SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' MIKE MUIR: 'Now People Don't Wanna Communicate. They Just Want Confirmation.'

In a new interview with Terra Brasil, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES frontman Mike Muir spoke about the importance of not blindly following the crowd and not ignoring our own opinions and thoughts and disregarding our own values and beliefs. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think we're taught to be scared to stand out. We're more comfortable to kind of sit there and be behind and have that thing. And I think that's one of the big things — I don't wanna get into politics, but that's the problem with politics. You go so many places around the world right now with elections, and it's 'I am this' and 'I am this.' And there's this whole big valley of truth that people are scared to go to, because they'll deviate from the side that they're supposed to not be able to change from, these sticks that don't break. And it's sad.

"To me, that's the big problem, anywhere in the world, is when people can't talk, when they can't communicate. Now people don't wanna communicate. They just want confirmation. 'They're bad. Yeah, they're bad. They're bad. They're bad.' Yeah. Great conversation. [There's] no conversation. And [through conversation is] how you learn.

"I don't understand why it's offensive to ask a question," he continued. "And using the [United] States as an example, I don't like any of the people running [for the White House]. It's easy not to like them, because they're fucking bad people, as far as I'm concerned… I don't know if you saw [current U.S. president Joe] Biden. I go do, 'This dude is so old.' And I never liked the guy, 'cause of a lot of things that he said. But I'll say that, [and they tell me], 'You can't say that.' And I'm like, 'Why?' Because then you're for [Donald Trump].' And I'm, like, 'How am I for [Trump] if I say something about [Biden]?' Because I'll talk shit about someone else and sometimes I'll say things and [they'll] go, like, 'You can't say that.' And I'm, like, 'Well, why can't you say the truth?' Why don't we focus on the truth rather than who it is?

"It's amazing how people — we call it pretzel," Muir added. "They just bend. If something happens, they would rather have… If someone else, quote-unquote, the other person is in power, they'd want bad things to happen. They like bad things to happen 'cause the other person's in power. And that's insane kind of philosophy to me. And that means there's something structurally wrong — very wrong. And until people sit there and go, 'What about the people?'"

"I never vote. [And people ask me] 'Why don't you vote?' And I go, because I remember being 12 years old and seeing on TV, someone looking in the TV, 'I'm voting.' 'I'm running because I'm gonna make your life better. I'm doing this for you.' And I'm, like, 'How does this fucker know what's better for me? And just the pompous arrogance of someone saying that they want power to make my life better. I go, 'Fuck you.' You know what I mean? And then when they get that power, it's, like, what are they doing? They don't know who the fuck I am and stuff."

Mike went on to say: "People get mad, but my dad always told me, 'You have to be in power in your life. Don't ever be in a position where you're giving that power to someone else that you're gonna regret. No matter how fucked up things are, be the person making the decision. Don't give it to some people.' And I think too many people were brought up to be scared, to feel like they're weak, like they can't handle it, that they need someone else to make that decision. They're afraid to. The old-school thing, with my dad, the way I was brought up is, like, no — no matter how fucking tough it is… Life is gonna be hard. There's people that have unbelievably bad luck in situations. It's gonna be hard, but it's gonna be a lot harder if you don't believe in yourself. It's gonna be a lot harder. And believing in yourself, you're not like dreaming tomorrow will be a better day, but every day you've gotta work and say, 'You know what? Today was fucked up, but tomorrow I got another chance, and I got another chance, and I'm not gonna be fucking beat down.' Because I look out there and I don't wanna be like a lot of the people, when I was younger, I saw. I don't want to be like that."

Back in 2017, Muir declined to give his opinion of then-U.S. president Donald Trump, saying in a press conference in São Paulo, Brazil: "I don't like politics. Politics is ugly. I think politics destroys the heart of people. I believe that it's almost like religion in the sense that people are waiting for someone to save them.

"My dad always told me, 'Politics isn't the answer. Your heart and your effort is the answer. Don't believe people. People only tell you what they want you to hear. It's not the truth.' "And I think on the small picture, we sometimes focus on the little things and lose the big picture.

"There's a lot of fucked-up things in the world. We just got back from France. There is people that are reacting to reactions, and it's getting back to the point where people feel hopeless, and that's when the world is bad — when people feel hopeless.

"Politics will never be the answer. Politics don't give a fuck about you. It's about power, and power is about maintaining power rather than change.

"I see it in every country. I think, unfortunately, coming from a humanistic point, I think a lot of people around the world like Trump because they can divert the focus on what's happening in their countries. I think there's a lot of fucked-up shit everywhere. And I think the point is, you know what? We've gotta remember what life is about — it's about human beings and not just surviving, but having a purpose. And I think anything that takes away from that, which politics does a lot, is unfortunate.

"People like divisions, and I don't like divisions — I think it doesn't accomplish anything. And when you're doing shows and you see people that are so good and have so much passion, and you realize that their life is being fucked up for bullshit reasons, it's really sad. And you just wanna tell people, 'Keep fucking fighting.'

"In general, you can say anything… 'Clinton hater, 'Trump hater'… It's not just I hate people to hate, because I hate what they represent. And what they represent is not people… the essence of what life is: people believing in themselves.

"I think that we forgot that everybody's life should be a journey, not because someone's better than someone else, but because they can accomplish something.

"I would never be able to be a doctor. I'm so thankful that there's doctors. I had back surgery. I'm so thankful that they went through the sacrifices. I appreciate when people accomplish things and follow their dreams. I think it's sad when people don't fully embrace what life should be. It's a gift."

At the 2017 press conference in Brazil, Muir also talked about the growing anti-Trump protest movement after he became president and how some of its credibility may have been lost by focusing too much on protests and marches.

"My dad always said, 'Never become who you hate,'" he said. "I have a friend who's a councilman in L.A., and [he's] obviously a Democrat. And I said, 'You know what? They've got all these people on the other side that are like Trump [spewing hate].' I'm, like, if you hate something, try to do something better, something positive. Don't ever become what you hate. And I go, 'Dude, you sound like the other spectrum of Trump.' It's just hate. Do something positive."

He added: "When politics becomes positive, when someone actually listens instead of talks, when someone actually cares about people rather than power, then I'll vote. But until that time, I've never voted, and there's nothing I would vote for."

Earlier this month, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES released a new single, "Nós Somos Família", a reworked version of their late 1990s song "We Are Family". The Portuguese-language rendition of the track brings together Brazilian artists Badauí (CPM22),B Negão (PLANET HEMP),João Gordo (RATOS DE PORÃO),Rodrigo Lima (DEAD FISH),Supla, Fernanda Lira (CRYPTA, ex-NERVOSA),Marcão Britto and Thiago Castanho (Charlie Brown Jr),in addition to world skateboarding champions Sandro Dias and Pedro Barros.

"Nós Somos Família" is the first SUICIDAL TENDENCIES studio recording to feature new drummer Jay Weinberg, a former member of SLIPKNOT who joined the Mike Muir-fronted outfit earlier this year. The song was recorded at Estúdio Central (formerly RedBull Station) in São Paulo, Brazil, and was executive produced by SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' longtime collaborator Alex Palaia. British producer Paul Northfield and Brazilian sound engineer Rico Manzano also participated in the project.

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' latest album, "Still Cyco Punk After All These Years", was released in 2018 via Suicidal Records. A reworking of Muir's 1996 solo outing "Lost My Brain! (Once Again)", "Still Cyco Punk" featured founding SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo.

Last year, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES celebrated the 40th anniversary of their debut album on a number of shows in the fall, including in New York City; Silver Spring, Maryland; Worcester, Massachusetts; and Berkeley, California. SUICIDAL TENDENCIES also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the LP on a tour of Australia.

The 2024 lineup of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES includes founding member Muir alongside guitarists Ben Weinman (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN) and Dean Pleasants, bassist Tye Trujillo (son of Robert Trujillo),as well as the band's latest addition, drummer Jay Weinberg.