Interview

Iron Reagan Discusses Tours, "The Tyranny of Will" and "Miserable Failure" Video

Iron Reagan released its second full-length recording “The Tyranny of Will” in September via Relapse Records. This album continues their tradition of punk-thrash songs not far removed from Municipal Waste. Iron Reagan consists of half the members of Municipal Waste. Tony Foresta is still the hyperblast word architect while Phil Hall takes up the guitar in place of his bass. The album contains 25 songs done in just over a half-hour, but not as “cartoony” as Municipal Waste. Here is a band with something to say and they’ll instigate a circle pit in doing it.

Phil Hall and drummer Ryan Parrish spoke to me after a blistering performance on the Black Stage at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas. The night before, the band played Red 7 as part of the festival’s Nites club shows. Their FFF daytime appearance marked the end of a North American tour, but the band was gearing up for another tour, this time with Napalm Death, Voivod, Exhumed, Ringworm and Black Crown Initiate. Read what the group has to say about these tours as well as their zany video for “Miserable Failure.”

Rex_84: What do you think about Fun Fun Fun Fest?

Phil Hall: I enjoyed myself when I got to play today. I got to see King Diamond. I saw Judas Priest on Friday night. I drank a lot of beer. It’s been crazy.

Ryan Parrish: Judas Priest, Rocket From the Crypt, 7 Seconds—it was crazy.

Rex_84: Did you play with Rocket From the Crypt?

Hall: Yeah, kind of, but it was more with 7 Seconds at Red 7. 7 Seconds was inside. Rocket From the Crypt was outside, so I did watch 7 Seconds and I’ll say their drummer kills. They have a really good drummer. Fucking a, he was blowing my mind he was so good.

Rex_84: How was the show last night?

Hall: It was later at night, so we had been at the fest all day partying and then we played, but it was fucking great!

Parrish: Yeah, it was awesome. Red 7 is always fun to play. We always have fun when we play there. We just went out there and did it. We played at 11:45. It’s a big difference from playing at 2 PM like we did today.

Hall: I like playing a show when you’re up and with it. It’s a good feel.

Parrish: Yeah, I know what you mean.

Hall: The first thing you do is play a show and then you can party the rest of the day.

Rex_84: Municipal Waste played here two years ago on the same day as Napalm Death. You’re getting ready to head out on the road with Napalm Death. Did you know them two years ago when you played the fest?

Hall: We did that tour and became good buddies. We know Barney [Greenway] and Shane [Embury] and all of those dudes. It will be cool to get back on the road with them and hang out. Napalm Death are very down-to-earth guys. They’ve been doing it for so long. They know the deal. They’re not full of themselves or anything. They’re just out there making a living playing grind.

Parrish: I don’t know them as well as the Waste, but I feel the same. We played a couple of festivals together. They are always cool and down to earth. I’m excited to be able to get out there and get to know those guys each day, just hang out. I’m excited. It’s going to be good shit.

Rex_84: There are a lot of good bands on that tour. Isn’t Exhumed on it, too?

Hall: Exhumed is on it and Voivod. I don’t know the Voivod guys, but Exhumed I’ve toured with extensively. Iron Reagan has, so it will be a bunch of guys who know each other already, which will be cool. It’s a wonderful thing when you’re in this environment and you don’t have to deal with, I don’t know, hostile personalities. It’s all friendly dudes.

Parrish: On the level.

Rex_84: Didn’t you do a split with Exhumed?

Hall: There is energy in that split. We made the songs and put it out. I don’t know how to describe it.

Parrish: We took this idea and both bands made it a reality in no time. It just happened so quickly. It came out so well. The cover of the record is one of my favorite stories. It came from a napkin. Tony [Foresta-vocals] had the idea for the cover and drew it on a napkin. That drawing is legendary because it’s so bad. What it turned in to is so bad ass. What a switch. It was so great. That record was just fun, all the way around.

Hall: I wish I could put out a book of just Tony’s art because Tony can’t draw but he can visualize. His artistic skills are so hilarious bad, kind of like kindergarten level. It makes it bad ass. Seriously, we’ve been on air planes riding for hours and I’m giving Tony ideas for pictures to draw. I just laugh at the results that he will give me. (laughs) You can’t fake it. You can’t fake drawings that bad. I love it. Seriously. It is art.

Rex_84: Another show I’m wondering about is the Gwar-B-Q. How did that go?

Parrish: Yes, that was amazing. That was a pinnacle moment for Iron Reagan. We played that thing and people were hanging from the rafters of the picnic area. It was fucking crazy! It was one of the most fun times I’ve ever play Richmond and I’m from there. That was really an amazing time.

Hall: If you haven’t been to Gwar-B-Q, you can’t really picture what it’s like. You have a water park. There is a lake. There’s a stage. There’s freaks out to the yin yang. To describe it you would never get the picture of what it really is. It’s unique and everyone should experience it.

Rex_84: Did you strike up a friendship with Ryan when Municipal Waste was on tour with Darkest Hour and At The Gates?

Parrish: We knew each other, but we never really got to hang out. I met Phil. Phil met me. I was gone a lot at the time. Then he started busting as with the Waste. I never really got a chance to meet Phil.

Hall: We met way back in the day when I was in this old death metal band. We would always cross paths. We knew each other enough to be like “Hey, how’s it going? But it never got past that until we started touring together a little bit and hanging out.

Parrish: We had been doing this for years. That’s how some shit goes, man. Dudes are bad ass and you know that, but you just don’t know them. Then you get to know them and (touches his beer can to Hall’s).

Rex_84: Mark Bronzino plays in Mammoth Grinder, an Austin-based band. Is he from Virginia, too?

Parrish: No, not all. He’s from the opposite of Virginia. He’s a New Jersey-an.

Hall: He’s as different from us as can be, but in a good way.

Parrish: He’s got that drive. He’s totally Italian and ready to do it. He’s awesome, man. We met him through Tony. He knew him through ANS. When he came on board it was crazy. The day he joined the band, a funny story involving Mark Bronzino and the Exhumed split. The day he flew into town. He hadn’t even tried out for the band. We were like “Hey Mark, let’s go do some backing vocals.” He did gang vocals on that record, the first song on the Exhumed split. He went into the studio and did gang vocals for a band he wasn’t even in. We got him from the air port. He had just gotten into town. It was just classic, man. He’s down for anything.

Hall: He’s also a total character and you’ve got to meet him. That’s him. Period.

Rex_84: “In Greed We Trust,” “Tyranny of Will” and “Bill of Fights” are some of the song titles on “The Tyranny of Will.” Besides being pun-worthy like Municipal Waste, are these songs political? Is Iron Reagan a political band?

Hall: We have a little bit of that edge. We’re trying to have themes to our songs that mean something to us. We’re not phoning it in with completely cartoony subject matter. We’re writing about things that we really feel about.

Parrish: It’s more opinionated that political because honestly we’re not preaching to anybody. We’re just telling you how we feel.

Rex_84: You’re not taking any sides.

Parrish: It’s not like taking sides, it’s more of an opinion. We’re just voicing about certain things in the world and more about bringing awareness to things that are happening, instead of being completely unaware. Sometimes you want to know. It’s getting weird and sometimes you don’t. I say it a thousand times. It’s one of my favorite analogies. The hidden things that you don’t see. Then you’re wondering where all that shit went. It can’t be in the world and you’re not aware of it then you use sight of it. The next thing you know you have shit coming out of your life like human rights, civil rights, anything. I wouldn’t say Iron Reagan is political, we are more opinionated. That’s ok, it’s ok to voice your opinion. It’s about awareness. This is what I think is going on. This is how we feel about it. You take the information and do with it what you will.

Hall: Those are completely reasonable things in our opinion. We’re not outlandish in any way. I feel like everything we talk about is common sense. “In Greed We Trust” is an obvious statement.

Rex_84: You recorded “The Tyranny of Will” at Blaze of Torment Studios in Richmond. Is that Phil’s studio? Did you save money going this route?

Hall: Yeah, it’s my apartment, the computer in my apartment.

Parrish: He’s being humble. He has his shit together.

Hall: I have a rig for recording drums and we set up in his practice space. Then everything else we set up kind of a little rig in my spot. It’s very low-fi but the result is there and it’s great to be able to take time in my own spot and make it exactly the way I want. Have the performance there and not have any engineers breathing down your neck for time or money. We take our time and make sure the result is exactly what we want.

Rex_84: Did you record “Worse Than Dead” there?

Hall: Yes, but it was a different spot. I have some microphones and I have a rig. I set it up and cross my fingers and hope it turns out good. Over time you learn certain things about recording music.

Parrish: Every recording is different.

Hall: There are so many factors. There is performance. Mic placement. There are so many things that can come into it. Even if you’re the most professional guy in the world, you’re going to get different results every time you record. No matter what. You could have the greatest rig ever, you just know what you’re doing. You go into it with a plan and hope for the best. There are really talented engineers out there that could make things happen you didn’t even think was possible. Once you hit record on the tracks, as long as the music is there that you want, then you have something.

Rex_84: Weed fuels Phil to create Cannabis Corpse songs. Did it play a part in writing these songs?

Hall: Dude, this is the most weed-smoking band I’ve ever been in.

Rex_84: Even more so than Cannabis Corpse

Parrish: There is more of it. There are more containers.

Hall: Exactly. There are only three people in Cannabis Corpse. There are five in this band. So that would outweigh Cannabis Corpse. There are literally more lungs involved in Iron Reagan than Cannabis Corpse.

Rex_84: Do you think playing this style is suited for your opinionated lyrical topics?

Hall: There is almost a tradition of punk rock and songs that are short and having political subject matter. I don’t think it’s far off from tradition.

Parrish: Yeah, it’s tradition. I grew up on it. A lot of the music scene, politically and music, go hand-in-hand. I’ll say we all come from a traditional background whether it’s thrash or punk rock. The best part about Iron Reagan is we come from background from all over. All sorts of genres of music. If you looked into our heads, you wouldn’t know what is happening. We’re everywhere. That’s a wonderful thing. I’m proud to say I came from different backgrounds. I’ve got the punk and death metal. I got it from a time when that music was at its height. I’m trying to bring back its energy. We all still have it. We never lost it. That’s the way for us to get it out.

Rex_84: Speaking of punk rock, is that a clip from Jello Biafra on “Nameless.”

Parrish: No, that’s me.

Rex_84: You sound like Jello Biafra.

Parrish: I have not heard that before. I guess that’s a compliment.

Hall: Ryan is a quick-witted person.

Parrish: I can be. I have my moments.

Rex_84: How did you shoot the video for “Miserable Failure.” There is a bloopers video where you bring all the extras onto the bus. Was this shot in public? Did you rent out the buses?

Parrish: No, this was guerilla style.

Hall: That whole experience was incredible. We flew out to Portland. We had a bunch of extras. That guy, Whitey [McConnaughy], he directed Red Fang videos. We just had a whole crew rolling around. We would go from location to location and occasionally we would improvise. On the subway, “We have all of these people, let’s go in there and start moshing and see what we can get on film. We did it.

Parrish: It took them almost ten minutes but that got it. Only in Portland can you get away with something that ridiculous.

Hall: And there is the classic dude. We put out the extras version of that video. There is the guy who is not into it. He’s seen so much shit in Portland by this time he’s like (stares). He just doesn’t want to be there. He doesn’t care. He might be having the worst day of his life or something. Maybe he just go the test results back.

Parrish: Aids. We don’t know his story.

Rex_84: What about the shopping cart?

Parrish: That was just an accident. He fell and hurt his self. Lucky enough that was the last shot. He was all laid up.

Rex_84: Was his face swollen?

Hall: No, he wasn’t injured. He’s ok.