process, we found that a lot of people could relate to the song and when it hit the radio, we realized there was a whole nation that felt that way about SOMEBODY in their life. Whether it is Saddam Hussein or your uncle, everyone has that feeling about someone, we are just too afraid to say it out loud. Me and a friend of mine directed the video and that was just as fun and we did it on a shoestring budget and little cameras. We fans come out that made their own clothes, my dad was the preacher in the video, it was just a blast.
DDR: Is there another video in the works?
MM: We actually just released another video for “Never Coming Back” and a friend of mine did an animated one for “Losing My Mind” which has not been released yet. Another thing I really got into over the years was producing videos. I've done videos for a few band friends of mine like Devil By The God, which is where we got our new bass player. Keith and John , a couple friends of mine, was a student and photographer, respectively. They had these cameras that take amazing video and we just starting doing all our videos ourselves. Glad you're dead was a real undertaking because I sat with a buddy of mine for a month and wrote all the shots out. It was crazy and awesome and it nearly ruined my marriage(laughing). My lady was like “You are CONSUMED with this video!” When we did 'Never Coming Back', my brother wanted to direct one, so I told him it was all him(laughing). Go right ahead, I will just show up and sing and you can deal with all the other stuff! Well, he did and it turned out really cool. We do everything on our own, everything. No one has a hand in anything. We have people coming to us saying they can do this or do that, but we work twice as hard so we get to keep all the cash. That's the bottom line, that's why we do everything on our own. The music industry had never been artist friendly, never. Look at TLC, one of the biggest pop acts in the world, and they ended up broke. I can't do that. I'd love to play the biggest stadiums in the world, but if I can't buy a pack of smokes after the show, what's the fucking point?
DDR: Well we are seeing some of the bigger bands playing the smaller venues now.
MM: Things have changed, man. Before I knew who the Black Veil Brides were or Asking Alexandra, I remember playing clubs with 600 people and being only twenty from being sold out and then walking out to get a street taco and there's this club I’ve never heard of that's huge with Black Veil Brides across the top of the marquee. Kids were lined up down the street and around the corner and I was like, who the fuck are these guys? I like them now and I know who they are now, but these bands have figured out a way around the MTV and the radio and they are huge. These guys are smart and they have found another outlet to get to these kids. I still can't figure out how
they are doing it.
DDR: Well, they use Facebook and Twitter and all the social media sites..
MM: They are using them like ninjas(laughing)
DDR: (laughing)
MM: I remember seeing a picture of the Black Veil Brides and I thought they looked really cool as hell and I was thinking this is the stuff I grew up on and people say rock is dead, but a lot of bands don't agree with that. I bet Avenged Sevenfold doesn’t agree with that, Five Finger Death Punch and Black Veil Brides don't agree with that. There's this thing happening with rock and roll that's making a comeback. It's happening with the kids that have cool parents with the Guitar Hero that introduced them to cool stuff. Grunge is cool and I'm a Dave Grohl fan until the day I die, Nirvana fan until I die. The shredders are coming back, the likes of Slash and Kirk Hammet. Those guys paved the way for the new generation. It took a minute, but they are back. Rock is not dead. You know, I think Gene Simmons is a little bit of a genius. When he said rock was dead, it got all these guys fired up to come out and say rock is NOT dead. That got the rock community to rally around and show some proof that it's not dead. My girlfriend was asking how long I was going to do the band thing, and I told her that I'm planning on doing it until I'm dead. I remember thinking that you can't make any money off iTunes and the .99 downloads, yes you can. I see it every month when I get the check and I can't believe it. Who thought that Lars Ulrich was a prick, but he was totally right when he was talking about Napster. Everyone was saying what a rock star asshole he was, but he was a lot smarter than people give him credit for. I was even saying what the hell is his problem, but being in a band now, I completely understand where he was coming from. That's what ruined the music industry, people wanting to take music for free.
DDR: Well, I have seen going to local shows, that people are getting back into wanted to have something tangible and buy cd's again.
MM: That's it. When we do a show, it's all about standing behind that merch booth and shaking everyone's hand. They want you to sign their ticket, cd, or a shirt and they ask to take a picture with them. That's how you build your fan base. Not by staying on the bus, but getting out there and hanging out with the fans because we realize that without the fans, there's no band.