Interview Jeff Pezzati of Naked Raygun

By the time Naked Raygun broke up, following the release of Raygun… Naked Raygun in 1990, the Chicago group had already cemented its reputation as one of the seminal punk bands of the ’80s. As punk rock exploded around the country (and world), Naked Raygun released a string of stellar albums over the course of 10 years that made the group Chicago’s foremost punk band. That legacy lingers nearly two decades after its final album—so much so that, after Raygun reunited for a few shows around Riot Fest in 2006, the band decided to make it a full-blown reunion. There’s talk of a new album, and a retrospective DVD, What Poor Gods We Do Make: The Music And Story Behind Naked Raygun, just came out. Raygun vocalist Jeff Pezzati talked with The A.V. Club the day after returning from the band’s first California tour in nearly 20 years.

The A.V. Club: How has it been getting back in the groove of going places and playing shows?

Jeff Pezzati: The one-off deals are really easy, of course. The 10-day stint in California was a little grueling for us. It was 10 shows in 10 days, and my voice did take a whacking on the fourth day, but I got it back by the sixth show. Eric had a sore shoulder—complain, complain. Nobody was really bummed out or complaining. It was great to be back on the road, driving in the van, looking at the scenery, making jokes and shit. It was fun times.

AVC: Is it just plain weird to be doing Raygun again even a year after the initial Riot Fest reunion?

JP: I think the only thing slightly weird about it is that so many people are still into the music—people who were obviously really young when this was happening the first time. It’s not so strange to see some 40-year-old dudes or some 35-year-olds in the audience. As soon as you see someone younger than that, it’s kind of a shocker. I’ve always liked playing these songs, and they seem refreshed again. Oddly enough, there’s part of your brain that never forgets the words, for me at least—or too many of them. Brain cells haven’t been killed off yet—not yet. I’m working on it.

AVC: What’s it like hearing people tell you how great you are for the duration of the film?

JP: It’s a little gushing, a little ass-kissy. They should have found someone who doesn’t like the band, too. I don’t think Billy Corgan was available for interview. [Laughs.] I’m just kidding. Same thing with being on tour on the West Coast. People coming up every show and saying, “I waited 20 years for you guys to make it! Fuckin’ A! It’s the greatest thing that you’re here!” It’s very touching. It means a lot.

AVC: John Haggerty, Raygun’s best-known guitarist, isn’t part of the reunion or in the DVD much. Do people complain about that?

JP: I’ve heard more people complaining that it’d be nice if he could make a guest appearance onstage live, rather than missing out on the DVD. That is a shame, but that’s such a mess that it may never happen. There’s bad feelings in different kind of places that I don’t have a lot of control of. Although I’ve been sat down at bars by friends and friends of friends and told, “If anybody can sort this out, Pezzati, you can sort it out.” It is just unfortunate. I’d like John to play onstage with us sometime, but I don’t know if it’ll ever happen.

AVC: It seems like people could say the same about any of the other past members of Naked Raygun, but they always focus on him.

JP: Exactly. I was asked why I put together this lineup of the band, and I always say the same thing: “This was the band when we stopped playing. These are the guys that didn’t quit.” If you want me to go back, where do you stop?

AVC: Are you going to record a new record, or is it just going to be some shows here and there?

JP: There’s always a plan to be writing a new album. That’s about the only thing we haven’t been diligent about doing. I’ve written a half of one song that’s actually going to turn out to be pretty good. Aside from that, Bill and Pierre have worked on six or eight ideas, but I don’t think they have anything really concrete. I’m pretty confident that we’ll come up with a decent album. My concern is that we come up with a great album. I know it’ll be decent, but if it’s not great, it may never see the light of day. We’ve always been of the feeling that we shouldn’t release anything that was just mediocre. I think it’s just important not to suck, ever. We’re not under any pressure to meet some obligation, some contract or anything, so we’re going to take our sweet-ass time to make sure it’s good, or you won’t hear it.

AVC: What’s the reason for this lack of diligence? Just being an adult?

JP: I’m really lazy, and I can’t speak for the other guys. Bill’s writing some stuff. I will spend my time doing anything I’m not supposed to be doing rather than what I’m supposed to be doing.

AVC: This reunion is a big deal in Chicago, but have you encountered anyone elsewhere that has no idea about the history of the band?

JP: There was this girl in our dressing room in Portland. She wasn’t an interviewer, she was nice enough, and she kept asking me what the name of my band was. I was involved in some in-depth conversation with some dude about some science-fiction stuff—you know we’re total nerds. Instead of kicking her out of the dressing room, I just found it entertaining. Every once and a while she would walk up, kind of drunk and say, “You know, I think I’ve heard of you guys. What was the name of your band again?” There are tons of people out there who don’t know who we are, a whole generation, probably, but I don’t know how they end up in our dressing room.