How long has Show Of Hands been together and have any members been in any other bands?
We have been together for about a year now. Our current bass player was in a band called amendment 18, that's it though.  For the rest of us, this is pretty much our first band.

You don't have a the generic straight edge message. How would you describe the message that Show Of Hands sends?
Hmm ... well I don't write the lyrics. Sometimes Steve, our singer, likes to get all emotional, but most of the time, especially at shows, we like to convey a message of "fun".  We are all SxE, but we are a hardcore band first, and the first rule of hardcore is about having fun. I hope that kinda answers that.

Would you think it would be a positive or negative thing if a straight edge or hardcore band  were to go mainstream?
Well ... this will take me a second to explain my view, and of course this is just my opinion, it may not reflect the entire bands point of view. I have no problem with a band "making it".  I wish nothing but the best for them. After all, I know how hard it is to be in a band, its alot of hard work, and if someone is willing to pay you for all that hard work, then you have really accomplished something. But going "mainstream" is not hardcore. The Hardcore scene has always been a place for kids to come to express ideas, vent some frustrations, and find acceptance with peers. When a entity like MTV (for example) starts to commercialize something like that it turns into something else. It just simply isn't hardcore anymore. That make sense?

Yeah, would you ever want Show Of Hands to take that path?
No ... as much as I would like to just play guitar for a living, i would hate to see S.O.H. turn into something like that. I would rather play a show for 40 or 50 hardcore kids in some warehouse than some ridiculous stadium concert. It's all about high fives and stage dives. You simply can't do that with a barrier and some bouncers beating the shit out of any kid that gets on stage.

What is the largest and smallest number of people you have played in front of?
Largest was 750, smallest was about 20. Both shows were equally fun though. I think I may have had more fun at the smaller one though. It rocked.

Where was it, and why was it so great?
It was at this place called Koo's cafe it is about the size of a small living room, holds about 40 kids. We had ten friends there and ten kids I had never seen before. I honestly thought it was going to suck, but when we started playing, the place actually went nuts. After we played our set, one of my friends from the crowd jumped on the bass, and just started playing a function song (old OC band, I'm not sure if you have heard them), well all the kids went nuts cuz they thought we were covering it. So they started singing along, so we just started playing it, I dunno, it was alot of fun though.

How does it feel to be a new band and get on a well known label like Smorgasbord?
It felt really good. When Jeff contacted us, I was really excited. It's been a dream of mine to be on such a label, not too big, but a decent label. Decent in the since that Jeff is a good guy, and he likes to put out good records. I mean, look at of some of the stuff he has put out, it just felt really good to be noticed.

When will your next release come out and do you think that your it will be with on Smorgasbord?
Well, we are recording in early February for a 9 song cd/ep. Unfortunately, Jeff is not putting it out. It will be on a label called Prime Directive. They put out both Adamantium and Throwdown's first 7"s. Hopefully some time in the future we will do something with Smorgasbord. We really like how they have helped us out in the past, so maybe in the future. We'll see.

Are there any new bands from So Cal that you think people should look out for?
A band called Taken. they really have their shit together now. A nice blend of melodic tones and heavy riffs. Slow tempo, but really well put together. Good guys too. Death By Stereo, Adamantium, and Throwdown, but they are all on indecision. I’m sure everyone knows them.

Are there any issues in hardcore, or in general, that you would want people to educate themselves on?
Hmm ... as dumb as it sounds, unity. Our scene is so  full of drama down here, its not even funny. No one knows how to get along with each other, they just like to talk shit on have their own little cliques. It's pretty dumb. Other than that though, I think the scene is doing really well.

If you could meet anyone dead and/or alive who would it be and why?
Hmm ... I can't think of anything good to say. Maybe the singer from Bad Religion. He seriously writes the best lyrics. Yea, definitely him.

If you were a super hero, what would your name and powers be?
Haha, oh man. Umm, Mr. Big Dick. For obvious reasons.

What would your costume look like?
Hahahahaha ... hmm ... just run around naked with a huge red striped tube sock over my dick, and matching red adidas.

Two more holiday questions for ya. What are your predictions for Y2K and do you think you could take Santa in a fight?
Haha, Y2K. I will finally get laid. And i could take that fat fuck any day.

Any final words of wisdom?
I love my friends, I love my life.