Heavy Montreal 2019 rocked our city last weekend and of course, The Thanks List was on site! We were fortunate enough to meet a lot of great bands in between headbanging sessions, and while the festival setting doesn’t always allow for our usual extended discussions, we will have several quick and dirty ones to offer you over the next few weeks.
First up is Municipal Waste who’s set was a highlight of the weekend for us. Their heavy sound and fun-loving attitude is a perfect fit for a fest and they sure delivered, with a set list leaning heavily on their 2007 album The Art Of Partying (Yes, 2007. Where did the last 12 years go!?). We briefly met Tony Foresta, vocalist for M.W. and Iron Reagan, and he was every bit as passionate and funny as you would expect.
Pick up Municipal Waste’s latest record, Slime and Punishment, through Nuclear Blast.
While we wait for Heavy Montreal 2020, make sure to check out their killer year-round concert series listings here.
Can you name five of your most memorable or important albums of all time?
Of course, I want to say DIRECT CONTROL demo is something that I go back and listen to and get very nostalgic because Municipal Waste and Direct Control were like, brother, sister bands. We were also a very dysfunctional family. When that came out, it pushed Municipal Waste to actually write. That’s how we did Hazardous Mutation because we were like, “Oh fuck!”. Ryan (guitars) actually played on that demo too. It was like, “We gotta keep it fast. We gotta keep the energy we have.” That record was really influential for me because it’s almost like a friendly competition.
C.O.C. – Technocracy. I love the melodic parts in it. The way it’s weird but they’re singing and it’s metal and that was something influential for us starting off, when we pushed past the fast core kind of era of our band. We actually did a C.O.C. tribute seven inch with WxHxNx, HOLIER THAN THOU and CAUSTIC CHRIST.
The ACCUSED is a big influence on Municipal Waste. Martha Splatterhead’s Maddest Stories Ever Told. Everybody says I sound like Kurt from D.R.I. but I was more vocally influenced by Jerry A. from POISON IDEA and Blaine Cook from the Accused, especially that album in particular. And the first album too.
How much is that, three? You’re killing me here! (Haha)
Maybe a Poison Idea one? Are you more Feel the Darkness or King of Punks?
War All The Time actually. That’s the controversial opinion! That’s the one where we’ll be hanging out with Hardcore kids and we’ll say we like War All The Time better, they get all mad at us. But it’s true. You look at it, The temple is a fucking banger and that’s one of their best songs on that album. Yeah, that’s a good one.
What’s a fifth one that would be weird? How can I bum everyone out? (Hahaha) Well, of course SLAYER is one of my all time favorite bands. (showing the Slayer tattoo on his ribs)
I was in England about a month ago and I was actually partying with Kerry King and Gary Holt, ripping shots and was thinking, “this is pretty cool!” I had partied with them before, I’m actually good friends with Gary, but never really with Kerry King. So we’re on our fourth or fifth Jägermeister shot, -which I never fuckin’ drink that but of course I’m gonna drink it with Kerry- and in my brain, I was like, “show ’em the tattoo. SHOW ‘EM THE TATTOO.” (Hahaha). And, you know what? I just didn’t. I chickened out but you know, I didn’t want to cross into the punisher zone. (Haha) He knows people love his band. Fuck it. I’d rather hang out on a neutral musician level, instead of going into warp zone punisher level.
Yeah, there’s no way he’ll go “that’s the greatest thing I’ve ever seen!”
Exactly. I see Municipal Waste and Iron Reagan tattoos and I get weird. I’m always asked for autographs and shit like but when I see a tattoo, I don’t know how to act! “Alriiiight!” (Hahaha) Dude, this girl in Italy got my signature on her fuckin’ arm! I mean, that’s prime real estate! And I have terrible handwriting. You don’t want that shit!
What have you been listening to lately?
The L.O.T.I.O.N. LP. Have you heard that? That’s been killing me lately. I love that shit. The new ENFORCED LP that came out a few days ago is really good. I actually been going back to LEATHERFACE a lot. It’s funny, I listened to it so much that it kind of felt weird so I had to stop. But then, it holds up.
I listen to the first POLICE album a lot. Me and my girlfriend went to the beach and listened to that a lot.
The LILLINGTONS. I love Pop-Punk. WARTHOG. I’ve been listening to that a lot. Fucking BORN AGAINST. We were going to cover a Born Against song for the AVAIL reunion with my other band Iron Reagan, but then, we were like “ehhh, nah”. (Haha) I was on vacation!
CONDOR, of course. (note: Upon meeting him, Tony commented on Ben’s Rixe shirt and we got to talking about Condor, before starting to record) SICK BAGS, they’re a Richmond band. ANGEL DUST. This band DEAD HEAT? They’re sick! RIVAL MOB. Yeah, that’s what I got going on.
What are some of the most memorable shows you’ve seen?
Fucking last weekend! AVAIL reunion! Greatest thing I’ve seen in my life. Cryin’, moshin’. Stage dove when I wasn’t supposed to. It’s on video. We used to play shows with them. I think that’s why they asked us to play. We’re old friends with those guys. My old band, JAMES RIVER SCRATCH -we had a 7” on Beer City Records- we played one of our early shows with HOT WATER MUSIC and Avail, at Twisters. It was around the Dixie era. Yeah, I’m old! (Haha)
Last time we played Heavy Montreal was pretty insane. There was people climbing up the trees and jumping off and shit! I love the shows where there’s two circle pits. I played one of the best shows in my life at Resurrection Fest. We played about four times. It’s on a beautiful beach in Spain. This was like a month ago. I had never played a show where I just walked over the drum set and started hitting it. Damn, that was fun. Usually you walk off, you’re tired but I didn’t even feel tired, I just felt good. It’s cool when you’re still out there, doing this shit for so long and you have a moment like that. It makes it all worth it.
In terms of bands that you’ve toured with, what’s the band that you were most impressed with? That you had to watch their set night after night?
Oh, man. We play with some good ones, man. GWAR with Brockie. Fuckin’ AT THE GATES. That’s one of my favorite bands and I got to watch them for a month. That was fucking killer. ANNIHILATION TIME, when they were in their prime. That was sick. It was cool to be a part of that scene.
On a tour, most of the time, I typically watch the other bands. I usually can’t watch the band before us though, because I’m like, getting ready. Stretching my butthole out. (Hahaha) So I hit the high notes!
Do you have any controversial music opinion you would like to defend? Perhaps some sort of hidden gem (song, album or even band)?
I really like TEGAN AND SARA. To the point where I have framed autographed shit from ’em. In an Iron Reagan videos, I’m wearing a Tegan and Sara shirt.
I love NINE INCH NAILS…that’s not really controversial though.
Oh, the last BLACK FLAG record, What The… is good! Go back and listen to that!
Oooh. It’s hard to get passed the artwork, you know?
Well, I was going to get that tattooed on me! (Hahaha) I’d go, have you seen my Black Flag tattoo? And it’s the fuckin’ face. (Hahahaha) Don’t steal my idea, fuckers reading this!
I probably should give that album a chance. I just never did because of the cover art and it’s stupid when I say it out loud.
I was with my girlfriend at the Museum of death and I was wearing this shirt I’m wearing right now (Black Flag-Jealous Again) and the head guy at the museum of death just kind of pulled me aside and was like, “we’re gonna play name this album playing.” I was listening and I was like, “is this later FLIPPER? What’s going on here?” We were trying to figure it out and it was the new Black Flag. And I was kinda like, “I don’t hate it?” You gotta go back and listen to it, man…What the? (Haha)
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