Spaced guitarist Donny Arthur loves the Misfits. I mean, who doesn't? But Donny took things to the next level by starting The Mausoleums, a new band created in the spirit of the Fiend Club.
The Buffalo, New York-based outfit recently released a demo and has begun playing shows, so Donny hit me up to help get the word about his mission with The Mausoleums. Dig in.
The Mausoleums is a big stylistic shift from Spaced — raw, lo-fi, and drenched in horror punk influence. What sparked the idea to start this project, and how long had it been brewing in your head?
To be honest, this band has been brewing in my brain since I was a teenager. Horror movies, punk rock, hardcore have had me in a chokehold as long as I can remember. The passing of my mother was a big catalyst for moving forward with this project as I found comfort in the dark humor and the macabre side of life.
I wanted to start this band because a lot of today’s bands that lean into horror have gotten so far removed from real punk and hardcore and I have a hard time relating to their music.
The Misfits are still legendary and one of my favorites but the massive shows they are playing now are so different than what it must’ve felt like to see them in small clubs when they were first coming up and I hope The Mausoleums can bring some of that energy.
Who else is in the band with you?
This project started with me and my friend Joe Morganti (guitar) from Spaced just making demos at my house while I spent time with my newborn daughter and we then rounded out the lineup Dan McCormick (guitar) from Spaced and my pals Rob (drums) and Tom Brennan (bass) from Fatal Visions.
What is it about the Misfits — or that era of punk in general — that resonates with you, both musically and visually?
There’s just something magic about the early Misfits stuff. So catchy and melodic but sinister and hard hitting. Danzig’s lyrics—I mean they do it all. They’re sometimes funny, sometimes disturbing and even though he’s not afraid to be a little camp there’s some real art and intelligence behind it. It’s fun but the undertones often carry a message that I think is important for any punk or hardcore band.
While Spaced has always had a vibrant, modern energy, The Mausoleums taps into something more primal and eerie. How does writing for this band differ creatively for you?
Hardcore carries lot of tradition and there are many essential aspects of the sound that in most cases must be present for it to be a hardcore band. By paying homage to the genre it can be easy to end up sounding like everyone else so when I am creating I hope to make music that is true to myself and hardcore but maybe tells it through a different lens.
When Spaced was forming I was really intrigued by psych rock but didn’t have the attention span to listen to 7-minute songs or jam bands but I loved the guitar effects and experimental aspect of it so I guess the idea was what if a hardcore band like Mental or Righteous Jams added this psych element to it.
For The Mausoleums, the question I tried to ask is kind of “what if the OG Misfits were reborn a modern hardcore punk band?” It’s melodic, and all about the sing-alongs, but there’s also side-to-sides and 2-stepping in there.
READ MORE: In-Depth Interview with Bassist Eerie Von (Samhain, Danzig, Rosemary’s Babies)
Do you see The Mausoleums as a one-off passion project, or is this something you’d like to keep developing alongside your work with Spaced? What's in the works?
Like Spaced, I am making music that I want to hear and a band that I would like to see. I poured my heart into both projects and all bands that I do. I always hope that it will resonate with others but really the goal is always just to create, have fun with my friends and strengthen my local scene here in Buffalo.
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The Mausoleums on social media: Instagram
Tagged: fatal visions, spaced, the mausoleums
