CLASSIC RVA: Municipally Wasted (2005)

by | Feb 16, 2015 | MUSIC

This year, RVA Magazine will be celebrating our 10 Year Anniversary–and in honor of our first decade of publication, we’ll be taking a look back and some of our favorite articles we’ve run over the past 10 years. Today, we revisit our interview with Municipal Waste from RVA Vol. 1 Issue 2 back in 2005. Enjoy!


This year, RVA Magazine will be celebrating our 10 Year Anniversary–and in honor of our first decade of publication, we’ll be taking a look back and some of our favorite articles we’ve run over the past 10 years. Today, we revisit our interview with Municipal Waste from RVA Vol. 1 Issue 2 back in 2005. Enjoy!

PARKER: How, when, where, why did Municipal Waste start?

RYAN WASTE: We started in this bunker type space behind my old house on 1231 Cary St.
TONY WASTE: We played our first show New Years Eve of 2001. It was a house show in Church Hill with Lycosa. We pretty much started playing because nobody was really doing fast shit around here and that’s what we were all into. Plus we figured it was our only way to meet chicks.

You have some newer recruits in the band–Dave Witte banging the shit out of the drums and more recently Land Phil rockin’ some strings… How did these guys make it to The Wasteland? What elements do they bring to The Waste?

RW: These two dudes brought the rhythm section from hell to our band. Plus, Land Phil bangs his head real hard.

Your shows are notorious for beer bongs, circle pits, the wall of death, and creative stage diving… Is Municipal Waste gonna fuck people up?

TW: Yeah and not only are we going to fuck you up but were also going to drink your beer, eat your food, borrow your shit, hump your pets, get kicked out of your acoustic show and eat more of your food.
RW: Yeah all that shit, and I’m gonna season that food just right too!

Give me details on the video shoot that happened at Alley Katz recently. Zombies, boogie boards, and one helluva 69 stage dive; elaborate on these shenanigans and more.

TW: The 69 stage dive was definitely my favorite. I actually laughed so hard when I saw that that I had to stop singing. We told a bunch of our friends to come dressed as zombies and people just said “fuck it” and dressed up like whatever they felt like. I saw both a gorilla and a mummy stage dive! It looked like Halloween on crack!
RW: The Wiznerd’s (Ward from Chop Suey dressed as a drunken thrash loving wizard) busted ass knife on the end of his staff was my personal favorite.

You’ve been on tour overseas–talk about where you went and some of the crazy shit that happened there.

TW: We spent last May and June in Europe. It was a great time. We played some really amazing shows.
RW: You could say that we represented “Stupid American Spring Break” over in Europe. We were a prime example of drunken American idiots. Europe rules.
TW: One of the craziest things that happened on that trip was when we were in the Czech Republic and our roadie Paul watched the cops try to break in to our van. He just hid in the loft scared shitless.
RW: I passed out in the rain all night on our first day off (drink off) in Mannhiem, Germany. It’s a good feeling waking up soaking wet in a foreign land.

What country were the people the most into it?

TW: They went really crazy in Poland and Holland. The U.K. was pretty frickin’ rad too.
RW: Europeans definitely know their thrash metal! I met many true heshers in every country.

What’s the craziest shit that’s happened at a show (if it hasn’t been mentioned yet)?

TW: Probably the time I got electrocuted by our smoke machine in LA. I stumbled off the stage and had no idea where I was for a second. The video is so brutal, it could probably get played on Real TV or Max Ex or some shit.
RW: Tony’s never been the same since…

You guys are on Earache Records–how and when did that come about?

TW: We signed to Earache last summer and we just finished recording the new album. They’ve been really patient with us and it took us a little while due to our lineup problems. But I feel it was well worth the wait. We’re very stoked on our new material.
RW: I grew up listening to countless Earache bands. It’s an honor for me to be working with this label.

P I’m going to say a word and you tell me the first word that comes into your head…

Gerbil : beer
Pope : nope
Chode : beer
Bush : beer
Sucka : beer
Cheech : beer
Chong : beer

RW: Real mature, Parker. What kind of interview is this, man?
TW: I’m getting thirsty…

www.facethewaste.com // on myspace.com / municipalwaste

R. Anthony Harris

R. Anthony Harris

I created Richmond, Virginia’s culture publication RVA Magazine and brought the first Richmond Mural Project to town. Designed the first brand for the Richmond’s First Fridays Artwalk and promoted the citywide “RVA” brand before the city adopted it as the official moniker. I threw a bunch of parties. Printed a lot of magazines. Met so many fantastic people in the process. Professional work: www.majormajor.me




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