MUDVAYNE Bassist Discusses New Album

Kristen Dunleavy of myYearbook recently conducted an interview with MUDVAYNE bassist Ryan Martinie. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

myYearbook: What made you decide to release a self-titled album after all these years?

Ryan: Well, that's interesting. I think the feeling within the band is that this is a good representation of where we've come from. Historically speaking, I think we feel it's an important record for us. When we look back on this one, it will have something special for each one of us. It holds a lot of personal gravity to it.

myYearbook: This is the first album ever to black light reactive ink on the packaging. Whose idea was that?

Ryan: That was Mr. [Chad] Gray [vocals]; he's always full of shit and full of wonderful ideas.

myYearbook: Does that concept hold a deeper meaning?

Ryan: That's up for debate. That's for everyone else to decide. There's always a bit of that in all art. It's not about what it means to me or what it means to any of us; it's really about every single person's own interpretation of what it is. We've always tried to leave things pretty open-ended. We're not trying to tell you how to think or what you should do. Whether it's a painting or a movie or a song or a band, you have to build your own relationship with it. What anyone else thinks should have no bearing on what any individual thinks about this work or any other work of art for that matter.

myYearbook: How would you say this record compares to "New Game"?

Ryan: Making comparisons is not something we do with our own records; I don't think that serves us very well. That gets into dangerous territory — maybe this won't be as good, or this one's way better. I don't think in those terms. This is an individual album that has its own space and its own vibe. Is it comparable? I don't know. Once again, that's up for everyone else to decide. This record has some things on it that we haven't done; I can say that with certainty. I'm very proud of the things that are on this record that I think pushed our band outside the box that is MUDVAYNE.

myYearbook: Jeremy Parker was your producer. What did he bring to the table?

Ryan: Jeremy's a friend, we've known Jeremy for years now and he's got a great creative mind. He's a sax player so he's got the musicality of an artist but also that technical side that can really make things happen in a studio setting. There's an exciting vibe for each member on any given song, any given situation, any given day. We're just normal people. We have our moods and are scared to death of recording certain songs. You're so nerved-out because you record something that stays forever, so you're overly concerned and neurotic about the process. He facilitates getting through all of that with each individual.

myYearbook: Did you do anything differently to prepare for this album?

Ryan: No, I don't think so. Our tried-and-true method is really that there is no method at all. Being open and honest and allowing the songs to decide where they want to go is the most important thing we do. Trying to control something — and even that word, control — I think that's a derogatory term when you're talking about art or songwriting. Allowing the songs to come forward and have a life of their own is how we approach every record, every song.

myYearbook: Did any events in your own lives influence this album?

Ryan: I don't think you can separate yourself from the experiences that you have. Our brains are like hard drives, I think. You can hit delete, you can do whatever, and it's still there. Whether we can access the information we've been exposed to or not, it's still imprinted on our brain. To say any one thing is more important, I don't know that our brains work that way. I'll speak for myself and say that mine doesn't.

Read the entire interview at myYearbook.