Mucomo interview with Hetson
!MuCoMo!: We always get the critics view of records, we want your view. How do you like the Gray Race?
It's great. I think it came out really well. We're really happy with it.
What was it like in the studio for you guys. Was it fun recording it?
Yeah, it was really relaxed, we pretty much recorded all together in the same room, which we hadn't done in a long time.
Yeah, this was the first time since the early 80s that you guys were in the studio together, wasn't it?
Yeah, that was, you know, to the basics. It came out with a really good intensity. What was the decision for bringing in Ric Ocasek as producer for you guys? He kept calling and bugging us basically, looking to work with us. And when we finally met him, we liked him a lot, and felt comfortable. And he was not just a producer, but a musician as well. So we thought that was maybe good for a change, to get a musical guy in there. Maybe, give it a different perspective, more objective, you know.
Do you think he brought a lot of good ideas to the band?
He had his concept of what he thought was missing on all of our records before, and I think he delivered what he thought he said he could do. He had a few ideas here and there on certain parts, but nothing really major. He left things the way they came in most of the time.
How's it playing with Brian Baker? He certainly has a strong punk track record.
Oh it's good. He's Mr. Enthusiasm. He's not jaded like we are.
Are you guys jaded after all these years?
No, but he brings...he's a good kick in the ass because he's fresh new blood.
Do you have fun stories about the sessions.
Not really, except everybody kept saying it was haunted by the ghost of Jimi Hendrix because it was the last place he was before he died. So they say it's haunted by Hendrix and weird things happen. But it's New York, weird things happen anyway.
What about Brett, do you guys still talk to him at all?
Yeah, every once in a while.
You've got a good relationship.
Sure, we can go there and raid the CD locker at Epitaph anytime we want, so that's good enough for me. I wouldn't say we're really close, but we talk, and there are no really hard feelings.
Bad Religion is an interesting band. There's no real stand out personality. You guys are just Bad Religion. Is that an intentional thing?
I don't know if it's intentional. I think it's just the way the band works, you know. It's a band. The one stand out person is pretty much what punk rock has always stood against - the rock star. Singular or rock stars plural. It goes back to that attitude.
How would you compare the punk movement today to when you guys started out?
Well, it was a lot smaller obviously...Hmmm...Let me think...I think there was a little more diversity in the sound of music. The types of bands that were coming out of the so-called punk or underground scene - before they had the word alternative, it was just the underground music scene. So you'd have bands like the Germs and Wall of Voodoo playing on the same bill, or a performance artist and stuff like that, which I thought was a good thing. There was more distinct sounds for different bands.
What about the fans, any difference when you look out to the crowd?
When I first started going to gigs and playing in bands, it was an older crowd, more of an arty, art school dropout type. And then more suburban kids got into it in the early 1980s. And now it's a little more mainstream. You a get more of a melting pot of college kids, and your guys with mohawks, too, mingled in with the skaters. Which I think is a healthy thing, it's a good thing.
Do you think it's good that the music's growing and getting all the airplay it's been getting now.
I think so, because it's been neglected for so many years, for a good 15 years, when you were bombarded with a bunch of awful music on the radio. And now there's not just punk bands, but a lot of punk influenced styles that you can hear on the radio and I think it's about time. It's nice to be able to listen to the radio again and actually like what you're hearing
Yeah, it's amazing. I was listening to nothing but talk radio for many years, or a college radio station or two, because commercial radio was just pathetic.
You guys sing about some real powerful issues and have very powerful lyrics. Do you think that the words get lost in the mosh of the music sometimes?
Yeah, some people are there to listen and they take it all in and can be in the pit doing what they want to do. If a small percentage are listening and absorb it, that's fine. If they don't and just come to have a good time, that's fine, too. But we hope that people take in what we're saying.
Do you want to change people with your music?
We just want to make people aware and take it from there. They should take it to the next step. We're not preaching any one way of thinking. We throw out an issue, maybe make a suggestion or two, and then leave it up to the listener to take it further.
Speaking of the issues, do you think Bill Clinton is doing a good job as President?
I think he was on the right track, but I think with powers that are in Congress - and it's such an old school institution - that he couldn't get going what he set out to do. And I don't think anybody can unless you throw them all out of office and bring a bunch of new people in. Or a third party or fourth party. It doesn't matter who's going to be in there, nothing's going to really change.
Are you into some of these third party movements that are going on now?
I'm not involved, I'd like to see it though. I think it's long overdue.
What other kinds of political issues do you think are at the heart of some of today's problems?
I don't know. I think people are making a big deal out of this debt a little too much, the national debt. I think it's a smokescreen for more important stuff that might be going on.
We all spend more than we have.
Yeah, and it's always funny that everyone's always pointing fingers. It's the Democrats, it's...you know. I read somewhere that it's really that we're paying the interest back on the loans that were taken out during the Reagan and Bush years. The debt is the interest we're paying off. We would have had a balanced budget if it weren't for all the military spending that they brought in during those years. I thought that was interesting. But I think it's a smokescreen. They're trying to stall Clinton's reelection bid I think.
So you think he'll be reelected?
I don't know. It depends on what happens with his wife.
Do you have a favorite place to play? Any crowds that are better than others?
Not really. European crowds seem to actually be a little more courteous. You don't really see too many fights, and when people get into the pit they respect each other. I think that's a big difference from over here, it gets a little too macho. Kids going off on each other a little too much.
Do you have any pets?
I have a dog, a basset hound.
Is it a man's best friend?
Yes he is, most of the time.
Do you ever take him on the road with you?
No, I haven't done that. I've taken him on road trips, but not on a tour. I don't think the guys want a slobbering basset hound on the tour bus.
Oh, you could bring him on stage.
Yeah, he'd probably just fall asleep. He likes to sleep, which is good. He's really low maintenance.
Does he like to listen to your music?
I don't know. I've never really played him any of the music. Actually, he does come in sometimes when I play my guitar, trying to work on songs and stuff. And he usually comes in, takes a look and falls asleep. So I guess he likes it. It's puts him to sleep. At least it gets a reaction out of him.
You were talking about writing songs. Do you guys write them together mostly, or do each come in with ideas and then throw them against each other, or how does that work?
Usually we send demo tapes back and forth, and then get together and hash out the songs before we hit the studio, and then narrow it down to the best and put those on the record.
Is it pretty much an equal contribution from everybody?
Once we get into the studio, yeah, or into the rehearsal. But usually when a song comes in, it's pretty much complete from whoever wrote it. Like 75% done.
Finally, one of our !MuCoMo! surfers, Susan from Syracuse, wants to know what your favorite sexual position is.
Oh, that reminds me of a movie....doggie style or on the side... It's a line from a movie, I had to say it.
I just saw that movie. It was on cable here the other day. It's a Boys Life. What a great movie. "Doggie style or on your side. I get to say."
Do you have a wife or girlfriend?
I have a wife.
Does she agree with you on those positions.
I think she prefers missionary.