COVER BOYS Moutheater on the cover of SevenCities' SOUND WinterSpring09

Have you ever been hit head-on by a speeding truck?  No? Well, I can tell you exactly what it feels like. But first you have to assume that this would be a surprise collision. It would have to be in order to be head-on because one can only hope that if any one of us saw a truck speeding toward us we would get the hell out of the way. Which means the hypothetical truck would hit you in some type of scrambling motion which just won’t work for the analogy I’ve got planned for this ridiculous set-up. Let’s also say, for the sake of prose, that you’re sipping a Sprite when this truck sneaks up on you. So it goes like this: You take a nice big gulp of your Sprite and think to yourself, “Man, that sure is cold and refresh-” BAM! You just got hit by a speeding truck.  Now you’re just laying there, brains and Sprite all over the place and ruing your jacket, thinking – You’re not thinking anything because you just got hit by a truck. Now, it’s obvious that I’ve never been hit head-on by a speeding truck and it’s a little difficult to ask anyone who has to describe it to me, but I think I’ve got a pretty good grasp on human/truck interaction because I’m sure it’s a lot like seeing Moutheater live.  (You see, this is where the analogy pays off.) It’s the same scenario, but you’re in a non-descript local watering hole and sipping something stronger than Sprite while you wait for the show to start when – BAM!  Now you’re lying on the floor, brains and PBR all over the place and ruining your snazzy new jeans, thinking, “Damn, this band is loud!” Of course, Moutheater is more than just loud in that angsty teenage garage band sense of the word.  Moutheater is loud in that heavy and intense way that invokes passion and stimulates something primal.  Dig a little deeper and you’re sure to find that these guys draw their influences from the ’90s – the concise structure of Mudhoney and Nirvana, the experimentalism of Swans and Sonic Youth and the fervor of Helmet and Jesus Lizard – as well as the obvious crust-punk and noise influences that compliment the metal tendencies quite nicely.  It’s the fact that this trio digests all of these influences and spit them out into a cohesive and distinct sound that give Moutheater that truck-like power.

BEHIND THE SCENES SevenCities' editor Hannah Serrano snaps one of Moutheater during a rehearsal/photo shoot with DCPG.

But Moutheater is more than just primal intensity and volume or I wouldn’t be pecking away at this keyboard for their sake.  Moutheater is also a diligent and determined band with a work ethic to match their sound – fast and forceful.  The local trio of Andrew Aircraft (guitars, vocals), Tim Gault (drums) and Aaron Fishaw (bass, backing vocals) haven’t been together quite two years yet and they’ve already debuted the Lot Lizard 7-inch with the legendary Steve Albini at the helm, inked a deal with Nashville-based Thrashed Records, released an insanely popular split 7-inch with German band Vegas and have amassed lots and lots of touring under they’re undoubtedly studded belts.  Their full length, Ornament, is slated for a May 2009 release and an American tour is sure to follow. But let’s start at the beginning and with the thing that gets the most raised eyebrows; how did that whole Albini thing happen?  For those of you who aren’t too familiar with the “Albini sound”, he’s responsible for the production of at least ten of your favorite albums and is partly responsible for said albums’ greatness due to his meticulous tracking and organic approach to recording crisp drums.  I would love to list some of his significant works here, but I wouldn’t know when to stop.  The legendary producer’s worked with the likes of The Pixies, Nine Inch Nails, Neurosis, Nirvana and everyone else, so how did these local guys find themselves in Chicago recording in Albini’s legendary Electrical Audio studio?  Well, to hear Andrew Aircraft tell it, it was going to happen one way or the other. “It’s not some mystery.” he tells me over a Shirley Temple, “Albini is Tim’s fucking idol and he is constantly in search of that Albini drum sound, that natural sound that he’s able to achieve.  Tim had booked some time to record with Albini before Moutheater had even formed because he just wanted to see how Steve worked.  He was in a band at the time that he was going to take up there and I was just going to go as the guitar tech, but that ended up not happening and Moutheater just started.  Moutheater was, basically, perfect to go up there.  Especially for Tim to see how (Albini) has achieved that sound that he has on countless 90s records.” That’s right, despite their raucous and soon-to-be legendary live shows, Moutheater got their start as a studio band.  And I mean, literally, it all started in a studio. Having been in “a bunch of bands” over the years, Andrew had formed a friendship with Tim Through recording in his Double O studio.  This led to the two hanging out in the studio after hours to “make noise until, like, four in the morning.”  In fact, to hear him tell it, Andrew didn’t see this band coming. “Moutheater was just kind of a concept where we all really loved the 90s stuff.  The Melvins, Nirvana, Jesus Lizard – love that stuff.  So we had this idea where we’d mix that stuff with heavier noise rock and crust-punk stuff.  Se we had this concept and we just ended up writing for it.” Sure, it doesn’t have the romanticism of a bunch of high school friends pounding their way out of their garage and into Albini’s studio, but what Moutheater lack in dramatic back story they more than make up for with an impassioned live show and a real love for making music.  And they’ve taken that live show and love on the road in order to spread that passion to anyone who will listen. “(The tour) was good.” Andrew reminisces, “It was fun and despite a few health issues, it did okay financially, especially for a first tour.  We did a few shows with Prideswallower, but the Nashville show got shut down after our set and they didn’t get to play.  We played down in somebody’s basement and we were just too loud so they shut us down.” While I’m sure this was a well-organized house party, the idea of someone’s parent’s lying in their bed trying to read Tom Clancy while Moutheater emits truck-like power under their home really amuses me.  This puts some romanticism back into the Moutheater story. There’s another great story from Andrew regarding a patron of one of their shows and his enthusiasm about seeing Moutheater for the first time that would have been really fitting to quote here.  But, while the story was PG-13 in nature, Andrew called after the interview and requested that I omit said story out of respect for his day job status.  And I totally respect that so you’ll just have to trust me that it was a pretty awesome quote. The fact that the PR machine is already in motion for such a new local band begs the question: What makes Moutheater different? Why do they do that elicits such a positive response from our discerning music community? “I don’t know.” Andrew tells me, “I’m not gonna get too caught up in anything like that. We’re just making music and having fun. That’s what it comes down to. Honestly, we’re just psyched that people are talking about our band. As terrible as it sounds, we Google that shit and if we find anything we send it to each other. We’re totally excited that anyone would take the time to write two paragraphs about a record that we put out.” And people are taking to time to talk about Moutheater.  And, as much as Andrew hates to get caught up in that, it’s hard to not get the impression that people think this band is different.  Having previously been in a few bands with some recognition (Of Lilies and Remains, Rose Hollow, The Difference), he has to have an idea about what makes this one different, right? “We’re older and more mature, I guess. We’re just making records that we like and it doesn’t matter whether anyone else likes it or not.  When we started this it was ‘let’s just do this’ and if something happens… Whatever. It’s not really based on how I’ll make my living doing music. I went through that phase when I was younger. I was in some bands and that didn’t work out. In my mid-20s I just realized that I had to get a job.” Andrew says job with the same type of inflection that one might say death or audit or cockroach, so I remain unconvinced that he’s okay with a decidedly un-rock lifestyle. “So I got a job and I’m in this band, too.” He continues,” And if this thing starts making money one day then that’s awesome. If not, that’s cool too. I’m still making music and having fun hanging out with my buddies. I don’t think it can be said enough that we just do what we do.” (It’s true, Andrew says “we do what we do” quite a bit.) OK, fair enough. But these guys are off to a good start. For starters, there’s the mysterious signing to Thrashed Records. “I don’t know whether (Mike from Thrashed) said something to us or we asked him, but he was into it and we put a record out” There’s also the releases on Swim Harder cassettes which is less of a mystery as Andrew runs the cassette-only label. And have I mentioned that whole Albini thing yet?  Of course, there’s the new record to be released on Thrashed. “People will see a wider range of stuff going on with the new record.  We’re doing a little bit more experimenting.” Andrew seems reluctant to make any assumptions about Ornament, “The people that like the old stuff will still like this record. We’re not just throwing everything out the window; we’re just expanding our musical palette a little bit. But we’re still doing what we do.” I won’t make any predictions about Moutheater’s future aside from saying I, along with many others, have high hopes for this band, but I think Andrew sums up their future best: “I don’t wear earplugs. It’s a terrible idea and I’ll probably be deaf by the time I’m 30.” That seems fitting. For the record, I was hit by a truck when I was seven, but it technically only hit my bike and I merely suffered first-degree burns.  And I don’t think that was anything like seeing Moutheater live.  That just sucked.

COVER BOYS Local trio Andrew Aircraft (guitars, vocals), Tim Gault (drums) and Aaron Fishaw (bass, backing vocals)