Since their inception in 1980, Suicidal Tendencies have been letting us know what they think. And when they speak, we listen. OG Front-man Mike Muir started the band when he was about 17 and now, over 40 years later, they’re still psycho punk and we’re still listening.
Muir sat down with us and talked about several topics including writing music, his supposed feud with Dave Mustaine, and his excitement for the SoCal Hoedown.
We wanted to get a few things cleared up first. When you’re in the media as long as Muir has been, you’re bound to have your name connected with good and bad stories. One of these stories is about a possible ongoing feud he has with Megadeth’s, Dave Mustaine. We asked Muir about it and he told us that right before ST was to go on tour with Megadeath, Dave had said some not nice things in an interview. When Mike confronted him about it, Dave took accountability for his words and apologized. Mustaine even bought Muir a cordless microphone as a gift. “Dave’s a good person and has always been really good to me” Muir said.
We asked Muir about his headband and if he just has a drawer full of them or if he has a “lucky” one. He said, “I once went to get shoes with my brother from Vans. He told the guys, ‘Mike’s shoes dissolve from the inside-out’, so you can imagine how many bandanas I’ve gone through with sweat. One thing that I’ve been asked to do but I have never done and won’t ever do is give away my used bandana, not even to my brother. There’s just something about it.”
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
Now the most important question (*snicker*), YES! Mike did receive his Pepsi. He has in fact received numerous Pepsis from fans that all think they are the first to give him a Pepsi.
He says it’s pretty humorous but it doesn’t bother him. Muir has unfortunately never received a penny from the Pepsi-Cola company which is a shame since probably every punker alive has purchased a Pepsi JUST to make that joke (and let’s be real, how many more punkers would drink Pepsi if Mike Muir was their spokesperson).
Since Muir has been writing songs for over 40 years, it has to be a daunting task. Mike said, “I write for myself. I think people that have a harder time with it write for other people. My dad told me, ‘You’re going to make yourself miserable trying to make other people happy’. When you do something for yourself you know what you’re doing and you’re not concerned whether other people are going to like it or not or understand it… but to make people stop and think and make an impression on their life, that’s a lot more difficult.”
ACCOUNTABILITY
“Never become the person you hate. It’s easy to talk crap about other people but it’s a lot harder to be the better person.”
MIKE MUIR | SUICIDAL TENDENCIES
If you are a Suicidal Tendencies fan, you already know about the horrid on-stage fall guitarist Ben Weinman had at the Garden Amphitheater in 2019. We asked Muir how Ben felt after the fact, “I didn’t even see it happen, I just heard the crowd. I saw a comment on one of the videos posted of his fall and the best one was, ‘I don’t believe in Jesus but I believe in resurrection! I saw someone die and come back to life!’ (Muir says laughing his way through it). He’s been doing that in Dillinger Escape Plan (the other band Ben plays in) for years and he just gets bashed. He probably doesn’t have any cartilage in his legs. Ben told me, ‘I learned. You go down and it hurts. It’s gonna hurt whether you stay down or you get up.’”
PHOTO by GREEN-EYED BLONDE PHOTOGRAPHY
Suicidal just played the Blue Ridge Rock Fest in Virginia this past weekend where Muir said, “Almost two years, it’s the longest I’ve gone without playing a show.” But now we can add this upcoming Saturday’s show at SoCal Hoedown, in San Pedro (Berth 46) to his flourishing calendar.
Suicidal fans couldn’t be happier to see them. After all, their last album, “Psycho Punk After All These Years,” didn’t get the live concert tour it deserved due to COVID. Look for a very animated crowd!
As for SoCal Hoedown it’s happening this Saturday, September 18. Along with Suicidal, the festival will feature great local, national and international acts. From Sweden, there’s The Horrorpops, local bands include Face To Face, Fishbone, T.S.O.L., The Untouchables, Throwrag, Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs and CH3. From other parts of the Union you can catch bands like Nashville Pussy and Supersuckers, among many others.
We also spoke with one of the event organizers, Scott Tucker of Sellout Events. He said he is very excited to be back on the waterfront at Birth 46 at the Port of Los Angeles. That’s San Pedro to you and me. Tucker went on to tell us about the three stages, and variety of bands that span the globe and feature local favorites. There will be food and merch vendors to keep concertgoers occupied and very content along with the great musical entertainment.
With COVID on everyone’s mind, it is paramount that this festival be at an outside venue, and next to the water keeps temps in check and provides a nice breeze. The sprawling site can hold up to 20,000 concertgoers. Tucker said with what’s going on in the world today, they want their fans to feel as comfortable as possible so they are limiting capacity to 7,000 to address the social distancing concerns. As for the dos and donts , Tucker said they have a section earmarked for everyone to check before they come out.
SOCAL HOEDOWN SET TIMES
Tucker went on to say that this festival will be fun for the entire family. Kids 10 and under are FREE with a ticket holding adult! With a lineup like this and a location like this coupled with a forecast of great weather, this is definitely an event to check out.
