Presented by Mystic Avalanche Entertainment
Saturday, January 21 at The Hood Bar & Pizza
Show starts at 9:00pm Free Show 21 & over
By Tracy Dietlin
This Saturday let the beatdown begin! Murkocet’s CD release party, for their highly anticipated debut album, Digging Mercy’s Grave, will take place at The Hood Bar & Pizza.
This past weekend the band also did a CD release party in Mesa, AZ to a sold out show! You can expect the Hood to be a packed house as well. While this metal band hails from Chandler, AZ, lead singer Richie Jano’s roots are desert grown.
The band has been together for almost 4 years and includes members: Richie Jano (vocals), Nate Garrett (guitar), Mike Mays (drums) and Brandon Raeburn (bass).
This is frontman Jano’s and newest member Garrett’s first band, while Mays and Raeburn have been in previous bands.
If you love metal this is a show you don’t want to miss. Murkocet’s live performances are filled with raw energy with Jano commanding every bit of your attention. They also have an opening lineup that will satisfy every metal enthusiast with a bit of punk rock thrown in. Bridger will open the show followed by Perishment, then Murkocet, and closing the night is Throw the Goat.
I caught up with Jano over the weekend to ask him some basics.
CVW: How did you come up with the band’s name?
Jano: “It was originally my Xbox live gamertag and it ended up just being a really fun play on words that also ended up being an original idea.”
CVW: There are so many different versions of metal: post core, nu metal, death metal, speed metal, what do you consider Murkocet?
Jano: “American Heavy Metal.”
CVW: What current metal band is your favorite?
Jano: “This is a difficult question, because there are so many good bands out there. We are all at the very least Lamb of God fans, but can argue all day about other bands too.”
CVW: What bands would you most like to open for?
Jano: “It would be great to open for bands like Lamb of God, Whitechapel, Hatebreed, As Blood Runs Black, Devildriver, etc.”
CVW: Do you listen to other genres of music and if so which ones?
Jano: “We all listen to a lot of different things, hip hop is something you can find us all jamming every now and then though; especially the old classic stuff.”
CVW: Who do you most admire in the music business?
Jano: “We most admire the members in bands that are constantly seen working hard trying to make things happen for themselves, selling tickets and constantly being innovative.”
CVW: What do you feel sets Murkocet apart from other metal bands?
Jano: “Murkocet didn’t set out to reinvent the wheel, we simply set out to do the best we could. In doing so, we have created an extremely high energy metal sound with an extremely entertaining metal show. We often find ourselves selling tickets to people who aren’t even metal fans just because they enjoy themselves so much whenever they come out to see us.”
CVW: Who writes the lyrics? Music?
Jano: “I write the lyrics, while Nate, Mike and Brandon put together the music.”
CVW: Where did you record the new album? Who produced it? And How long did it take?
Jano: “We recorded at Villain Recording in Phoenix, AZ. Byron Filson produced it. Over the course of the last year it took about a month spread out over time. Not including the time it took to mix and master the album.”
CVW: What songs do you most enjoy playing live?
Jano: “We enjoy playing all of them, simply because each one of our fans has a different favorite song and not just one, so we know someone is always getting the experience they came for when they come out.”
CVW: What are your goals to promote the album?
Jano: “To make sure that our album is continuously heard by new people online everyday through social media, a new music video in the next few months, a tour in March, and attacking as much radio and internet radio play as possible.”
CVW: Are you interested in being signed by a label? If so, what are you looking for from them?
Jano: “That sounds fantastic. To help us get to where we’re already headed a little bit sooner.”
CVW: What are your long term goals for Murkocet?
Jano: “To be seen on the flyers and bills of our favorite bands, to play the larger festivals that you feel like only exist on YouTube, and to be able to create a successful and happy living from the band so that music and metal is all there is to do.”
CVW: What do you feel are the most important qualities/characteristics to becoming successful in the music business?
Jano: “To never let the scene or people hold you back. As hard as you’re willing to work and as thick skinned as you’re willing to be is all that is going to take you to where you want to go. Allowing disappointments and other let-downs to ruin your motivation is only going to stop your forward progress.”
CVW: How do you feel about all the changes that have taken place over the last 5 years in the business and with music as a whole?
Jano: “In the last 5 years we have been way too focused on the foundation of our band to see what’s been going on in music. We have just been waiting patiently for the next great set of songs to come out or one of our favorite bands to release something new. However, if you mean as far as politics and pop culture, none of us have really been keeping a close watch.”
CVW: What has been the most defining moment of your music career so far?
Jano: “1/14/17 was the release of our debut album Digging Mercy’s Grave. We are extremely proud of it, and the show that we played that night in Mesa, AZ was a total testament to how we are only getting started and there is much more to come.”
CVW: What can the audience expect from your show this Saturday?
Jano: “This Saturday is gonna be a total blowout! It’s exciting for us because similar to our last show in Mesa, the one here in Palm Desert is not only with bands that we have played with before, but ones that we respect for their hard work and great show. It’s gonna be a big night, and there’s gonna be a lot of people. As the days get closer we are constantly reminded by fans and friends how excited they are to celebrate that night with us. Ultimately, it’s going to be everything you expect it to be and more.”
Upcoming shows:
January 28 @ The Green Room in Flagstaff, AZ
March 9 @ Characters in Pomona, CA
March 12 @ Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA
March 13 @ The Whiskey a Go Go in Hollywood, CA
Check Murkocet out at:
