A Dirty Dozen with DANIEL WALLACE from MEATWOUND – April 2025

Photo credit: Wallace Boesch

According to a recent press release: “Florida’s noise-soaked hardcore sludge crew MEATWOUND unveils their latest single, “Europa,” preceding the release of their newest LP, Macho, set to drop May 9th on the newly launched Threat Collection Records, owned and operated by producer / engineer Ryan Boesch (Whores, Melvins, Helmet, Andrew W.K.). MEATWOUND began in the Mudhaus circa 2014, maybe earlier. Their debut 12” Addio — which was intended to be a demo — arrived in 2015 (making Macho an inadvertent ten-year anniversary celebration of band activities). Addio sounded like it was recorded on burning equipment in a burning studio, but it managed to win over some listeners, and the Steak Mtn cover art began to appear on shirts around Tampa. Many shows went down during these early years, according to the dates on flyers and posters in the practice space. Shows with Melt Banana, High On Fire, The Melvins, Torche, Black Tusk, Author & Punisher, and others were played. Some in the audience enjoyed it.” We get singer Daniel 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?

They may have trouble deciding where the good ideas and the bad ideas begin or end. Maybe they will grab how we spent more time mixing it than recording it. Hard to say. Do they hate the electronic shit? Hope so. Can they tell which guitar part we fully cut and pasted in that one song? How much pink can they take? Maybe more than they thought. Shouldn’t be anything hidden anywhere in Macho, it’s all out there. We just do the dumb shit we like and try to make it sound exactly as seductive or insulting as it demands.

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

Easy, the first time I saw the sweat glistening on Prince’s chest in Purple Rain. But in real life, it was when I met the guys in Scrog and Assuck.

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

Purple Rain, the blueprint(not for how to treat women, obviously) for how to write hot tracks and perform them correctly.

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

Agata and Yako from Melt Banana because I love them and hope they never stop making music or touring. I’ve played shows with them in four different decades now and I always look forward to playing with them again.

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

I travel for work so when I get back to my hotel room, I watch dvds / blurays from the stash I bring with me. There is never enough time to watch movies. If it’s cold outside, I’ll go walk around whatever city I’m in. And then watch a movie.

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?

I used to say Sepultura meets Jesus Lizard but I don’t know anymore what we sound like. I don’t remember any comparisons that made us cringe. I liked when Decibel referred to our record as “…deeply unpleasant…” It’s also been fun to see reviews list wildly different bands that it reminds them of. Last night, a guy told me we sounded like KMFDM.

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?

Marty cooks and drinks and pulls out the acoustic guitar on occasion but just plays it in the other room, no singing. We don’t all hang out together much. Probably what has kept the band going so long, we stay away from each other.

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

I saw Barney from Napalm Death at the vegan hotdog spot in Austin years ago. Love that guy. I’m not much for heroes but Barney is still the man.

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?

I can’t play instruments very well but for the sake of this question, I’ll pretend to be a musician. The best part is when you finally get the song right and everything works. Ain’t nobody doing this as a job, I’m an A/V tech that does music on the side. Being able to just tour and play music would be my dream job.

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 haven’t done any interviews in the last five years so I don’t have any biases right now, one way or the other. Would love to field questions about the animal songs. Probably need to write some more of them. “Is this song really about cats?” “Yes, of course.” If I get tired of answering the same question, I will just make up different answers. Tell some lies.

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?

Probably should have kept doing The Holy Mountain. I miss yelling over those leads.

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?

If we’re talking magic shit, I would go back in time and bring Stevie B his Coronas or lemonades or whatever he required during the recording of Party Your Body. That record gets you ready for life. Gets you ready to lace up your skates, drive around late at night blasting it out the Alpines, gives you courage to make a move on your crush, comforts you when she turns you down, really does it all. How many times have I listened to “Spring Love?” A fucking lot. And Stevie B was real good when I saw him at the Freestyle festival in Tampa back in 2012.

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Category: Interviews