Image: Todd PollockYou can thank the Rival Mob later but they are that Boston band who in the mid 2000s repossessed the creaky and bloated bus known as ‘modern hardcore’ and arse kicked the hunk of junk back into gear. Made up of members of World War 4, Give, No Tolerance and Boston Strangler, the band knew what made for good non-wanky hardcore. So they just played it harder, faster and angrier than anyone else on the planetThey are bringing that non-wanky hardcore to Australia for the first time and to commemorate the occasion they’ve released a tour tape. Listen to "Speak With Power" the first track from the tape below and read a short interview with guitarist Doug Free.Noisey: You guys are all in a bunch of other bands. Have any of them made it to Australia at all?
Doug Free: Way back in the dark ages of 2013, Justin and I did a similar tour of Australia in another band of ours, Innumerable Forms. It was also my pleasure to play bass for Mammoth Grinder on that trip. And of course, what an honor to get to hang out with the boys from Internal Rot every day. Other than that, I don't think anyone else has made it over from our bands, although, I've been told that Jason Clegg of Think I Care has a strong spiritual presence.Your shows are still mental and wild. As you get older do they become harder physically?
I can't really speak for anyone else, but I'll say short answer, yes. I really don't want to get old guy on this question, but I turned 36 this year, and everything hurts.The Rival Mob crosses over to the youth crew, skaters, metal heads and older punks. Is this because of your sound or the various other bands that the members are in?
I think you can't discount the fact that the other bands we play in bring some attention to the band and vice versa, but at the end of the day we're not really branching out too far. We've always thought of ourselves as a unity band in the sense that we all have varied interests that connect a lot of dots musically. We kinda fall into a realm where we're not amazing enough, not straight edge enough, not punk enough, not hard enough, not fast enough, not sexy enough and not cool enough to really represent one niche, so instead we can just sorta be liked by a little of everyone?You have had a lot different shirt designs over the years. Do you have a favourite? I like the tie-dye.
What's the tie-dye? We definitely never made a tie dyed shirt. Must be a custom job. We've definitely had a couple hits and a couple shits, but if I had to pick some favorites, I'd say there's one that has a cheetah dragging a caveman by the head, the variations of the LP cover, the first graffiti design and the Taz shirt. I'll always have a sentimental attachment to the original Raw Life because of the circumstances involved in making it. I think I put the original art for that in a Raw Life LP and accidentally gave it away. Oops.Have you heard the 'conspiracy' on the Tee to Death website that all Rival Mob shirts are large?
This is the first I've heard of this, but I will say that figuring out what size shirts people like to wear from scene to scene, year to year, is a pretty fun, and challenging game. One year everybody wants XXL, but the next year suddenly everyone wants medium. All my band shirts from when I was a kid are somehow XL, and it seems like old shirts are always huge, so hopefully I'm leveling the playing field a little for all us extra mediums.A stupid question but have you ever met (or been confused for) the Dallas Cowboys player that shares your name?
I don't think this is a stupid question, but I bet that guy wishes he had a dollar for every time he's been asked if he's ever been mistaken for Doug Free from The Rival Mob! Actually, for the last few years I've been receiving e-mails for another Doug Free, who seems to be a loving husband and father of 3 and also doesn't know what his god damn e-mail address is. I've often considered buying myself a ticket to Florida to meet with his kids’ teachers and address the issues they've been having at school. Seems like the right thing to do.
Dec 8 – Brisbane at Johnny Brown’s (all ages)
Dec 9 – Brisbane at Crowbar
Dec 10 – Sydney at Fuse Box
Dec 11 – Melbourne at Bendigo Hotel
Dec 12 – Melbourne at Bar Open
Dec 13 – Adelaide at Crown and Anchor
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Doug Free: Way back in the dark ages of 2013, Justin and I did a similar tour of Australia in another band of ours, Innumerable Forms. It was also my pleasure to play bass for Mammoth Grinder on that trip. And of course, what an honor to get to hang out with the boys from Internal Rot every day. Other than that, I don't think anyone else has made it over from our bands, although, I've been told that Jason Clegg of Think I Care has a strong spiritual presence.Your shows are still mental and wild. As you get older do they become harder physically?
I can't really speak for anyone else, but I'll say short answer, yes. I really don't want to get old guy on this question, but I turned 36 this year, and everything hurts.The Rival Mob crosses over to the youth crew, skaters, metal heads and older punks. Is this because of your sound or the various other bands that the members are in?
I think you can't discount the fact that the other bands we play in bring some attention to the band and vice versa, but at the end of the day we're not really branching out too far. We've always thought of ourselves as a unity band in the sense that we all have varied interests that connect a lot of dots musically. We kinda fall into a realm where we're not amazing enough, not straight edge enough, not punk enough, not hard enough, not fast enough, not sexy enough and not cool enough to really represent one niche, so instead we can just sorta be liked by a little of everyone?
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What's the tie-dye? We definitely never made a tie dyed shirt. Must be a custom job. We've definitely had a couple hits and a couple shits, but if I had to pick some favorites, I'd say there's one that has a cheetah dragging a caveman by the head, the variations of the LP cover, the first graffiti design and the Taz shirt. I'll always have a sentimental attachment to the original Raw Life because of the circumstances involved in making it. I think I put the original art for that in a Raw Life LP and accidentally gave it away. Oops.Have you heard the 'conspiracy' on the Tee to Death website that all Rival Mob shirts are large?
This is the first I've heard of this, but I will say that figuring out what size shirts people like to wear from scene to scene, year to year, is a pretty fun, and challenging game. One year everybody wants XXL, but the next year suddenly everyone wants medium. All my band shirts from when I was a kid are somehow XL, and it seems like old shirts are always huge, so hopefully I'm leveling the playing field a little for all us extra mediums.A stupid question but have you ever met (or been confused for) the Dallas Cowboys player that shares your name?
I don't think this is a stupid question, but I bet that guy wishes he had a dollar for every time he's been asked if he's ever been mistaken for Doug Free from The Rival Mob! Actually, for the last few years I've been receiving e-mails for another Doug Free, who seems to be a loving husband and father of 3 and also doesn't know what his god damn e-mail address is. I've often considered buying myself a ticket to Florida to meet with his kids’ teachers and address the issues they've been having at school. Seems like the right thing to do.
The Rival Mob Australian tour:
Dec 8 – Brisbane at Johnny Brown’s (all ages)
Dec 9 – Brisbane at Crowbar
Dec 10 – Sydney at Fuse Box
Dec 11 – Melbourne at Bendigo Hotel
Dec 12 – Melbourne at Bar Open
Dec 13 – Adelaide at Crown and Anchor