An Interview with Aaron Howell of MF Ruckus
by Tim Wenger
“We kind of just had this idea that we wanted to create a press kit that we could sell to people,” says Aaron Howell (vocals). “I came up with this idea of just doing live recordings, because it’s less expensive to do live recordings, and we’re pretty much a live band anyway.” The band recorded shows at the Gothic Theatre, Herman’s Hideaway, Three Kings Tavern, and the Belly Up in Aspen, compiled the best of the shows, had them mixed and mastered, and are putting them out as the live album The Dirty Half Dozen.
To coincide with the live record, the band also brought good friend Mike Peterson from SixEleven Productions out on the road with them to film a documentary, which includes performances, interviews, and general tour madness.
The record/DVD release party will take place June 21 at Three Kings, also serving as a tour kickoff for the band’s month long The Dirty Half Dozen Tour. They hope to distribute a good amount of their new press kits while on the road, both in person and through mail, to create as much of a buzz as they can with the new releases. “During the day time, we’re going to be sending stuff out to the media, sending stuff to anyone we can think of, working our asses off,” says Howell. “Night time, we will be rocking the shows, and as soon as we get done, hopping in the bus and driving to the next city. It’s going to be a month of pretty intense work, and trying to fit partying in there in the interim.”
Many in Denver know the story of MF Ruckus, rising from the ashes of long time Denver punk stars Forth Yeer Freshman, and those who don’t, can get the background on the story on the new DVD. Howell had this to say about the two groups: “Forth Yeer Freshman was a punk-rock band. Over the years, we had so many different people playing for us, and we went from being this little four-piece shitty punk-rock band to transitioning into all these different styles to where, if you played them back-to-back, it’s not even the same band anymore. We felt like we were holding on to something that didn’t exist anymore, and the only guys still left from the old days were Logan (O’Conner) the bass player, and myself.
“So we were like, it’s a new band anyway, let’s put that to bed,” says Howell. “We put out a press release that we sent all over that said that the band was breaking up, and we had a big Viking funeral at Moe’s BBQ.”
The transition into MF Ruckus was, overall, a pretty natural effort for the guys, as they had been working on this live record during the alteration period. They chose not to make an official announcement of their new band, partially in hopes of maintaining the recognition and respect that Forth Yeer had accumulated over the years. “Instead of making a big release where we came out and said, ‘This is our new band,’ we just started playing without really making a big deal of it and let people organically rediscover it.”
However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. “We were able to take a lot of the momentum,” says Howell. “One area where we ran in to trouble is we did have to come at some people as a brand new band. In instances where perhaps there was a negative reputation associated with the brand Forth Yeer Freshman, we had to start from scratch. We couldn’t go to these promoters and go to these people and drop that name because that would automatically attach any of the previous associations. It was difficult, and it was a little frustrating at times to feel like ‘We’ve already gone through this.’ But we’re playing with bands with whom we fit more now.”
The guys have been through their share of ups and downs over the years. Howell himself has been a part of the group since he was seventeen, and even now as he dives deeply into the story of his band’s upcoming record release and tour from the comfort of their hometown of Denver, he appears a bit road worn. He and his band mates seem to feel at this point, and rightfully so, that they have worked their asses off and are enjoying the perks of being in a “grown-up” band. Or at least in a band that knows what it is doing, and is not composed of teenage kids with no clue about the music industry. “Our long term objective is to, within the next two years, get over to Europe, get over to Japan, get down to South America,” he says.
“The approach we are taking to that is to get this record out to as many people as possible. Do a huge promotional campaign; get ourselves in peoples’ heads. The ideal situation would be to get to the place where we can all go do our own respective projects and a few times a year go and have a monster tour and pick up right where we left off, and at the end of it shake hands and go our separate ways.”
They still want to grow the band, however, and continue to set goals and work toward them. “I look at accomplishment like I look at an orgasm,” says Howell. “Once I get one, I relish in a moment of euphoria. I smoke a cigarette, eat a sandwich, and then I’m on to find the next one. To me, resting on your laurels and clinging to one accomplishment is the equivalent of keeping a used condom in your pocket. We talk about a lot of ideas about what we want to do and where we want the band to be, but we don’t have to babysit each other anymore. It’s a lot more effective, and, I hate to say it, but it’s a lot more grown up these days.”
Look for the record on the bands website, on iTunes, Wax Trax, Twist and Shout, and in person at their shows.
Online: mfruckus.com
Category: Buzzworthy
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