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Riot Squad
An interview with Mobscene
By Bob Ignizio |
Melodic heavy metal has
gotten a bad rap. The mainstream media, in particular VH1, seems to have a
vested interest in making people think the only bands who blended hard
rocking riffs with a pop sensibility were vapid hair farmers from L.A., more
concerned with image than musicianship. But even a cursory look at the
facts shows that just ain’t so. Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden,
The Scorpions, Van Halen, Queensryche, and others all delivered metal that
was heavy enough to please hardcore headbangers while, at the same time,
undeniably catchy and melodic. VH1 may not get it, but Akron’s Mobscene (Jozey
Cole – lead guitars, Jeff Zaigen – vocals, Kaiser Wilhelm – rhythm guitar,
Scotty “The P.I.” Magnum – drums, and Jimmy Legato – bass) certainly do.
“I think that our fans
think of us as more of a classic metal band. I don't think I have heard
“hair metal” in reference to us. We have some flash, put on a fun show and
rock out, but we’re not a glam band by any means. As we start playing the
newer songs, they will see us heading even more in a classic metal
direction, but with modern rock influences,” says Jozey. Jeff cites bands
like Dokken, Judas Priest, Kiss, Queensryche, Audioslave, and Crimson Glory
as common influences among the members, but says, “Because all 5 of us come
from such diverse backgrounds, it's hard to pinpoint actual influences, or
would take too long to list them. That’s what makes Mob Scene unique.”
With the recent success
The Darkness has experienced in bringing melodic metal back to the
mainstream, Mobscene’s timing looks good. Kaiser says, “Anyone who can help
bring real melody back to metal and popularize it will only help us.”
However, the members of Mobscene are by no means fans. Jeff says, “They
give 80's metal a bad name, tongue in cheek or not.” Still, Jozey concedes
that, “Whether you like The Darkness or not, and we don't, they are proving
that there are people out there who want melody in their metal, and we hope
to appeal to them.”
Many die-hard metal fans
see nü metal as the enemy, in much the same way that thrash metal fans in
the eighties regarded the L.A. glam bands. The members of Mobscene
take a more open-minded view. Kaiser says, “I feel that people
are looking for a mixture of melodic rock and rhythm based rock. We offer
both.” The band’s goal is to mix classic metal with the elements they like
from the newer bands and, “hopefully land somewhere in the middle,” says Jozey.
Probably the most
difficult obstacle for Mobscene was just getting together in the first
place. Original Mobscene bassist Bull and Jeff had played together in bands before, but when Jeff
went to school things were put on hold. Jeff says, “When school was done,
we ran an ad in Scene magazine for about 90 days before Jozey and Kaiser
showed up. We probably got 300 emails, but we liked Jozey's riffs.” Finding
a drummer proved especially difficult. Jozey says, “We went through 4
drummers and six months of Bullshit, pain and wasted time, until Scotty
showed up. We've been solid for 6 months now.”
The wait appears to have
been worth it. The 5 band members have meshed together well, especially
when it comes to writing songs. Jozey says, “When we started, Bull or I would bring
a riff in at first. Sometimes we have a completed song, other times it’s
like, "check this riff out". Then we all jam until it takes shape. Jeff is
amazing at putting the right melody over the riffs, and that’s when things
take off. Everyone ends up having major input in each and every song. I
have never played with musicians as this talented, and Jeff
has everything you’d want in a lead singer; vocal chops that are unmatched,
style, and attitude.”
Although Mobscene has
recorded a demo, which they pass out to fans at their gigs for free, they
plan to wait before recording a full length CD. Jozey says, “First we want
to bring our music to the masses, strengthen our catalog of material, and
hone the songs to a fine point. In 10-12 months, we’ll go in the studio and
use the best material we have to record a full length CD. Before that, we
plan on releasing at least two more demos like the first one over the next 6
months.” The band’s first three song demo is available for free download at
their website, or you can email them at
jozey@mobscene.net and the band will send one out for free.
The stereotype of metal
bands, perhaps best exemplified by the group Odin in ‘The Decline of Western
Civilization Part II: The Metal Years’, is of clueless dolts convinced the
world owes them rock stardom. Mobscene are more down to earth in their
goals. Jozey says they’d be happy to simply, “be the best band we can,
create songs that people enjoy and can sing along with, and put on the best
show we can. We’d like to sell a few thousand CD's and open some shows for
national acts, maybe travel a little and do some festivals.” Scotty adds,
“Hopefully when people hear the name Mob Scene, they’ll know they are
getting 100% effort. When they see us on stage, we want the audience to
have an awesome time and forget their problems for a few hours.” So club
owners breathe easily; there’s no need to remove the brown M&M’s for these
guys. They just want their music to be heard.
So far, the plan seems to
be working. In their short time together, the band has played numerous gigs
in the Akron and Kent areas. Jozey credits veteran area metal band World
Gone Mad with giving them some early breaks. He says, “They’ve been awesome
to us, and they rock hard!” Soon, Mobscene will be making their Cleveland
debut at the Utter Trash Second Anniversary show on July 24th at
Pat’s in the Flats. Based on their success to date, Scotty may be on to
something when he says, “People are ready to see a show where they can
actually sing along without growling. They want their music to fire them up
as opposed to dragging them down. That's why melodic music will never die.”
At least not as long as there are bands like Mobscene around to carry the
torch.
Visit the Mobscene
website.
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