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By Deborah J. Draisin
Almost five years in the making, LeATHERMØUTH
is a straight-up hardcore band born and raised
somewhere in New Jersey (or possibly Europe.)
The group’s hard-hitting first album
XØ (released through Epitaph Records)
has received respectable reviews (and a couple
of bitter comparisons to Motorhead.) [Read
Rich Quinlan’s review here.]
This is a project that no one seems to know
quite what to make of, which naturally intrigues
us. Besides the name recognition of frontman
Frank Iero of My Chemical Romance, it also
features one of my favorite new guitar players,
Rob Hughes, and a touring lineup to die for.
So we asked Frank to spare a moment or two
from an L.A. recording session for the next
MCR album, which he was nice enough to do
(eventually.)
Q: Hey Frank, it’s Deb from Jersey
Beat, how are you?
F: Hey Deb, I gotta tell you: I really want
to thank you; I know it’s been hell
getting in touch with me for this interview.
Q: No, it’s all right, I appreciate
that you’re in the studio and I guess
there was a communication issue, so it’s
fine. I appreciate your time, too –
you’re taking time out of what you’re
doing.
F: No absolutely. That’s the thing;
we just got here a couple of days ago, and
we’re just getting a feel yet of what
the record is going to be like, and stuff
like that, so it’s really just fleshing
out like a couple of songs here and there.
I’m really getting into the stride now,
so…
Q: I checked; it’s exactly the same
temperature this week in Los Angeles as it
is in New York City – good plan, there!
F: Yeah, every time we’re in Los Angeles,
the weather is always horrible, so it’s
not weird for us when we get here. It actually
just today lightened up – it’s
very nice today.
Q: Oh, that’s a good thing! It’s
not nice here.
F: Yeah the thing is we really spend our days
just locked in the studio, so I haven’t
really been outside that much.
Q: Oh, some palm trees, whatever…!
F: Yeah, I haven’t even been out of
the room.
Q: Yeah, well that’s a good thing, actually,
being locked up and recording is certainly
better than being outside and standing in
the windy weather. Okay, so this LeATHERMØUTH
project took five years to come to fruition
- how different is the finished product from
what you started out with?
F: Insanely different! When we first started,
the only recordings we really had were just
from a practice studio in Jersey and then…well
I guess maybe it’s not that different
because now it’s just a live version
of us playing in my basement (we both laugh.)
We actually had time to craft the songs -
a lot of that was done when I would come off
the road for a week or two here and there.
We’d be like “Oh, let’s
try this one a little bit different.”
I had the recordings for a while without lyrics
and vocals – I would just sit on it
while touring, and when I would finally come
home, that’s when I’d record in
my basement.
Q: You had two songs at the time, correct?
F: Yeah, we started with the two that were
live recordings from the rehearsal studio,
and we called it “Live In Spain.”
It was “Murder Was the Case They Gave
Me” and - at that time it was called
“What’s a Pulse Got Ta Do With
it?” - which ended up being “Bodysnatchers
4Ever.”
Q: Right, I remember when it was called that,
actually. That’s not at all confusing,
right? “Oh, it’s a completely
different song!”
F: (laughing) I didn’t want to steal
too many titles! I didn’t want to keep
that going.
Q: Right! (laughing) Well, I know that you've
stated that this is the first project where
you've actually been responsible for all of
the lyrics, but you've done a few here and
there for other projects, right?
F: Yeah, you know, mostly ideas and stuff
like that – I mean never like full verses
or whole songs by any means. It was maybe
a line here or there or just an idea.
Q: Mm hm. Does this sole responsibility change
what you feel you are able to say?
F: Well…I don’t know if it would
if I knew that the record was going to come
out. See, originally, I thought I was just
going to do it anonymously, so when writing
for that, I didn’t care too much. I
think for the next record, when everyone will
know already, it may. I don’t really
know, but that’s yet to be seen - I
hope not, though. I’d like LeATHERMØUTH
to just be what it is, and just promote people
– and I think to promote people, you
need to just be uncensored.
Q: Oh, I agree – I don’t think
there would be much logic to a hardcore band
that’s censored.
F: No, I mean like censoring your thoughts
or the different things that you would talk
about.
Q: Mm hm – I don’t think any artist
should have to do that, actually. That’s
kinda not the point of living in this country
– I’m so against censorship. This
is the first project where you've not contributed
instrumentally, right? Is that a weird shift
to make for you as a guitar player?
F: Yeah, but I think it helped me vocally,
because I definitely did things I wouldn’t
normally have thought of, you know? Taking
such a step back from that, it kept me in
an open mind.
Q: Fair enough. Everyone gets asked about
the song or band that made them want to play
- do you have one that made you completely
reconsider the business?
F: No…even the rough spots, when you
see things that make you want to give everything
up, you kinda take a step back and realize
that’s not why you’re doing it.
You’d like to think that you would be
in a band even if there were no other bands
out there, or any kind of music - like you
would be creating even if you were just drumming
on a rock. That’s the thing; I think
it’s just a necessity that I have. I
have to play music, I have to create or write
just to stay sane – so other people’s
actions really can’t dictate how I feel
towards that.
Q: That’s a great answer, actually.
So, the video for “Bodysnatchers 4Ever”
is due out I guess today – can you tell
us anything about it? (Writer’s note:
At press time, the video had not yet been
released to the public.)
F: Yeah! Well, really, it keeps in the style
with doing everything ourselves. It orignally
started as: I wanted to make a film that would
go along with the record, so I went to my
friend, Dane Castoro. He kind of blows me
away with his talent in editing and directing
- he makes short films on his own. So, we
got together in my basement and backyard and
started to come up with concepts for the movie.
Because of time constraints and just lack
of…coincidences, I think, we couldn’t
finish the movie in time for the record to
come out.
So, what I did was, I kinda cut out pieces
from the twenty minute film and did a video
out of it – so it’s highly edited.
I think the storyline is very blurred right
now, but hopefully in maybe another time we
can finish the film and the story will actually
be seen – but it’s really just
a nightmare sequence. There were four people
really involved – me, Dane, his girlfriend
and another friend, and we just kinda sat
around and filmed stuff. I’m really
happy with the way it came out – it
took a long time to edit it and do a lot of
stuff and post. We really wanted to go for
this feel where these tapes were found and
let the viewer kinda interpret things about
it. I’m really proud of it – I’ve
never directed anything; I’ve never
done anything with films before, and I’ve
always wanted to. But this is my first attempt
at it, so I hope it works out.
Q: Was it a weird shift to make for you or
did you like totally embrace it?
F: Well, the technical side was the problem,
and that’s where Dane came in so amazingly.
I didn’t know shit about how to film
or how to edit things; I used all his knowledge
for that – that made it a lot easier.
Q: Mm hm – I’ve seen the sneak
peak; it’s really interesting. It reminds
me of an old-time silent movie; it’s
a really cool effect.
F: Yeah, that’s what we were kinda going
for.
Q: It’s awesome. What's the symbolism,
by the way, behind you always being the one
killed in the press photos?
F: (laughing) Well, I told Epitaph I didn’t
want do press photos where my face was being
seen so much – there were a few got
out there that kinda weren’t supposed
to be released. But I said that I would only
show my face if I could have it smashed. So
that was kind of the idea that me and Jamie
came up with.
Q: (laughing) Oh, that’s awesome! So,
you've listed the lyrics to "Leviathan"
as EVP - so you're saying it was written by
the dead?
F: Um, it’s more of a lend to channeling
things that are around you and being almost
a medium for that – and also having
a breakdown as well. There’s a small
sequence of lyrics that I do go back to, and
they are kind of set, but for the most part,
I like it to change every time. It’ll
change depending on, based on everything –
where I am at that point in time, what happened
in my day; it’s just an open-ended thing,
where I’m feeling things inside and
channeling that.
Q: Ah, that’s interesting, so basically
no one’s ever hearing the same song
twice.
F: Right.
Q: That’s cool. Um, most hardcore band
moment you've witnessed so far?
F: Hm, oh man…
Q: Come on, you have to have a good story!
F: It’s really, I mean, to me, the most
hardcore moments are doing it – like
traveling with no means…(chuckles) This
is one of my favorite experiences: we had
a show up on Long Island – this wasn’t
with LeATHERMØUTH, this was with another band
I was in – our van broke down just in
the middle of the LIE and we had to push it
to the side. So, it was either get it towed
home – because we had like two miles
left on one person’s AAA card –
or get it towed to the show and then just
figure it out. So we towed it to the show,
played the show – and not all of us
could fit in the tow truck, so some of us
had to hide in the back of the van with the
equipment. So we kind of hung out inside until
the thing came, and I think we got home at
like 10:00 in the morning, because he cops
had to…I don’t know, we had to
like finagle something to get home. To me,
that was the biggest hardcore moment.
Q: (laughing) That’s definitely hardcore
– that’s like trying to sneak
out of another country illegally!
F: Yeah, you do or die!
Q: I guess anybody that went to that show
had to go “Look what these people did
just to get here, I mean, come on!”
F: (laughing) Yeah, that was a kind of funny
moment, when the broken-down van pulls up
behind this like sirened tow truck and then
it gets lowered – we’ve gotta
get out of the tow truck – and as soon
the tow truck leaves, you kind of sneak the
guys out of the back that weren’t supposed
to be in the back with the equipment, so…
Q: (laughing) I’m not here, I’m
just walking behind this amp!
F: Exactly!
Q: You've done lot of shows now already, with
this band – what’s your favorite
moment so far?
F: I like it when people obviously don’t
get it, and are visibly annoyed (we both laugh)
– those are some of my favorite moments.
But, we’ve been fortunate enough that
a lot of people are really enjoying it, and
have been coming out; whether it’s from
myspace or just hearing the record.
Q: They’re singing along, so you’ve
got good fans.
F: That’s a real inspiring moment, when
people are singing your words back to you.
I’ve been lucky enough to experience
that a couple of times, and it’s really
some of the best feelings I’ve ever
had.
Q: That’s gotta be incredible! Um, I
actually have a few more: what I wanted to
ask you is: you’re touring with a different
lineup than you recorded with; was that a
smooth adjustment to make?
F: Um yes, but it also wasn’t really
that bad – I mean with the original
lineup, we’d only really played like
two or three shows, and that was spread out
over at least six months. And the only reason
for that was that our schedules just weren’t
really working together. When I would come
home from tour, someone’d be like “Oh,
there’s a show, do you wanna play?”
I mean, there was no real demand I guess for
a tour or anything at that time, because we
didn’t really have any songs yet, so
both shows we played were really only like
six or seven song sets. So it was just getting
our feet into the water, and then when the
touring lineup came together, that’s
when we really started to play and get together
like all the songs we had.
Q: Yeah, that first show was sort of sprung
on you last minute, wasn’t it, if I
remember correctly? It was a last minute decision,
like “Hey, can you be here in two days?”
F: Mm hm, exactly. We did like a CMJ show.
We hadn’t planned on playing a show
or anything, I was just like “Oh hey,
I’m in town this week.” There
was an opening spot on the showcase, and I
got the call. I was like “Alright, let’s
see if everybody can do it” and we did
it.
Q: Yeah, you pulled it out – you have
to roll with it sometimes.
F: Yeah, that’s the fun of the band,
and also the fun behind the record –
even recording some of these songs –
have the sense of urgency that you get; you
have that first take and you just put it out
there. I think that with the recorded aspect
of this band, it needed to be that way. If
it was overproduced or even thought about
beyond a couple of takes, it wouldn’t
be the same.
Q: Yeah, you’re right – I actually
was reading a little from the people that
had been following this band since the beginning,
and they were hoping that it wasn’t
going to deviate too far from the demos; they
liked that they were dirty.
F: Right, and I think that really encompasses
the band –to hear it in any other way,
I don’t think it would be as special.
Q: Yeah, it has to be sort of seat-of-your-pants.
How long did it take to write the rest of
the tracks?
F: You know, it took a lot longer because
we weren’t around each other. I don’t
know how long it would take if, say, we were
all in a room focusing on writing the record;
how long that would take or how long it would
take to record. I imagine it would probably
be very, very quick, and I like that about
it. That’s the thing too is that I sat
with the record without vocals for a long
time, and when I did finally write the lyrics
and sang, it didn’t take me very long
to finish up the recording process; it was
only maybe about a week. And then I sat on
that for months – I had the record done,
finished on my computer for months and months.
Then finally it came to Epitaph, and we had
a meeting about it, and the record came out.
So, the amount of time behind this record
is astronomical compared to the time put into
it.
Q: Like five years, right?
F: Mm hm.
Q: Wow! And it’s twenty minutes long
– so it took you five years to do twenty
minutes.
F: (we both laugh.) Exactly!
Q: I like to ask this one: is there a song
you would like to go out with: just a lyric
that sums it up for you?
F: As far as this record is concerned, I think
the one that speaks to me the most; that comes
the most from private experiences - not that
the rest of the record doesn’t –
but the one that speaks to me the most is
“Sunsets Are For Muggings.”
Q: Mm, because it’s personal, right?
F: Yes; I don’t know if it so much sums
up the band, but it definitely sums up the
feeling behind this record to me. To me, it
kind of comes to a head on that song, because
a lot of the topics that we cover on the record
are social problems. And when the social problems
seem to affect you personally, that’s
what “Sunsets” is about. How you’ll
sometimes feel like the world is kinda crashing
down around you, and you’ll go to someone
that you trust – say a doctor or something
like that, and all they’ll do is pump
you full of meds that are supposed to make
you feel normal but they just end up making
you feel even worse.
Q: Yeah, or they ask you about your dreams
or “How are you feeling today?”
F: I had a very strange dream last night –
I don’t really know what it means, but…it
was where I was in my house, at home in Jersey,
and for some reason, there were little things
wrong with it. Like, one of the walls was
cracked a little bit, and there was something
on the floor, like a floorboard coming up,
or a carpet. And I would go up to the wall
and try to take something, like take it out,
and behind the wall, there was like this weird
mirror, and behind the mirror was a body.
And I would find these things all over the
house, and I didn’t know what it was.
It was like some sort of crime going on and
the bodies were hidden in my house behind
mirrors.
Q: (we both laugh) Do you think it has anything
to do with the material – like you’re
haunting yourself in your sleep?
F: I have no idea!
Q: Actually, a dream book would probably tell
you you’re repressing something, or
something like that.
F: You think so?
Q: Yeah, it’s usually never what you
think it is.
F: I know, so yeah, so like if my teeth are
falling out, then you’re losing money.
Q: Yeah, that means you’re losing money,
or doesn’t mean you’re getting
married? No, that’s when you die, right?
F: I don’t know – yeah, something
like if you die, that means a rebirth, but
if you’re…I don’t know;
all the dream books just end up confusing
me more than the actual dreams.
Q: They are confusing, yeah.
F: So um…I guess if you wanted to look
into it: would it be that I felt I was hiding
myself some sort of things, like kind of like
the construction of the house that I’ve
built, or what? I really don’t know.
Q: Wow…
F: It was kind of cool, definitely –
it was a sleuth type of dream.
Q: You had to solve it.
F: I like to watch “Law and Order”
till I fall asleep, so maybe that was what
happened…
Q: Maybe that’s what it was –
you were actually in an episode in your sleep!
F: (we both laugh) Probably. That’s
a good show.
Q: “Law And Order,” wow that show’s
been on like forever – isn’t it
like ten years or something?
F: Oh yeah, well that’s what they do;
I mean you look back now at all these like
past incarnations: there was Briscoe, then
there was the fat guy, I don’t know.
It’s weird, like the different main
character cops change the feel of the shows.
Q: I know it started with Richard Belzer,
I remember that; like fifteen years ago.
F: I love the Vincent D’Onofrio, C.I.,
that’s fun. I like how he’s turned
into a fucking crazy person.
Q: Vincent D’Onofrio’s pretty
awesome, I’m gonna give you that one.
F: Yeah, I’m way into that.
Q: So is that what you watch now, you watch
crime shows?
F: Yeah, well, here’s the thing, back
home they had this thing called Monsters HD,
which is like all horror movies all the time
on one channel.
Q: Oh, awesome!
F: Yeah, it’s amazing; even shitty movies
like “Night of the Creeps” or
“Night of the Demons” I, II and
III – things that never came out on
high definition, they play on this channel
in HD, and it’s great! You know, there’s
no commercials – all the content is
there, and for me it’s like a fucking
dream come true.
Q: Really? Do they run like the Vincent Prices,
like the Phibes’ and stuff?
F: Oh yeah, anything awesome like that.
Q: Oh, they do??
F: Yeah, and the thing too that in between,
they’ll have a thing called “Monsterama”
where they’ll just interview people
like a showcase thing? They’ll have
like toys; they had one on about different
collectors, even a show on makeup artists,
Thompson Media, etc. To me, that’s the
ultimate – I love watching that kind
of thing. But the company that ran the channel
– they also had like a Kung Fu channel
and all these other things – they went
under. So now there’s no Monsters HD,
so I’m fucking bummed.
Q: Oh, that sucks, Man, I was getting psyched!
F: I know! The thing was kinda ridiculous
about it though is that all the movies that
they do play on the channel, I happen to have,
because I’m like an avid, retarded dvd
movie collector. So it was just a matter of
having them all at your fingertips and like
going on random on the channel, which was
so fun to me. But now, I actually have to
get up and go put a dvd in.
Q: I know, isn’t that annoying? It’s
like “Why doesn’t it work by itself,
damnit?” I like my DVR; it just plays
- I don’t have to get up.
F: Well, this is the thing is: what’s
so great about coming together with the other
guys from My Chem. Like, Bob and Ray are such
huge media nerds – they’re telling
me all these things I can do. Like, I can
hook up a receiver to my DVR box and I can
keep all my movies on some sort of server,
so that I can watch them anywhere in the world.
You can keep stuff on your DVR and then record
it, like when you’re on tour; you can
record off the tv.
Q: Dude, that’s badass!
F: I know, right? Well, normally I’m
very scared of and leery of technology, but
this is something exciting to me.
Q: Me too, but you’re a musician; like
you gotta know more than I do; I can’t
even operate a digital camera.
F: I fucking hate it though! Here’s
the thing; I may know things, technology-wise,
but I refuse to use any of them. I don’t
know, I saw a great bumper sticker today that
someone had – it says “Drum machines
have no soul.”
Q: True.
F: I thought that was great. To me, that’s
the thing; like in this day and age, where
everything is right at your fingertips, no
one actually knows anybody.
Q: That’s true.
F: At any point, you can go on the internet
and search the person’s name or whatever
and witness the most trying moment in that
person’s life, you know, when they’re
most at odds. You can see all these things
on the internet – where people are just
ripped apart, but no one actually knows anybody.
Q: Yeah, you’re like too intimate with
people you shouldn’t know anything about.
F: Yeah, and it’s killed all the mystery
to it, and I think that sucks.
Q: I know, I agree with you, like the bands
in the 80’s, you didn’t know them,
they didn’t want to know you –
I don’t know that we should go back
to that, but…
F: Yeah, but that’s not what it was
about – you had the connection through
their art, but as far as knowing them on a
personal level, you didn’t, and I don’t
think you need to.
Q: Yeah, you definitely don’t need to
know like, where the dude went shopping today;
that’s ridiculous.
F: (laughing) Exactly!
Q: There’s too much stalkerism; everybody’s
just too addicted to reality tv, that’s
just the bottom line.
F: Yes, however, I am addicted to this “Rock
of Love Bus.”
Q: (giggling) Dude, that is the greatest show
on television, I’m sorry!
F: I mean it’s really just like watching
a train wreck; I’ve never seen…it’s
just…anyway, I don’t want to get
into that, I could talk for hours about it.
Q: No, we won’t discuss that, but that
is a good show, I can’t lie, it is.
F: I know, but like if you think about it,
that whole channel is surviving off of…okay
you take someone who’s not a celebrity,
and you put them on a show. They make a fucking
disgusting and complete fool out of themselves…
Q: And they become a celebrity…
F: Yeah, and then they’re a celebrity
and then, alright you know, then when they
get totally fucked up and are on drugs, they
go on Sober House and it’s this continuous
vicious circle! You know, these people who
aren’t celebrities, but I guess they’re
just famous from tv or the internet.
Q: Yeah, that show is kinda crazy; I don’t
know what the hell’s up with that –
it’s like exploitation almost.
F: I know!
Q: It’s crazy shit. Well, you missed
ComicCon, are you bummed?
F: I know! You know, I am bummed, because
basically, all the friends that I have who
were there got all my other friends from home
in and I wasn’t able to share in any
of the festivities; I’m really bummed
out about it.
Q: It was a good ComicCon this year –
lotta good shit.
F: Oh really? Man, that sucks.
Q: Yeah, you need to not be on the other side
of the world when that happens.
F: I know – because I spent like months
at home in Jersey, being like “I need
to get out of here” because of the weather,
and then when the one cool thing does happen
back home, I’m here.
Q: Of course you’re not there.
F: Yeah, and it’s raining here, so…
Q: Perfect! My aunt is one of those people;
she brings the rain everywhere she goes.
F: Seriously, and I hate precipitation, so
I don’t know why. I think it’s
just if there is a God, he’s playing
fucking tricks on me.
Q: Yeah, he’s got a rain cloud over
your head.
F: Probably!
Q: Alright, Frank, well thanks for your time,
I’m gonna let you get back to recording
now; you were generous with it.
F: Thank you!
