Maddog Surrender have been around for quite some time and make a tough mix of Oi! and streetrock music. Unfortunately there haven’t been that much releases yet, but finally, 5 years after their first full-length “Bethlehem Steel” the wait is finally over and Skinflint just put out the band’s new, self-titled, album out! Of course you can read a review about it in the Reviews section on this website, but I also had to have a little Q&A with singer Brent aka “Dutch” of course!

 

Hey Dutch, first of all thanks a lot for doing this interview! How are you doing?

I am doing well and so is the rest of our band.

 

Can you first of all give me a brief history of your band Maddog Surrender?

Maddog Surrender Started in 1999. I started the band to play the type of music I wanted to hear.  We just wrote about things we knew about and dealt with on a daily basis. Drinking, working, and the like.

 

Your new, self-titled, album can come out any day now! Excited?

It is out now!!  We are very excited and proud of this record.  We think it captures the band where we are today.  We do our type of Oi! and rock at its fullest on this one!

 

How did the recording process of this record go?

We started this recording at the Studios at Town Center in May of 2012 and finished it about a year later.  We all have regular jobs, so we made it into the studio when we had the time.  We don’t rush things as many of you already know!

 

In the booklet I saw pictured on Skinflint Music’s page it says this album is dedicated to the memory of your son Brody, I’m sorry to hear man, my condolences. Did his passing had any effect on the lyrics you wrote?

The album had been finished in April of 2013.  We spent the following months mixing and mastering the tracks.  So, all the lyrics and music had been written before we lost Brody. But, he had been a positive influence on my life, and motivated me to continue with my passion for music and Maddog Surrender.

 

What are the lyrics about in general on this new record? My favorite is probably “Nagasaki Bang”, can you tell me a bit more about it?

HA!  I intended for this album to have a lot deeper meaning than perhaps comes across in the finished product.  In a way I was working on a concept story.  I wanted to tell the story of a young skin, who went from being a teen, who grew up in the life and and changed and grew through various influences and people he had met along the way.  Needless to say, it did not work out that way.  I dumped some of the songs intended to be on the record, so it is missing some parts.  Plus, the song order is sort of random.  I bet people will be able to piece it together, considering the missing tracks.  Nagasaki Bang was written after a drunken night of watching a Japanese zombie movie.  Lyrically it appears to just be a song about a guy who has a cryptic love for a woman who is now the living dead, even though she treated him like shit while she was living.  In reality, the song is really just about people not letting go of these negative cunts who have done nothing but ruin lives.

 

What do you think the reactions from out the scene will be on the new album?

We really do like the album and hope fans will too.  The reviews so far have been good.  This is really a mix of raw and melodic rocking songs.  We intended to make it that way.  I think as a whole project, the album is a bit better than Bethlehem Steel.  It is also Maddog Surrender 5 years later.

 

You guys have been around for quite some time now, the first release dates back to 2001 if I’m correct. How come there are just a few releases in a timespan of almost 13 years?

Recording costs a lot and most labels didn’t want us!  We would have loved to put out more music.  It seems that we have attracted more interest in our band much later in our career.  There is an entire album that was recorded before Bethlehem Steel that was never released for various reasons.  It was to be called “Line Em Up, Knock Em Down”.  Most of those songs were re-recorded on these last two records.

 

You guys are from Bethlehem, a rather small city in Pennsylvania. How is the scene there… is there a scene to begin with? Or do you need to head over to Philly or NYC?

The scene in our local area is not bad.  Not, lots of shows, but we enjoy the ones we can get.  NYC is great!  We have a lot of friends there, and they have always treated us well.  Our first show ever was at CBGB’s.  Philly has really improved over the last few years.  We are looking forward to playing gigs there a lot in the future.

 

And where do you like it better, in Philadelphia or New York City? What do you think of the whole American scene in general?

NYC and Philly are too different to compare.  We love both.  The American Oi scene is growing again.  It seems to be bigger out here on the east coast.  It’s where we drink the most!  Check out the Wolverines!  They are straight up brutal American Oi!  I think they are the best newer Oi band in the entire country.

 

Okay, I’m rounding it up… there’s one thing I need to ask though. Your (nick)name is Dutch and I know closeby your city is also a Dutch township, are your ancestors from The Netherlands? If so, what do you know about our country?

My ancestors are sadly not from the Netherlands!  There are Amish people here who speak Pennsylvania Dutch, but that has nothing to do with my nickname either.  I trained in kickboxing for a number of years.  The guys I trained with called me Dutch.  There are a few styles of kickboxing.  There is traditional Thai style and then there is how the Dutch fighters have adapted it and have made it there own distinct style!  I fought more like a Dutch fighter, so the name stuck.

 

That’s it! Thanks again! If there’s anything you would like to add, feel free to do so.

Mugsy, Roger, Sean, newest member Art, and I would Like to thank Skinflint music and the fans who have supported us all these years.