Every once in a while, a band will slip almost unnoticed onto the radar before making a mark on the musical landscape. I think that is something that could happen with Year Long Disaster, a pretty new band that likes to rock the fuck out. Its members however have been around for quite some time already in other outfits and know what they’re doing. Check out this short emailer we did with with bassist Richie Mullins.
PRT: Who are you and what would you like to tell our readers about yourself?
Richie: Richie Mullins – Urban legend
PRT: For people who haven’t heard you before, if Year Long Disaster was the lovechild of two other bands, which bands would’ve had sex and which position were you conceived in?
Richie: Soungarden and Rose Tattoo in a back alley standing quickie.
PRT: Drug use is something mentioned a couple of times in the bio sheet and I felt it also suggested that you guys got clean because of the band and the music you were making. Is that what happened?
Richie: We got clean so we would not die. Music is a great reason for living.
PRT: Something I was wondering about, how did being clean change being in the band with one another and writing songs?
Richie: It helps immensely to be awake while practicing, to not be heinously violent with each other after drinking too much whiskey, to not be pawning your guitar to smoke crack. It really goes without saying everything comes much easier when you are in a state of mind where you can actually concentrate on what is truly relevant and important to your life.
PRT: And how do you handle being on tour as a former drug addict? Because I can imagine there’s a lot of temptations out there.
Richie: Sure, as a former addict you think and often dream of getting high again. The key for me is to remind myself exactly how bad the actual consequences of those actions were. There is a definite element of negative re-enforcement that after time just turns into an almost automatic aversion of that element of the scene. Its fun at times to watch people do stupid shit while wasted just to go, “Wow, I used to be that asshole.”
PRT: One of you is the son of Dave Davies from The Kinks while your drummer used to play in Third Eye Blind and your bassist used to play in Karma To Burn. I guess it’s easier for a label to create some more publicity if a band has that kind of a background story but at the same time people will come in with certain expectations. But does that work for or against you?
Richie: It works in the sense that old fans of those individual groups often check us out. It works against us because people have expectations for us to be re-incarnations of those groups.
PRT: Ever feel like bursting out a Year Long Disaster version of a Kinks song onstage?
Richie: No. No we do not.
PRT: You decided to go with Volcom. Was it because it’s an indie label with likeminded bands (Valient Thorr, ASG) or did they just throw a shitload of free clothes at you?
Richie: Valient Thorr was a big reason, the free clothes were sweet as well.
PRT: What’s up next for Year Long Disaster? Any plans to come to Belgium anytime soon?
Richie: Touring the UK with Velvet Revolver. Then Europe with Turbonegro then Europe and the uk on our own. We will be playing Leuven April 13th
PRT: In “High Fidelity” the guys that work in a record store are constantly making these top 5 lists of songs for specific occasions. If you would have to make such a list, which occasion would it be for and which songs would make your top 5?
Richie: Top 5 songs to hum while tightening your sphincter to skewer the results of a polygraph test:
5. Helter Skelter - the Beatles
4. Problem Child - ACDC
3. The Bomber - Motorhead
2. D’yer Mak’er - Zeppelin
1. All Is Love - Bjork
PRT: Any last words for our readers?
Richie: Don’t tighten your sphincter, just tell the truth.
PRT: Who are you and what would you like to tell our readers about yourself?
Richie: Richie Mullins – Urban legend
PRT: For people who haven’t heard you before, if Year Long Disaster was the lovechild of two other bands, which bands would’ve had sex and which position were you conceived in?
Richie: Soungarden and Rose Tattoo in a back alley standing quickie.
PRT: Drug use is something mentioned a couple of times in the bio sheet and I felt it also suggested that you guys got clean because of the band and the music you were making. Is that what happened?
Richie: We got clean so we would not die. Music is a great reason for living.
PRT: Something I was wondering about, how did being clean change being in the band with one another and writing songs?
Richie: It helps immensely to be awake while practicing, to not be heinously violent with each other after drinking too much whiskey, to not be pawning your guitar to smoke crack. It really goes without saying everything comes much easier when you are in a state of mind where you can actually concentrate on what is truly relevant and important to your life.
PRT: And how do you handle being on tour as a former drug addict? Because I can imagine there’s a lot of temptations out there.
Richie: Sure, as a former addict you think and often dream of getting high again. The key for me is to remind myself exactly how bad the actual consequences of those actions were. There is a definite element of negative re-enforcement that after time just turns into an almost automatic aversion of that element of the scene. Its fun at times to watch people do stupid shit while wasted just to go, “Wow, I used to be that asshole.”
PRT: One of you is the son of Dave Davies from The Kinks while your drummer used to play in Third Eye Blind and your bassist used to play in Karma To Burn. I guess it’s easier for a label to create some more publicity if a band has that kind of a background story but at the same time people will come in with certain expectations. But does that work for or against you?
Richie: It works in the sense that old fans of those individual groups often check us out. It works against us because people have expectations for us to be re-incarnations of those groups.
PRT: Ever feel like bursting out a Year Long Disaster version of a Kinks song onstage?
Richie: No. No we do not.
PRT: You decided to go with Volcom. Was it because it’s an indie label with likeminded bands (Valient Thorr, ASG) or did they just throw a shitload of free clothes at you?
Richie: Valient Thorr was a big reason, the free clothes were sweet as well.
PRT: What’s up next for Year Long Disaster? Any plans to come to Belgium anytime soon?
Richie: Touring the UK with Velvet Revolver. Then Europe with Turbonegro then Europe and the uk on our own. We will be playing Leuven April 13th
PRT: In “High Fidelity” the guys that work in a record store are constantly making these top 5 lists of songs for specific occasions. If you would have to make such a list, which occasion would it be for and which songs would make your top 5?
Richie: Top 5 songs to hum while tightening your sphincter to skewer the results of a polygraph test:
5. Helter Skelter - the Beatles
4. Problem Child - ACDC
3. The Bomber - Motorhead
2. D’yer Mak’er - Zeppelin
1. All Is Love - Bjork
PRT: Any last words for our readers?
Richie: Don’t tighten your sphincter, just tell the truth.
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