"Angry, unpredictable, yet striding to a simple mesmerizing rhythm," is how the members of Missouri Executive Order 44 described their cacophonous sound to me when I featured them on No Echo in 2024.
Dressed like members of some obscure religious death cult, the Kansas City quartet's Salt Sermon LP quickly became a staple in my listening rotation, eventually landing them on my 12 Newer Hardcore Bands to Check Out in 2025 list earlier this year.
Missouri Executive Order 44 just dropped a split EP with Usurp Synapse, and will be heading out on a run of US tour dates this summer, so I checked in with vocalist Jarom Johnson to learn more about the group and their cult-baiting chaotic hardcore.
It feels like it's been a fruitful past 12 months or so for the band. Tell me about some of the highlights and how it's felt for you.
Let’s see. We released a record in August and decided to go on two tours back to back in October and December of ‘24 because we’re insane. We toured in an electric van (harder than you think). We wrote some schloppy songs, and played some incredibly fun shows in so many different spaces. Opened up for Poison the Well. Screenpinted some 600 records and 500 shirts in The Ghost Is Clear’s basement.
Did some more touring with Usurp Synapse, and now we’re gearing up for a two and half week long summer tour to the West Coast and back. We’re grateful for all of the opportunities we’ve been given. It’s starting to become a blur, but I think we’ve had fun along the way.
What's your connection to Usurp Synapse and their music, and how did this project initially come together?
We were having trouble booking a show in Indianapolis and John (from Usurp) was kind enough to reach out to Bobby at [record label] The Ghost Is Clear who got us in touch. They were able to get us a show setup at Healer and we hit it off from the go chatting and what not. I remember John suggesting we do a split the night of the Indy show and we jokingly said something along the lines of “we’ll see” and left it at that.
They reached out right around the time we were on our winter tour in December of ‘24 and asked to do a couple dates around the midwest. We agreed and sometime along that process of booking it we pitched the idea back to them about doing a split and now we have a 7” coming out. Pretty cool considering their extensive and (in)famous history with the format.
Have you guys caught any crap for your look/message so far? I know that won't be an issue here in Los Angeles but I can see it causing some static in places like, um, Salt Lake City!
Here and there, yes. Though nothing we can’t handle. We’re going to find out if Salt Lake City hates us or not on July 5th, 2025 at Aces High. Not surprisingly enough, it’s the place people have asked us to come play the most.
Kids have actually been showing up to shows dressed in the garb and telling us they back the message, and it’s always sorta shocking and exciting to see otherwise pierced, dyed and shaggy youths in white shirts and black slacks. No one has actively tried to beat our asses for wearing the gear so I think we count that as a win.
What's the plan for the band beyond this split? Can you see yourself taking the dive into touring throughout the year and going full time with MEO44?
We plan to record some more material before we leave for tour in July and we’ll see where that lands down the line. It’s on our radar to head out east eventually, but only time will tell.
Booking DIY tours is fun and rewarding, but we would love to land a support tour towards the end of the year / start of the next if we can. Until then it’s just continuing to balance the grind between our daily lives and this churning engine that is MEO44.
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The Missouri Executive Order 44 & Usurp Synapse split EP is out now via The Ghost Is Clear.
Tour dates:
07.03: Lincoln, NE at El Proyecto
07.04: Denver, CO at 7th Circle
07.05: Salt Lake City, UT at Aces High
07.06: Boise, ID at Realms Arcade
07.07: Spokane, WA at The Big Dipper
07.08: Everett, WA at Lucky Dime
07.09: Portland, OR at Commonwealth Skatepark
07.10: Eugene, OR at Wandering Goat
07.12: Berkely, CA at Mathcore Index Fest 2025
07.13: Los Angeles, CA at FKA Church
07.14: San Diego, CA at The Print Shop
07.15: Mesa, AZ at The Nile Underground
07.17: El Paso, TX at The Asylum
07.18: Austin, TX at Alienated Majesty
07.19: Denton, TX at The House With No Name
07.20: Oklahoma City, OK at The Sanctuary
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