interview with rebel flesh
april 22, 2014
Every once in a while I think back to a time when everything around me was new and unspoiled. Finding new music was always an adventure, and I never took the easy route by getting into the same music that everyone around me gravitated toward. I shunned MTV and other cable music networks – preferring instead to rely on trips to hole-in-the-wall record shoppes and mail order ‘zines from record companies like Lookout! Records to find my next obsession.
Flash forward nearly twenty years and I’m coming to the sad realization that those days are long gone. With the responsibilities we are all saddled with in our adult lives – kids, a spouse, forty hours per week spent away from home performing mindless work – the possibility for road trips to Detroit or Ann Arbor in search of obscure records has become slim to less than none. But with this passage of time we have also seen the arrival of social media networking and a new ability to connect with people, record companies, promoters, and musicians everywhere around the world and share with others our long-lived appreciation of music that isn’t readily available in our own hometowns.
This is how I came to find the brilliant punk rock trio, Rebel Flesh. While regularly lurking punk pages on Facebook, one of the administrators of a group page was giving away music he had recorded with his band. He was giving them away – free of charge. He wasn’t asking for donations or deposits into a Paypal account. He was just getting his music out there. He was asking for anyone who was willing to give it a listen, to go ahead and do just that.
I gave it a go. Sure, why not? In an age when everyone is trying to sell you something, this guy was offering up what he was doing – something which obviously brought him joy – and just giving it away! I was blown away. This is what punk fucking rock is! And it’s good!
I got in touch with Mike O Rama and asked him if he and his band would be good enough to share their story with the rest of us.
Flash forward nearly twenty years and I’m coming to the sad realization that those days are long gone. With the responsibilities we are all saddled with in our adult lives – kids, a spouse, forty hours per week spent away from home performing mindless work – the possibility for road trips to Detroit or Ann Arbor in search of obscure records has become slim to less than none. But with this passage of time we have also seen the arrival of social media networking and a new ability to connect with people, record companies, promoters, and musicians everywhere around the world and share with others our long-lived appreciation of music that isn’t readily available in our own hometowns.
This is how I came to find the brilliant punk rock trio, Rebel Flesh. While regularly lurking punk pages on Facebook, one of the administrators of a group page was giving away music he had recorded with his band. He was giving them away – free of charge. He wasn’t asking for donations or deposits into a Paypal account. He was just getting his music out there. He was asking for anyone who was willing to give it a listen, to go ahead and do just that.
I gave it a go. Sure, why not? In an age when everyone is trying to sell you something, this guy was offering up what he was doing – something which obviously brought him joy – and just giving it away! I was blown away. This is what punk fucking rock is! And it’s good!
I got in touch with Mike O Rama and asked him if he and his band would be good enough to share their story with the rest of us.
First, tell us a little about yourself and your band.
I’m Jeremiah Ingram, I sing and play guitar.
I’m Michael Dempsey, I play the drums.
I’m Chris, I’m on bass.
How did you guys form the group?
Mike - I was on craigslist searching for musicians into horror and found Jeremiah
Chris - Our last band was no more and we wanted to start something new.
Jeremiah - I wrote a bunch of songs and recorded them in GarageBand. I put them up on Soundcloud and posted an ad on Austin Craigslist looking for band members. At first I wanted a drummer, bassist and a guitar player, I just wanted to focus on singing, but I soon realized that I wasn't going to find a guitar player that played the songs the way I heard them, so I decided to play guitar and sing. Mike and Chris responded to my CL post, we rehearsed and everything clicked pretty much right away. I auditioned a few other guys but I already knew I wanted Mike and Chris to be the band.
You've released an EP entitled 'The Dark'. What was the process going into that project, and how long did it take to record it?
Jeremiah -We actually never "officially" released our EP. We put the five songs up on Reverbnation for free download while we were trying to scrape together enough money to have seven inch records pressed. As far as the recording process goes, we recorded the band live in one room without vocals and went back and tracked the vocals separately so there wouldn't be any bleed over from the guitars or drums. All together, that EP took about six hours to record, mix and master. Stuart Lawrence of Ignitor was the engineer and he made it all very comfortable and fun.
I’m Jeremiah Ingram, I sing and play guitar.
I’m Michael Dempsey, I play the drums.
I’m Chris, I’m on bass.
How did you guys form the group?
Mike - I was on craigslist searching for musicians into horror and found Jeremiah
Chris - Our last band was no more and we wanted to start something new.
Jeremiah - I wrote a bunch of songs and recorded them in GarageBand. I put them up on Soundcloud and posted an ad on Austin Craigslist looking for band members. At first I wanted a drummer, bassist and a guitar player, I just wanted to focus on singing, but I soon realized that I wasn't going to find a guitar player that played the songs the way I heard them, so I decided to play guitar and sing. Mike and Chris responded to my CL post, we rehearsed and everything clicked pretty much right away. I auditioned a few other guys but I already knew I wanted Mike and Chris to be the band.
You've released an EP entitled 'The Dark'. What was the process going into that project, and how long did it take to record it?
Jeremiah -We actually never "officially" released our EP. We put the five songs up on Reverbnation for free download while we were trying to scrape together enough money to have seven inch records pressed. As far as the recording process goes, we recorded the band live in one room without vocals and went back and tracked the vocals separately so there wouldn't be any bleed over from the guitars or drums. All together, that EP took about six hours to record, mix and master. Stuart Lawrence of Ignitor was the engineer and he made it all very comfortable and fun.
The EP features five songs that you were basically giving away for free to anyone who would give it a listen. It would seem that the gamble has paid off. Tell us a little about the EP. What went into making it and where has it taken you thus far?
Jeremiah - Midnight Jamboree Records heard those five songs and signed us before we actually pressed anything.
Mike-The first 2 or 3 weeks after we recorded, I just emailed it to whoever would listen, just to make some fans. So far people seem to dig it.
You've listed T.S.O.L. as a band that has influenced you, along with the Misfits and the Damned. I was a little surprised at first to hear that So-Cal punk sound in your music. On one hand there are a lot of similarities between Texas and California, but, on the other hand, both are fiercely independent of each other. Was it a conscious decision to have that as part of your sound?
Mike - We like those bands, but we are definitely trying to do our own style.
Jeremiah - Really, the songs kind of took on their own life after Chris and Mike joined and it wasn't just me by myself playing the songs, so they grew out of all three of us in a natural way. The basic structure was there, but there was no conscious effort to sound a certain way.
I was in Dallas a while ago and I've found that there's a big misconception about Texas. It's a lot more culture than most people seem to realize. How does the music scene in Austin, Texas receive punk rock?
Jeremiah -All in all, Austin is pretty open to all kinds of music. It's really a college town, so kids like to throw down. There's a long history of punk music in Austin and it's launched some really awesome bands (The Skunks, The Big Boys, The Dicks, MDC, etc.), so we like it. It's home.
The vocals to your music are reminiscent of Mike Ness' early work with Social Distortion, and carry some pretty heavy imagery. Who handled writing the lyrics?
Jeremiah -I write the lyrics. I've been trying to write stuff since I was a kid, so along the way, I have developed my own style of writing.
There's a very mature sound to your music. You've also said that it's heavily influenced by 80's New Wave. What are some of those groups that have influenced your style?
Jeremiah -For me, I really like the Cure, the Cars, the Smiths, Psychedelic Furs, Talking Heads - stuff like that.
Mike - Me and Chris both grew up listening to Billy Idol and Adam Ant 80's was just a good time to get into music.
Jeremiah - Midnight Jamboree Records heard those five songs and signed us before we actually pressed anything.
Mike-The first 2 or 3 weeks after we recorded, I just emailed it to whoever would listen, just to make some fans. So far people seem to dig it.
You've listed T.S.O.L. as a band that has influenced you, along with the Misfits and the Damned. I was a little surprised at first to hear that So-Cal punk sound in your music. On one hand there are a lot of similarities between Texas and California, but, on the other hand, both are fiercely independent of each other. Was it a conscious decision to have that as part of your sound?
Mike - We like those bands, but we are definitely trying to do our own style.
Jeremiah - Really, the songs kind of took on their own life after Chris and Mike joined and it wasn't just me by myself playing the songs, so they grew out of all three of us in a natural way. The basic structure was there, but there was no conscious effort to sound a certain way.
I was in Dallas a while ago and I've found that there's a big misconception about Texas. It's a lot more culture than most people seem to realize. How does the music scene in Austin, Texas receive punk rock?
Jeremiah -All in all, Austin is pretty open to all kinds of music. It's really a college town, so kids like to throw down. There's a long history of punk music in Austin and it's launched some really awesome bands (The Skunks, The Big Boys, The Dicks, MDC, etc.), so we like it. It's home.
The vocals to your music are reminiscent of Mike Ness' early work with Social Distortion, and carry some pretty heavy imagery. Who handled writing the lyrics?
Jeremiah -I write the lyrics. I've been trying to write stuff since I was a kid, so along the way, I have developed my own style of writing.
There's a very mature sound to your music. You've also said that it's heavily influenced by 80's New Wave. What are some of those groups that have influenced your style?
Jeremiah -For me, I really like the Cure, the Cars, the Smiths, Psychedelic Furs, Talking Heads - stuff like that.
Mike - Me and Chris both grew up listening to Billy Idol and Adam Ant 80's was just a good time to get into music.
Any plans on taking the group on the road?
Jeremiah - No immediate plans for taking it on the road, but once we release our full length album, we'll see what happens.
Any groups you would kill for to play a show with?
Mike I would like to play with The Damned.
Chris - I would love to play with Toy Dolls or The Dickies.
Jeremiah - It'd be rad to open for Bad Religion.
Do you have any long-range goals for the band, or is it more of a fly by the seat of your pants outfit?
Mike -Just day by day. We’ll see where it takes us.
Chris - Putting out a few records would be good.
Jeremiah - Our main goal is to write and record killer jams.
If you could sell your soul to the Dark Lord right now, what would be your price?
Jeremiah - Maybe we already have sold our souls to the Dark Lord...
Mike - Year long paid vacation - I’m tired.
Chris - I come cheap…
That last question was just for kicks. Is there anything else you would like to say to the readers?
Listen to Rebel Flesh!
You can find rebel Flesh's EP 'the dark' on reverbnation here.
Jeremiah - No immediate plans for taking it on the road, but once we release our full length album, we'll see what happens.
Any groups you would kill for to play a show with?
Mike I would like to play with The Damned.
Chris - I would love to play with Toy Dolls or The Dickies.
Jeremiah - It'd be rad to open for Bad Religion.
Do you have any long-range goals for the band, or is it more of a fly by the seat of your pants outfit?
Mike -Just day by day. We’ll see where it takes us.
Chris - Putting out a few records would be good.
Jeremiah - Our main goal is to write and record killer jams.
If you could sell your soul to the Dark Lord right now, what would be your price?
Jeremiah - Maybe we already have sold our souls to the Dark Lord...
Mike - Year long paid vacation - I’m tired.
Chris - I come cheap…
That last question was just for kicks. Is there anything else you would like to say to the readers?
Listen to Rebel Flesh!
You can find rebel Flesh's EP 'the dark' on reverbnation here.