Adam Savage, the ringleader originally from upstate New York of the band Mongrel, has his hands full with a motley crew of New England gritty rock and roll boys who love to thrash around a bit. Never mind he is the lead guitarist, songwriter, and manager of this progressive punk/metal outfit; after fifteen years of playing, (his Myspace page puts him at 27 years old, totally negligible in the music industry though he looks baby-faced enough for it), Adam is self-confident in that unpretentious, modest, good natured kind of way, happily inviting you into his world. Lucky for us, antiMusic was able to catch up with Adam and the band just before they embark on a tour with FEAR.

Savage started Mongrel over six years ago, though he credits the name to "our original singer Matt "Death" Rowe. Rowe brought it to the table since the band he and I were starting was to be an aggressive mixing of a variety of musical influences, a mixed breed of sorts. When he left the band he gave his blessings to continue using the name." The other members of the band, Ed Loguercio, self professed drummer, time keeper, and motivator, Drew Barker, (vocals) formerly of bands " not worth mentioning" and Rev, the "quirky and quiet" bassist, former member of Killing Kate, Pi Theta Pi, have been with Savage anywhere from two and four years.

Having a personal history of playing with headliners like Gwar, Otep, Hed(pe), Dizzy Reed, Piggy D, American Headcharge, Acumen Nation, Mower, Prong, Wednesday13, Michale Graves, Trashlight Vision, The Independents and The Exploited, in his eyes, Savage credits the band's most recent successes with opening for the Misfits a half a dozen times, getting praised by his idol, Casey Chaos from Amen, and playing one of the last shows of one of punk's most notorious clubs, CBGB's.

Backing up his guitarist as bassists often do, experiences topping Rev's list of band successes? "The biggest would be playing CBGB's before it closed. That was a very special night for us. Our fans actually formed car pools and traveled down to NYC to be there with us." And of course, Barker, a lifelong musician, and Loguercio agree, "Playing the main stage of the Palladium in Worcester MA (with the Misfits) and the Webster in Hartford CT," as topping their list of successes, and drumming up support for his mates, Barker adds, "and playing CBGBs".

Savage is candid and open about his current band, "I think this band is able to bring together our influences better and put forth a better performance than my prior bands could". Rev seconds that sentiment, "This is the first band I've been in where each of the members understands that it takes lots of work and promotion to make a band successful." Or, put simply from Barker, "it exists". There's a lesson or two in there about determination, stamina, and perseverance that most bands who have been hacking at the scene can relate to.

Stories of challenging moments on tour range from Savage's "Discovering that the highway you need to get across a state is closed due to a blizzard," to Rev's "the trailer almost breaking and spending eight hours in a parking lot".

Mum is the word on band hookers—er, groupies though, "I've seen them" is all we're getting from Barker, Savage diplomatically offers "no comment", only Rev man's up to their existence though he cautions, "Eh, not really to the degree that they used to. The big Rock n Roll dream/lifestyle is dead". Come on now, sex is the oldest trick in the book, don't deflate budding musicians dreams!

If groupies aren't holding the bands attention, which women are? For Savage, it's, "Sharon Osbourne – she gets s*** done and you just don't f*** with her', Barker likes "Otep from the band of the same name", Rev's choice, "Poison Ivy from The Cramps, she's just such an icon. Not the most talented, but learned how to use what she knew to entertain. And on the other side of the spectrum I'm a big Tori Amos fan. She just has such a passion in her playing that really effects people", and Loguercio echoes Rev, "Tori Amos,...She's incredibly talented."

As far as the industry is concerned, Savage has some love for a number of people. "Ian McKaye for the music and complete DIY and ethics of Minor Threat & Fugazi; Henry Rollins for his work ethic, intensity and intelligence; Trent Reznor for his innovative uses of technology; Pearl Jam for doing things on their terms and for staying socially involved in a lot of great causes; Casey Chaos (AMEN) for continuing to put forth challenging and intense albums and performances despite line up changes, label changes, and lack of acceptance here in the US.

Returning to budding musicians, these road warriors have a little gentle advice to pass along from their travels to the new breed coming up. Savage offers advice that will separate the men from the boys, "Don't do this if you can live your life without doing this. Don't do this if you're just looking for money or fame. Don't do this if you think it's going to be easy or if you think things are just going to be handed to you. Be prepared to work hard, for things to go wrong, to face set backs, to pay your dues, and for it to kick your ass physically and mentally at times but you can't live without it so you will go back for more."

Barker offers a sobering "Be good to people on the way up", Rev, like Savage offers a substantive, "Have a love of playing music, because its going to be a long time before you'll be paid for it. If you do want to make it a career be prepared for the hard work that it takes to get there". This "hard work" theme threads Mongrel's existence, bearing down on their successes and granting them a wealth of opportunities.

Inspiration comes from many places for Savage. "Slash definitely inspired me to play guitar, artists like NIN/Pearl Jam/Amen/Scars on Broadway/The Bronx inspire me with the music they keep producing…as far as lyric writing I'm inspired by things I see in society, politics, religion, as well as personal events in my own life or those around me."

Under the patronage of Screaming Ferret Wreckords, whom Mongrel is signed, Mongrel's recent full-length album, Fear, Lies, and Propaganda, recorded at the Moontower Studios in Cambridge MA was a collaborative effort. According to Savage, "I'll write the lyrics and music for the songs and bring them in, we'll jam on them and either they'll end up the way it was brought in or we'll work out the arrangement together as Rev and Ed write their parts and Drew might edit some of the lyrics a bit."

As for album art, Savage and the guys credit Acey Slade of Murder Dolls/Trashlight Vision/Dope fame as the creative. Though Barker and Savage can take some credit for minor editing. I guess when you hang around musician's they seep into every facet of your life.

An interesting anecdote on recording and possibly the reason why Loguercio landed his role on the band comes from Savage "the first time we went to go record Fear, Lies & Propaganda our drummer quit on the way to the studio cause he couldn't find parking. Compared to that, there's no complaints about how it went once we finally did get to record the album." I'm sure the old drummer is finding plenty of parking these days and kicking himself in the ass for being so hot-tempered.

Favorite tracks from the album run all over the place; for Savage, it's "Tough to say, "No Gods No Masters", "Bound to Crash" "Shut Up Get Dead" and "The World Loves a Tragedy", for Barker, it's "Dyslexic Alchemist", and for Rev, "On the first album I was most proud of Shut Up Get Dead, thanks to my blues rock bass line. The new album I'm really digging All Coming Down and C & ½".

On the question of digital versus download, all members had a strong perspective.
Savage sums up the overall band sentiment simply, "Obviously digital distribution is the major trend in the industry at this point. Personally I prefer real cds and tangible ownership and artwork than just computer files but if it helps get the music out there and that's how people want to get it, so be it, I just hope that it doesn't go 100% in that direction. There's something much more exciting about going to the cd store on the release date of an album to get it, or even to opening the day's mail and having that cd you ordered and have been waiting for right there in front of you than just downloading a bunch of files."

That said, what are Savage's opinions on pirating? "I think the initial botched response which left the industry in a reactive rather than a proactive position has really hurt things. I also think a lot of it stems from the industry pushing such disposable music for so many years which somewhat de-valued music in the eyes of the public." "I think the key to it is reminding people that it is important to support the artists they appreciate so that they can continue to make music and tour. I'm certainly guilty of downloading music, but I make a point to go buy legitimate copies of albums that I end up really liking so as not to hurt those artists."