By Keith Walsh Hailing from Ohio, Neon Straightjackets deliver on the promise of their colorful band name, with an energetic sound and intelligent lyrics. Lately they’ve been touring around the U.S. in support of their excellent debut album Ex-Girlfriends and Ecstasy and writing songs. I had the chance to ask questions of the guys on a quick break in their schedule. (My album review is at popular culture beat.)
Punk Rock Beat: It looks like you added a guitarist since the ‘Lady Lazarus’ video a year ago. How has that changed the band, and how you write and record music?
Larry: We honestly feel like a whole unit that can bring a house down. We realized we were missing something so the addition of Mikey and putting our original bassist Johnny on lead guitar really put us where we needed to be.
Johnny: I would have to say that adding Mikey to the band and me switching to guitar definitely amplified our sound.
Mikey: I would agree with Johnny, I think us giving rock solid bass & guitar support on both sides of Larry’s voice and guitar are going to be instrumental (literally and figuratively) in setting us up wonderfully for the next album’s sound.
Punk Rock Beat: The vocals range in style. Who sings? Are you switching roles?
Larry: That’d be me and Mikey! I love having more than one thing going on vocally. Moving forward we are gonna do more switching, and some lyric writing duties will be on Mikey!
Mikey: It’s me and Larry, with him generally taking the low-to midrange vocals and myself either taking a higher register, or contributing “growl” vocals. We’ve talked some about changing up vocal roles a bit while we develop our new tunes, and there very well may be something new in the mix in that regard, but as of late I’m here mainly for backup harmony.
Punk Rock Beat: Humor is a big part of your lyrical message — how much fun is it to write these songs?
Larry: Well, we wanna let people know that people can feel their feelings but also have fun with it and be playful. That’s where it comes from for me lyrically anyways.
Mikey: I was late to the party and didn’t get to participate in the songwriting process for this album, however, speaking on our experiences writing new things since then, it’s had me nothing short of ecstatic at times– I’m a big fan of keeping it loose and heavy, songwriting-wise, and I’m seeing us really come into a style of our own. I feel like Larry and I have plenty to offer each other in this area, and I think it’s really gonna show.
Punk Rock Beat: Why the choice to write songs about love rather than politics?
Larry: Well, people hear about politics all the time. As these songs were being written, despite everything going on in the world with controversial elections and the pandemic and whatever your stance is on that– that stuff was on the back of my mind. When you’re depressed, going through a break up, whatever– usually, what congress is doing moves to the back of the brain. We have things to say about the world at a later time, but it’s about my world and your world for the time being. You know?
Johnny: Politics and music aren’t the best combination. I like to believe that music is a place where all people come together.
Mikey: I’d give two reasons, one being that this album was set to follow a cohesive theme and politics didn’t fit into the picture. The second being that none of us intend to use our musical platform to do anything but be ourselves, and it’s possible something political could be hinted at in a lyric or something like that, but otherwise, we don’t intend to associate ourselves as political figures of any sort. We simply aim to promote believing in– and being, one’s true self.
Punk Rock Beat: You guys rock hard, but why don’t you write tender love songs? There’s more money in that? (Kidding but I’d love to hear your response.)
Larry: Didn’t feel tender during the writing process. ‘Nuff said.
Johnny: We have some soft songs but we haven’t gotten to that route yet I’m sure we all could come up with something for the second album possibly.
Mikey: That as well just didn’t fall into the vibe for this one, and chances are we’ll go harder on the next, but you never know what curveballs we might throw.
Punk Rock Beat: I love the messages about getting through tough times (‘Stargazing’) and that you get things off your chest by playing music (‘I hate humanity’). How essential do you feel music is to living a balanced, healthy life?
Larry: Well, it keeps the feelings from being bottled up! That’s my experience. My favorite thing about performing and writing music is ripping your heart out, putting it on a plate, then showing it to a room full of people. So, in that way, it supports a healthy life mentally. Not to mention all the SWEATING no one talks about when the venue is hot.
Johnny: Music is very important to me. I’ve been playing guitar since I was about 7 years old. Music has always been a part of my life.
Mikey: I’d call music very essential, if it weren’t for music, the personalities behind it, and the movements it creates, I doubt I or anyone would be the people we are.
Punk Rock Beat: All the songs are excellent…. ‘Scatterbrain’ is an outstanding, honest song about mental health. How important do you feel it is to write songs from an honest place?
Larry: Well, I don’t ever wanna write something I know nothing of. Like, a topic I wasn’t involved in but I know all the details about– maybe. But, with ‘Scatterbrain’ it’s an experience. Imagine having something wrong with you and no one can accept that. It’s an honest look because it’s a real thing that’s happened to me and many others around the world. It’s a real problem that people look at mental health as a problem, and I wanted to write from the place of someone that feels like a burden for trauma responses they can’t control, or having ADHD.
Johnny: That’s usually where it’s supposed to come from. Depending on what type of song you’re aiming for. But sometimes that’s out of your hands as well.
Mikey: I think it’s important for one’s musical enjoyment to play or sing what feels natural. Whether you like to write slow songs to process emotions, or fast, goofy nu-metal riffs to let out pent up energy, whatever flows from you should be purely you. (And probably will be whether you like it or not).
Punk Rock Beat: ‘Stargazing’ could be a Ramones song. Who are some other favorites?
Larry: My Chemical Romance, Electric Light Orchestra, and Billy Squier lately.
Johnny: Blink 182, Nirvana, and Green Day.
Mikey: For me, System Of A Down has really been scratching the itch lately. I also dig the Misfits, Pantera, the older Green Day stuff, etc. I try and explore a little of it all but I lean on the heavy side.
Punk Rock Beat: What’s the best part about being in a band?
Larry: Being myself and encouraging others to do the same.
Johnny: I’d have to say playing live. There’s nothing like playing live. And chasing your dreams with your friends.
Mikey: Definitely playing live, showing off all you’ve practiced and the people you meet doing it!
Punk Rock Beat: What’s the worst part about being in a band?
Larry: Driving home after a long weekender. Like, I am beat from performing and driving home always blows. Plus, I don’t really want the weekend to end!
Johnny: The worst part of being in a band is definitely the drive home after a bad show.
Mikey: Definitely all the driving. It’s either pure anticipation on the way there, or pure exhaustion on the way back
Punk Rock Beat: Awesome guitar work. Please tell me about the gear!
Larry: I use a homemade Frankenstein of a guitar that Johnny, Mikey, and I all put together. It’s a knockoff Strat body with an original paint scheme I came up with. (It even has my initials on the headstock if you look.) It also features a Guardians of the Galaxy sticker which is a plus. Oh, and it’s got Silvertone guitar pickups and a makeshift kills witch in the pickup switch. I also use a homemade tube amp head and Marshall half stack. When it comes to pedals, I use Behringer Chorus, Fuzz, and Delay with a Danelectro Daddy-O overdrive on a pedal board I made out of comic book pages and a cabinet door.
Johnny: I use a les paul knock off the brand is Called ‘Zero gravity’ in which I used to record ‘I hate humanity.’ My pedalboard consists of a Jim Dunlop Wah, Behringer tube screamer, Behringer Equalizer pedal, Behringer Delay and a Sonic cake Noise gate. My Amp head was a Randall but it was wasn’t loud enough so recently I upgraded to Bugera 6262.
Mikey: I use an Epiphone Thunderbird Bass through an EQ, a bass fuzz, a tape delay and a Whammy 5 pedal into a Hardtke TX300 with a David Eden 18” cab. Although this is not what was used to record the album.
Neon Straightjackets LinkTree
“Ex-Girlfriends And Ecstasy” Review At Popular Culture Beat