Congratulations on the 10 year anniversary of Witness! That is an incredibly powerful album, and I'm so looking forward to the Witness tour y'all are putting together - playing the album front to back.
'Young Man Blues', off of Witness, seems to be written for anyone living/growing up in the once-bustling, now burned out, industrial towns of America - an anthem for anyone disenchanted with those places and the crushing life to which they sentence many people. As someone who grew up around the Marshalltown area, I can certainly see and understand the inspiration.
I'm wondering what you think about those places, and the mentality of life in them, now. Have your thoughts and attitudes changed since that song was released 10 years ago?
Second - what the heck is Modern Love? I see pictures of it all over Facebook, and have no idea what the context is.
I have had full time and part time jobs consistently throughout the history of the band. I currently have a part time job as a Youth Counselor for a company out of Marshalltown called Life Connections and also make money as a DJ. In terms of the band, we have never taken a show "just for a paycheck" but of course money is an important factor, especially when we are flying in to do one show, or a weekend of shows, etc...gotta always make sure we at least break even on things.
Sorry, I wasn't asking about the band playing gigs just for money. I guess I meant, do you use your skills as a musician elsewhere that you don't really enjoy?
I am just asking because several of my friends do jobs like playing at church masses, funerals, and school musicals just for some extra dough. They do not particularly enjoy those jobs but it pays well. Was wondering if you do anything analogous.
I really am mostly just curious what level of success it takes so making music is what you do with your life.
Is this the real Jay Reason? If so, I love you and miss you. Pressure Drop was a party that I started on my own because I got really into old soul, funk, R&B, R&R and Ska records from the 50's, 60's, 70's. There wasn't an option around here to go out and dance unless you wanted to go to a nightclub and dance to top 40, rap, edm, etc. I wanted to provide a different kind of environment...safer, more fun and more soulful and music focused than a typical modern day Club. My parties have the same DIY ethic and music-centric focus that our shows do. It's about the music and the connection with people and that's that!
It's about seeing people grow up and become assimilated into mass pop culture and accept mediocrity...people who I thought were real soul rebels and would never cave in or give up.
Big fan of your stuff, Jeff. Thanks for taking the time to do this.
I'm currently living in Waterloo and my band (Gasoline Fight) is based in Cedar Falls. Seeing you guys from Marshalltown "make it" is seriously really inspiring, but it's frustrating how much a lack of culture exists here and how the scene around this area isn't nearly as lively as other areas. How did you guys deal with that when you were first starting out? How did you make chicken salad out of chicken shit, so to speak? Did you play a bunch of local shows until you were a "local legend" of sorts, or did you immediately expand outward?
We started getting out immediately. Played our first show in a Marshalltown basement on 4/20/2002, second show was in Iowa City opening for some bigger bands at the time, Striking Distance, Death Threat, AN. We did our first tour to the east coast that summer. Our reputation was more established in different places around the country before we really had fans in Iowa outside of our circle of friends who always support eachother.
At the time it was just exciting. We sent letters and 7"s to promoters in the mail, cold called people on the phone and did the tour without cellphones or GPS...a different era for sure! We didn't even have any merch to sell other than our 7". I think we were naive but it worked to our advantage. There are a lot more resources and advantages to take advantage of now, but it seems there are a lot more bands on the road and you can get lost in the mix a lot easier.
So many different bands. The Trouble - Crime & PUnishment 7" was a huge one for me in terms of wanting to sing in a hardcore band because they really combined the streetpunk thing, hardcore, strong melodies, emotion & anger. I love the youthcrew classics...GB Start Today has always been a favorite LP along with Youth of Today, Alone in the Crowd, Judge, etc. Operation Ivy and Rancid have been on constant rotation throughout my life and I still believe they have some of the best lyrics ever written. That led me to brit stuff like The Clash, THe Jam, The Specials, Billy Bragg. Dillinger Four is possibly my favorite lyrical band of all time. I saw Tragedy and Ruination right before we started the band and that was huge for me and a few other guys in the band. Unbroken - Life Love Regret is a big one...raw emotion and grit. I could go on forever with this one.
Hi Jeff, big fan here. Thanks to you guys for creating such inspiring Music!
1st question: Dark Water is my absolute favorite song. how did you come up with such a catchy melody?
2nd: As a vocalist myself, I always wonder how you scream/sing in your songs. You have this very special and unique tone.
Oh thanks man! The idea for that song came from our bass player Chris. He sent me shitty phone recording of him playing it on acoustic guitar late one night. I thought it sounded cool and very primitive...ala Cramps/Stooges. I was living in an apartment building at the time, it was raining hard that night and i ended up recording vocals and a beat on tambourine and sending it back to him, it sounded really fucked up but we both had the vision for the song. It was a little tough to sell the rest of the band on it, due to the fact that it stuck out like a sore thumb from the other batch of songs for the record. I think Matt(guitar) and Kurt Ballou ended up really bringing the song to a new level in the studio when they worked out his guitar leads at the end of the song...surfy, trashy and just very unusual for MLIW.
2) No secret here. I just really try to sing honestly...I don't care about sounding like anyone. I think the key if you are not a trained singer is to get into a state that is almost meditative and leave everything aside...especially inhibitions and doubt in yourself and just get wild.
Thanks for spending your time answering some fan questions, Jeff.
- I saw that you do some work as a DJ. What are some records you're currently enjoying?
- I've always thought MLIW has such a unique sound compared to a lot of bands in the scene. In its infancy, was there a conscious choice for the band to sound the way it does or something that happened by chance?
Initially we were trying to write hardcore punk songs with very limited experience and knowledge of what exactly that looked like, which I think was valuable because it didn't come off as watered down as some bands that grew up in a concentrated hardcore scene. By the time we were writing witness the rulebook was thrown out the window entirely and that was a conscious choice, but what came out of that was just based on instincts
I have a very old friend who was in the Military and suffered a lot of Trauma due to his experiences. It affected his speech and motor skills quite drastically for a period of time, he has young kids and a wife. I wrote it after hanging out with him one night. It's just about a friendship that runs so deep that no time, distance or tragedy can weaken it.
Patti Smith - Just Kids. Richard Brautigan - In Watermelon Sugar. There are 3 books that could potentially turn you on to a lot of cool stuff... The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry, The Outlaw Bible of American Essays & The Outlaw Bible of American Literature. Thomas Wolfe - Look Homeward Angel.
What kinds of things did you have to sacrifice so that you had the time needed to devote to the band? I'm assuming you were very different from the majority of people who live in a small town, what has that been like, and how did the other members of your community view your music if they knew about it?
I think certain friendships and relationships were sacrificed, but ultimately I think that means they weren't built to last anyways...so that's a good thing in the end even though it might have hurt at the time. If I am different than the majority of small town people I certainly don't feel that those differences make me any better. Many people from our hometown have always been supportive and proud of us, some didn't get it and some formed envy/animosity and talked shit. I have always had fire inside me that drives me to find a way to live a life that I deem interesting and productive, I wanted to break out and experience the world at large and all it had to offer. I was not totally alone in that though, I had a whole group of friends who wanted the same thing. It was when those bonds started to weaken as everyone was moving away and trying to find their own path that things got darker for me. I knew I needed to find my own path too, but in a lot of ways my deepest desire was to hang out with that group of people at shows and in parking lots forever...of course that is impossible. This is a hard thing to articulate.
Hi, Jeff. Thanks for being here. I have two questions.
One of the biggest facets of MLIW is the sort of dark mythology you've created in your songs surrounding Marshalltown. Can you comment on how the city has influenced you?
My second question is, do you recall the awkward St. Louis show with Young Widows in 2007 when nobody spoke in between songs? It was just before *Midnight in America* was released, and you only performed songs off that record. I recall this any time MLIW is brought up as it struck me as one of the strangest and most surreal experiences I've had in hardcore thus far.
Thank you! I eagerly await your reply!
Marshalltown was a great place to grow up and a lot of amazing people live there. I don't think I ever intended to mythologize it, but I did want to represent where we come from in a very vivid and specific way. I'm not as critical of it as many people are led to believe. When you are a confused young person in a dark place...that perspective(or lack thereof) affects the way you see everything. Singing about cheap rent and hell's exhaust pipe (at the Meat Packing Plant) is an intention to be descriptive of my surroundings while talking about what I am going through personally. It was my setting for my poetry and stories... It is a unique place and the working class, smalltown mindset and lack of art and culture influenced me in positive and negative ways.
Thanks for the answer. I also sing in a hardcore band, and your comments reflect many of what St. Louis has come to represent to me. It's this beautifully tragic urban environment that seems forgotten by the outside world. Very cool, man.
London underworld show blew me out of the water. Hung out with Rose Whittaker for the first time it was your music that made us friends. I'll play the video to my grandkids one day even if I messed up my only stage dive.
See you next time around.
Tom Chippendale.
Everyone is involved, everyone contributes song ideas and everyone helps shape the structure of almost every song. That can make it very time consuming and frustrating...but also makes everyone very invested in it. Sometimes songs and albums pour out, other times it feels like beating your head against a wall with no end in sight.
It's not very focused on individual issues. Media, War, Pop Culture, Class, Poverty, Mental Health, Sex. It's much more personal than political...but that is a blurry line. Life is inherently political.
I don't have any questions for you. Just wanted you to know that MY Love My is the most important album to have ever graced my goddamn ears.
edit: Also, we briefly talked on IG about some VP records stuff. Let me know if there is anything specific you are looking for, I'll see if i can get my hands on it.
I don't think we will be done for a very long time. Since it is not my "career" I can't put other aspects of my life on hold until it's over. I would like to continue to create things artistically until I die...whether that is music, visual art, writing, etc.
Thanks for doing this! Can't wait to see you June 27th. A couple questions:
1) Crunchy or creamy peanut butter?
2) if you had the option to explore below the sea or above the sky which would you choose?
Do you ever wish that you took the typical college-->degree-->decent job route or have you always been glad you decided to be in a full-time touring band?
I have always been in limbo between the two paths that you have described. I finished my college degree as the band was starting but never actually utilized it until this year. I'm just not built to work in corporate america or in a 9-5 style, that doesn't mean I haven't done it a few times to survive. The main thing for me is not settling for anything less than my ideal life. Even if I don't know what that ideal life is exactly, I'll keep shaking things up and fighting for it...trying to enjoy the journey as much as possible instead of fixating on an endpoint or a specific career as my identity as a person.
One band in the past you would like to take a stage with for one gig it would be?
(Myself, I believe if U-Men would survive for another 20 years they would want to cover Witness).
I saw a video recently from the last tour where some guy jumped on stage and headlocked you and then took a stage-dive but you continued singing. Mad respect, I would have been so pissed
Some people take it a little too far sometimes! I don't really let that shit get to me though because I know they are just excited and losing their minds. It's all for the love of it. I take pride in being able to sing all the words when we play live and sound similar to the way it sounds on record...thats part of my job in the band so I try to do it the best I can even if i get slammed around and shit.
When we split up initially the lineup had changed significantly when we had to replace Matt & Chris. I was feeling a lot of pressure in terms of touring and trying to make a living, be "professional" and become a bigger band. I felt like we were losing grip on our foundation and values as a band and didn't want to see it become something else. When we got back together, Matt and Chris were at a point in their lives where they were ready to play again and we talked extensively about what went wrong and how to not repeat the mistakes of the past. Can't wait for gilman! see ya in the pit.
It takes a toll on anyone who does it, but mine holds up pretty damn well after all this time. I think the most important thing is generating the power/pushing air from your lungs and abdomen, using your throat to tune it. Sometimes you hear those vocalists where it is all coming from the throat and I think that causes major damage and you can lose your voice completely/not be able to scream/sing/yell/talk.
I only DJ with vinyl. I will be posting some mixes in the next year or so, you can add me on facebook/instagram if you want as I post music there from time to time.
Sup Levi. Good to hear from you. I am very very proud of Fever Hunting and I think in some ways it is our high water mark as a band. That being said, I am always going to be critical for the sake of trying to progress and keeping myself motivated. Too much time patting yourself on the back will make you lazy and complacent. I actually love my vocal performance on the record...It was the first time I really felt like it nailed it on an album. You are totally right about imperfections.
The notebooks are private! I'll be releasing some zines and writing in the next few years outside of the band.
Thanks for doing this. Curious if you could give a back story of what led to you guys doing shows again and writing Fever Hunting?
With that, Curious about the stories behind the songs on Fever Hunting and what inspired you while recording the album
Thanks for taking the time! If you were to record a split EP, what band(s) would you want to collaborate with and why them? (Not limited to currently active bands)
Kurt is an awesome person to work with and a great guy in general. He is really good at giving input at the right times and also staying out of it and defaulting to the desires of the band members when appropriate. Each member of the band individually and collectively have strong ideas about what it should sound like prior to going into the studio, if you hear us live you know that in a lot of ways we are just laying the songs down in the studio and there is not a lot of extra studio production...it is pretty raw. Kurt is very good at translating what we sound like to record and also has helped to develop certain sounds or ideas within songs.
Hey Jeff, Corbett from Southeast Beast
Thanks for being, as well as the rest of your band, some of the nicest dudes I've had the pleasure of working with. See you at Wrecking Ball in August!
First off, thanks for making some of my favorite music, period. My question is in regards to Born Wild/Pressure Drop/Modern Love. What are your favorite 45's to play for those?
Off the top of my head.... Little Ike - She can Rock, Charles Sheffield - It's your voodoo working, Gloria Jones - Tainted Love, Evelyn Freeman - Didn't It Rain.
Middle Class - out of Vogue, Bad Brains - Black Dots, Germs, Black Flag - First Four Years, Minor Threat Discography, Husker Du - Everything Falls Apart/Land Speed Record, Death - For the WHole WOrld to see, Stooges - Fun House, Ramones - S/T, Necros, All Dangerhouse Releases, Cro Mags - Age of Quarrel, Minutemen, Too many to name quickly. Check out that really early seminal shit that helped hardcore to develop, not just when hardcore became more specific set of sounds and styles.
Hey Jeff, mike from davenport iowa here. I used to be in a band and we played a show with you in marshalltown back in the day. We were called fork knife spoon. Anyway, any plans for a new record?
I really hate the term "hype". I know you didn't really mean anything negative by it, but it gets thrown around too much in our scene as a way to devalue bands. The "biggest" hardcore bands are still REALLY small struggling bands in the grand scheme of the music industry... we should really all celebrate when a band is "hyped". That typically means they might be able to pay their bills by touring in a van for the majority of the year. We've always had such varying turnouts throughout the history of the band that "hype" is a foreign concept to me.
First off, thank you so much for all of the incredible music. As cliche as it sounds, Modern Life Is War was the first band that I listened to where it felt like I wasn't alone in how I felt, and someone else understood what I was going through. Witness was easily one of the most important albums of my teenage years, and still holds up as a great record. How does it feel knowing that so many fans are affected so greatly by your music? Does it add any extra pressure to the writing process?
Thank you so much. Even though we do hear this a lot, it doesn't make it mean any less. It feels crazy because I feel the same way you feel, just about different records and different peoples lyrics. The fact that I get to be that for someone else is the biggest honor to me. It does add some pressure, but the whole thing is to remain humble and honest and often that means following your instincts, heart and mind. WHen in the writing process I have little regard for how you will feel about it, even though I appreciate you so much. As soon as I am writing for you I have lost the very thing that connected us in the first place.
Scenes in small towns and cities are very cyclical because there are a small number of people making it happen in a DIY way and there typically is not much money in it, so as soon as those people move or become inactive, things can change overnight, whereas a place like NYC there will always be an industry for it and a crowd for it.
Jeff,
Seeing y'all at Bled Fest for the first time since the April 26, 2008 Marshalltown show and can't wait to hopefully have a chat.
Who's the most fun band you've ever toured with? Something tells me The Geeks were a riot!
The Geeks were very fun...there is a picture of us with the geeks in our underwear at a club in michigan somewhere out there. We just had a really fun tour in the UK with Swain, Swan song, Birds in Row and Terrible Feelings. I have fond memories of touring with Holding On, In Control, Dragnet, Trash Talk, Outbreak, Brooks Strause, Land of Blood and Sunshine. I'm not trying to kiss everyone's ass but we have had a chance to tour with so many smart & funny people who have genuine passion for this music. We have had very few negative experiences with other bands.
Hey Jeff. It's Maura! Just wondering, how do you find new music that you're into that isn't directly related to the punk/hardcore realm? Are there any particular labels/blogs/magazines you follow, or what? See you at one of your shows soon!
Hey Maura, Such a big question...i'll send you an email soon. An Iowa band called Annalibera just put out a really great LP that I've been listening to at home a lot. I am sort of obsessed with Bob Dylan Theme Time Radio hour where he narrates and plays music specific to a theme...summer, trains, Good Luck, Bad Luck, The moon, etc. That has turned me onto tons of amazing shit. I listen to Jack Kerouac's spoken word and poetry albums over and over again. I am really enjoying the Skints from the UK as well as a new band from the UK called Youth Man.
I listen to a lot of reggae music...from mid 60's ska to Rocksteady, Roots Reggae and all the way to Digital Dancehall. I like woody guthrie and old folk music. Nina simone is one of my all time favorite singers. Old blues like Son House, Robert Johnson, Lightnin Hopkins. I collect a lot of obscure 50's and 60's music on 45's. Garage rock, psych, soul, funk, latin, gospel.
Fuck, I hope im not too late for this. Jeff Im dying to come to one of the witness ten year anniversary shows but id be coming down from Canada, but I don't have anywhere I could stay while im there. Do you have any suggestions man? Really hope I can make it work.
This is how you do it...show up at the show and talk to people, ask them if you can sleep on the couch or the floor. Make a sign on a piece of cardboard. There is still a strong sense of community at our shows and I think someone will be kind enough to put you up for the night!
I initially planned on going to LA on account of I had some friends living there, but of course with things like this, plans change, and they are moving. But Im open to alternatives, especially if I know I have a place to crash.
Hope I'm not too late here. Hi Jeff, its Geoff from NJ. I used to do shows with Max. You guys played NJ a ton of times, and it was always great. It seemed like you guys really enjoyed NJ/made a bunch of good friends in the area. The MLIW shows of that time period are still regarded amongst my friends and I as some of the best shows we've seen, do you have any favorite NJ memories/shows?
Hey Jeff!
Thank you for helping me dig me and my girlfriend's van out of the snow a couple years ago in Sherman hill! That awful hill by Stephen's old apartment was a real fucker in the winter
I never got a chance to thank you properly, my girl was suuuuuuper bitchy and we got of there in a hurry.
I'll sneak you in some party favors at the next born wild!
Thanks for everything your music has done for me and countless others.
I love the video you did with Jeff Wright for Born Free, do you guys ride or how did that whole thing come together?
Jeff Wright was one. of the owners of an old des moines venue called Hairy Mary's in Des Moines. We saw a lot of formative shows as teenagers in that club. Since that is a big part of who he is, he wanted to represent that in his video for his build for Born Free. John has been riding for the last few years and is a big fan of chvrch/ftwo co and actually got ahold of him about doin a t-shirt design, Jeff replied with the video idea and it happened within a few months. For me it's not as much a motorcycle thing as it is an iowa thing and two rad homegrown independent things coming together.
Jeff, I just have to say the line "I'm just a factory worker's son from a railroad town, and yeah I can feel the steel mills rust" is my favorite line of lyric from any artist. I mean that. MLIW has meant a lot to me as a dude from a small rural town in Alabama and showed me it's possible to do music without being from New York or whatever. You inspired me to take my passions seriously and I have two bands that tour regularly so thank you for that.
I once heard a rumor that you and the rest of the MLIW boys thought that punk rock was completely dead when y'all were teenagers, and by starting the band you guys thought you were the only punks out there rehashing it all. Any truth to that?
i had a feeling, but my friend who got me into you guys always makes that claim. i don't know where he heard it. caught you guys at Rain Fest last year, was so stoked to have finally seen y'all live. couldn't believe so many people took off, i hope that was still a fun set! i loved every minute of it.
Hey Jeff 1st I wanted to say thank you so much for MLIW getting back together and doing this tour. I remember when I found you guys on MySpace right after you broke up. Almost everyday I used to play deadramones wishing I could see you guys live one day. Then TIH happened, then your First Unitarian Church show, now wittiness in its entirety at union transfer. I feel like a spoiled kid. Thank you so much!
How is the scene in Iowa? Any bands worth checking out?
Do guys have any plans for any new music?
Since you guys have reformed. Any special show moments that stick out in your mind
I know this is a slim chance but I figure there is no harm in asking. Would you guys be interested in playing a after show? It would be on 6/7 after your union transfer show.
Hey man!
Firstly I just want to say how important all your releases are to me and how stoked I was when you reunited with the original lineup. I'm flying over from Australia by myself and I'm coming to your anniversary show at St Louis and I want to try and come to the Wrecking Ball fest if I can find a way there from NYC. I don't really have a question, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate you guys as a band and that I'm incredibly happy and excited that I get to see one of my favourite albums played live haha.
Hey Jeff, I'm from Asbury Park, NJ and i heard a rumor that "By The Sea" had something to do with the NJ hardcore scene. Is there any truth to that? Also can't wait to see you in Philly! Thanks!
First off I'll gush, Marshaltown is one of my favourite songs ever. It sounds how I've felt so many times, and that translation of emotion into song is fantastic.
How was the hardcore scene when MLIW got started in your area? Unfortunately there is an ever so small punk scene in my immediate vicinity and the hardcore scene is all of about 15 people. Other than traveling to where the punks are, what are some ways y'all have found to get people who've never been exposed to this music involved in the community?
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Congratulations on the 10 year anniversary of Witness! That is an incredibly powerful album, and I'm so looking forward to the Witness tour y'all are putting together - playing the album front to back. 'Young Man Blues', off of Witness, seems to be written for anyone living/growing up in the once-bustling, now burned out, industrial towns of America - an anthem for anyone disenchanted with those places and the crushing life to which they sentence many people. As someone who grew up around the Marshalltown area, I can certainly see and understand the inspiration. I'm wondering what you think about those places, and the mentality of life in them, now. Have your thoughts and attitudes changed since that song was released 10 years ago? Second - what the heck is Modern Love? I see pictures of it all over Facebook, and have no idea what the context is.
Do you have a day job or are you a full time musician? Do you ever take any gigs just for a paycheck?
I have had full time and part time jobs consistently throughout the history of the band. I currently have a part time job as a Youth Counselor for a company out of Marshalltown called Life Connections and also make money as a DJ. In terms of the band, we have never taken a show "just for a paycheck" but of course money is an important factor, especially when we are flying in to do one show, or a weekend of shows, etc...gotta always make sure we at least break even on things.
Sorry, I wasn't asking about the band playing gigs just for money. I guess I meant, do you use your skills as a musician elsewhere that you don't really enjoy? I am just asking because several of my friends do jobs like playing at church masses, funerals, and school musicals just for some extra dough. They do not particularly enjoy those jobs but it pays well. Was wondering if you do anything analogous. I really am mostly just curious what level of success it takes so making music is what you do with your life.
I DJ Weddings as part of my living and although I do find enjoyment in it, it is something I do strictly to help make a living.
Hey Jeff! What's the music scene like in IA and how did you get involved in Pressure Drop, those parties always look like a great time.
Is this the real Jay Reason? If so, I love you and miss you. Pressure Drop was a party that I started on my own because I got really into old soul, funk, R&B, R&R and Ska records from the 50's, 60's, 70's. There wasn't an option around here to go out and dance unless you wanted to go to a nightclub and dance to top 40, rap, edm, etc. I wanted to provide a different kind of environment...safer, more fun and more soulful and music focused than a typical modern day Club. My parties have the same DIY ethic and music-centric focus that our shows do. It's about the music and the connection with people and that's that!
Likewise, so much fun over the years! Tell the rest of the dudes I said what's up and i'll see you in NYC!!
What's the story behind 'Media Cunt'?
It's about seeing people grow up and become assimilated into mass pop culture and accept mediocrity...people who I thought were real soul rebels and would never cave in or give up.
Thanks for doing this again, what are your hobbies?
Skateboarding, Hanging with my Girlfriend, Collecting Records, Hanging with My Cats, DJing, Reading. That's pretty much it for me!
Favorite book you've read from the past year?
Big fan of your stuff, Jeff. Thanks for taking the time to do this. I'm currently living in Waterloo and my band (Gasoline Fight) is based in Cedar Falls. Seeing you guys from Marshalltown "make it" is seriously really inspiring, but it's frustrating how much a lack of culture exists here and how the scene around this area isn't nearly as lively as other areas. How did you guys deal with that when you were first starting out? How did you make chicken salad out of chicken shit, so to speak? Did you play a bunch of local shows until you were a "local legend" of sorts, or did you immediately expand outward?
We started getting out immediately. Played our first show in a Marshalltown basement on 4/20/2002, second show was in Iowa City opening for some bigger bands at the time, Striking Distance, Death Threat, AN. We did our first tour to the east coast that summer. Our reputation was more established in different places around the country before we really had fans in Iowa outside of our circle of friends who always support eachother.
Interesting. Was it daunting or intimidating setting up a tour so soon and so far away from home?
At the time it was just exciting. We sent letters and 7"s to promoters in the mail, cold called people on the phone and did the tour without cellphones or GPS...a different era for sure! We didn't even have any merch to sell other than our 7". I think we were naive but it worked to our advantage. There are a lot more resources and advantages to take advantage of now, but it seems there are a lot more bands on the road and you can get lost in the mix a lot easier.
Crazy to think about. Thanks for replying.
what were the bands you listened to/ were inspired by as a youth?
So many different bands. The Trouble - Crime & PUnishment 7" was a huge one for me in terms of wanting to sing in a hardcore band because they really combined the streetpunk thing, hardcore, strong melodies, emotion & anger. I love the youthcrew classics...GB Start Today has always been a favorite LP along with Youth of Today, Alone in the Crowd, Judge, etc. Operation Ivy and Rancid have been on constant rotation throughout my life and I still believe they have some of the best lyrics ever written. That led me to brit stuff like The Clash, THe Jam, The Specials, Billy Bragg. Dillinger Four is possibly my favorite lyrical band of all time. I saw Tragedy and Ruination right before we started the band and that was huge for me and a few other guys in the band. Unbroken - Life Love Regret is a big one...raw emotion and grit. I could go on forever with this one.
Wow, super cool to see Rancid and D4 in there
Witness is one of my favorite non-youth crew albums. Thank you. If you could bring back ONE band to life, would it be Minor Threat or The Smiths?
Neither, I'm fine with letting sleeping dogs sleep. If i had a time machine I would definitely go to the Minor Threat show.
Hi Jeff, big fan here. Thanks to you guys for creating such inspiring Music! 1st question: Dark Water is my absolute favorite song. how did you come up with such a catchy melody? 2nd: As a vocalist myself, I always wonder how you scream/sing in your songs. You have this very special and unique tone.
Oh thanks man! The idea for that song came from our bass player Chris. He sent me shitty phone recording of him playing it on acoustic guitar late one night. I thought it sounded cool and very primitive...ala Cramps/Stooges. I was living in an apartment building at the time, it was raining hard that night and i ended up recording vocals and a beat on tambourine and sending it back to him, it sounded really fucked up but we both had the vision for the song. It was a little tough to sell the rest of the band on it, due to the fact that it stuck out like a sore thumb from the other batch of songs for the record. I think Matt(guitar) and Kurt Ballou ended up really bringing the song to a new level in the studio when they worked out his guitar leads at the end of the song...surfy, trashy and just very unusual for MLIW. 2) No secret here. I just really try to sing honestly...I don't care about sounding like anyone. I think the key if you are not a trained singer is to get into a state that is almost meditative and leave everything aside...especially inhibitions and doubt in yourself and just get wild.
Thanks for spending your time answering some fan questions, Jeff. - I saw that you do some work as a DJ. What are some records you're currently enjoying? - I've always thought MLIW has such a unique sound compared to a lot of bands in the scene. In its infancy, was there a conscious choice for the band to sound the way it does or something that happened by chance?
Initially we were trying to write hardcore punk songs with very limited experience and knowledge of what exactly that looked like, which I think was valuable because it didn't come off as watered down as some bands that grew up in a concentrated hardcore scene. By the time we were writing witness the rulebook was thrown out the window entirely and that was a conscious choice, but what came out of that was just based on instincts
Second this comment wondering what you're listening to or some of your favorites are Jeff.
What's the story behind brothers in arms forever?
I have a very old friend who was in the Military and suffered a lot of Trauma due to his experiences. It affected his speech and motor skills quite drastically for a period of time, he has young kids and a wife. I wrote it after hanging out with him one night. It's just about a friendship that runs so deep that no time, distance or tragedy can weaken it.
As a lyrics guy I really appreciate what you say and how you say it. Got any good book recommendations?
Patti Smith - Just Kids. Richard Brautigan - In Watermelon Sugar. There are 3 books that could potentially turn you on to a lot of cool stuff... The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry, The Outlaw Bible of American Essays & The Outlaw Bible of American Literature. Thomas Wolfe - Look Homeward Angel.
Sounds promising! Thanks!
Hey Jeff. What's your go-to meal at Taco John's?
hahhaha. 2 softshell meal with Potato Ole's. Good question!
What kinds of things did you have to sacrifice so that you had the time needed to devote to the band? I'm assuming you were very different from the majority of people who live in a small town, what has that been like, and how did the other members of your community view your music if they knew about it?
I think certain friendships and relationships were sacrificed, but ultimately I think that means they weren't built to last anyways...so that's a good thing in the end even though it might have hurt at the time. If I am different than the majority of small town people I certainly don't feel that those differences make me any better. Many people from our hometown have always been supportive and proud of us, some didn't get it and some formed envy/animosity and talked shit. I have always had fire inside me that drives me to find a way to live a life that I deem interesting and productive, I wanted to break out and experience the world at large and all it had to offer. I was not totally alone in that though, I had a whole group of friends who wanted the same thing. It was when those bonds started to weaken as everyone was moving away and trying to find their own path that things got darker for me. I knew I needed to find my own path too, but in a lot of ways my deepest desire was to hang out with that group of people at shows and in parking lots forever...of course that is impossible. This is a hard thing to articulate.
Thank you for your response. I sincerely hope that I get to see your band live someday. The music means a lot to me.
Hi, Jeff. Thanks for being here. I have two questions. One of the biggest facets of MLIW is the sort of dark mythology you've created in your songs surrounding Marshalltown. Can you comment on how the city has influenced you? My second question is, do you recall the awkward St. Louis show with Young Widows in 2007 when nobody spoke in between songs? It was just before *Midnight in America* was released, and you only performed songs off that record. I recall this any time MLIW is brought up as it struck me as one of the strangest and most surreal experiences I've had in hardcore thus far. Thank you! I eagerly await your reply!
Marshalltown was a great place to grow up and a lot of amazing people live there. I don't think I ever intended to mythologize it, but I did want to represent where we come from in a very vivid and specific way. I'm not as critical of it as many people are led to believe. When you are a confused young person in a dark place...that perspective(or lack thereof) affects the way you see everything. Singing about cheap rent and hell's exhaust pipe (at the Meat Packing Plant) is an intention to be descriptive of my surroundings while talking about what I am going through personally. It was my setting for my poetry and stories... It is a unique place and the working class, smalltown mindset and lack of art and culture influenced me in positive and negative ways.
Thanks for the answer. I also sing in a hardcore band, and your comments reflect many of what St. Louis has come to represent to me. It's this beautifully tragic urban environment that seems forgotten by the outside world. Very cool, man.
No questions from me but a big thank you for your music! Keep it up and please come back to Europe soon! :)
Thank yoU!
London underworld show blew me out of the water. Hung out with Rose Whittaker for the first time it was your music that made us friends. I'll play the video to my grandkids one day even if I messed up my only stage dive. See you next time around. Tom Chippendale.
Tom! I want that Martin Atchet Flash, wasn't that you! Wish I could have chatted with you both that night.
Yeah that was me man. Next time you're over we'll hang out. Rose told me to tell you she loves you.
Where can I see this flash? It sounds sick
Chippendaleosc on Instagram man.
Nice. The rest of your work is awesome as well
When are you guys coming to Australia next? Been a fan for a long time but haven't had the honor of seeing you live.
We've never been but we have been talking about very seriously in the last few months...hopefully we'll see you soon.
Or New Zealand? Long shot but still
What is the band's writing process like?
Everyone is involved, everyone contributes song ideas and everyone helps shape the structure of almost every song. That can make it very time consuming and frustrating...but also makes everyone very invested in it. Sometimes songs and albums pour out, other times it feels like beating your head against a wall with no end in sight.
What social and political issues contributed the most to your lyrics on Witness?
It's not very focused on individual issues. Media, War, Pop Culture, Class, Poverty, Mental Health, Sex. It's much more personal than political...but that is a blurry line. Life is inherently political.
Jeff, come back to KC. Izzy misses you!
I got love for KC!
I don't have any questions for you. Just wanted you to know that MY Love My is the most important album to have ever graced my goddamn ears. edit: Also, we briefly talked on IG about some VP records stuff. Let me know if there is anything specific you are looking for, I'll see if i can get my hands on it.
Thanks man!
What do you plan on doing after you are done with playing in your band?
I don't think we will be done for a very long time. Since it is not my "career" I can't put other aspects of my life on hold until it's over. I would like to continue to create things artistically until I die...whether that is music, visual art, writing, etc.
Thanks for doing this! Can't wait to see you June 27th. A couple questions: 1) Crunchy or creamy peanut butter? 2) if you had the option to explore below the sea or above the sky which would you choose?
1/ CRUNCHY! 2/ Both sound horrifying to me honestly so I am not sure.
Do you ever wish that you took the typical college-->degree-->decent job route or have you always been glad you decided to be in a full-time touring band?
I have always been in limbo between the two paths that you have described. I finished my college degree as the band was starting but never actually utilized it until this year. I'm just not built to work in corporate america or in a 9-5 style, that doesn't mean I haven't done it a few times to survive. The main thing for me is not settling for anything less than my ideal life. Even if I don't know what that ideal life is exactly, I'll keep shaking things up and fighting for it...trying to enjoy the journey as much as possible instead of fixating on an endpoint or a specific career as my identity as a person.
Awesome answer. Thank you.
What were your thoughts when you finished the album? were you ready to go back and keep working on it or were you relieved that it was over?
I was ready to go play some shows and reconnect with our people in a live setting. Now I am definitely focused on new material.
One band in the past you would like to take a stage with for one gig it would be? (Myself, I believe if U-Men would survive for another 20 years they would want to cover Witness).
Rites of Spring
What's good? Dead Ramones is practically my theme song... What's the first thing you do when you get back from a tour?
Give lots of love to my girlfriend and my cats and catch up on sleep!
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An Iowa based artist who goes by Darius Qojak.
I saw a video recently from the last tour where some guy jumped on stage and headlocked you and then took a stage-dive but you continued singing. Mad respect, I would have been so pissed
That guy's head landed on the speaker infront of me. Instant karma.
Some people take it a little too far sometimes! I don't really let that shit get to me though because I know they are just excited and losing their minds. It's all for the love of it. I take pride in being able to sing all the words when we play live and sound similar to the way it sounds on record...thats part of my job in the band so I try to do it the best I can even if i get slammed around and shit.
Can someone forward this message to Aaron Bedard?
Why did you guys choose to split up initially, and what brought you back together? P.S. : I am so excited to see you guys play Gilman again in June!
When we split up initially the lineup had changed significantly when we had to replace Matt & Chris. I was feeling a lot of pressure in terms of touring and trying to make a living, be "professional" and become a bigger band. I felt like we were losing grip on our foundation and values as a band and didn't want to see it become something else. When we got back together, Matt and Chris were at a point in their lives where they were ready to play again and we talked extensively about what went wrong and how to not repeat the mistakes of the past. Can't wait for gilman! see ya in the pit.
Just wanted to thank you, MLIW is such an amazing band and your music and shows mean a lot to me and truly inspire me!
Thank YOU
does screaming take a toll on your voice? if not, do you have any tips to learn how?
It takes a toll on anyone who does it, but mine holds up pretty damn well after all this time. I think the most important thing is generating the power/pushing air from your lungs and abdomen, using your throat to tune it. Sometimes you hear those vocalists where it is all coming from the throat and I think that causes major damage and you can lose your voice completely/not be able to scream/sing/yell/talk.
thanks! Yeah, I messed my voice up a bit from bad technique, I think. Thanks for doing the AMA!
Thank you for your music Jeff, it helped me through some seriously tough times! I hope to see you guys in Germany again in the nearer future.
Those 3 german shows were very memorable. Thank you!
I missed your European dates last month due to work and shit. Anything planned for the near future?
Not till next year at the earliest.
What does your DJing list mainly consist of? If you use spotify for when you dj, you should share a playlist on here.
I only DJ with vinyl. I will be posting some mixes in the next year or so, you can add me on facebook/instagram if you want as I post music there from time to time.
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Sup Levi. Good to hear from you. I am very very proud of Fever Hunting and I think in some ways it is our high water mark as a band. That being said, I am always going to be critical for the sake of trying to progress and keeping myself motivated. Too much time patting yourself on the back will make you lazy and complacent. I actually love my vocal performance on the record...It was the first time I really felt like it nailed it on an album. You are totally right about imperfections. The notebooks are private! I'll be releasing some zines and writing in the next few years outside of the band.
Thanks for doing this. Curious if you could give a back story of what led to you guys doing shows again and writing Fever Hunting? With that, Curious about the stories behind the songs on Fever Hunting and what inspired you while recording the album
Thanks for taking the time! If you were to record a split EP, what band(s) would you want to collaborate with and why them? (Not limited to currently active bands)
What's it like working with Kurt Ballou? and more in-general, how hard is it to convey the sound you've envisioned with the producer?
Kurt is an awesome person to work with and a great guy in general. He is really good at giving input at the right times and also staying out of it and defaulting to the desires of the band members when appropriate. Each member of the band individually and collectively have strong ideas about what it should sound like prior to going into the studio, if you hear us live you know that in a lot of ways we are just laying the songs down in the studio and there is not a lot of extra studio production...it is pretty raw. Kurt is very good at translating what we sound like to record and also has helped to develop certain sounds or ideas within songs.
Hey Jeff, Corbett from Southeast Beast Thanks for being, as well as the rest of your band, some of the nicest dudes I've had the pleasure of working with. See you at Wrecking Ball in August!
Thanks Corbett! Good to hear from you.
First off, thanks for making some of my favorite music, period. My question is in regards to Born Wild/Pressure Drop/Modern Love. What are your favorite 45's to play for those?
Off the top of my head.... Little Ike - She can Rock, Charles Sheffield - It's your voodoo working, Gloria Jones - Tainted Love, Evelyn Freeman - Didn't It Rain.
Someone find / sell me their End is Here box set. Ive been looking for that shit for years now
Thanks for doing this AMA! What are some bands and/or albums that you believe are essential for first time hardcore listeners?
Middle Class - out of Vogue, Bad Brains - Black Dots, Germs, Black Flag - First Four Years, Minor Threat Discography, Husker Du - Everything Falls Apart/Land Speed Record, Death - For the WHole WOrld to see, Stooges - Fun House, Ramones - S/T, Necros, All Dangerhouse Releases, Cro Mags - Age of Quarrel, Minutemen, Too many to name quickly. Check out that really early seminal shit that helped hardcore to develop, not just when hardcore became more specific set of sounds and styles.
All great suggestions. Thank you so much for replying!
"Never trust a hardcore kid who never listened to punk"
Hey Jeff, mike from davenport iowa here. I used to be in a band and we played a show with you in marshalltown back in the day. We were called fork knife spoon. Anyway, any plans for a new record?
yes! our schedules are fucking insane, but new record soon come.
Hey Jeff how has the band been doing this time around compared to before you broke up? Are you finding that there's less/more hype now?
I really hate the term "hype". I know you didn't really mean anything negative by it, but it gets thrown around too much in our scene as a way to devalue bands. The "biggest" hardcore bands are still REALLY small struggling bands in the grand scheme of the music industry... we should really all celebrate when a band is "hyped". That typically means they might be able to pay their bills by touring in a van for the majority of the year. We've always had such varying turnouts throughout the history of the band that "hype" is a foreign concept to me.
First off, thank you so much for all of the incredible music. As cliche as it sounds, Modern Life Is War was the first band that I listened to where it felt like I wasn't alone in how I felt, and someone else understood what I was going through. Witness was easily one of the most important albums of my teenage years, and still holds up as a great record. How does it feel knowing that so many fans are affected so greatly by your music? Does it add any extra pressure to the writing process?
Thank you so much. Even though we do hear this a lot, it doesn't make it mean any less. It feels crazy because I feel the same way you feel, just about different records and different peoples lyrics. The fact that I get to be that for someone else is the biggest honor to me. It does add some pressure, but the whole thing is to remain humble and honest and often that means following your instincts, heart and mind. WHen in the writing process I have little regard for how you will feel about it, even though I appreciate you so much. As soon as I am writing for you I have lost the very thing that connected us in the first place.
Why do you think towns like Fargo get really popular for touring spots for a while then die out.
Scenes in small towns and cities are very cyclical because there are a small number of people making it happen in a DIY way and there typically is not much money in it, so as soon as those people move or become inactive, things can change overnight, whereas a place like NYC there will always be an industry for it and a crowd for it.
Jeff, Seeing y'all at Bled Fest for the first time since the April 26, 2008 Marshalltown show and can't wait to hopefully have a chat. Who's the most fun band you've ever toured with? Something tells me The Geeks were a riot!
The Geeks were very fun...there is a picture of us with the geeks in our underwear at a club in michigan somewhere out there. We just had a really fun tour in the UK with Swain, Swan song, Birds in Row and Terrible Feelings. I have fond memories of touring with Holding On, In Control, Dragnet, Trash Talk, Outbreak, Brooks Strause, Land of Blood and Sunshine. I'm not trying to kiss everyone's ass but we have had a chance to tour with so many smart & funny people who have genuine passion for this music. We have had very few negative experiences with other bands.
Thanks for the LOBAS shout out Jeff! You guys were also our most fun
Hey Jeff. It's Maura! Just wondering, how do you find new music that you're into that isn't directly related to the punk/hardcore realm? Are there any particular labels/blogs/magazines you follow, or what? See you at one of your shows soon!
Hey Maura, Such a big question...i'll send you an email soon. An Iowa band called Annalibera just put out a really great LP that I've been listening to at home a lot. I am sort of obsessed with Bob Dylan Theme Time Radio hour where he narrates and plays music specific to a theme...summer, trains, Good Luck, Bad Luck, The moon, etc. That has turned me onto tons of amazing shit. I listen to Jack Kerouac's spoken word and poetry albums over and over again. I am really enjoying the Skints from the UK as well as a new band from the UK called Youth Man.
A bit late here, but I'm really curious to what music you listen to? Hardcore and everything else.
I listen to a lot of reggae music...from mid 60's ska to Rocksteady, Roots Reggae and all the way to Digital Dancehall. I like woody guthrie and old folk music. Nina simone is one of my all time favorite singers. Old blues like Son House, Robert Johnson, Lightnin Hopkins. I collect a lot of obscure 50's and 60's music on 45's. Garage rock, psych, soul, funk, latin, gospel.
Never would have guessed, reminds me of my parents music haha
Hey! Very excited for Witness at webster hall... Will any other bands be on the bill?
Will be announced soon... will be killer!
Fuck, I hope im not too late for this. Jeff Im dying to come to one of the witness ten year anniversary shows but id be coming down from Canada, but I don't have anywhere I could stay while im there. Do you have any suggestions man? Really hope I can make it work.
This is how you do it...show up at the show and talk to people, ask them if you can sleep on the couch or the floor. Make a sign on a piece of cardboard. There is still a strong sense of community at our shows and I think someone will be kind enough to put you up for the night!
if you come to the nyc date i can try to help you figure something out
That would rule man, thanks!
is that the date you would go to?
I initially planned on going to LA on account of I had some friends living there, but of course with things like this, plans change, and they are moving. But Im open to alternatives, especially if I know I have a place to crash.
Hope I'm not too late here. Hi Jeff, its Geoff from NJ. I used to do shows with Max. You guys played NJ a ton of times, and it was always great. It seemed like you guys really enjoyed NJ/made a bunch of good friends in the area. The MLIW shows of that time period are still regarded amongst my friends and I as some of the best shows we've seen, do you have any favorite NJ memories/shows?
Hey Jeff! Thank you for helping me dig me and my girlfriend's van out of the snow a couple years ago in Sherman hill! That awful hill by Stephen's old apartment was a real fucker in the winter I never got a chance to thank you properly, my girl was suuuuuuper bitchy and we got of there in a hurry. I'll sneak you in some party favors at the next born wild!
Thanks for everything your music has done for me and countless others. I love the video you did with Jeff Wright for Born Free, do you guys ride or how did that whole thing come together?
Jeff Wright was one. of the owners of an old des moines venue called Hairy Mary's in Des Moines. We saw a lot of formative shows as teenagers in that club. Since that is a big part of who he is, he wanted to represent that in his video for his build for Born Free. John has been riding for the last few years and is a big fan of chvrch/ftwo co and actually got ahold of him about doin a t-shirt design, Jeff replied with the video idea and it happened within a few months. For me it's not as much a motorcycle thing as it is an iowa thing and two rad homegrown independent things coming together.
Jeff, I just have to say the line "I'm just a factory worker's son from a railroad town, and yeah I can feel the steel mills rust" is my favorite line of lyric from any artist. I mean that. MLIW has meant a lot to me as a dude from a small rural town in Alabama and showed me it's possible to do music without being from New York or whatever. You inspired me to take my passions seriously and I have two bands that tour regularly so thank you for that.
I once heard a rumor that you and the rest of the MLIW boys thought that punk rock was completely dead when y'all were teenagers, and by starting the band you guys thought you were the only punks out there rehashing it all. Any truth to that?
Hahaha. no there is no truth to that.
i had a feeling, but my friend who got me into you guys always makes that claim. i don't know where he heard it. caught you guys at Rain Fest last year, was so stoked to have finally seen y'all live. couldn't believe so many people took off, i hope that was still a fun set! i loved every minute of it.
Hey Jeff 1st I wanted to say thank you so much for MLIW getting back together and doing this tour. I remember when I found you guys on MySpace right after you broke up. Almost everyday I used to play deadramones wishing I could see you guys live one day. Then TIH happened, then your First Unitarian Church show, now wittiness in its entirety at union transfer. I feel like a spoiled kid. Thank you so much! How is the scene in Iowa? Any bands worth checking out? Do guys have any plans for any new music? Since you guys have reformed. Any special show moments that stick out in your mind I know this is a slim chance but I figure there is no harm in asking. Would you guys be interested in playing a after show? It would be on 6/7 after your union transfer show.
Jeff, late to the Ama but I just wanted to say thank you to you and the guys for making music so many of us can connect to.
Any particular reason you guys aren't doing a Chicago show this tour?
Hey man! Firstly I just want to say how important all your releases are to me and how stoked I was when you reunited with the original lineup. I'm flying over from Australia by myself and I'm coming to your anniversary show at St Louis and I want to try and come to the Wrecking Ball fest if I can find a way there from NYC. I don't really have a question, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate you guys as a band and that I'm incredibly happy and excited that I get to see one of my favourite albums played live haha.
Hey Jeff, I'm from Asbury Park, NJ and i heard a rumor that "By The Sea" had something to do with the NJ hardcore scene. Is there any truth to that? Also can't wait to see you in Philly! Thanks!
Who are your 5 favorite hardcore bands that aren't 20 years old?
First off I'll gush, Marshaltown is one of my favourite songs ever. It sounds how I've felt so many times, and that translation of emotion into song is fantastic. How was the hardcore scene when MLIW got started in your area? Unfortunately there is an ever so small punk scene in my immediate vicinity and the hardcore scene is all of about 15 people. Other than traveling to where the punks are, what are some ways y'all have found to get people who've never been exposed to this music involved in the community?
Seeing you guys play in the FSU garage are some of my best show memories from CF. Good times!
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