Exclusive Interview: Mongrel

Bass Lines and Screams recently chatted with Adam Savage, guitarist of Massachusetts-based hard rockers Mongrel, to talk about the band's latest EP release as well as what the future holds for the quartet. Check out what Adam had to say in this exclusive interview.

What inspired you personally to get into music?

Adam: I was inspired to start playing guitar watching the videos for (Guns N' Roses) "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Sweet Child O' Mine" - watching Slash play was that defining moment of "I NEED to do that!"

Who do you listen to most?

Adam: My cd changer in the car almost always has at least one album from The Bronx and Slipknot (self-titled) in it. Also in regular rotation lately is Trashlight Vision, The Pretty Reckless, NIN, the upcoming Mongrel fulll length cd , Hate Gallery, Dead Boys, Amen, Ministry, Rolling Stones, Mindless Self Indulgence "Tight", etc...

What are your thoughts on the music industry today?

Adam: I'm kind of mixed on it, in some ways its amazing how much stuff you can do as an independent artist that previously you could never do without a bigger label backing you, however in some ways its almost harder to stand out from the pack and get noticed, and to finance the things you want to do since there aren't the labels picking up developing bands like they used to and with the rising price of gas, etc. it does make for challenging but exciting times.

Talk about your latest release, "Declamation." What's your favorite song on the EP?

Adam: We originally went in to the studio expecting just to do a new full length and things were going so well we ended up recording a couple of bonus tracks and decided to split it up into a 12 song album and the "Declamation" EP. My favorite track on the EP is probably "Fucked It All Away" - this was originally on our prior full length cd with our old singer and we did not intend to record it again but since we were doing so well time-wise and I loved how the song took on a new life and sounded so amazing with Jess singing it so we decided to re-do it. I'm really glad we did as I love how it sounds now and there's really just something about a female singer doing the line "I had it all and I fucked it all away" they way Jess does it that you just can't deny.

Why choose to cover a Misfits song on the new EP?

Adam: We'd intended to record this from the get go. This is a song we'd been covering for a while now that the crowd always loves and when Jess joined the band it was another one of those "we have to get her in the studio doing this one" kind of things. Dr Chud, who wrote the song when he was with the Misfits said we did a great job with it so obviously we made a good choice with this and when we split things up into the EP and album, putting it on the EP made the most sense.

When can we see the next Mongrel full length?

Adam: We are expecting the new full length "Reclamation" to come out in early July actually.

Where will we see Mongrel five years from now?

Adam: Hopefully in the midst of one of many successful US or international tours!

If you could show every music fan in the world one song of yours, what would it be?

Adam: Probably something off the upcoming full length album, there's a bunch of songs on there I think are the best stuff we've done to date... Zombies of War, Revisionist, Tarnished Halo, Wake Up...I'm not sure which ONE song it would be.

Anything in closing?

Adam: If anyone wants to get out our ep "Decalamation" you can get it on itunes, amazon, or http://mongrel.bandcamp.com/. Please visit us out at www.mongrelband.com where you can find links to all our sites (facebook, twitter, myspace, etc) and please keep in touch with us online or hang out at a show if you like what you hear - we're very big on talking to and keeping in touch with the people who support us!