1. What was your introduction to alternative music?
CharlieThe first alternative bands I got into was stuff like Nirvana, Beck, and Radiohead when I was in middle school. I think I found them just from the radio stations my parents would play.
Miriammy parents were always really into alternative music, so i just grew up listening to a lot of punk and all that, like the fall, black flag, and x-ray spex. i remember really loving other shoegaze artists in middle school that my mom introduced me to, especially cocteau twins.
JackMy friend Henry showed me minor threat on the bus in middle school and it sent me down a rabbit hole. I went to the library all the time to try to find any 80s hardcore CDs so I could put them on an MP3 player since I didn’t have a phone. the MP3 player had pretty much every classic hardcore record I could find. my dad showed me fugazi so that really changed my brain
2. How did you guys meet each other?
CharlieI met Miriam freshman year because we both played percussion in band class, and I met Jack around the end of quarantine from that same class. I thought both of them were really funny and we all had some shared music tastes so I became closer to them throughout high school
Miriami think jack and i met when i was in seventh grade and he was in eighth grade in our middle school jazz band class. i remember he would make fun of all my band shirts. charlie and i met our first day of freshman year of high school in band class. and then we became besties
JackI met both these guys band class. I met Miriam in middle school and Charlie when I was a sophomore. They played percussion and I played saxophone
3. Mold's sound has evolved in recent months, was this a natural progression or did something spur the change?
CharlieI think the biggest thing that made the change happen was our old bass player moving to Milwaukee for school and Jack joining the band. Jack is a lot more into hardcore and screamo stuff than he was so we just started to move in that direction. I think it was also a natural thing too because me and Miriam have been getting a lot more into that kind of music over the last few months, so Jack joined at kinda the perfect time as me and Miriam got more into heavier music and realized we could play that type of music ourselves.
Miriami think charlie and i began listening to a lot of new screamo artists and i at least really broadened my view on all the classic post hardcore stuff that really inspires us today. i definitely have charlie to thank for that.
JackI more recently joined the band. Kind of in the middle of the change of sound. these guys started writing heavier songs and drawing from different influences and I just added more to what they were doing.
4. Mold just made some two-song promo tapes - are these songs fresh or from the vault? What's in the works for the upcoming release?
CharlieThe two songs on the demo tapes are both on our demo, verdigre, that we just put out. We’re hoping to have tapes with all 4 songs on them pretty soon. We’re also working on a 4-way split with lovescare, shopvac, and Linus that should be out in the next month or two
Miriamwe just put out our ep verdigre on bandcamp!! and we keep making lots of new songs. now i have no idea what’s next. i guess our split with linus, lovescare, and shopvac ?!??!
Jackthe promo tapes were just a little something I wanted to have for the merch table on our weekend tour. They were more raw mixes and I [made] maybe around 15 of them. We’ve been playing the songs since I’ve joined and they are gonna be part of the new release that should be out by the time this interview is on the web. The EP is called “verdigre” and it’s gonna be 4 tracks.
5. What's everyone's favorite board/card/tabletop game?
CharlieI’ve been really into catan lately
Miriamclue. 🕵️
JackI have the twin cities edition of monopoly and that’s pretty rad. Also I like playing candyland.
6. You guys recently got back from a short run to Chicago, any highlights or lowlights from that?
CharlieIt was a pretty short but super fun experience! We had a lot of other dates we were hoping to do that fell through, but the shows we did were really fun and we’re all excited to do some more touring throughout 2024.
Miriamhighlights were eating a lot of culver’s and the people we stayed with in stevens point. and the chicago show was a lot of fun. lowlights were when jack gets tired and grumpy in the car. and you do not want to talk to him before he’s had his morning coffee!!
JackA big highlight was meeting new people who have no idea what your band will sound like and playing in somebody else’s scene and seeing what’s up. another highlight was when Charlie’s cousin took us to portillos and I doubled up on hotdogs. A lowlight is that we wanted to go to the medieval times restaurant but it was closed. And everybody was saying they have jousting and horses and stuff so I was thinking about it all weekend.
7. What's everyone been listening to recently?
CharlieLately I’ve been super into Spirit of Versailles, Atameo, Kilgore Trout, Flooding, Void, Farah Rud, combatwoundedveteran, and my all time favorite band Unwound
Miriama lot of slint, kilgore trout, nothing, and weed. i just started listening to breakwater as well and that shit is gooooood. and shotmaker.
JackI’ve had the newest fairytale album on repeat for a while now, and pretty much all the bands on unlawful assembly and dynastic yellow star label are on a good rotation. These guys also recently showed me Neil Perry so I listened to their comp maybe 10 times this week
Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! If you have anything else you want to add tack it on here
CharlieWe’ll have more shows and
different announcements posted in the next few months on our
Instagram
@mold_mpls
Miriamshout out mom and dad and ben and sully and gus from ostraca and kilgore trout. and eyeslikeknives much love
Jackwe’re going on a few tours in the spring and summer which will be sweet. also There’s gonna be physicals for the newest EP at shows eventually and we will have a new song on a 4 way split with other local bands out sometime this winter.
Verdigre (2024)
Tour Promo (2023)
LabelMold self-released
FormatCassette
Tracklist- giacomo
- checkers
