J-I see.. then how
did you hook up with the guys in American Dog?
M-ok.. here ya go.. this is all working in order isn't it.. wow.. your like someone who has everything in order.. this is amazing.. I love organized people..hahaha.. we I did the tour w/Dangerous Toys, and it was right when grunge was taking over.. I'd say in 95' which was a real bleak time for rock n roll.. and we toured every where with them.. and I was like geez.. it was really bleak on the east and west coast. more so on the west coast.. it was just god awful for rock n roll..there was no more KNAC.. we went back to Orange County.. where Dangerous Toys or Salty Dog, could sell these places out easily and there was like 30 people there..
J-That's how things have changed, even down here in Florida..the Rocket Club.. and all these places have closed..
M-ya I played the Rocket-Club! I still have the ads, I save that shit.. it was us one night.. then Love/Hate, XYZ was a night..
J-Ya
its not like that at all anymore, every place closed,
M-Ya and there was a place called Button something..
J-Ya the Button South.. that's in Miami, Ft.Lauderdale.. area..
M-There was all kinds of great places there.. Florida.. I'm a big southern rock kinda guy. so I have alot of friends down there it seems like.. but its more in Jacksonville area....
J-Right.. well back to your story.. hahaha
M-Oh ya.. where was I? oh.. ya we were touring.. it was bleak on the west coast.. the east coast was a little better.. but everywhere in the mid west.. Ohio, Illinois.. Nebraska, was like YAAAA... people don't care as much about fashion.. like in Kansas, compared to L.A..... nobody cares about who the flavor of the week is.. so as soon as that tour was done, cause I was just a hired gun.. I said I'm going back to Ohio... I'm gonna start from scratch again.. and its now been five years.. and I finally got my American record deal.. we have been playing small clubs just beating our heads against the wall.. making a name for our selves..
J-Has it been this
line up since the beginning?
M-No.. we were called Hilljack right when I got back here...and I just changed guitar players, still same drummer..and me.. and since we got this guitar player, the magic has been just happening..
J-And your the singer now, have you always wanted to sing..?
M-No I never wanted to sing! like god damn it.. I was looking for a singer..and I'm like look guys..this is what I need... and I did demos, and I sang on them.. and id send them out to all these guys in local magazines.. and id say this is what I need.. and they were all coming back to me saying, well hell why don't you do it? it sounds good? sooo.. I never thought of that.. I'm a bass player, not a scientist.. hahaha.. and that was it?
J-So who writes the songs?
M-Well its been me writing all the lyrics so far... and musically my guitar player Steve, is just fantastic..we practice in a basement.. and Steve will just come up with a riff.. and Keith comes in on the drums..and I come in..making a melody to it.. with really no words.. just making it rhyme.. and that's it... we split the song writing credits right down the middle.. 33% each, that way it keeps everybody happy.. cause ya know the drummers always get ripped off.. they deserve more.. like Bonham was certainly a big sound of Zeppelin.. its like geez he should get sound writing credit..and it will only have Page and Plant on it... drummers deserve more..or just as much as some of these assholes that play bass.
J-OK.. and how would you describe your music to someone who hasn't heard it yet?
M-hmmm.. I don't know.. its rock n roll.. its fun, it has a bit of a southern twang to it.. and just straight ahead rock n roll.. hmm.. a southern rock AC/DC maybe? with the fun element of Van Halen's first 2 or 3 albums..
J-ok..thats very
good! and what is your different releases?
M-Ok.. the first one was "Last of the Dying Breed".. which was a statement of the music I was hearing on the radio.. I cant find a god damn band out there that I even wanna buy, that's new.. I find myself buying re issues, and remasters.. and some of these bands.. like Jackyl.. they had an album out.. called "Stayin Alive", that nobody even knew was out..thats the only thing I like is these older things..I can't find anything new on the radio that I like.. all the sudden the bands I grew up on.. is classic rock now.. they are not metal and hard rock.. so that's basically what that song is about.. apart of the past..that was us basically getting something out.. we were playing all over Ohio we would branch out to Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and that's about it .. hooking up with all the biker groups..and play lots of little biker parties.. kinda like Van Halen played little keg parties..we were doing biker shows.. which really got us going.. cause the clubs had the nu-metal.. or grunge, or whatever was in. and that's how we got our crowd going.. cause that's were they all went. then we got in with Sturgis from playing the biker shows, and its really hard to get in to Sturgis..and everybody wants to play there, cause its such a big crowd.. and this will be our 6th year playing for the Vietnam Veterans Show in Zanesville Ohio.. its all these guys in wheel chairs..and we were the first band to not take money from them.. we are like no we are not taking money from Vietnam Vets.. its a benefit for god sake.. and we have done that every year now, for six years..and they.. I think they are called the Southeastern Ohio Bikers Association they faxed a certificate of appreciating to the buffalo chip out at Sturgis.. and now because of that.. we helped people.. and they helped us..and now its our 3rd year straight at Sturgis.. its like wow.. you feel good about people for a change.. its the whole karma thing there..
J-Right... So did the "6-pack" c.d. come out after these.. or in between?
M-After "dying breed" we did that.. cause we were going to Sturgis.. and it had been a year since "Dying Breed" and we weren't quiet ready for a full album of all new studio tracks..so we said why don't we do some of these Hilljack tracks..which we still have in the live show then we don't have to waste any time..so we went to the studio.. brought our friends, and our crowd.. and recoded it live.. and packaged it..and brought it to Sturgis with us..and we sold it across the country and back..and it really opened peoples eyes.. that "6-pack" because even if you don't like us.. or never heard of us.. your going to pick it up and look at it.. cause its got a god damn bottle opener..it draws your attention.. even all the magazines..and internet sites I send it to, has to mention that.. so it got us in the press everywhere.. and all we had to do was the one , two punch, and come back with a really good studio album, which I really think we did with "Red White Black and White"..its defiantly our strongest album so far.. so every one goes.. oh ya.. these are the guys with the bottle opener! so we get a serious review..its really worked for us..