Interview — Down on Morale

Skratch Magazine

Down on Morale makes post-punk music that takes the style of screeching weasel and marries it to the melodies of Sublime. Playing the local San Diego circuit since early 2008 Cody Morale (vocals), Mick Lager (guitar/vocals), Eddie Morale (bass) and Mark Horror (guitar/vocals) make music with a message so deviously crafted you may only subconsciously realize there is one. The dust has settled from a recent shuffling the bands members and now couldn’t be a better time for you to check out Down on Morale.

Skratch: What influences your band and stirs up your creativity?

Eddie: I love to play music and my creativity comes from an array of things including intoxication.
Thumper: I like to play music, it's fucking fun.
Mick: Love.
Mark: Seeing people that are more advanced than me, when I see someone that really knows what they're doing it intrigues me and makes me want to progress.


Skratch: Tell me about your favorite two songs and what they mean to you?

Eddie: "Hungry Hungry Hypocrites", for it's diversity. And "Shoveling Shit Against the Tide With A Tennis Racket (part 1)" for the energy. But then again, I love all of our songs.
Thumper: We don't have them all recorded, but, "Christ On A Cracker" because it's full of energy and very driving. "ix" because it has a sweet groove. (I'm the drummer I don't know all the lyrics.)
Mick: "A Human Interest Story" (though we won't be playing that one any longer because the person who wrote it is no longer in the band), I like the melodies and I enjoy playing the guitar lines, and "ix" just because it breaks up the punk rock monotony.
Mark: "Hungry Hungry Hypocrites" because it's a pretty good explanation of our religious struggles, and "ix" because it's smooth.

Skratch: There are many struggles being an unsigned band. Tell me what keeps the boat afloat?

Eddie: To one day not have to work my shitty-ass job.
Thumper: Playing very few shows (not by choice) and havarti cheese.
Mick: The need to be heard and the thought of maybe someday getting to tour, also the fact that thumper's answer makes absolutely no sense...
Mark: Personal drive to achieve my goal in music.


Skratch: Where do you see the band in five years? What are your goals?

Eddie: Playing music all over, traveling. My goals are to do what I love and what I'm passionate about, it's better than sitting in an office making other people money.
Thumper: My goal is to be playing to the best of my abilities, and to keep pushing our boundaries, whatever "genre" that may take us to.
Mick: Hopefully being heard by more people.
Mark: Touring our asses off.


Name one flaw of each band member.

Eddie: My memory is shit-tastic, which makes it hard for learning new songs.
Thumper: We're all pretty terrible on our instruments.
Mick: I can be a bit of a dictator when it comes to how the songs I write are played.
Mark: Musically, I like to much different shit and I try to compile it all together and create a clusterfuck.


Skratch: What animal best represents the band and why?

Eddie: Dinosaurs- because they are coming back in a big way, and they are on lunch boxes.
Thumper: A unicorn because we have magical powers.
Mick: A snow leopard, because few humans have seen the band, but those who have know the magnificent beauty.
Mark: A parrot because we make noise even when people don't want us to.


Skratch: If the band agreed on one thing, what comes to mind?

Eddie: Getting shit tighter and playing more shows.
Thumper: More music.
Mick: We love to play shows.
Mark: Music is pretty awesome.


Skratch: Tell me it's more than sex, drugs, and rock n roll! No?

Eddie: Of course it is. Sex, drugs and rock and roll are overrated.
Thumper: Of course not, I'm not in a band to become a rockstar. Who gives a shit about the fame and the fortune? It may sound lame, but music is my passion, whenever someone tells me what I have to do it fucking sucks.
Mick: Avoiding responsibility.
Mark: Of course.


Skratch: What are your thoughts on the current political elections?

Eddie: I don't pay attention to the news and newspapers, anyone that gets into office is going to be just as corrupt as another, if Obama does something great, so be it.
Thumper: As a whole, I think we're ready for a reset.
Mick: I am very happy to see the last 8 years finally behind us and extremely happy not to see Sarah Palin anywhere near the Whitehouse, however, although I voted for him, I don't expect Obama to not engage in the war crimes which seem to go hand in hand with taking the presidential oath. I would like to see the US move to something broader than the two-party politics which have left it wrought with corruption and put us in our current crisis. It would be nice if someone could do something about our terrible health-care system also.
Mark: I think our country went pretty punk-rock because we got a black president and I voted for Obama.


Skratch: What bands would you love to share a stage with? What bands would you not?

Eddie: Rise Against and Death By Stereo. I would not want to share a stage with the Hanson brothers or Justin Timberlake.
Thumper: I would love to share the stage with RX Bandits. I hate nickelback, they're even worse than Ozzy Osbourne.
Mick: There are a lot of artists I would love to share a stage with, the Who (circa 1968-74) and Propagandhi to name two. I would not want to share a stage with Tera Melos because they would make us look bad. I would also not want to share a stage with some shitty corporate rock nickelback-type band.
Mark: I would love to share the stage with Lagwagon. Protest The Hero and RKL. I wouldn't want to share a stage with Half Astro (their drummer is an asshole!) or with Hawthorne Heights. Nickelback blows.


Skratch: Are you all good friends or more bandmates only? Tell me about your relationships.

Eddie: I just play bass, I hate them all. (just kidding, definitely family)
Thumper: We are pretty much like family, we are past all the friendship stuff.
Mick: We have all known each other for a long time, we all played together in different bands and finally formed this one.
Mark: Music made us friends.


Skratch: Your next live shows are?:

Mick: Currently we are focusing on getting things back together, we recently got a new member after our friend, Peter, quit. You can hear Peter playing guitar on the three songs we have recorded and doing half the vocals, one of those songs is his. Once we get everything back together tight and get a few new songs together we will be planning some shows.

Skratch: Last words/final thoughts/Anything you would like readers to know about you?:

Eddie: You're gonna see a lot more of us.
Thumper: Enjoy. Fuck Starbucks! And eat lots of garlic, its good for you.
Mick: Listen past our long intros, there are cool punk songs buried in there.
Mark: I'm down to help up and coming bands with recording demo cds, www.myspace.com/markhorror , I recorded the Down On Morale demo..

For more on Down on Morale go to www.myspace.com/downonmorale.

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