No Age: No Restrictions. No Excuses. No Limits

By Andres Jauregui

Photos by JB Galusha

If you want to get something done, you’ve got to do it yourself,” No Age drummer Dean Spunt says. “You can’t sit around and wait for someone to do it. We look at our band that way. If we don’t make t-shirts or record music or tour — if we don’t make our own records — who the fuck’s going to do that for us?”

In an era where labels are looking increasingly to artists as partners, No Age is a breed of band worth noting. After almost two years of extensive touring and prolific output, constant outreach to other like-minded bands, building relationships of support, friendship and an almost professional level of camaraderie, the noise pop duo — Spunt and guitarist Randy Randall — has risen to the forefront of the L.A. all-ages underground and signed with indie powerhouse label Sub Pop. But as Spunt explains, for No Age, landing a record deal is no excuse to slack.

“Sub Pop has great people, a great history, and great distribution. They’re one of our favorite labels and we’re stoked to be with them. But it’s our record, so we’re going to make it look and feel and sound the way we might had done it if it were on [Spunt’s homegrown label] PPM. Except that we have more funds available so that we can go even further with it,” Spunt says. “Sub Pop’s very supportive. They’ve been like, ‘Cool! You guys do it!’ And for us that’s all the more reason to be more hands-on. We’re into it. We’ll pick out the paper stock for the fucking liner notes.”

In fact, No Age has been so into it that they began recording their label debut at Southern Studios (built, fittingly enough, by members of the seminal British D.I.Y. punk band Crass) in London before they even knew it would be released on Sub Pop. “In typical No Age fashion, we didn’t wait for the go ahead from anyone. We just did it on our own,” Randall says.

But for all their gumption and ingenuity, No Age will be the first to admit that their success arises equally from the community behind them. “The people behind us, the community behind us, all of our friends that we play with, we all help each other out,” Spunt says. “The fact that we have friends’ bands that are playing awesome music and the fact that we’ve got the support of our community and we can support them is the only reason we’re doing it.”

Since the very beginning, Spunt and Randall’s community has centered on The Smell. Founded by Jim Smith and a handful of others in response to a rash of underground club shut-downs in the late ‘90s, The Smell originally catered to L.A. scenesters at its North Hollywood location. When rising property values forced the venue out of the neighborhood, Smith and the burgeoning artist community rallied to re-open the space at its current, just-barely-off-Skid-Row location in downtown Los Angeles.

Known for its penchant for the avant-garde, its vegan snack bar, and its lack of ventilation (hence the persistent funk of body odor that gives the club its name), The Smell exists primarily to serve the needs of the community surrounding it.

It is the community that makes The Smell possible. Near-constant benefit shows are staged in order to keep the venue up to code and, aside from Smith (who remains the venue’s only full-time employee), The Smell is staffed on a volunteer basis by the same local artists that perform and show art in its gallery space. Even in the wake of No Age’s success, Spunt and Randall volunteer behind the snack bar and the sound booth, respectively, when their touring schedule allows it. The facility with which anyone may throw together a show at The Smell lends itself to a large pool of willing volunteers and a healthy, empowering, grass roots environment. The mantra of The Smell, which artists like No Age are quick to adopt, is simple: if you want to do it, make it happen.

“[When you’re starting out] ... you think bands are like this special breed of human that plays in big clubs, and you’re thinking, ‘Well, I don’t know anything. I don’t know how to do that,’” Spunt says. “The first time I went to The Smell it was like a slap in the face. I was like, ‘Oh, shit, man! I can totally play here!’ And I didn’t know shit from shit. I thought it was just so weird that you could just go to a place and play.”

“People get intimidated, but I don’t understand that,” Randall says. “For me it was this inviting, rad thing. You just play. You get up there and you plug your shit in and play. It took me a couple of years to meet the right people I was comfortable playing with, but when we played The Smell, it was exactly that. We showed up and plugged in and played. That was with Wives. And since then I haven’t stopped playing shows. I’ve been hooked. If it weren’t for The Smell, I don’t think I’d be playing shows. I used to go to a lot of big clubs and there’s nothing inviting or inspiring about those places at all.”

Inspiration never seemed to be in short supply for Spunt and Randall. Shortly after his introduction to The Smell, Spunt formed his label PPM (Post Present Medium) in 2001. Through PPM, Spunt has released albums by his and Randall’s former band, Wives, as well as Mika Miko, Silver Daggers, Abe Vigoda, and other bands they met through their involvement with The Smell.

Spunt and Randall formed No Age in late 2005 following a final incendiary tour with Wives. As No Age — a name commemorating an impassioned yet unimpressive all-instrumental compilation released by SST in 1987 — the duo embarked on massive tours of the United States and Europe, building their own hype through live performances and making new friends along the way. Their ethereal noise pop and constant outreach to bands attracted attention from the likes of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Battles and Deerhunter, but after close to a year of playing shows, No Age had yet to release a recording.

Anticipation over a No Age release simmered until March 2007, when the band released five vinyl-only EPs on five separate independent labels (including PPM) worldwide on the same day. They quickly followed in the summer of 2007 with Weirdo Rippers, a disarmingly seamless compilation of highlights from their five EPs. The Smell community celebrated the album’s release by painting the names of both the band and their album on the corrugated metal “marquee” above the venue’s back alley entrance. And why not mark the occasion? To date, Weirdo Rippers is the only collection of work from No Age available on CD.

“A vinyl is kind of cool for people to have. Not so much a collector’s item, but something a little more special. Everything’s so readily available and we wanted something that had space, so that people can have that thrill of the hunt. That’s part of the fun,” Spunt says. “Ultimately, the songs are going to be there and people are going to share them for free anyway. So a CD’s sort of worthless. Buy our vinyl and then put that shit on your iPod, man. That’s what I think.”

But copyright restrictions aren’t the only limits No Age opposes (fortunately, according to a Sub Pop spokesperson, their new label supports distribution of DRM-free media at the request of the artist, via the label website). On principle, the band makes a point of playing as many all-ages venues as its tours will accommodate.

“An all-ages show is music for the sake of music. You’re not at a bar. You’re not concerned with selling people alcohol. You’re playing for kids and for people who don’t like dealing with bars and all the bullshit that can come along with that. Those kinds of crowds are way more receptive. They get inspired. You can communicate neat ideas instead of just playing the background music for people to drink to,” Spunt says. “But at the same time, we don’t want to limit ourselves and play only all-ages shows. People like to hear music at bars too, so we try to do both. In Chicago, we played a bar show and an all-ages show. But that’s not always possible.”

Just as Spunt and Randall were inspired to take up playing music at The Smell, No Age seeks to create a climate of motivation and support among their fan base. All-ages shows provide an excellent springboard for bands, and No Age never shies from an opportunity to encourage a would-be artist.

“I’ve met so many people — kids and stuff — that come up and are like, ‘Yeah! I want to play music!’ and I’ll be like, ‘Hell yeah, dude. Fucking do it!’ We’ll go places and meet kids and tell them that next time we’ll play with their band. And they’ll say, ‘Well, I don’t know, I’m just getting started,’ and I’ll be like, ‘No! Next time, we’re playing with your band!’ And then it’ll happen and I’ll be more stoked than anyone that this kid’s actually playing a show. That’s how you get shit started,” Spunt says.

Coming from an all-ages background, a willingness to play all-ages venues might not come as a surprise, but what might shock some is the level at which No Age is prepared to interact with and involve their peers and their fans. The band’s MySpace page, in addition to hosting a bevy of live footage, vehemently welcomes invitations:

“We are SUPER EXCITED to play shows!!! If you are interested in having us play your Indian Buffet Slumber Party, VEGAN BBQ, Kegger, Community Center, Teen Center, Retirement home, VA, Jewish Community Center, Club House, Squat, Converted minimall/anarchist meeting house, Stadium, Gallery, Underground Comic Store PLEASE ... Hit us up!!!”

“We did a tour a while ago where we tried to make every show a vegan potluck. We just told people to show up with food and we’d have a party. It kind of worked, I guess. People brought food and we hung out,” Spunt says. “We come from a community mindset, and we really like showing people where we’re coming from.”

Taking the reigns of their own destiny, No Age have pushed themselves hard, living by a creed of mutual support and personal motivation that is as effective as it is infectious. Artists love their credibility, and labels love their work ethic — it’s no wonder people have taken notice. No Age resets the standards for success, not by moving a product, but by finding fulfillment in their own accomplishments: living by their own rules, playing on their own terms, and fostering the values of the community that they still call home.

“I define success by us being happy,” says Spunt, “and being able to do what we want to do. The way we do it, there’s no way we’re going to be unsuccessful. If we want to tour, we’re going to set it up. If we want to make a record, we’re going to make a record. We’ve done all that, and we’re happy because of it.”

www.myspace.com/nonoage