Episode 103: A Sprinkle of Brutality with Mike DeBord

Heath and Josh catch up with metalhead and media pro Mike DeBord — founder of the band Martyred and owner of Presence Media. From rocking Metallica shirts in middle school to battling stereotypes and balancing brutal riffs with family life, Mike shares his wild journey through music, creativity, and growing up different in small-town Texas.

It’s an honest, funny, and nostalgic conversation full of headbanging memories, creative insight, and — yes — a sprinkle of brutality.

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Transcript

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They'll talk about anything and to anyone. They're straight out of the streets of Temple, Texas. It's Randomness with Heath and Josh. Alright,

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so we're back.

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Josh, how you doing, man? You doing alright? I'm doing excellent. How are you?

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Just one time when I ask you, I want you to say, I've had a shit day. You've never

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said that. I had one earlier and I brought myself out of it. Today you did? Yeah.

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Oh, okay. Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Nothing you can talk about? I

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did a practice test and failed it, and I'm getting frustrated.

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That sucks. But turned it around. Thank goodness it's a practice test. That's a good thing. But yeah. No, we just... We just recorded another episode yesterday, so I don't have a lot of time before we jump in with our guests, but we were just talking about how old we feel. And I had mentioned to our guests here or whatever, and Josh, I was like, you can't even tell how old kids are anymore. Like you see a kid and then you talk to like, you know, especially girls, you know, you know, for some other reason, you know, like my, my son's friend, he's 14 and his friends and they, these girls walk up and you're like, you look 21 and you're 15, you know, it's like, Jesus Christ, man, you know, you're getting old when you can't tell how old the kids are anymore. You're like, what? And

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then you're just getting old when you're, Like you're picking and choose what concert you want to go to. Because you want to sit down. Parking close. Can we sit down? Right.

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Anyway, we'll go ahead and jump in real quick with this tonight. Musician, songwriter for the band, martyred and video producer and owner of the production company Presence Media. How you doing? Hey, what's up, man? How are y'all doing? Good, man. How are you? Good.

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Good.

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Are you suffocating, like your shirt says? No, not really. Trying to break the ice a little bit. So we're having Mike on for a few reasons. For one thing, we know Mike from school when we were very young, but Josh and I weren't good friends with Mike or anything, but we were... What do we call that? How did I... Acquaintances. Acquaintances, there you go. But... Mike always had kind of a he didn't know this, but he always had this really cool impression on him because he was one of these first kids that I ever saw with like heavy metal T-shirts on. And I didn't know what heavy metal really was at a young age. So I told the story before is the first time I ever saw somebody with a Metallica shirt on was Mike DeBoerde. And I was like, I didn't know what my I didn't know what Metallica was like. I had no idea. I never had heard of Metallica because my sister is six years old. older than me. And what she listened to was a lot of new wave-ish type stuff like, you know, Talking Heads and Duran Duran and, you know, all these, that type of stuff, Crowded House, Tears for Fears, you know, all that kind of stuff. So Michael Jackson was, you know, huge and Ryan Ulrich, I can go on and on. But anyway, so I didn't, because of that, you know, I didn't really listen to a lot of rock. I didn't, she didn't listen to a lot of rock. You might like hear a journey song come by every once in a while or, you know, Kansas or something. Yeah. You know, something like that. It's not classic. Okay. We're not that old, but, um, it's classic.

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I mean, now you

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hear classic and you're like, why is Motley Crue on the classic fricking? This is not right. Uh, but yeah. So, uh, he was one of the first, and he had, I remember this shirt, but I can't remember, I don't remember the album, but it was like, you know, it's this cartoonish kind of guy with bones and all this stuff, and I'm like, he can wear that to school? You know, did he get away with that? How did that, you know, and so anyway, my perspective, and the reason I wanted to have Mike on is because I know he had to be kind of given crap for that because so many kids growing up or we did in central texas there was not a lot of people that that i can remember that listened to that stuff or you know wore that type of stuff and i would assume you probably were picked on some for that maybe maybe not yeah i mean not I think just people that, that what they don't understand something or they don't, it's not normal to them. Then they just, you know, it's obscure. Then they find a reason to, you know, what is this? You know, but as far as like picked on specifically, um, for liking metal, I think for the most part, people just kind of were weirded out by it more so than, you know, that's fair. But then in high school, you know, it would change a little bit because then it's like, you know, but early on, you know, when I was in like, whatever sixth grade wearing Iron Maiden and Metallica shirts and stuff like that. Then, you know, it was just kind of like, Oh, one of those kids, you know, like those are the, like, you know, like kind of like almost like it was associated with being like on drugs or being a Satan worshiper or something. And really I just like, I like the music. I didn't even, know what either of the others, you know, I didn't, right. So, but you know, like it had a stigma associated to it. Yeah. What, what, so where, where did you first hear, you know, metal bands and stuff when you were so young? I think, well, I was, I listened to like, kind of like, I guess what you would call like, I don't know what, like Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, all, you know, the stuff that was like that. Hair metal. Yeah. Yeah. So it was like around like, you know, elementary, late, like fourth, fifth grade or something, listening to that kind of stuff and going, you know, and just, I listened to all kinds of music at that time. I didn't only listen to that, but just whatever had a rhythm or something that I liked. And then when I got, you know, in about sixth grade, I was more into, Iron Maiden. I think Devin Lindsey is a friend of mine when I was growing up. Devin? Yeah, his brother was a big time metalhead. He played soccer and everything like that, but he was all into it. Chris? Yeah. And I was all influenced. I was young. He's older. And I saw all these posters and things like that. And I was like, oh, that's cool. So I kind of looked at it. And then Devin had actually turned me on to Metallica because I think I was spending the night at his house or something. He's like, what? You never heard Metallica? And it's funny because it was an old, it was like a real old tape. It was like Jumping the Fire was a cassette, but it was like before they made the cassettes clear when they were cream color, they hadn't even gone clear yet. So it was just like a single. So it had that on one side and then it had like Whiplash or something on the other side. I can't remember. Which is a great song, by the way. But it was like, yeah, it was like a single. So it had one song on one side. I think Jump of the Fire was a separate cassette. That's right. Yeah. And then Whiplash was its own and it had another flip side to it. But anyway, and so I was like, you know, he's playing it. And I'm like, what is all this? You know, I mean, I'd heard Iron Maiden and things like that, but I hadn't. you know? And so then that was kind of an introduction into like, what is this, you know, and getting into that. And then it just progressed from there. I got more into, you know, heavier, just, you know, I just kind of got into that whole thing and was just like, like, I loved it. So, but, and then my guitar, my uncle got me into, um, learning guitar. Like he had, he had gotten an acoustic guitar for Christmas from my cousin. He came, down from Dallas. And my uncle at the time was living with us and he, um, gave him this acoustic guitar. And, um, uh, I was all fascinated by it. I was just excited. I was little, I was like 12 years old, you know, it was just like, or whatever, 11, however old you are in sixth grade. Yeah. So I was like, and I was just like, Oh, cool. What is this? You know, he's got this, um, you know, like I was just excited. I didn't even know anything about guitar or anything. And then he, he, uh, he was playing he could play it you know he knew how to play so he was playing all these different things and all excited they left and then um that night i was like yeah like you know teach me iron man you know because that's what i knew i heard that song and it's so catchy or whatever so i was like so i wanted to learn and he's thinking like I'm like, okay, here we go. You know, he's probably heard it like 500 times at that time or whatever, even though it was the eighties, cause he was born in the fifties. But so he's, he's showing me how to play it. And I'm sitting there, you know, like down, down, down, down, down, down, down, you know, it's all terrible, but I was so excited. Cause I was like figuring it out. And then once I learned, then once I actually could play it, then I got, it clicked like more and more. Like once I realized I could actually do it, then, then it just became like a, I don't know. I got all into it and I wanted to know more and more and more. I wanted to learn as much as I could as fast as I could, but there's a whole thing called practice. Yeah. Did you have like... was it hard to find other people that were into that music though, in central Texas? Cause I feel like, Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah. And then like, as far as like having any kind of band or trying to get that idea going, it wasn't until a little bit later, but it was like, I like, you know, you, it went from the acoustic of learning that then getting my first electric guitar from like heart of Texas music, you know? Yeah. So it was like, I got that, I think for my birthday or something or, I wanted it real bad. So I learned, so then I had that. And then I'm sitting there trying to figure out, well, how come like, I can't make my guitar sound like, you know, when I'm listening to like ride the lightning or master, you know? So I'm like listening to that and I'm playing and I'm, I'm playing through this crappy little shitty amp, you know, this little thing. And I'm like thinking like, like, why doesn't it sound like, you know, like, you know, I was just, and it was just a huge learning curve, but you know, that's the way it goes. And then I'm talking to the guys that work there and they're like, i don't know try this distortion but you know they were all into like country and blues so they didn't really stuff yeah so they didn't really know what that was and so then it was just this constant i've got to figure out how to get this my guitar to sound like that well the other thing of my brain at the time didn't realize was is that you know there's a whole production in the studio and post and like you know the equipment was way bigger than my little whatever sixth seventh grade mine could fathom but you know then it was just like but it would be it got me all excited about playing um and um and i just felt it like it was so challenging so i got like all those uh cherry lane whatever the tablature books like yeah like i got i think i got master of puppets and um and justice for all or something and ride the light i don't remember which one i know yeah and i would sit there and i'd like look at the tab and I'd try to figure out that. And then I'd rewind the cassette and press play. And then I'd like play along to it. And then I would get impatient. I'd learn like a few riffs, but I didn't ever just sit there and go, I'm going to learn this entire song from beginning to end. So I would learn what riffs that I liked. And then after that, I would just like, okay, cool. I've got the gist of the idea of that. So I don't, I don't want to learn for whatever reason. I didn't want to, like play the whole entire song i just wanted to learn so that's that's typical but as far as answering your question and finding anybody that was into that kind of music yeah i mean there were a few people that were and so it just it was it was small you know there wasn't that many people that were and then you know um later when it came to try to you know hey let's try to make our own music or whatever with this. But it was really just banging instruments and making noise at first. Cause you're just trying to figure out how to do, you know? And so then it was just, but then after a while that it starts like, okay, well now we're, we're playing part of this song. That's a cover. And then it just progresses and more and more. And then after a while you're like, yeah. But as far as finding people to play, that was, that was probably the harder part because, um, yeah, there wasn't a lot of people that were, um, there wasn't a lot to choose from i definitely wasn't in like a temple wasn't real i wouldn't what's the word eclectic or you know or just like it didn't have a lot of uh there wasn't a lot of dynamics it was kind of like you know be either played soccer or you know if it was blue collar it was like you know wilson art or texas hydraulics or something like that or then or then it was like you know lawyers or doctors i mean it was kind of like just made up of like this The spectrum was small in Temple at the time. Yeah, so like in 7th, 8th grade, you know, going through school after I get to about, I guess, 8th grade, I was getting more into liking, you know, I was all about it and playing and all that kind of stuff. So I found some neighborhood friends that one had a... he had a drum kit and then another guy, he played guitar. And so, and then I met like, and, and then I'm thinking high school, it was just, it was trying to network with people and find who that could, you know, find out more who yourself are as a player and then seeing what all else was going on. But you just wanted to play. Yeah. Yeah. And then I just like, what, by the time I got to high school, I was like, then the whole thing kind of shifted. I went from like, you know, uh, I mean, I guess at middle school, probably. I was all into Slayer, too, a lot. And then when high school came, it was like the summer before I went into high school, my friend turned me on to this obituary. It was like a death metal band. And they were from Florida. There was a huge scene out in Florida, Tampa, that was blowing up out there. And so all of these, they kind of hit in a wave at the same time. So all these... this newfound music called death metal was coming out and it was like more extreme version of thrash. It was like heavier with like guttural vocals. And, um, so that was that. So then, then it opened the door to that. So I was all into that. Like, you know, but Slayer was the big thing. That was the huge thing. Slayer creators, Sodom, stuff like that. And then, yeah. And then it went from that to, yeah. Once I discovered like Morbid Angel, um, Then I was like, oh man, like, I want to play this. But it was like sounds I had never heard before. And it was just so like challenging. And just, it's like, you know, processing it when you first hear it for the first time, it was just like, what am I hearing? It was just so much going on, but yeah. That's why I think a lot of people that hear death metal go, what am I hearing and what is going on? Yeah, that's the way it was. Cause then you're figuring out like, what is going on? And then you realize it sounds cool. Like there's these catchy parts and all this kind of stuff. It's pretty technical really. Yeah. And that's why I wanted to play it. It was cause I thought, well, you know playing like a scale or a regular you know rhythm like a one you know done to get down to get down to get down you know it's like then you're playing something that's just like super hyper it was challenging i guess is the word so it was like i thought it was like i don't know exciting to try to see if i could do it like see if i could like you know just or try to do it push myself to try to do it and then but yeah and then during that time Before you talk about more of that, I wanted to go back a minute. Sometimes I think with kids like yourself when you were growing up that were into it, there's that stigma of those guys are the bad kids because they're doing this or whatever, or their parents must be bad parents because they're letting them in. Can I ask, what did your parents do when you were growing up? Well, my dad was a hospital administrator and my mom was a stay-at-home mom. And they were pretty religious, you know, they were. And so I was like, you know, I'm listening to all this metal and everything like that. And like, yeah, and my friends and we're kind of just being wild and all this stuff. And they're like, and then the worst thing was, is it like, you know, I think at that time, like, there was a bunch of bad propaganda about metal and stuff. So it was like, Oh, satanic panic. Yeah. Yeah. So they were making it all like, uh, so it was making it difficult for us. Cause they were like, This is terrible. You can't listen to them. We're like, whatever, mom. It was all that kind of stuff. Then it was like, I'm doing what I want. Don't tell me what to do. Typical teenage bullshit attitude. There was a sister

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video going on.

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Yeah, but then you get branded with that after that because it's like, I would wear stuff like pentagrams and like Baphomets or, you know, the pan and all that stuff. Cause I was all fascinated with the whole mystique mysterious. Cause I had been told all this time, like that's terrible. And I'm thinking, well, like I'm going to find out if it is terrible. So I was just kind of like reading about it, looking into it, seeing all this imagery. I liked horror films and all that stuff. And so it was like, to me, it was all like cool, but then it was like, you know, you'd get branded like wearing that. So, you know, people are like, yeah, that's a devil worshiper. Like he's on drugs. And it's like, I wouldn't even fucking do drugs, you know? Yeah. Well, that's, that was my whole point is here. Here you are growing up in a family. Your dad's a fricking, he's a hospital administrator and your mom's a stay at home mom. So obviously they're good people and they're, you know, they're, doing what good people do raising their kids you just like something that a lot of other people didn't like and so therefore you're branded with something yeah and they didn't understand they didn't want me to have long hair they like my mom wanted me to be like socially accepted as like you know a good young man should have his hair trim and blah blah blah you know right you know and i was just like whatever i want my hair long like it was a big thing it was weird because it seemed like my dad didn't care as much that my mom he was just like whatever like let him you know if that's what he it didn't but for whatever reason it was like her image of like her son was to be like you know like this you know whatever this image and i it wasn't working for me i was like going like you know the other way but that was almost like they were like oh my god what are we gonna do like our son's going over he's listening to this satanic music and you know the heck is yeah like the devil's influence is over him we must pray you know like so it was just like really it was just music. And I think that if they would have been a lot more like, not necessarily late, but if they didn't put much, of a concern or fear about that, then I probably would have been a lot more, even more mellowed out, but it kind of made me wild a little bit more rebellious. You know, it's like, it's kind of like when you tell your kids like, Oh, you, you don't need to be going to that park, hanging out with those boys. And it's like, that's all somebody wants to do after that. It's like, well, I'll see you at the park. Yeah, exactly. So, but yeah, but there was like a, there was a, There was a fort out in the woods where I lived in Western Hills. And it was these older guys. They were like, they were way, I think they had already close to graduating high school or something. I was in middle school at the time. But anyway, there was like, you know, this talk of like, they're out there doing like, you know, really bad things. satanic cult stuff out there in those woods well instead of it making me like going like oh that's scary i was just like hey let's go find this place and see what's out there you know but really i think what they were doing they would go out there and i think they were like partying out there and then they did have like pentagrams like painted on like you know like that uh that fake wood walls in uh in the 70s that they put inside houses that paneling yeah yeah so they had i guess they had found a bunch of that so they made it kind of like a like a structure around in the circle of the woods it was deep in there so it was kind of cool and there was a fire pit there but then they had like a it was like a cow skull or something like that and it had like a chain going through its eyes to like hold it up to the so and then they had this couch flipped over with a sheet over it so it looked like this you know, altar or whatever. And there was this fire pit, but we thought it was all cool. So we were like, yeah, right.

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Yeah. That's what they were doing too. They're like, this is just cool. It's not like they

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were actually worth it. I think they were out there listening to music and probably, you know, smoking pot or maybe they were messing with that stuff a little bit, but I don't think that it was like, but it's just that the rumors spread so quickly because, you know, the town was so, uh, like almost like a, the colonial periods, you know, it was just like, you know, it was like, Oh my God, there's, you got to wear the scarlet letter. I saw a fire and there was some long haired men coming out of that wood. Watch your children and pets, you know? But yeah, so I don't know. But like, so we, we like to go out there and hang out, me and my friend. And so I would show all my friends that would come over. It's like, Hey, let's go here, you know? So we'd go run out there. But then that kind of became, they didn't go there anymore because they were older and that was their hangout place during high. That was the, I think it was just two dudes that like would go hang out there and listen to me. And they were both into metal. So they were kind of excluded from whatever, but they were into the older shit. Like that was before that was already coming up. So it was like the air before that I was getting into. So they were listening to like Celtic frost and, um, stuff like that. Yeah. All that kind of stuff. Yeah. All that serious, all that stuff. So they were, they were into all that, but, It was cool. Cause we'd go out there and we would, we'd do the same thing. We would go out there. We'd light fires out there. It'd be like, you know, the fall, like perfect weather or something. We'd light a fire out there. I don't know. I don't think when we were real young, I think it was just about lighting fires. I think once we got into high school, it was more about like, Hey, let's go smoke weed here or something, you know? But then we would listen to metal out there. We had our like, whatever jam bop boom bop whatever

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you know yeah yeah with our

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metal favorite metal bands and we go out there and listen to that and hang out and be like yeah this is cool man you know like we were just like punk ass kids but because i was hanging out there and going out there then it was like this rumor was spreading that like oh yeah like he's a he's a devil i remember that man he's a he's a devil worshiper and all this stuff and it's like it was just, it was so ridiculous, but I mean, there was nothing I could do. It was just like laugh about it. You know what was I going to say? So I just, but yeah, like I read into like all these different beliefs and different things, trying to find something different than the standard thing because I was, but it wasn't like I was, we were out there doing like, you know, straight up, you know, Yeah, you were just being kids, man. Yeah, we were being punk kids, whatever it was. Yeah, but being kids, yeah. I mean, yeah, not to say that we didn't get in trouble and do silly stuff or run around and, you know, do whatever the shit we did. But, yeah, that was kind of it. But because of that, then there was, like, this rumor, this spread of, like, oh, yeah, Matt Mack, man, he's– yeah, that's a Satan worshiper right there, man. Like, you know. But it was kind of– I could play on it, though. That was the fun thing was I was just like– Yes, Father Satan. Oh, you're so stupid. And they would totally buy into their eyes. You're like, oh, my God. But it's just like, I'm not into that shit. That's good, though. I mean, at least you had fun with it. You know what I mean? Yeah, because after a while, it got old trying to explain it. Like, defend yourself. It's like, no, fuck it. I'm just going to go with it and say... Yeah. Like, yeah. Like, yes, yes. You better be careful. That's what I was trying

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to get out of

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you there. We got it out of you. That's

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what I was

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trying

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to get out of you. This episode is brought to you by...

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What about your family now? I mean, you're still doing that kind of music and whatnot. I mean, is it totally different now? Oh, yeah, it's totally different because, I mean, that was so many years ago. And then after high school, you know, I went to school and I got my degree and I started working for Disney. department of defense contractor with the government. And I still like metal and plan. And so I just kept, it was a big integral part of my life, but I had started a family since such a young age. I was like 21 when my daughter was born. So, um, you know, it was like, I did everything backwards. So it was like, I had to be all response. Like I started out being very responsible at a young age, not because I wanted to, but because I had to, or I felt like I did. I mean, some people don't give a shit and they just act like whatever, but I felt like, like, I've got this kid, I've got to do everything I possibly can to make sure that this is going to go the best way it possibly can. And then that was a struggle on its own. And we don't have time. That's a whole nother story as far as like X, Y, all that stuff. But as far as like the, the, you know, going through all that, being forced at an early age to be responsible when all my friends are like at that point, like in their prime playing shows, doing this and that and active and going out and touring and doing all this kind of stuff. It was like, I felt like I was just kind of trading that whole thing off. So I was like, now it's like, I don't know. I don't get to do what I really want to do. I have to do what I have to do in order to make things, uh, work out. So I just had to, but I still had the passion, still wanted to play. And so I just kept doing it. I mean, I kept as much as I could on the side and then, um, yeah. And then, I mean, I kept music going. I had, we had, uh, you know, I had, I have a couple bands, but I mean, but at that early inception, whatever it was, 2003 or something like that, um, put out a demo, like promo thing with a couple of friends and we were just all, we were still into it. We were, but we were doing it on the side. It was, it definitely wasn't like, we're going to make a living at this. So it was just like, you know, for fun. And, um, we like doing it because you love it. Yeah.

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Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 28:35

But your band now is a martyred. Isn't that your main band that you, you play now? Yeah. Yeah. We started, I started that back in like 2003, uh, two of my friends was Josh Kennedy and Dustin Cadell. And he played drums and Josh was, got him on the bass. He was like, I'm a guitar player. I'm not a band. I was like, you're going to be a bass player. No, no. Yeah. Well, so many bass players do that though. They actually do. Well, we didn't like, we were going back to the thing where you don't have a lot of choices to pick from. And it's like, he could do it. He could, play he could keep up he could do it so it was like we were doing it and so we so that's how that worked and then we were like you know but we were caught it was constantly this hunting of trying to find recruit other member and things and it was just so difficult because the area they were just for one there's not a lot of people into yeah I mean there's people that are into metal that are there but I mean as far as it play it but then like playing the more extreme version of it was like even yeah you're narrowing the uh, possibilities even more. So it made it difficult, but I just kept going with it like, and didn't give up. So I just, I just, that's how, that's how that turned out. But what, what do y'all, who does, do you write the music or do y'all jointly write the music or how does that work? And then kind of two or three part question here. Uh, what do you guys typically write about like lyrics wise? Oh, okay. Yeah. So like, um, when we started out i would write you know all the guitars and then um drummer would lay down whatever patterns and then um as far as the lyrics we would kind of work together like i'd write some of them and the drummer would write some and we would kind of collaborate like together and then after that iteration of the band like when they were no longer in the band then it was like i i got recruited new. So it was like, then I wrote the guitars for that. And then the lyrics, I was kind of like writing all the lyrics and then, um, started working with the vocalist, uh, to come up with ideas and then allow him to like try to, so that it wasn't just me doing it all, you know, I wanted like other people involved. And so especially the front man, you want them to be passionate about what they're singing about. So, um, If they're doing their job, if you, I mean, yes, there's plenty of people that can sing. Like they're like, I can't write lyrics. I can sing, you know, they could sing great. Or maybe they couldn't write lyrics, but we would work together and try to come up with like the best. Like, so it was like, Hey, I've got this concept. This is what this is about. Like, and then, you know, see what you can come with that. Or so I kind of transitioned the vocalist into, um, taken more of the responsibility of the lyrical writing part of it so that that way it was on them. But then he would still like, hey, what do you think of this? And I was like, oh, yeah, that's cool. Maybe do this, this or that. And we would just kind of ping pong back and forth like ideas. But then but the idea was for me to just be kind of like just focus on the guitar only. but like, as far as lyric wise, what do you guys, Oh, the context of the lyrics. I mean, you don't like everything, but I mean, what do y'all kind of, you know,

SPEAKER_03: 31:44

worshiping the devil. No, that's the funny

SPEAKER_04: 31:46

thing. No, Josh, that's the, it was funny. That's the opposite because all that stuff had been done so much, like all the gore, like cannibal, all the gore bands, like where it's like, you know, stabbing and murder, like rip out your eyes and all this stuff. And, and then, so all that had already been done to me. And so, and then the whole, like, dark uh antichrist lyric that had already been done to me too so i was like thinking not that this hasn't not been or hadn't been done before but i was like i wanted to write something that was like unbiased and more like a fictional stories about but like some of it was mixed with truth like war war-based stuff things that were like non-political non-religious and non um Yeah, nothing political, drugs, none of that. So it was just like real stories, whether it was like I'd read something or hear something of like or, you know, some dictator from way back or whatever, you know, like something something that was like where I mean, because you can't write about like dancing around in the. flower garden, you know, when you're writing this brutal, harsh music. You could, you could.

SPEAKER_03: 32:58

What about a song about two guys that have a podcast?

SPEAKER_04: 33:02

You could do that. And I could probably come up with something like that. And now anybody can do anything and the sky is the limit. So you could do all that. You could do that. So, I mean, so basically your, your lyrics and stuff are just daily life stuff that you either read or see or think about or whatever. Yeah. Or something that could be like, yeah, it kind of evolved because of the early stuff. It was like, it was focused on war, like a lot of war stuff, like taking yourself in as a trying to visualize, even though you weren't there, like say like D-Day or something like that, where you're like, how terrifying that must've been to be like, you know, just getting shot at. And like, it's just like people piss in their pants and like, you know, just, this is terrifying. So it's like, and then just like mortars going off and people's ears, you know, it's pretty brutal. And so it was like, there's one about kind of just taking the, the birds of you or being, or being in someone, you know, taking on that character of like someone that may have been in that, even though I haven't obviously personally, but I mean, just like, Something like that. And then dictators, like the, you know, control countries that manipulate cultures and, you know, you do this or you die or we're cutting your head off, you know, that crazy shit like that. So it's like, you know, how like tyrants, you know, stuff like that. So there's so much context about that you could, I mean, you could write anything. countless things about that stuff because there's so much of that so yeah some of that was that and then some of it just kind of went on to like later on started trying to think a different thing and think like maybe write about ptsd and things like that and mental disorders and things like that where people like have like issues with that or they have like uh you know not hallucinations, things like that, where that's not real and they can't tell that it's real or they do something terrible during these hallucinations. Like, like, and they don't even remember it. So that was one song that I got this idea. At first I started researching like PTSD. Cause I was wanting to write like about like some kind of war traumatized situation. But then it went into this thing where I came across this thing where it was like, this dude had like, like, I mean, it sounds, it's terrible. It is awful, but that's what I was writing about. But it was like, he like, apparently like, uh, I think he like killed his wife or something. And like, he didn't even know that he did it. I mean, like he was, he got up in the night and was just like, boom, had no recollection of like, just because of all the trauma in his head. And it was like actual disorder that was. And so I was like, man, what is this disorder? So I was like looking that up. And then I'm thinking, this is crazy. But it was like, it's, it's, it's not like happy, positive stuff, but at the same time, it's like, I couldn't believe that it was real. So finding out something like that, then I was thinking that'd be cool. I mean, that's definitely something to write about or something, you know, not necessarily that story specifically, but this like taking on a fictional role of somebody that has that and then does like, you know, but it wasn't, I didn't go to all those like, so much gore based like i kind of try to tend to stay away from that you can emulate that it's almost like alfred hitchcock used to do and with horror films where he would like make something feel so creepy and dark but he didn't have to do like you didn't have to like make it like just so grotesque and uh right you know what i mean so it's like you still get the vibe but you're just like damn but with death metal the other thing is is that the vocals are so harsh and brutal, you know, unless there's said with a lot of enunciation, the actual vocals, a lot of people, they're not hearing what's being said. So a lot of people, I don't think it's not like people are following along and they're singing along to the song, like, unless there's a catchy part where they all know, you know, one of the parts. So it's like, yeah. So it's almost like, it depends on how, the vocals are and i did want the vocals to be like to where it's it's still got that distorted style but then you could hear if you listen you can hear so it's just not like a bunch of inaudible like you know growling or you know what i mean but that but stuff like that they're like when i listen to something like that that i maybe can't understand it so much and i i don't try to understand it i kind of just try to interpret it as whatever i want it You know, like, I'm just like, I pretend that it's about this and just go with that in my head opposed to trying to figure it out. But that's just me, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. It's a, it was a different thing. And then, you know, and I still love like thrash. So it's not like, and I like all kinds of stuff. I like, and I don't even, I really don't even listen to, I mean, I do. I listen to, death and stuff like that. But I listen, I don't, I play it more than I listened to it, I guess is what I'm trying to say, because it's like, um, when I'm focused, I want to be focused on what I'm playing and what I'm doing. And then when I get away from it, it's like, I don't want to hear it, you know, it's weird, but like,

SPEAKER_03: 38:00

so, but then,

SPEAKER_04: 38:01

and so like when I'm listening to music, I'm not listening to that. I'm listening to music. All kinds of stuff. I mean, you name it. You'd be surprised. I'm glad you brought that up because I wanted to ask you your guilty pleasure, like something that you listen to that people would not think that you listen to. I like old Western and I like 50s music and even 40s, like that swing stuff. I don't sit there and listen to it daily, but it's the mood, whenever you're in the mood. If I'm in a mood where it's like I want to hear like, you know, or whatever. And then sometimes I'm in a mood where I want to hear uh, like old Western stuff, you know, like the, um, or I used to listen to a lot more blues, but I don't any, I don't as much anymore, but, um, yeah. And then like, I mean like Hank three, uh, you know, stuff like that. Or, or, or, you know, I mean, it's kind of negative. So it's like, depends on what mood you want to be in. Do you want to be like kind of in a down mood and listen to Johnny Cash? Or do you want to be like in an up mood and listen to this or, you know, so it's just, it's kind of mood based when I listen to stuff. But as far as like, I don't give a shit if somebody thinks that, oh, you listen to that. That's not brutal. I don't care. I listen to what the hell I want. I don't really care. I was more thinking, the reason I asked that is so people can hear, look, Mike, this is what he does, but he still has all these other things about him that just it doesn't define him because he's in a band called martyred and yeah metal you know what i mean i mean there's much more to a person just by their look and what they play right yeah and as far as like i mean i like cooking like i love to cook i'm not i don't have any formal training but i love to cook i love that cook all the time and i get crazy with and some of my friends have said like man you like that so much you should just like you know go all that way with it and i'm like man i like doing it at home or for friends i don't I don't want to do like a Hell no. You know, I don't want to do that because it's like then it becomes a fucking job. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I don't want to do it for a job. Yeah. Yeah. Because then it takes the joy out of it. Yeah. If you're if it's like, oh, I got to this is my 50th brisket for the week, you know, or whatever. It's just like, yeah. Well, I was going to say to our mutual friend, Stephen King, he sent me a video. He went to one of your shows a few months ago and he sends it to me and he's like, dude, you got you should have the board on and I was like I have actually been talking to him about coming on he's like you should come to one of these shows with me this is some intense stuff I was like I will I will happily do that so I'm hoping that'll happen at some point we come see you guys play yeah that'd be cool we're writing right now so we're not doing any shows right now so we're working on writing some stuff but we were like just we had a couple of setbacks trying to get going as far as like out and playing more shows because I our other guitar player at the time he toured so much, he was gone all the time. Like he was the front of house engineer for Bob Dylan. So they would go on tour and he had to be gone all that time. So six months out of the year he was gone. So it was always trying to coordinate when he's back to make shows. And then our drummer is in, he was in a couple of other bands. So it's like, it was trying to coordinate those two things, but now we've kind of got it down to where we've got one. We've got, um, A guitar player that he's all about it. He's filling in the spots as far as the solos and whatnot. And he's all into it. And then we've got... And then, yeah, so we've got more to talk about. Right now we've just been focusing on writing stuff. And then I've also got another project that I'm working on on the side. It's going through its third iteration of it. So hopefully that's going to come out soon, and I'll be excited for when that does. But right for now, it's all in the– I can't believe that it's been this mini version, but it's like now it's crazy because it's going to be– I think it's going to be pretty cool. Yeah. It's not ready yet, so it's kind of like working in the background, but kind of excited about it. It's different. It's a lot less extreme, so it's kind of cool. It's more rock and roll, but not straight rock and roll. It's that thrash, so it still has that fast, but it's got some groovy parts to it, and then it's got some... I don't know, you could say there's definitely some punk kind of feel to it in certain parts, but it's like, and then it's got a little bit, like sometimes every now and then there's like a little sprinkle of that kind of brutality part that's in there a little bit. But for the most part, it's definitely more like, you know, bah, bah, bah, bah, you know, like that, that real rock and kind of hard

SPEAKER_03: 42:42

rock. That's, that's a new sentence. Sprinkle of brutality. That's a great band name.

SPEAKER_04: 42:48

Yeah. Right there. Sprinkle of brutality.

SPEAKER_03: 42:51

Yeah. Just a sprinkle.

SPEAKER_04: 42:52

Yeah. Just a little, like, I think it's so funny. Cause I think of music, like I compare, I can't, my mind's wired that way where I just think of like ingredients or spices, you know, it's just like, Hey, throw this in there.

SPEAKER_02: 43:03

A pinch of.

SPEAKER_04: 43:05

Yeah. Thrash.

SPEAKER_02: 43:06

Opening for them is a dollop of death.

SPEAKER_04: 43:08

Yeah. That's hilarious. Just kind of getting rounded out and closing it out and whatnot. If we want to go check out any of your projects that are mainly martyred, which looks like it says Marty Red. That's an easy way to remember it. Where can we find you? All the socials, Spotify. I think our well, our Facebook is like martyred official. Instagram is the same. And then, um, Spotify, iTunes, all that Amazon music, all the digital channels. It's all on there. And then, um, yeah. And then I was at, I still do video production. That's what I've been doing for a while. I switched from doing the DOD thing. I did that for nine years doing like, you know, uh, 3d modeling, stuff like that. But then I, I switched to, uh, video production. And I've been doing that ever since. So I'll, I'll do music videos, corporate training, blah, blah, blah, blah. Not trying to plug myself, but I am. No, that's fine. Go ahead. No. Yeah. Plug yourself like crazy. That's cool though. You can do your own videos too. I mean, like since you do that anyway, so that's pretty awesome. Yeah. It's fun to do it. I mean, it's, uh, I like it. And I, so that's what I do for a living. And then, but the, I mean, like a friend of mine told me a long time ago when he asked me, I asked him, I said, he came down here from long Island and he moved and he was He was a renowned drummer. And I asked him, and he was death metal. And I asked him, I said, hey, man, we should jam. He said, well, definitely jam. You know, with his accent, we're definitely going to jam. And then I said, I go, well, let's do it, man. I was like, what are we going to do? He goes, I tell you what. He's like, I just got to get this trigger for my speaker. I was like, all right. And he's like, I tell you. And I go, all right, let's do it. When are we going to do it? And he goes, we will soon. He goes, is it death metal? And I go, yeah. And he goes, nah. And I go, what? And he goes, nah. He goes, you know what I call that? And I was like, what? He goes, death metal. Like touring everywhere, playing and all that, and then at the end of the day, not breaking. But I mean, some bands make it into that, and they will make it, but it's, yeah. You're definitely, if you're playing that to try to make money, you're playing the wrong thing. Well, just tell them next time you just want to play a dollop of death metal. Yeah, a dollop. A sprinkle of brutality. A sprinkle of brutality. Man, I'm going to name the episode one of those. Yeah, man. You can, whatever you want. That's hilarious. I mean, we could talk about other stuff. There's more to life than just the music thing, but that is a big part of my life. So I'm glad that we were able to get a chance to talk about it. Yeah. I mean, that's what I wanted to really talk to you about was those things. And we pretty much covered everything. The only other thing I do want to point out is you post a lot of of your dog. You love that dog, don't you? Oh, yeah, dude. I love my dog, man. I tell people, I'm like, I love this dog more than 98% of human beings. And they're looking at me like, am I on that 2%? No, I'm not. But it's because they love you unconditionally. Yeah, and he came into a part of my life where I was going through some really hard times. So it was like, yeah, we bonded big time. So he's like, Yeah, he's my world. But I know the sad truth is the day that you get a dog, you know that one day you're going to bury them. That's just the way it goes. But it's worth every bit of it. What's his name? Larry. Larry, and he's a boxer, right? Yeah, yeah. I love boxers. They're the nicest dogs, man. They're so cool. He's so goofy. He's like the goofiest thing ever. And then he's sweet and he's loyal. I mean, he's not as hyper. He's kind of mellowing out now. He's turning seven soon. next month. He's getting a little bit more chill, but he's still got it in him. He has that feisty silliness. He's just so goofy. I love all dogs, but of course, when I got him, I wanted a dog that was going to get me off my ass. I didn't want a lap dog because I was just going to sit there. I needed to be moving. That dog will get you up. If you leave that dog, if you leave him sitting there, that's just wrong. You shouldn't own that kind of dog. I think that's a problem why so many of them end up in shelters. Boxers especially, there's so many rescues for them because I think people think they're cute and all this stuff, and they do. They're handsome and beautiful, whatever. Then they realize that if you just leave them there and you're like, don't do anything, they're going to tear stuff up. If you keep them going all the time, he's never torn up anything. Of mine? He tore up my wife's stuff. A few things. That's all right. She had some brand new little Jabra, some kind of speaker she brought home from work. She sat it on the bed and was getting out of her work clothes. And man, that was gone in seconds. And I was like... Well, hey, it was hers, not yours. And that's the real... That was the thing. That was in his puppy phase. And I was like, hey, just... put every everything you want put it up that was it if you if you want it yeah that was in the early stages after that he doesn't tear up anything he doesn't do anything all right he'll scratch the door for one out but anyway all right we'll close it up here thank you mike so much for coming on y'all don't forget to go check out his band it's martyred and it's spelt marty red if you're trying to look it up that's what it looks like um so like you said it's on all social platforms and all media platforms and music platforms and everything. Go check them out. And again, as always, go to randomnesspodcast.com to check out anything and everything randomness. And yeah, thanks again, Mike, so much. And we'll catch you guys next time.

SPEAKER_03: 48:45

Thank you. We are gone.