Ramble and Roll: For those who have not heard about the new project or don't know many details, could you maybe say a little about the band, the music, and the members behind FM359?
RR: Were there any factors aside from the Street Dogs hiatus that lead to forming FM359?
MM: The hiatus was not the main reason for the formation of FM359. For quite some time me and Johnny had talked about doing another project beside Street Dogs and FM359 just happens to be said project. FM359 also just happened in a sense as it wasn't very planned. We all sat down and just wrote songs and tracked them straight away. There was no rehearsal of the songs prior to tracking. It just all happened very quickly and sometimes that is better than methodical preparation.
What
would you say to someone who thinks that FM359 will just be a re-hash
of the Street Dogs, considering that you guys have all collaborated
before on the Street Dogs previous albums?
Any plans for more gigs or tours after the Pirate's Press anniversary celebration? Perhaps having some of you guys pulling double-duty on tour, like when the Street Dogs went on the road with Murder The Stout?
It's safe to say FM359 will most likely do more dates in 2014 and that it is quite possible potentially at times that they may coincide with Street Dogs shows.
How has the hiatus from the Street Dogs and the pursuit of this side project benefited you as musicians?
Although
that hiatus was quite shorter than we had anticipated it has in fact
aided and abetted the writing and tracking of the FM359 project.
How
did it feel working on material for something other than the Street
Dogs? Was it a welcome change or did you have to make a conscious effort
at writing something different?
It
felt different for sure but at the same time not weird or too far out
of my comfort zone. There also was no conscious effort whatsoever to
write anything completely different than SD. As a lyric writer I respond
to what the band plays. That is what occurred during the making of
FM359 and it was also more spontaneous and less thought out. It was a
very liberating process all in all.
What are some of the influences and themes you guys have tackled in writing these songs for FM359?
Truth,
love, and liberty just like the title of the album. Those are the
prevailing topics on the album. We cut down to the marrow of our bones
on this one so to speak. This is deeply introspective and also a look
out glass onto the streets in a sense as well.
If
you only had one minute to pitch the full length to someone who had no
prior knowledge of the band, what would you say to sell them on it?
Come
lend your ears to a sonic, folky walk down truth, love and liberty
boulevard. As it is told by a handful of legitimate troubadours.You will
not walk away disappointed.
Now that the Street Dogs are back in the saddle, will we see more releases from FM359 in the future?
Both bands will release new material in the future.Now that the Street Dogs are back in the saddle, will we see more releases from FM359 in the future?
To close, is there one thing you would like to leave our readers with that we have not touched upon yet?
A downfall of email interviews is they're usually a little one-sided. For a more in depth talk with Mike McColgan, check out my buddy Nick's interview with him here.
Buy the FM359 7" at Pirates Press Records