Robert Ehrenbrand (boysetsfire):
7.3.2005
Asbury Park, New Jersey
it is always difficult to look back upon something you've done creatively
and judge it or (even worse) look for its impact on a certain scene...to be
totally honest: who gives a shit?!?!
MHDT formed me as a touring musician, it sparked a flame i still thrive on
'til this very day and most importantly it brought me together with some of
my best friends i'll ever have. to put it frankly: it means the world to
me...how could i ever care if it was the heaviest band out of germany
(certainly not...mind the mighty ACME), if it was influencial, etc...i know
it was influencial for us as people and musicians and that makes it unique,
even if only in its own little world.
i remember meeting marco and being asked to try out for a new band he was
playing guitar for and in which flo was screaming...the rehearsal was some
of the most awful music i ever experienced and believe me: i had my fair
share of that...so i left as soon as i possibly could and figured i liked
the people ok enough to go out drinking here and there with 'em.but a
band?no way...
marco called a couple of days later saying he and flo switched and we should
try it again...what followed was not only eyebrow-raising, but also should
become what this band was about...planing it as we moved along, not
overthinking it, not destroying through overbearing. we wrote our first song
that same day, called "drown in your blood" (yep, we were mostly
happy...)and played a couple of first shows not too far after, including
driving 5 hours one way to perform 4 songs...the first recorded pulse of
this band was yet to come...and it came: the demonstration recordings, a
real demo with the best artwork (done by marco, cause besides being clueless
about what could/should happen with this band and just concentrating on
playing live and writing songs, we really did everything ourselves) i have
seen as of yet for a casette demo. it sounds a little rough around the edges
(and that's an understatment), but i still look to it for inspiration,
'cause it was the essence of none-music-business-related thought
structures...i can't recall a single conversation about where the band was
headed, all it came down to was these frantic songs and playing live in
front of 3 to 8 people. a little more thought went into "definition: kill
kill kill" which again was presented with a great artwork from marco...the
songs were a little more bearable and especially "repeater" was almost
catchy in a twisted way...not sophisticated or all-changing, yet honest,
political and backed up by steady live playing everywhere in europe at the
time...i remember the time we recorded right outside of stuttgart wondering
how the fuck a chaotic band like us was allowed into a "real" studio with
"real" equipment...i think by that time we started to also outnumber our own
audience which was pleasant enough. adding some grey to marco's pitchblack
hair we also continued to outdrink eachother and pretty much made sense of
some people who shouldn't have been in a car together...by the way, you
none-threatening-less-dangerous-than-the-eagles rockstars out there: we
toured way into this first EP with joi's ford and it still amazes me how we
actually did it...it was like one of those car commercials where they fit in
way too many people into a little car...it was wild, sitting almost on top
of eachother listening to music with no bass (the equipment was partly on
the speakers in the back) and out of only the right front-speaker...i guess
that's what it really takes to get to know people. individually we stand for
ourselves...it should have said "individually we sit on eachother on
weekends for the most part" on the inlay of "definition".
but in a ever-confronting-eachother-with-eachother's-shit kind of way we
made it not only work, but turned the frantic and over-argued world of MHDT
into a lot of fun...not always, since we know from every single "behind the
music"-episode, that bands are never just fun, but a lot of the
times...which considering our freetime on tour choices alone still seems
strange to me. it shouldn't have worked and did in a way only music and a
little bit of retardedness can transcend different believes...mine and
marco's political discussions. joi and flo staying up more than one night
carrying on while marco sleeps basically carrying on on the bunkbed ontop of
him...erik eating weed before border patrols while marco listened to chain
of strength...insanity and some of the lovliest times of my life.
i think in a way though it took "the city will pay for this" to make me
understand what we were able to do as musicians, meaning letting the songs
start to overshadow the constant reminder of why i was doing it in a good
way...letting the music get to me more than before, having the fun, the
friendship and the live-playing taking a backseat for a minute while this
album was created...i remember sitting on my couch after a long night with
joi, half passed out and listening to a prince song "sexy m.f." on mtv and
joi grabbing my beat-up accoustic and writing the main riff of the title
song right there...genius and the best song we ever wrote together with
"rolling stone" on the split with man vs. humanity, where flo proved that
rock'n'roll and political hc can actually go hand in hand...but "the
city..." actually opened a lot of people's eyes, more people came to the
shows, we played better and with even more conviction than in the beginning
and overall i think we understood we were onto something special and like
most things special it did what these things do: it didn't stay...
why we broke up and when fades looking at the fact that we are still best
friends and ,even though having left my dear munich, being able to say that
these people are amongst the first i call once i get home and steady digital
letters are a part of all of our lifes...i think no one of us would be where
we are today without these songs. the noise, the lyrics, the artwork were
created purely because we felt the need to, i don't think we ever made any
money after a tour...not even a little bit. and it didn't matter...this is
living proof that dreams outweigh carriers and without these kids i couldn't
have made it...not meaning my future musical projects, but meaning
understanding what can be created when the creating is the goal, not the
outcome. a lesson learned...a better way of looking at the world. it can be
done...change is a sound.
