Full on the Mouth - Interviewed by Klank
After seeing their show at New York’s Coney Island High, Klank had the opportunity to hook up with Full on the Mouth. Here’s a chance to see what transpired between the two veteran artists...
The last time I saw you guys you were known as Lost Tribe. What lead you to choose the name Full on the Mouth?
“We were in a position, shortly before the signing of the recording agreement, where we had to change our name. For us, finding a new name is not an easy task. Choosing a word or a phrase that sets up your first impression, that encapsulates what you are, was not something that we could rush through. We literally had hundreds of names that we were looking over, but were not happy with any of them. Then a friend of ours called us and said that he heard a phrase on TV that was pretty cool. ‘Full on the mouth’ was that phrase, and to be honest, we felt like it would make a better album title than name. Over time it grew on us, and we finally chose it.”
I remember Lost Tribe being like hard edged rock. It was kinda like grunge before grunge was around. So you were, in a way, ahead of your times... When I heard that you had added electronic elements to your music I was really interested to hear what it would sound like. How would you best describe your sound?
“This is a question that we get quite frequently, and we still have not found an easy answer. Probably the best way to describe our music is heavy dance music. We are not industrial. The electronic inferences are much more dance oriented and are not aggressive in nature. We love the sound of thicker-than-life guitars mixed with big, gritty drum loops and synths. That falls as a cool, textured landscape under what we would like to think of as catchy, melodic choruses. Perhaps one of your readers could come up with a catch phrase for us that sounds cool, and is a bit less wordy.”
What prompted you to move in this musical direction?
“We have always been an all original band. In the entire eight — almost nine — years that we have been together, we have only done two covers. Roughly five years ago we decided to integrate dance music into our heavy mix. We loved the idea of combining the two. Back then, we were not aware of any bands that really did this. There was Pop Will Eat Itself, but they remained relatively unknown. There were plenty of great industrial bands, but that wasn’t the sound that we were looking for. So without any rules, any bands to guide us, we began experimenting. The end result was a sound that we were very pleased with. One of the first songs that we wrote in that vein was ‘Another.’ The version that you hear on the album today is almost identical to what we wrote on our very first demo.”
As a fellow artist, I too see the need to add a little, here and there, to spice up what would be just an ordinary song . The possibilities, as you know, are endless, but do you think that the recent rise in this genre will kill, or at least weaken, the scene?
“Anytime you take a genre that does not exist in the foreground of popular music, and place it in the mainstream, there is no question that it potentially has extreme results. When artists such as U2, Smashing Pumpkins, and even Madonna begin to utilize electronic resources, it can have dramatic effects. Much of this genre will probably get washed out, and termed ‘pop,’ but a simple fact remains: A good song is a good song, and talented people will continue to put out great music. The sudden rise that we all saw of ‘alternative’ music certainly commercialized it, but it did not keep good alternative song writers from writing good alternative songs. Actually, quite the opposite can be true. The positive effects of popularizing this type of music is that people that have only existed in small regional levels, can now be recognized on a greater scale.”
Does Full on the Mouth have a specific message or point they are trying to get across in their lyrics?
“I think that is a difficult question to answer. We certainly realize that music is a form of communication, so there is always some type of message being portrayed. But we do not have an agenda with our lyrics. We try separate each song from the other, make it into its own identity. Music is like the theater for the mind, and more than anything, we hope people enjoy it.”
I personally liked the tune “I Hardly Know Myself” a lot. I thought it was great. What’s your favorite song?
“That’s another tough one. I personally prefer either ‘Another’ or ‘Waiting,’ depending on the mood I’m in.”
I was told that Lost Tribe was a “Religious” band at one time. I didn’t get that impression from the new lyrics, however I did get some spiritual overtones here and there. Do you guys consider yourselves a religious band?
“Lyrically speaking, we made a decision quite some time ago to take all of our spiritual issues and internalize them; essentially, to make them private. You will find that our metaphysical or philosophical viewpoints have a subtle influence in our music, as do all our life experiences. Also, to operate under any pretense as a band is to limit ourselves to only a portion of the market.”
Do you consider your work to be spiritual at all?
“I believe that all humans are inherently spiritual. Music undeniably touches everyone on an emotional and spiritual level. Our music is no exception to that.”
I personally like music that makes me wanna move, you know? There’s nothing better than hearing some new tunes for the first time and totally getting lost in the groove. I felt that way with your live show. I had only heard like three of the songs before the show, so it was a first time for me to really check them out. I like the combination of the heavy guitars along with the melodies. I’ve been getting into stuff like this lately, like the new Girls Against Boys CD. It’s got some of the poppiest hooks but done real nicely. What have you guys been spinning in your CD player on tour? What’s the current faves and all time greats you can’t be without on the road?
“For some reason I cant get the new Deftones album out of my CD player. It would appear to be stuck, I guess my player has fallen in love with it. Other favorites would include Radiohead’s The Bends, Crystal Method, Sevendust, Filter, Helmet, and I’ve been listening to The Chemical Brothers since long before they were big here in the US. I think that this list could go on forever."
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