Dan O’Mahony has long been a defining voice in the hardcore scene—fronting bands like No For An Answer and 411—but in the late ’90s, he joined forces with guitarist Joe D. Foster (Ignite, Unity) and others to form Speak 714, a project that embodied the raw intensity, urgency, and melodic flair Orange County hardcore is known for.
Speak 714 only stayed together long enough to release a full-length album, Knee Deep In Guilt (1998), and an EP, The Scum Also Rises (1999), during their run, but with they made it count with two US tours and an European trek in the same span of time.
In this interview, we’ll dig into what it was like to build Speak 714: how the band’s sound evolved between those records, what motivated the shift toward more layered, heavier songs, and how O’Mahony’s own growth as a lyricist and performer shaped the band’s message.
Let’s start at the beginning—what sparked the formation of Speak 714, and how did it differ in intent or vibe from your earlier projects like No For An Answer and 411?
I'm not sure exactly when our how Joe Foster heard I had returned to live in SoCal after spending most of the '90s in the Bay Area but he did, and in very short order he came to me with 5 songs he had already tracked music to with Randy [Bradbury] from Pennywise, Sam Marrs from Straight Faced, and Doug MacKinnon.
There wasn't much advanced intent as it kind of landed in my lap but I loved the stuff and very much needed something constructive to do with my time. I wasn't working and was back in town to care for a dying loved one. In terms of vibe I will tell you straight up, the material sounded to me like what the follow up to Unity's You Are One EP should have been, and I was all about taking a crack at that with the guy who'd written that very record.
Was the band originally supposed to simply be called "Speak," but you added the 714 area code because another band already had it copyrighted? This is the kind of minutiae nerds like me live for!
The band was originally supposed to be called "Thirst" which at the time didn't have the humorous implications it does now. Sure enough some random funk band turned out to have Thirst copywritten so on short notice (the LP was already in the can) we pivoted to the name "Speak" inspired by the tattoo on my left forearm. Turns out that was taken too but we learned that after things had gone to manufacture and the 714 had to be added.
It was a real pain in the ass and to this day you will never hear me include the "714" in my references to the band.
How did Revelation Records become involved? Did you pitch them the band via a demo, or was it just a discussion that led to the deal?
Foster pitched the lineup to Rev and might've played them the first 5 songs without vocals. I'm not absolutely certain.
You co-produced Knee Deep In Guilt with Joe Foster. Did that collaboration run smoothly? I'm especially interested in the vocal tracking for the album.
I don't remember it running unsmoothly but the interaction between Joe and I is always a little uh... colorful. What I do remember is that it had to be postponed by 6 weeks after I'd had my jaw broken in a Las Vegas brawl that didn't exactly go my way. I couldn't do much with my jaw wired shut.
From a sound/songwriting perspective I'd say things went very smoothly, we both kind of have that vein of OCHC pretty saturated in our creative DNA.
My favorite song on the album is "In From the Cold," so I wanted to get the story behind those lyrics. "I gotta make it fucking count!"
I feel rude here but I believe I actually say, "I'm gonna make it fucking count!" not "I've gotta." I could be wrong but in either case it's just a statement of intent, meaning there was a real sense with me at the time that the opportunity to record and tour was not going to be eternal and should not be taken for granted.
The years immediately following my mother's passing saw a lot of wild, violent, and just generally self-destructive behavior on my part and "In From the Cold" was just about making a concentrated effort to put that behind me. I experienced limited success with that.
Since you had already been part of the hardcore community, both as a fan and musician, since the '80s, I'm curious to what your impressions of the scene during the Speak 714 days.
The younger people playing the older style, aka the Youth Crew Revival was weird as hell to me. Like on the Rev Tour we did in '98, me playing old style OCHC in Speak, or Ray playing stuff in the vein that birthed him in Better Than a Thousand both made a little sense to me. We were the authors of those sounds.
The guys in the younger bands involved doing that [Youth Crew] vibe befuddled me. It felt like a school play at times. Genuinely nice folks, many of whom have gone on to create really interesting things, but that was just a creative urge I couldn't relate to. Beyond that, I did like that the '90s were a lot less violent than the '80s.
Staying in that lane, how did the Speak 714 touring go?
It was a privilege, particularly the solo Speak tours in the States and Europe. As a band we tasked ourselves with some of the heaviest roadwork I've ever done (2 US tours and 1 Euro tour in the same year) and I really feel like we rose to the occasion.
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What led to the lineup changes from the album to The Scum Also Rises EP? I remember playing the hell out of the track "Amsterdam" when I first got the record!
I'd rather skip dissecting the conflict between Joe and I that led to me completely revamping the lineup, pretty standard irresistible force, immovable object stuff that'll never change.
But suffice to say I was very lucky to meet 3 lifelong friends (Chris Lisk, Kevin Panter and Eryc Simmerer) through that process and to do some road work with and recording with my East Bay pal Jeff Baker because that rift occurred. I wouldn't trade it under any circumstances.
The music to "Amsterdam" was written by Eryc, the lyrics refer to the decaying connection between myself and a German woman I'd been with for a few years and who rose from the ashes and travelled with us for a stretch of the European tour.
The band only released a small amount of material. Was that by design, or were there plans to continue that were cut short?
I'd say it was a gradual disintegration after a year plus of hitting things really hard.
Looking back now, how do you view the legacy of Speak 714 within the broader scope of your musical career and the Southern California hardcore scene?
My perception is that it is largely forgotten compared to say No For An Answer or 411 which is a little bit of a drag as I think sonically it's the best of the 3. Cry me a fucking river though, we got to go amazing places, see amazing things, and misbehave on an epic level.
It was a great opportunity and a hell of a ride. Plus... Lisk's shorts.
Since you've softened your stance on reunions, would a Speak 714 show down the line be something you'd be interested in?
Hard to say. The inspiration to do so matters, meaning what would be our motivation? And I can't imagine there ever being much demand... but what do I know?
I will admit, it was flattering to be asked to answer these questions, and probing my memory for the answers made me smile. Thanks!
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Tagged: 411, 90s hardcore week, carry nation, ignite, no for an answer, speak 714
