HIGH FIVES: The Menzingers

by Sam Sutherland

December 10, 2010

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Every week, High Fives asks five bands five themed questions over five days. This week, we are, naturally, sitting on our hands until the deluxe edition of Beyonce’s I Am… Sasha Fierce DVD/CD arrives in the mail. To kill time, we’re discussing alter-egos in music with some other people.

Hailing from Scranton, Pennsylvania (also known as the “Jewel of the Anthracite Coal Mining Belt”), the Menzingers first started grabbing the attention of orgcore punk-types when they released their first demo in 2006. Followed by A Lesson in the Abuse of Information Technology in 2007, the band teamed up with noted punk producer Matt Alison, the man responsible for much of the Lawrence Arms and Alkaline Trio’s best records, for this year’s Chamberlain Waits. A subtle, strong record that moves from Billy Bragg-style minimalism to full-on, abrasive ragers, it’s a record with varied themes and sounds, held together by the duel songwriting talents of guitarists Tom May (whose answers appear here) and Greg Barnett. The band began a brief tour of Ontario and Quebec last night in Quebec City, along with the Flatliners, Fake Problems, and Mockingbird Wish Me Luck, and they play Ottawa tonight. The rest of the dates can be found on their MySpace.

Who has the greatest alter-ego in music?

Hmm… I would have to go with Gwar. If you’re going to have an alter ego, you might as well go all out. I’ve yet to experience all that is Gwar first hand, but I do remember watching a clip of them appearing on an American talk show where two of them used their alter egos to make a few brilliant and satirical comments on society. It was fucking hilarious. I’d say Gorillaz and Dethklok tie for a close second, followed directly by The Aquabats. Fuck, I forgot about the Village People. The whole homosexuality vibe quietly latching onto middle American lives was pretty awesome.

Who has the worst alter-ego in music?

This is a hard one. At what point do entertainers who project their manufactured ego upon an audience become an alter ego in and of themselves? Because, you know, P Diddy be straight from the block and Michael Graves is definitely not a delusional insecure weirdo or anything. When being perceived only through videos, lyrics, and interviews, I guess all entertainers develop some kind of alter ego, consciously or unconsciously. Even we kind of do I guess. But, okay, seriously, the worst alter ego in music was this kid who played in a band we once played with in Williamsburg. She was dressed in a full horse-riding outfit and was playing an out-of-tune bass to horrible shitdicking art-trash stupidity rock. God, she sucked. The only way that alter ego wouldn’t suck is if she developed the story line to include her falling off of Grandpa’s 500,000 dollar thoroughbred, breaking her neck and dying. Also, the Misfits. They suck (I must stress I speak for myself and not the rest of the band on that one).

If you had to invent an alter-ego for yourself, who would it be?

Agent Dale Cooper.

How much bad/strange/offensive behavior can reasonably be blamed on an alter-ego?

A lot, especially if the behavior genuinely serves to forward the idea or art or whatever of the ego. You can take the incredible, genius satire of Stephen Colbert and Sasha Baron Cohen as an example. I really can’t think of anything these two could do that would be ‘too much’.

How much do “more serious” genres / bands suffer from the lack of alternate personalities present in their scene?

One easy way to ensure that you don’t take yourself too seriously can be to come up with a hilarious alter ego. Catering to and developing an awesome alter ego would take a hankerin’ for theatrics. A lot of music people are also into theater, but the typical cast-out badass rock dude usually didn’t spend much time listening to Oklahoma. Although I guess that doesn’t really make sense since so many metal bands are all about looking dead. So yeah, music can use a lot less of the denial-style alter egos and a bunch more of the over-the-top kind.

What’s one band you’ve played with who would benefit from some makeup and a new stage name?

There is a band from Pennsylvania called Captain We’re Sinking. I really think they would benefit from a Star Wars or Middle Earth DnD themed get up, complete with some zoophile personas, a high sugar diet, and comic books. They could take their bass player, dress him up like a tiger, then set him on fire and praise him as a level 33 Bard while guiding Frodo to Endor and rolling a twenty sided die for dexterity.

Tags: Music, News, the menzingers

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