Gig Reviews
Cult Leader
Stengade, Copenhagen, DEN - 15/4
Album Reviews
Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster
Previous Nextauthor PP date 11/01/10
Braving the freezing cold temperatures that have been plaguing Copenhagen for more or less the entirety of December and January, I cycled my way with frozen knuckles to Loppen for an interview with Jake Duncan, the guitarist of Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster. Once the band is done joking around in the sound check, Jake makes his way to our table. He's got long hair, beard, and looks like the definition of a rock'n'roller to me, which is also evident in the way he speaks with that large, wide, Southern American accent. The stereotype is that the people from the Southern states are all dumb rednecks, but not this guy. Even though he seemed slightly disconnected from the interview - he looked and felt incredibly homesick at this point - each answer was carefully considered and articulated. That makes for an awesome interview; and we get to find out just how many American stereotypes Jake covers as he answers a couple of fan-questions in the end...great stuff.
RF.net: What's new in the Maylene camp?
Jake: New? Right now, Christmas, trying to get home. It's the newest thing I guess, we've been on the road pretty much solid since the middle of September, so we're getting ready to get home with our families and spend Christmas there.
RF.net: So feeling kind of home sick in a way?
Jake: Oh yeah man, very, very homesick at this point.
RF.net: So the fans received you guys well?
Jake: Oh yeah. You have certain spots where you get a better crowd reception and I think actually our best crowd reception was in Oslo, Norway. Which I was kind of shocked about, because it's such a heavy metal type of place, you know, and we're kind of the outcast when it comes to being on these tours, because all the bands are usually heavier than we are, but we're just like this rock'n'roll band that gets on the stage, but those kids at that show were really stoked and really excited just to hear some music, so it was a lot of fun.
RF.net: What about the Southern tours, I mean I guess there aren't so many of those around in the first place?
Jake: Not over here, really. There are some Southern type bands but I would say that there's not too terribly many left. We're one of the few bands that are still playing Southern Rock music, and for us, it's just rock, and it comes out Southern because we're from the Southeast of United States, so it's just kind of how it comes out, and just kind of what we were born and raised on. Classic rock and stuff like that. That's just kind of our interpretation of rock'n'roll, so.
RF.net: Yeah.
Jake: Basically it was a time period in the 30s when organized crime grew prominent. Basically the legend of Kate Barker and her sons is that she, Kate Barker, would organize these criminal activities for her sons to carry out, and she had a group of outlaw sons who would carry out these deeds. Legend has it that she was the brains behind the operation and kind of told her kids what to do, and stuff. We take our name from that, Maylene is a town in Alabama, but it's based on her story, Kate Barker's story. And our whole metaphor is that we are her sons, we've done wrong, and eventually Kate Barker's sons got gunned down because of their wrongdoing, and basically it's like we're speaking from the grave, trying to warn people not to do what we did, so that's kind of the concept.
RF.net: So how did you choose such a....different concept? How did you decide one day that okay, this is what we're gonna do as a band?
Jake: Well, I wasn't at the band at that point. I think our lead singer Dallas grew up in this town in Ocala, Florida, and that's where Ma Barker was from. He used to visit these different re-enactments and things like that. Her old house that she got gunned down in was there, her and one of her sons, so he was just kind of fascinated by the story growing up, and things like that kind of stick out in your memory even as you get older. I'm sure that's the reason why he decided on that concept.
RF.net: So how are you able to step into their shoes, so to say, I don't want to say impersonate, but to be their person?
Jake: It's just kind of like. We know the story, we know the legend, but we kind of embellish it a little bit ourselves, kind of make it our own. There's a track off the newest record called "No Good Son", and it's written from the perspective of someone, an outsider, maybe younger than the rest of the guys, joining the group. And that's kind of metaphorically the role that I've played in the band, joining later and stuff. It's just kind of written from that perspective. And that didn't really happen, but it's just one of our avenues that we've taken from the story and embellished on a bit.
RF.net: Okay, so do you think that the Ma Barker story is an infinite well of song ideas, or do you think that at some point you'll have to write songs that are not connected to the story, or are you always going to be able to continue the story somehow?
Jake: Well it was actually... even with the album artwork for our newest record, we weren't sure if we were gonna continue the whole concept of Ma Barker and her sons, but while we were recording we decided to continue it on for at least one more record, and I don't know about the next record, if we're going to continue it or not. It kind of just happens as we write new songs, we'll just see how it goes.
RF.net: So if not, what would you write about?
Jake: I would imagine... I don't write lyrics for the band, but I would imagine it would just be about every day life and things that we as musicians go through on the road and just our lifestyle. Family, friends, all that kind of stuff.
RF.net: So next one will be "IV" then?
Jake: Probably, and the one after that will be V, and the one after that might be VI, but that remains to be seen.
RF.net: Do you think that the Maylene sound is, in a way, a perfect fit with the wrestling atmosphere?
Jake: I would say that our sound is suitable. It kinda comes from a part of the country that's known for just standing up for whatever it is you believe in, and that's kinda how the whole wrestling attitude thing is. Standing up and proving somebody wrong, or just making a statement. I think it is suitable and it fits.
RF.net: I knew you were gonna say that!
Jake: I love Coors Light too. I like the crappiest beer. Beer over here is good, but it's hard for me to drink because it's so strong tasting. It's just not what I'm used to.
RF.net: [laughs] This next one is an interesting one. Do you guys hibernate during winter?
Jake: Umm...we'll if we're not on the road....well, I can tell you this man. Since we've been over here, it's been so cold that I usually hibernate on the bus until I absolutely HAVE to get off the bus and come in here and soundcheck, because it's so cold. Where I live, if I'm home during the winter time, it's usually pretty mild. I live in a mild climate. I talked to a girl from home today, and she said it was actually like 50 degrees Fahrenheit, I don't know if you all do Fahrenheit or Celsius here. It's probably 16C or something. I usually don't have to hibernate, but over here I've wanted to.
RF.net: The last one: what are your favorite bands?
Jake: This is strictly me, this doesn't represent anyone else in my band necessarily, because they might be embarrassed because of what I would say. Obviously I love classic rock, AC/DC, Zeppelin, Skynyrd. I love some 80s type of stuff, Def Leppard and stuff. But I'm a huge fan of modern radio rock, like Nickelback, Breaking Benjamin and bands like that. I love bands like that. My favorite band that we've toured with so far as far as music is Clutch that I mentioned earlier. I love just good, riffy, rock'n'roll like that.