A DERANGED CHAT WITH MIND ROT IN THE 420 CONTEXT OF THE FERAL UNHOLY GOOD FRIDAY GIG BY MARK J.
GOOD FRIDAY IS ABOUT TO GET UNHOLY.
Seven bands. One night. Every flavour of heavy you didn't know you needed — and a few you probably shouldn't be exposed to unsupervised.
Kicking things off are the sludge-soaked deviants known as Mind Rot. We sent Mark KNIFE/DHZ in to get some answers. What came back was either a press interview or evidence of a crime. We're not sure which. You may require a translator. You may require a full ounce of something strong. Either way — here's how it went:
You're the newest name on this bill — what do you want people who've never heard you to walk away thinking?
"Faaa, that was buzzy aaaaaaas bro! Why was that strange looking kient with the braids and Hawaiian shirt yelling at me about space monkeys or some shit?"
Doom is a genre that punishes you if you're not fully committed to the weight of it — how do you make sure the riffs actually land rather than just sitting there?
Fluff - Couldn't agree more, derivative music of any kind will put you to sleep asap. Like any good art, interest and emotional response is best inspired through use of sculpted layers. The riffs that Ferg write are huge and provide a rock solid bed for myself playing with vocal meter and Impressionism narrative in lyricism, as well as dubby reverb throws and wide layers of instinctual "I am but a vessel" noise accents. Another analogy is a delicious dank stew with fine condiments. Counterpoints of order and chaos.
The "fun for the whole shed" description is interesting for a doom band — where does that come from?
Shorty loves smashing piss in the shed. If you get within a 10km radius of it, you will be sucked into its jar-smacking, dart-swallowing, cone-punching orbit. It's a place where ideas are made and innocence no longer exists. I don't make the rules, I'm just trapped here.
What's the origin story — how did Mind Rot actually start and where are you at with recorded material?
It's an ageless being, spawned of the mist. It always has been and always will be. If you give 1000 monkeys 1000 vapes and 10000 dexies, they will write Shakespeare (or have a very silly time of it in the process). Got some pretty cool live bootlegs from the time we played in an abandoned steel mill. Shorty will flick you the Google Drive link in exchange for 0.75 of a beer or an encouraging nod.
Who are the people behind Mind Rot and what are everyone's backgrounds — what did you all come from before this?
Fluffy - I have the substance abuse flavour of autism, rather than the cool counting cards or brain surgery flavour. I have no choice in this world but to act on the compulsion to word vomit existential perceptions onto paper and into air, lest they all clog up and block my arteries with their morose viscosity.
Ferg - I hate scabs, those picket line crossing class traitors. My previous band was Motherslug — just wanna say we are stoked to be sharing the stage with such quality bands.
Mark - everybody calls me "Buff". I hail from the western suburbs of Melbourne. I started in bands in the early '90s playing in Fallout alongside bands like Beanflipper, Mind Snare and One Inch Punch/MYC. Been in all types of bands since, from death metal to hard rock. I joined forces with these weirdos in December 2024.
JD - resident old fart. Played bass in the Melbourne pub scene in the '90s with seminal swerve metal, stoner, groove band Die Smiling and quirk rock/pop underground legends Blind Lemons. Joined up with Ferg, who advertised himself as Mudguts FatRiff, about 4 years ago playing bass, and now on rhythm and lead guitar. Also — Ampeg VH-140c FTW.
Shorty - While a couple of people may be aware, or even worse... have seen some of my crazy antics at shows, I also run the annual Metal In The Mountains festival up in Beechworth and used to play in a cannibalistic BBQ metal band, The Carnist.
What have you put out so far, or what are you working toward releasing — and what do you want those recordings to feel like?
We want them to feel like wizards smoking weed on a pegasus in orbit of Uranus, anchored down by existential guilt & Burroughs-esque bad vibes. Recording is high on the list. Lining up 6 people's schedules under capitalism is a constant battle, so watch this space — big things coming soon 🙃
You're a newer band on a bill with some serious veterans — what does Mind Rot bring to that conversation and what makes you worth watching from the front?
Fresh perspectives and approaches, I think is our biggest strength. Personally we like and consume music and media from super diverse sources and styles. I (fluff) love hip hop as much as I love sludge, as much as I love hyper pop and harsh noise and grindcore and breakcore. In some ways all of these things inform the 20% of what I contribute to this unholy noise.
Are you hyped for this epic show on 3rd April for UNHOLY GOOD FRIDAY?
Show, what show?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MASSIVE SHOW APRIL 3RD, Beanflipper Battlegrave Womb To Tomb Munitions 100 YEARS WAR US AS IN KNIFE AND Mind Rot
4PM TO 11PM Stay Gold GRAB YOUR TIX TO SAVE CASH ON BOOZE AND MERCH
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments
Post a Comment
Feel free to comment, but anything racist or sexist goes in the bin, as you should also.