Page 39 - Black Velvet Issue 94

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these bands that I really like, it’s been a blast.” Betsy, he, in his own life, pays others for their imagine being a woman and it happening every
Co-producing with Roger Lima of Less Than company. day, practically all day. It’s a terrible thing. Hope-
Jake, he says, was interesting as it was the first Mike says he thinks there are a lot of tor- fully we can learn as a society to be better.”
time he’d ever co-produced. “He definitely has tured individuals in life in general. “Probably Besides sexism, there are many prejudices
a more old school, I guess, kind of style of more tortured people than there are not. And I in life; Racism, classicism, homophobia and na-
recording,” Mike says about Roger. “He just say that as someone who I always get shit from tionalism are just a few that some people have
wants to go for it and go for it quick, whereas I everyone for being level-headed and mild-man- been experiencing. Some of these have been
am definitely more meticulous, maybe over- nered, and I’ll just sit there and watch everyone rearing their ugly heads over the past year or
thinking things and really going for the perfection else’s drama. So from my perspective it seems two, particularly as a result of Brexit in Europe,
of performances and all this stuff, and he’s like, that most people have a lot of torture and drama and Donald Trump’s presidency in the USA.
‘No, that’s great, let’s keep going, keep moving.’ in their lives. And I wish it wasn’t like that.” Mike says, “Over here right now, it’s fucking
So it was a fun dichotomy of push-and-pull Tyson said that when he went out dressed awful. And I feel like what’s happening over
where he was wanting to make it more of a punk up as Betsy for the film, he was treated differ- here, I truly believe isn’t a representation of the
majority of people, but it’s just awful that these
people who have terrible ideas and are finding
that they have platforms now to express them.
I’m sure that people outside of the United States
know that most people in the United States are
not like the people that are getting represented
right now. We’ve got to bring it out too, to con-
demn it. But yeah, it’s an awful thing, and hope-
fully we can get past it sooner than later.”
Looking into Mike’s own identity, he’s always
been happy with who he is, but has always
wanted to improve himself as a person with re-
spectable qualities.
“There have been times, like when I was a
kid, in high school, reading Maximum Rock N’
Roll, and that was my first exposure to PC and
being more thoughtful and understanding that
calling someone gay is a really awful way to put
things. That’s not the way you should talk. There
was a time in high school when I really got into
that. Those ideas and trying to better myself in
that way and trying to be more thoughtful of
other people’s feelings and how the way that I
live affects other people. It still happens all the
time. With the things happening in the world
now, you can’t help but look at yourself, and go
in deeper and think of the things you could
change that will make everything better. It’s kind
of a constant thing in life to look at yourself like
that – or it should be.”

ut going back to the band, Tyson has
Bsaid ‘we grew up in this business and for
so many years put ourselves through Betsy’s
night. Almost feeling like we had been led by
people who didn’t fully understand us’. Does
Mike think people fully understand the band now
– or will some people never fully understand The
All-American Rejects?
“I think some people will never understand
us,” says Mike. “Maybe that’s our own fault; as I
said before, we don’t put ourselves out there in
a very easily definable way. At the end of the
day, all we really give a shit about is writing good
songs and making songs have the catchiest
memorable part. Having that mindset sacrifices
understanding us, as the only thing we put out
there that is obvious is the songs. I don’t know…
Maybe one day we’ll be smart enough to create
some kind of theme for the band besides the
music and then people will get us more. But it’s
rock approach and I was taking more of a studio ently and it was dehumanizing, and he now re- nice, because I feel like we’ve, with each record,
approach. I think in the end they definitely bal- spects women in a different way. Mike says he been able to evolve and just do whatever comes
anced each other. It was a fun experience.” hopes women at the band’s own shows aren’t to us as opposed to paint ourselves into a corner
being mistreated or treated in a derogatory man- with our sound, because no-one really has ex-
n the thought-provoking ‘Sweat’ and ner. “I’ve seen it at other shows and in life, yeah, pectations of us, I think, because of that. It’s
I‘Close Your Eyes’ film, produced by Jamie it’s awful, there’s definitely a lot of residual… I nice. It kind of gives us the freedom to go where
Thraves, the character Robert, Tyson has said, feel like, I hope newer generations are getting we want with each record.”
is a tortured individual. He dresses up as Betsy, smarter, and I feel like I see it becoming less of We can’t wait to see where the band are
a cross-dressing street walker, in the glam rock- a thing, but yeah, it’s just awful how men treat going with their next album – and wherever they
sounding ‘Sweat’, the first half of the film, while women, just very objectifying. You hope with go, we’re sure we’ll be right there with them. Will
in the smoother-paced ‘Close Your Eyes’, you each generation it’s going to get better, and I you?
see him without the wig, wiping off the make-up, think it does, but it’s definitely never enough, Visit www.allamericanrejects.com for more
looking morose, and being Robert. Robert soon enough. It’s funny, I’m a dude, there’s very info.
drives a swish car and lives an extravagant few times I feel like I’ve had that feeling of some- Words by Shari Black Velvet
lifestyle, but pays people to be his friends and one objectifying me. The few times it has hap-
family. While being paid for by someone else as pened in my life, it’s like, oh, it’s awful, and I can’t
THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS