Muck and the Mires Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Feb 23rd 2010 12:25PM by Dan Marsicano
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The offspring of the early Beatles and late 70s Ramones, Muck and the Mires are taking garage rock to a whole new level. With matching outfits, fake pseudonyms, and an infectious sound, the band is one of the few modern acts that emphasized a carefree, fun attitude. Spinner recently spoke to vocalist/guitar Evan "Muck" Shore and drummer Jessie Best about playing the SXSW festival in March, a crazy night in Norway, and what 2010 holds for the band.

Describe Muck and the Mires' sound in your own words.

Muck: I would say we sound like the 1963 Beatles meets the Ramones. It's 60s garage rock with a 70s punk aggression and speed.

Jesse: I would just add to it that we're heavily influenced by those things, but we hope we create something brand new from it.

How did the band form?

Muck: I put out a collection of home demos that I had made with myself playing all the instruments. It was made as a gag. I wanted to see if I could make an album that sounded like 'Meet The Beatles.' The record ended up getting picked up by label out of Canada called AMP Records and they invited us to tour, so I had to put a band together and I assembled a band that had the band step into the fictitious names on the back of the record. The record was called 'The Best of Muck and the Mires.' So basically, we were probably the first band to have a greatest hits record out before we ever played together [laughs].

How did you come up with the band's name?

Muck: I did these home recordings on a lark, just trying to recreate great music from a great period in rock. I needed a name that matched up with the music that I created, which was the early 60s. Back then, everybody was someone and the somebody's.

What are your musical influences?

Muck: I would say early 60s British rock, the British invasion, 70s punk rock, and any great songwriter, going back as far as Irving Berlin to the 50s with Buddy Holly and the 60s with Lennon and McCartney. Basically, if it's a great song with melody, that's my influence.

Jesse: I grew up with the Beatles as well, but I like Joe Jackson, early Alice Cooper, The Four Seasons, and Buddy Holly. Maybe I approach some of the same stuff with a little heavier drumming, but I'm still influenced and still love the feel of that early 60s stuff.

Why do you feel the need to have fictitious pseudonyms?

Muck: This originated because of the fact that the album was out before the band was formed. It listed these two guys named Mire in the band and the singer was Joey Muckarino, which we shortened to Muck. It started as kind of a side project and a fun thing, so why not just step into this fictitious band and use those names? Looking back on it [laughs], we might not have chosen those particular names. You have to walk around with the name Muck now, but there's worse things that we've been called, I suppose [laughs].

Your latest album "Hypnotic" came out last year. Tell me a little bit about the creation of it and your proudest moment on the record.

Muck: The proudest moment for us was getting to work with Kim Fowley, the producer. He's done everything from 'Alley Oop' in the 50s with The Hollywood Argyles to literally forming Joan Jett and the Runaways and writing records for KISS and Gene Vincent, real rock n' roll legends. The mainstream might not know Kim Fowley, but in our world, he's a god and having him want to produce Muck and the Mires was definitely a dream come true.

What's the one thing you're excited for about the SXSW festival?

Jesse: For me, I love seeing our friends. We always see just the best bands and we've created these great friendships with them and it's almost like a homecoming when we get down there. We get to see great musicians and great bands and we get to be a part of it, so it's always really fun.

What's in your festival survival kit?

Jesse: Our new material is the most important thing we're bringing. We had the pleasure of working with Jim Diamond in Detroit on our next record. We did it at the end of 2009 and he was just an absolute pleasure to work with. The cool thing is he's worked with a lot of bands we've come to love, like the Love Me Nots and The White Stripes.

Muck: Probably a list of all the shows we want to see. There's so much music going on that unless you write down whose where and at what time, you're going to miss it.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

Muck: The last show of our last European tour, at one of Norway's most famous porn star's house. I really can't disclose what we saw. It was Halloween in Norway, which I guess they only recently discovered, so you can imagine the costumes and the mayhem, but that was up there.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

Muck: For me, that's easy. Its bubblegum music; anything from The Archies to 1910 Fruitgum Company.

Jesse: Jim Croce, that's the only thing I could come up with [laughs].

Beatles or Stones?

Muck: Beatles, definitely.

What's your biggest vice?

Muck: Playing Jesse's drums [laughs].

What does 2010 hold for the band?

Muck: Obviously, South by Southwest and as Jesse mentioned, we recorded with Jim Diamond of The White Stripes fame and we're using South by Southwest to launch those recordings to the industry and hopefully get those out before year's end, in time for a European tour in the fall. We're also looking to tour the US.

If you could tour with one band, past or present, who would it be and why?

Muck: I would have to tour with the 70s Stones because I saw 'Cocksucker Blues' and they had a great time on that tour [laughs]. They just don't have fun like that anymore.

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