Speak for the Dead are the motorcharge answer to punk’s stagnation—filthy, fast, fearless, and detail-obsessed. Born from d-beat, hardcore and rock ’n’ roll worship, they’re here to kill clichés and push limits.
1. Speak
for the Dead feels like pure motorcharged chaos. What was the original spark
that made you say, “this needs to be its own band”?
After several years of playing together in other projects of varying styles/influences, Clay and I decided we wanted to go back to our roots so to speak. I've always been a huge fan of d-beat/crust bands like Discharge and Aus-Rotten, Clay had been showing me bands like Zeke, Gang Green, and Toxic Narcotic over the years, and after several different iterations of what would eventually become Speak for the Dead, we kind of figured out that the motorcharged rock and roll sound was kind of the best starting point to build from.
2. You draw heavily from Discharge, Motörhead, Inepsy, and Power Trip. How
do you balance honoring those influences without becoming a nostalgia act?
Honestly, I don't really think too much about it. I like what I like, and hopefully it shows through in our music in a way that's unique. Clay is a bit more thoughtful in how we write and arrange songs, I'm more the one you can tell exactly what band I'm obsessing over in any given song, haha. We don't JUST want to play d-beat, we don't JUST want to play crust, or motorcharge, or hardcore, so why not take it the best parts of all of it and try to make something new. The one thing we try really hard to do is avoid the common clichés and stereotypes that a lot of punk bands tend to fall into.
3. The debut record feels both ominous and empowering. Was that contrast
intentional from the start, or did it emerge naturally during writing?
This album absolutely took on a life of its own, and that became more apparent the further into production we went with it. What started as a handful of songs we wrote to basically flex our range as musicians turned into this overarching narrative of hope turned to despair. By the time we actually started laying down tracks, everything just clicked.
4. Lyrically, you tackle socio-political themes while keeping things raw and
direct. How important is message versus pure aggression in your songwriting?
Well, the
message is the heart and soul of any punk rock band in my opinion. We try to be
very careful about not just saying the same things everyone else does. 1000
bands have written about the evils of capitalism, not so many touch on the
existential fear felt by a working-class family who can't make ends meet.
Aggression is just the natural byproduct of being pissed off at the world and
writing about it.
5. Jordie and Clay, you’re also part of Resilience. How does writing for
Speak for the Dead differ creatively from your work in Oi! and street punk?
Getting to play in a band as esteemed as Resilience has been a dream come true. It's like night and day, writing for one band is a monumental undertaking where every note of every song is going to get nitpicked and reworked until it's exactly what we want, the other is like a working vacation, haha. It's safe to say that Speak is our brainchild, and the one outlet for us to really try and push ourselves to create something no one has heard before. Clay and I are both very detail oriented, and that's one thing that people will hopefully notice in the music. By the time we joined up with Resilience, they had already been well into 2 decades of touring and releasing music, with a very established and well-defined sound to stay true to. Speak for the Dead wouldn't have the opportunities we have today if it weren't for Fury Voxx believing in us.
6. Eric’s vocals bring a commanding presence to the band. How did his voice
shape the final direction of the songs?
Honestly, not so much in terms of arrangement. These songs were all fully
written with me doing lead vocals by the time Eric had reached out to us, but
he brings a presence to the mic that I could never hope to match.
7.
Nick’s guitar work adds a strong rock ’n’ roll edge. How crucial was lead
guitar in pushing the band beyond traditional hardcore punk?
Big, screaming solos are a staple of rock n roll. Nick and I love good a guitar solo or chunky riff, it's a hallmark of old school rock and roll that should never go away. I get that punk is supposed to be an "anyone can do it" kinda minimalism, and I embrace that, but too many bands fall into the trap of limiting their technicality to fit into a certain mold. Speak hopes to make the point that you can actually try to push the limits of your ability and still be punk rock.
8. Tracks like Rearview Riot and Eternal Night hit hard, while Lights Out
and Speak for the Dead break genre lines. Do you see this duality expanding on
future releases?
Absolutely.
In the early days of punk, bands were way more diverse, even within their own
ranks, and as time went on and more and more subgenres bubbled up, more and
more bands fell into that trap of wanting to sound exactly like their favorite
band. Our only rule in this band is no clichés. If a piece of music has the
right feel, it's on the table.
9. The band proudly flies the anti-authority flag. In today’s world, what does rebellion mean to Speak for the Dead?
Now more than ever, rebellion is more a way of life than an activity you take part in. It's not about how many protests you attend; it's not about how much mutual aid you offer. It's a mindset, a refusal to comply or conform to the bullshit standards other people expect you to live by. Be unapologetically yourself and you're doing 90% of the work.
10. The phrase “street rock and roll” comes up a lot when describing your
sound. What does that term mean to you personally?
To me personally, it's the perfect term for what we're trying to accomplish. Peeling back all the niche subgenres and reminding people that it's all just rock and roll at the end of the day.
11. Being a relatively new band, how has the reaction to the self-titled
debut met or challenged your expectations?
Honestly, I
don't think we had any idea WHAT to expect when this album dropped, and we're
genuinely blown away by how much attention this album has already gotten both
online, and in person at concerts, especially when you consider that we're
absolutely terrible at keeping up with things like social media, haha. The
writing and playing music part has always come easily, but this album in
particular has truly challenged us on how we move behind the scenes, through
merch orders, promotion, and distribution.
12.
Finally, with the motorcharge banner flying high—what’s next for Speak for the
Dead, and how far are you willing to push the boundaries?
We'll just
have to wait and see. This first album really sets us up to kinda do whatever
we want musically, and we have no intention of regressing.
Speak for the Dead (@speakforthedead707) • Photos et vidéos Instagram
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