They Haven't Gone Blind--Yet

The success of Short Songs attracted some of the bigger names in punk to the Nobodys' second Hopeless project, The Smell of Victory. The Vandals' Warren Fitzgerald produced the long-player, and Guttermouth's Marc Adkins contributed vocals to "Vaca. in T.J." and "You Make Me Wanna Drink." Cut during the summer of 1997, Smell has a harder edge than its predecessors, in large part because "we were listening to bands like Zeke at the time," Nobody says. Another important factor is the emergence of guitarist Randy "The Kid," who became a permanent member of the band around the time of the recording. But the songs' sentiments remain the same. In the crowd-pleasing "Your Girlfriend," Nobody speaks out loud thoughts that most of us keep to ourselves: "Man, I gotta tell ya the truth/I wanna steal your girl from you/And when I look into those eyes/I wanna dive between those thighs/I wanna fuck your girlfriend."

A sense of humor has helped the Nobodys stick together through touring challenges of every description. Most of these have been relatively minor--such as learning to deal with each other's body odors. ("I woke up with Justin squatting about an inch from my face, and he cut the hugest fart," Nobody recounts. "I swear to God, I almost puked. I freaked; I didn't know where I was.") But the ultimate test came in New York City, when all of their equipment and belongings were stolen from their van. They dealt with this crushing blow in a way that would make any mother proud. "We went to New Hampshire," Randy says, "and bought underwear from Kmart."

Instincts like these have helped the Nobodys survive and even flourish in a difficult environment--their hometown. To Nobody, the fact that the band's still around is proof that Colorado Springs conservatives aren't as tough as they think they are. "The fucking Nobodys come from there," he says, "so they're obviously not getting their job done."

The Queers, with the Nobodys and Chixdiggit. 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 29, Aztlan Theatre, 974 Santa Fe Drive, $7-$8, 830-