This first interview was originally published in ALARM CLOCK # 31, October 1996.
By Allen Salyer.

ALARM CLOCK (AC): If you weren't in this band, what would you be doing?
CARRIE: I'd probably be in another band or trying to play music with
people. Outside of music, I'd probably still be going to college and
still trying to find a job.
AC: Are any of you an artist?
CARRIE: I never really thought about it. I can draw stick figures and
write disco tunes on my Casio keyboards though.
BECCA: I make stuff.
AC: Where / when was your best concert?
CARRIE: My favorite was in Madison, WI last summer. Everyone was
really enthusiastic and the entire floor was shaking from everyone
jumping around.
BECCA: Ditto.
AC: How about your worst concert?
CARRIE: Boston at the Middle East. We were fighting and it was awful
and depressing. I didn't think we'd play another show ever.
AC: Funniest concert story?
CARRIE: Somebody breakdanced at our Washington, DC show.
AC: Who are your influences?
CARRIE: Right now I would say musically Patti Smith and Cindy Wilson
of the B-52's. Things like this change all of the time for me.
AC: Your favorite kind of music?
CARRIE: I like almost everything.
BECCA: Ditto.
AC: Band history?
CARRIE: Becca and I met in 1993 during the summer. We both really
wanted to play music with other people who weren't already in a band.
At first we just wrote music in her apartment. We then started
looking for a drummer. I met CJ at a show in Seattle and then it just
sort of came together.
AC: What other bands were you in?
CARRIE: In high school I was in a band called Born Naked (awful name,
I know). We were all girls and we were mocked endlessly by everyone.
We played one show and had one hit called "You Annoy Me." Right now
I'm in a band called Sleater-Kinney. We have an LP out on Chainsaw
records.. I think we're doing a short tour as well.
AC: Favorite song of your own band's.
CARRIE: Right now probably "Drop Dead Look" on the new LP.
AC: If you were kidnapped by aliens, what Excuse 17 song would you
play?
CARRIE: "Special Guest, Me."
AC: What would planet Excuse 17 be like?
CARRIE: "Special Guest, Me."
AC: Any cool story behind the band name?
CARRIE: Since we've come up with the name, we've thought up a few
different meanings. Originally we came up with Excuse 17 because
Becca used to put her thoughts / ideas into numerical order.
AC: On any compliation or various artists albums?
BECCA: We're on "Periscope," "Another Yo-Yo Compliation" and on "Free
To Fight," a rad interactive self-defence compilation.
AC: What do you like to do when you're not working?
CARRIE: Watch old movies, read, write, ride my bike.
AC: What's your personal formula for happiness?
CARRIE: Work on being a less anxious, stressed-out person. Try to eat
healthy and be in healthy relationships and friendships with people.
BECCA: Stretching.
AC: If you could be any person in history, who would it be?
CARRIE: A difficult question...
AC: How do your beliefs interact with your music?
CARRIE: I write about things I believe in or am dealing with in my
lyrics. I would say that they deal a lot with abuse, alienation and
different forms of oppression. Sometimes I find it difficult to write
about issues I'm working on and put them into a song because there's
not enough room for explanation and self-criticism and interaction.
AC: What's the best advice you ever got?
CARRIE: Relax. (I'm a very high-strung person.)
BECCA: Act like you know what you're doing.
AC: What else do you think I should know?
CARRIE: We have a new record out on Kill Rock Stars. The Sleater-
Kinney record will be on Villa Villakula records (10" LP) and the CD
on Chainsaw records.

TIGER BEAT QUESTIONS:
Q: Do you have any pets?
CARRIE: Not with me in Olympia.
Q: Favorite color?
CARRIE: Navy.
BECCA: Light blue.
Q: Favorite food?
CARRIE: Pasta.
BECCA: Rice.
Q: Favorite TV show?
CARRIE: "Roseanne," but I'm trying not to watch as much.
BECCA: NPR.
Q: Cartoon?
CARRIE: "Doug" and "Rugrats" on Nickelodeon.
Q: Movie?
CARRIE: Anything with Kathleen Hepburn or Greta Garbo.
BECCA: "Funny Face."
Q: Does the band have a mascot?
CARRIE: We did but it just wasn't working out.