If you have not had the chance to experience the devilishly delightful, absolutely rippin’, energetic smash to the eardrums that is ManGrenade, you are missing out. Hailing from the Heart Of It All in Cincinnati, Ohio, ManGrenade is one of the hardest working bands in the underground and indie scene. If you like your music a bit frantic, heavy and a little dark with swagger for days, ManGrenade is your kind of band! For this week’s Indie Band of the Week, RockRevolt journalist, Devon Anderson, sat down and had a chat with Ben Morgan, one of the two founding and currently active members of ManGrenade about everything from inspiration to perfectionism and even a little Jersey Shore love! Read the interview, check out the links below (including the video for their latest release, “Suffer”), and get hip to the wonder that is ManGrenade. You’ll be glad you did!
Heya, Ben. Thank you SO much for taking time to talk with me today! So, what is your role in the band?
Absolutely not a problem, and thank you for choosing to talk with me. I write a lot of songs. I play guitar on the stage. I used to play bass on stage, but we made some changes. The vocals in the band are split; I don’t know if it’s 50/50 or not, but in our minds it’s somewhere close to that. So, I sing about half of the stuff. I record everything. Well, not literally everything, but we’re pretty much DIY with the studio stuff. I mean, in the studio is pretty much just me and Nick (Thieme) right now. So, we just write and jam and get it all down.
So, are you two the only two members in the band, or are there other members that might be touring with you? How does that work out?
Well, when we go on stage, obviously two of us aren’t going to be enough. We’ve got this monster on the drums named A.J. right now playing with us. I am stoked to work with him. And we’ve been talking to a local fellow who plays bass, but he has not confirmed nor denied. He isn’t on board just yet. We like to bring on members; we want to grow the band. We’d prefer to bring guys on who are going to stay and actually be contributing band members. For the time being, we are happy to play ourselves.
Well, I want to say to the unnamed, unsigned bassist, “Whoever you are, please say yes!” So you’re a jack of all trades, musically.
I like to play. It’s about expression for me. I have a background in music, a formal background. I really have kind of shaken that. (laughs) I just kind of pick up an instrument and make cool noises with it. And then I figure out how I did it later on.
That’s great! How did the band get started?
It goes way back. Nick and I met in 2002, 2003. And we were in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I was playing in a group that needed a drummer; he answered a Craigslist ad. And we played in that band together for quite a while. We left that band but wanted to still play together, so we’ve been playing with each other off and on ever since. We’ve been in a few different bands together over time. And, in 2011, I was living in Colorado, and he was living in Cincinnati. He hit me up and came out to Colorado. We recorded a record and decided that we didn’t want to stop doing that, so I moved back out this direction (Cincinnati). We hit the ground running in 2012.
That is awesome. I was under the impression you were brothers, so that’s new for me to learn here today with you.
A lot of people do believe we are brothers. (laughs) We have been introduced as brothers. We call each other “brother.” But, we mean it like calling your buddy “brother,” but other people take it literally. We do look alike, and we have a similar style, so I guess I could see it. As long as I am the better looking brother, I am okay with it. (laughs)
Haha. No comment. (laughs) What is the origin story of the killer name, ManGrenade?
ManGrenade actually came – no shame at all in this – but we lifted it straight out of Jersey Shore. (laughs) Nick was watching an episode, and one of the two female leads referred to a dude’s package as a “man grenade”. And we looked it up on Urban Dictionary; we were like, “Oh my God. This is absolutely fantastic; this is the name of the band!” We decided it had to be.
Jersey shore, eh? Who’da thunk it?
Yeah, Jersey Shore has actually made a couple appearances in the Man Grenade world. (laughs) I can’t really remember all of them, but we somehow reference them more than we should, probably.
Yeah, I’d say one reference is good. We’ll stick with that with the name. (laughs) Who are your influences, and how do they play a role in your sound?
For me, my biggest influences are bands like Every Time I Die, The Chariot, Dillinger Escape Plan. I am very much into frantic, chaotic music. I just really like something that just bashes me over the head and kind of beats me into submission almost. I am a really wound up guy, so music like that speaks to me. And the role it plays in ManGrenade is really interesting. Basically, I write just a bunch of hardcore type of music. I present it to Nick. He throws it into a recording program and cuts pieces off of it until it’s knocked down into a 4/4 or 6/8 format, and then he will add parts or subtract parts or suggest maybe we change the key. He basically produces most of the stuff that I write and molds it down away from an abrasive, hardcore thing and more into a palatable, standard hard rock kind of sound. It’s a constant struggle between the two of us because I am constantly wanting to bring more hardcore, and more edge into what we’re doing. And he’s constantly trying to subdue that. So, I think that’s really a big important part of our sound.
He’s trying to hold you down! Hold you back…
No, no he’s not trying to hold me back. He’s more trying to reign me in is what it is. I’m wild. He’s one of the only people who can produce me without me getting upset about it. So, it is a good thing we have going.
That’s a good relationship then. What has been your most meaningful experience being in this band so far?
Honestly, it’s hard to pinpoint one thing that is the most meaningful. I get a feeling from being in this band, from meeting fans and talking to people who have connected with something I’ve written or something I’ve said on stage, whatever it may be. These things, the little things, people appreciating what you do – we’ve gotten a little bit of that, especially in the last few days. I’ve been almost showered with it, and it makes me just a little bit uncomfortable. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop, basically. (laughs)
But, I guess if I had to point at one really awesome experience, I’d have to say it was when we opened for Mondo Generator a few years ago in Newport, Kentucky. And Nick Oliveri is definitely a big influence on my bass playing. Getting to meet him was up there. He handed me a beer from on stage and signed the bottle for me later on. We had a cool night hanging out after the show. So, that was a cool night for me. Beyond that, the most memorable thing is meeting the kids who like the music. Or, you get on Facebook and you have a message from someone begging you to come play their town. I can’t describe for you what that feels like. You want to pack up and go, like, “Where’s your house? I’ll set up in your garage. What do you need?” Ya know? It makes you want to just jump, and obviously we can’t do that, but those are the things I like the most.
That’s awesome. It’s always good to get the love from someone that you may not have connected with had you not been doing this.
Right, right. I just want people to like me and my music. (laughs)
I think a lot of people will like you and already do like you, so I think you’ll be fine.
(laughs) Why thank you. I appreciate it.
You’re welcome. So, what is a favorite memory from a show you’ve played or a place you’ve travelled?
It had to be the time we were in Columbus, Ohio. I had no idea where we were, what street we were on, nothing. I know we were close to the University because that’s what the kids were telling us who were there. We were crammed down into this moldy and dank basement; it was just nasty. There was standing water in some places. I was awful. We were rolling into this thing thinking we’d never played something like this before. We were 28, 29 years old, and we’re going in to play somebody’s basement from ten years ago. I was thinking this was cool, and we were getting kind of pumped about it. As the night was going on, the first band went on. I went down to check them out, and there was just a sea of people in this tiny little basement. I couldn’t see the band; I couldn’t find the band. It was so packed and crowded. The only way to get through was to crowd surf through. So, there was a lot of energy.
We took that stage, and I couldn’t tell you what was going through our minds. But we were absolutely going nuts, crowd surfing on people while we were playing, just nuts. By the end of the set, somehow I was upside down and on my shoulders with my feet hanging in the air leaning against a cabinet. It was bonkers. It was an absolutely wild time. The Columbus kids definitely throw down. They party hard, and I am looking forward to gettin’ back and into some more moldy basements with those kids because they really do party.
We’ve travelled to all kinds of different places, and it’s hard to say what town does better than other towns. We’ve always had a good time in Lexington; I can say that much. I’d say Cincinnati treats us the roughest. We go anywhere outside of Cincinnati, and we have a great time. Here, it’s pretty hit or miss. Why do you think that is? I think, for starters, we put more focus on playing on the road in the beginning than we did playing at home. So, I think the people of Cincinnati don’t have that sense of ownership over us that a lot of bands get in their hometown. I think that our sound is a bit harsher than what they care to hear in the local underground scene. There is a lot of softer, more melodic rock happening, and a lot of neoAmericana and experimental things. I have nothing against that kind of music; I go to the shows and support the local artists and scene here. And I have a lot of fun supporting them; I love it. But I think our sound for the local fanbase is a little bit more than they’re willing to swallow.
I understand, and it’s probably a quite accurate picture of the problem you are running into. So, what do you hope to accomplish with your music? What’s the end goal? Do you take it day by day?
I would really love to play music as a career and sustain my living with music I am playing, putting it out, going on tour, that kind of thing. I would love to do that. But, to the same degree, I don’t do it for those things. I am more interested in expressing myself and connecting with people. My biggest thing is when somebody just really connects with what I am saying; they want to talk to me about it later and say, “Well, did you mean this? Or did you mean that?” And I’m always like, “Well, yeah, kid. I did.” Ya know? That is my end game. I look for the fun and the camaraderie and the satisfaction of playing on stage and connecting with people.
That is great! I think that’s a good way to look at it – moment by moment – what are those connections you can make?
Absolutely.
Now, for the moment of truth, if you will. What is something about you individually and you as a band that no one knows?
Oh man, something about me no one knows? (laughs) I’m a pretty open, public guy. I don’t have a lot of secrets. Not really ashamed of much. Wow. I do not know what people don’t know… I’m an open book. Well, I do love to read comic books. That may be something that people don’t know about me. I am an absolute fiend for Dark Knight; I love the Joker. I am batty over comics, to be real about. I am a really big fan of Jhonen Vasquez. He wrote Johnny, the Homicidal Maniac and the Invader Zim cartoon. I love all of his works.
Well, speaking of writing and inspiration, who is the main writer for the song lyrics and what is the inspiration?
Nick writes a lot of music, but it is one of my biggest contributions to the band. And as far as these songs go, “Suffer”, I think, is really self explanatory. We were not in good places in our lives romantically when that was written. We typically don’t write about women, love, or romance. We’ll write about being dirty dogs, but we haven’t ever really written from the heart or emotional things going on in our lives. So, in a song like “Suffer”, Nick is basically just saying, you know what, I told you so. You knew what you were getting into, and now you’re miserable; I tried to stop it from happening, and you didn’t want to listen. And I don’t know what to do for you.
There are other songs on there dealing with loneliness issues, depression issues. I mean, Nick has been living on the road for two years now (touring with Breaking Benjamin as a tech), and was only home once every couple months. And I know he struggled a lot with some of these issues. We decided a way to get through them would be to write about them. Writing has always been our therapy.
I agree; writing is therapy, and writing saved my life. So to hear you say that really connects with me, and with others I am sure.
Absolutely. Every record that we’ve put out is a little bit closer to home, I think. They’re all authentic to who we are at that time. Our first record was authentic; all we wanted to do was drink and party. That was all there was to it. In our second record, we had some fall out with some family members. We had some dramatic things going on, and it was one of those “It happened, it’s over, let’s write about it” kind of things.
We got into Severed, Part One, and we realized life was about to start shooting down the toilet really quick. Things were looking bad. It was the end of the world; everything was over, and we knew everything was over. And it was absolutely mortifying to us. That’s what Severed, Part One was all about. It was all about what was about to happen. And, now we’re back with Severed, Part Two, which is basically saying, we know what just happened. And now we’re not afraid of it; we’ll get through it. We have dead weight to shed, and we’re ready to move on.
I like it. There is a progression in your inspirations, then.
Absolutely.
Just like every day life.
(laughs) I like to think we’re growing. Absolutely.
I love it. What is your most requested song when you play?
“Lions in the Parking Lot” is, hands down, easily the most requested tune. So much so that we always play it second in the set because we know people are going to start screaming for it. It’s the title track to our second release. And it’s just got this really groovy bass line and a sloppy guitar thing going on. It’s got swagger for days, and people love it. They love that track.
Sounds like a killer track! What, for you, is the best part of being independent? Would you miss that part of this whole thing if you wound up with a major label deal?
Being independent doesn’t mean that much to me. I am independent because no one else is invested in me, do you know what I mean? I would gladly give up a little bit of the freedom and uncertainty that we deal with for steady gigs rolling in, a steady paycheck rolling in, and some security. I’m not willing to change the way I write music or change my end result, but I would definitely be willing to work under deadlines and travel to this city for this studio or whatever it may be. That labels and investors may or may not have control over. There is very little about being independent that I am going to miss. I’m definitely into security, and I’d like to have a plan. So, anybody out there that digs that and is reading this, I am totally ready for a plan. (laughs)
He’s totally ready for a plan! People, give him a plan!
(laughs) Yeah. I am.
I know you have some big shows coming up. What’s the biggest show you’ve played, and how did it feel?
We did that Mondo Generator at Thompson House, and we had, essentially, a packed house. Those guys had just come off a tour with Clutch, and they were pulling really, really well at the time. So, that was, I’m not going to lie to you – it was terrifying. At first, it was absolutely terrifying. I mean, it was a lot of people that we’d never played in front of; it wasn’t even the number of people. It was the fact that these were new faces in front of us. Typically, a ManGrenade show audience has half of the people in it who have bought our shirt; we’ve seen them before. So, that was terrifying. (laughs) These were new people who did not love me, or us, yet. So, we had to win them over.
We ended the night with people wanting us to sign our shirts they bought, which was kind of a new thing for me at the time. I really loved it – I’m not going to lie. (laughs) It was incredible. We also did an opening slot in Newport, Kentucky for He Is Legend. And there were not that many people there, but the people that were there were new faces for us. We had a new opportunity to get some people into us, and we did a really good job and did well with their crowd. It was a fun night with that crowd, and we were out signing shirts and signing CDs and taking pictures with people was still relatively new for me. I have been playing underground music and doing DIY tours since I was fifteen years old. We party with people, and sometimes people take selfies. But this was autographs and photos, people fangirling us was a little bit new for us.
Give us a little snippet on a day in the life of your band when you’re writing/ recording.
What that looks like is a messy bachelor’s apartment. Nick and I live in a studio apartment in Cincinnati, Ohio. And we have piles and piles of paper with words on them, piles and piles of KFC bags. Probably trash that’s needed to go out. Cigarette butts overflow from the ashtrays. And empty beer bottles are everywhere. We need to clean up a bit, which is what it looks like, and it doesn’t smell much better.
But, our computer desk is great. It’s immaculate; it’s clean. Nothing goes near it. If you walked into our apartment right now, you’d see a desk with monitors on it and speakers and all the gear set up on it surrounded by what looks like – what I picture Frank Zappa’s apartment looked like in the late 60s. I’d say grimy, even.
Grimy! I like it! An artist’s haven, if you will. So, what do you then? What’s the process?
Well, we fire up the laptop and plug guitars into machines, and we record them. We record everything that we play. We go back and delete most of it because most of it is garbage. We match certain parts up with other things, and we go. We’ll wake up one day and say, “I think today is drum day!” So, we’ll get on it and record a track of drums. Then, we’ll decide we don’t want to work on that part of the song, so we don’t want to work on drums.
We’re very free and by the seat of our pants. Whatever we feel like doing, we’re going to do that. And really, we get enough stuff done that way that we realize we only really have three or four things left to do. So, we make a list of what’s left, prioritize that list, and get going. Right now, we’re doing mix downs for the tracks that will be coming up on the EP. We put all of our attention into “Suffer” to get it ready for the release, so we have three more tracks to button up. It looks like two dudes sitting at a computer, listening to ten second blurbs over and over and over and over again trying to figure out what we can do to make it right.
We’re very meticulous. We are really very protective and very nurturing of our music. We don’t want you to hear it until we think it’s ready. We know the songs will mold and change as we get them on stage and people start reacting to them as well, but we don’t want to even expose the songs to that kind of thing until we know they’re strong enough to stand on their own. So, we really dissect as many of the details as we can at this point and really cut the fat where it needs to be cut, put in more where necessary, and make sure each song is everything it can be.
Well, that makes sense. It sounds like you’re a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to the music and your sound.
To a point. Once it reaches a certain point, I know I can step back and say it’s good; I’m fine with it. It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough. We’ll move onto something new. But, up until we reach that mark, yes. I am very much a perfectionist about it.
There’s nothing wrong with that. What is next for the band?
The rest of the year is going to be kind of quiet. We are going to keep interacting with people on social media. We’re going to interact with folks. We’ll have some holiday time with our families. We’re going to button up these tracks and get Severed, Part Two ready for release. In the meantime, in early January on the 6th at Northside Tavern, in Cincinnati, we are playing a reunion show, joined by really good friends in the band, The Skullx, which they’ve got some members from the Columbus area, as a matter of fact. They’re going to join us on stage; it should be a really cool night. It should be a lot of good party time with some good friends and good food and drinks. It will be a very fun, very party type of show, and it’s going to be great.
Then, January 27th, Breaking Benjamin is going to be at Bogart’s in Cincinnati, and we have been so fortunate to be added to that bill. So, we’ll be opening up that show for those guys. We’re pretty pumped about that. Shaun (Foist) is a really good friend of ours; he actually played with ManGrenade during the last cycle of our existence before we broke up. So, it’s going to be good to see him. I am really looking forward to that. I’ve met Ben and some of the other dudes, and they’re really nice, and I am looking forward to just saying hi and hanging out and playing that show.
I am really excited to be in front of a sold out crowd at Bogart’s. It’s full of people who have never heard of us before, so we’re really going to try to scare the pants off of them and make them wonder what the hell just happened. Really separate the men from the boys to see who likes the really dirty stuff. And the ladies, we definitely don’t get gender specific at all. A huge thank you goes out to them and their management and everyone who helped get us on that ticket.
Personally and totally selfishly, I am REALLY hoping you guys get to open up for them in Cleveland because I know I will be there, and Cincinnati is a bit far the night before for me!
I don’t know what’s going on, if Cleveland would be a thing for us right now. Cincinnati is confirmed. I would gladly play Cleveland if we got added to the bill, for sure. If we do, great. Honestly, we are completely stoked and really thankful and appreciative to get to do the local show here for us.
Oh, God yeah.
Yeah, we want to thank the band, the management, thank you all for that show for us. It means a lot to us.
Everyone is trying to get me down to Cincinnati that night, but man, that’s a haul for me from up here near Cleveland.
Well, we’re going to have a hell of a show that night. I don’t know Cleveland too awful well, but I know Cleveland throws down. I promise you, this will be a good show down here that night. I promise you.
I have not ruled it out, I promise. Anything else you want to add for the fans?
Honestly, if you dig it and like what you hear, check us out on Facebook, on Instagram, our music is on Band Camp. Just search for ManGrenade; you’ll find it. Come to a show. Buy a shirt if you like. Buy a CD if you choose. Just come talk to me, that’s fine. We want to meet everybody, talk to everybody, show everybody what we do. I encourage everyone to come up to me and talk. I am highly accessible; hit me up, and I’ll talk to you. We want to get out there and be everybody’s buddy. We want to be chummy. (laughs)
Awww, chums! (laughs) Well, thank you so much for your time! I appreciate you giving me the chance to talk to you and bring you to the fans, where you belong. Best of luck to you and the band with the tour dates, the release, and the good fortunes this world has to offer you!
Thank you for talking with me. It’s been fun. I appreciate all you do.
Back atcha. Hopefully, I’ll see ya out there!!
