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On Oct 17th, 2024, Chicago-based punk band Pure Intention released the song, “KILLED BY FATE!” the first single off their upcoming debut album release.
At 4:30pm of that same day, Mick and I were running late to interview Pure Intention at some random pizza place in West Loop I selected on a whim. The pizza was good, but the service was cold and it cost an extra two bucks for a pizza with cheese on it. Not to mention we had to eat the slices folded in half so the sauce and cheese wouldn’t slide off.
When we arrived, the bassist of Pure Intention shook my hand and said we could call him Joey. The other members were at work, so it was just him. The restaurant looked completely empty. After awkwardly setting up the camera in a corner booth, we got the interview started, but, not understanding the intricacies of the camera-mic connection, the video’s audio was only static, so I will recall the interview to the best of my memory.
The cover art of the single “KILLED BY FATE!” is a facsimile comic book cover of soldiers on the battlefield. Joey told us he was a fan of the X-Men comics, and had the idea of the single art as a tribute to the infamous Phoenix Saga X-Men cover before “KILLED BY FATE!” was written.
Joey said future singles would not be in the comic book theme as he didn’t want to inspire lawsuits from Marvel, but more importantly, the band wanted to try new artists and concepts.
Pure Intention recorded each track of “KILLED BY FATE!” separately to maximize the song's perfection.
After the interview finished, Joey told me he had the same job as the hostess standing idly at the podium, checking her phone, except his work hours had been cut for doing exactly that. Who doesn’t check their phone on downtime? To make up money for those cut hours, Joey had to sell old comic books which pained me to hear as a fellow X-Men and comic book fan.
I was unable to catch the Pure Intention show at the Liar’s Club the night of the interview, but I checked out their post about getting their heads shaved onstage to “prepare for war,” aka, The Southern Shart tour, which took the band from Missouri down into Florida for several gigs. The following week, I followed the aftermath of their first show in St. Louis, after Joey kicked a hole in the wall during their song “No Control.” Controversy ensued. It was meant to be a jump kick off the wall, but instead, it left a hole in the shape of a shoe. The band lost pizza privileges and didn’t get paid for the gig, which the band acknowledged as a fair response from the venue. (The not-getting-paid aspect made me think of those sold comic books.) In the face of some social media hate regarding the incident, Pure Intention continued to state across several posts that they would never intentionally damage a venue that had allowed them to play, and as so many past gigs would testify, they had never before done such a thing as damage a venue. The band had only pure intentions.
Since the pizza interview audio was lost, the rest is a follow-up with Joey on our discussion from Oct. 17th regarding “KILLED BY FATE!,” the tour, and more.
Scary Fingers: Who mixed the single?
Joey: The single was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Will Moore. Drums were recorded at Mystery Street Recording in Chicago, IL. Guitars and vocals were tracked at an undisclosed location. South of Heaven.
SF: Favorite show?
J: It’s hard to pick a favorite show. 4 or 400 (people), you give ‘em what they paid for. I love what I do.
SF: Favorite memory from touring?
J: A fun memory from the road is going to Lodi pizza in NJ. The Misfits grew up eating there. They have a lot of Misfits memorabilia on the walls: signed photos, etc. It’s a great slice. It was cool to spend some time on our heroes’ stomping grounds.
SF: How did the show at the Liar’s Club go? (Oct 17th, same day as single release)
J: Liar’s Club was rad. Fred [of Satin Black and NightFreak] shaved my head on stage. I don’t think it’s ever been done by a live band before. If it has… we did it better.
SF: Any statement you want on the record about the infamous hole in the wall incident of the St. Louis show?
J: St. Louis? We’ll be back… eventually. So many people want us back. Those that don’t are in for a rude awakening.
SF: Anything else you want to mention?
J: We have a show on December 20th at Beat Kitchen with Shotgun Funeral, Poison Boys, and Satin Black.
Fate willing, your trusted reporter Scary Fingers will be present to witness Chicago’s Nasty Boys in action at Beat Kitchen this December. Tickets can be found on the band’s Instagram bio @pureintentionband
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