Punk band Madcap has just dropped their latest album Under Suspicion on February 24 from their new label Victory Records. The album has a lot of cache to it because one of their favorite bands, Catch 22, enhanced the track Searching For Ground and Rami Jaffee of the Wallflowers contributed organ to the track Keep Dancin. With this album Madcap widens their influences from bands like the Buzzcocks and The Clash to include people like Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen and U2.
I got a chance to talk to lead singer, Johnny Madcap, about the changes the band has gone through, their new sound and his favorite candy.
Check out Madcaps website.
Daniel Robert Epstein: Are you psyched about the new album?
Johnny Madcap: Yeah, were totally excited and its definitely the best record weve ever made. I know a lot of bands say that, but
DRE: This time its true
JM: Yeah, this time its true [laughs].
DRE: So this is the first album with Victory Records. How has it been different from Side One Dummy?
JM: I think they share the same vision that we have about where we want to go with our music. Side One was a good label, its just time for a change. Im glad we made that change because I think Victory Records is definitely the place we want to be as far as a label goes. Theyre a great label and they really got it together.
DRE: Did it end badly with Side One?
JM: No I think we just both decided to go our separate ways.
DRE: Do you guys dress alike on purpose?
JM: [laughs] No its not on purpose, I think when a band gets up on stage theres also fashion to it. Youre also selling yourself and I just started wearing a suit jacket and ties a while back. The other guys just jumped on it too and now its just kind of become our look.
DRE: Whats the writing process for the band? Is it just you and then you tell everyone else whats going on?
JM: Yeah Im the main songwriter. What will happen is Ill get the lyrics and what I want to write about. Then Ill get the main chords going, then I bring it to them and from there we become a creative force. Everybody just puts their input into it and then it really becomes a song.
DRE: Whats going on with this new album thats going to make it different from the other ones?
JM: The band is more together now than weve ever been. Weve had some problems in the band, weve been through band members, people not getting along and for the first time ever were totally all on the same level. We all get along with each other. Its total unity right now. I mean its hard to spend 24 hours a day and be on tour and not have someone get on your nerves. But thats expected and we all try to give each other our space. Were a machine right now. We want to support this album the best that we can. Were so into the album, we poured our hearts into it.
There is a theme to the album, its all about watching out, were in an unstable society right now and I thought that I could make it apply to what is going on in the world. But also be ambiguous with it and make it so that you could apply it to a relationship or a co-worker or someone you dont like. Everyone is under suspicion in the world.
DRE: How do you know Rami Jaffee?
JM: That was set up through our producer, a guy named Captain Ted Hutt, great producer. He actually knew all of the Wallflowers and I really wanted some organ down on a few tracks. Im a Wallflowers fan so I knew that would be awesome. So we set up a meeting and I got to know the guy and I explained to him our situation and what we were all about and he was into it.
DRE: Awesome. You guys are friends with Catch 22 right?
JM: Yeah we were friends before we were even on Victory Records. We went on tour with those guys and theyre just awesome, great players, so it seemed right. I tried to make the album diverse. On our previous albums its all kind of the same formula, kind of the street sound. So for this album Ive been listening to so many different artists and just kind of wanted something different.
DRE: Why was this album the time to do something different?
JM: We were trying to break away from the whole punk rock, street sound thing. I feel that punk rock is more of an ego than it is a sound, I mean its a way of living. Its what you think about things and it doesnt really have to do with sound and we were getting stuck in that rut and getting compared to a lot of contemporary bands at the time. They may be bands that I love, but I dont necessarily want to be compared to them. I want to make a sound thats all our own and thats what I tried to do on this album.
DRE: Do you think that too many bands are sounding too much alike lately?
JM: Well yeah [laughs].
DRE: I mean the popular bands for sure.
JM: Even the smaller bands. When bands just start out theyre going to go with whatever is going on at the time and it just becomes this big circle, going around and around and around. When I first started listening to punk, I heard Minor Threat and I was blown away from the intensity of it. Then after a while I started to hear all these other bands and I started noticing that they were all sounding kind of like Minor Threat. Its very easy to get caught up in that because the music is so good. I think punk rock is just a great style, theyre easy songs to write and its easy to get your point across in them. But in the last 2 years Ive been listening to so many different kinds of artists, early rock and roll, early soul, Otis Redding, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Elvis Costello. I listen to all that stuff now. I just see that theres so much room to do other things.
DRE: Is there a big difference anymore between where bands come from? It doesnt seem like there is.
JM: Not really. It all comes down really to what youre influenced by, how you feel about things and thats going to come through in your music. I dont really think it matters where youre from. I know that east coast tends to be a lot more real and a lot more rugged because of the weather they go through.
DRE: So I read someone pulled a gun on the band at one point?
JM: Well yeah that was way back early in our career. This one time I threw a show with this one band called Spinal Conflict from Orange County. They were pretty big so I thought well I can get them and I can get us; itll be a good show. But the club wouldnt let me have it unless we got an official promoter, someone theyd worked with. Well we put on the show and it did great and at the end of the night the promoter ran off with all the money. I can look back and laugh about it now but at the time
DRE: There were some other things that happened like you got stuck in a bad snowstorm last year?
JM: Yeah we were coming home from a tour with Simple Plan at the time. We were just on our way home and we drove into New York City. It was cold and there was snow. So we stopped at our favorite pizza place and by the time we got out the van was covered in snow. It was probably the worst two days of my life. At the end of a tour you just want to get home. You dont really want to be stuck in the snow but I told everybody, I was like We are going home, We are getting out of here so we didnt stop, we got through it.
DRE: Where did you grow up?
JM: I grew up in Glendale, California.
DRE: What were you like as a young man?
JM: I was the typical troublemaker. Not conforming to anything, wanting to be myself and I got kicked out of a couple high schools.
DRE: What did you do?
JM: I was just stupid. It was nothing really in particular, just trouble. They could just sense that I was trouble. They just didnt want me there but I was glad. I had an older brother that was always pumping the Rolling Stones through my wall in my room. He wouldnt let me into his room so I would always put my ear up against the wall and listen to him play the Rolling Stones.
DRE: Wheres your brother now?
JM: Hes still around. Hes way into our band and Im actually introducing him to bands he hasnt heard of just from me meeting them.
DRE: Whats the first thing youre going to be doing for the tour? Where are you going first?
JM: Were doing six dates with a band called Mest. Theyre a Chicago band. Weve actually toured with them before. They were going out so I gave them a call and said hey man; Id love to go out with you guys again. Were going to do that first and then were going a tour with a band called Digger whos on Hopeless Records and thatll take us all the way up to March and were still working on whats going on from there, but you can pretty much bet that Madcap is going to be on tour this whole year.
DRE: Whats your favorite place to play in right now?
JM: My favorite place to play is New York City, by far.
DRE: Why?
JM: For some reason the kids are really receptive to us out there. Our best shows have definitely been there. I wouldnt mind moving there myself. Im a city boy. I like the action and the lights. First time I went to New York City my jaw dropped. I like going there to visit and I like going there to play so it becomes an all around great place to be.
DRE: How was the tour with the Dropkick Murphys?
JM: As well as being legendary they are great guys and a great band to tour with. I love their music, its very real, and its got a lot of heart.
DRE: Whats your favorite candy?
JM: [laughs] God, Id have to say that nothing beats a good chocolate bar.
DRE: Which one?
JM: I dont really have a favorite one. I guess its kind of like wine; the more expensive it is the better it is.
DRE: Do you have any tattoos?
JM: Yeah I do, I have a small tattoo on the bottom of my right wrist. Its a broken heart and it says true believer.
DRE: Whats that for?
JM: I got that actually when we went out with Bouncing Souls for the True Believers tour. Bouncing Souls is just one of my favorite bands ever and when I found out we were touring with them I was nervous, but I was just so excited because it was music I grew up listening to. We were in Houston, Texas and I felt like Ive got to do something to remember this forever. Its a cool tattoo. Im not really into tattoos, I never really wanted one and this is the last one Im probably ever going to get so it means great deal to me.
DRE: Who is the biggest pain in the ass in the band?
JM: God, I think were all huge pain in the asses.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
I got a chance to talk to lead singer, Johnny Madcap, about the changes the band has gone through, their new sound and his favorite candy.
Check out Madcaps website.
Daniel Robert Epstein: Are you psyched about the new album?
Johnny Madcap: Yeah, were totally excited and its definitely the best record weve ever made. I know a lot of bands say that, but
DRE: This time its true
JM: Yeah, this time its true [laughs].
DRE: So this is the first album with Victory Records. How has it been different from Side One Dummy?
JM: I think they share the same vision that we have about where we want to go with our music. Side One was a good label, its just time for a change. Im glad we made that change because I think Victory Records is definitely the place we want to be as far as a label goes. Theyre a great label and they really got it together.
DRE: Did it end badly with Side One?
JM: No I think we just both decided to go our separate ways.
DRE: Do you guys dress alike on purpose?
JM: [laughs] No its not on purpose, I think when a band gets up on stage theres also fashion to it. Youre also selling yourself and I just started wearing a suit jacket and ties a while back. The other guys just jumped on it too and now its just kind of become our look.
DRE: Whats the writing process for the band? Is it just you and then you tell everyone else whats going on?
JM: Yeah Im the main songwriter. What will happen is Ill get the lyrics and what I want to write about. Then Ill get the main chords going, then I bring it to them and from there we become a creative force. Everybody just puts their input into it and then it really becomes a song.
DRE: Whats going on with this new album thats going to make it different from the other ones?
JM: The band is more together now than weve ever been. Weve had some problems in the band, weve been through band members, people not getting along and for the first time ever were totally all on the same level. We all get along with each other. Its total unity right now. I mean its hard to spend 24 hours a day and be on tour and not have someone get on your nerves. But thats expected and we all try to give each other our space. Were a machine right now. We want to support this album the best that we can. Were so into the album, we poured our hearts into it.
There is a theme to the album, its all about watching out, were in an unstable society right now and I thought that I could make it apply to what is going on in the world. But also be ambiguous with it and make it so that you could apply it to a relationship or a co-worker or someone you dont like. Everyone is under suspicion in the world.
DRE: How do you know Rami Jaffee?
JM: That was set up through our producer, a guy named Captain Ted Hutt, great producer. He actually knew all of the Wallflowers and I really wanted some organ down on a few tracks. Im a Wallflowers fan so I knew that would be awesome. So we set up a meeting and I got to know the guy and I explained to him our situation and what we were all about and he was into it.
DRE: Awesome. You guys are friends with Catch 22 right?
JM: Yeah we were friends before we were even on Victory Records. We went on tour with those guys and theyre just awesome, great players, so it seemed right. I tried to make the album diverse. On our previous albums its all kind of the same formula, kind of the street sound. So for this album Ive been listening to so many different artists and just kind of wanted something different.
DRE: Why was this album the time to do something different?
JM: We were trying to break away from the whole punk rock, street sound thing. I feel that punk rock is more of an ego than it is a sound, I mean its a way of living. Its what you think about things and it doesnt really have to do with sound and we were getting stuck in that rut and getting compared to a lot of contemporary bands at the time. They may be bands that I love, but I dont necessarily want to be compared to them. I want to make a sound thats all our own and thats what I tried to do on this album.
DRE: Do you think that too many bands are sounding too much alike lately?
JM: Well yeah [laughs].
DRE: I mean the popular bands for sure.
JM: Even the smaller bands. When bands just start out theyre going to go with whatever is going on at the time and it just becomes this big circle, going around and around and around. When I first started listening to punk, I heard Minor Threat and I was blown away from the intensity of it. Then after a while I started to hear all these other bands and I started noticing that they were all sounding kind of like Minor Threat. Its very easy to get caught up in that because the music is so good. I think punk rock is just a great style, theyre easy songs to write and its easy to get your point across in them. But in the last 2 years Ive been listening to so many different kinds of artists, early rock and roll, early soul, Otis Redding, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Elvis Costello. I listen to all that stuff now. I just see that theres so much room to do other things.
DRE: Is there a big difference anymore between where bands come from? It doesnt seem like there is.
JM: Not really. It all comes down really to what youre influenced by, how you feel about things and thats going to come through in your music. I dont really think it matters where youre from. I know that east coast tends to be a lot more real and a lot more rugged because of the weather they go through.
DRE: So I read someone pulled a gun on the band at one point?
JM: Well yeah that was way back early in our career. This one time I threw a show with this one band called Spinal Conflict from Orange County. They were pretty big so I thought well I can get them and I can get us; itll be a good show. But the club wouldnt let me have it unless we got an official promoter, someone theyd worked with. Well we put on the show and it did great and at the end of the night the promoter ran off with all the money. I can look back and laugh about it now but at the time
DRE: There were some other things that happened like you got stuck in a bad snowstorm last year?
JM: Yeah we were coming home from a tour with Simple Plan at the time. We were just on our way home and we drove into New York City. It was cold and there was snow. So we stopped at our favorite pizza place and by the time we got out the van was covered in snow. It was probably the worst two days of my life. At the end of a tour you just want to get home. You dont really want to be stuck in the snow but I told everybody, I was like We are going home, We are getting out of here so we didnt stop, we got through it.
DRE: Where did you grow up?
JM: I grew up in Glendale, California.
DRE: What were you like as a young man?
JM: I was the typical troublemaker. Not conforming to anything, wanting to be myself and I got kicked out of a couple high schools.
DRE: What did you do?
JM: I was just stupid. It was nothing really in particular, just trouble. They could just sense that I was trouble. They just didnt want me there but I was glad. I had an older brother that was always pumping the Rolling Stones through my wall in my room. He wouldnt let me into his room so I would always put my ear up against the wall and listen to him play the Rolling Stones.
DRE: Wheres your brother now?
JM: Hes still around. Hes way into our band and Im actually introducing him to bands he hasnt heard of just from me meeting them.
DRE: Whats the first thing youre going to be doing for the tour? Where are you going first?
JM: Were doing six dates with a band called Mest. Theyre a Chicago band. Weve actually toured with them before. They were going out so I gave them a call and said hey man; Id love to go out with you guys again. Were going to do that first and then were going a tour with a band called Digger whos on Hopeless Records and thatll take us all the way up to March and were still working on whats going on from there, but you can pretty much bet that Madcap is going to be on tour this whole year.
DRE: Whats your favorite place to play in right now?
JM: My favorite place to play is New York City, by far.
DRE: Why?
JM: For some reason the kids are really receptive to us out there. Our best shows have definitely been there. I wouldnt mind moving there myself. Im a city boy. I like the action and the lights. First time I went to New York City my jaw dropped. I like going there to visit and I like going there to play so it becomes an all around great place to be.
DRE: How was the tour with the Dropkick Murphys?
JM: As well as being legendary they are great guys and a great band to tour with. I love their music, its very real, and its got a lot of heart.
DRE: Whats your favorite candy?
JM: [laughs] God, Id have to say that nothing beats a good chocolate bar.
DRE: Which one?
JM: I dont really have a favorite one. I guess its kind of like wine; the more expensive it is the better it is.
DRE: Do you have any tattoos?
JM: Yeah I do, I have a small tattoo on the bottom of my right wrist. Its a broken heart and it says true believer.
DRE: Whats that for?
JM: I got that actually when we went out with Bouncing Souls for the True Believers tour. Bouncing Souls is just one of my favorite bands ever and when I found out we were touring with them I was nervous, but I was just so excited because it was music I grew up listening to. We were in Houston, Texas and I felt like Ive got to do something to remember this forever. Its a cool tattoo. Im not really into tattoos, I never really wanted one and this is the last one Im probably ever going to get so it means great deal to me.
DRE: Who is the biggest pain in the ass in the band?
JM: God, I think were all huge pain in the asses.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
Excellent interview!