Author: Richie DeMaria
In the summer of 2005, Gigen Mammoser (junior), along with friend Chris Barnes, formed what was to become the ska-punk band Deadright. Now, two years later, they have an album, Tonight Is Under Fire, released earlier this year, and a drummer, UNM student Kayla Hofius. The Weekly spoke with Mammoser about the new album.
RD: How and when did Deadright form? What’s the story behind the name?
GW: Deadright formed the summer after my freshman year at Oxy. Me and Chris were good friends and I basically just walked up and asked him if he wanted to play in a punk band with me. I knew he had music written; as for me, I had one bass line and a lot of ambition. We had trouble finding a drummer so we would typically just get drunk and work on our shitty demo. Fortunately, we were eventually able to find our drummer Kayla, and we started gigging. As for the name? Well, we weren’t having much luck that first summer, and this name had been kicking around my head for a while, so I suggested it and Chris liked it immediately. I like it because it has a couple different connotations; for me the political aspect of the name is the strongest. What’s funny, though, is that when I suggested the name to Chris, he didn’t catch this immediately and thought it meant ‘dead right’ as opposed to ‘dead wrong,’ or taking a ‘dead right,’ as in driving. Needless to say he liked the name even more when the politics of it dawned on him!
RD: You and Chris Barnes have been playing together since high school. How have you managed to stay together over the years?
GW: What’s funny about Deadright is that we actually spend very little time together. The band has literally been a summer project between us for the past three years. We all go to school in different places: Los Angeles, Chicago, and New Mexico. But what we have been able to do despite this fact continues to astound me. So, I guess the way we have been able to stay together is by staying relaxed and being able to deal with being apart without freaking out. I don’t even consider the word “hiatus,” because its just how we work.
RD: Tell me about the recording process for your debut album. Where did you record? How long did it take? Was it a fairly easygoing process, or were there challenges along the way? etc.
GW: The album was recorded in just about five days just outside of Chicago, in Joliet, Illinois. My friend Tim is a producer who works for the CPC (Chicago Producers Circle.) We really had a great time up there, and Tim was putting us up and really taking good care of us. It was fairly easygoing, except one day. We had all gotten extremely wasted bar hopping the night before, and so the next day when I had to record my bass parts for “Criminal,” I could hardly see straight. I was so off time that I fucked up the whole track and we had to go back and re-record pretty much the whole thing. But I fell face first out of a van the night before, so cut me a break.
RD: Who writes the lyrics?
GW: On this album, Chris wrote all the lyrics, except for “Martial Law,” which I wrote. You’ve gotta understand, that the majority of the cuts on TUF are songs that we had been kicking around since we started, and hence a lot of it is stuff that Chris had written. When we begin writing our next album, I think you’re going to see a much more cohesive writing process in the music.
RD: What songs do you consider to be standouts on Tonight Is Under Fire?
GW: Hahaha, you bastard, what a dirty question. Well I tend to fall on the heavier side of things musically so “Revolution,” “Martial Law,” “Escape,” and “Your God,” in no particular order.
RD: “Your God” is a pretty scathing criticism of the religious right wing. Lyrically it stands out to me. Tell me more about the song — what went into it, the message behind it, etc.
GW: Chris wrote the lyrics to this one, so he’d really be the one to ask, but I’ll give you my thoughts. For me, this track stands out because of its irony and its obvious jabs at the connection between American crass consumerism, wealth and religion. Most of the lyrics in the song are questions. I kind of feel like the religious right is on trial in this song, and they have to answer all of these questions which are so bombastic and incendiary, and its in the radical nature of these questions that the lunacy of the religious right can be seen really obviously.
RD: Do you feel that musicians today are too complacent?
GW: It really depends on where you look. If you’re going to look at artists at the top of the charts then, yes, they really are. However, most of all, I blame record companies, not artists, because it’s the record companies who are controlling what is popular these days. Underground and indie bands will always be more involved in political movements because they have more freedom; when you are a number one star, and essentially a puppet for music consumerism, there isn’t a whole lot you can do, because it would be contract suicide. One band that stands out to me, though, is The Dixie Chicks. Here is an example of an extremely popular band that was able to put their politics in their music despite the fact that it alienated a strong majority of their listeners. Now please, I don’t like The Dixie Chicks’ music, nor do I think they are revolutionary people, but it takes this kind of strength to break the mold of popular music, and for that I commend them. It takes a band in a high place to make a stand for people to listen. There are plenty of small bands with good intentions, but unfortunately, not a lot of people to hear them.
RD: What musicians/musical artists have influenced Deadright?
GW: I believe the strongest influences on the music that we have put forth so far are bands such as Leftover Crack, Propaghandi, NOFX, The Unseen, Bad Religion, and Anti Flag.
RD: Do you have any upcoming shows?
GW: I’m in Japan right now, so we won’t be having shows for a while. Unless, of course, I get kicked out of the band.
RD: How have you promoted your new album?
GW: Promoting is a major pain in the ass for an album when everything you do is DIY. But everything helps in my opinion. We had a kick ass CD release party at one of the premier venues in Albuquerque with some locals and some out of state bands.?I have a friend that works for the local trendy paper in Albuquerque and im hoping she reviewed the CD, but I don’t know yet. Fingers are crossed. I dont believe in bad press so if anyone hates the album, that’s fine with me. Just put the contact info in the review and I’ll be happy as a clam. I’ve been giving the CD away like mad to anyone trying to get some play on college radio or anything. I know some KOXY DJs have copies so call in and request that shit!
RD: What’s next for the band?
GW: At this point, I really don’t know. I’m sorry to say that, but we’re really just feeling things out. Hopefully, we’ll start working on some new music this summer, and maybe play a few gigs. Beyond that, I couldn’t say.
To contact the band, email deadright.abq@gmail.com. To hear songs from the new album, visit www.myspace.com/deadright.
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