MusicSpades interview

Two interviews in 1 week! This one's with Music Spades and you can read it here.

1. What’s your name and the name of you band?

This is Woody and I do guitar and voices for the band Mighty High.

2. How would you describe your sound for anyone who hasn’t heard it yet?

Loud. I describe our sound as Black Flag Railroad. Others have said Motorhead meets Cheech & Chong, which is also accurate.

3. Do you still have all the same members?

No, only our bassist Tommy Blow and myself remain from the original line up that first played together in the summer of 2002.

4. What was the influence behind forming the band?

I started teaching myself guitar about 10 years ago at the age of 31. All I wanted to do was play along with my favorite records. When I discovered that I couldn’t learn other people’s songs I decided to write my own.

5. How did you all meet?

I started the band with my friend DD Smack. He’s a good guitarist and he took interest in my musical ideas and encouraged me. When it was time to start putting a band together he suggested Tommy Blow, they had been in a few bands together over the years. Tommy brought in our original drummer Colin O’Dope.

DD Smack moved to Washington, DC in late 2003 and TJ Whippets was drafted in as his replacement by Tom and Colin. Then in 2006 I needed to change drummers in order to move the band in the direction I wanted to go. Luckily my friend and bartender Jesse D’Stills was interested.

6. Where was your most memorable show/gig?

Probably our record release show at Southpaw in Brooklyn, March 2008. It was one of the best shows we ever played. The owner and staff are friends of ours so they treated us great and let us play really loud. Also, our good friends The Saloonatics and Federale were on the bill with us and DJ Wake N Bake played tons of great tunes between sets. A very memorable night.

7. Your album "…In Drug City" cover is very psychedelic looking. Who and what was the idea behind it?

The cover art and concepts were created and executed by my friend Wayne “Brain O)))” Bjerke. All I had to tell him was the title and he created the artwork. It’s loosely based on Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels album cover, but much sicker and drugged out. It definitely does not glamorize drug use.

8. You also have posters of the cover. How can everyone get one who wants one?

Buy a CD or t-shirt and I’ll be glad to give you a poster for free. I have tons of them so just ask. If you only want a poster, send me a bunch of stamps and I’ll send you one.

9. How did the name for the band arise?

Many years ago my wife and I were driving in the car somewhere. I was telling her a story about something really stupid I did in high school when I was stoned. She said “you must have been mighty high.” There was a pause and we both realized it was a great name for a band. I started telling everybody how great my band was even before I started playing guitar.

10. You are the only band to have played with Thor and Valient Thor, what was that like?

It is an honor that I don’t take for granted. People are still talking about the Hoboken Holocaust that took place at Maxwells in July, 2005. I’ve been a big fan of Thor and his incredible film Rock N Roll Nightmare since I was a kid. Thor and his band were very cool. He loved the flyer that Wayne did for the show. I just hope he comes back to the NYC area so we can have a rematch.

Playing with Valient Thorr at Trash in Brooklyn January, 2006 was also great. That was probably the biggest crowd we ever played to. The guys in VT were very cool and their bass player was really impressed with my Mighty High denim jacket. They all have VT patches on the back of their denims, but acrylic paint is way cooler.

11. What is the last movie you saw and what did you think of it?

The last movie I watched was Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona and I thought it stunk! I don’t have time to watch many movies so it’s a big bummer to waste time on a crappy film. The last movie that I really liked was Pineapple Express, for obvious reasons.

12. How did the title Drug City come about?

The song “Drug City” was inspired by the song “Love City” by Sly and the Family Stone even though it sounds nothing like it. When I was trying to think up a title for the album I just thought Mighty High…In Drug City sounded cool.

13. If every member of the band could compare themself to a musical icon who whould it be?

That’s easy – Tim wants to be Eddie Van Halen, Tom wants to be Billy Sheehan, Jesse reveres Phil Rudd and I worship at the alter of Mark Farner.

14. If you could jam with any artist from the past who would it be and why?

I would be afraid to jam with anyone since I’m not very good, but I’ll say Link Wray. He’s one of my favorite guitarists and I know how to play some of his songs. Plus, he’s the guy that invented really loud rock & roll guitar playing. It’s always best to learn from the source.

15. What was the first show or concert you saw?

My first concert experience is mildly embarrassing. It was Styx at Madison Square Garden in 1980 or 81. For the record, I NEVER liked Styx. The only reason I went was because my friend’s dad got free tickets and I just wanted to see a rock concert. The show was pretty lame but we were up in a VIP booth so I could watch The Dukes of Hazard on TV while the band played. I also stole a can of Miller out of the fridge.

My first real concert was The Ramones at Iona College in my hometown of New Rochelle, NY. It was the spring of 1982 and it was a total mind blower and about as different from Styx as you can get. It was so loud. I stuck my head inside the PA stacks and was amazed that my hair started blowing around. I went on to see the Ramones many, many more times through the rest of the 1980’s.

16. You have appeared in some great publications what were they?

We were lucky enough to appear in Classic Rock Magazine from the UK twice last year. First they gave our record a great write up and a few months later they included our song “Hooked On Drugs” on a CD that was included with another issue. We made a lot of new friends and fans because of them.

Julian Cope was also nice enough to write about us on his excellent headheritage.co.uk website. And I’m very proud of the fact that we have been featured on the High Times monthly Pot 40 chart consistently for the past year. It’s something that people send in votes for and we’ve been #1 a few times.

We’ve also received some really bad reviews that are very entertaining. One writer said it sounded like a bunch of 14 year olds in leather jackets and a Steve Miller fixation tell us how to write songs. They’re all up on mightyhigh.net for your enjoyment.

17. When and where are you playing next?

Our next show will be Thursday June 25 at Hank’s Saloon in Brooklyn. Hank’s is a total dive but is a very fun place to play and to see bands. It’s free and there are always plenty of local drunks and weirdos in the place to keep things interesting.

18. Do you have a myspace page?

Who doesn’t? We are at myspace.com/mightyhigh. We’re also on facebook at facebook.com/pages/Mighty-High/12157315873 and LastFM at last.fm/music/Mighty+High/...In+Drug+City

19. Do you have a website?

Yup, mightyhigh.net or mightyhigh.blogspot.com – they are one and the same.

20. How can people get in touch with you?

I check all of the above pretty regularly but the best way is via email at mightyhighrocks@yahoo.com

21. Anything you would like to add?

Our music is available from itunes, Amazon, CD Baby and direct from us. Go to mightyhigh.net for all the ordering info.

Lastly, thanks to MusicSpades for taking an interest in us. Cheers!