MISH WAY (WHITE LUNG)
Mish Way sings in a Canadian punk-band WHITE LUNG. She also writes for a couple of publications, including VICE.
MISH WAY: "The world is an extremely interesting place right now, politically & spiritually, and most millenials are too busy Snap Chatting to notice or care."
[interview.ak / pics.piper ferguson / banner pics from getty images / June 2016]
Mish Way, why do you write?
Because it makes me happy and I am good at it. I've been good with words since I was little. I'm not a great genius writer by any stretch but I have a strong voice that some people seem to appreciate.
When writing lyrics or an article, Is it important for you to be able to make yourself vulnerable?
Vulnerability happens naturally. I don't put it on. But I have found that in the last few years I have become less interested in being a bleeding heart. I am getting older, smarter, much less selfish. Less about me.
Do you use anger and sadness to write music?
I used to very much, but on this record I explored other emotions through the stories of other people. I took inspiration from the old country and blues singers I love.
Would you say your albums is political?
I don't consider my work necessarily political but what meaning listeners and readers chose to project on what I say is beyond my control. I talk about politics on this record in small ways that most listeners are too clueless to notice.
How has your relationship to music changed over the years?
I will always love music and need it. My relationship to music as a "career" has changed over the last years and is always in flux. I am more excited about the next phase of my life and new challenges both in work and my family life.
What is the other passion of yours beside music?
Reading and cooking. I love to cook. I love being a home maker. I make my husband lunch for work every morning and dinner every night he gets home and it makes me happy. Food is a big part of family for me, which is the most important thing in my life. As much as I love cooking for my husband, we both love cooking together. I am a traditional, domestic milk maid at heart.
What's the 5 best punk records that you've heard these last couples of years?
I haven't been listening to punk that much lately although the new Dysnea Boys LP is killer. Here's the five top records I've been obsessed with last few months:
Christine Perfect "The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions"
Scorpions "In Trance"
Buddy Miles "Them Changes"
Dick Curless "The Travelling Man Vol. 8"
Marissa Nadler "Little Hells"
You wrote a lot of articles about sex in "Sex with Mish Way". So what's your biggest concerns with sex and the sexes in this millenials times?
Millennials should be more concerned with climate change and how it will affect us in the next 50 years than their flippant, loveless, selfish non-relationships. Look up the name Geoff Dembicki, a very smart environmental writer and political scientist (and dear friend of mine) who has some interesting work on this topic. He recently did a talk about it that any idiot could watch and understand the main thesis.
http://thetyee.ca/Video/2015/
Have people gotten more fake in the last 20 years? Or do you think the ’90s were the last rebellious and original decade?
There's this psychologist, Dr. Keith Campbell, who has studied narcissism for a decade. He's written many books on it. I was listening to an interview with him where the subject of luxury came up. Right now, we have it all, everything we want and we are all so fucking unhappy, depressed and unappreciative. I see so many young people grasping at straws, with no sense of anything but their own self absorption because they don't have any true responsibilities in their lives. In the western world we are spoiled brats. Dr. Campbell talks about how during WWII psychological disorders went way down, because when you have to worry about you and your family being bombed or dying, you don't have time to sit around and ponder your own happiness. You are miserable because you are fighting for your life but you don't have a moment to even think about complaining. You aren't afforded the luxury of boredom. I think everyone in North America is spoiled and bored. Right now is a very crucial time and we are on the verge of a cultural collapse. Read the history books. It tends to repeat itself. As Camille Paglia noted in a recent lecture in Italy, there is cultural collapse after a period of decadence and freedom, where trans and homosexual lifestyles are supported, as did when Rome fell. Now she is not blaming LGBT people, but simply noticing a historical pattern. The world is an extremely interesting place right now, politically and spiritually, and most millennials are too busy Snap Chatting to notice or care.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=
Have you had your quarter-life crisis yet?
If I have, I didn't notice.
Do you still consider yourself a rock star? Or are you just channeling those rock star energy in your live shows and records?
I don't consider myself a rock star. I'm a person in a rock band and I am a writer. I like performing because it's fun and exhausting. But one day, I will take a break from it to do something else.
Your latest album, Paradise is more laid back than "Deep Fantasy" that was more sonically tearing asses with it's blasting drums and high pitched guitars wallop. What's the main themes in Paradise and Deep Fantasy? And musically, what are you trying new in Paradise?
We wanted to utilize the technology available to us in the studio to make our idea of the perfect rock record that only could be made in 2016. When Zepplin was making albums they weren't using vintage gear, they were using the newest stuff available to make revolutionary sounds. We will never be as impactful as Zepplin, but Kenny took this approach to the music. He made his guitar sound like other instruments. He cut and paste and glued parts together using pro tools. I used a very interesting program normally used for auto tuning to test and write melodies before I went into the booth to sing them. Our producer Lars Stalfor had a huge hand in this process.
Last one, have you guys visited Indonesia? You guys should play here i think. What and where is the most fun and craziest touring moments while playing with your band?
No we have not but it sounds interesting. I love touring my home North America most because Not being able to speak the native tongue of a country makes me feel stupid and lost. Europe stresses me out for that reason. Fuji Rock Festival in Japan was a highlight for our band and I'm so excited to go back to Australia, Singapore and New Zealand next year.
