JANELLE: Is this the first time for Street Dogs being on Warped Tour?
MIKE: Actually, last year we did the tenth anniversary Warped Tour date in Boston, so we’ve done a Warped Tour show, but as far as being on a lengthy portion of the tour, this is really our first time.
JANELLE: So, then like you said [earlier] you’re most excited about playing in Boston, though?
MIKE: Yeah, we’re really excited about playing in Boston, and we’re just excited to be on it period. I’m just speaking for myself, and I’m sure the other guys in the band feel somewhat similar is that it’s always been a goal of the band to get on that tour and to be able to play with a bunch of other exceptional band and you get to play to a wide audience and we just wanna go all-out and give our best and strongest and most intense performance, and hopefully we’ll be able to do that. We’ll also have to wear a bunch of sunscreen and drink a ton of water because every day on the Warped Tour from what I understand, it’s always hot and can be somewhat brutal.
JANELLE: Just about playing live, though, in general, your lyrics are really personal and deal with your experiences and issues that are important to you. How does it feel when you’re onstage having kids sing back what you wrote? That must feel amazing.
MIKE: It does feel amazing and it’s surprising at the same time. There was no expectation for myself or the band that that would ever occur. And when it does occur (and it’s been happening a lot back home and even in Europe now to a degree), it just blows us away. We feel like it’s touching the kids and moving them. Somehow someway in each of them when they do get into it, there’s an identification process. They’re identifying with the lyrics and things. It’s a bonus to us. There was never an expectation that would happen. We just play live and see what happens. That’s something that’s been growing and happening, and it does feel good.
JANELLE: The lyrics seem to complement the music well. There’s something about… There’s this familiar quality to the music. It’s fresh, but… I don’t know how to explain it. [Laughs] It just sounds very genuine.
MIKE: Well, the fact of the matter is, when I grew up, I listened to bands like The Clash, Stiff Little Fingers, Elvis Costello, The Ramones, Cock Sparrer, and Sham 69, so I found in their music there was a lot of tangible, relevant, experience-based lyrics and then passionate and powerful singing and guitar playing and anthems and things like that. So when I got involved in writing lyrics, those were my influences, the things that moved me and got me thinking. And I think that comes through in our stuff and that might be the familiar tinge or quality to the music or the lyrics.
JANELLE: Right. But also, just on this record, when did Joe join up?
MIKE: Joe joined up right as we were getting ready to make ‘Back to the World’. Prior to that Joe had filled in on some dates with us when Jeff (our original drummer) couldn’t play. When we made ‘Savin Hill’, Jeff made it abundantly clear to the guys that he wouldn’t be capable of touring, so when we did actually do regional dates on the East Coast and even a little bit beyond to the West Coast, we had Joe come out with us and Joe is phenomenal. Joe liked the music and when we decided to move over to another record company and go full blast 100 percent all-out tour relentlessly and record relentlessly, we extended our hand to him and he was our guy. It’s been unbelievable ever since because his experience, his ability, his power and conviction really elevated the band to another level entirely. If a band doesn’t have an exceptional, potent, powerful drummer, then the band is just naked, in my estimation.
JANELLE: But just then, the Boston bands, is it a tight-knit community would you say?
MIKE: Yeah, it is. There is a fraternal spirit that exists within the scene. It all started way back in the day when there were bands like Slapshot, Jerry’s Kids, Gang Green, and The Freeze, that later evolved into Showcase Showdown, Ducky Boys, Dropkick Murphys, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Bruisers. And now in 2005 you still have some bands remaining from the older scene and newer bands evolving and the bands help one another out and collaborate on projects and things of the like and keep it free of ego and celebrity bullshit. It’s a pretty cool thing. We help each other out, like when we did ‘Savin Hill’, Al Barr and Ken Casey came in and Dicky Barrett, and then when we did ‘Back to the World’ we had Buddha from Blood for Blood come out. So yeah, there’s definitely a fraternal [aspect] and help and experience that’s always been present in the scene from its earliest days up till now.
JANELLE: That’s cool. You mentioned The Bruisers. Yesterday someone mentioned something about them possible doing shows or something…
MIKE: I’ve heard some rumblings and rumors and ruminations, but I don’t know of anything concrete of them reforming and doing shows, but there are rumors going around.
JANELLE: Yeah. Also, with [‘Back to the World’], you started your own imprint.
MIKE: Yeah, when we signed to DRT, we pretty much wanted to stay in the punk-rock community and play within the group of bands we wanted to play within and we felt it would be better for us to make our own imprint, Brass Tacks, and have some A&R control over that and sign other punk-rock bands in the future. It’s just something that was really important to us, and it was granted and we’re really fortunate to have it. Down the line there’ll be a compilation and things of the like and signing, so we’re really excited about that.
JANELLE: Do you have anyone in mind yet?
MIKE: God. There’s a couple bands in mind. One Boston band we’d really like to bring aboard are Kings of Nothing. We feel they’re an extraordinary live band and they have great recorded songs. They toured the U.S. and Europe extensively before, so that’s a band that sparks interest. The Riverboat Gamblers from Texas are a phenomenal band. They spark interest. The Aggrolites from California. I could go on and on and on. It’s just a matter of when things slow down for us, maybe we can give some attention to A&R and bring some bands onboard and jump-start the comp and all that. Right now we’re slam in the middle of a tour and things of the like, so once we get some time to wind down and put attention into that stuff we definitely will.
JANELLE: Yeah, so you don’t work for the fire department anymore, then…!
MIKE: No. I’m on an extended leave of absence from the Boston Fire Department. Right now it’s Street Dogs all-out. I think we’ve been touring nonstop for about a year-and-a-half right now.
JANELLE: So where do you live now?
MIKE: Right now I’m living in California with my fiancée Tonya. She lived with me in Boston for two years. Actually it was September of last year I moved out there. Like I said, our touring schedule’s been really relentless and pretty steady and chock full of dates, so to make things easier for her, I decided to move out West so when I’m on the road she can spend time with her family and friends. It makes the separation a little bit easier. It’s funny. It’s nice there, but I find myself missing Boston tremendously and my accent and my Celtics and Bruins shirts stick out like a sore thumb and my Red Sox hat. And distance makes the heart grow fonder. I find myself writing WAY more lyrics and songs about Boston now more so than ever. I’m originally from Dorchester and my love and passion and spirit for Boston could never and WILL never be removed from me. It’s the home of the band without a doubt.
JANELLE: Oh, okay, we were talking about how Joe came onboard, what about Marcus?
MIKE: What had happened was we did ‘Savin Hill’ with Rob Guidotti and [he] left the group after we did a U.S. tour in support of ‘Savin Hill’. He wanted to get involved with another band called Far from Finished and we gave him our blessing. They signed a recording contract with GMM and they’ve been doing dates in the U.S. and they’re gonna be touring Europe and stuff, so it worked out well. We found Marcus shortly after that. We kinda extended a few invites for people to join the band and take the lead guitar spot, and he came in and he just ripped and owned it right from the very beginning, within 20 minutes. He’s been nothing but an exceptional and powerful, big, big, big contributor to the music of the band. He’s done a bulk of the touring the band has done, so he’s certainly the face of lead guitar. When we did the European tour with Flogging Molly recently (prior to the Social D tour and this tour with Millencolin), we brought aboard a rhythm guy Tobe Bean to fill out the sound. He played in a BYO band before called Welt. We’re serious about trying to have the most exceptional players and dedicated people in the band. Fortunately we’ve been successful at that.
JANELLE: Also, about the record, how long did it take you to write it?
MIKE: ‘Back to the World’, oh god. We probably came up with 30 to 50 songs. When the touring cycle for SAVIN HILL wound down, we started writing songs for ‘Back to the World’ I would say probably in late 2003 and we carried it into 2004 and recorded the record in 2004. It took about a year to write it. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears and sacrifice and dedication and determination went into it, but I’m very proud of the finished product. There’s definitely sometimes the sound of a train pulling out of SAVIN HILL station and seeking a different place, and at the same time there’s a familiar quality that harkens back to that time. And I feel like we challenged ourselves a little bit more sonically. I couldn’t be happier with it. It’s certainly not the best we could do because we always are the most critical and analytical and we wanna shoot for higher and sound better in the future and everything, but we’re proud of it and we feel like it’s a good record.
JANELLE: [Laughs] So I guess it was hard to cut down to the 12 songs seeing that you had so many.
MIKE: Yeah, it was. We had Nate [Albert, Mighty Mighty Bosstones] as our producer and he was very straightforward and critical. If songs didn’t pass muster or he didn’t feel they were worth using, he would challenge us. We put a lot of stock in his opinion. We’re really lucky to have him as our producer for [the two records], and he was nothing but a great, collaborative, exceptional producer. He was great and he was one of the driving forces in helping us whittle it down to the 12 songs we wanted to use.
JANELLE: So is that what he does basically now, produce?
MIKE: Yeah, he’s doing a lot of production work and a lot of managerial work and A&R work. He manages Lost City Angels and he’s done production work for them and he’s helped out a bunch of other bands in Boston like The Explosion and Westbound Train. Like I said, he’s a genius creative force and a good human being and he’s definitely someone I’d recommend highly to any band seeking a producer.
JANELLE: [Discussing the questions I’d been asking…] Do you get asked a lot about Dropkick Murphys and stuff?
MIKE: Yeah, I don’t mind talking about it and I’m willing to answer the questions, but sometimes people go overboard and try to dig some dirt when there is no dirt.