On The Loose, They're On The Loose.Last week I came to realise that one of the best current US hardcore bands, 86 Mentality, will kick off their tour of our European continent in less than 14 days. As I want to support the band as much as possible I had promised them a while ago that I would do a little interview about the tour and some other random stuff for Megalomaniacal Supernauts. I quickly made up a bunch of questions and I got the answers back the same night already. As I saw them live a bunch of times already I can let most of you European readers know already that you are going to see a great show. Hook those dudes up with local beer and show them a good time. This is what Jason Halal, drummer and spokesman of the band had to say:
In less than one week you guys land in Europe for your very first European tour. How is 86 Mentality preparing for this journey? Did you pack your bags already? How is each individual in 86 Mentality mentally getting ready for this? What’s the most remarkable item each crew member will have packed with his personal belongings? And most important: are you nervous already?
We are all REALLY excited, but there’s a lot of headache to deal with in getting ready. Practicing is the easy part. The rough stuff is logistics like figuring out what to take with you, who’s borrowing what equipment from who, etc. That’s the stuff that drives me crazy. And yes, I have already started packing my bags because I’m forgetful and if I don’t, I will forget something at the last minute.
I’m not sure if anyone’s taking anything remarkable, but I do know that Matt is taking his father’s iPod, which is actually really funny. After we come home, he’s staying in Europe for a week and a half with his girlfriend, so he’s making sure he puts as much music on that thing as possible before he leaves. It sounds normal, but he’s taking this really seriously, doing daily 6 hour shifts copying music and everything... I have no idea what Steve is bringing, but our roadie Matt has just $300 to last him the 2.5 weeks which includes partying and everything else, so I wish him luck with that. And as far as I know, Jewdickee isn’t bringing anything special although he was talking about buying a phone so he can text message people in the US, which we all think is retarded. But I think Steve convinced him that he would smash the phone if he actually bought one, so he may not actually do that. Me, I’m just bringing a book I just picked up on the history of English hardcore 80-84 and some bags of almonds and other nut mixes for the road.
Are we nervous? Yeah, a little, but I think we are tighter now than we ever have been so I’m really not too worried about how we sound. I just hope people have some idea who the hell we are…
Jason, every time I talk to you about the upcoming European tour you mention how excited you are to play Dead Stop’s record release show at ‘t Lintfabriek in Belgium. Why are you so stoked on playing that show?
How could I not be? I’ve heard so many stories and seen so many photos of Dead Stop shows in Belgium. After Striking Distance played with Dead Stop on their European tour, Dave Byrd kept telling us how blown away he was. Then he returned for the Done With You record release show at ‘t Lintfabriek which sounded even wilder. He said that after their set, his white shirt was covered in footprints, so of course I’m psyched! Plus, having played about 10 shows with Dead Stop in the US and Canada, I can’t wait to see them on their home turf, where I know kids will be flipping out.
Most US bands have the tendency to break up once they have toured Europe, will that happen to 86 Mentality or have you set out to break the Curse Of Touring Europe And Calling It A Day?
That’s a good question, I don’t know. I don’t want to jinx things, but I’m really not sure on how much farther we plan on taking this band. I think we’ve gotten very lucky with minimal output (two EPs) and just the fact that we’re going to Europe is a huge achievement, considering that many bands aren’t that lucky. But I really do love playing with these guys and everything that comes with it so I hope it won’t come to an end too quickly. Actually, we plan on touring the West Coast next summer, so unless something weird happens before then, at least I can plan on that before we call it quits.
In less than one week you guys land in Europe for your very first European tour. How is 86 Mentality preparing for this journey? Did you pack your bags already? How is each individual in 86 Mentality mentally getting ready for this? What’s the most remarkable item each crew member will have packed with his personal belongings? And most important: are you nervous already?
We are all REALLY excited, but there’s a lot of headache to deal with in getting ready. Practicing is the easy part. The rough stuff is logistics like figuring out what to take with you, who’s borrowing what equipment from who, etc. That’s the stuff that drives me crazy. And yes, I have already started packing my bags because I’m forgetful and if I don’t, I will forget something at the last minute.
I’m not sure if anyone’s taking anything remarkable, but I do know that Matt is taking his father’s iPod, which is actually really funny. After we come home, he’s staying in Europe for a week and a half with his girlfriend, so he’s making sure he puts as much music on that thing as possible before he leaves. It sounds normal, but he’s taking this really seriously, doing daily 6 hour shifts copying music and everything... I have no idea what Steve is bringing, but our roadie Matt has just $300 to last him the 2.5 weeks which includes partying and everything else, so I wish him luck with that. And as far as I know, Jewdickee isn’t bringing anything special although he was talking about buying a phone so he can text message people in the US, which we all think is retarded. But I think Steve convinced him that he would smash the phone if he actually bought one, so he may not actually do that. Me, I’m just bringing a book I just picked up on the history of English hardcore 80-84 and some bags of almonds and other nut mixes for the road.
Are we nervous? Yeah, a little, but I think we are tighter now than we ever have been so I’m really not too worried about how we sound. I just hope people have some idea who the hell we are…
Jason, every time I talk to you about the upcoming European tour you mention how excited you are to play Dead Stop’s record release show at ‘t Lintfabriek in Belgium. Why are you so stoked on playing that show?
How could I not be? I’ve heard so many stories and seen so many photos of Dead Stop shows in Belgium. After Striking Distance played with Dead Stop on their European tour, Dave Byrd kept telling us how blown away he was. Then he returned for the Done With You record release show at ‘t Lintfabriek which sounded even wilder. He said that after their set, his white shirt was covered in footprints, so of course I’m psyched! Plus, having played about 10 shows with Dead Stop in the US and Canada, I can’t wait to see them on their home turf, where I know kids will be flipping out.
Most US bands have the tendency to break up once they have toured Europe, will that happen to 86 Mentality or have you set out to break the Curse Of Touring Europe And Calling It A Day?
That’s a good question, I don’t know. I don’t want to jinx things, but I’m really not sure on how much farther we plan on taking this band. I think we’ve gotten very lucky with minimal output (two EPs) and just the fact that we’re going to Europe is a huge achievement, considering that many bands aren’t that lucky. But I really do love playing with these guys and everything that comes with it so I hope it won’t come to an end too quickly. Actually, we plan on touring the West Coast next summer, so unless something weird happens before then, at least I can plan on that before we call it quits.
You’ve toured in the US with Dead Stop, an European band, in order to hook them up more easily with places to play, places to stay and stuff like that. Not that this is something necessary, but it makes things easier on the practical side of things. 86 Mentality won’t be touring Europe with a local/European band, don’t you fear that this will be a bit of a disadvantage in order to get kids to your shows or do you think you’ll get a decent turnout all by yourself? What are some of the European bands you’d like to have been on tour with over here?
You know, we had the opportunity to tour with Dead Stop and Restless Youth this past May, which would have been amazing, but timing wasn’t on our side. The record was heavily delayed and I was in the middle of getting a new job, so it just wasn’t the best time for us to come over. Now that we finally have the chance, of course we would still love to go with another band, but like I said before, we are so lucky to be able to do this in the first place that I think we’re mostly just appreciative of our good fortune. Plus, Coorde and Gert were nice enough to put together this whole tour for us, which we couldn’t have done ourselves.
But we will be playing three shows with Dead Stop and a few UK dates with Restless Youth and Municipal Waste, so it’s not like we’re going to be all alone either.
As for other European bands, I must confess I’m not really too aware of many bands in existence right now aside from the Complete Control bands and a few others. But I’ve heard great things about Reproach and I’m really excited to discover what’s out there, especially in Sweden and Denmark, which I hear are really cool.
How many tours did 86 Mentality do actually already? Isn’t it a rather big step to take, coming over here for more than two weeks when you haven’t toured the US as long as you will be touring Europe?
This is only our second tour. The first was with Dead Stop in the US and Canada and that was only 10 shows, so we haven’t really done much of anything in the big picture. Not because we don’t want to, but because we all have jobs and busy schedules and can’t afford to go out touring the way we would like. But that’s also why we’re lucky, because there are a million bands out there touring their asses off that are probably more deserving than us to be going to Europe. So yes, I suppose that is a big step, but I think we’d rather do this while we have the chance than wait and lose the opportunity forever, right?
You have put out a new EP entitled On The Loose just before the summer, how have the reactions been on the EP so far? Do people seem to like it more than the first EP? I keep hearing rumours that there will be an LP with both EPs on it as an European release, any truth to that?
Reactions have been good. Perhaps some people like it better than the first EP, but I really just haven’t heard enough to know about that. It’s hard to tell.
The LP is a long story, but let me just say that at one point we had someone in Europe who agreed to put out an LP, which would have been both 7”s and some extras, since the first EP didn’t get a European release. It ended up taking a long time for us to finish the recording and by the time we were ready, the person who was supposed to release it was no longer able to. There have been a few offers since then, but since we lost the opportunity for more people to check us out before our tour, we’re not rushing to release the LP as soon as possible. Plus, we just received our CD called Going Nowhere Fast from Grave Mistake that has all the contents of the LP, including both 7”s, an exclusive song from the demo, two unreleased tracks, two live songs and two covers, and we’ll be bringing that on tour.
You know, we had the opportunity to tour with Dead Stop and Restless Youth this past May, which would have been amazing, but timing wasn’t on our side. The record was heavily delayed and I was in the middle of getting a new job, so it just wasn’t the best time for us to come over. Now that we finally have the chance, of course we would still love to go with another band, but like I said before, we are so lucky to be able to do this in the first place that I think we’re mostly just appreciative of our good fortune. Plus, Coorde and Gert were nice enough to put together this whole tour for us, which we couldn’t have done ourselves.
But we will be playing three shows with Dead Stop and a few UK dates with Restless Youth and Municipal Waste, so it’s not like we’re going to be all alone either.
As for other European bands, I must confess I’m not really too aware of many bands in existence right now aside from the Complete Control bands and a few others. But I’ve heard great things about Reproach and I’m really excited to discover what’s out there, especially in Sweden and Denmark, which I hear are really cool.
How many tours did 86 Mentality do actually already? Isn’t it a rather big step to take, coming over here for more than two weeks when you haven’t toured the US as long as you will be touring Europe?
This is only our second tour. The first was with Dead Stop in the US and Canada and that was only 10 shows, so we haven’t really done much of anything in the big picture. Not because we don’t want to, but because we all have jobs and busy schedules and can’t afford to go out touring the way we would like. But that’s also why we’re lucky, because there are a million bands out there touring their asses off that are probably more deserving than us to be going to Europe. So yes, I suppose that is a big step, but I think we’d rather do this while we have the chance than wait and lose the opportunity forever, right?
You have put out a new EP entitled On The Loose just before the summer, how have the reactions been on the EP so far? Do people seem to like it more than the first EP? I keep hearing rumours that there will be an LP with both EPs on it as an European release, any truth to that?
Reactions have been good. Perhaps some people like it better than the first EP, but I really just haven’t heard enough to know about that. It’s hard to tell.
The LP is a long story, but let me just say that at one point we had someone in Europe who agreed to put out an LP, which would have been both 7”s and some extras, since the first EP didn’t get a European release. It ended up taking a long time for us to finish the recording and by the time we were ready, the person who was supposed to release it was no longer able to. There have been a few offers since then, but since we lost the opportunity for more people to check us out before our tour, we’re not rushing to release the LP as soon as possible. Plus, we just received our CD called Going Nowhere Fast from Grave Mistake that has all the contents of the LP, including both 7”s, an exclusive song from the demo, two unreleased tracks, two live songs and two covers, and we’ll be bringing that on tour.
I couldn’t help noticing that On The Loose sounds a lot more mid-tempo (or less fast, as you wish) than the self titled debut. Is this because you changed guitarists? Or is there another reason for this? Why did you actually get a new guitarist?
Yes, there are more mid-tempo parts on this one, but the fast parts are just as fast as on the first one. Not for any particular reason, just because those are the songs we ended up writing. The whole reason why we got a new guitarist is because our old guitarist no longer wanted to do the band. Originally, it was Steve on guitar, but we couldn’t find anyone we wanted to sing, so Steve took over and then we got our buddy John who Steve had played with in No Justice, to take over on guitar. John quit after the first 7” came out, then finished his band, The Aftermath, and started Set To Explode, and we got Matt from Crispus Attucks on guitar.
Are you guys writing new songs already again? Or do you have the post-recording songwriters block? Will you be doing another EP or do you aim at releasing a full length next?
I actually hate answering this question, because I have absolutely no idea what we’re doing after this. I’d like to do another record, possibly a full-length but I’m not sure we plan on sticking together that long or that it’s in our best interests, since we’re all really happy with the way the EPs turned out and I wouldn’t want to release another record if the music didn’t live up to previous recordings. And nobody here wants to release a How We Rock or anything like that, so it may just be better to end on a high note while we have the chance. I guess just wait and see...
Finally, what are your general expectations for the European tour? And if you have anything to add, now’s the fucking time.
All I know is Kris Coorde told us to look forward to good Belgian beer, frites, hot Scandinavian girls and getting fed at shows, so as long as I get those things, and see Dead Stop at ‘t Linfabriek, I’m happy. Of course we hope to play good shows, but I’m also really looking forward to seeing our friends in Belgium, meeting new people and bands and travelling with my band mates. So here are the tour dates, thanks for the interview, Flex, we’ll see you in a week!
Thanks and see you soon.
This is the complete tour schedule, so if 86 Mentality is playing near where you live, definitely go check them out:
6 October Ghent, Belgium (with Dead Stop)
7 October Ibbenburen, Germany (with Dick Cheney)
8 October Hengelo, Holland
9 October Bremen, Germany
10 October Linkoping, Sweden
11 October Stockholm, Sweden
12 October Copenhagen, Denmark (with Signal Lost)
13 October Liechtenstein, Germany
14 October South West Germany TBC
15 October Kontich, Belgium (Dead Stop Record Release with Municipal Waste and Reproach)
16 October Tilburg, Holland
17 October Düsseldorf, Germany (with Dead Stop)
18 October Day off
19 October Leeds, England (with Municipal Waste)
20 October Liverpool, England (with Restless Youth)
21 October Newcastle, England (with Restless Youth)
22 October London, England (with Restless Youth)
And if you are still wondering what the fuck 86 Mentality sounds like check out their MP3 Chemical Threat (of the On The Loose EP) at the Grave Mistake MySpace page (www.myspace.com/gravemistakerecords), get over the 'weird' vocals and be able to singalong to at least one song. In case you are wondering how the singalong goes, here's a little help: "Chemical Threat One Two Three, Body Check For You And Me, Chemical Threat On LSD, Deep Throat's Down By Your Knees" is NOT how it is supposed to be.
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