saguaros, drank many cold brews, spent a few days in the recording studio and generally had a blast doing what we love!

Jefferson: It was a great trip and I have fond memories of it. It seems like a last hurrah now that the pandemic has shut down the club scene. We practiced for the recording session in an old hot sauce factory and played a few gigs with pals. It was the perfect way to spend a weekend and Matt did a great job recording us. On the way back we drove through miles of Saguaro Cacti and when we hit Joshua Tree, it started snowing. It was a nice, strange drive that ended at Denny’s.

How are you coping with the current pandemic?

Rob: Well, coping is about all I (or any of us) can hope to do during a global crisis of such disastrous proportions. My wife (Bianca) and I are holed up at our pad with our dog (Piggee) surrounded by books and records—which doesn’t sound bad at all, I realize—but given that we’re generally social people who expected to be traveling between Tucson and SF regularly, we’ve gone through periods of chewing off our own arms (and sometimes each other’s).

Chris: Staying in my room, making music and painting. Smoking spliffs and watching videos.

Cory: Naturally, it’s a huge bummer. Very Paranoia had a regular practice schedule, which just stopped overnight. We had recently brought in a second guitar player to fill out the sound as well as hold it together while Rob was out in Tucson. We still have not debuted him onstage. Home life is also a challenge. Besides missing family and friends, my kids are missing out on outdoor life with friends. My teenager is having the hardest time with it.

Jefferson: I’m lucky to have my family and I focus all my energy there. My wife works in our kitchen and I help my son with distance learning during the day. I am grateful for their hard work and understanding during this difficult time.

You are all coming from various well-established bands. Do you have any active side-projects going on at this point?

Rob: Hot Lunch remains active via all manners of digital communication and collaboration. We’ve been working on tracks for our next LP, which I’m very stoked on! And before the pandemic hit I played drums on some new tracks with Kid Congo Powers, who also recently moved to Tucson. We played a couple gigs together with some mutual friends—Clif Taylor/guitar and Jason Milici/bass—and banged out some tunes that will be coming out later this year on In the Red Records as a Kid Congo Powers solo release.

Chris: I make instrumental synth rock under the name Gilderil, which was my short-lived Warhammer character. Kind of goin’ for an Italian soundtrack Cerberus of Goblin, Morricone and Moroder type thing. I can’t play drums to save my life, but I arrange a synthetic drummer and play all the other instruments (simulated or otherwise) over it.

Cory: I really should have started a side project! Chris is doing an amazing space-synth one-man group, Gilderil. I’ve been helping my son with his recording projects as well as digitizing the archival recordings of some of my old hardcore bands from 30 years ago, making the material available online for the first time ever.

Thank you. Last word is yours.

Rob: Thank you, Klemen! Very Paranoia continues to throb and morph and recently sprouted a new appendage with the addition of Jamie Sanitate on guitar. He’s one of us—coming from Annihilation Time, OWL, and Cronander—and when we finally start playing live again, he’ll be the guy with the longest hair among this band of long-haired punks!

Chris: Thanks! This is my fifth band playing with Jamie. Sixth if you count the Uniform Choice one-time cover band we did, Uninformed Choice.

Cory: Thanks for the coverage. It’s been a long wait to get this album out. We had been waiting for things to return to normal, Pandemic-wise, but it became evident that would not be happening anytime soon when our country heated up with Black Lives Matter-driven protests against our many murderous police forces. Finally, we agreed to bring it out as soon as Trump was out of office. We appreciate you and It’s Psychedelic Baby Magazine. Peace!

Klemen Breznikar

You can pre-order self-titled by Very Paranoia here and limited screenprinted sleeve version here!

Very Paranoia Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / YouTube
Who Can You Trust? Records Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp / Bigcartel