If there is a musician whom always we wanted to interview, this he is Jason Netherton, bassist / vocalist of the brilliant Misery Index. Well then, it turns out that Laura Serviän contacted him, and the Jason's good one not only that agreed to give us the interview, but it did it with the brilliancy and the good wave that always characterized it. It is not necessary to add any more anything. Definitively, we are speaking about a genius whom every fan of the Extreme Musict must know, yes or yes. A made dream reality. Jason Netherton in Puro Ruido.
PR: Hi Jason. Thank
you for accepting the interview. It is an honor for those who do Puro Ruido to
do this interview
Jason Netherton: COOL! Thanks for asking…
Jason Netherton: COOL! Thanks for asking…
PR: Let's start with
what's coming: the live record. The final title is Live In Munich? When goes on
sale, that label editing. Are planning make a edition with live DVD?
JN: I wish! The thing is, it was all done very spontaneously. We never had an actual plan to record a live album, it was more like something that fell into our laps. We have a guy in Germany we know, who made the offer to come out and record our set with his mobile recording unit, just for fun. He had done some bands in the past, and his recordings were good - nice and raw, yet with an audible feel. So, we decided last winter to do the show in Munich, cause it fit both our schedules. We just thought it would be something fun for us to listen to, but after we heard it, we felt it was cool and interesting enough to go down as a sort of tour-memory via a limited vinyl LP. So, really its not too major of a release, its more for fun, for vinyl collectors, and die hard fans. It will only have a vinyl and digital download release.
JN: I wish! The thing is, it was all done very spontaneously. We never had an actual plan to record a live album, it was more like something that fell into our laps. We have a guy in Germany we know, who made the offer to come out and record our set with his mobile recording unit, just for fun. He had done some bands in the past, and his recordings were good - nice and raw, yet with an audible feel. So, we decided last winter to do the show in Munich, cause it fit both our schedules. We just thought it would be something fun for us to listen to, but after we heard it, we felt it was cool and interesting enough to go down as a sort of tour-memory via a limited vinyl LP. So, really its not too major of a release, its more for fun, for vinyl collectors, and die hard fans. It will only have a vinyl and digital download release.
PR: Before beginning
to write the questions, I put to revise Misery Index's history. And I said
" ok, they are a great band of Death/Grind. But not always they were a
group of Death/Grind ". I say this because always I thought that Overthrow
is more Death Metal, and that newly in Retaliate the band extracts to the light
his side more grinder, and even, more Punk. Do you agree with this?
JN: I would say that is spot-on correct. Yes, we started out more death metal, and then went through sort of a crusty-grind phase around 2003-2007 and then went back more death metal by 2008's "Traitors." So its been a journey, but I would say we are indeed still a death-grind band, also because of our lyrical and image/aesthetic.
JN: I would say that is spot-on correct. Yes, we started out more death metal, and then went through sort of a crusty-grind phase around 2003-2007 and then went back more death metal by 2008's "Traitors." So its been a journey, but I would say we are indeed still a death-grind band, also because of our lyrical and image/aesthetic.
PR: Jason, you have
been very active in 2012, collaborating with bands like Aborted, Pig Destroyer,
Coldworker, Beyond Terror Beyond Grace. But they are not the only
collaborations that you have done with other bands. Even I remember your
performance in Rotten Sound's marvellous album called Cursed. Are you selective
to the moment to choose to the groups with which you are going to collaborate
as guest? What has to provoke in you the music of the band that it invites you
to participate of his record?
JN: That is a good question, I have usually been pretty open to doing guest vox, I think its fun and its an honor. Looking back I think I have done at least 12-15 over the years, and i suppose its starting to look a bit crowded. I think I will be more careful in the future, but only because I have less time now, I am working and doing some other projects, so its far more difficult now to make things happen like that.
JN: That is a good question, I have usually been pretty open to doing guest vox, I think its fun and its an honor. Looking back I think I have done at least 12-15 over the years, and i suppose its starting to look a bit crowded. I think I will be more careful in the future, but only because I have less time now, I am working and doing some other projects, so its far more difficult now to make things happen like that.
PR: It seems like
you're always going forward, that you do not like to hold on to the past, much
less stick to a formula. Think it essential in the artist's life not stick to a
formula? You think the artist must always moving, creating and looking for new
things?
JN: Not always, it depends on what you are into or what sort of gives you the driving force or inner-spirit to create and make art. For everyone its different, but I guess for us, we have always had one foot in what might be our "foundational" sound, and the other foot looking ahead. We are open to different things, like slow songs, or even more epic/melodic if it fits, but for the most part we like to stay in our genre.
JN: Not always, it depends on what you are into or what sort of gives you the driving force or inner-spirit to create and make art. For everyone its different, but I guess for us, we have always had one foot in what might be our "foundational" sound, and the other foot looking ahead. We are open to different things, like slow songs, or even more epic/melodic if it fits, but for the most part we like to stay in our genre.
PR: Jason, also play
in Quills, a band that I love. For anyone who still does not know Quills, then,
if you want, you can tell us what music you make and how many records have been
published?
JN: Quills is a side project with some other Baltimore musicians of note, and the vocalist is Evan from Maryland death fest. We are not really active, in fact I think its over, but we did two EPS, one in 2006 and one recent one last year as a split with Noise band At the Heart of the World, that is available for free download, via the AttheHeartoftheWorld.com . Its kind of like a crusty hardcore thing with black overtones.
JN: Quills is a side project with some other Baltimore musicians of note, and the vocalist is Evan from Maryland death fest. We are not really active, in fact I think its over, but we did two EPS, one in 2006 and one recent one last year as a split with Noise band At the Heart of the World, that is available for free download, via the AttheHeartoftheWorld.com . Its kind of like a crusty hardcore thing with black overtones.
PR: The first time
that I read the name Misery Index, which more was called me the attention was
the name: Misery Index, a term invented in Chicago, the same place wherefrom
there arose the Chicagos Boys, who maybe are the principal persons in charge,
with his system of neoliberal economy, of the existence of the misery index.
Did you think about this when they chose to put this name to the group?
JN: Part of the naming was from the economic term, but the other part was really because it was the name of Assuck's last album and I just thought it was a really catchy term, I liked it, simple, memorable. Above all, it fits the lyrical content, rooted in 'real world' concrete conditions and reality.
JN: Part of the naming was from the economic term, but the other part was really because it was the name of Assuck's last album and I just thought it was a really catchy term, I liked it, simple, memorable. Above all, it fits the lyrical content, rooted in 'real world' concrete conditions and reality.
PR: Your lyrics are
the most committed and lucid I've read / heard lately. However, there is
something that strikes me (and I like): do not try to preach through the
lyrics. Rather, it seems that you just give your point of view, without
assuming that position so proud to have some who think they have the absolute
truth of things. But I'd like you to tell me what is the reason that express
what you express, and because you say things the way you say it.
JN: It is important for us as a band to be screaming and shouting about something we are sincerely angry about. That is the core of pissed-off lyrics, and in that sense, we are not interested in fantasy or gore/violence just "for the sake of it." There is plenty to be angry about in the real-world arena of social injustice, and it is there we find much of our content and subject matter. We also sing about personal issues here and there (which is important as well). We do not want to get repetitive, and at some level there are always very deep existential and spiritual questions at the core of humanity's condition, so we want to explore those themes too. As far as preachy-ness it can be tricky, the main idea is to be self-conscious and reflexive about our criticisms, to (as you say) be aware of the many ways to look at certain complex problems, and to be skeptical of simple solutions that do little to advance understanding and comprehesion.
JN: It is important for us as a band to be screaming and shouting about something we are sincerely angry about. That is the core of pissed-off lyrics, and in that sense, we are not interested in fantasy or gore/violence just "for the sake of it." There is plenty to be angry about in the real-world arena of social injustice, and it is there we find much of our content and subject matter. We also sing about personal issues here and there (which is important as well). We do not want to get repetitive, and at some level there are always very deep existential and spiritual questions at the core of humanity's condition, so we want to explore those themes too. As far as preachy-ness it can be tricky, the main idea is to be self-conscious and reflexive about our criticisms, to (as you say) be aware of the many ways to look at certain complex problems, and to be skeptical of simple solutions that do little to advance understanding and comprehesion.
PR: Jason, I do not
know if you've read The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism by
Naomi Klein. If you've read it, I would like to know your view about what Klein
poses in this book, especially in regards to how the great capitalist powers
take advantage of natural disasters, war and all those extreme contingencies ,
to impose economic reforms that benefit only the powerful.
JN: Klein is fantastic, and while I have not read that book I am a fan and I have read her "No Logo" text years ago. I do agree that the capitalist system is very predatory and by its very laws it negotiates ways to extract value and profit from crisis situations. Once a sector, a social condition, or a geographic space is upended or destroyed, it necessitates reproduction, and as capitalism is an expansionary system, needing perpetual growth to thrive, it necessarily pounces on social 'negatives' such as those you named in order to reorient production and reproduction around value-creating activities.
JN: Klein is fantastic, and while I have not read that book I am a fan and I have read her "No Logo" text years ago. I do agree that the capitalist system is very predatory and by its very laws it negotiates ways to extract value and profit from crisis situations. Once a sector, a social condition, or a geographic space is upended or destroyed, it necessitates reproduction, and as capitalism is an expansionary system, needing perpetual growth to thrive, it necessarily pounces on social 'negatives' such as those you named in order to reorient production and reproduction around value-creating activities.
PR: To what extent
the crisis of the entertainment industry (music, film, etc.) is not the fault
of the capitalist system? To what extent piracy is not a consequence of greed
of an industry cannibal who tries to obtain money to since be possible?
JN: The drive for the film and music industry to reap profits by first selling people the same shit over and over again in different formats (vinyl to cassette to CD to MP3, and VHS to laserdisc to DVD), ended up backfiring against them for sure, the digitalization of entrainment commodities allows for a more direct relationship among music producers and consumers, but its harder to commodify, because the immaterial and transferable nature of the media allows for pure, unobstructed relations outside of capital (also known as piracy) and that is frightening to the big media companies. I think they will survive, but the industry will continue to shrink. Bands will still make music and artists will still make art. How and under what conditions it will be commodified, or if it will mature into new relations altogether, remains to be seen.
JN: The drive for the film and music industry to reap profits by first selling people the same shit over and over again in different formats (vinyl to cassette to CD to MP3, and VHS to laserdisc to DVD), ended up backfiring against them for sure, the digitalization of entrainment commodities allows for a more direct relationship among music producers and consumers, but its harder to commodify, because the immaterial and transferable nature of the media allows for pure, unobstructed relations outside of capital (also known as piracy) and that is frightening to the big media companies. I think they will survive, but the industry will continue to shrink. Bands will still make music and artists will still make art. How and under what conditions it will be commodified, or if it will mature into new relations altogether, remains to be seen.
PR: Let's talk about
music. Let's do a little history: do you remember about the times of Damnation?
What were your goals at that time?
JN: That was my high school band with John (from Dying Fetus), we were in that band for a few years, just doing it for fun. It was more like some sort of heavy metal, not even really thrash, but once we got into death metal around 1990, we jumped ship and started Dying Fetus in late 1991.
JN: That was my high school band with John (from Dying Fetus), we were in that band for a few years, just doing it for fun. It was more like some sort of heavy metal, not even really thrash, but once we got into death metal around 1990, we jumped ship and started Dying Fetus in late 1991.
PR: Speaking of your
beginnings: there was some group, or some particular record that you have done
exclaim "this is what I want to do!"? Once read somewhere that you're
a fan of Steve Harris
JN: Yeah, of course, teeange dreams of metal stardom coming from seeing Iron Maiden and Metallica videos in the 1980's…for sure I began playing bass because of Steve Harris, he made it cool to be a bass player, because the bass was such a big part of Iron Maiden songs.
JN: Yeah, of course, teeange dreams of metal stardom coming from seeing Iron Maiden and Metallica videos in the 1980's…for sure I began playing bass because of Steve Harris, he made it cool to be a bass player, because the bass was such a big part of Iron Maiden songs.
PR: Well, Jason,
let's finalizing. We do not want to steal more time. One last question: what
can you say about Misery Index, the album of the great Assück? Beyond the name
of the record, you consider a band Assück was important to you in your training
as a musician?
JN: Assuck were one of the bands in the 90's I was listening to that opened my eyes to grindcore, seeing that approach work was a nice alternative to death metal because it showed you could honestly and sincerely be angry and pissed off, and play music just as vicious as death metal, but have more of an underlying purpose and social consciousness. Assuck, along with Napalm Death, Nasum, His Hero is Gone, Terrorizer, Phobia, Disrupt, and others were important bridges between death and grind in the 90s, and encouraged me a lot when I was trying to get Misery Index off the ground after I left Dying Fetus.
JN: Assuck were one of the bands in the 90's I was listening to that opened my eyes to grindcore, seeing that approach work was a nice alternative to death metal because it showed you could honestly and sincerely be angry and pissed off, and play music just as vicious as death metal, but have more of an underlying purpose and social consciousness. Assuck, along with Napalm Death, Nasum, His Hero is Gone, Terrorizer, Phobia, Disrupt, and others were important bridges between death and grind in the 90s, and encouraged me a lot when I was trying to get Misery Index off the ground after I left Dying Fetus.
PR: Ok, Jason, that's
all. Million thanks for giving us the interview. Hope to see you with Misery
Index in South America soon!
JN: Thanks - me too!
JN: Thanks - me too!
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