Interview Misery Index |
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Can you remain to us the story of Misery Index ? The band was started in 2001 by current bassist/vox Jason Netherton. He wanted to do another band after he had been out of Dying Fetus for a little while. I was asked to join several months later. There have been many line-up changes, but the group is now solid with the addition of Adam on drums in Aug. ’04, and Mark on guitar in Feb. ’05. The band has several releases, including 2003’s "Retaliate" and 2004’s "Dissent", which the band put out on it’s own Anarchos imprint. We’ve done over 300 shows to date in the States, Canada, and Europe, and with the new line-up, we look forward to writing a bunch of new songs in the coming months. Which are the artists who influenced you or whom you appreciate particularly ? So many good bands/musicians out there, but definitely 80’s metal and thrash, 90’s death/grind, hardcore, crust, and all kinds of stuff. Not enough space here to list every band that has influenced or inspired us, but I think some part of all of them come through in the songs we write. How would you describe your music in your own words ? Socially conscious death/grind sums it up pretty well we think. Can you speak to us about the re-release of your split CD called « Misery Index & Commit Suicide » ? Sure. Jason at Willowtip struck a deal with Earache to get his albums out over in Europe, so, thankfully, the split was one of those picked as part of that deal. Original drummer Kevin Talley (ex-DF, now in Chimaira) and guitarist Mike (now an Imperial Stormtrooper serving in the 501st Legion) played on these three songs. They were recorded by a guy named Uncle Punchy (who’s also done bands like Clutch) in the spring on ’02. The third track "Reality Distortion" is actually a cover by a fave band of ours, Disrupt. How did you proceed for the composition ? Who is responsible for song writing ? One guy will usually write the riffs, get a basic structure for the song and bring it to the drummer. They’ll work on arrangements, flesh out the song. Jason typically composes all the lyrics, so there is an effort to match the vocals to the song to make it cohesive. Everyone has input in the songwriting, as all suggestions can be productive. What are the lyrics talking about ? Where do you find inspiration ? Jason writes about social issues, things happening in the world, history, conflict, with an eye towards being positive, that things can change for the better, instead of just saying "Fuck this, fuck that, we’re all doomed". What’s your favourite Misery Index’s track , and why ? My favorite song to date is "Exception to the Ruled", the 2nd track on our latest ep "Dissent". Kevin (he re-joined the band briefly last spring) and I put together the music together, and it touches on a lot of the different styles of stuff we’re into. It has a flow to it, and I got to do a long guitar solo ha ha. Of course, Jason wrote some great lyrics to add the icing to the cake. That track can be found as a downloadable mp3 on both www.myspace.com/miseryindex and www.purevolume.com/miseryindex, along with a few other mp3s, so check ‘em out!!!What are your favourite bands and all times albums ?
What’s your opinion about the international metal scene ? Metal is bigger now than it ever has been in history. All generations of fans and bands currently co-exist, from Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden still being on the road, to a plethora of new and up and coming acts. It’s a good time to be a Metalhead for sure. You played with a lot of bands. What are your best memories ? Best times are having the chance to get to know bands you are already a fan of, plus discovering new bands that you play with in each town while you are on tour. Lots of beer drinking and partying, but the various festivals are always the best, big gathering of the tribes, you get to see your friends from all over the world in one place. The three fests we did in Europe last year were definitely a highlight, great shows, cold beer, good times!!! Are there any plans for an upcoming tour ? We are currently writing songs for a new album, which should be out in early ’06, not sure which label it will be on. We did 176 shows over the last 13 months, so we need a bit of a break. We will be playing at Ieperfest in Belgium and Up From the Ground Fest in Germany, on Aug 26th and 27th, respectively. We’ll hit the road throughout ‘06 after the release of the new record. Do you have funny or strange stories about the band you can share with us ? We have a kind of crappy story. We did a 2 week tour in Europe this past April, mostly in France, great tour with Eyeless and "????". We got to the airport to fly home, and, although we didn’t get any extra baggage charges on the flight from the States to Paris, on the way back, the person at the Air France desk decided to charge us 100 Euros extra per guitar. We either had to pay or we couldn’t board the flight. Total fucking extortion, as the flight was due to leave about an hour later, and we had to get on the plane. So, we got raped. We won’t be flying that airline again anytime soon ha ha. What are your projects for the future ? Well, Adam and Mark both live in the middle of the US, in the St. Louis, Missouri area, so they will be moving to the Baltimore/Washington, DC region this summer, so that’ll be a bit of a project. Other than that, just writing new songs, and trying to get ourselves off of Nuclear Blast as soon as possible so we can work with a new label that will give us the bare minimum support that we ask for as a constantly touring band. They are good people, and have helped us on some levels, but, don’t really know how to handle promo for a band like ours who is rooted in the Do It Yourself ethic. Basically, that label is far too big, too many bands, and we don’t fit into their plans apparently, especially in the US, where the Century Media and Nuclear Blast offices are combined. A hard working (mostly CM) staff has too many bands/releases to be able to give proper attention to all the bands. This may sound like sour grapes, but, I think our hard work and touring prove that we are not looking for handouts. Rather, we just need a little bit more than what they are willing to do. We have and will always work hard to promote ourselves and get the music out to the people. Thankfully, Earache has picked up the split which will help to spread our music to more people in Europe and beyond, so thanks to Willowtip Jason and the Earache crew for making this happen. On other musical fronts, Adam and Mark also play in bands while they aren’t touring with us. Adam’s band is All Will Fall www.allwillfall.tk , and Mark’s is Cast the Stone www.castthestone.com , so check them out!!!And as a conclusion, can you say some words for my radio show called Metal Choc ? Thanks much for taking the time to send us the questions. Be sure to check out the split (Commit Suicide is sick, don’t miss them!!!), and download, burn, steal any of our releases (other than the split of course ha ha). Also, hit up our band site at www.miseryindex.com . Thanks for the support and look for a new album in early ’06. Cheers!
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