I did this interview with DFJ on November 18, 2007
Mind Eraser Interview
Boston’s Mind Eraser starting ruling the world in 2003 with the release of their demo. DFJ has drummed in just about every awesome Boston band of the past decade including Mental and Righteous Jams but takes the vocal duties in this band. They released their first LP “Cave” in 2005 on Painkiller Records and did a US tour with Say Goodbye and Soul Swallower to follow. The summer of 2006 saw the release of their second full length “Glacial Reign” and another US tour and most recently they came West to play the Sound and Fury Festival in July. Now Mind Eraser has a release on Youngblood Records planned and a collaboration with Fucked Up in the works. In November I got a chance to talk to DFJ about Mind Eraser and a little about some of his other bands.
When is Mind Eraser going to get back out on the road and play California again?
Justin: maybe never im not sure. if we were to do it it would be in the summer time since thats the only time those dudes could get off work.
What is the latest on the release you guys are doing for Young Blood Records? What direction are you guys going with the new material?
Justin: we are working on two releases right now. the 7'' for youngblood is more of a no comment style with short disgustingly brutal songs and the other release (on a label TBA) is 2 songs around 12-13 minutes long which is more slower and dirgey almost comparable to our later stuff mixed with hellhammer or winter.
The collaborative 12" with Fucked Up, I'm beginning to think it's a hoax and never existed, am I right?
Justin: it will happen one day my friend, trust me.
That Stupid Records tape compilation looks awesome, will it feature new songs from all the bands, specifically Mind Eraser and when is it coming out?
Justin: yup, exclusive tracks from every band on there. We just recorded the mind eraser song and its more of a ENT/doom inspired track. look for the comp to be out at the end of the year...
What were your intentions on "Glacial Reign" as opposed to what you did with "Cave"? What influences were most prevalent on both albums? Both records are great in their own ways, just different.
Justin: well with glacial reign i think we came into our own and developed our own sound where cave was more straight forward crossed out mixed with some classic bhc/nyhc. im way more into GR not only because its more original and darker but also because of the doom/stoner metal/earache back catalog influences which you can probably hear haha. you can still hear the crossed out/infest/citizens arrest in there though
Who did the artwork for each record?
Justin: the artwork on cave is from a wood cutting from the middle ages and the one on glacial reign was actually done by an old friend of cc's (our guitarist) from high school named kris range. we were psyched on how it came out.
How did Mind Eraser form?
Justin: me and cc always talked about playing in a band that was influenced by most of the first wave of cali poweviolence along with old d-beat and grind/death metal so one day at about 6am we wrote a bunch of songs and recorded it. it wasnt really intended to go as far as it has but im glad it did.
What are some of the craziest sets you guys have played and what cities always seem to be the best to play?
Justin: hmm the craziest set we played was in toronto a few weeks back with fucked up. really fucking violent. santa cruz this summer was out of control too. a 100 man pillow fight which lasted the whole set.
ridiculous. lets see mobile alabama is always insane and a lot of west coast shows are nuts. richmond va is full of savages too.
You guys have done some great covers, (Siege, Meat Puppets and even Think I Care) any bands Mind Eraser is planning to cover in the future?
Justin: id love to do creeping death (which we always talked about doing) and maybe death camps, but since im the only one in the band whos vegetarian i doubt it will ever happen. we always do covers so im sure you will hear a shitload more.
Lyrically, and as far as imagery, what is the main theme Mind Eraser goes for?
Boston’s Mind Eraser starting ruling the world in 2003 with the release of their demo. DFJ has drummed in just about every awesome Boston band of the past decade including Mental and Righteous Jams but takes the vocal duties in this band. They released their first LP “Cave” in 2005 on Painkiller Records and did a US tour with Say Goodbye and Soul Swallower to follow. The summer of 2006 saw the release of their second full length “Glacial Reign” and another US tour and most recently they came West to play the Sound and Fury Festival in July. Now Mind Eraser has a release on Youngblood Records planned and a collaboration with Fucked Up in the works. In November I got a chance to talk to DFJ about Mind Eraser and a little about some of his other bands.
When is Mind Eraser going to get back out on the road and play California again?
Justin: maybe never im not sure. if we were to do it it would be in the summer time since thats the only time those dudes could get off work.
What is the latest on the release you guys are doing for Young Blood Records? What direction are you guys going with the new material?
Justin: we are working on two releases right now. the 7'' for youngblood is more of a no comment style with short disgustingly brutal songs and the other release (on a label TBA) is 2 songs around 12-13 minutes long which is more slower and dirgey almost comparable to our later stuff mixed with hellhammer or winter.
The collaborative 12" with Fucked Up, I'm beginning to think it's a hoax and never existed, am I right?
Justin: it will happen one day my friend, trust me.
That Stupid Records tape compilation looks awesome, will it feature new songs from all the bands, specifically Mind Eraser and when is it coming out?
Justin: yup, exclusive tracks from every band on there. We just recorded the mind eraser song and its more of a ENT/doom inspired track. look for the comp to be out at the end of the year...
What were your intentions on "Glacial Reign" as opposed to what you did with "Cave"? What influences were most prevalent on both albums? Both records are great in their own ways, just different.
Justin: well with glacial reign i think we came into our own and developed our own sound where cave was more straight forward crossed out mixed with some classic bhc/nyhc. im way more into GR not only because its more original and darker but also because of the doom/stoner metal/earache back catalog influences which you can probably hear haha. you can still hear the crossed out/infest/citizens arrest in there though
Who did the artwork for each record?
Justin: the artwork on cave is from a wood cutting from the middle ages and the one on glacial reign was actually done by an old friend of cc's (our guitarist) from high school named kris range. we were psyched on how it came out.
How did Mind Eraser form?
Justin: me and cc always talked about playing in a band that was influenced by most of the first wave of cali poweviolence along with old d-beat and grind/death metal so one day at about 6am we wrote a bunch of songs and recorded it. it wasnt really intended to go as far as it has but im glad it did.
What are some of the craziest sets you guys have played and what cities always seem to be the best to play?
Justin: hmm the craziest set we played was in toronto a few weeks back with fucked up. really fucking violent. santa cruz this summer was out of control too. a 100 man pillow fight which lasted the whole set.
ridiculous. lets see mobile alabama is always insane and a lot of west coast shows are nuts. richmond va is full of savages too.
You guys have done some great covers, (Siege, Meat Puppets and even Think I Care) any bands Mind Eraser is planning to cover in the future?
Justin: id love to do creeping death (which we always talked about doing) and maybe death camps, but since im the only one in the band whos vegetarian i doubt it will ever happen. we always do covers so im sure you will hear a shitload more.
Lyrically, and as far as imagery, what is the main theme Mind Eraser goes for?
Justin: mostly dealing with internal problems since thats what i can relate to most. i dont really like writing lyrics about social issues or preaching a certain lifestyle since its not really my business tell anyone how to live. ill address what i see around me but I try to keep in mind that what im seeing is through my eyes and may not always be the truth.
What is your take on organized religion and do you subscribe to any type of belief system?
Justin: i have my own beliefs but id rather not discuss them because they dont represent the band in any way. As far as organized religion goes i think that it can do a lot of damage as far as corruption and exploiting people who are for the most part sincere. i dunno its a total double edged sword because i can understand why it exists. it is what it is. eventhough i think that religious fanatics are fucked up i think that people have the right to believe whatever they want and im not gonna condemn anyone who has beliefs no matter how ridiculous i think they are. i do have a problem with people shoving something down my throat especially if they know im not interested.
What are your opinions on politics and the world at large in 2007, major issues we should be worrying about?
Justin: ahhh who the fuck knows. its so hard to know what is really truth and what is just bullshit since obviously no one in the media is objective and everyone puts their own spin on "the issues". whether you admit it or not the information we get is filtered through a biased media. theres no way around it unless you are on the frontlines of whats going on. regardless , I dont really buy into the whole conspiracy crap that a lot of people my age try forcefeed everyone. most of that is fringe internet ramblings that have gone on for years only the names and culprits change whenever there is a changing of the guard. cc is real into that shit you should talk to him hahaha....anyway there are alwyas gonna be lunatics in power who want to exploit and manipulate people, it will never change. the world is fucked up and filled with sickos but luckily there are also some really wonderful people and help me make life somewhat tolerable .
Give me your top 5 favorite records of all-time.
Justin: oh damn that is tough. anyway its not written in stone but i would say..
agnostic front-victim in pain
cro-mags-age of quarrel
gza/genius-liquid swords
black sabbath-vol. 4
aerosmith-rocks
oh yeah citizens arrest "a light in the darkness" is my favorite 7'' ever
something like that i dunno
Top 5 current bands that everybody needs to check out.
Justin: breathing fire, waste management, rival mob, witch tomb, birth defect
I couldn't get through an interview with you without asking about your other bands, so are Dead Black and Step Forward putting out records anytime soon?
Justin: dead black is gonna do a single on painkiller and eventually an lp on who knows what label. step forward just recorded a song for my comp and we are writing more songs for maybe another 7''. who the hell knows when that will come out but we got a bunch of tunes rip roarin and ready to go
Is that Soul Swallower record an imaginary concept or will it ever happen?
Justin: the lp is completely written. we have been so busy with other recordings that its kinda been on the back burner but once the weather gets super cold we will unleash the beast. its gonna be ugly.
Any chance Righteous Jams starts doing stuff again or is a breakup coming? Will there be a last show in California?
Justin: nah rj is done for good. im not opposed to a last show in cali but i will only do it if nathan is playing guitar.
Have you ever counted all the bands you've been in and if so, was it over 50? haha
Justin: haha nah. there are a lot of horrible bands ive been in that i wouldnt want to think about.
Any new bands in the works?
Justin: got a project with ban from scapegoat called boston strangler that is pretty disgusting sounding. we only have two songs but its really hard. also i got a new band with members of waste management called men's interest. we got the singer shaun from cold sweat to front the band and its really creepy sounding. Our bassist wears a diaper too.
hmm lemme see if i got anyting else....i make hip hop beats but that never goes anywhere. oh yeah i got a band called celibate monk with my main man josh who used to play drums in soul swallower. sounds like a mix between mind eraser and soul swallower haha.
What rules in your life right now?
Justin: shit. well music and recording of course. ive gotten big into running also. i dunno if you like sports but the patriots are dismantling everyone so thats a lot of fun to watch.
What are the coolest things to do in the Boston area?
Justin: nothing. boston is a mean little city and its super boring. nonetheless we have the best hc bands.
What are your hobbies outside of music?
Justin: i like sci fi, running, eating a lot and sleeping a ton. im what you would call a waste of life.
Closing thoughts?
Justin: nah. thanks for the interview...get ready for the stupid records movement. its gonna hit like a tsunami. also sorry for all the typos im on some bogus ass keyboard.
Mind Eraser Blogspot
Painkiller Records Site
Dead Black
Step Forward
Stupid Records
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