Interview by Jennifer Perkins

There is an obvious new wave influence over your sound. Who are some of your favorite old school new waver bands? And more importantly if Robert Smith and Morrisey were to get into a fight who do you think would win?

Let's see...old school new waver bands...at the moment, I'm really into Huey Lewis and The News "Sports", and Depeche Mode "Violator". How amazing is "Policy of Truth"! I just can't get enough (no pun intended) of that song. I would like to think that Robert Smith and Morrissey would make out before fighting each other. However, if the scuffle must go down, I'm putting my money on Smith (beneath all that coif volume must lie some serious power!).

What do you guys all do besides play in a band? Are you students or do you have jobs, or both. Give us the poop on everyday life, and where do you reside for that matter?

Andrew and myself are the only college students as of right now. We try to attend college when we're not involved in heavy touring committments. Everyone works various part time jobs here and there ranging from restaurants to office job temping to construction...snooze! We are scattered across the Detroit area, with the majority of us living in Northwest Ohio.

Why the transition from Doghouse to Vagrant Records?

Dirk and Doghouse are really cool - very helpful to us. That said, the switch mainly dealt with my friendship with The Get Up Kids and they're desire to help us out. It has been really exciting seeing Vagrant sprout into the label it is now.

Will you help me understand the whole Heroes and Villains/Vagrant record label? Did two labels merge or what? It confuses me and which one are you guys really on?

Heroes and Villains, truth be told, is really run by Vagrant under the artist signing rights and guidance of The Get Up Kids. The Get Up Kids are like the A&R, but Vagrant handles all the day to day operations. We are on Heroes & Villains first and foremost, however, we deal directly with Vagrant. I hope that isn't confusing.

Vagrant has been getting bigger and bigger it seems, as well as the bands on it’s roster. I think a lot of people in the Indie community were surprised when they heard The Get Up Kids were going to tour with Greenday, is all this exposure to the label being reflected onto Koufax at all?

This is true about Vagrant. It is very exciting to see and be apart of. Koufax is a strange band for the label, so the "rub off success" isn't as strong as one would think. Honestly, I think we're for the most part a novelty band to many people that hear of us via punk rock circles. It's like, "Whoah...they've got two keyboardists and sound like Game Show music from the 70's."

I saw that you guys are going to be touring Europe this spring/early summer. Is this your first European tour? Who are you going to be touring with? Have you ever visited Europe before? Any favorite spots?

Koufax is touring Europe in September and October. It will be Koufax's first European tour, and the first time over there for some of the guys. I last toured Europe in 1999 with Joshua (NY band I used to play in). The best city in Europe for many many reasons is Praha, Czech Republic: architecture, affordability, pivo (beer), and overall charm. As far as gigs go, Germany usually has the best turnouts.

How was the tour last fall with The Get Up Kids and The Anniversary? I know you sold out Emo’s in Austin very early and it was one in one out for the rest of the evening.

That tour was phenomenal in so many ways. That gig at Emo's was insanity. The next night in Dallas was even crazier. From it, I learned a heat wave and oversold venues equal stress and B.O., and who wants those???

Did you guys get any shit for being supported by Napster? How do you feel about all the Napster stuff that has been going on recently, or are you like me and just mentally block it all out?

We really only got praise for being associated with Napster. I was initially a little frightened by the notion of free music when you're trying to support the sales of a record. That ended when I realized how people across the country understood the need to support the artist(s) they enjoy.

Speaking of getting shit, I have noticed that the zine Buddyhead has taken a strong dislike to you guys. Even posting your email address. Do loser little kids ever really write you hate mail because of those guys or is this some scam and you guys are really best friends.

Yes, they dislike a lot of things, which I think makes for a good read in this "underground music world" that is so full of negativity. They really do make an art form of negativity. We never receive much hate mail. They could do some broadening in their musical knowledge (for the record...all the best music has already been made a long time ago, and last time I checked obscure modern day punk bands didn't make the cut).

How do you feel about online zines versus print ones? It seems that print zines that cater to our genera are becoming extinct or deviating further away from the bands they originally set out to cover. I have heard a lot of people say that they don’t really trust the internet as a means of review or advertising?

PROS of E-Zine: updating, environmental, free, rumors CONS of E-Zine: hard on the eyes, non-portable, rumors

Has the 7” you guys recorded for Devil in the Woods come out yet? How did that come to be?

That is a good question that I'd like to find out the answer to. It is a new song of ours that we recorded (rather miserably) in Jared's bedroom. The magazine contacted us about it, and we figured we'd give it a shot. Haven't seen or heard anything about it though.

Well besides the free 7” with Devil in the Woods magazine, a short US tour and a European tour, what else can we expect in the future from Koufax (like that is not enough)? What is the next plan for a release?

Aside from those, it's all speculation. We might become a cover band (again, all the best music has already been made...Rundgren or ELO???). Seriously though, we'd love to record another record and continue touring. There is talk of us recording Randy Newman's "I Love LA" for Vagrant's upcoming "Before You Were Punk 3". A new Koufax record would, at the very earliest, come out in early 2002.

Read a review of Koufax's It Had to do with Love here.

Read where Koufax got their name from here.