Not Your Friends’ raucous spirit is placed front-and-centre in this low-effort shitpost of an interview, which took them since last September to get together. But don’t let that fool you—Constructing a Mental Breakdown was actually one of the most exciting records of six months ago.
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The turn of the millenium saw mainstream success for heavier bands in nu-metal, rap-rock and even in some cases industrial metal. Has extreme music been marginalised since then? And if so, why?
It's been marginalized because people realized that Disturbed fucking sucks.
Constructing a Mental Breakdown was released through Bandcamp. What are the pros and cons of this method of distribution?
The pro of Bandcamp is that it gives creators the opportunity to seize the means of production and have (somewhat) direct control over their output. In Engels’ 1847 pamphlet Principles of Communism he states that “the proletariat is that class in society which lives entirely for the sale of its labour and does not draw profit from any line or capital; whose weal and woe, whose life and death, whose sole existence depends on the demand for labour.” Bandcamp breaks the typical barrier between the proletariat and typical means of production/distribution (in the context of the music industry) and gives artists control of their musical destiny. This is the pro.
This means that Bandcamp can become saturated with tons of music because of how simple it is for anyone to upload their work. Whether or not this is a pro or a con is for you to decide. In our view, having so much music at our fingertips in the digital age and being able to access such plethora of art is certainly a pro.
Proceeds of the album are going to Pittsburgh Action Against Rape. This and other charities like it do valuable work in picking up the government's slack. But why does this work fall to such organisations, and how can we encourage the government to accept more responsibility?
Revolution.
How do you go about composing a song? What's your starting point?
We set a timer for fifteen minutes and then light amber candles for ambience, turn all the lights out except for the light of our tuners, which we amplify with aluminium foil (which is wrapped around all of our instruments) and then channel nothing but the knudgiest of evil spirits to come through our 10x12s.
If any of us mess up a single note, we must restart the timer, and start from scratch. We only strive for the utmost perfection of every member. We constantly have metronomes going in our haus; while we make breakfast, while we brush our teeth, while we dress our mannequins that play "us" during live shows.
How did Not Your Friends come to be? Can you tell the story of the band's formation?
There I was, at my weekly SSiTSA (smelling socks in thrift stores anonymous) meeting, and I noticed one of the members of our rival Van Halen cover band. When we went outside after a particularly heavy session, I “bummed” a cig from my enemy, and it turned out that we had a lot in common.
Both thought that Van Hagar was the best iteration of the band, and that like, taped guitars are sick as fuck (lol) and that's when we said, “what if we made like, Weezer meets the doors?” And that's how this started. We talked to our friends in a local polka band and they let their least relevant member go to play shows with us. We were pretty stoked!
The cover artwork is striking. What was the inspiration behind using what looks like a dusted moth?
It was smushed on the stove. The moth
Do musicians have a moral responsibility, and can music change the world?
idk
Can you identify any influences in your approach to making music?
no
What was the riskiest decision you made when recording Constructing a Mental Breakdown?
Sending a sexy Spongebob meme to my crush.
Did you catch the new series of Twin Peaks, and if so, what did you make of it?
Never watched it.
What are some bands in your scene / local area you'd like to shout out?
Donnie Iris, Rusted Root, The Clarks.
Constructing a Mental Breakdown is available for purchase and streaming here.
If you’d rather circumvent the world’s first nihilist charity record, donate to Pittsburgh Action Against Rape here.
“Interview” conducted by Andrew O’Keefe