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Postmortem
Post Mortem were an old thrash band from the 80's that put a couple albums out on New Renaissance and now they are back together and here is an interview with members John Alexander and John McCarthy.
MC: Who is all in the band now and what original members are still in the band
at this time?
John A: The current line up looks like:
John McCarthy: Vocals and Bass
John Alexander (me): Guitar and Bass
Rick McIver: Drums
MC:: What made you decide to get back together?
John A: I miss playing music. I have not been doing very much musically and
miss it.
John McCarthy: I HAVE BEEN DOING NOTHING CREATIVE FOR 14 YEARS AND I'VE BEEN
MISERASBLE.
MC: Tell me how many demos you put out and what was the response to them at
the time? Any chance of seeing them on CD one day?
John A: We have at least 4 demos floating around. We have not been able to track
them all down yet. Some were very limited in release. We are working on CD now
with some rare and live stuff called ÒDeterioration of the Flesh.Ó
It will include our most popular demo ÒThe Dead Shall RiseÓ from
1985.
MC: Did you get to play many shows back then? What were the crowds like and
did you have a big following?
John A: We played out often. We pretty much took any show offered. Sometimes
we were well received and sometimes we were not. We were young and a little
angry back then (the 80Õs.) I honestly enjoyed the shows more when the
crowd hated us. We had special sets we used to torture people. I remember on
one occasion, opening for Cannibal Corpse, we played a semi acoustic set with
our instruments plugged into a boom box. The anger directed towards us was very
satisfying. I have since mellowed.
John McCarthy: WE PLAYED SHOWS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY FROM 86-93, WE HAD A DECENT-SIZED
CULT FOLLOWING. THE CROWDS, TO BE HONEST, WERE FOR THE MOST PART, PRETTY HOSTILE,
BUT, I THINK THEY WERE REACTING TO OUR CONTEMPT & INDIFFERENCE. WE USUALLY
PLAYED STUFF THEY DIDN'T KNOW, & WOULD PLAY 40 MINUTE DIRGES WHEN THEY WANTED
THRASH.
MC: What sort of label interest did you have at the time and why did you choose
New Renaissance Records as your label? I read where you were not too happy with
them. Details please.
John A: We were very young and basically took the first offer that did not require
any money out of our pocket. Metal Blade showed some interest, but, I donÕt
think they were anywhere ready to pull the trigger, so, New Renaissance it was.
John McCarthy: METAL BLADE SHOWED SOME INTEREST, BUT WE SIGNED THE 1ST THING
WE GOT. WE WERE KIDS, WE DIDN'T KNOW ANY BETTER. I WAS STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL.
MC: Tell me a little about the EP. Where you more happy with that then the 1st
release? Did your label give you any details as far as sales and did it help
being on a label to do shows and did you do any sort of tour?
John A: The missing link EP is 2 new songs and 2 songs left over from the CoronerÕs
Office recording session. The band was in turmoil at this time, so, the Missing
Link was thrown together to meet contract obligations with New Renaissance.
John McCarthy: NO TOUR SUPPORT EVER. IT WAS A BAD DEAL ALL OVER, BUT AT LEAST
THE STUFF GOT OUT THERE, FOR THAT I'M GRATEFUL.
MC: Tell me the details behind New Renaissance not wanting to release your 3rd
release and how did you manage to steal the "tapes" to it and did
the label ever found out that it was you that bootlegged the release and any
still for sale?
John McCarthy: FESTIVAL OF FUN WAS NOT RECORDED FOR NEW. REN., IT WAS ANOTHER
LABEL.
John A: After the Missing Link EP released were we done with New Renaissance.
We then signed a deal with a label called Zanzibar records. Zanzibar shelled
out a bunch of cash for us to record a new album. The album we created was called
ÒFestival of FunÓ and Zanzibar (after hearing it) decided it was
too un-commercial to release and dumped us from the label. We did 2 limited
LP runs for Festival (both with different covers and handmade inserts) and they
are no longer available. Then Red Light re-issued Festival on CD. The Festival
CD sounds much better then CoronerÕs Office and may be purchased on Amazon
for 1 cent.
MC: How did you end up on Ever Rat/Red Light Records? Were there any other labels
interested in the band?
John McCarthy: I SENT OUT STUFF TO A BUNCH OF LABELS. EVER RAT CALLED ME AT
HOME ONE DAY. THEY HOOKED US UP WITH RED LIGHT.
John A: There are always label nibbles here and there, but, Red Light was the
quickest to get it done. They approached us and said they wanted to release
our back collection on CD and we said sure whatever. We were not involved much
more beyond that and were not (of course) paid a cent. The CD covers donÕt
even have the name of the band printed on them! Those releases are junk.
MC: You don't want any fans buying any of your old releases cause you say the
sound quality is shit. When can we expect your stuff to be re-released and on
what label?
John A: The vinyl we have out there is good. However, the Red Light CD version
of CoronerÕs Office has sound drop outs on it. Why would someone release
something like that? It is crap, oh well. We are currently working with Metal
War Productions to create a version of Coroner's Office on CD worth having.
John McCarthy: SOME STUFF WILL BE RE-RELEASED THIS YEAR, HOPEFULLY. AND YES,
THOSE RED LIGHT CD'S SOUND FUCKING AWFUL!!!!!
MC: I see your writing some new songs. What vein are they in and when can we
expect them to be released?
John A: Black Sabbath was and still is one of my favorite bands. I would expect
to the new stuff to be in that vain (with screaming, punk and thrash thrown
in).
John McCarthy: I WAS THINKING MORE PANIC! AT THE DISCO MEETS REDD FOXX.
MC: What led to the break up of the band and was it a bad break up and when
you played your last show did you know it was your last show?
John A: We broke up and got back together so many times I donÕt recall
all the details. I quit in dramatic fashion a couple of times. Woman, drugs,
and immaturity seemed to play a role in all the break ups.
John McCarthy: WE FINALLY BROKE UP SIMPLY BECAUSE IT WAS NOT REALLY WORKING
ANYMORE. IT WAS JUST ME & MARK KELLEY WITH 2 OTHER GUYS WHO WERE GREAT,
BUT IT JUST WASN'T POST MORTEM ANYMORE. WE WERE DRAGGING OUR ASSES AROUND THE
COUNTRY. IT WAS HORRIBLE. AND I KNOW THIS IS CLICHE TO SAY, BUT IT WAS VERY,
VERY SPINAL TAP.
MC: What do you think killed thrash/speed metal back in the day?
John A: No idea. I did not know it died. I did not really listen to much thrash/speed
metal (just the well known bands).
John McCarthy: NO CLUE.
MC: Did fanzines treat the band well and do you miss them these days?
John A: Kick Ass Monthly was one of my favs.
John McCarthy: YES, KICK ASS WAS THE BIBLE. IT SEEMED THE ZINES LIKED US MORE
THAN THE ACTUAL PUBLIC.
MC: Do you think if back then we had the internet, youtube, etc that bands such
as yourselves might have gotten bigger?
John A: I donÕt know, probably not.
John McCarthy: IT WAS PROBABLY THE SAME, IT'S JUST WITH THE INTERNET IT'S MORE
IN YOUR FACE, PLUS PEOPLE LOVE NOSTALGIA, SO I GUESS THAT'S ON OUR SIDE.
MC: How would you describe your music to someone who have never heard it.
John A: It really depends what album you listen to. Most people seem to like
our heavier doom stuff. Parts of the ÒFestival of FunÓ album could
easily be played on the Dr. Demento show.
John McCarthy: WE WERE ALL OVER THE PLACE. I LIKE IT THAT WAY, PERSONALLY.
MC: Tell people the url to your MYSpace page and what will people find if they
log onto it?
John A: www.myspace.com/postmortemtheoriginal
They'll hear some songs from CoronerÕs Office and the Missing Link.
MC: Do you ever see your stuff on sale on EBay and does it go for a high price?
John A: It depends. The LPs and singles sell for around 20 bucks. The red light
CDs sell for much less (if they sell).
John McCarthy: I'VE SEEN STUFF FROM ONE PENNY UP TO $ 150.
MC: Do you plan on making any merchandise available?
John A: Yes, hopefully weÕll have t-shirts soon. We will be working with
Metal War Productions to get Ôem done.
John McCarthy: HOPEFULLY, THEY WILL BE CUTE & FUZZY.
MC: What will you do if New Renaissance re-issues your old stuff again or do
you own the rights to it?
John A: New Renaissance does not have signed contracts with us. They also do
not have the 2 track masters, so, I would next expect to see any PM on New Ren.
John McCarthy: WE WILL DRESS IN BATTLE GEAR & BURN THE ENTIRE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
TO STOP NEW. REN. & THEIR UNMETAL WAYS.
John Alexander: I think John M is joking. He was not in Manowar last time I
checked.
John McCarthy: YES, I WAS DEFINITELY JOKING
MC: If you could what advice would you give a young band starting out?
John A: DonÕt give up no matter what and stay clear of drugs or donÕt
expect to get rich doing this.
John McCarthy: GIVE UP. AGAIN, JUST JOKING. I HAVE NO ADVICE.
MC: Do you feel your music holds up well even today?
John A: It seems tooÉalthough, I wish we could have done HD digital recordings
back then.
John McCarthy: I'M AMAZED. WHEN WE 1ST STARTED THIS MYSPACE THING I EXPECTED
ABOUT 50 PEOPLE TO RESPOND. NOW, THERE'S A FEW MORE THAN THAT.
MC: What comes to mind when I say the word poser ha ha?
John A: A fan known as DeathThrasher, he was very into what bands\people are
posers. I had no interest in this, except for humor.
John McCarthy: BULLSHIT.
John Alexander: I'll add: I recently took a poser test (on a friendÕs
myspace page) and it was deemed I was a poser.
John McCarthy: I TOOK THAT TEST TOO. I'M NOT ONE, HA!!!
MC: How did you come up with your name and did you ever get any flack over it?
John A: We had the name in 1982 and yes people think we took our name from the
Slayer song. Which, of course, we did not. There is an issue of Kick Ass monthly
(check the kick ass myspace page) that pre dates reign and blood with Kerry
King on the cover. We are reviewed in this issue, makes ya wonder.
John McCarthy: YES, IT DOES........RICK'S BROTHER NORMAN THOUGHT OF IT.
MC: Is it easy now coming up with new songs and how does it feel to be playing
again and have you recently done any live shows?
John A: We have not played any live shows and we are just starting to write
songs.
MC: Any last words. Horns up for the interview.
John A: I donÕt have any horns. Thanks for the interview, great questions.
John McCarthy: THANKS FOR THE INTEREST, THIS IS THE 1ST REAL INTERVIEW I'VE
DONE IN ABOUT 1,000,000 YEARS, I CHECKED AND I DON'T HAVE ANY HORNS EITHER.