Fall Prey To Manntis
July 5, 2006
Manntis’ appearance on the MTV series Battle for Ozzfest may cause some to think of the band as an overnight success. But this is a hard-working act that has toured virtually nonstop, starting before the release of their debut album, Sleep in Your Grave, in June 2005. As the current touring cycle nears its end,
band members are excited to expand their sound with their next release, due in spring 2007. Greg Maki of Live-Metal.net caught up with vocalist Jake Sirokman and guitarist Daniel “D-Rock” Racadio (with an occasional comment from new drummer Andre Morales, who was in the room checking in on MySpace during the interview) backstage at the Recher Theatre in Towson, Md.
Live-Metal: In the year since the album came out, you've had a few lineup changes, the new drummer being the most recent one. How's it working out?
Jake: It’s been great. He’s doing an awesome job. He’s one of the biggest alcoholics I know. But, no, he came in, we’ve known him for years. He was in a band prior with D-Rock and also with [guitarist] Adair [Cobley] back in the day. But, yeah, we’re giggin’ him, and we’re just ready to get into the studio to start working with him, kick his ass a little bit.
Has there been any hazing of the new guys when they come into the band?
Jake: No, we’re not those type of people. We’ve never been like, “Oh, you’re a rookie.” Only myself and [bassist] Clint [Gregory] are the original members. And even Adair, he’s going on, like, three years now, D-Rock’s going on a year. So, no, it’s all work once we get up there, you know what I mean?
What is the adjustment period like when you have a new guy in the band?
Jake: Well, I don’t know. Do you want to answer that D-Rock?
D-Rock: Well, the thing for us is that every lineup change Manntis has had has been like good, close friends, which is what we try to do, especially what we did with Andre. We’ve know Andre for years and he’s known all of us, too. So it makes it so much easier, man.
Jake: We’re so busy when we come home and it sucks to see guys leave, but everything happens for a reason. I think we’ve kinda matured and it’s for the better of the band. D-Rock came in—luckily he already knew the songs. So he had, like, two weeks to practice with us and then we were out on the road again. So he already knew the songs. Andre was familiar with our music. So it’s like after month touring with these guys you don’t even remember being in a band without them.
Have you written songs for the next album?
Jake: We’re actually in the process right now. D-Rock and Adair have just been cranking out songs left and right. We’ve actually been playing two brand new songs on this tour. Hopefully, we’ll be in the studio some time in November for an album release some time in the spring. And I believe the title of the album is gonna be Master of Ceremonies. So if you’re gonna be here for the show tonight, you’re gonna hear two of those brand new songs.
How would you describe the sound of the new material?
Jake: One word, I’m gonna say powerful.
D-Rock: Yeah, very powerful.
Jake: If you want a second word, epic.
D-Rock: The thing is with this record we’re gonna have a lot of five-minute, six-minute songs. A lot of guitar solos, man, dual leads, harmonizing leads, a lot of double bass. It’s just gonna be insane, man. This record hopefully is something that we’re gonna be very proud of, man. And the way it’s looking right now, the ideas and progression we’re going right now, we’re so stoked with it, we’re working really good at it.
What inspired the change from the short songs on the first album?
Jake: Well, basically, with Sleep in Your Grave, the amount of time we had, the budget we had, we just wanted to get in there and just put out an album as fast as we could, let people know we weren’t dying from the whole MTV Battle for Ozzfest thing. We wanted to set forth the idea that we’re gonna do this on our own. We probably did the album in, like, three and a half weeks. We made all the songs in probably, like, a month. So it wasn’t necessarily that we didn’t have the power or the level of being able to play longer, better songs. It’s just the time we had, we just wanted to get something out there. But I’m still stoked that the album is getting really good reviews still. That’s a good thing.
What would you say is the best way to experience Manntis, live or on CD?
Jake: Live.
D-Rock: Definitely live.
Jake: Depending on the crowd vibe.
Do you have a typical songwriting process or does it vary from song to song?
D-Rock: Well, in a way, this is kinda different. With your first record, you have your whole life to write it. The second one’s tougher when you have a few months and you gotta do this while you’re touring and then if you’re lucky enough to have a decent size break before you go into the studio to write and rehearse. But we’re figuring it out. We’re trying to learn how to write on the road.
Jake: We’ve got some equipment in the RV.
D-Rock: Yeah, we’ve got a studio.
Jake: These guys are putting down tracks and then bringing some fake drums and then that’s where I’ve gotta come in and start writing lyrics. We’ll be ready to go.
Do you have any producers in mind?
Jake: We don’t. There’s a couple different names up in the air, but very shortly we should have a name. We’re really picky about who’s gonna do it, though.
You’ve done a couple videos now. How were those experiences?
Jake: I panicked the first video we did, with so many workers working for you and you’re finally doing something that’s gonna show the world what you stand for for all the people that can’t actually come out and see us live. So we tried to bring that with the first video, “Axe of Redemption,” just show the people at home what it’s like at a Manntis show. Then the second one [“Weathered Soul”], this guy [pats D-Rock on the shoulder] came into it. We went with a Jack the Ripper, From Hell kinda theme, just to take it back to, like, the early ‘90s, late ‘80s kind of heavy metal, Judas Priest kind of vibe, Pantera-ish. It’s like a movie. It’s like a mini-movie.
D-Rock: Yeah, man. It was cool to actually do a concept video for our second video. We didn’t think the label would let us do it, but they were really behind us on it.
So you had a lot of input into the concept?
Jake: Yeah, Clint, our bass player, ended up writing the whole treatment for the video. Then he met up with the producer and the director, Robert Hall. Robert Hall did an amazing job. We loved everything about it. He did an independent horror movie, a movie called Lightning Bug. So that was kinda cool. Adair’s mom went and got us all the costumes, like 1800 London poor boy suits and we found this old castle that was just amazing. That was probably one of the best experiences of my life, personally.
D-Rock: Yeah, it worked out good.
The last couple years must seem like a whirlwind to you guys. You’ve been so busy. What has been the highlight?
Jake: Hatebreed, Anthrax, God Forbid, Sworn Enemy, Motorhead.
D-Rock: Europe.
Jake: Europe, yeah. Madball, Unearth, Chimaira. Every band we’ve every toured with— growing up as a fan of all these bands who I now actually get the chance to share the stage with and watch play live every night is something I can die happy with.
D-Rock: We’re just blessed to be working, man. We’ve been touring since—even since I’ve been in the band, we’ve been on tour. And it’s awesome, man.
Jake: It’s just good going out there and meeting new people, kids that look up to us, dudes our age that we’re just getting to mingle with and interact with every night instead of just the same old crowd at home and the same drama at home. What do you think, Andre? Do you like to tour? He’s a MySpace whore.
Andre: We’re all MySpace whores.
Jake: Who got on MySpace first today?
Andre: I happened to get on the computer first today, thank you.
You just did the European Sounds of the Underground. How did that go?
D-Rock: It was cool, man.
Jake: We got to share a bus with two of the biggest names in hardcore, Madball and Terror. There was like 15 of us on this huge bus and it was just a party every night, just six awesome bands right now, two of whom are going to Ozzfest this year. It was just an honor, a good feeling.
What do you think of the metal scene here in the United States and how is it different than Europe?
Jake: Some of it’s basically the same thing, even different cities in the U.S. are different at times. We’ve seen so many different groups of people. We tour not just with metal bands. We’re on tour with Dope right now. We like to just change it up. We don’t want to play in front of the same genre. No disrespect to the hardcore kids, the metal fans out there, but you’ve gotta get out there and just keep an open mind and play for anyone. We’re doing the Juggalo Gathering next month in Ohio with Insane Clown Posse, Too Short and Digital Underground. That’s what we’re all about. We’re just here to have a good time, have some fun, meet new people and sell some records.
After being out on tour for so long, what do you do to keep things fresh and interesting?
Jake: I try to keep the bus clean.
D-Rock: It doesn’t matter what you do, man. It’s the same thing every day. It’s awesome and that’s why we’re here. We love to do that. We were born to do this shit.
Jake: That’s why when we’re done playing we don’t just go back in our RV and sit there. We hang out at the bars and try to hang with all the people because then you hang out with them for two hours, you’re back on a bus for five hours, you sleep, wake up, you’re doing the same thing. It’s like, “What did we do last week?” And one of us will be like, “Do you remember that one night when we were backstage …” It’s just fun.
D-Rock: And another thing, too, is, for most us, weed is a very important part of it, man.
Jake: Whiskey for me. I love whiskey.
What inspired you to first start making music?
Jake: For me, I had two friends who were in just this little band when we were in seventh grade. One played drums and one played guitar. I liked going to shows and stuff, and it was like, “Hey, man, we need a bass player.” I’m like, “I don’t know how to play an instrument.” So my buddy’s really good on bass and guitar. He showed me how to do it and from there we just kept going to punk rock shows. That got me into hardcore music and then that got me into metal. I kept joining more bands, got harder and harder, and finally, just a group of buddies started up Manntis and I was invited to come and scream. And here we are today, still with five buddies and now touring the world, putting out albums. That’s my story.
D-Rock: I just wanted to be KISS.
Andre: I’ll kiss you.
D-Rock: No, not “kissed,” the band KISS.
What was the first album you ever bought?
Andre: Can I answer this one? You’re gonna laugh. It was Debbie Gibson and Louis Armstrong.
Jake: The first, I actually bought them together, it was Metallica, the “Black” album, and, actually, the Fat Boys. That’s the dead truth, the same day. I saved up, like, two weeks of allowance and went to Sam … Goody was it back then? They’re not even around. I bought two cassettes, man. I was in, like, fifth grade at that time.
D-Rock: Mine were—I went to Target, I bought the cassette soundtrack for La Bamba and then I bought the 45 of Madonna’s, um…
Jake: “Like a Virgin”?
D-Rock: Yeah.
Jake: I had a sister, so I could steal all of her Bobby Brown and Kriss Kross and all that bullshit.
What about the last album you bought?
Jake: Oh, I just picked up the new Boy Sets Fire and Demon Hunter.
D-Rock: I just bought the new Sevendust, man, finally.
Jake: What’s out that I need to get? Adair just got the new Shadows Fall from Century Media. I really want to hear the new Zao.
D-Rock: I’m looking forward to Lamb of God’s record.
Jake: Lamb of God, Unearth. All That Remains is coming out. Full Blown Chaos!
D-Rock: Oh yeah! Fuck yeah, I can’t wait to hear that.
Jake: We’re really good friends with them and we know that they’re going to put out something amazing.
What was the first concert you ever went to?
D-Rock: Metallica, ’94, Glen Helen, San Bernardino.
Jake: Mine was at this place called San Bernardino Arena when I was in sixth grade. My mom dropped me off in front. There was just, like, 30 local bands, punk rock bands. That was mine. Good times.
Anything else you want to add?
Jake: Go out and pick up the album if you haven’t gotten it yet. Hopefully, you get that release and Master of Ceremonies next spring. Look out for a new video coming out some time. Visit us at Manntis.com, MySpace.com/Manntis. See you on the road.
D-Rock: Yeah, bring us weed. |
