FEATURED INTERVIEWS                          

Overcast

The touted hardcore beast from back in the day is...reborn to kill again!
By: Gian Erguiza - - September 24th, 2008 - 11:58 am PST



Back from the dead and better than ever. The boys in Overcast have emerged from their graves to bring back their own brand of hardcore/metal, back into the metal stream. Putting their priority bands aside, respectively, Mike D. and Brian Fair have once again teamed up to recreate and relive the glory days of Overcast in 'Reborn To Kill Again.' Mike D. took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with Frantik about their latest release and everything Overcast.

Mr. Mike D! How ya doin’ big man?

I'm doin' great!

Cool! So where are you right now man and what are ya up to?

I just got home from 23 months on the road with Killswitch Engage. Twenty one days later, started a tour with Overcast and that tour just wrapped up last weekend so I’m finally enjoying a little time off.

I’m sorry to intrude on your time off man.

Ah, no problem at all.

Sounds good. Okay let’s get into it……Reborn To Kill Again sounds brutal man, my first time hearing Overcast in general, what was the most surprising aspect of getting this project back together and what prompted the decision to relive the Overcast days?

I guess the most surprising factor is that we can actually still play the songs and they sounded than they did before. So that made making the record a lot easier for sure so the thing that prompted Overcast getting back together was just that we were asked to do Metalfest. In once a year they do a Metalfest here which is called the New England Hardcore and Metal Fest. We got asked to do it by the promoter who always used to book Overcast in the past so it kind of seemed like a good idea. We first tried that and it went real well. It felt so good to be playing with those guys again so we started talkin’ about putting out a box set around 2004.

I talked to Brian at the Headbangers Ball tour that we did for MTV in 2004, Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, & Lamb of God. We started getting on it again around 2005, Brian and I met back up again during Ozzfest run and we talked about the songs not sounding too current. You know back in the day we didn’t really have enough money to record properly. We kicked around the idea of playing together since it was fun and worked out well so why not go in and re-record that stuff with better production and just for our own satisfaction. There had been a lot of kids in the past and still to this day they come up and ask about the band so why not just put something out that we’re really proud of and that’s what prompted the record.

I’m glad that you guys put something out since the album definitely sounds great and speaking of the album, there’s some songs that really gets in the gut. You’ve got ‘Filter Of Syntax,’ ‘Root Bound Apollo’ and more. Which song speaks to you the most and what was the hardest thing about putting this whole record together?

I actually like the newer stuff compared to the older stuff. The two new songs on the record were written about 10 years ago so they’re not really new but they’re new to me. It’s always fun to play the stuff that’s a bit different from the old stuff. To me the newer stuff on the record are really more fun and you can see that it’s a little bit more of what we’re used to……..what was the second part of the question?

Basically, what was the hardest part about putting this whole record together?

It wasn’t very hard, it was pretty easy. I guess the hardest part was waiting around to see which labels wanted to put it out, clearing out the logistics of putting a record out at a certain time of the year and all this crap that goes along with releasing a record these days. It kind of got tedious getting the record out. Brian And I had just been touring so much, the Overcast record sort of fell on the wayside but having it finally out just feels super good and we are ultimately very very proud of the whole thing.

Nice! I know that you guys are busy with your primary projects right now but is there any way that Overcast will actually see the road and I know that you just said that you guys just got off the road but I’m talking about an actual tour with maybe an opening spot for the bigger bands like Lamb Of God?

Well, it would be great? I mean the only way we can really tour would actually be a support kind of thing. We can’t deal with that whole doing shows, headlining and it went okay. I really feel that the best way to get out there would be to tour with Lamb Of God or a bigger band like that. It could happen, it’s got to happen fairly soon [laughs] since I’ve got to go back out on the road with Killswitc h but we’re not really that type of band. It’s something that Brian and I do when we’re home and we really like it a lot but there’s no real expectations to make this into the main band.

Got it. Looking at your old pictures, man, you, Brian and the rest of the band looked so young and innocent. What or who has changed the most and what do you miss the most about being a band on the rise, you know, looking for the deal and exploring new horizons?

"It kind of got tedious getting the record out. Brian And I had just been touring so much, the Overcast record sort of fell on the wayside but having it finally out just feels super good and we are ultimately very very proud of the whole thing."

There’s a lot of different points that goes along with that. You know, seven years of not really doing so well, a lot of hard times, a lot of hard work, a lot of sacrifice and it was kind of like a learning period, kind of like a high school type of thing, as long as the regular hours permit. But you have to go through the bad to get to the good. It was definitely a lot harder than people think! [laughs]

I hear you on that! It’s been a good year for metal so far with a lot of great releases, including yours of course, but what in your perception, is the key to staying afloat in the musical landscape of metal?

It’s hard to say? I guess you would have to figure out what to take form a specific brand of metal to push yourself out and get noticed. I guess that’s pretty much the only way? Take what you’ve learned and take it to a new clientele.

Let’s talk bass. Who in your opinion is the most influential and innovative bass player of this generation and what do you think a good metal bass player should be capable of?

Well, I always say that Harold Flennigan from Cro-Mags is the shit, best player of all time. He had the chops and played really good bass in the stage presence of the past. It’s not just about=2 0playing or playing the shows, it’s about being able to have fun with the kids that are coming to see you. And I feel like he really did a great job scaring the crap out of kids to beat each other up or something like that? [both laughing]

Here’s a different one for you man. Liam Gallagher Of Oasis just got shoved onstage by some, I’m guessing, an irate fan. He suffered some broken ribs and some other injuries. What goes through your thoughts when you hear of these things and what can venues, promoters, or bands do to make it a more controlled or safe environment for the bands and other people in the venue?

That’s a hard question cause it’s a real hard thing to do. I mean, I would say more cops? More controlling? More bouncing? You could only get so many bouncers in one building before it starts turning into ‘Let’s start beating up the kids.’ Personally, I don’t like a lot of the bouncers out there but I mean there’s some clean ones but there are some pretty bad ones. It’s up to you to perform and make sure=0 Athat everyone is in place at the right place, rather than just wandering off and letting things like this happen. More or so, the Dimebag Darrell thing scares me more than someone coming up onstage and pushing us. I mean that’s sort of the course for us? A hardcore show you expect to get pushed or tripped or stepped on and it’s kind of one of those fun things that happen but for the kids on the edge, gun toting, then things just get really really bizarre.

Are you political by any chance? Okay what do you think of the whole presidential race so far and do we have the right men and women in the election to run this country?

Not so much.

So I guess you’re not really keeping up with the whole presidential race right?

Yeah, no, I don’t really have much to say. Just as long as Bush is out of office, I’m fine.

Great point there! Tell me one thing that people would never know about Overcast otherwise if you didn’t tell them or if they didn’t read it somewhere?

I dunno?

Mike, do you have an Ipod?

I do! iPhone, iPod.

Any recommendations? Refferals?

Geez, I really listen to a lot of older stuff rather than the new stuff. This one is really underground but my friend just gave me a bunch of old recordings from a band called Arise From Here which I feel is one of the best Boston bands who kind of never got out there and never even really put any releases out besides a few 7 inches but man, listening to this old stuff really takes me back, even m ore so, than playing shows with Overcast. They’re a great band that should’ve been way bigger than what they got and unfortunately, that happens to a lot of good bands.

I agree. Alright Mike, let’s pick your brain. Give me the 5 best metal phrases of all time or the 5 best metal bass lines of all time?

Geez, you’d really think that I’m much more metal than I actually am! [both laughs]

Hey Mike, any superstitions or guilty pleasures before going onstage?

I’m not that cool. They’re way cooler than I am. There’s really nothing? I mean I stretch out, which is an old man’s tool to not having a sore back the next day? Yeah, no, no superstitions.

Alright, anybody in Overcast ‘going green’ anytime soon?

Going green?

Right! Do you guys even believe in the whole global warming threat?

Oh, of course, yeah. Wait, what do you mean by ‘going green?’ Like saving more for recycling?

Yeah, recycling, like Biodiesel and such.

Well about saving gas , I wish. I would love to do that, I would do it in a heartbeat. At this point I’m not sure that things are up to par or not. I saw my first biodiesel pump in Vermont in one of the gas stations we pulled into and I don’t see much of it around here, are they readily available?

I’m not sure of that either to tell you the truth. I can tell you though that I’m not going green anytime soon just to put that out there.

Well, I’ll do it if I’m not forced to but I like it though.

I heard you were vegetarian? Is this correct?

Yes that’s correct, 17 years.

Damn! Interesting. So tell me, how hard is it to find vegetarian food while out on the road and what do you do when you can’t find a vegetarian restaurant or food?

Well, it probably should be growing a little bit more than it should? I could stand not to eat one or two meals out on the road anyways but the states are usually pretty easy. You can always find a Taco Bell or there’s always something I can find on the way. Now in UK, I think someone said some sort of figure that there’s 30-40 percent vegetarian now so it’s actually easier to find vegetarian food now in the UK. The rest of Europe is pretty tough. Usually I eat lettuce sandwiches with cheese on them when I’m hungry. Japan, which you would think would be the easiest place to find vegetarian, is actually pretty tough to find vegetarian. Luckily they have Subways there. Compared to all the various choices, it’s pretty hard to find. You can usually find it in the fish places over there.

Okay, let’s get back into this. Metal Blade. How did this all come about and why Metal Blade?

It seemed like the right place for us. We had a bunch of offers but we really believed in Brain Slagel and I’ve known him for quite some time. I’ve done a lot of graphic design for them. He has a great heart and there’s no other label that would’ve been the best that we could’ve come across that checked us out. You know, Metal Blade has been the only indie label to ever put out an Overcast song and we always thought that was cool and when they wanted to put this out, it just made sense.

Mike, do you ever pay attention to the charts or what’s happening on the radio?

Sorta, I listen to Howard Stern.

[both laugh]

That makes two of us! What’s in store for the future of Overcast?

We’re going to do as much as we can with the time we have. There’s been talk of doing another record with all originals, new originals which is very exciting. On the most recent tour, we still have some shows in December and you can check those out on the Overcast website.

Mike, you got any additional comments or shout-outs?

Not so much, I just wanted to say thank you for doing the interview really and I appreciate it. Any press that Overcast gets is a blessing so thank you very much for being interested enough to do this.

Definitely my man and on that note, I thank you for doing the interview and you’ve been a gentleman and a scholar.

Thanks man!

Alright Mike, I’ll let you off the hook. I know you’re one busy dude!

Alright man and thanks a lot, have a good night!

You too man, I’ll see you guys soon.

Laters!



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