OVER THE EDGE
by Taron Cochrane, October 2006
Photos by: Mike Byrne
Good afternoon Mike, how have you been?Mike Mahoney: Things are Well man, thanks for asking. Been busy with my bands and family. Life is never boring. I'm always up to something.
For those people who may not be familiar with the band, what can you tell us about Over The Edge?
Over the Edge is a rock-n-roll band from Boston. The band features Fred Evicci (formerly of Out Cold) on lead guitar/lead vocals, Jeff Morgan (bass/vocals), Johnny W. Black (guitar/vocals) and myself, Mike Mahoney (formerly of Blood for Blood) on drums.
Like I said our sound is more rock-n-roll than anything. We have roots in punk/hc and we mix in those elements with the rock sound. I guess you could say we take the 50's rock sound and mix up with the elements of late 70s punk. Johnny Black likes to call us a punk band with lots of RnR Soul Coal. I dig that and you should too!
You just released your first full length CD, "Tales From The Blacktop Burnout" and I got to admit it rocks. How has the response been?
The reponse has been good but its so early to really get a feel for whats goin on. We had a very successful CD release bash back in late September at the Abbey lounge back in Somerville, MA (just outside of Boston). Right now its all about promoting it. I spend more time at work promoting this CD than actually doing work. I hope the guys in the band have a couch for me to crash on when I'm out of work and my wife throws me out the door. But in all seriousness, we have a long road to go with the CD and its doing things like this interview that help get the word out. I think once people here it and are aware of who we are then things will pick up for us. But at the moment, its a very grass roots effort.
What was it like working with the legendary Jim Siegel (Dropkick Murphys, Blood for Blood, Darkbuster)?
Jim is the best to work with, in my opinion. I've been fortunate to have over a 10 year working relationship with him. I first recorded with him in 1995 when BFB recorded the Hurt You demo and OTE just the CD you were talking about in May. So I feel comfortable working with him. He knows what a band like us needs. I think Jim is just as an important person in the Boston punk/hc scene as anyone else. He really gives the bands a phenomal product to go out and promote.
Any tracks on the album that really stand out for you?
My fav tracks on the CD are definitely "Detonate" and "Flying Too Close to Disaster". "Detonate", musically is the stuff I love to play. It's a minute and 30 seconds of pure intensity. I think it has it all in terms of melody and energy. "Flying Too Close" is very cool to me because it's different for us. It's more rock than we usually do but it still reminds me a lot of Social Distortion, which is never a bad thing. I think when Fred brought this tune in, I had some definite ideas in my mind of how I wanted to arrange this song. I think the final product reminds me of a mix of Backyard Babies, Social D and Motorhead. I couldn't be happier with it.
From what I can recall your currently drumming for, what is it something like 37 bands now? How many bands have you been involved with?
Haha, yeah like a month ago I would see my drums more than I would my wife and son. But fortunately things have slowed down a bit for awhile. Back in August, The Welch Boys asked me to fill in for a show for them as their drummer had some personal issues he was going thru. The 1st show I did with them was opening for the Dropkicks in front of like 1000 kids. No pressure there at all, haha. I did 4 more shows after that and just recently they let me know that Ron was coming back to play drums as he put those issues behind him. I had a lot fun doing that but it was tough to do 3 bands at once. My other bands are Over the Edge, of course, and The Tenafly Vipers. The Vipers are what we call "Action Rock". I would compare the Vipers sound to bands like Turbo Negro, Motorhead, AC/DC, ya know, LOUD rock bands. Jeff from Death & Taxes call us STADIUM ROCK LOUD. Haha....Johnny from OTE also plays in the Vipers with me. Both OTE and The Tenafly Vipers are about good friends making music together. Most of us are older guys with simple aspirations; Make good music and have the most fun we can while doing it. Other than that the only other band I've ever played drums for was Blood for Blood (1994-1999).
How do you find the time?
It's not easy juggling a 40hr a week job, a family and 2 bands (3 at one point). I just make it work. My wife is great about it but I know sooner than later it has to slow down.
In a scene that is over-flowing with talent, you guys have definitely made your mark. Where does your inspiration come from?I think Fred and I made our mark years ago with our past bands. However, at this present time, its not about those bands it's about OTE. I think we've established ourselves within a certain scene in Boston but there are still many groups/kids we want to expose ourselves too. Right we now we do ok with the 21+ crowd but we also want to find ways to do more all ages shows. Playing to friends and drunks is always cool but sometimes getting up infront of a young audience who is there for the love of the music/scene can be so much more inspiring than the usual drinking crowd. But we love them all, big and small and thats what keeps us going.
Obviously, you guys have reached this point from lots of dedication and hard work. What else can you attribute to your success?
I can only speak for myself but I love playing music and drums in particular. Years ago it was about different things but where I am now, i really enjoy writing songs, recording, playing out, etc. The whole process for me is fun. I'll keep doing this as long as I get some enjoyment from it. Others fish, play golf, read books, but I play music every day cause I love it.
What lies ahead for Over The Edge? Where do you guys see yourselves down the road?
We're taking it day by day right now. We hope to blow thru the current pressing of the CD and then maybe land a deal from someone to record another Ep. We have lots of material ready to go but we need some funds to get it out. Recording and doing some occassional shows is what we'll probably always be about. Like I said, we keep it simple.
Thanks so much for doing this interview, it means alot! Any words of wisdom before you go?
First, thanks for the interview and all the support. If anyone is interested in hearing more about us, go to our myspace page at myspace.com/overtheedge. You can buy the CD from us direct or go to Interpunk. Again, thanks and we'll see everyone at the bar....