Interview with Woody from Mighty High

The last time I interviewed Woody from Mighty High was around three years ago . Now that they have a new album out I thought it was time to see what the band was up to.  So here you go.


MM-You have a new album out called “Legalize Tre bags”. Tell us about it.

Woody-It's 11 songs in 34 minutes. If you like The Rods or Eddie & The Hot Rods you'll dig it. If you like both of those bands you'll love it.

MM-What are some of your favorite songs on the new album and why do you like those songs?

Woody-I love all the songs equally but "I Don't Wanna Listen To Yes" deserves special mention. It was a very spontaneous group effort and a message we all stand behind 100%. "High On The Cross" is another favorite. Kevin sings the intro and everyone thinks it's me.

MM-How did the writing process on this album go? Was it done over a long time or do you all just sit down and say let’s crank out this many songs and work from there?

Woody-Some of the songs were written as long as 4 years ago and a few others were written specifically for the album last year. Long story short, in 2010 half the band quit and we had a quite a few songs recorded with them but not enough for an album. When Kevin Overdose (guitar) and Labatts Santoro (bass) joined, they learned all the songs. We went into the studio and erased the old parts and replaced them with new & improved ones. I was prepared to scrap the old recordings but figured it was worth trying. It turned out great, way better than I expected. So even though the majority of the album were songs that had been around for awhile they were given a new life.

MM-The artwork for your new is great (as always). Who did the artwork? Did you give them an idea to work with or did they just go with it?

Woody-The artwork was once again created from the twisted mind of Wayne "Braino" Bjerke. We've been friends for over 30 years. I can just give him a title and he'll take it to it's most ridiculous extreme. We have so many inside jokes together that the only suggestions I ever have is to add some kind of minimal element that only the two of us understand. We're both big fans of the unique artwork Cal Schenkel did for Frank Zappa, that Joe Petagno did for Motorhead and Pedro Bell did for Funkadelic and try to carry on in that tradition.

The title "Legalize Tre Bags" was conceived at the same time as our 7" single "Mighty High Drops A Deuce." In the spring of 2008, not long after the release of our first album "Mighty High…In Drug City," we got to attend an early screening of the Anvil documentary. Before the movie I was telling him about how I intended to put out a two-song single and a full length album and blurted out both titles. We were high.

MM-How did you come to be signed by Ripple Music? Are they easy to work with?

Woody-Signing with Ripple was inevitable. They're the only ones dumb enough to want to run a label in this day and age. I'm dumb enough that I keep wanting to put out records. We're all in the same age group (old) and have the same values and cultural references. I originally got in touch with those guys when I was promoting the first album and that evolved into me writing for their blog on a weekly basis. When they told me they wanted to start a label I said they were nuts but it's worked out great. And it's an honor being affiliated with awesome bands like Poobah, Grifter and Stone Axe.

MM-You were on a split seven inch and a compilation in recent years.  Any plans in the near future to do contribute anything else like that?

Woody-We did a split 7" with Stone Axe in 2010 ("Don't Panic, It's Organic" was our side) and were on the Heavy Ripples double 7" compilation with Stone Axe, Grifter and Sun Gods In Exile in 2011. Doing another split single would be cool but I really want to do a collaborative single or EP with another band like what Motorhead and Girlschool did on the "St. Valentines Massacre EP." It would be awesome to go into the studio with another band and lay down a cover song that we all love and then come up with something unique for the flip side. 

MM-I know you are playing in New York all the time. You ever play any shows outside of that area?

Woody-Playing outside of the NYC area was a goal of mine ever since I started the band in 2002 but none of the former members would ever go for it. Once Kevin and Labatts joined we started going to Philadelphia, Rochester, Albany, Boston and Columbus, OH. We're all old and have hectic lives but we plan on doing some more road trips in the future. We're going back to Philly in August to play some insane keg party in a barn. 

MM-What are some of the most memorable shows that your band has played?

Woody-In March of 2011 we played in a weird little venue called Motel Hell in south Philadelphia. It's a totally illegal spot and there was a lot of underage drinking going on. That's always a good thing. A recent show in Rochester was really special. Two of the guys are from there and I went to college nearby so it was like a big family reunion. Probably the most memorable show was July of last year. We played a dumpy little club in the East Village on the hottest day of the year and there was no air conditioning. As we were playing we noticed all these people showing up in weird outfits. There was some sort of bisexual Star Wars fetish party going on after the bands were done. There was also some guy wrapped up in a carpet laying down in front of the bar with a sign urging people to stand on him. I was glad to see that there are still a lot of freaks in the city but I was very glad to get out of there after the show.

MM-What bands have you not shared a stage with, but would love to?

Woody-Motorhead, but that's not realistic. If anyone has a time machine I'd love to open for Grand Funk Railroad and Humble Pie at Shea Stadium in 1971. I'd also love to see if we could rile up a Twisted Sister crowd circa 1982. It's worth mentioning that Mighty High is the only band to have played with both Thor and Valient Thorr.

MM-You seem to stay busy with recording and playing shows. How do you keep yourself motivated? Does it ever get old?

Woody-Shit gets old all the time. It's a constant struggle for everyone to carve out a small amount of time to practice a few times a month and play shows. I've financed all of our recordings single handedly and it's caused me enormous amounts of grief. I think about stopping all the time but once I plug my guitar in, turn up the amp and start playing with the rest of the guys all that shit goes out the window. Being in a band at my age is a dumb thing to do but I have TONS of pent up hostility and aggression. Playing music is the best way to get all that out of my system. 

MM-What are some of the best albums you have heard so far in 2012?

Woody-I love the new album by Cortez from Boston. They're heavily influenced by Black Sabbath but incorporate elements of all my favorite classic rock bands. Corrosion Of Conformity's latest album is also a real favorite. I was a huge fan of Animosity/Technocracy and I think it's awesome that the original COC recipe is back together, still kicking ass and making great new music. I just discovered a band called Superchrist that has a killer new album called Holy Shit that's a must hear for fans of Motorhead, Tank, Raven, and The Rods. The reissue of VoiVod's 1984 demo To The Death this year made me very happy.

MM-If you were stuck in a room for one month and could only pick three albums to listen to for that time then what three would you pick? Why?

Woody-Does the James Brown box set Star Time count as one album? Either way, thats mandatory. I'd definitely bring Black Saint & The Sinner Lady by Charles Mingus. That's such an incredible piece of music that you don't want to listen to anything after that for awhile. That would help me cope with the lack of choices. For my rock choice, Black Sabbath's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. That would keep cover my metal and classic rock interests until I could be reunited with the rest of my collection.

MM-You can have any back patch imaginable to put on your denim jacket, what would it be?

Woody-Acrylic paint is the only thing allowed on the large portion of my denim jacket. Motorhead's Overkill would go in that spot. A small Black Sabbath patch under it would be acceptable.

MM-How many games do you think the Orioles will beat the Yankees by when the O’s win the division this year?

Woody-Ha! No idea and I don't really care. The only reason I pay attention to baseball is to make fun of my friend Brucie who loves the Red Sox and hates the Yankees. Is Boog Powell still playing for the Orioles? I always thought he was cool and had a great name.

MM-Pick the bands from the following match-ups that you prefer and tell why you picked them.

Woody-Oh jeez, you saved the hard questions for last. 

The Stooges or MC5

Very difficult. Two of my all time favorite bands that have taken turns at #1. Today I'll go with the MC5, but tomorrow it might switch. I've been listening to the live MC5 album called Thunder Express a lot lately. Too bad they never got to make a fourth album. There's also been some killer live Stooges shows from 1970 and 71 released the past few years. Another band that should have made a fourth album.

Cactus or Humble Pie
Humble Pie. Both bands studio albums from their classic eras have some filler but Humble Pie's studio albums are stronger. Plus Steve Marriott's hard to beat. Humble Pie's Rockin' The Fillmore is one of the best live albums of all time. I recently heard there's going to be a box set coming out of all the shows recorded for that album. Their King Biscuit Flower Hour show from 1974 is unbeatable. Jim McCarty of Cactus would have been a good replacement for Frampton when he quit the Pie, but I like Clem Clemson a lot, too. Those live Cactus CD's that came out a few years ago ("Fully Unleashed: Live Gigs") are excellent. Rusty Day was a killer harmonica player.

Misfits of Ramones
Finally, an easy one - The Ramones. I saw them well over a dozen times in the 1980's. Love the Misfits, too, though.

Raven or Saxon

Good lord, another hard one! Saxon's classic run of albums in the early 80's has the advantage but as a live band in 2012 it's impossible to top Raven. 

MM-Is there anything else that you want to add about your band, music or anything else?

Woody-Stay high & survive! Many thanks to you, Mark, for all your support over the years. Your blog has given me a lot of laughs over the years and introduced me to some cool music, too.


***Thanks to Woody for doing the interview. If you have not heard Mighty High's new album then you seriously need to.
   - Metal Mark

Mighty High-Legalize Tre Bags

Ripple Music
2012

You know what the music world needs more of? If you answered "reviewers who don't open reviews with questions" you may have a valid point. However I wade through so many albums from scowling, uptight bands that are afraid their faces will break if they crack a smile. Not that bands like that can't be good, but I love to hear an album that's great for the music but even better is when they are enjoying what they are doing and even better than that is when they have a sense of humor. Rock and roll can be fun and Mighty High know it. Thank goodness for us that they are willing to share. This Brooklyn based band stir together some classic rock riffs, punk rock energy and stoner rock madness to serve up some of the catchiest rock to come down the pike in some. It's like old ZZtop, 70's AC/DC, Murphy's Law and Fu Manchu tightly rolled into one big long well, you get the picture.  Mighty High love to scream the praises of weed, beer and...uh that's about it. You don't have to be thrilled about getting high or drunk to enjoy the music because it's that infectious when they slap out the grooves and then just keep them coming. Mighty High keep the machine going from the fury of "Speedcreep" through the smooth rawk of "Cheap beer, dirt weed" on to the head bobbin' grooves of "Come on! I'm holdin'". Their past material was good, but this is even better. I needed an album that would make me smile and this is it, but it's more than that. "Legalize Tre Bags" manages to capture so much of the unbridled excitement, energy and pure pleasure that should be a part of real rock.

Heavy Ripples vol.1

Ripple Music
2011

This brand spanking new album from Ripple music is a split 7" and includes five songs from four bands. As we approach the end of winter this is the perfect thing to melt those frosty edges off of you and warm you up a bit. Stone Axe take a track from Tony Reed's previous act Mos Generator's act in "Night Wolf" and add the Stone Axe sound to it. If AC/DC and ZZtop ran into each other head on around 1975 then it might sound something like this song. Lots of pure grit and grooves to spare on this one. Next is Sun Gods in Exile who offer up a huge helping of twangy fuzz with "Over my broken bones". This track has a massive, but smooth flow to it and get seven better as it goes along.The first of two offerings from Grifter is "Small man" which is punchy to the point kind of song that is helped by a great rhythm section. My only complaint is that this song ended in during a solo and it left the track with a cut off feeling which never sits well with me. Grifter's second track is "Hey Ron” is an ode to porn star Ron Jeremy. This song actually feels like two songs. The first half is basic and actually rather average, but around the two minute mark the pace and feel pick up. Then less than a minute later it's back to the chorus from the first half. Then the last minute and half is more impressive jams. The explosions in the second half helped, but it's overall an uneven song with a few high points. Ending the album on a huge plus comes the always reliable Mighty High with “Hempophobic”. This track starts off with a riff that is sure to cause neck pain from the head bobbing you will be doing to it. This one sounds like Buffalo mixed with Cactus and topped off by Mighty High's knack for managing the pace. A fine disc for sure that will have you wanting more and that little 1 after the volume tells us there will be more at some point. So bring it on Ripple Music because we are ready for it.

Stone Axe/Mighty High 7"

Ripple Music
2010

Sometime I get kind of cautious about split albums. Sometimes it's because I am only into one of the bands and don't want to hear material by a band I am not interested. Other times I am apprehensive because if it's good I know I will regret that I didn't get more than a a sampling from each band. Newcomers Ripple Music managed to get highly explosive bands onto a 7" with each act contributing a track. Stone Axe are lead by Mos Generator's Tony Reed. They have been extremely busy knocking out three albums in less than two years. For this release they have recorded "Metal Damage". This track has me thinking of pre-Stained class Judas Priest. The kind of mid-1970's metal where band's kind of took their time and built up the sound with a steady boil of activity. This is slightly heavier than I am used from these guys, but obviously it's a style that they enjoy and that shows through. It's good to see them expanding some and this is an approach that works for them as well. Now as good as the Stone Axe song is I think that the Mighty High's track "Don't panic it's organic" is even better. The main riff is huge and dripping with 1970's fuzzed out goodness. This is the perfect tune for playing about two minutes after 5:00 on a Friday as you race home for weekend with the windows blasting this out your windows for all to hear. They hit this one right out of the park as just sounds like it came so easy for them to crank out this monster. So without a doubt both bands deliver the goods on this album. Most importantly each song was so good that I did feel that I got plenty from each band. Okay, they both make me want to pull out their other material to hear more, but that's a good thing too.

Interview with Mighty High

Mighty High might be as much of a statement as it is a band name. This is also the first time I have interviewed a band that began as a fictitious band. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing vocalist/guitarist Woody to find out more about this history of this band and what they are up to.

MM-Hello. Tell us a little about the history of your band.

Woody-Mighty High started off as a fictitious band. I started teaching myself guitar at the age of 31 as a hobby and would tell everyone that my band Mighty High kicked ass. Eventually my friend Brain O))) painted a denim jacket with a logo on the back. Once I saw the band name in acrylic on denim I got serious about writing songs and putting a band together.


MM-How did you come up with the band name?

Woody-My wife and I were on a road trip and I was telling her about something stupid I did in high school when I was stoned. She said “you must have been mighty high.” There was a long pause and we both said it would be a good band name at the same time. I later found out there was a great jazz album by Milt Buckner called Mighty High as well as a gospel song called “Mighty High” by the Mighty Clouds of Joy.

MM-Who are your musical influences?

Woody-We describe our sound as Black Flag Railroad. The basic concept is to sound like Black Flag covering Grand Funk’s Live Album. Other big influences on the band include Motorhead, MC5, The Stooges, Humble Pie, Killdozer, ZZ Top, The Ramones, Mountain and anyone else with a great live album.


MM-What are you currently up to?

Woody-Right now I’m in the process of blowing a ton of money to put out a 2 song 7” single later this year. It’s mixed, mastered and on it’s way to the pressing plant right now. Our artist Brain O))) is working on another incredible cover for it. We’re also writing some new songs and have some local shows lined up.

MM-Who have you shared a stage with so far?

Woody-I’m proud to say that Mighty High is the only band to have played with both Thor and Valient Thorr. Other great bands we’ve played with include The Brought Low, Federale, Puny Human, The Saloonatics, Mess With The Bull and Backwoods Payback. We also love playing with tribute bands! We used to play with the Black Sabbath tribute band Sabbra Cadabra at the Continental in NYC before they stopped having live music. We’ve also done shows with The Murderlators (Misfits), Gimmiehead (Motorhead), Lizzyhead (Thin Lizzy) and The Scrooges (holiday tribute to The Stooges).



MM-What have been some of your most memorable shows? Why?

Woody-We played Viking Skull’s first ever show in the USA last summer at Trash in Brooklyn. That was pretty cool. The crowd was drunk and rowdy. People are still talking about the Hoboken Holocaust of 2005 when we played Maxwell’s with Thor. A really funny one was when In This Moment opened for us in February 2007, also at Trash. Not long after that they were on tour opening for Ozzy Osbourne and White Zombie. We once played with a band called Monolith who’s singer was arrested for murder about a month after the show.


MM-Is this the only band for everyone involved or is anyone in other projects as well?

Woody-Our drummer Jesse also plays in another great band called Smokewagon. Check them out. He’s also in a Misfits tribute band called The Murderlators. The rest of us jam with friends occasionally but nothing really serious.


MM-You were voted Number 1 again on the High Times Pot 40 in the July 2009 issue according to your Myspace page. How cool is that? Did they contact you and tell you this or is it something you had to put in for?

Woody-The Pot 40 is voted on by the readers of High Times magazine and is compiled by John Holstrom of Punk Magazine fame. Anyone can nominate anything for it by sending an email to pot40@hightimes.com. It’s a huge thrill to be on there. I just found out that we’re #3 in the August 2009 issue. Our friends and fans nominate us month after month, but we stuff the ballot box, too.

MM-Your album “…In Drug City” came out over a year ago. Have you been working on any new material? If so then how does it compare with your other songs?

Woody-We have 6 songs recorded for the next album and a bunch of new songs in the works. Some of the songs are much faster with a strong early 80’s hardcore feel. Others are slower with a much more pronounced Deep Purple and Mountain influence. The main difference is that the songs have better arrangements. The songs are still simple but have a few more twists and turns to keep everyone interested. The lyrics remain about getting high and stupid shit like that.



MM-Obviously you are influenced by a number of 1970’s acts. What do you think was so good about acts from that decade?

Woody-Easy – EVERYONE was high. The audience wanted to hear righteous jams that sounded good when they were stoned. The musicians were also high and eager to oblige. Bands used to sell more concert tickets than records but unlike now, there was less competition for the short term attention of young people. The artists also worked on putting on a show and the crowd would go nuts.

MM-Was it a better decade for music than this decade? If so then why?

Woody-Just about any decade is better than this one for music. That’s a big reason I started the band. People stopped creating the type of music I like around 1982.

I’m a big fan of most American music from the mid 1940’s to the mid 1960’s. There’s so much incredible jazz, blues, country, western swing, rock & roll, soul music, etc that you can spend your entire life trying to discover it all.

The 1980’s was a great decade. On the surface it was all crap like Mr. Mister, The Outfield and Huey Lewis but I was too busy with all the great metal, hardcore and weird underground stuff to pay any attention. Personally, I thought the 1990’s was pretty lame. I was so burned out from all the killer SST, Touch & Go, Megaforce, etc bands that Sub Pop stuff just didn’t do it for me.

MM-Why should someone listen to Mighty High?

Woody-Because we rock! Hard! And all the songs are about getting high.

Not many people listen to Mighty High, but I wish more would. I know a lot of people are turned off by the humor in the lyrics, but fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke. Musically we seem to confuse people, too. We play too fast for the stoner rock crowd, too slow for the punk crowd, not heavy enough for metalheads, and too metal for garage rockers.



MM-What are some of the best albums that you have heard so far this year?

Woody-I like the latest Mastodon record a lot, Crack The Skye. Some of their older fans don’t like it at all but I think it’s great. The new Kylesa record Static Tensions is also really good. Anyone who doesn’t like the new Masodon should pick it up. Same with Quiet Earth by Bison. That’s a really heavy duty album. I just heard the new Firebird album Grand Union and like that a whole bunch. They do a great cover of Humble Pie’s “4 Day Creep.”

Older records that I’ve newly discovered include Paul Kossoff’s Back Street Crawler, Leslie West’s 1st solo album called Mountain, Brain Capers by Mott the Hoople. I also finally picked up B.B. King’s Live In Cook County Jail. I was reminded when I read a recent interview with Angus Young when he mentioned it was one of his favorite albums of all time. It’s a killer!

MM-What do you hope to accomplish in the remainder of 2009?

Woody-Put out the new single, play more shows with great bands and write more songs.

Any plans for a new album in the near future?

Hopefully we’ll be doing more recording at the end of this year or early 2010. I already have the album title, cover concept and most of the music and lyrics. We just need to get into the practice space and jam on the riffs and sharpen them up into good songs.

MM-Pick the band from each of the following pairs that you prefer and tell why you picked them.
Woody-
AC/DC or KISS
AC/DC all the way. I love Kiss Alive but not much else by them. The Bon Scott era is my favorite but Back In Black is an all time classic and Flick of the Switch is an underrated gem.

Thin Lizzy or UFO
This is a tough one, I love both bands but will give it to UFO by a hair. I listen to Strangers In The Night all the time. Michael Schenker, please get your head together. We need you!

Aerosmith or Ted Nugent
Based on 1970’s output I should say Aerosmith, but am gonna go with Ted just because his music gets me so pumped up and belligerent. I had the great pleasure of meeting Ted about 10 years ago. He told me he invented the middle finger.

Black Sabbath or Deep Purple
Tie. I can’t choose one over the other. Black Sabbath is one of my all time favorites but I rarely listen to them, but listen to Deep Purple all the time.

MM-Is there anything else that you would like to say about your band, your music or anything else?

Woody-Thank you Metal Mark for the interview. It’s an honor to be part of the Heavy Metal Time Machine. You have horrible taste in music! (Just kidding).

www.myspace.com/mightyhigh

Mighty High-Drug City

Self-produced
2008

I remember as a teenager being careful with the volume level on my stereo as I listened to something like "Sweet leaf". I was afraid my mom would freak if she caught me listening to it. My mother was one of those people that thought the lyrics of rock music would lead to no good and I would be on the downward spiral to some sort of hell. Maybe she was right, but bands are still singing about the same topics that they have combing over for the last few decades. Obviously this band isn't shy about their topics as the moniker and album title broadcast that this will be ode to drugs. It's all fun though as Mighty High take us on a spirited ride through their hazy, smoke-covered little world. They remind me of mid-late 1980's crossover similar to post 1986 Gang Green mixed with some early 70's classic rock. I think the cover and band name had me expecting them to be more like stoner rock. They are not though because instead of laying back and taking it slow they plow forth with a relentless assault. So this band forgoes any gloss as carve out jagged chunks of music mixing it metal, punk and more. It's an enjoyable romp though because Mighty High never get bogged down in trying to do or be too much. They have an agenda and they get in and get out while giving just enough to have us hooked. Not an album that I could listen to all the time because it's nothing do, but it's a fine effort that I could certainly play on occasion.

http://www.myspace.com/mightyhigh