|
I’m here with Dustin and Jay from Mitchell, talking about their new release “I Was A Teenage Werewolf” and the My My My My Mitchell tour.
MDF: After almost a six month layoff as band members explored solo and side projects, was it hard to get back into Mitchell?
Dustin: FUCK NO! Mitchell is like riding the baddest ass bike ever, you never forget how to ride it and you can’t wait till ya get to ride it again.
Jay: Yeah it was a pretty to get fired up for some balls out punk. Although it wasn’t like we really abandoned Mitchell at any point, we were recording tracks for Werewolf during our entire hiatus.
MDF: This new release seems much for metal than previous efforts, was the goal going into the sessions?
Dustin: The only goal we EVER have is to have FUN. So no that was not the goal but at the same time I’m pumped it is a bit more metal.. After all punk metal has always been my first love.
Jay: We don’t ever want to be cornered into feeling like we HAVE to make a song sound like this or like that. Damn man, we’ve recorded tunes written by country artists like Johnny Cash to metal bands Sacred Reich. We just jam whatever we’re feeling at the time.
MDF: Did this e.p. follow the same recording style of “Our Hero” with tracks layed down in Buckley, Grand Rapids and Lansing?
Dustin: Yeah this one was all over the place. I honestly can’t really remember where everything was done exactly but we do make use of all our home studios once again on this one. I’m pushing for us to be in the same room for our next effort. I’m personally doing some shit with, Grand Rapids band Lazy Genius, recording drums that is turning out phenomenal results.
Jay: With all of us living in different areas and busy with other projects, it just seemed to make sense to keep recording demo tracks in our home studios. We’re hoping the next release will be more uniform, but then again punk rock should never sound that polished.
MDF: Any new gear on this set?
Dustin: I did actually use Michael Cunningham’s, from grrRoPoLis, Line 6 amp on “I was a Teenage Werewolf” and “Banana What”. That actually is where a lot of the metal sound and the inspiration for the solos came from. That fucker has some seriously sweet presets.
Jay: I experimented with some new mics and different amp settings, but basically the same gear. The reason Mitchell sounds as good live as it does on the recordings is that we don’t fuck around with tons of different gear combos. Just plug in, shut the fuck up, and play.
MDF: Mitchell has always balanced political angst and tongue in cheek humor on each release, do you guys sit down and decide how much serious and how much silly stuff will go on each release?
Dustin: Not really.. once again it’s like riding a bad ass bike and we’re not really sure what sort of terrain we’re gonna end up riding. Jay does a lot of the writing, so a lot of the feel comes from what he’s going through.
Jay: Generally most of the humor is injected at the end of the recording process. You can only be so pissed off and stand on yer soap box for so long before you loose people’s attention. Nobody should take themselves that seriously. Yeah there is a lot of fucked up shit in the world, but if ya let it dominate yer life then what’s the point in living? As long as you can sit back and enjoy a JDB (editors note: Joe Don Baker) flick with some good buds it can’t all be bad can it?
MDF: Should we expect a full length release from Mitchell in 2008?
Dustin: I certainly hope so. I guarantee we’ll at least have a new EP. We just gotta hunker down and start writing again.
Jay: Yeah I’m hopeful that we’ll get a full length put together by the end of the year. It always seems like our most productive writing is done while we’re playing shows. Things are looking good for 2008 to be the year of Mitchell.
MDF: To support “Teenage Werewolf” Mitchell is back on the road, any big shows that we should look out for?
Dustin: Fuck YES! We are playing a killer show on Feb. 8th at Jukes with Ten Second March and Fire & Knives. We also have a few more shows that will be booked in the next couple weeks. Jay is working hard on some Lansing and Flint shows.
Jay: This is really shaping up to be a hell of year for us gig wise. We are in talks with some other Michigan based punk bands to really spread out and attack the entire state. Nothing set in stone yet, but keep yer brown eye peeled, we may be hitting yer town next.
MDF: How many new tracks will be added to the set?
Dustin: Damn… I’m not sure really… I forget which ones are new and which are old. We did add some new cover tunes by Dead Kennedys’, Iggy Pop & the Damned.
Jay: Atleast two or three new tracks and we dug up a couple of old ones to mix in. We are always tweaking the set though, some songs work live and some just burn out. Ya never really know how people will react until ya strap on yer axe and go for it.
MDF: Any new surprises in store for this tour?
Dustin: Just my huge balls. But then again that really isn’t such a big surprise. I would of said Paul’s beard, but the fuck face shaved it off. That beard was getting serious.
Jay: Yeah what the hell was he thinking? I think that beard was ready to be declared a national bird sanctuary. Hahaha. I heard that Paul bought Tommy Lee’s old Motley Crue speedo, so look out for that. haha.
Mike D Frasier
| 
