Name, age, and role in Encompass and Stalemate?
joey- age 24. guitars, vocals, percussion, noise
We all add percussion and noise to almost every track.
michael, 23, Bass and other bits,vocals,percusion,etc.
mike-age not known,,role is to play drums,vocals,etc.
For those who are unfamiliar, could you give us a history of the band and what your all about?
joey Michael and i have played together since '94.(during that time mike was playing in a few different bands and he also released a solo cd entitled Henry Krinkle "disco dwarf porno tunes" which everyone should definitely check out) in the summer of '97 Mike came to a show that Michael and I were playing. I'd gotten really angry at our drummer and i had thrown his drums off the stage and we'd stopped the show. Later we fought in the parking lot and Mike walked up and said, "looks like y'all need a drummer, huh?" we started playing with him and soon he began writing songs and we became what we are now, a 3 piece collaboration. We write songs together and there are songs that we write individually.
One thing that we want to do is to fuse hardcore with other sounds that may be on our plate at the time so that people who would not ordinarily listen to hardcore will realize its dynamics and relevance and its relation to other styles of music. We want to "convert" pop, blues, rock, whatever listeners, I guess, to the art of experimental hardcore so that they will do something that they would never ordinarily do, and that is go back and check out all the pioneers of hardcore and experimental music (as well as the modern day pioneers) and listen to them with a different frame of mind.
Whats the name "Encompass and Stalemate" mean?
joey-- it's just a statement of hopelessness and an idea of a feeling that every move you make, no matter your intent, would be a destructive one. or that all moves in this totally self absorbed society are destructive ones.
mike--for the simple minded,,to me it means to surround and confuse,which is what our music does.
There are lots of elements in your music, such as piano,violins,etc. How do you pull all this off live?
joey- a lot of the songs are played differently live. Sometimes we do special shows, incorporating new elements. Some of the songs are recorded acoustic then played distorted and heavy live, and sometimes vice versa. Our first album "abrogator" took a really long time to come out, the songs are 3 years old. We plan to have three more albums finished by the end of 2003. Our performances are much different than what you hear on "abrogator" and our other songs are as well. "abrogator" represents our stripped down, raw beginnings.
How's the scene in Baton Rouge, are there many shows? any other cool bands worth mentioning?
joey- baton rouge is hell for artists of any kind. A couple bands that are good are Four Square and Tabu. New Orleans and Lafayette, which are basically next door, that's where our scene lives. Bands we like: Icepick Revival(THE KINGS! broke up, but had 3 cd's, one on At A Loss), Rat in a Bucket, Soilent Green, Hawg Jaw, Hostile Apostle, lots of others. check out lapunx.com or
mike--there's not much of a scene here for us,b.r.'s scene is an up and down thing.all of the bands are really trying hard though.most people around here could give two shits about our kind of music.we like n.o. and laffayette much better,we only perform live in b.r. 3-4 times a year now at the most....b.r. bands worth mentioning?? um,,the kenmores,four square,peckernut.
What was the first show you ever attended? Who played?
joey- The first good show I can remember was Acid Bath when I was a young teenager. Sammy Douet is one bad motherfucker.
mike--the first concert i ever went to was HEART,bad animals tour when i was like 11.it was some hardcore shit!! i went to all of the glam metal shows at the time,,motely crue,poison.
What are your thoughts on God?
mike--we are not a religious band,,,but i do play in a side band that is death/blackmetal called CATHOLICON. i could care less about their lyrics,i just enjoy playing that style of drumming,i'm not very interested in religion.
What are your thoughts on Weed? Any smokers in the band?
mike--i dont have many weeds in my yard,we have somebody that comes and cuts the grass every week,i dont do weeds.i dont personally support the tabaco industry.
What is your current playlist?
joey- Queen- "sheer heart attack". The new Melvins album. Scrotum Grinder, Wayne Hancock, Orchid, combatwoundedveteran, Minutemen- "double nickels on the dime" and the new Mastadon album.
michael-The Barber of Seville (Rossini)
Seven Days of Samsara : We are already dead
Carnival of Dark-Split : There is a light that never goes out
Charles Mingus : Me Myself an Eye
324 : Boutoku No Taiyo
Asmus Tietchens : Notturno
Top 10 bands/musical artists of all time?
Joey- how about top ten records of all time?
10 Sonic Youth "daydream nation"
9 Willie Nelson "phases and stages"
8 Leon Russell "carney"
7 Melvins "the maggot"
6 Funkadelic "maggot brain"
5 Melvins "stoner witch"
4 Soundgarden "badmotorfinger"
3 King Crimson "in the court of the crimson king"
2 Leonard Cohen "songs of love and hate"
1 Faith No More "angel dust"
Top 10 movies of all time?
Joey- That's tough to put in any order, but here are some of my favorites.
10 Natural Born Killers
9 American Pimp
8 Texas Chainsaw Massacre
7 Jacob's Ladder
6 Apocalypse Now
5 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
4 Scarface
3 Desperate Living
2 Full Metal Jacket
1 Taxi Driver
and if were gonna talk about movies, then we can't leave out books. a few great books that have influenced my work are
Louis-Ferdinand Celine journey to the end of the night, Anthony Burgess a clockwork orange, Albert Camus the stranger,
Fyodor Dostoevsky notes from underground, Charles Bukowski south of no north,
mike---i do not read. i play video games,,super metroid rules. and g.t.a. vice city is the greatest video game of all time..followed by supper dodge ball for nintendo.
What do you think of the way we live in society? If you could change one thing what would it be?
joey- no change could possibly stop this crash course. Spring the mine, it's a fixed game.
mike--i think everybody in the world is loosing their fucking minds.
Anything you'd like to add or close with?
joey- thanks DJ, and thanks to anyone who buys our record. Our very being is poured into our work and integrity is our number one priority. We promise to always delivery the very brink of hardcore as we see it! Contact us to order other recordings or merchandise at
po box 77552
baton rouge LA 70879-77552.
mike--here are some shout outs,,just like on T.R.L.!!!! i wanna send a shout out to david and vicgoria from fishfur,brian from meatjack,benn hogg from b.b.t.p.....yvette in france, rich at relapse, sanders from unpersons, and......bushmado for taking the time to interview us.great website,keep it up.
you can contact encompass and stalemate by email at statutorist@aol.com,,and dont forget to check out www.fishfur.com!!!!
Fish Fur Records
Encompass and Stalemate
return to interviews