MID AM IS BORED

Again this is another old interview that was meant for FUNERAL MUSIC #3. Again nothing is really updated. Pretty recently we put out these dudes' first 7". Check out some tunes and get in touch to make your purchase.
Meet your new favorite band dipshits.

MIDDLE AMERICA hail from the shit-eatin streets of Allentown, PA. After a couple visits I'm convinced this place is a lot cooler than some of the hardcore meccas they get passed by for, but they do have punk there, and it rips. If you want an idea of what these dudes sound like they play a deranged version of early american hardcore that sets them apart from the revivalists, or maybe puts them ahead of the pack of the next generation of bands that will dig a little deeper. They sound like DIE KREUZEN or THE FIX in the same way SEX/VID might or like VOID the way DRY ROT does, if you need some current comparison lubrication. They do they own thing but they can hang. Trust me and check it out. I dig them enough that me and my bud are putting out their first vinyl. (this development came post interview, so this isn't as much a shameless self promotion as you might like to think) This shit was done a long fucking time ago but it's still news to you..

Who the fuck are you guys/ who does what? Why should we give a shit?

Josh - MIDDLE AMERICA consists of Tom who drums, Cody who plays bass, Jon who plays guitar, and myself singing. I don't feel as if anyone should really give a shit about us to tell you the truth.

Tom - We're some shitty punk band from Allentown, Pennsylvania. Jon Abbot plays guitar and that’s all you really need to know cause he’s the attractive one in the band.

How long have you guys been playing together? How long have you been playing music?

Tom - Music?

Josh - We have been playing together for about little over a year now, but Cody, Tom and myself have been playing in multiple bands together over the last 4 years, we just recently started to playing with Jon not too long ago.

What bands are you ripping off and what new bands are you down with?

Josh - The bands we attempt to rip off, usually consists of Texas bands and Midwest bands. We really like the BIG BOYS a lot especially those weird funk songs they do, but on the other hand we love the raw fast sound of THE FIX and DIE KREUZEN, but usually us ripping off a band never sounds close to what we want it to sound like anyway. Some new bands that I have been listening to lately has been a lot of DRY-ROT, SICK-Es, PINK REASON, HOMOSTUPIDS, SWEET ROT, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah...

Tom - I would like to think that we don’t directly rip off any one band too much but I think our general approach is kind of rooted in the early 80’s Texas and Midwestern hardcore/punk scenes. I’ve always found those to be the most musically interesting and diverse scenes in american punk history; no two bands sounded alike and bands like the BIG BOYS and BOBBY SOXX or DIE KREUZEN and TAR BABIES were so great cause they just did whatever the fuck they felt like but were still so raw, so I guess we try to keep that in mind when we write songs. As far as newer bands I think there is a lot of great stuff around right now but of course a lot of it is just complete shit. I don’t really get anything out of the whole generic 80’s rehash stuff that seems to be so prevalent today, although I guess a lot of people might say we fall into that, but as far as current hardcore bands I feel that we sort of identify with or whatever I’d say SEX/VID, DRY ROT, SHOOT IT UP, CHRONIC SEIZURE, OUT WITH A BANG, etc.

What's the scene like there in Allentown? Do people care about your band? Is there shit going on? Double Decker was pretty awesome...

Josh - Double Decker is a great place, I really don't know what I would do with out it, but I probably would have a lot more money in pocket if it didn't exist. I can't turn down some of the ridiculous records he gets in. But yea Allentown... not at all like that Billy Joel song, which on a side note isn't even written about Allentown, but the town over called Bethlehem, but anyway the scene kind of sucks right now, not a lot of kids involved just a lot of kids talking about doing something and don't do anything. There is two great venues here now Jan's Room and Muscle Beach, so lately there has been a lot of good shows going on though. No one here really likes our band though, we rarely ever get asked to play shows, and usually everybody looks really bored when we play.

Tom - The scene in Allentown is kind of weird. It’s notoriously clicky and there are a lot of people into different things that don’t really communicate but there are a couple great new venues so that’s sort of changing. Some people like us, mainly just because of Jon Abbot’s good looks, but there’s not really much of hardcore scene around here, and we fit in a lot better with the noisier crowd than with pop punk or emo. There’s a few really great bands doing different things like TILE, PISSED JEANS, GHADDAR and BREAD MACHINE that are really exciting though and am glad they call Allentown home. Double Decker is great, probably the best thing about this city. Many claim its the best record store on the east coast.

Do you always throw your instruments around and play so violently or did we just luck out and witness your sickest show?

Tom - We usually play pretty sloppy and like to have fun, so I guess a lot of shows end up with broken instruments or various members of the band on the floor or whatever. Some people might call this violent…

Josh - Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't, usually its always our bassist Cody who gets pissed at his equipment failing or him not being able to play the songs properly, or us just being completely bored by everybody's blank faces during our sets.

What's next for you guys?

Josh - We are in the process of attempting to put out a 7”, and hopefully a tour in the near future.

Tom - We recorded about a month ago for two singles. One should be coming out by late fall early winter and the other one maybe like spring. Winter east coast tour possibly in the works after our guitar player gets back from Rome, then who knows, “even the thought of trying to think further makes us shiver in fear.”

HOME INVASION RECORDS

these dudes should have some new shit coming soon so keep your shits peeled. they also do a couple other bands that may be worth checking out. FRESH MEAT and GHADDAR and probably more.