Here is an interview I did with Sarge in Feb. of 1999.

1) Band role call.

Elizabeth Elmore, Chad Romanski, Derek Niedringhaus and Sue Roth

2) How do you go about writing lyrics? Is there one song that stands out as being a prime example of your writing style?

(Elizabeth) Hmmm. I guess my songs are pretty narrative. I tend to start a lot of songs with conjunctions like "and", almost like it's just a snippet out of the middle of a continuing story. I'm pretty happy with "Beguiling" although the lyrical style is somewhat satirical of a friend of mine. I'm also happy with "To Keep You Trained". I feel like I got the imagery right or at least pretty close to what I was aiming for.

3) If you hadn't become a musician, what do you thnk would be filling your time? What do you do when you are not playing in the band?

(Sue) I'm sure I'd be working in an office. When I'm not playing in the band I'm working in an office. When I'm not working in an office or playing in the band, I'm hanging out with my boyfriend. I like to cook steaks, drink coffee or beer, and watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Simpsons and re-runs of Saturday Night Live. I also love to go to the movies. I play basketball and ride my bike to keep my girlish figure.

(Elizabeth) If I wasn't in the band right now I'd in my second year at Northwestern Law School studying children's advocacy. When I'm not playing with the band, I'm booking the band, managing the band, doing publicity for the band, answering e-mail for the band, getting shirts printed for the band. You get the picture.

4) What do you like/dislike about touring?

(Sue) I love watching the land change- I love playing in a different city every nite- i hate the cabin fever, i hate sleeping on linoleum.

(Elizabeth) I like being on tour and playing. I dislike having to book the tours and the fact that a two month tour dominates my life for 4 months cuz of all the shit that has to be done before we leave.

5) What bands do you feel are your contemporaries?

(Sue) I think we sound a lot like Velocity Girl and That Dog, but as far as contemporaries I think all of the bands we've ever played with.

(Elizabeth) Probably the most obvious would be Braid. Also Rainer Maria, Sweep the Leg Johnny, Compound Red (rip) the Dismemberment Plan, Jimmy Eat World. Bands that we've sort of grown up with.

6) Where do you see yourself in ten years? How far do you want to take the band?

(Sue) I'd like to be a rock and roll mommy.

(Elizabeth) Law. I can't imagine the band will be around that long. I imagine I'll be involved in music in some way. I always thought that if I made a lot of money it would be really cool to help fund a DIY space where kids could put on shows.

7) What do you think "selling out" is? Is it something as simple as signing to a major label, or is it more than that?

(Sue) Selling out (in the scene perspective) is the conscious decicion to ensure your music will be something a corporation and yourself will undeniably profit from. Often this means changing what you write to suit the needs of a consumer. I don't necessarily think it's bad--as long as you are conscious of what will be happening to what you write and understand that it will be under utter scrutiny by corporate management for the purpose of making money for a company. Being on a major label does not necessitate selling out however. Most bands on major labels are not selling any where near silver gold or platinum. They get dropped over the first cup of coffee during the morning meeting. I highly doubt Sarge would ever sign to a major label let alone attempt to "sell-out."

But on a personal level, I feel that in this life we should be allowed to do what we love and live comforatably doing that. I'm 25 and I don't know how long I can do this for before I really start to feel like a completely irresponsible adult. Luckily, right now security is not that important. Being indie is hard; I have to work another job (temp) to support my other job (sarge), but right now I do love it. In the future, if this indie life doesn't burn me out, I might not have a problem saying, "music is my day job."

(Elizabeth) I think selling out is compromising your integrity, not just with the way you create music, but in everything you do with your band. I don't think bands have to "sell out" musically when they sign to a major label but I do think they tend to start going about business in a more ambitious way and with less concern about how they treat people, how the label treats people, etc. Plus major labels dick over a lot of bands.

8) Have any events occured in your life that have directly the way you look at and/or do your music?

(Elizabeth) My mom says she noticed by the time I was two that I was completely mesmerized by people playing music. I started piano at 5, flute at 15, guitar at 17, and I atught piano lessons for four years. I grew up with my dad playing old country, honkytonk, and bluegrass and I still love that music. I walked into my first punk rock show at 16 and I'm sure I looked completely out of place, but somehow it felt so right to me. As soon as I discovered punk rock, I just got happier I guess. Braid Influenced me a lot in terms of their work ethic and not sitting around waiting for someone to do you favors or take you out on tour, but going out there and busting you ass doing it yourself. Kim Coletta from Jawbox and DeSoto is a big inspiration to me because she functioned in Jawbox much the way I function in Sarge. She is a smart, incredibly capable woman and is always generous with her time when I need advice on band stuff.

9) How do you feel about the DIY ethic in the independent music scene? What do you personally do to promote it?

(Elizabeth) It can be great and it can suck. I love the independent community and that's why we work to stay apart of it, ethically and musically. But one advantage of having people want to make money off of you is that they're willing to work as hard as you are. If a promoter has a lot of money invested in a show, they're going to work hard to make sure it does well. It gets frustrating dealing with kids sometimes who don't advertise shows, don't flyer, don't understand that we do this for a living and have to make at least a little money at every show.

10) Lastly, do you have any closing advice?

(Sue) For anyone wishing to pursue a career in the indie arts--if you want to get on a show with a band, send a quick letter/ e-mail asking if you can send a tape. It makes no sense to ask to get on a bill if no one has ever heard you. For life advice: don't be lazy. relax from time to time, but don't be lazy.

(Elizabeth) There is a difference between being driven and being ambitious. The satisfaction has to come from the work itself, and not where it gets you. I've learned that I'm happiest when I'm working on the band, whether that's writing songs, booking tours, learning how to file taxes, or whatever. I think that sometimes people mistake my drive for ambition, but that's not what it's about for me. For me, it is about doing it for the love of the process itself and just not worrying about where it takes you.