Please Don't Kill Me

The Fleshtones swing at the Continental on Saturday

“30 Years, 2,000 Shows, 1,000 Blue Whales, No Hits, No Sleep,” brags the cover of Sweat, Joe Bonomo’s unflinching 2007 biography of the Fleshtones, “America’s garage band.” Founder and lead singer Peter Zaremba wants to dispute that, however. “Semi-hits. We cracked the Top 100 vaguely.”

Nonetheless, it’s a brave statement from a band with nothing to lose by being honest. Sweat detailed the band’s excesses and conflicts over three decades, redeemed by the Fleshtones’ unflagging fuzz-busted garage-rock. Zaremba also holds a place in Austin music lore as host of MTV's The Cutting Edge, which famously filmed mid-1980s Austin at its New Sincerity zenith and focused a new generation’s eyes on the scene previously known for progressive country.

Austin Chronicle: So, Peter, how’s it going?

Peter Zaremba: It’s still fleshy. More coherent, that’s for sure, but playing better. Then, a good deal of what we did was out of control, which was good then. But we can’t always be out of control, since we’re lucky enough to be alive, the difference is focus. It’s more fun, more enjoyable – you don’t play for 34 years and not improve.

People enjoy us doing it, which is the answer to the question of why are we still doing it. Because it’s enjoyable. No one else does quite what we do, in fact at all. It’s worth doing. To have people come up to us and say they enjoy what we do is satisfying. That satisfaction keeps us going.

The songs come to us a lot easier, even the London Times said our last three albums had been the best of our career. So, in lieu of money, that kind of acknowledgment means something too. In other words, you don’t need to take a pile of drugs to make a great rock & roll record. You can, but you don’t need to.

AC: Would you have believed that 30 years ago?

PZ: No. The craziness was such a part of the perspective that it seemed essential. It’s definitely not now because being alive is a great thing. We enjoy our families, going places, good health – it means more to us now! "Please don’t kill me," that’s my saying now.

AC: How do you remember the Cutting Edge episode?

PZ: Ah, the famous visit to Austin where we turned everyone in the music scene against each other! Dino Lee & the White Trash Revue, that was one of the happier bands. You guys were great, Dino was a pleasure. It was fun meeting Daniel Johnston – I got mileage out of that. I appear in his movie. Someone wants to interview me tomorrow for a documentary on the Replacements, who made their first national appearance on The Cutting Edge. I’m proud of that. I appear in the Monks’ movie. It gave me a new non-career making cameo appearances in other people’s documentaries.

The Fleshtones pop into town Wednesday (Bastille Day!) at Waterloo Records, 5pm, then return Saturday, July 17, at the Continental Club, with the Ugly Beats and Danny B. Harvey. Zaremba most likely does not remember around 1980, when the Fleshtones stayed down the street at the old Imperial 400 Motel on South Congress. Late one night after a Club Foot show, we took down the paintings from the hotel room walls and added details to them. Please don’t remind him.