MINDROUGHT are Aaron Moore, Phelan Young, TKO Detroit and Mike Casadei. Metal band based in Detroit, “the world’s only Basscore band, with sound like no other band in the Detroit area”. They describe their music as different, unique, funky, technical and very progressive. I spoke to the band, about being badasses, their music, metal music generally and Detroit.
You describe your music as a Basscore. I would describe it as a Badasscore. Do you like it?
Aaron: I personally am probably the biggest fan of our music…
TKO: After all the oversaturation in the world, Mindrought music is a breath of fresh air. I like your terminology for us, maybe I’ll change our genre to Badasscore… (laughter) We totally strive to be unique and different, hence the lead bass aspect of our music. Alot of bands want the best lead guitarist, we want the best bassist!
Mike: Sure, I love the term basscore, it’s always good to be in a classification of our own.
Is Mindrought a bunch of badasses?
Mike: Yes we’re badasses. Bad ass musicians!
Aaron: I think being a “badass” is an attitude, a state of mind, where you never back down and are never afraid to deviate from what most people consider “The Norm”. In that regard we are the baddest.
TKO: Don’t you have to be badass just to survive Detroit? (Laughter) Everyone is an accomplished musician and Phelan plays Bassoon in 3 orchestras.
Your songs are very well produced. Can you tell me a bit more Mick Maslowski?
Aaron: Dude is a goddamn genius, period. He does things to bring out certain aspects of the music that even we, the people who wrote and perform it, didn’t think were possible.
TKO: Mick runs Zoinga and is the best youngest producer in the US. Lucky for us, he lives in MI. You get 15 seconds to be judged, Mick makes us pass the test!
I heard that Detroit went bancrupt. What does it mean for you as a band from Detroit?
Aaron: It means, to me at least, that now there is no better time to get out of Detroit and not to abandon it and our fellow musicians and fans, but to bring attention to the fact that there is still something that Detroit has to offer the world other than a great punch line. We have a great music heritage and it’s still running strong so pay attention to it.
TKO: The funny thing is the local scene is very down because of lack of money in the region. Big names can only draw and alot of local bands suffer. I guess if you’re from southeast Michigan you say you are from Detroit and it’s supposed to give you merit in the big world, because of what has came from here in the past. Even the tough times Detroit is facing, we, as a group, embrace all the rich music history of the “D”, and are still proud to represent this city. Hope has to be the biggest word right now.
Is your song “Panic In the D” in any way the answer to the economic situation in your city?
Aaron: It does have some bearing on the dire situation that is facing us as a community, but it’s more of a call to arms than an answer.
TKO: We knew that some time in our career it would be times for some remakes, due to unusual way we look at things. Phelan and the Chapman stick can play two parts at once. Since the disc was titled “Represent the D”, we chose two songs from the 70′s, which had some corelation to Detroit. “Panic In The D” was a nice obvious choice for us, and our drummers punk roots were able to shine a little bit. Second choice was Alice Cooper “Go to Hell”. “Panic” was broken down to basics, rewrote and certain parts were assigned to certain instruments. The stick plays leads on track also. In the end the timing of the release went hand in hand with the state of Detroit and still is ringing in their ears…
Your music is very loud and angry, so I was surprised to hear song “Father”, much different than your other songs. I would say: “Father” proves that devil sometimes cry too. What’s the story behind this song?
Aaron: I wrote this song as a homage to my father who has been and continues to be one of the main driving forces behind my music. I need to state that he is alive, well, and still kicking ass. However, we had a tragedy in my family involving my wifes father after I had the song written. When I listened to the song after this tragic event it just made sense to add the last verse as a means to show love and mourning for it. After I had written the song I brought it to the guys and they were so supportive of my desire to express the emotions that I was feeling that, even though its not the normal Mindrought sound, they were all for releasing it. But that’s kind of our thing, we are never to pigeon-holed into being labeled as any kind of band. If we want to do a song, we do it. Period.
Someone said that the sound of Mindrought is brutal. Does being brutal help you in any way? What’s the point of being brutal?
TKO: The point of being so brutal is so we don’t kill anyone.
Aaron: There is alot more to our music than just the sheer brutality, which is there as well, but if you listen to the complexities and intricacies of the actual music, you will realize that what you are hearing is musicianship at its best. Being brutal helps me, vocally at least, to get the emotion of what I’m hearing when I hear the songs out to the public. It gets the point across and touches things inside that being subtle and calm won’t do.
TKO: I think there are a million more bands brutaler than us (laughter) Across 14 years and 6 releases, we have definitely gotten brutal at times and those songs came from what we were feeling at that time. “Drama Machine” was actually written about me and some internal band conflicts of that time period. Off the new CD, “Silverspoon” (F.K.M.) was written about our old drummer who left in very bad fashion… Not all of our songs are brutal and alot are very emotional. Our song “Tight” was a Detroit radio hit in 2008 and we never have been afraid to tackle any genre in our songwriting. One thing that stands out in our music is our singers vocals. You can pretty much understand every word that Aaron sings or screams and that can mean alot in being accesible to a wider audience, instead of being labeled just a screamer group. Songs like “Voiceless”, “Lonely”, and “Outside”, are not really heavy. Our song “Us” just rated 8.0 on Reverbnation radio testing and won us front page promotion. I’d much rather be brutal than light as a feather.
You can tell everything about your music, but you can’t say it’s not good. It just stay on the same high level through your all songs. Is that easy to keep the high quality level?
Aaron: Its a challenge to me everytime we play together even when we play the same songs we’ve been playing for years to keep up with the skill and intensity that Phelan, TKO, and Mike bring to the table.
TKO: Embrace the history, I’ve always set the standard high for Mindrought. Think please. It’s always been 180% of what would come normal. We try parts left, right and upside down. It’s about what’s best for the song and then Phelan gets to go nuts. Having songs that can stand the test of time and having songs people walk way singing after your show is freakin sweet. Even though we consistently move forward, write new, drop old, we still get asked to play the old songs. It gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling, I love our fans.
You have new album released. Please tell me more about it. Who should buy it?
Mike: Kick ass metal for people who like kick ass metal. We would like to people from all walks of life, as far as who should buy the album. My target are thinking musicians.
Aaron: Everyone should buy it! (laughter).
TKO: We’ve released two albums in under 1 year. 2012 saw the release of “Resolution”, which contained “Trepidation”, “Us”, “Not My Time To Die”, “Avogodro’s Number”, “By The Hands Of Man” and a remake of our first song, “Drama “Machine”. 2013 we released “Represent the D”, which contains “Panic In The D”, “Go To Hell”, “Silverspoon” and “Father”. We’ve never really been about makin money off sales, it’s more about getting the music out. A few years ago we gave away over 3000 free cd’s in one year. We ask you to go download our music for free at https://www.reverbnation.com/mindrought. In exchange for free music we hope you go like our facebook page. Seems the labels want more twitter followers and likes. Can you help??? (Laughter). We are hoping this interview gives us some exposure to someone who normally wouldn’t see us because we’re unsigned at this moment.
In your opinion, is America metal-friendly country?
Aaron: It’s getting there. Unfortunately there is a lot of watered down metal that is popular right now and thats pushing the more unique bands who have their own sound and style into the shadows and that’s a shame.
TKO: Were doing what we can! America is very metal friendly but metal dosen’t make the headlines. Can someone please take out the Bieber??? Please????
Are you gonna continue metal drive or maybe you are thinking about experimenting with the sound, and looking for new ways of expression?
Aaron: We might throw in some other genres here and there. I mean “Trepidation” has a beautifully composed jazz style breakdown, but at our hearts I think we all agree that we are a metal band. That’s what we want to be known as. You will not see us on tour with Green Day or Nickelback, I guarantee it.
TKO: Bands grow, bands evolve… Throughout our history it’s always been about having an exceptional bassist, that will never change. We are not afraid to tackle anything, and “Father” shows that. Everyone in the band are songwrites and that feature in itself gives us a great advantage. If a member brings in a riff and it blows us away, it’s bombs away! It dosent matter, we’re open to everything. I’m trying to find a way to mix Mindrought metal with Dubstep for shits and giggles. Why not… The world is ours for the takin’.
Check out MINDROUGHT music at
https://www.reverbnation.com/mindrought
Like them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MINDROUGHT
Catch MINDROUGHT on tour “Escape from Detroit” soon! The tour from MI to FL and back up the coast.
