Bang Tango's Joe Lesté

By Jay Oakley and Christie Gerber

So when can we expect a new video and song from Bang Tango?

Well, Rowan (Robertson) and myself, Lance (Eric), Timmy (Russell) and Drew (Fortier) we have a couple of ideas that we are just trying to turn into a song right now but we're not going to do anything major because I don't want to be that guy that puts out something just so people can fucking jam. But I think it's cool to do a really cool rock song and do a rock video. And if you do it in a sense where people just kinda think, "Fuck! This is cool." they can chew on it and request it, go crazy with it. Just that one thing. We've all talked about it and that's the idea.

Drew, who played rhythm with us tonight, he also did our movie. He filmed the movie and I think doing this video will be really cool because we want people to know who we really are. I come out here and I hear people talk this and talk that and I wonder where the fuck they read this shit and hear about this shit? Like, I don't have three kids in Arkansas. But you get my point, it's so distorted and so crazy and everyone's got an opinion just like everyone's got an asshole. But my point being is let's get somebody something real to bite on for a while.

But, when it comes to Bang Tango we're just having a great time. I've spent a lot of years doing this shit and I love this shit and I'm the perfect age for this shit. I don't care what other people are doing, I don't care what other people say about me because if I ever really did I still wouldn't be here.

So you never think about giving it up?

That'd be like me meeting an alien in my bathroom sucking my dick or something. Fuck, that's not going to happen. That's like NWA claiming they're not black.

No, I wouldn't do that. They say that a tiger can't change his stripes, well I can but I prefer these stripes. But, let's talk about M3. Let's talk about all the great bands here.

How much fucking fun have you had here?

I've had a blast here. We get to see our buddies in L.A. Guns when they come out in the sun. We've got Europe parked next to us and we're in the US and we're in a trailer park and they're in a beautiful home so that makes sense. [Laughs] And when I look out the window I think I can see one of the dudes from MTV over there and he's got some great camo shorts on and tennis shoes.

So what else would you like to say when it comes to what people think of Bang Tango?

The bands that you look at that lived the life and cruised it through and are looking at us are like Grand Funk Railroad, Uriah Heep, Humble Pie and Led Zeppelin when it comes to those guys it's no different then we are.

I'm not comparing our band to them, musically at all, they're Gods and we're just like God's children but my point is, at the end of the day when we look at our mentors, they're laughing because they're going, "Fuck, I was the same way." Now I'm seeing kids playing and I'm saying, "Man, you're heading for trouble buddy. Do you want a drink?" But it's all the same, it's all the same.

But, I love it. It's one of those things where everybody in life has what they call a guilty pleasure. Unfortunately in the music business, all those corporate guys that put together these bands who are all manufactured and everything, they look at you and don't so much as shun down at you but they basically say, "You're a guilty pleasure. People like listening to it but we can't sell that."

I'm not saying these guys wouldn't sell anything from us because maybe they would, I wouldn't know but at the same time it seems like a funny thing. The more they think people are stupid, the more the masses come out and this year when I was looking out at all those people, I'm thinking, "Ha, Ha, Fuck You! We ain't stupid." We just don't look that good anymore that's all.

It's all about the love and the music. That's all it's about. That's it, there is no other. There's no politics, there's no money, there's no fucking this or that it's just the love for music, period.