I just did an interview with Justin of Man Overboard. If my review of their latest EP wasn't convincing enough, let me recommend you again to check this band out. My review of their upcoming split with Transit is coming. They're also very nice dudes, as you will be able to testify in the interview.
Click the "Read more" link below to read it.
[This interview is available in French here.]
Hey Justin, thank you for taking some time to answer my questions, could you introduce yourself and your band for those who don't know you?
Hello. I am Justin Collier and I play drums for Man Overboard. We are a four-member pop-punk band from New Jersey.
You just signed a deal with Run For Cover Records, how do you feel about it? You guys said you didn't listen to bands such as those of your friends and labelmates, but do you still think your music fits in well on their roster?
Run For Cover is awesome. Awesome people, awesome bands, awesome family. Literally, I cannot say enough nice things about it. Jeff [Casazza, owner of Run For Cover] is the man. It is a pleasure to work with him and hang out. We did an interview a few months ago for a college here in New Jersey that ended up on the Internet [and especially AbsolutePunk]. Everyone was fairly drunk and our answers got spun a little bit in the editing room so they were a little out of context. It is completely untrue to say that we don't like a lot of the bands on Run For Cover and even the bands we are friends with and labelmates with. Transit is legit (apart from being our best friends), one of my favorite bands. I have been booking Philly shows for Fireworks longer than I have been in Man Overboard and Front Page (me, Zac and Wayne's old band) played with Agent before Man Overboard started. I love both of those bands as well as a lot of the other bands on the roster. Some people in the band are not necessarily fans of some of the bands we play with but that doesn't mean they don't respect them and that we aren't friends.
If I got it well, Man Overboard was first named Home Again and kind of came up as a merger of members from Bangarang! and Front Page. However, people are kind of confused as the former drummer of Bangarang! is named Justin too. So, were you playing guitar in Front Page and then replaced Justin Mondschein on drums for Man Overboard?
So lets get into a little back story... Zac, Wayne and I played in Front Page for the last few years. When Front Page started to slow down, Zac and Wayne started Home Again and recorded 'Hung up on nothing' [which would later be released as Man Overboard's first EP]. They quickly had to change the name due to some issue with another band already using it. That's when Man Overboard came into existence, around fall or late summer 2008. The original drummer quickly left and Justin Mondschein from Bangarang! joined. We knew him from Front Page and Bangarang! playing together. He didn't have enough time for the band because of work and left to focus on that. A few fill-ins floated in and out before I started playing in mid-2009.
Justin is in a new band called Erasing States. There's another Justin on the guitar, is that you as well?
That is not me! I'm not sure who it is. Maybe it's Justin Mondschein alter-ego? Oh! Nik from Man Overboard recorded the Erasing States EP. It's good, so check it out!
You also play drums in History, a hardcore project with Zac of Man Overboard, and you toured with The Effort in Europe. When do you sleep?
As you mentioned, History is about to release a new 7'' in 2010, do you already have a label or are you self-releasing it? What can we expect from the new songs?
What made you drop the guitar to go sit behind a drumkit?
I have been playing drums for a few years but never very seriously. Around the same time Man Overboard started, I started putting real effort into playing drums. This worked out nicely because the same time I wasn't completely terrible was the same time Man Overboard needed a drummer.
Let's go back to Man Overboard... You guys have a hectic schedule: you just released a new EP a few weeks ago, now the split with Transit and you also announced the release of a compilation of old songs for early 2010. Are all of those songs unreleased or will it include the 'Hung up on nothing' EP?
I'd like to start this question off by saying that you are by far the most investigative interviewer I have ever encountered. You have dug up some rare and hard to find facts. My hat is off to you. Kudos!!! Anyways... We have a lot coming out. 'Dahlia', our new 3-song digital EP was just released a few weeks ago on Run For Cover Records. December 8th, we are releasing a 7" split with our brothers, Transit. January or February 2010 will bring the release of a 10-song collection of old songs. It will feature 'Hung up on nothing' plus 'Arlington drive' and four other songs you have never heard!
Your first full-length is also expected for next year. How far have you got into the writing process?
We write a ton of songs. We already have rough demos for our LP done. We are going to rework them and get into Nik's studio in the next few months to re-demo them and probably some new tunes as well. We are hopeful to have it released in early June 2010.
You're gonna be busy in 2010. Any time left for a tour overseas? I heard you had plans for Europe. If you do, bring Transit with you.
We have a ton of plans. Apart from the old songs record and the full-length in June, we are also planning an acoustic EP that will probably be out in early April. We are doing some East Coast/Midwest dates in December and a few weekends in January. February 2010, we are going to do a full US tour. We are trying to squeeze a few more weekends and short tours into the rest of the spring but will mainly be recording. But, since our full-length is hopefully going to hit shelves in June, we are going to tour June, July, August and September. We will definitely hit all corners of the US and a lot of Canada. We are hoping to also come to Europe and the UK.
A member of the British band Directions told me you had a split coming out in January, but you never really talked about it.
Directions! So on that Effort tour this summer, we played with a ton of bands (we did 38 shows in 39 days). Directions were my favorite band that we played with that I hadn't heard previous to the show. I love AYS from Germany but I already knew them, same with Lewd Acts and Gold Kids. Directions just killed it and when I learnt that Ryan had a Transit tattoo, I was sold. Anyways... So I was talking to Ryan after I got home and I said "Dude, what if Man Overboard take our two songs from the split with Transit and release them in the UK as a split with Directions?". He was down and that was it. We hadn't said much about it because Directions are still recording their songs and I have no idea when it will be released. Once all the information is together we will have a little more to say on it. The UK has a lot of great bands to offer right now; Directions being one of them. More Than Life, Dead Swans and Never Again being some more. I'm excited.
Man Overboard's "motto" is "defend pop-punk". Could you explain it? Do you feel like it's your duty to remind kids what pop-punk used to be and should still be?
"Defend pop-punk" started as a rip-off t-shirt of the Most Precious Blood "Defend hardcore" shirts. People really latched on to it and that in itself gave it some meaning. I think the most important thing to remember is that music is fun. Nobody needs to get wrapped up in what's cool or what isn't. Just do what you do, enjoy yourself and don't listen to anybody.
The Swellers recently signed to Fueled By Ramen. If Pete Wentz calls you tomorrow, what's your answer?
The Swellers are great. I was supposed to get Govindas (amazing vegan restaurant in Philly) with them the last time they were in town but our fates were not aligned. Next time, Nick [Diener, singer/guitarist of The Swellers]! I'd tell Pete to fork over his collection of Lifetime vinyls, then we can talk.
How did Man Overboard end up working with Jeff Kummer [former drummer of The Early November and now a solo artist]? How much involved is he in the band? He recorded the drum parts for two songs on 'Dahlia', as well as those for the split with Transit and for some new songs as well, how come?
Dommer! Jeff is the man. We are all from the same area. Nik and Jeff's bands have been playing together for years and years. The Early November and A Sense Of Belonging (Nik's old band) both played in the Williamstown, New Jersey battle of the bands before The Early November got signed to Drive-Thru. The Early November won but they remained friends. Jeff filled in on drums for Man Overboard in the period of time between when Justin from Bangarang! quit and I joined. Two of the songs on 'Dahlia' and the Transit split were both recorded in that time (around May or so of 2009). Jeff's solo record will be available December 22nd, 2009 via iTunes and SmartPunk. If you like us or The Early November, I suggest you to check it out. It's real good.
You weren't there, but tell us about that show in Maryland that got cancelled and moved to a house because of your logo...
I was not there but I know the story. So we had just started using the "defend pop-punk" logo. It was on our page as well as stickers and t-shirts. As I understand it, the building we were supposed to play was like a community center that was attached to a police station. They saw our logo and said we were somehow affiliated with terrorist or something because we have a machine gun on our logo. Yeah, it was that stupid. [The Severna Park Police Department deemed the guns in the logo as a "terrorist threat".]
You'd better change it before you get to the European customs, you American terrorists.
German customs are pretty chill. They didn't even ask me any questions when I arrived in Berlin with The Effort. Germany is great so we are excited to go... Terrorist antics behind us.
The end of the year lists are coming up, what are your favorite records of 2009? How about your most anticipated for 2010?
Let's see... Top 5 in no order...
1) Transit - Stay home (EP)
2) Paint It Black - Amnesia (7'')
3) Smile And Burn - Demo
4) Cheap Girls - My roaring 20's
5) AYS - The path of ages
I am really excited for the new Blacklisted, Tigers Jaw/Balance And Composure split, Jeff Kummer's solo (although it comes out right before 2009 ends) and the new The Effort LP. I can tell you that the rest of the band is excited for the new Coheed And Cambria record.
Which bands would you love to tour with? If your band name isn't misleading, it sounds like opening for Blink-182 would be something for you now that they came back!
A Blink/Man Overboard tour would be sick. Transit plus Balance And Composure are our two favorite bands to tour with. Other bands I'd be really excited to tour with: AFI, Saves The Day, Taking Back Sunday, Jimmy Eat World...
Is it too early to ask if Front Page will ever do reunion shows?
Way too early but I am sure it will happen. We are all really good friends so it will go down some time. Mike moved to Nashville, Tennessee and Teague works like a dog but keep your eyes peeled in a few years.
And to finish... Gryffindor or Slytherin?
Dude... Are you kidding me? Gryffindor to the max. What do I look like? [Justin is a big Harry Potter nerd, he even has a HP tattoo on his arm.]
Thank you very much Justin. We hope to see Man Overboard in Europe soon!
www.defendpoppunk.com
www.myspace.com/manoverboardnj
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