Interview - Night Birds' Brian Gorsegner

Night Birds have been quickly taking over the Northwest Northeast (oops) hardcore punk scene over the past 4 or so years. It should be no surprise to anyone who listened to Riot Radio or reads this site that the jersey hardcore surf punks are currently one of my favorite modern punk bands. Singer Brian Gorsegner was cool enough to take some time to answer questions. Enjoy...

PiOK: Let’s start with the basics. If you look at the song writing credits, it seems like you and Joe both write a lot of the lyrics. Could you walk us through the typical songwriting process?

BRIAN: We work together most of the time... I will write a chorus, Joe will help out with a verse, or vice versa. Sometimes I'll just have a riff, or a lyrical idea, and Joe will take it from there. Sometimes we'll write a whole song by ourselves. But even when we write a whole song by ourselves once it gets brought to practice everyone has say in it if we want to change a part, or suggest doing something different. We're really brutally honest with each other, all we want is to write the best song possible so no one gets hurt feelings or any thing like that.

PiOK: You seem to have a lot of different directions in songwriting: movies, murder, daily life, prescription drugs, and a wide range of other topics that a lot of punk bands don’t touch.  What pushes you guys have such a wide variety of subjects in your songwriting?

BRIAN: I guess just not wanting to be bored with what we write. No reason not to touch on as wide a variety of topics as you can. A lot of our songs are just our own social commentary... We are like the SEINFELD of punk rock lyrics... OK, that's giving us way too much credit. 

PiOK: How many songs have you written based on b-movies?

BRIAN: Oh man, no idea. 

PiOK: After I listened to Hoffman Lens I went out and bought They Live. I’ve always been curious about some of the other references you make, especially in Midnight Movies. What obscure films would you suggest for the readers to go check out?

BRIAN: Let's see... "Midnight Movies" references Eraserhead and Pink Flamingos... The song Bad Biology is about a Frank Henennelotter film with the same title... Triple Feature reference 3  Frank Henennelotter movies, hence the title; Basket Case, Frankenhooker, and Brain Damage. 

PiOK: The biggest comparison I usually hear for Night Birds is that you sound like Dead Kennedys. Obviously this is meant as a compliment, but do you ever get frustrated to hear that comparison?

BRIAN: Not frustrated at all, though it seems a bit lazy sometimes. I don't put us in the category of bands like Bl'ast where there one goal is to sound like Black Flag... Or a band like the Queers who just want to sound like the Ramones. We draw from all over, and I think if you listen to a lot of music like we do that pretty easy to see.

PiOK: You seem to get paired up playing with older bands like The Dickies and Zero Boys. Do you draw a lot of influence from the older sound of bands like them?

BRIAN: Yep for sure. That's the stuff we grew up on and love.

PiOK: What modern bands are you most into right now?

BRIAN: Give, Culo, Nervosas, Tenement, and Big Eyes are some of my favorites at the moment.

PiOK: Up to now, your full lengths and Fresh Kills, Vol. 1 have been released on Grave Mistake Records. This summer you released the Maimed for the Masses 7” on Fat Wreck Chords. Do you feel like you are 

getting to a point where you could see yourselves signing with a more prominent label? (No disrespect 

meant to Grave Mistake, they seem like a great label)

BRIAN: It's not out of the question. We love Alex and we love working with Grave Mistake, so I really have no idea at this point. Luckily BORN TO DIE IN SUBURBIA is brand new so we don't have to worry about that quite yet! Next on our plate will be an all surf instrumental EP on WALLRIDE RECORDS.

PiOK: From an outside point of view, the band has always seemed very self-sustained. Every time I order something, it comes with Joe’s return address on it. One time I got a Night Birds hoodie shipped in a Black & Decker iron box. Would you say you are a fairly DIY band?

BRIAN: haha, glad to see Joe is recycling! But yea, we like to be in control of every aspect of the band. It's more a quality control thing than it is some DIY warrior type stuff. If someone mail orders from us we want to know it's getting done quickly. We wanna throw in extra stuff and let them know we appreciate them buying from us. We also make most of our money as a band through tee shirt sales, so you really shoot yourself in the foot by having an outside merch company handle that for you... granted it takes a lot of time and work to get it done, and can often be a pain in the ass trying to find time between regular jobs and regular life shit, but it's going that extra mile that makes it more rewarding.

PiOK: Is it getting to the point where it is getting overwhelming to do it yourself?

BRIAN: In some aspects, yes. Actually, as of Jan. 1st 2014 we are bringing on a booking agent for the first time. Ron who sings in FINAL CONFLICT does a booking agency called CRAWLSPACE BOOKING and he will be taking over Night Birds booking duties come the start of the new year. He books some cool bands like Cock Sparrer, The Dwarves, Meatmen, Negative Approach, Giuda, The Casualties, etc... I have always been the main show / tour booker for the band, but with my wife and I having a baby in the new few weeks I really don't think I'll have the time to do it correctly so we are going to give it a shot.

PiOK:This is somewhat of a random question. I have seen a lot of your fans use the phrase “we don’t need a joke” but I just can’t figure out what that means. Where does that phrase come from?

BRIAN: This guy MITCH CLEM does comic strips and he did one about us in 2011. That is where that comes from. 

PiOK: Was there one match or instance involving Mick that made you say “this guy needs a punk song”?

BRIAN: No, just his general attitude about his passion. It's about loving something so much and working so hard for it that you will put it above and beyond your personal well being. Tossing yourself into barbed wire, jumping into fire, all in the name of putting on a good show.

PiOK: I read that Foley likes the song. What did he have to say about it?

BRIAN: He messaged us and said "Thanks for the tune! That's a big honor for me. I really like the song."

PiOK: Thanks again for your time, and I know there are people who really hope you make a stop in Oklahoma on your next full tour. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

BRIAN: Thanks for the interview! Now have some OK pride and go listen to NOTA's "toy soldiers"!

Album Review: Night Birds - Born to Die in Suburbia

People who swear off of punk because “all of the bands sound the same” are lazy. Simply put, they’re lazy. It is easy to find 4,000 bands that sound alike; but if you dig deep and get lucky you might find a band like Night Birds. I was lucky enough to stumble on them just as they released Fresh Kills Vol. 1 on Grave Mistake. Since then I have pretty much drooled over anything they have released like it was an old Bad Brains album I’d never heard before.

Night Birds return with their second full-length record “Born to Die in Suburbia”. It is hard to believe that this album is only technically a sophomore release, following four EPs and their debut LP “The Other Side of Darkness”, also on Grave Mistake Records. Born to Die sounds like the band is hitting their stride nicely. Fresh off a release with Fat Wreck Chords for their Maimed for the Masses EP (of which the title track about wrestler Mick Foley also appears on this album), it would seem that they are headed in the right direction of gradually gathering fans while sticking to a sound they have developed.  

The songwriting is a mix of angsty songs about self-loathing and hating Christmas gatherings, surf-punk instrumentals, and tracks about pop culture (the continued references to John Carpenter don’t hurt a thing). The album as a whole feels more hardcore influenced than their previous works since it is much more driven by the vocals. That being said, the guitar work is still just as catchy as ever.

There are a few things that have unjustly pigeonholed this band since “Killer Waves”: the fact that East Bay Ray was somewhat influenced by surf guitar, causing everyone to compare them to DK; and the fact that Joey Erg is one of the founding members, forcing the comparison to The Ergs. This album will hopefully cement Night Birds as a band of their own, not one defined by their influences.

Born to Die has some of the same surf punk influence that helps set the band apart, but reaches a bit further to include a large variety of songs. The fast songs are much more aggro than any of their previous releases. The vocals go over the top with energy and anger. The slow songs bring on feelings of angst and tension, before releasing it in the first few beats of the next track.

If someone tells you that punk is dead, I would suggest that you hand them a copy of this album. It is somehow a perfect mix of modern and old school. To me, the biggest downside of the album is that there are only 14 tracks, and two of those are instrumentals. I would love to have a longer album to see how deep the band can really dig when writing songs. That being said, “Born to Die in Suburbia” is not for everyone. It isn’t spikey punk, but if you’ve ever enjoyed 80’s hardcore, Dick Dale, or good loud fast music, give it a listen.

The album will be out tomorrow (July 8th). 

EP Review: Night Birds - Maimed for the Masses

Fat Wreck Chords have introduced Night Birds to a little bit more of the world with their new EP Maimed for the Masses. This is inevitably just another step toward the band’s complete world domination. I can’t think of a band to come out of the past 5 years that I have liked more, and everyone who listens to them seems to be getting just as attached as I am.

With Maimed for the Masses they face one of their first tests as a growing band: being released on a bigger label. Whether you call a band “sell-out” or not, it is hard to deny that bands tend to change their sound when they get the opportunity to spend some money on recording and post-production. The first thing I was very happy to hear was the gritty reverb-tinged lead guitar line that has come to be Night Bird’s signature sound. As the full sound kicks in, the title track “Maimed for the Masses” feels just as energetic and catchy as “Killer Waves”.

The intensity gets kicked up on the second track “Barred Out”, a song about being on the all –too recreational prescription drug Xanex. This second track is full of energy, anger, and angst. This track is a juxtaposition of every person I have ever met who does bars. The lyrics aren’t anything special, but the music makes me want to get up and break stuff. I think that this is the only thing that saves the song from being just alright. Then again, I have never done “zanies”, so this song just really doesn’t speak to me from the start, probably one reason why it was cut from the full album.

“Last Gasp” brings the Birds’ surf sound to the forefront with a winding guitar rif, whammy bar, and enough reverb to make your brain to feel like it’s shaking. Once again, this song feels a little bland for Night Birds, which explains why it is a B-side on an EP of songs that didn’t make the full length. There just isn’t much catchy about the song. The way I hear it, the emphasis of the song is placed on the reverbed staccato guitar hits that start the song and separate the verses.

The EP closes with a raucous instrumental surf song like Night Birds tend to close with. This track is good. If "Boat Trash" is the instrumental they dropped from the full length, I can’t wait to hear the ones that made it.

Overall, this is an EP leading up to an album, so you can’t put too much pressure on these songs. After all these were the songs that didn’t make it on the LP, but if you give it a few listens you really don’t get that from it. It feels like a standalone release. The single “Maimed for the Masses” is a great song, the B-sides don’t let you down, and the instrumental just kicks ass. This is a good way to get the public ready for their upcoming album.

written by Tip Toasty

Night Birds Preview EP & Full Length With "Maimed for the Masses"

Fat Wreck Chords is currently streaming the title track from the upcoming Night Birds EP "Maimed for the Masses". The NJ punk band is set to release their second full length album mid July on Grave Mistake Records. To get set for the full release, they are releasing an EP on Fat Wreck.

The thing that I have loved about Night Birds is that they sound like the my favorite days of punk rock are still going strong. So many bands try to sound like they are '77 sound or mimic 80's hardcore. To me, Night Birds sound like they are part of the group who origniated punk, not a band started a few years ago.

The song "Maimed for the Masses" is a great return to form. Since this is the first recording released since "The Other Side of Darkness" and their first release on Fat Wreck, I was anxious to get a preview of the their current sound. The song immediately shows the reverb-tinged surfy side that is a part of many Night Birds songs. Soon enough it kicks into a speedy riff that is catchy enough that it took me several listens to figure out the lyrics are about professional wrestler Mick Foley.

You can hear the song for yourself below. Night Birds are playing at Chaos in Tejas on June 1st and 2nd.