Question: How did Choke get his nickname and why did he stop going by it for a while?

Mark McKay: Choke's nickname was just one of those Punk Rock things, you know? The story goes, he had a t-shirt that he had written choke on and it stuck in his neighborhood. The reason he stopped using it is pure speculation, but maybe he just wanted to grow up a bit, maybe he just got tired of being Choke...

Question: What made you decide to go back to the old music style for the past couple of albums?

Mark McKay: The change back wasn't really a conscious decision, Slapshot tried to experiment and branch out to do some different kind of things, but the basic idea never changed. Slapshot has always played from the heart and had similar themes, but the music has always had to progress. All of our records [in my opinion] sound very different. The sound has always been directly connected to what was going on in our worlds. Listen and read the last 2 records and it's pretty obvious what was going on!

Question: Why does Slapshot keep playing Negative FX songs? Is it to show that you have stayed true to what you always believed, or just because they are good songs or something else?

Mark McKay: Actually, the covers we do are from Last Rights [another one of Choke's bands], and we think they're great songs. It was a shame that they hadn't been released [until recently] so we dug them up. Choke had written and performed them, so it wasn't like we were covering Negative Approach or some material we didn't know personally. Also sometimes an old song just hits you in the right way, maybe in a way it hadn't hit you before - circumstances, you know?

Question: Apparently some Slapshot members have side projects. Who is involved with Bitter and Stars And Stripes and how did they come to be?

Mark McKay: Bitter is Chris' side project [he's not in Slapshot any more.]. He just needed something else. Stars And Stripes was Choke, Jordan and myself. Stars And Stripes was never intended to be a live project [though we did play 1 show], just another outlet to have fun and cater to our need to play a more traditional Oi type music that we loved.

Question: What did you guys mean by the lyrics New school means shit to me and Old school means shit to me in the song "L.O.S.E.R."?

Mark McKay: My interpretation is simple - not much that's going on is worth a damn! If music must be labeled old or new school to denote a particular sound, it becomes a fashion - no better than Gucci or Mercedes or the like. Whatever happened to the message being more important than the need to categorize?

Question: What is the Boston scene like nowadays?

Mark McKay: Boston has a lot of stuff - good bands, bad bands, dedicated people, shitheads, good pizza, violence, great zines, prejudice - the works. Hands together for all those trying to make it great again and good riddance to old rubbish who try to make it a playground for thinking they can call the shots thru troublemaking. Luckily, we have more of the former who are trying to keep this corner free of blockheads.

Question: Do you still hang around with the guys from old Boston like Dave Smalley and Dicky Barrett?

Mark McKay: Some of the old Boston guys are still around and some are still making music which is cool. All have moved on to different things, but are still the same people, just a bit older. The older guys just kind of graduated and moved on to the real world I guess...

Question: Why have things always been so tense between New York and Boston? Does living in New York automatically make you an asshole? Do you [or did you] own an I hate New York t-shirt?

Mark McKay: NY and Boston have always had a rivalry, but I think that's ok, it made both cities produce and perform. Rarely did it get violent or even out of hand, we all knew each other, but poking fun, like I said, makes you produce - makes you want to do better and say See what we can do? top that! We still talk to the guys who saw through the rumors and lies and were straight with us - Killing Time, Murphy's Law, Sick Of It All, etc. Those guys know the value of humor and competition! No, no one I know ever had an I Hate NY t-shirt, and the fact that you live in NY does not automatically make you an asshole. [But you should move to Boston! Ha-ha!]

Question: Which bands influenced you? And keeping with the NY thing, what do you think about the Cro-Mags?

Mark McKay: I never dug the Cro-Mags, I wasn't really into Metal influenced Hardcore. Their influence is quite obvious in the bands of today, but it just wasn't my cup. I was digging Minor Threat, Negative Approach, SOA, that sort of thing.

Question: What's with that Boston band Lactose Intolerance? And their horrible cover of your song "Addiction"?

Mark McKay: No idea, but power to you if you want to cover our songs. Even if it is a terrible joke version! By the way, who are Lactose Intolerance exactly?

Question: What music have you been listening to lately?

Mark McKay: Lately, I've been listening to 50's jazz, 60's psychedelia, and 70's electronica via Kraftwerk, Can, Neu, etc. As for Hardcore, not much - Bane and Converge, Ten Yard Fight, Blood For Blood, local stuff.

Question: Any upcoming recordings to keep an eye out for?

Mark McKay: We should have a full-length out by year's end, if all goes well. We've got some songs written, and if we can pull them together in a way we like, we'll do it. It's all up in the air right now, recording-wise.

Question: Any upcoming tours? Any plans to come to Winnipeg in the future? Please?

Mark McKay: No touring planned, sorry! It's tough because we've all got jobs and responsibilities to take care of that seem to take precedence. We love to play out, but it's tough!

Question: How did your tour with The Business go last year and why didn't you tour with them again this year?

Mark McKay: We bowed out of The Business tour last year. Right beforehand, which was a bummer. No big story or controversy, we just decided that it was going to break us if we went. Yup, dollars rears its ugly head again. We have to make so much per show to make the machine work, and it just wasn't there...

Question: I've heard that you're very popular in Europe. How does the scene compare in North America?

Mark McKay: Yeah, Europe has always been great for us. Bands in Europe are taken care of - food, places to stay, people are excited to see bands they like. I think audiences in the States are [generally] kind of spoiled, bands all the time. In Europe, the scene is treated as more of a movement, so great pains are taken to preserve it. It's not business as usual, and the clubs take care of you, it's not a cattle call.

Question: I heard you threw meat at Shelter when they came to Boston. What happened at that show?

Mark McKay: Ha-ha! We did nothing of the sort, but I heard that someone did. I wasn't there so I don't know what happened. But those guys got to realize, that when a controversial element comes into town, someone's going to protest!

Question: Have you taken any flak over that song "108"?

Mark McKay: Yeah, I talked to one of the 108 guys about it, he was not amused. Despite how it looks, the song was not directly aimed at the band. It was aimed at any sort of mind control in the scene - in this case, it happened to be something we feel does not belong - organized religion, Krishna in particular.

Question: Why did you choose 108 to pick on, then?

Mark McKay: As Choke says, it rhymes with hate better than Shelter does.

Question: There are a lot of rumors flying around. Are you still Straight Edge?

Mark McKay: Both Choke and I are Straight Edge, and now that we have 2 open spots in the band, I guess you could say that the whole band is Straight Edge.

Question: How do you feel about hard-line and militant Straight Edge?

Mark McKay: It's important to be dedicated to any cause you believe in, so I can't fault anyone for getting pissed at meat eaters or drug takers. But, when basic human respect is compromised in the name of your cause, then I have a problem. The age old adage says, different strokes for different folks. Educate, don't alienate! Education is far safer and a more intelligent way to get your point across, don't you think? Thanks for your interest and big thanks for your patience.