https://www.facebook.com/MuckRakerMetal/
https://muckraker1.bandcamp.com/
https://www.reverbnation.com/muckrakermetal
1: Hello, here is Lukasz from Polish Gloria
Metalus blog. How's going? Considering Muckraker band is not well known in
Poland, could you please tell us story of the band? How did it all start?
Will from MuckRaker: The band has been
around for six years or so with various lineup changes. I formerly in a band
called BOILER which was signed to Mayhem Records (a subsidiary of Atlantic
Records). Atlantic dropped Mayhem's funding and the label folded. Eventually, I
decided to relocate to Atlanta. It wasn't my intention to form a band here, but
I missed metal too much.
2: You define your music as blue collar
stoner metal. I suppose it is referring to middle class, but I would like to
understand better what is difference between common and blue collar stoner? Any
unique idea behind this?
W: I write about historical and current
events. Yes, it is about the middle class. But it is also about the working
poor. The oligarchy has taken over in America. The media is owned by the
corporations, as is virtually everything else in American life. I fight that.
There are too many people who buy into the idea that nothing can be done to
effect change. They go along the get along. They accept low wages and defend
their corporate overlords. That is not this band.
3:
Listening to Karmageddon, I have a feeling that you had very good time
recording this album and in general you keep a distance to the world around? Am
I right?
W: Yes!!! We had a very good time recording
this album. Especially me. Every day started at around 10:00AM, and that's when
I started drinking beer and vodka. It was wonderful! Then, at around noon, we
would order a pizza from a place called Grandma's. Then, I would drink even
more because I had food in my stomach.
4: Is there any special message in your
lyrics you would like to pass on to the listeners? What topics do you cover in
your lyrics?
W: We cover religion, the downfall of
democracy, the rise of oligarchy, and the Iron Heel on the neck of the working
class. But we try to do it in a way that is tongue-in-cheek or the telling of a
story. 85% of the media that we ingest here in the United States is owned by
five corporations. Fascism, by definition, is the merger of corporate and state
power. And most Americans fail to
realize that we are indeed becoming a Fascist state.
5: I'm aware turkey is playing important
role in US history, but what was a reason to place it on the album's cover?
W: Dude, no offense...but it's a vulture. It
is sort of a visual reference to our song Red Vulture.
6: What are your musical inspirations?
W: Bernie Sanders, Black Sabbath, Gandhi,
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Clutch, Sheer Terror, Celtic Frost, Martin Luther King, The
Sword, and COC.
7: How did your cooperation with Eternal
Sound Records start? Why this company?
W: I got a message one day on Facebook from
a woman named Nicole. She said that she really liked our band and I messaged
her back, thanking her. She proceeded to ask me if we would like to sign with
her label, based in Germany. I asked her how she found us. Nicole said that she
Googled “stoner metal” and saw the picture of our album, Karmageddon.
She told me that she liked the cover and started listening to the songs that we
had on YouTube and fell in love with them. She shared those songs with her
partner at Eternal Sound Records and they both decided that they were in love
with MuckRaker. A couple of weeks later, I was sent a contract for distribution
and promotion of the album, Karmageddon, throughout Europe. I signed it
with no regrets.
8: What do you do for living? Are there any
bands or other art related projects you are involved in?
W: Well, I am a warehouseman. I lift heavy
shit all day. No, other than my day job I do MuckRaker full-time.
9: Any other bands from Atlanta's area, you
can recommend to?
W: There is a band called State of Unrest
who fuse pre-hardcore and ska. Tach is a band we will be playing with soon who
show great promise. Honestly, there are many cool bands here, but there are few
who do the kind of Clutch-style music that MuckRaker does.
10: Any plans for European tour or you are
touring around the States only?
W: If you are willing to finance a European
tour for MuckRaker, let me know. We would very much love to do that!
11: Last word belongs to you :)
W: Unicorns, Agnosticized, Razor Blades,
Trolls, Data, I report, you decide.
Thank you very much for this opportunity to
speak with you.
