Introduce the band?
“Well, we’re M*E*S, a 4 piece band that likes to do crazy stuff with streetpunk and ska. This year (2005) we celebrate our 10th anniversary. Our live-shows are believed to be very energetic. We like fun, sing-a-long melodies, everything the church preaches against and which your parents are afraid of.”
Where does the name Mise-En-Scene comes from?
“As everybody likes to take an English name for the band, we reckoned it was a cool idea to come up with something completely different. Originally it’s a term from the world of theatre, meaning (quoting a dictionary here!): 1.The arrangement of performers and properties on a stage for a theatrical production or before the camera in a film; 2. A stage setting; 3. Physical environment, surroundings. If you translate it literally, you get “Put into the scene”, and that explains a bit how we felt when we started the band, we were about the only punkband in our area/scene dominated by hardcorebands.”
The band started in 1995 but quitted after 5 years. In 2002 you came back together. Why did you call it quits in the first place?
“Basically we were just a bit fed up with each other I guess. No more fuel left, so it was time to explore other things. However, the feeling of being in a band never left my mind, and I tried (with lots of people!) to re-form M*E*S again. It took me about 2 years to find the right guys, but as soon as these guys got themselves integrated, we started making songs, touring, recording etc. And everything just went quick since then.”
Why did you decided to play skanked up streetpunk?
“We all grew up with punk, oi, hardcore, ska and reggae, so it’s only logical that we try to bring the best of both worlds: original skinhead music (like ska) and streetpunk. Obviously, we cannot hide our influences (The Clash, Rancid, Operation Ivy, Funeral Dress, The Kids, Leftover Crack, ’77 punk, ’82 punk), but we don’t pretend to be the most innovating band. We just like to amuse ourselves and also the crowd of course. Lots of bands take themselves way too seriously, we like to mix some ska-parts in our music just because this adds a more “happy” feel to our music (without sounding too poppy!). It’s always cool that people that come to see your band, can go home with a big smile on their face.”
Your debut album was released in 2004 on the German label Shockrockrecords? Why this label?
“They just asked us (haha). Shockrockrecords would release a Ramones-tribute compilation with some of the coolest bands around on it. We recorded “I Wanna Live” for that one, and they liked it. We got the chance to release our album on SRR, and although we like to keep things DIY-ish, you need money to record your stuff, right? They gave us an offer we couldn’t refuse, and instead of spending the money on whiskey and whores (haha), we got into a decent studio, and released the CD on digipack.”
A new album is coming up early 2006 what can we expect from that?
“More of the same I think, however the ska-songs got a bit more skankier and there will be some real hardcore songs on it. We’re all very excited to record these songs as soon as possible but gigging around a lot made us re-schedule our recording sessions a couple of times. We hope to record in January 2006, though.”
You’ve been on tour several times and played in different countries like Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,… what was the coolest show you played?
“In fact, our tour in East-Europe was one of the coolest we did so far; there was a good and huge crowd every night (which we never expected!), lots of fun, and we met some really cool people (the promoters, the Against Me guys, the people that gave us beer/love/applause…). Most remarkable gig must have been in Lithuania (where the promoter asked us to play 2 sets, because there was no supporting band), everybody got pretty wild there. And the shows in England have always been very cool also. ”
Some final comments?
“Yeah: people tend to believe that punk is dead, and there are only a few people that try to keep it alive. I’d like to thank these people for their efforts. Belgian promoters: keep on booking punkrockbands. To the kids: keep on supporting punkrock! Punkrock happens in the pit – in your local bar/club, not on your television, keep on organising shows, supporting your local bands etc. Everybody interested in M*E*S (shows, exchanging thoughts etc), just get in touch: http://www.m-e-s.be or m_e_s_news@yahoo.com And finally, thank you Christophe for this interview, keep the heart burning!”
Thank u and good luck with the new album!
Christophe
OUT OF STEP FANZINE 