Indiana grindcore
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SS BoganThis interview took place during an intermission of a small Indiana festival called Circvs. We stepped outside to avoid the noise of sound checks; the warmth of the building was quite the sacrifice for this interview. However, the guys in Mara'akate were so nice and humorous that I quickly forgot about the ice growing in my beard.
SS: Honestly, I am not prepared for this. So, here are the generics… when, why, and where?
Josh: December of 1998. And, it's Mara'akate. M-A-R-A-apostrophe…(everyone laughs) Do you want me to introduce everybody or…
Brian (interrupts): We'll introduce ourselves.
SS: Ok.
Josh: I'm Josh, vocals.
Phil: Phil, drums.
Brian: Brian, and I play guitar.
Clinton: Clinton, and I play bass.
Colin: Uh, Colin, guitar.
Josh: And, we're from all over Indiana.
SS: Where did the name come from?
Josh: It came out of necessity. Our first show was coming up and we needed a name. I had a list of mediocre names. So, we picked one of the mediocre names from the list.
SS: You made a list?
Josh: Yeah… You have to make a list. When you are sitting in class you have to do something. Make a list of band names. There is no special meaning. It's just a name.
SS: Is there a meaning at all?
Colin: It is a definition of something, but it's not relevant to the music or the people. It's from a book..
Josh: We don't really like to talk about it because people get all kinds of misconstrued meanings. Something about Satan. (everybody talks at once, then laughs).
SS: This is going to be really hard to transcribe. (Once again, laughing)
Brian: By the time you are done, you are gonna cut everything out and all you are going to have is…
Josh (interrupts): "Mara 'akate, M-A-R…" (everybody laughs)
Brian: Take us out of context as much as you want. (the laughing continues)
SS: Continuing… Influences?
Everybody: Rush, the doors, Pink Floyd, Pixies.
Brian: More practical, direct influences? Probably just the bands we play with.
SS: List some of those bands.
Brian: Usurp Synapses, race bannon.
SS: You guys did a split with Usurp Synapses, right?
Brian: No, we haven't yet.
Josh: We recorded. And, they recorded. But, what happens from there is anybody's guess.
SS: Is it on a label, or indie?
Brian: Yeah, on Level Plane.
At this point, there is some interruptions and strong, arctic winds. Then, everyone starts talking at once.
Josh: You are going to need a four-track to mix this down.
SS: As far as content is concerned, where are you coming from?
Josh: The songs, in one respect or another, are about my personal life. But, I try to make them as abstract as possible, so they won't make any sense. I don't want anyone to try to apply my life to theirs because everyone is different. I don't know of anything that anybody else doesn't know.
SS: Doesn't forcing it to be abstract make it kind of limiting?
Josh: Not for me; I know what the song is about.
Brian: It's like, art.
SS: Want me to cut that out?
Brian: Yeah. (laughter)
Josh: These guys don't write down the notes to our songs.
Colin: And, I don't know the lyrics.
Josh: I used to tell them the lyrics, but I stopped. I don't have any big secrets or anything, I just feel weird about letting people know.
Colin: We are all pretty much doing it for ourselves. We all have our own individual causes and beliefs. It's not for that, it's for something else. That can be taken as selfish…
Josh: We're just trying not to try to please other people. We want to stay true. (laughter)
SS: What is the future of Mara'akate and what do you do now other than Mara'akate?
Clinton: Well, I just quit. (laughter)
Brian: We are all pretty much students.
Josh: We are all going to graduate within the next few years and then who knows.
SS: Well, what are your goals? How far do you want to take this thing? How long do you want to do it?
Colin: As long as possible. I'd like to take it as far as we can. We have to work with individual schedules, so it can be difficult.
Brian: Phil lives three hours away from us.
Josh: We don't get to practice much.
SS: How long is the typical show? 20 - 30 minutes?
Josh: About ten minutes. This was actually our longest show.
Colin: At every show, at least one tragedy happens. We break a lot stuff.
Brian: We don't mean to.
Josh: We don't have a lot of money to fix stuff, but it happens.
SS: Last time I saw you guys was last year in February.
Josh: With Zao?
SS: Yeah.
Josh: Everyone saw us at that show. It seems like everyone we talk to says, "I saw you guys with Zao in South Bend or Warsaw or both."
SS: I downloaded your MP3's. That makes me sound really dorky.
Everyone: That's what they're for.
Brian: I downloaded them too. (everybody laughs)
Josh: Me too! I wanted to see what they sounded like on my computer. Cut that one out too. Dorky laughing voice, "I wanted to see what they sounded like on my computer."
SS: Brian, you run action attack helicopter?
Brian: I do.
SS: I read it a lot. How long have you been doing that?
Brian: Since April of last year. It's an E-zine. We have talked about doing a printed version because it is cool to have something to hand to people.
SS: What made you start?
Brian: It was a selfish thing really. I wanted the experience of making a big website that had to be updated a lot. Plus, it's a good way to get free music.
SS: A lot of why I do it is to be able to talk to the bands that I love. When you are holding a tape recorder in your hand, you are no longer some dorky kid to be pushed around. You have become a source of free advertisement and bands love you.
Brian: Yeah. It is also nice to able help someone out.
SS: Any last comments?
Brian: We have a CD coming out on One Day Savior. What are some other bands on that label?
Josh: blueskiesburning, break of dawn, movie life, juliana theory put on a CD with them.
SS: Are you actually on that label?
Josh: We haven't signed any contracts but this guy is paying for our recording and offering posters and stickers and stuff. Of all the labels we have worked with, this one feels most like home.
Photo by Jon Notle, courtesy of Ball Bearings
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