BLACK MEKON : GREAT NOISE BEHIND A BLACK MASK
The legend has them being everything from aliens to superheroes and a few unmentionables. What is certain is that Black Mekon is a two piece that raises a mighty noise, something that seems to be getting harder to do even with a band of five or more. I was lucky enough to see them during SXSW at Kid Congo’s birthday party, great energy and all the mystery of “who are those men behind the mask?” I have been told they will soon be taking on Japan touring with the legendary Guitar Wolf. I hope to find out more about the newest two man band to join the ranks of Flat Duo Jets, Doo Rag, Lightning Bolt, The Black Keys and the amazing Bob Log III, the one man version.
I have always wanted to ask this, is it a lot easier being on tour with just two people instead of four or five?
Oh hell yes. Even two can be a pain in the arse sometimes, four or five is like herding cats. Why do you think prog bands are all so miserable? It’s the impetus behind them making such dire torturous music, they are suffering and want us to suffer too. And in contrast, why do you think Bob Log makes such amazing party music and is still having such a great time touring? He laughs in his sleep you know, true fact.
OK, so now that I got that question off of my mind, what is the history of Black Mekon?
Black Mekon is me (Black Mekon) and my brother (Black Mekon). Our mom told us that we were named after the bastard children of missionaries who visited prostitutes. These babies, these dirty little secrets, were taken and dumped along the banks of the Mekong River. Some survived and started their own tribe, The Black Mekong. I don’t know what our mom was trying to tell us with this bedtime story.
We live in Birmingham, UK. It’s the devils armpit, the perfect place to learn how to hot-wire a car and play the wrong instruments at the right volume. We spent years playing music but always breaking our fingers, unlearning and relearning so that we would stay at that nursery-school level of craftsmanship and maintain the same level of enthusiasm. One night we decided to create an art project out of one of our late night sessions so we spent a heavy few hours recording an album and put the songs on a website with no information other than our name. We were immediately hunted down by promoters to play in Europe, then the US, then South America. As that famous gravestone says…don’t try.
What bands do you list amongst your favorites and which ones do you think helped you chose the type of music you wanted to make?
This list could be a telephone directory-sized book but just off the top of my head… Pussy Galore, Suicide, VU, Leadbelly, Bassholes, Fred McDowell, B.D.P, Gories, The Fall, Fireworks, Gun Club…
As for which of these bands helped influence the type of music we make, all of them have. We might not sound anything like any of those bands but we try really hard to, or at least to get that same feeling. Don’t you prefer that? The sound you make as you reach up to get the cookie jar on the top shelf and can’t quite make it… uuuuuurrrrrggh! That’s the sound of Black Mekon!
Black Mekon & Kid Congo Powers
As far as garage bands go, do you find the ones of the past end up on the record player more or the current ones?
That depends. Right now we have a load of new records from bands we hadn’t heard before. The Pampers, The Ultras S/C, Useless Eaters, the AMAZING Obnox… but there is always our religious daily playback of Gories and VU at the same time.
Garage and down and dirty R & B comes and goes in popular music, what about current popular music do you like, if anything?
I’m really not aware of what is popular these days, truly. I hear things on the radio and I’m not sure if it’s a new hit song or just a car commercial. I’m not trying to be cute here, this is the truth. It’s a click click click culture now, things come and go so fast… I still think Outkast are a popular act. Hey Ya is a new jam to me. Plus, I think everything is so available to us that you don’t need to be subjected to the cowshit to get to the mushrooms, you know? I don’t tune into those stations so I don’t know what is going on over there. Hey, it might be really good… but I doubt I’m missing anything.
What is recording like for you? Do you record separately or together?
We put a couple of microphones in a room, press ‘go’ on the tape thing and play until we pass out. Then we try to cherry pick moments from the whole thing that could possibly be considered listenable (at least to damaged ears like ours) and that’s pretty much it. Album done.
Are songs something that come together from ideas you both bring from outside or is it a sit down and collaborate?
There’s absolutely no forethought or discussion it is all straight from the hip. Even some of the lyrics are whatever is vomited into the microphone as we are playing. After it’s all been weeded thru I will put vocals over the top and maybe a little extra guitar if I’m feeling all Phil Spector.
Being in the age of streaming music, do you still put out vinyl? Do you think it’s important to keep making albums instead of just releasing a song at a time, which is the way they seem to sell now?
Vinyl is absolutely essential. Not from a purist sense but because it shows dedication on our behalf. Anyone can record an album in their bedroom and have it all over the internet in a matter of minutes but to get your stuff on wax shows more of a commitment. Plus, you actually LISTEN when you have to take the time to put the needle on the record as opposed to hearing 10 second excerpts as you click thru a bunch of different songs online. It’s like a nice, tangible piece of art too. Don’t you miss album art? That little thumbnail in the corner of iTunes isn’t quite the same.
I don’t really think we could release a song at a time, it’s just not how we are wired… we do 14 songs at a time so you may as well have them all. That being said I also like the idea that we can record something and send it straight to you. I’m not dismissive of digital, I think it’s useful as hell but I just think it should be used alongside vinyl. You can’t live on snacks alone.
Image, you have a great one, visually both live and on video you look great. How important is image and who does your videos for you?
Why thank you! Our image is very important to us and it is born of two things; they are the only clothes we own (our mom knew we would have lots of funerals and court appearances) and as a friend of mine once said: “If the crowd’s gonna pay five dollar we aughtta wear a shirt with a collar”.
The videos are all the work of one man, Mr. Radar. He is an eccentric little guy from Birmingham who will only work on projects that take his interest at a certain time… it’s like trying to catch a leprechaun. He works almost exclusively analog and uses no computer generated effects, which we love. He hand builds all these crazy little props and has all these really old super 8 and 1980’s tv studio cameras. Sometimes we collaborate closely on the videos and sometimes he just turns up and hands us a disc with some amazing animated video on it from nowhere. He’s a genius.
What kind of bands do you find yourself being booked with in England? What are some of the good ones out there right now?
We don’t play England too much but when we do we like to do it with our buddies like The Castillians or Table Scraps. Our label, PNKSLM, have a bunch of great bands that we would love to play with over here, Thee MVPs, Charles Howl, Sudakistan, Les Big Byrd. Hopefully Sex Beet will be playing again soon so we can really party.
Were your shows during SXSW your first in the States? When you get booked into a group tour with American bands which ones are you hoping to be booked with?
We had done the odd show here and there in the States before but no long tours. We seem to usually get dragged to hot continents with extremely questionable border control. These dates at SXSW were perfect though, everyone involved seemed to get it. All the bands we played with were great. Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds are probably the best live band around right now.
Black Mekon live at The Tight Pussy
To finish just a few quick fire questions to give us an idea of just who the two of you are;
Beer or liquor?
For me yes please, for my brother weed and a shandy will do.
Horror or Comedy?
Comedy, horror is never convincing. We’re from the pits of Birmingham, no horror can compare.
Car or Motorcycle?
I’m banned from driving for life (true, I’ll tell you another time) and my brother is waiting for automated vehicles which he insists will become reality in the next five years. I am better at stealing motorcycles. Well, I used to be when I was a teen. They probably have all sorts of clever security devices on them now.
Chicken or Fish?
Neither, we’re both vegetarians. I know, it’s kind of like Snoop Dogg’s hair, it seems like something we’ve done to intentionally anger our audience.
Socks or no socks?
Argyle socks.
Ramones or Sex Pistols?
Ramones. With Johnny Rotten on crowd control.
Finally if you ruled the world, what would you do with it?
Give it back, it’s bolloxed. I want a new one that works properly.
Thank you Mekon’s for taking the time to answer a few questions. Enjoy yourselves in Japan and remember to keep your hands in your pockets on the train.
Thanks, we will!
Black Mekon’s ace album’s are available from pnkslm.com
Janet Hammer
