Josh Harmony: has the beard of a grown man - Heads: Harmony - Brief Article - Interview

Thrasher Magazine, August, 2002 by Michael Burnett

Do you think it's safe to assume that you're the world's loudest am?

I don't know. I just get excited and then it happens.

Is your whole family loud?

My younger brother's really quiet, but my older brother's obnoxiously loud.

How old are you? You look like a grown man.

I'm 18. Whenever I'm skating at skateparks, people eventually ask me how old I am and I say 18 and they go, "I thought you were, like, 25 the whole time!"

What makes you look older?

I can grow a beard.

I suspected it might be the beard. And you recently moved from Chicago?

Around there, kind of a suburb of Chicago. Near Aurora, where Wayne's World was set.

What was skating in Chicago like compared to Southern California where you live now?

Any stairs or rails you want to skate, or even ledges, are all just crappy and chunked and the ground's really rough because the winters are so harsh. It's kind of fun, though. because you can pretty much skate whatever you want. No one's at spots when you get there, because there's not as many people that skate so it's kind of good.

What's the most desperate thing you ever did to be able to skate in Chicago?

Pretty much everyday I'd skate around in my basement, because my basement had kind of a tall ceiling. Me and my friends, we've shoveled out sidewalks and put the box out to skate it in the snow.

Who's the best skater ever out of Chicago?

Matt Hensley was in Chicago awhile and he's sick. Patrick Melcher is from Chicago.

I would have also accepted Dayne Brummet.

Oh, yeah. For sure.

Do you think you'd be sponsored if you were still in Chicago?

No, definitely not.

How come Patrick Melcher never put you on Black Label?

Even before it was an option, he always said he saw me on Toy Machine. He's the one who gave my tape to Ed. Thanks, Patrick.

Were you nervous the first time you saw Ed naked?

I've never seen Ed naked. I've seen him in his boxers though.

That's enough to make a man nervous.

He wasn't very open about it either. He came down and was all, "Don't look at me." He kind of hid behind the kitchen counter and seemed nervous.

Would you ever pose for a painting?

Yeah, but not naked.

Are you strictly a handrail maniac?

No. I like to skate everything, but handrails are my favorite. I really like hubba ledges, especially, but those are kind of harder to come by.

Have you experienced the full-force sack?

I've hit the choad area, but not pure sack.

Have you ever slammed so hard you thought you were gonna poop?

Yeah. One time I was ollieing this gap and my tail broke off. My front foot kept going forward and one of my butt cheeks hit the ground. It hurt so bad.

That's called the one-cheek sneak.

Yeah. That's a good name for it.

What's worse, to get called a motor-mouth midget in a major skate publication or to get punched by a midget at your place of business?

Wow! Getting punched out doesn't sound very fun.

How come you don't cuss?

I was raised in a Christian home, and a lot of swearing doesn't seem too necessary.

Nicknames are hot. Would you like to be marketed as The Harm? Like, stay out of Harm's way and stuff like that?

Nicknames are things you can't really choose. I would never call myself The Harm, but if other people are going to call you that, what can you do?

Is it difficult to be a Christian who listens to Slayer?

Not really. I don't know. It just pumps you up. It's just good music.

What does Jesus think about Slayer?

He probably doesn't like it, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like the guys in Slayer.

Is it un-Christian to believe in dinosaurs?

I don't think so. That's something I've definitely wondered about. Why would God put dinosaurs on Earth? What were they here for?

Biting, mostly.

Biting people?

Yeah.