Our man with the questions, Chris Graves, got some answers from Flav himself, who has been a fan and a friend of News Askew for years:

AN INTERVIEW WITH FLAV GIORGINI (FROM THE BAND “SQUIRTGUN”)


BY CHRIS GRAVES

Chris Graves: What is your background and how was Squirtgun first formed?

Flav Giorgini: All of the Squirtgun gang (Mass Giorgini, Flav Giorgini, Dan Lumley, Matt Hart) were born in Indiana…with Mass, Flav, and Dan from Lafayette, and Matt from Evansville. We all started playing in bands in the mid 1980s; Matt had a series of bands in Evansville and Muncie, the best known of which was F.0.N. (Freaks of Nature). Mass, Dan, and I were in the band Rattail Grenadier from 1984-1993. In 1993 we decided that we needed a change, and we recruited Matt to sing for us, and we named the band Squirtgun.

CG: The band’s song Social was featured during the beginning credits of Mallrats. What was the song about and did it have a music video back in the day?

FG: “Social” is basically about being yourself, and not following the crowd just because it’s the trendy thing to do…which I feel is the basic theme to real punk rock. We never did a video for “Social”, though Kevin Smith was considering it for a while, and at the last minute he changed his mind and did a video for the Goops instead (“Build Me Up Buttercup”). “Social” was used, however, in the promotional trailers for Mallrats, in addition to the opening credits, and the soundtrack album.

CG: How did the band get involved with Mallrats and it’s soundtrack?

FG: We heard from Green Day’s manager at the time that Kevin Smith was looking for songs for his new movie (Mallrats), and so we submitted “Social” to him. When he heard the song he thought it fit perfectly with the theme of the movie, and decided to have it as the opening song.

CG: Can you talk about Squirtgun’s connection to Green Day?

FG: We initially knew Green Day through their connection with Lookout! Records, which was our record label at the time. My brother Mass (who is a well known punk rock producer) had had some contact with them regarding a recording session prior to their signing with Reprise, which never materialized. Mass had some more contact with them when Mike Dirnt played bass for the Screeching Weasel record “How To Make Enemies” which Mass produced. Mike also contribued guest vocals to our song “Make It Up” on our first record. Mass also did a bit of production work with Billy Joe (Armstrong) in the late 90s. We crossed paths with them several times over the years, and they were also very supportive and cool.

CG: Is being a part of a cult movie like Mallrats something you’re proud of? What were your thoughts of the movie?

FG: We are very proud of our involvement with Mallrats…it’s especially cool because it’s become a cult classic. At the time, it was a bit of a disappointment because it did horribly at the box office, and the critics hated it. I have to admit that at the first viewing, I felt a bit let down, and didn’t think it was as good at Clerks. However, after a couple of additional viewings, it really grew on me, and I realized it was hilarious. I really feel that it’s a classic now…

CG: Do you have a favorite View Askew/Kevin Smith film (Mallrats excluded)?

FG: That’s a tough question, because I love a lot of Kevin’s movies. I guess I would have to go with three: 1. Clerks, 2. Dogma, and 3. Chasing Amy.

CG: What is the current status of Squirtgun? Did the band regroup for a charity event recently?

FG: We haven’t split, but we are definitely on the back burner for now. We regrouped about a year ago to do a charity event for a friend of my brother’s that needed surgery and didn’t have medical insurance. We have slowly been getting a new album’s worth of material together, which we hope to eventually release. We are thinking about doing some shows in the Spring of 2008. We’ll see! Musically, I’ve been busy doing solo acoustic punk shows, and also playing with my new band Sinister ’66.