A Dirty Dozen with JOE MANSMAN from JOE MANSMAN AND THE MIDNIGHT REVIVAL BAND – July 2022

According to a recent press release: “Joe Mansman and The Midnight Revival Band are a blistering display of dangerously skilled rock and rollers. Their spirited stompers offer an essence of familiarity to listeners while rarely veering off the road less traveled, and having enough hooks to draw you in like air to the lungs. The group never fails to maintain that haughty and boisterous swagger they’ve become so well known for since forming in 2014 in Upstate NY. Check out the band’s new song “Take It Easy,” written by Joe Mansman and The Midnight Revival Band. It was engineered, mixed, and mastered by Brandon Kapoor at Skyfall Recording Studio, Greenwich, NY.” We get Joe to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Great question, thanks. Our new release is called “Take It Easy.” It’s definitely the most personal song we’ve put out there, and at the time of it’s writing I was going through a separation with my wife of 7 years and for anyone who knows me personally I’m sure that wasn’t very hard to figure out. However what’s different about the delivery of the lyrics is that it’s not from my perspective, but hers and what I imagined she thought about the whole situation at the time and perhaps how she dealt with it rather than how I did. When I wrote the treatment for the video that’s the idea I tried to convey as well.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I was about 9 when I really started developing an interest and my older brother would hand down mixtapes with these songs that just drew me in and I would play that same year I saw The Crow in theaters and was enamored by the soundtrack. When I was 14 my mom bought me a bass and I only practiced with it for a very short amount of time before I was asked to join my first band and I got a lot better the more I played with other musicians. And since that time I never stopped.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Absolutely, when I first heard Tiny Music by Stone Temple Pilots. Every song on that album was amazing and to this day I don’t think anyone does a better job effortlessly sounding original. Scott Weiland almost sounded like someone else completely and had this amazing ability to draw you into his bizarre world because even when you watched him perform it was such an engaged experience that you couldn’t keep your eyes away. I’ve certainly had many bands affect me like that throughout the years following, but I’d say it was that singer and that album that guided me through my formative years if anything.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Currently I’m really into a band called Crazy Lixx. Their frontman is Danny Rexon and other than being a fantastic singer songwriter, he’s also a respected producer. I suppose people would only know that if they dabble in the world of new wave glam metal.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour? What do you like to do to unwind?

Most nights when I’m not with the boys doing our thing I’m re-watching seasons of Trailer Park Boys or going to the gun range. I also have a hobby collecting EDC gear and Rob (my bass player) and I like playing cover gigs on the side.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

We are a rock and roll band. We have elements of Sleaze, Glam Rock and Metal but also come from a strong southern rock background. I also can’t really say that a reviewer or fan has ever made me cringe per say, but a lot of them get the name wrong and we show up on ads looking like assholes. We’ve been in print as The Midnight Rebels, The Midnighters, The Midnight Revival Bank, and it’s like fuck man, did you even check us out at all? Haha

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Rob brings the beers and Dollars drinks them. Maveric cooks, Chris and I are always snacking, and Alex photoshops dicks on all of us with his phone. Mind you it’s always the same dick too just copied and pasted.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

I’ve never been starstruck per se, but growing up I was a big Norma Jean fan (still am!) and years later when I shared a merch table with Josh Scogin that was something very special to me. It’s always a bizarre experience sharing a bill with bands you grew up with and we’re inspired by.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part is just the shared mission of the group to bring to life something we all believe in. Telling a room full of strangers your story using melodies and guitar pedals and expressing it far better than you could just articulating it in a conversation you know. If music didn’t work out for any of us, I’m pretty confident we’d all still have careers where we could be creative in some way. I also always wanted to to own my own bar.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I enjoy being asked about the songs we write and although I’m the lyricist I don’t often get asked about the lyrics at all and that’s fine too because I enjoy them being open ended and applicable to anyone for any reason. As far as the latter question, I honestly don’t mind answering the same questions across multiple interviews. I’m happy that anyone wants to get to know us at all.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I wouldn’t say I wished for any do-overs, but I’ve been learning to show gratitude to anyone who’s on our team, from the other bands we play with who are out there cutting their teeth like we are year after year, the club promoter who took care of us even when no one showed up, or the fan who comes out show after show and tells you how they made plans specifically to come see you that night. Keep your team close, always, and give back as much as you can whenever you can.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Damn there’s so many! I’ll name two actually if that’s ok. I’d love to see Maylene III (Maylene and the Sons of Disaster) being recorded and Skid Row (self titled). Both of those records had a big influence on me and the group, and certainly changed our musical direction in latter years.

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Category: Interviews