Shock Treatment: Can we start out by telling me who’s currently in the band and what you all do in the group?
CJ: Sure, it’s me (CJ Stritzel) singing n’ playing guitar, Scott Derr playing guitar n’ making weird noises with a variety of machines, Lorca Wood playing bass n’ doing some singing and Ron Skrasek on drums and doing a bit of singing as well.
LW: Lorca here, as CJ said….
Shock Treatment: How did rock n roll find you guys out there in the majestic high deserts of ABQ? What bands inspired you to want to pick up an instrument and learn to play?
CJ: Well, I grew up in Tucson, so different desert but same vibe, I guess. I picked up a guitar when I was about 13 or so… I just was a suburban kid into all the really cool heavy metal and stadium rock that was on offer at the time. I just loves me some Rush, Van Halen, Priest, The Scorps, G n’ F’n R, all of it…
LW: I had always been really into music, and even though I grew up in the cultural wasteland of Oklahoma, I was fortunate to live in a college town that had a great record store and I was exposed to amazing touring bands at a young age. I was a cello player in school and plunked around on an acoustic guitar. I was in college in Albuquerque at the time when I met CJ, we bonded over Kiss and Johnny Thunders, I think. He was forming a band and they needed a bass player. I was joking around saying that I would do it, having no experience. He took my offer seriously. My “try out” consisted of learning the Velvets “Waiting for My Man” on the bass, which I had never played before. After that, the rest is history, as they say.
CJ: Well, I grew up in Tucson, so different desert but same vibe, I guess. I picked up a guitar when I was about 13 or so… I just was a suburban kid into all the really cool heavy metal and stadium rock that was on offer at the time. I just loves me some Rush, Van Halen, Priest, The Scorps, G n’ F’n R, all of it…
LW: I had always been really into music, and even though I grew up in the cultural wasteland of Oklahoma, I was fortunate to live in a college town that had a great record store and I was exposed to amazing touring bands at a young age. I was a cello player in school and plunked around on an acoustic guitar. I was in college in Albuquerque at the time when I met CJ, we bonded over Kiss and Johnny Thunders, I think. He was forming a band and they needed a bass player. I was joking around saying that I would do it, having no experience. He took my offer seriously. My “try out” consisted of learning the Velvets “Waiting for My Man” on the bass, which I had never played before. After that, the rest is history, as they say.
Shock Treatment: Tell me about The Swizzle Sticks. How did that band’s sound compare with what you guys started doing in The Drags?
CJ: Swizzle Sticks was with a couple other people, and it was, I guess, me trying some things that, ya know, some of em worked and some didn’t. We didn’t manage to put anything out, we had a couple of songs that I remember, not sure anyone else does (maybe I should rework ‘em)...
LW: The Swizzle Sticks sound leaned a little heavier. We weren’t as low- fi or stripped down, although the “garage sound” was definitely there. We were still coming off the vapors of The Jesus Lizard and Mudhoney etc era. Then filter that through The Troggs and early Kinks and maybe that's an approximation? I have a cassette somewhere and there are some songs that really hold up, in my opinion.
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| Photo by Ron Skrasek |
Shock Treatment: What other bands did you guys enjoy playing with back when you were first starting out?
CJ: Well, ABQ didn’t really have enough bands to have different “scenes,” exactly. There were not enough Mods and Rockers for any credible rumble, ya know what I mean. We were all just under the umbrella of “Bands that are from Albuquerque,” so, as far as bands in town, we’d play with anybody, and (most) anybody would play with us…
But as we started touring and stuff we had a lot of good times with a ton of bands. I really don’t remember any experience of like “ug, those guys sucked,” even if I didn’t, ya know, love every band, people were cool. Gas Huffer were the super fun dudes that we traveled with, as were Rocket From The Crypt. It was just fun travelling and seeing how bands that had been doing it for a while kept it fresh. Really, they were just goofballs like us who didn’t mind sleeping on a floor or two if it meant they could just keep travelling around and seeing weird shit…
LW: The early days we formed tight bonds with a number of Tucson bands. The Fells, Doo Rag, Weird Love Makers and others. The Fatal Flying Guillotines from Houston are still one of my all time favorite bands that no one has ever heard of. Loved playing shows with them. We had a sort of love/hate relationship with The Makers, who were of course, amazing. But you always felt like things could go sideways at any second. As CJ said, Gas Huffer and Rocket From the Crypt were great, and definitely put us in front of a different audience that we might not have had. Memorable shows off the top of my head with Teengenrate, Dead Moon,The Cramps, Guitar Wolf, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Dirt Bombs. Not an exhaustive list for sure!
From Albuquerque, we loved playing with Lux-o-Champ, Elephant, The Rondelles, Triskadekaphobia, The Shins (Flake Music at the time) Scared of Chaka, The Eyeliners, so many more to name.
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| Photo by Ron Skrasek |
Shock Treatment: I know this was a while ago, but can you tell me what it was like recording and putting out the first Drags 7” I Like To Die back in 1994? Did it all come out as you’d hoped it would?
CJ: Recording it was fun and weird. There was a dude who ran sound at the Golden West (the club in town where everybody would play) and he had a studio in his home. Actually, it sorta was his home. Mixing? Kitchen. Tracking? Living/Dining rm. Overdubs -slash- Vocal Booth? Bathroom. So we recorded and mixed it there. Sent it off to some Czechoslovakian joint to get the 45’s made. Got back a loaf (all records came just wrapped together, we had to sleeve ‘em) of them a month later or so. And then we did some shows here and there, getting farther and farther afield each time. Still just selling em on our own. Sold a couple thousand of em that way, then we decided that we needed some kinda label to be doing some of this work for us.
Enter Estrus. We didn’t know anybody there (or anybody that did, we were in NM, what the heck?). So, we just decided to send Estrus our same package that were sending out to book shows. That consisted of, a) the I Like To Die 45, b) a t-shirt (maybe, if we had one around), some stickers and a postcard from our local diner (your local diner had postcards? Yep, they had an old timey looking photo of a sweet roll, their specialty, on 'em, and only cost .25 cents. I bought 200 of ‘em.) with a note from me that said “you should hire us to play at your club” or whatever.
Fast forward a month: I get a message on my machine from Dave Crider (Estrus honcho) that I believe to be Keith (Herrara, Drummer) fucking with me. “Hey, I got your record, I love it, it’s real good, I wanna do a record with you guys…” I think to myself that, ya know, Keith, what a scamp, he got me. And sorta forgot about it…
Little while later (not too long, week), we’re talking after practice and I says to him, “hey, nice one with the pretending to be Dave Crider on my machine,” he convinces me that no, that wasn’t him, which means HOLY SHIT, WERE GONNA DO A RECORD WITH ESTRUS! We kinda couldn’t believe it…
So, that was funny.
Part two, did it come out like we wanted it to? Dunno, wish it woulda been mixed a little hotter.
LW: I think CJ said it all. I was really surprised how much traction it got. I think it sounds great.
Shock Treatment: You guys recorded the Dragsploitation Now! 10” with Jim Waters over in Tucson, AZ back in 1995! I believe this was the first time the band recorded with him, yeah? What was your experience like there at Waterworks West?
CJ: First time being in a real studio. So, that was kinda crazy for me. Wait, there’s a piano here? We can just fuck around and try to get a piano into that track (didn’t work, spent a half a day on it, tho)? But, great experience, Jim (Waters) was a great producer in that he could get it outta ya even if you were tired, or not there yet, or just fucking over it. He’d give you pep talks, needle ya, make it like and fun in the studio, whatever the situation called for it seemed like he was a step or two ahead of it. Really positive experience, for both records.
LW: Jim is one of my favorite curmudgeons. He’s hilarious and so loveable in a round about way. He really pulls out the best in you, even when you can’t see it. He knows where you're going and how to get you there. Recording with him was a great experience. I’m a fan.
Shock Treatment: The first time I saw you guys was when you were with the amazing Sore Losers tour. How did the band end up on that bill?
CJ: Where’d you see that show? Phoenix? LA? Simple answer for that one, we did a song for the soundtrack and he was touring with the movie, it just kinda fell together.
Shock Treatment: Yeah, I saw the show in Phoenix.
CJ: That being said, that tour was a bitch. It’s freaking HARD to follow a movie. People are in a really different head space and here we come, clanging up the place. Great move, super fun, but man, some tough rooms…
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| Photo by Ron Skrasek |
Shock Treatment: For The Drags mind blowing third record, Set Right Fit To Blow Clean Up, you guys switched things up a bit on us! I feel like that record was ahead of its time in so many ways. What influenced that change to The Drags signature sound?
CJ: Another easy one. Two new people coming into a three-piece band will shake it up pretty good.
LW: I think having Scott and Ron in the band was not only an injection of new life, but Scott especially, brought this experimental vibe and kind of gave us permission to try new things that we may not have before. I feel that record was the most collaborative. Speaking for myself, having that new energy freed me up to advocate and push for sounds and approaches that we hadn’t used in the past. We have never been an overly serious band, but the two of their senses of humor made the whole writing and recording process really fun and light and also stretched us. The “garage sound” and expectations for what people had come to want and expect from us had become a little stifling in my eyes, so it was really refreshing to play with people who were free to just play rock n’ roll and let the creativity flow, without the pressure or weight of repetition. This is by far my favorite and most satisfying record. I was surprised when so many people panned it. An old fan actually said to me in a very serious tone “What the fuck were you guys thinking?!?” It definitely alienated a lot of people. But I love when people now say that they hated it when it came out, but it’s become their favorite album of ours. So that’s validating and a good reminder that trusting your instincts and trying new things is always the way to go. You’re not writing for an audience, you’re ultimately doing it for yourself. People may get it, or not.
CJ: Not sure if this is the first time that they have tried to contact us to play, but it was the first time that I was interested. I wasn’t really into the whole ‘reunion’ thing. Dunno, I think I was pretty hung up on it “not being the same” and that whole line of thinking. Just a fear about being old, really. Scared that I wasn’t up to it…
But, I had a bit of a health scare last year that changed my opinion on a lotta stuff. I just started thinking, well, if someone thinks that there is a group of people who would like to hear these songs again, maybe I could quit being a weirdo about it for long enough to listen to their offer. And hey, confession time: I’m a bit older than I was then. But so’s everybody. And once that got outta my way, it was just fuck it, let’s rip.
LW: CJ and I always felt very clear in never wanting to do a reunion. In fact, we were vehemently against it. But weird life things happen. Loss, health scares, maybe some gained wisdom, and you realize that you’re alive, its all fleeting, and why the fuck not have a good time doing something you love that brings happiness and joy to others? Even if it's brief, you gotta get it while you can. “Better to regret something you have done, than to regret something you haven’t done…”
Shock Treatment: What lies ahead for The Drags in 2026? Can we expect any new music from the band and by any chance do you have any shows planned for your old stomping grounds in Tucson??
CJ: No current plans for a Tucson show (maybe we can get the Fells to reunite?).
Right now, we’re looking at Portland and Mosswood. But if anyone has any offers that are a) in fun or exotic locales, or b) exceptionally lucrative (or both?!??!), let us know!
LW: I will second that. If the right thing appears I’m down
The Drags reissue LP's available NOW from Total Punk Records
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