Muck and the Mires
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Muck and the Mires

Boston, MA | Established. Jan 01, 2000 | INDIE

Boston, MA | INDIE
Established on Jan, 2000
Band Rock Garage Rock

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"Muck and the Mires Doreen EP"

If Phil Spector could produce the Ramones, then Kim Fowley can produce Muck and the Mires, local faves whose sound has always been two parts Ramones to five parts British Invasion. On their three previous CDs, Muck seemed incapable of getting a studio sound that approached their live one; the tracks sounded like clean demos and their devastating live volume wasn’t even hinted at. Enter Fowley, the legendary LA eccentric who wrote “Alley Oop” in the early ’60s, discovered the Runaways a decade later, and currently DJ’s on Little Steven’s Sirius channel. Part of his contribution appears to have been creating a manic vibe in the studio. Lead singer Evan Shore sounds grittier than ever before; the band sound far less polite. And this four-track EP (a teaser for an eventual album) is still plenty Beatlesque, but now they’re the scruffy Hamburg Beatles instead of the cleaned-up ones. The title track has long been one of their best live numbers, but the standout is “Hypnotic,” which Shore seems to have written after Fowley told him his existing songs weren’t stupid enough. It fills the bill, with a wonderfully silly whammy-bar bit that introduces each chorus. And Fowley throws in enough handclaps and surf guitar to evoke one of those mythical Sunset Strip parties.

- The Phoenix


"Garageland"


MUCK & THE MIRES singer/guitarist Evan Shore has always been fueled by his love for the British Invasion, as anyone can attest who knew his previous bands — the Voodoo Dolls(for whom he wrote the shoulda-been-classic "This Town Makes Me Feel So Lonely") and the Nines. Yet he’s always tempered his ’60s leanings with a touch of modern punk sound. It was only when he came out of the ’60s closet for good that the band caught on.

Muck didn’t even start out as a real band: while he was demo-ing some new songs for the Nines, Shore decided to have some retro fun and make the tapes sound as ’60s as possible, using clean guitar sounds and wide stereo separation and playing all the instruments himself. He licensed the result to the Canadian label Amp, gave the fake band members some joky ’60s-type names (Joey Muccarino on guitar, Jessie Best on drums, Brian and Frankie Mire on bass and guitar), and packaged All Mucked Up as a Nuggets-style reissue. When two years ago a few local gigs were booked to support the album, he called in the rest of the Nines; they went with the ’60s concept by wearing matching suits and shades and added a few period covers (the two they play most often — the Knickerbockers’ "Lies" and the Honeycombs’ "Have I the Right" — are buried treasures from 1965).


Sure enough, the fake band proved more popular than the real one, and before long the Nines morphed into Muck & the Mires full-time. Along with the more palpable ’60s influences, the only real difference is the attitude. "We had gotten pretty burned out on the Nines," Shore admits over beers with Mires bassist Chris Miller and me at the Abbey. "I think the main thing the Nines lacked was an image; we didn’t have anything that made us different from everybody else. People just thought of us as the Voodoo Dolls without the lead singer, which is basically what we were. With Muck & the Mires, it started as a total joke — ‘Let’s have the silliest name we can think of, let’s wear matching suits.’ And I think that made a lot of difference. We get people telling us, ‘You guys look like you’re really having fun,’ and that’s because we are." Thus the real band members — drummer Linda Khoury, bassist Miller, and singer/guitarist Brian Martin — have stepped into the Mires pseudonyms. And most local fans who’ve picked up the debut CD probably haven’t figured out that Shore plays everything on it. "They have figured out that we sound better live, though," he laughs.


As the first CD to feature the real band, Beginner’s Muck benefits from the obvious chemistry and the mostly live production. (The entire thing, they note, was made in 21 hours: seven for the tracks, seven for the overdubs, and seven for the mix.) Khoury is a power drummer in the Keith Moon mold, and Martin trades off spirited lead vocals with Shore. "I’m Down with That" is the obvious hit, sporting one of those titles that just cried out to be used in a pop song. But what with the concise solos, catchy verses, and catchier choruses, virtually everything on the album is a hook.


Still, the CD-release show at the Abbey this Saturday presents the band with a problem: they’re booked to play an hour set, but all their songs clock in at two minutes or less. So if they play all 24 of the numbers on their two albums and throw in every cover tune they know and a few brand new songs, they should just about manage it. They’re also hoping for a top-secret guest appearance from a Boston rock legend from the ’60s; they’ve learned a few Barbarians covers and reserved a space at the drum kit in case Victor Moulton turns up.


On Beginner’s Muck, they blast through 12 songs (plus a bonus track) in 23 minutes — a feat of brevity that even Shore’s two heroes, the Beatles and the Ramones, never pulled off. "We could’ve made ’em longer, but that would just be filler," he says. "What could we do — add a longer intro, or a longer guitar solo? The point is keeping the energy up from start to finish, and to me songwriting is an art — I didn’t just want to have a good chorus, I want the verse and the bridge to be good too. I think it was [Beatles producer] George Martin who said that you can sell a song in the first seven seconds, and I think that makes sense."


Bringing up the Beatles begs the question of whether the Mires are a retro band, but to them the sound never went out of date "Let’s face it," Miller (who’s dressed incongruously in an SSD T-shirt) notes, "everybody listened to the Beatles and the Stones when they grew up. Everyone knows this kind of music, and nobody ever loses it." "The first album was the attempt to be retro; now it’s a real band," Shore concludes. "But a real band that obviously grew up listening to the Beatles."
- Boston Phoenix


"Garageland"


MUCK & THE MIRES singer/guitarist Evan Shore has always been fueled by his love for the British Invasion, as anyone can attest who knew his previous bands — the Voodoo Dolls(for whom he wrote the shoulda-been-classic "This Town Makes Me Feel So Lonely") and the Nines. Yet he’s always tempered his ’60s leanings with a touch of modern punk sound. It was only when he came out of the ’60s closet for good that the band caught on.

Muck didn’t even start out as a real band: while he was demo-ing some new songs for the Nines, Shore decided to have some retro fun and make the tapes sound as ’60s as possible, using clean guitar sounds and wide stereo separation and playing all the instruments himself. He licensed the result to the Canadian label Amp, gave the fake band members some joky ’60s-type names (Joey Muccarino on guitar, Jessie Best on drums, Brian and Frankie Mire on bass and guitar), and packaged All Mucked Up as a Nuggets-style reissue. When two years ago a few local gigs were booked to support the album, he called in the rest of the Nines; they went with the ’60s concept by wearing matching suits and shades and added a few period covers (the two they play most often — the Knickerbockers’ "Lies" and the Honeycombs’ "Have I the Right" — are buried treasures from 1965).


Sure enough, the fake band proved more popular than the real one, and before long the Nines morphed into Muck & the Mires full-time. Along with the more palpable ’60s influences, the only real difference is the attitude. "We had gotten pretty burned out on the Nines," Shore admits over beers with Mires bassist Chris Miller and me at the Abbey. "I think the main thing the Nines lacked was an image; we didn’t have anything that made us different from everybody else. People just thought of us as the Voodoo Dolls without the lead singer, which is basically what we were. With Muck & the Mires, it started as a total joke — ‘Let’s have the silliest name we can think of, let’s wear matching suits.’ And I think that made a lot of difference. We get people telling us, ‘You guys look like you’re really having fun,’ and that’s because we are." Thus the real band members — drummer Linda Khoury, bassist Miller, and singer/guitarist Brian Martin — have stepped into the Mires pseudonyms. And most local fans who’ve picked up the debut CD probably haven’t figured out that Shore plays everything on it. "They have figured out that we sound better live, though," he laughs.


As the first CD to feature the real band, Beginner’s Muck benefits from the obvious chemistry and the mostly live production. (The entire thing, they note, was made in 21 hours: seven for the tracks, seven for the overdubs, and seven for the mix.) Khoury is a power drummer in the Keith Moon mold, and Martin trades off spirited lead vocals with Shore. "I’m Down with That" is the obvious hit, sporting one of those titles that just cried out to be used in a pop song. But what with the concise solos, catchy verses, and catchier choruses, virtually everything on the album is a hook.


Still, the CD-release show at the Abbey this Saturday presents the band with a problem: they’re booked to play an hour set, but all their songs clock in at two minutes or less. So if they play all 24 of the numbers on their two albums and throw in every cover tune they know and a few brand new songs, they should just about manage it. They’re also hoping for a top-secret guest appearance from a Boston rock legend from the ’60s; they’ve learned a few Barbarians covers and reserved a space at the drum kit in case Victor Moulton turns up.


On Beginner’s Muck, they blast through 12 songs (plus a bonus track) in 23 minutes — a feat of brevity that even Shore’s two heroes, the Beatles and the Ramones, never pulled off. "We could’ve made ’em longer, but that would just be filler," he says. "What could we do — add a longer intro, or a longer guitar solo? The point is keeping the energy up from start to finish, and to me songwriting is an art — I didn’t just want to have a good chorus, I want the verse and the bridge to be good too. I think it was [Beatles producer] George Martin who said that you can sell a song in the first seven seconds, and I think that makes sense."


Bringing up the Beatles begs the question of whether the Mires are a retro band, but to them the sound never went out of date "Let’s face it," Miller (who’s dressed incongruously in an SSD T-shirt) notes, "everybody listened to the Beatles and the Stones when they grew up. Everyone knows this kind of music, and nobody ever loses it." "The first album was the attempt to be retro; now it’s a real band," Shore concludes. "But a real band that obviously grew up listening to the Beatles."
- Boston Phoenix


Discography

Dial M for Muck - 2014 Dirty Water Records UK

A Cellarful of Muck - 2011 Dirty Water Records UK

"Saturday Let Me Down Again" Q-Division 7" 45 2010
Hypnotic - Produced by the legendary Kim Fowley- 2009 Dirty Water Records
"I'm Down With That" - Dirty Water Records UK single 2007
"1-2-3-4" - Dionysus Records CD 2006
"Beginner's Muck" AMP Records CD 2004
"All Mucked Up" (AMP Records/Soundflat Records) 2002
The Best of Little Steven's Cavestomp! (WIZ) 2001

Photos

Bio

MUCK AND THE MIRES, Boston's International ambassadors of garage rock 'n' roll, have been described as a blend of the 1964 Beatles and the 1977 Ramones. Their songs are reminiscent of the 1960's British Invasion, all two minutes long and ALL POTENTIAL HITS, while their live show is a high energy blast of fast-paced, post-punk gritty garage rock and roll. They have built a WORLDWIDE FOLLOWING through relentless touring in  the US, Europe, Canada, Japan and  radio and satellite airplay. Their recordings, produced by Rock Legend Kim Fowley and Jim Diamond, are considered by many to be cult classics.


Formed in 2001, MUCK AND THE MIRES are pehaps the first group to ever have a Best Of collection released before ever playing a note together; All Mucked Up -The Best of Muck and the Mires. In reality, these raw recordings were home demos created by Muck (Evan Shore formerly of The Queers and The Voodoo Dolls). Originally passed off as the lost sessions of an unknown sixties garage band, In 2001, the demos were issued on CD in Canada on AMP RECORDS and subsequently on vinyl by SOUNDFLAT RECORDS of Germany. 

Following the immediate success of the album, Muck assembled the real-life Muck and the Mires, who's current lineup still features drummer JESSIE BEST, long-time bassist JOHN QUINCY MIRE, and the recent return of founding lead guitarist Pedro Mire.


In 2004, the band gained worldwide recognition when they were featured on MTV as the winners of Little Steven Van Zandt's (E-Street band/Underground Garage) national battle of the garage bands contest. The group appeared that summer at Little Steven's festival in NY alongside Bo Diddley, The Stooges and The NY Dolls. Later that same year, they toured Europe for several weeks and quickly built a large following both home and abroad thanks to strong airplay and worldwide live appearances.

In 2006, DIONYSUS RECORDS (Burbank, California) and SOUNDFLAT RECORDS jointly released the album 1-2-3-4 which quickly climbed up college and satellite radio charts. The song Caught In A Lie" was subsequently featured in the History Channel's film "Vietnam in HD" and the record received a four-star rating from Englands prestigious Uncut Magazine, prompting their first UK tour. In Liverpool, they headlined the famous Cavern Club and caught the attention of ex-Beatles manager Allan Williams. It should be noted that, despite their offer to employee him, The man who gave away the Beatles also turned down Muck and the Mires. Following a slew of dates across the US, the group embarked on a seven-country European Tour which included arena-sized dates with surviving members of The MC5. 

The band worked closely with late rock legend KIM FOWLEY (the Runaways/Kiss) who stepped in to produce the group's 2009 release "Hypnotic". Critically acclaimed, this was their first full-length effort for London's Dirty Water Records who had issued an EP (Doreen) and a single ("I'm Down With That") the year prior. While on tour in England, the group was surprised to learn that their single had introduced the popular American phrase "I'm Down With That" to Londoners. They spent the year promoting Hypnotic with high-profile shows such as their appearance with the NY Dolls at South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, TX and at the Bukta fest in Norway with Ray Davies (The Kinks), Roky Erickson and Kaiser Chiefs. 

MUCK AND THE MIRES headed to Detroit to record the follow up album with acclaimed White Stripes producer JIM DIAMOND. 2011's "A Cellarful of Muck" proved to be the group's biggest selling album to date, scoring record of the month on Spanish National Radio. in 2012, the group returned to Europe, while back home, they once again proved their wide appeal playing the Life Is Good Festival with contemporary artists including Dave Mathews.

2015 saw the release of "Dial M for Muck", with tracks produced by Jim Diamond and Kim Fowley.

In 2016, Creature Double Feature, a split 7" EP with Tokyo's The Fadeaways released by Dirty Water Records to promote the two groups' tour of Japan, was an unexpected cult hit reaching the number one position on College radio giant WMBR's rock charts.

The band has played shows in Austria, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Japan, and the United States.

Band Members