There are few bands out there that I’ll listen to regardless of how I’m feeling. Whether I’m down, in a rush, or restless, I’m always in the mood for some Marked Men. Their last album Fix My Brain, with a perfect mix of melody and head-bobbing goodness, turned many heads and made everyone wonder where their new favorite band had been all along. The much anticipated follow-up Ghosts, although a step back sonically for the band, is a definite step in the right direction; it continues where Fix My Brain left off, but adds the rough elements of their previous recordings. Also gone are many of the slowdowns, leaving us with an album that the band thinks is much more what they envisioned the Marked Men would sound like. Whatever the case, Ghosts is the perfect Marked Men album, and is sure to make many Top-ten lists again this year. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.

Ghosts is now streaming at Punknews.org, and our own Ollie Mikse had a chance to speak to Mark Ryan (Guitar/Vocals) and Joe Ayoub (Bass) individually about their new release, their move back to Dirtnap Records, and the music scene in Texas.

Now, you guys made the move from Dirtnap Records to Swami Records back to Dirtnap. What caused the initial move to Swami, and then the move back to Dirtnap?

Mark: The Swami thing happened because John Reese contacted us and said, "Hey I like your band and would like to do something with you." We were pretty starstruck because we’re all fans of his band, and we thought it would be a good idea. Well, It WAS a good idea. One of the main reasons we went back to Dirtnap was because Ken was already going to rerelease our first record because Rip it Off couldn’t do it, and Dirtnap already did our second record, so it made things a lot simpler, and I’ve always had a great experience working with Ken. And, he knows the band isn’t functioning anymore, and he’s cool with that. Swami is slowing down quite a bit and it doesn’t seem to be doing much as a label anymore.

Joe: We were really excited that John Reese was interested in putting out a record. At that point we were getting a lot more serious about the band, and thinking that we would be doing the band more full time. It was just a chance for something new. That was a really hard decision. I remember us sitting around and wondering what to do. We chose Swami because we thought it would help us in a different way than Dirtnap would. I think we were impressed that we could do something completely different and still independent.

How do you feel about the Swami experience?

Joe: The Swami experience was essential to everything we had done and helped tremendously. I don’t think any of us will regret going on Swami. It put us out there to a completely different fanbase that wouldn’t have listened to us, and it really broadened the people that would listen to us. I think Dirtnap can do that more by putting out bands like the Ergs! But, I’m happy we’re back on Dirtnap. Things went right with Ken in the past. We all have a really good relationship with Ken. It’s great to have a friend who’s so into your band.

Ken was cool with you guys trying out Swami for a while?

Mark: Well, he was a disappointed. But, we thought that it would be something different. He’s happy we’re doing another record now.

Dirtnap’s making the album available on 3 colored vinyls, and some very limited. Was that your idea?

Mark: That was their idea. In fact, I don’t have any copies. I need to get one of those [Laughs]. Honestly, I’m not much of a collector. I like having the colored vinyl. I’m not looking for first pressings, as long as I have the vinyl.

Joe: The almost-joke has been lately that I find out everything from my friends on the internet. Tim from No Defenders wrote me an email saying, "I really need that Marked Men on purple vinyl" I didn’t even know we had purple vinyl! None of us decided on that issue.

It’s weird that vinyl is coming back now too. It seems like people are happy either having MP3s or just the vinyl.

Mark: The reason vinyl has become so popular is because it’s such a different kind of format. The problem with downloads is that at a lower bitrate the sound quality is not very good. That’s the only thing that bugs me.

Who knows, maybe reel-to-reel will be the norm soon. You guys could rerelease the entire Marked Men catalog on reel-to-reel.

Mark: I’d be down with that! My grandmother had a reel-to-reel and she used to play stuff for me on it. Ghosts got delayed a few times too. Why was that?

Mark: Um…we’re just kind of slow on recording and getting our shit done. We intended to have our album done in May last year, and we could never get it done in time. I knew it would go down like that. Plus, it was then supposed to come out in November, but January is a better month for stuff to come out. It didn’t matter when the album came out, because the band wasn’t playing anyway.

Joe: I think our lives got busier, and also what Mark said that we wanted to take our time on it, but this might be our last record, so let’s make it exactly what we’ve always wanted to make it.

Your last album Fix My Brain was probably your breakthrough album. I read a post on Punknews.org a while ago that mentioned it and said in retrospect that "everyone who heard it, liked it." Mitch Clem also picked it as his favorite album of 2006. Were you surprised by the response it got?

Joe: Yeah, that goes back to what Swami did for us. None of us thought we were a bad band, but none of us have egos. Now all of a sudden a lot more people like us. We were surprised by the cross-over effect, like playing in Austin with Tragedy and Los Crudos, and we can also play with bands like The Ergs! and Toys That Kills, and then even play with bands like the Sultans. We were surprised about the flexibility, like again, playing in Philly with Paint It Black. I listen to all those guys’ bands for year, and to know they like my band and want to play together? It’s the punk rock dream. With people liking Fix My Brain, I could send an email to Todd from Toys That Kill about playing a show, and him saying, "Fuck yeah."

Mark: Yeah, I’m surprised that people pay attention to us at all [Laughs]. I just feel like we’ve been pretty lucky. We’ve always been into recording ourselves, and we just got better at it.

Did it put pressure on writing Ghosts?

Mark: I don’t know. We’re just worried if we’re happy with it. I hope everybody likes it.

Joe: I think after Fix My Brain we all got together to make the next record the best one ever. Fix My Brain is my favorite Marked Men album and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find. Are there any plans of rereleasing it like you did with the first selftitled last year?

Joe: Yeah, I think that’s the thing one of us is going to have to talk to John Reese about.

Mark: I really don’t know. I can’t answer that right now. I hope Swami can repress it. If not, then I’ll talk to him about it. If not, then we’ll have someone else do it.

Yeah, the vinyl is going for some insane money on Ebay, I think.

Mark: It’s cool that people want it, but I just want it to be available.

Joe: I was talking to Mike from the Ergs! about it where he said about finding Ergs! stuff for insane amount of money on Ebay. All of us are flattered that someone would put a price on it, but at the same time to get a second email from someone saying, "I bought your first 7 inch for $120. Don’t worry it’s worth it." That’s nuts. I’d rather it be available just for people to have it.

Ghosts sounds like a mix between the older rougher sound of the selftitled and the poppier songwriting of Fix My Brain. Was this a conscious move to record a dirtier album?

Mark: There were some things about Fix My Brain that I was unhappy with. Just that it was a little too clean. We prefer things to be a bit noisier and dirtier sounding. I felt like it didn’t have much energy overall, and we wanted to go back to that.

Joe: It was funny for me to hear that, since I wasn’t involved with that. Mark, Mike, and Jeff do all the recording, and I think we had too much to use for Fix My Brain.

Is there a significance to the title Ghosts, or is it just a song reference?

Mark: It is a song title, but to get in the meaning of things is a little tough [Laughs].

Joe: I don’t really remember. I don’t think the song was titled that until the album. Mark was coming up with names for the record, and I think one of the alternative names was "Medicine." That was one of those things that I think sounded too indie rock.

A lot of times when bands have their own studio, they take their time with their recordings since they’re not limited by time or budget. Is this true for the Marked Men?

Joe: It helps us do stuff on our own time. Three of us lived 45 minutes away from Jeff and he worked nights. It gave us a lot of convenience. I don’t think we could have done it any other way.

Mark: We do take a lot of time, and we’re really meticulous about how we want things to sound. You can only have so much control over that. We take a lot of time recording and changing things around, but we do set deadlines, and we had one for this album. We were working on it until Jeff went to Japan.

How do think the Marked Men have progressed as a band? Although all the albums are indistinguishably Marked Men albums, there’s a certain aspect in the latest albums that sounds different. For example , Fix My Brain and Ghosts have a more melodic aspect to them than the first two albums. Is there a certain sound you’re going for in the Marked Men, and do you think that you’re honing in on what the band is more and more with each release?

Mark: Yeah, I think this album is closer to what we had in mind. When we did the last album, I was talking to Jeff that one day we want to record a record that would sound exactly like we want it to sound. It’s a little too abstract to put into words.

Joe: Before I joined they were a three piece. I joined in 2002. The first record was power-pop and Ramonesy. When we did On the Outside, you could really tell, "This is a Mark song, and this is a Jeff song." We were wondering if that was weird, but we decided screw it this is who we are! Then, when we went to Fix My Brain where we were wondering if the songs fit. I think we are sounding more like what we envisioned. I think some of these new songs are brilliant. It’s so weird to hear my own record and go "Wow! We’re awesome!" [Laughs]. But all three of those guys taught me how to play music in a way, and I could never thank them enough for it.

Joe, do you think the Marked Men aren’t a very creative output for you because it’s more of a Mark and Jeff show?

Joe: On the contrary, it’s been my most creative output. In a lot of ways, I’m the guy behind the guy. It taught me how to play music a lot better. I know how to play bass, but they’d have me do stuff that I was like, "How do I DO that?" It also helped me because I became one who would book tours and contacting people. Yeah, I wasn’t writing songs for the band, it wasn’t a creative outlet like that, but whenever we played shows, I could go crazy. I always felt challenged; it wasn’t like I would just hang on the root note when playing songs. It would take me weeks to figure out sometimes working with Jeff on songs. Like, "I have an idea. Do this thing that makes completely no sense in this song." I was just, "How do fingers do that?" [Laughs].

I read an interview you did where you mention that you keep adding to your studio as time goes by, and Marked Men albums kept sounding crisper. Your studio probably has more gear than it ever did before, but still Ghosts is a rougher sounding recording than the previous record. It’s almost as if you guys went full circle.

Mark: There were some things we weren’t happy with on Fix My brain because we were using the high-end stuff. We used an old Yamaha board that I love the way it sounds. It’s a lot different than what we used for Fix My Brain.

You guys record all on tape still and not digital?

Mark: Yeah, part of it is that I haven’t been patient to learn how to use different methods for recording. We’ve talked about using computers, but haven’t figured out how to do that. Partly because we’re lazy! [Laughs].

Marked Men shows have become few and far in between. How does this affect the shows? Does it make you more nervous now to play shows because everyone might have high expectations, since Marked Men shows are becoming so rare?

Mark: Yeah, it does, because sometimes it takes a while to get in shape. Right now there’s no schedule for more shows. If we do, it’s going to be a while. Jeff’s in Japan and isn’t planning on coming back any time soon, and Joe’s in El Paso.

Joe: To me it doesn’t. Some days I’d be more confident, as long as we were prepared. But, there were times where I’d been nervous at shows but I don’t know why. There’ve been times when they would have to tune up and Mark would say "Just say something." I would be like, "I don’t wanna talk!" In that sense, I need tips from Mike Wiebe from the Gamblers. I need more jokes in my back catalog!

How do you feel about putting out a live album?

Mark: Any live stuff we’ve recorded, I’ve always really hated, so I don’t know what the point would be. There’s few live recordings that I like. With Jeff now permanently in Japan for the foreseeable future, what’s in store for the band this year, do you think you’ll have a slow year Marked Men-wise?

Mark: Yeah, we’re going to have a non-existent year [laughs], except that we’re putting out a new album. I think it’s good that the band is over. We’ll play again someday, but we’ve done as much as we’re going to do. I’m ready to do different bands now.

Joe: I also moved back home to El Paso, so I’m 9 hours away from Mark and Mike. There’s already talk of us playing a show, but as it is, we’re all kind of busy. And, I’m becoming a teacher and getting my teaching certificate. For 6 years, I was the one working the pizza place or the coffee shop, but now I’m the one trying to get some stuff done.

It’s probably good to have a job where you can take off for a couple weeks to go on tour…

Joe: Yeah, I worked at Starbucks for three years for that reason. I’m still there. I moved back home and went back to Starbucks and I substitute teach.

Talk about life in Texas. The Denton/Austin area gets the reputation for being such a music Mecca. Do you think that’s the case? Do you see it as having a really good music scene, or just that it just has a lot of band and more to pick from?

Joe: Wow, I just have to say that’s an awesome question! I think you hit it on the head with Austin. Austin is a big city. It’s the New York City of Texas. It’s a huge city with tons of bands. I think there are a lot of good bands in Austin. Where I live now in El Paso, there are a lot of bands. Now, my opinion on those bands is that I don’t think any of those bands are any good. In Denton, where the band started, there are a lot of great bands, and still bands coming out that are amazing to me. Not so much Dallas. Dallas had its heyday with bands that I’m still not a fan of; I hate the Toadies.

They’re from Dallas?

Joe: Yeah, they’re from Dallas, and Tripping Daisy is from Dallas!

See, where I live in Pennsylvania the only thing we can lay claim to is Live, and I think the singer from Poison is from around here.

Joe: You got Poison and Live!

Mark: I think there’s really good bands from Austin, but also bad bands. It’s been a great place for us to go and play. It feels like home. I have nothing bad to say about Austin.

So, it’s a new year and a new president. Do you think this will make touring Europe easier now that there’s a more likeable president and he’s not related to Texas in any way?

Joe: With that stuff, in Europe the hard thing was the assumption of people that we were very prideful of Texas and our government, and that wasn’t really the case. I had a 15-year old kid talking to me about politics and he knew a lot more about our government than me. Sometimes, when you say you’re from Texas they just look at you and immediately ask you, "What do you think about George Bush?"

What’s the one thing about the Marked Men people would be surprised to find out?

Mark: Um… I don’t know… Give me a second on that. I don’t know what people’s perception is of us as people. [Laughs] I don’t know! Maybe Joe can give you a good answer on that!

Joe: I don’t know… Something I mention to people now and they’re surprise to find out is that none of us are the party type. None of us are crazy Rock N Roll guys. I think people are surprised to find out that we do everything ourselves, like booking tours. I’m trying to think what else. The fact that we all have degrees… I don’t know!

I usually like to ask bands what their favorite albums of the year are, but seeing as we’re just barely starting, are there any albums so far that have made an impact on you last year?

Mark: This year, I don’t know. I like our friends’ Wax Museum album. Gentlemen Jesse; that’s pretty good. Lately I’ve been listening to older music. I’ve been hearing the new Davila 666 record. I try to follow a lot of stuff, but since I’m in Fort Worth, so I’m not exposed to much new music. I feel bad, because I don’t like much new stuff [laughs!].

Joe: I’ve gotten stuff recently, but nothing that I’m pretty stoked on. The new Nobunny record. I saw him a couple months ago. I saw him before and I thought it was quirky and fun, but I saw him this time, and I think the record is great. Also, the Measure. I like the Bananas. I think I like it better than Nautical Rock N Roll. That one was awesome and the Lemuria record is great. The new Pink Razors, and this band from Bloomington called Landlord.