Defeater – Jay Maas
Posted on December 13, 2008 at 7:00 am by Luke
The band is called Defeater, the music is a mix of old-school punk rock and melodic hardcore– Boston style, and their debut album “Travels” just came out at the end of last summer (soon to be re-released via Bridge 9). There’s your band history, now keep reading as these are the answers of guitarist/vocalist/author Jay Maas, and yes I did say author because when you read through his lyrics, you feel like you’re absorbed in a great novel.
WayTooLoud!: What influenced you into the music scene?
Jay Maas: As a kid the only thing I really cared about was skateboarding. Being in that culture exposed me to Fugazi, Dinosaur Jr, Down by Law, Jawbreaker, Primus, The Melvins, etc. Some of my friends started getting into playing music back when we were 13 or 14, I got a guitar for my birthday and that was it, I was hooked! It wasn’t long before I was playing local shows and meeting people from other bands, everything since has been an evolution from that point.
WTL!: Who writes most of the songs, how does the writing process for Defeater work?
Jay: I like to write everything in my head first, I like to think of what I’m looking for out of that particular song before I ever touch a guitar. I feel like if I just start writing aimlessly on my guitar I become too self involved with my parts and lose sight of mood and scene I’m trying to set. After that I’ll sit down with Andy or maybe Andy [drums] and Gus [guitar], and we’ll “put up the walls” of the song. Get it feeling fairly good from beginning to end and then record it with one mic or something and sit around listening to what we just did, talking about what’s working and what’s sounding forced. After that we’ll get Derek [vocals] involved and figure out how his vocal stuff is coming across. It’s just a lot of revising and revisiting.
WTL!: The lyrics are really different from other bands, they read like a story. What inspires your lyrics?
Jay: Addiction, inequality, fake imposed boundaries, humanity’s bullshit self-importance, “God”.
WTL!: Have you ever thought about writing more than lyrics, say maybe books or short stories because the lyrics are definitely attention-grabbing all on their own?
Jay: I was reading these questions with a friend and we were both stoked that you asked that!
In short I really want to! I’m really proud of the record and how it came out, but there is so much more detail I would have loved to give. Derek and I have talked about doing a book for a while now, it’s definitely not in the near future but I love the idea of transposing creativity from one medium to another using each one’s strengths in a different way.
WTL!: Is there any theme for “Travels” because there’s a lot of historical dates?
Jay: We just really wanted to make the period of time super clear. There are implied social nuances that would be lost if the time period wasn’t included. On the record we have a very abusive alcoholic father who beats his wife, at that point on the record we aren’t even in the 1950’s yet and women’s liberation was a decade away from even starting. In this day and age chances are the wife would most likely divorce her husband, take him for all he’s worth and be supported by her peers and society in general. In the time period that our story takes place the social stigma over a female divorcee is as bad or in some cases worse than sticking it out in a broken home.
We were also careful to try to use dialect and slang from that era, the more immersion the better. I want to get even grittier on the next one.
WTL!: How did you decide on the album art, cover and inserts and who did you choose for the layout?
Jay: The idea for the art just came to me, I think it makes sense. Basically the layout is a 6-panel digipak, and each panel is nothing more than a photo. Each photo represents a different character from the story. I have to hand it to Derek, I come up with all these ideas and the dude just executes! He really spearheaded the effort to find the appropriate actors and actresses for the photos and was there for each shoot to give them direction based on how that character acts in the story.
He also introduced me to Josh Belanger. Every shirt/poster/layout/what-have-you that Defeater does has something to do with a piece of the story, even if it isn’t based around a character it might just be a piece of the landscape. Josh is an amazing artist and took the time to learn the story front to back in order to give us the most authentic and fitting designs for what we were after. Usually I’ll get a text from him like “listening to your record with my eyes closed on the side of a river, think I got an idea for a shirt, I’ll shoot you a rough tonight!”. Dude rules!
WTL!: Why did you decide to jump from Topshelf Records to Bridge Nine Records?
Jay: It was something all parties involved wanted to happen. Seth and Kev at Topshelf truly want to see the band do the best it can and I never once hit resistance on the subject. Obviously Bridge 9 has proven themselves to be a great label and it’s been great to work with people that expect a certain level of professionalism from you and then return that same level back to the bands.
WTL!: Tell me about the decision to print on recycled paper.
Jay: It’s important to us to be somewhat socially and environmentally aware. In general we try to do what we can to help when we see opportunities to do so. Printing on recycled paper just means that when you call the pressing factory, which you are going to have to do anyway, you tell them “Hey print this on recycled paper!”, they will in turn say “Okay, it cost’s a little more” and then you say “yeah I know, it’s worth it”. There’s a good chance I and all of my descendents are going to live on this planet for a long time to come, my mom taught me to clean my room. It’s like that, just bigger!
WTL!: Do you guys support any organizations?
Jay: GreenVans! Andy runs that company with our great friend/Italian Stallion Anthony. Those guys are mad scientists, converting diesel engines to run on veggie oil. They’ve built relationships with all kinds of restaurants and colleges collecting their excess oil and bringing it to the waste oil refinery they built. Check them out: www.rentgreenvans.com
WTL!: I’ve seen you mention bands like Minor Threat and Fugazi as influences, it makes me wonder if there is any straight edge members in the band?
Jay: Mike [bass] and I are straight edge. I’m not going to speak for Mike but I could really give a shit. I think what straight edge has turned into is horrible! Caring about what other people do, and forming crews has nothing to do with my personal choice to not smoke or drink.
WTL!: Why did you choose that lifestyle?
Jay: It just makes sense for me. I’m not claiming it always will though. I hate that concept where you need to cling to decisions you made 15 years ago just because that’s what you decided then. I really don’t see myself “breaking edge” anytime soon or maybe even ever, but who fucking really cares! Just don’t drive drunk, don’t get wasted because you are self medicating for your “problems” which are probably bullshit anyway. Get drunk because you want to and you think it rules more than you think puking sucks.
WTL!: Do you or anyone else have any other projects, jobs or bands currently on the go?
Jay: I play in a band with Gus called November 5, 1955; Andy plays in Ashers; Mike plays in The Stereo State; and Derek writes acoustic stuff that’s way better than I tell him it is.
WTL!: What have you been listening to lately?
Jay: Our publicist just got me into a band called Attack in Black, she’s probably laughing while she edits my horrible spelling and grammar out of these interview responses. I’ve been listening to that new Gaslight Anthem record, Elliott, Silversun Pickups, The Fire Theft, The Constantines, Last Lights, Verse, Russian Circles, and a sudden resurgence of old Death Cab For Cutie records.
WTL!: Which Defeater tracks do you enjoy playing live?
Jay: “Blessed Burden” is fun even if Gus thinks that song sucks, but my favorite is probably “Everything Went Quiet”.
WTL!: How do you keep yourselves entertained on the road?
Jay: This sounds so pathetic, but I’ll program a Starbucks that’s really far away but still on our route into the NAV and then get stoked on what drink I’m going to get 90 miles later. Other than that, asking Derek why he’s a vegan or what Alkaline Trio record is the best is always a good time… (not for Derek).
WTL!: Who would you like to tour with who’s feasible but not obvious?
Jay: These Arms are Snakes, that new record is so good it’s completely unfair!
WTL!: Is there anywhere in the world you’d like to tour?
Jay: We are really excited to get overseas, I recorded a record for this band called Carpathian from Australia and they said that America “Must be the land of true love because we don’t have any pretty girls”. I’m calling bullshit, I need proof! Marty is going to kill me when he reads this. (Laughs)
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