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Music by Mary-Lynn McEwen The Suicide Machines Vans Warped Tour July 6 Race City Speedway Their name’s ironic, right? Otherwise, the self-fulfilling prophecy it alludes to would occur and the band wouldn’t exist anymore, right? Maybe it’s that the Nevada sunshine, gambling and whorehouses have created a sensory overload for Dan Lukacinsky, as he and colleagues Jason Navarro, Royce Nunley and Ryan Vandeberghe hang out in the desert state and wait a few more days for the Vans Warped Tour to begin, but the guitarist/vocalist is a little slow on the uptake of the irony of the band’s moniker. "Oh, yeah," he laughs after a pause. "I never thought of it that way. It’s actually a Dr. Kevorkian thing, you know? He lives in a suburb of Royal Oaks, in Detroit where we’re from, and we thought it would be cool to name a band after that, even though we don’t support what he did, or not support it. We really don’t take a stand on it." And while it’s cool to share a city with a famous ying/yang saviour/murderer urban legend-type guy, it’s even cooler to share a place of origin with MC5 and Iggy Pop, according to Lukacinsky. "I really like MC5 and listen to them a lot. Iggy, I listened to for a long time, more as a kid. They were punk before there was punk. For back then, they were high energy, and they didn’t care what anyone thought about what they said. I mean, the MC5 got into trouble for supporting (political activist) John Sinclair, and then Hudson’s (store) took their album off the shelves when they realized the word ‘motherfucker’ was in the title." Not that The Suicide Machines have to worry about offending anyone, although fans of the nine-year-old band might raise an eyebrow at the more melodic and poppier sound of this year’s self-titled album, noting the change from 1996’s hardercore Battle Hymns. "Well, there’s been a pop element in all three of our records. (Our first album) Definition by Destruction had the ska thing. It just happens – whatever comes out comes out and then we pick and choose. We’re not one of those kinds of bands to do more of the same every time." They may not be repetitive with their music, but appearing on the Warped Tour is becoming something of a habit. Comparing the tour to one big pajama party where everyone hangs out together, Lukacinsky notes that the band played the North American Warped shows in ’97 and the European leg last year. It’s one of the band’s favourite tours, although Lukacinsky admits that the group’s most memorable gig was not at Warped and, strangely, involved a lot of booing from the crowd – the band was going on late while opening for No Doubt at Denver’s Red Rocks amphitheatre when roadie Mike appeared on stage in a Detroit Red Wings jersey. "It was the same year the Wings had defeated the Colorado Avalanche and gone on to take the Stanley Cup... and as the crowd booed the jersey, Mike raised his hands and played it up." The disapproval and shouts of "Red Wings suck!" continued through the entire set, with Lukacinsky and Co. laughing it off and tearing into the music with a defiant energy to rival the crowd’s.

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