Featured Artist

How did The Mansfields get started?
   We basically started just like most other bands do, we wanted to be famous and make music we loved. Doug is my real brother, so he and I (Dave), found Tommy and just kinda figured things out as we went.

Were any of you in bands prior to The Mansfields?
   Not really anything of interest. The three of us had other names we went under, but the  musical influences were always the same.

Tell Us About The Mansfields .
   Probably the easiest way would be to read our bio @
Myspace.com/themansfields or www.MansfieldsUsa.com.
But I will say as simply as possible, The Mansfields are a very special band that have manage to blend a lot of different influences up into a really well rounded listen.

How have you guys been able to stay together as a band since 1995?
   Probably because we were really smart about who we wanted in the band to begin with. With the exception of a brief period of time when we had Jungle Jim on drums (who is the drummer for the Makers, and before that, he was with The Cramps), we have had the same line-up. We all Love the same kinda fashion, music and general pop culture B-Movie kinda asthetic. And as time goes by, we have shared a lot of memories together from being in this band. We’ve toured all over Europe a couple times, the States bunches of times, so we share so much of our lives together ya know? Keeping it together just hasn’t really been that hard cause we can also do anything musically. We have songs that run the gamit of styles from garage, Punk, Glam, old Country, Rockabilly. I guess no one has ever felt the need to leave The Mansfields cause they wanna go country or Glam,we already do that stuff.

You've toured with a bunch of well know punk bands, who's been the most fun?
   The Vibrators are so much fun and we share a lot in common with those guys, Faster Pussycat, The Queers are always fun to do shows with even though this tour was over way too fast.

You alternate singers at times. How do you decide who's going to sing what?
   Doug will sing the stuff he writes and I will sing the ones I write. It’s usually a natural 50/50 split. As far as cover songs, mostly if it’s a song he brings up, Doug will just jump in on it and same with me. Our voices are pretty close in range so occasionally he will cover me if I am sick or losing my voice and the other way around.

How would you describe The Mansfields to someone who had never heard of you?
   I usually tell people we are a cocktail of 50’s rockabilly, 60’s Brit invasion, 70’s glam and Punk with a twist of vintage country. But by the time I’m finished talking to them, they only remember the Ramones and Sex Pistols with a little Motley Crue in there.

We met you guys briefly, on  the Queers tour, tell us about that leg of your tour?
   The shows were fantastic. Joe and the guys were a lot fun to hang around with each night. Plus it’s really nice to get to hear the Queers pound out all those great songs each night, we loved it. I’ve known Joe for a really long time and he truly is whats RIGHT about Rock n Roll. We have talked about doing a bigger tour together and I hope we work it out cause Joe really knows how to keep shit professional but still has a fucking great time,that’s not always easy to do, but he does it.
Any new releases in the works?
   The new record will get recorded this July (‘07) at 8 houses down studio in Denver.

Favorite place to play and why-
   Wild at Heart/ Berlin
The shows we have done there have been sold out shows and it’s simply one of the greatest Rock N Roll venues in the World. The people in Berlin really kill it!
Also:
Troubadour/ LA
BlackSheep/ Co Spgs (our hometown shows are exactly how every band’s shows should be like.)Really this list could go on and on. It would probably be easier to list the places that suck it!
Funniest thing you've seen at a show?
   Maybe once at the Whisky a go go Justin Lurch Disease stood up behind the drums and hit his snare drum with his dick a few times.
Another time Tommy, our drummer, split his pants right in the front crotch region after the 1st song and we kept introducing him after every song to get him to stand up and take a bow. After like 700 shows, I think I have forgotten all the really funny shit though.

Most bizarre place you've played?
   Sometimes the most bizarre are the best.
I think on the same tour, we played at The Texas Rollergirls halftime to 1200 people in Austin, and also in a shed in Medford, Oregon with like 30 people crammed in there and that was amazing!  People hanging from the ceiling ya know? From night to night, it’s an adventure.
  
Are you on a label? If so, who?
   Not now, we are working it out for the new record. Thankfully we have a few that are interested and can help support our tours and all that. We’ll see. No big deal.

Who's your favorite bands right now?
   The Sounds / Social Distortion/ New York Dolls are all touring and killing it. Exploding Hearts/ Hanoi Rocks Then I could list an awful lot of old bands but I won’t do it, it would take up pages.
 
Who writes your songs and how are you inspired to write them?
 Like I said, Doug generally writes his stuff and I write mine.Sometimes, for me,  it’s like what Paul McCartney said about his songs. One day I’ll hear an old Dead Boys song and I’ll say I wanna write something that has that feel to it. Or just life, the way I feel walking down the street in Manhattan, or on a plane to London, or just the look of a person you see in the club at the show. Whatever, it’s coming from all over the place. I love just hearing a great song and wanting to match the feeling or vibe of it, it’s stealing, but putting your own touches on it too.

When you play at a show are you all serious or do you just fuck around??
No, fucking around is for party bands or what I would call amateurs. Nothing wrong with that, but when we do a show, it’s playing for keeps time. It’s so much easier to be a fun band when you’re a good tight live band. We get a good personal connection with an audience and it’s playful, but there’s a fine line between stone walling an audience and just being good and serious enough to be taken seriously. I always say that there’s nothing wrong with taking what you do seriously, maybe just don’t take YOURSELF so seriously.

Any pre-show rituals?
  Starbucks before load in, I'll mapquest them.  A few beers, a shot of Jaeger, usually I like to talk peoples ear off right up until I go on stage, it gets me loose and in a social frame of mind.

What's your favorite song that you play right now and why?
   Night Of The Living Creeps cause it’s a slower clean guitar garagy Cramps kinda thing. People love it cause it’s a change of pace from all the fast distorted stuff.

What do you do when your not playing music?
   Doug and I are big vintage furniture/ car and culture guys. We are always hitting estate sales, garage and flea markets. Mostly all 40’s, 50’s and early 60’s stuff, you can actually see some stuff we have in our houses on our web site

What is your evaluation of the current punk scene?
   You gotta dig for the really good stuff. But it’s out there. It always has been this way, but especially now, the good stuff gets really buried under the crap.
It seems like in our hometown anyway, that no one stays together long enough to really get their act together. Sometimes it just takes time to get really good, everything doesn’t have to happen overnight, but I think a lot of younger bands get discouraged a lot quicker nowadays.

Who are your musical influences?
   Hanoi Rocks, ELVIS, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Ramones, Runaways, Motley Crue, New York Dolls, Blondie, Vibrators, Hank Williams, Wanda Jackson, Stray Cats, Dead Boys, This could go on for a long while, I know you get the idea though.

Any bands you really want to do a show with and why?
   I know I speak for all three of us when I say we want to do more touring with the Queers. A lot of bands we have already played lots of shows with like The briefs, Faster Pussycat, Riverboat Gamblers, Social D, on and on.

Who's the wildest band you've ever done a show with?
 Maybe the Real McKenzies in Belgium. We love doing shows with them, but that show stands out for some reason as pretty crazy.

What are your general thoughts on the world today?
   It varies from day to day. When I am on tour I am a lot more positive cause you are surrounded by rock n roll and clubs with rock n roll etc etc. It’s more of a bubble.
At home I am in a bubble too, but it’s easier to turn on CNN or Fox and it amazes me how negative everything seems. Some days I get really down about people and how stupid they seem to have gotten. But mostly, life is fucking great. It’s what you make it, ultimately.

What's your favorite part of being in a band?
   All the aspects of Touring, Meeting amazing people and bands (I have met all my heroes from playing in the Mansfields, and some have become fans of  ours, which kills me), writing, recording, design work, literally every aspect is at some point my fave. The Live shows are the most fun, I LUV it all.

How did you come up with the name The Mansfields?
   Jayne Mansfield

Anything you want to add or say?
   Just to thank you guys for giving me this chance to answer your questions.
Check out our web sites
www.MansfieldsUsa.com
www.MySpace.com/TheMansfields

Anyone you want to thank?
   Just you guys!
Next - Word association, Type the first thing that comes to your mind when you read the following words.
 
Punk- saved my live without a doubt
 
Drink- I’ll have one ok?
 
Porn- my dear friends The Nobodys!
 
Eat- I am a pig, a skinny handsome one at that. Kidding, not really
 
Girls- I got the best one
 
Money- yes please
 
Work- make sure it’s your passion that you’re working on
 
Sex- Starbucks
 
Sleep- LUV
 
Leather- if you wear it, you better fucking rock
 
Police- if they serve and protect I have total respect. If they don’t, fuck em
 
Movie- I love going when I am on the road
 
Government- complicated, but hell, most people can’t even govern their own measly lives…stop bitching already
 
TV- is shit, ¦what Happened?
 
Life-make it what you want
 
Death- sleep