Ken Van Hamm Bassist, Vocals For Them Creatures, And Bad Ass Skater
Interview by GINGER COYOTE
A few years ago I had the pleasure to play a few shows with Them Creatures. I interviewed in the old format of Punk Globe. I decided it was time to do a follow-up interview with Ken and find out what these guys are up to. If you have not seen them yet, get off your ass and see them.
Punk Globe: Thanks for the interview, Ken. Can you elaborate on the good, the bad, and the evil of the current SF Bay Area music scene..
Ken: So like many areas Covid killed off some venues and some new places emerged as well. Our scene overall is functioning and existing as it should with a few bright spots.. The bright spot for me is a wave of younger bands who have pushed the DIY scene. They give us all hope for the scene!
Punk Globe: Tell us what venues that Them Creatures enjoy playing at.
Ken: We have been lucky to play some of our favorite venues,of course, we are fans first , so to be able to open for bands we’ve loved for many years is a bonus! The Ritz, San Jose..Metro in Oakland..Catalyst, Santa Cruz.. we also love a good dive bar! We are down for the occasional bar-mitzvah too.. Haha
Punk Globe Have Them Creatures released any product since our last interview?
Ken: We have been busy in that regard… We have released a skateboard deck with Blast-Mode Skateboards.. handmade in Sacramento by Corey at Legend! As well as some new apparel.. New EP and new vinyl should be out at the end of this year.
Punk Globe: Tell the readers about any badass shows that Them Creatures have played Ken: We just played The Knockout in SF, a really fun spot that your readers might want to check out! The ultimate jam took place yesterday. I took an acoustic guitar to the site of Spawn Ranch, found the Manson Cave, and jammed Helter Skelter there… very hair-raising.
Punk Globe: Them Creatures has a YouTube channel. When did you start that?
Ken: I will have to admit that our YouTube channel and Twitter need some serious love and revamping.It was started about 6 years ago by our old Guitarist Giuseppe Valente and took a while to transfer back over..G is holding it down now with some other bands in Venice Beach
Punk Globe: How many members do you have?
Ken: We have 4 members including myself..
Ken Van Hamm .. Bass and vocals
Mike Keller.. Guitar
Glen Niblack.. Guitar
Tyler Prusso..Drums. Tyler recently replaced Robert Gomez (the Masked Creature) after many years of service
Punk Globe: Are you still booking shows for other bands?
Ken: I have only booked a handful of shows since the shutdown, I really love to do promoting but can be time-consuming.. My favorite were shows where I was Promotor, Soundguy, Band Member, Security ,etc
Punk Globe: Are you still skating and snowboarding? It seems that I have seen some killer skating clips on Social Media.
Ken: Skateboarding and Punk Rock go hand in hand for me.. Skating definitely was a gateway to punk and many other things. I’m fighting a handful of injuries right now so focusing on music more right now as I heal up!
Punk Globe: Are you doing skate competitions?
Ken: I haven’t entered a contest in years but always down for demos and skate jams. But I am in the process of Starting my own Skate Company, Mota Skateboards so hopefully, I will have a team that I can enter into the contest circuit
Punk Globe: What is happening for your band Them Creatures and yourself in the future?
Ken: There is a ton going on..We lost our guitarist, Dear friend, and brother Justin Thomas (JT) to a motorcycle accident.. So we continue on and play in his honor. Replacing him was very difficult but Glen is a very natural choice and brings a lot to the table. The music community has been very helpful in the healing process for us
Punk Globe: Do you have any Internet addresses you would like to share with the readers?
Ken:Www.themcreatures.com should have links to everything that is Them Creatures .. soon planning to start my internet radio station and that link will be present on our website
Punk Globe: Describe yourself in three words
Skate Punk Friend.. maybe Fiend.. the readers decide!
Punk Globe: Any last words for Punk Globe readers?
Ken: Life is short so love your friends, family, and those around you.. Our biggest enemy is time! So don’t waste it with hate, racism, sexism, or small-mindedness.. Love your neighbor and try not to be a piece of crap along the way! Amen
