Most of the answers were collective and for the most part I haven`t a clue who the main spokesperson was...Mike??? but anyway- here`s how it went...
Rob: How did the Man`s Ruin deal come about?
Disengage: We sent a bunch of demos to Kozik at Man`s Ruin during the time when we were talking to a bunch of labels about putting out the record. He really liked what he heard so Man`s Ruin stepped up and got us in the studio. We are more than happy to be working with Man`s Ruin because they have some great bands, a good reputation, and they definitely understand where we are coming from musically.
Rob: Do you have any tours coming up to support the new record?
Disengage: We are planning that right now, actually. It looks like a US tour will happen around March 2001. Until then, we are going to continue to play shows throughout the Midwest and Eastern states.
Rob: How did Disengage start?
Disengage: Jon and I (Mike) had been playing in a local Cleveland band for a year or so and met Jason, who was in another band at the time too. We decided to write some songs together for fun, this was sometime in 1995. It quickly became something that we wanted to do full time. Sean was added on bass shortly after and by 1996 Disengage was really going strong. We set out to put everything we have into this band. That is kind of where the name "Disengage" comes from....getting away from everything else and concentrating on making music.
Rob: What are some of your shared influences as band members?
Disengage: We all come from 70`s/80`s punk and hardcore roots, but also get into the great rock bands of the 70`s like Sabbath, Zeppelin, etc. We try to combine the live energy of the punk bands that have influenced us, like Black Flag for example, with more traditionally structured songs that are based around heavy guitar riffs and melodic vocals.
Rob: Who are some of your favorite bands around right now, or maybe that you have played gigs with?
Disengage: We`re into bands like Queens of the Stone Age and High on Fire. Those a couple that easily come to mind. Lately we have played with some really great bands like Bob City, Boulder, Shuteye, Red Giant, Silver Tongued Devil, and Keelhaul.
Rob: Who is the main songwriter or is it fully collaborated?
Disengage: It is pretty equal, actually. The songs are usually based around a guitar or bass idea, and we just expand on that. The music gets pretty close to finished before Jason hears it and he just writes the lyrics and vocal melodies around what the band has written. Everyone has their job in the band and it has worked out very well for us so far.
Rob: Do you guys get on the internet? If so have you checked out
StonerRock.com?
Disengage: Yeah, we get on the internet from time to time. We have all been to
StonerRock.com, it`s a really great site. It`s a prefect example of what we usually use the internet for, to keep in touch with bands, check out new music, and basically just keep up to date on what`s happening in the rock world. The internet is great for getting your band name out there and letting people hear your music. Of course, we sometimes have to visit a porn site or two in between, just for good measure.
Rob: You guys have a preference for "expanding the mind"?
Disengage: We definitely like to party, let`s just leave it at that.
Rob: What are some of your goals as a band?
Disengage: Right now, the main goal is to get out and support the new record. We just want to expose as many people as we can to it and have fun playing shows along the way. There aren`t any huge goals that we talk about regularly other than just continuing to write new songs, play as many shows as we can, and become the best band that we are capable of.
Rob: What was your worst gig and why? What was your best gig and why?
Disengage: The worst gig would have to be this past April at the Viper Room in Los Angeles. It was one of those private showcase things that major labels set up to check out a band. It was in the middle of the afternoon, no one else was allowed in and we had to play in front of 3 guys from the label, that was it. Sean and Jason were sick and Jason`s voice was pretty much shot, but we did the show anyway. There`s no way around it, we sucked, shit happens, moving on....... The best gig, even though most are really fun, would have to be our record release show a few weeks ago in Cleveland. It was pretty insane. Somewhere between 600 and 700 people showed up and everything was just perfect. We played well, the crowd was great, we drank for free, and someone told us Kerry King from Slayer was there....who could ask for anything more than that??
Rob: Top 3 movies, books, and albums of all time?
Disengage: Movies: Gummo, the Exorcist, and Spinal Tap
Books: Hustler, Penthouse, and Perfect 10
Albums: Jason--Black Sabbath/Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Black Flag/My War --Mike--Led Zeppelin IV, Jane`s Addiction/Nothing`s Shocking, Fugazi/Self-titled --Sean--Refused/Shape of Punk to Come, Barkmarket/L. --RonJon--Barkmarket/Gimmick, Various Artists/Let Them Eat Jellybeans Compilation,
Rob: What is your favourite city and venue to play and why?
Disengage: Although we`ve had great shows in a lot of places around the country, right now, it`s probably Cleveland because it`s our hometown. As far as venues go, the Euclid Tavern, the Blind Lemon, Grog Shop, and the Agora are all very cool places to play in Cleveland. It`s where we started and everyone here has been really supportive of the band. Our Cleveland shows are always a lot of fun and it`s really great to rock and hang out with all of our friends.
Rob: What`s your worst "bad trip" story?
Disengage: One band member (we won`t say who), invited an old high school friend to go out and do acid. The guy had never done acid before, so he was only given one hit, but this particular band member took four hits. The acid was really heavy on the speed so, the band member was completely freaking out and to make matters worse, his friend was following him around having a hard time with the trip also. Finally, the old friend puts his hand on the band member`s shoulder and says," You know, I would really like to go to bed with you...." Needless to say, the trip was ruined and the band member decided to get away from this guy and tough out the next six hours of a really, really bad trip.
Rob: What`s the most painful thing you ever witnessed at a rock show?
Disengage: Jason has a habit of swinging the microphone around and he once accidentally hit this kid at the front of the stage. The microphone cracked him right in the forehead and he just dropped. When he got up you could see the imprint on his head. We felt pretty bad about that one. Sorry...
Rob: How old were you when you first realized you wanted to rock?
Disengage: The average for all of us seems to be around 4 years old.
Rob: What`s the most embarrassing job you ever had?
Disengage: We`ve all had some bad ones including janitor, delivering gyros, and selling shoes, but the worst was one season when we all worked picking pumpkins. It was pretty horrible.
Rob: What`s your favourite ice cream flavor?
Disengage: Brown
Rob: If you could date any rock star dead or alive in the world, who would it be?
Disengage: Deborah Harry, 1970`s style.
