[American Idiot]

Are 2 guitarists elemental to +44’s sound? Could it work with only 1 guitar player?

Not live for sure. As a band, all of us are contributing and writing songs. So it takes everything from all of us to create a +44 song, especially live. Having 2 guitarists makes all the difference in the world. When we were in blink, I would say there were multiple layers of guitars throughout the blink-182 songs. When it came time to play our songs live, we’d have to sit down and say, “Okay, which part are we actually going to play? Well, the lead part has a hook in it, but the rhythm part makes it edgy and pushes the song forward. Which part are we actually going to play live?” Now we don’t have to make those decisions because everybody can play their parts. Although there are a lot of double-bass parts on the +44 record, so I’m having to make those decisions now.

When you were writing the songs, had you always felt that 2 bass lines were needed?

It was just something that organically grew through the process. I’ve always loved bands that have 2 basses in it like Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. They were one of the hugest influences on me growing up. I loved the combination of using the higher strings on the bass in conjunction with a different pattern on the low strings. So I kind of branched out on this record and did a bunch of double-bass parts.

What basses and amps are you using these days?

I’m using my Signature bass, the Fender and an Ampeg SVT Classic head and an Ampeg 810 cabinet. You can’t really ask for a more solid setup than that.

Is this pretty much the same equipment that you were using during blink-182?

Yeah. I actually use the same bass that I had used throughout the blink recordings. I have a lime-green bass that I used on the last couple blink albums.

Which bass is the one you named “Petey”?

Petey is the Precision bass. I did use that on this record as well. But the first bass that I always pick up for each time that I go into record a bass track is this lime-green one called Lettuce. God smiled when he made that bass that somehow. It just sounds amazing. When I want a really, really aggressive sound, then I go for Petey.

Would you consider yourself a gearhead who enjoys experimenting with a little bit of everything?

Oh, definitely. I love buying equipment. I’m always in the studio, searching online for different effects pedals or different basses. I collect vintage Fender instruments, and throughout the recording of this album I bought a 1960 Jazzmaster, a 1958 Esquire, and I think a ’65 Fender. I’m always buying gear. That’s basically what ended up making me and Travis buy a studio. It’s just that we had bought so much equipment over the years that we need a place to store it all.

Travis has a 16-channel board just sitting in storage for 5 years because when he bought it we didn’t have a place to store it. And I have racks and racks of compressors and EQs and cases of microphones and everything else. We just bought them over the course of recording and we were like, “Why the hell don’t we have a studio? We have all the equipment for a studio. We have enough recoding equipment between the 2 of us to have 2 full studios going, but we don’t have a room to do this in. This is stupid.” So we went to North Hollywood and looked around till we found a studio.

Do you consider yourself just as much of a producer (Mark produced Motion City Soundtrack’s Commit This To Memory) as you are a musician?

I feel like I’m getting there. I still feel like I have a lot to learn about being a producer. I love it and I think that I have a solid foundation – knock wood. I love doing it, so I want to keep doing it. But I feel like I’m still learning all the time. I still feel like I’m learning as a musician as well.

"I think that as a creator of music, you kind of have to keep your eyes open and use everything you can for inspiration."

Are there any bands out today that inspire you musically?

I’m into all kinds of stuff. I love listening to old classic rock and like old goth, things like The Cure and things that I’d listen to when I was growing up. I also draw inspiration from up-and-coming bands, bands I’ve worked with The Matches or Idiot Pilot. I listen to Frank Sinatra or The Beach Boys. There’s so much inspiration in the world. Or I can be reading a book and find something in a book that I think sounds cool and it will inspire me in some way. I think that as a creator of music, you kind of have to keep your eyes open and use everything you can for inspiration.

When I was growing up in high school, I think I was a lot more close-minded to music than I am now. When I was in high school, I used to listen to just punk rock and goth or whatever. I would not listen to anything else. There would be like a heavy metal song playing at one of my friend’s houses and I’d be like, “Why the hell are you listening to a heavy metal song? I can’t believe that!” Then I grew up and actually started opening my mind to other music. I’ve always liked rock music and I’ve always like Pink Floyd and things like that, but for me to cross over and listen to a pop song on the radio and think, “Wow, there are some really good elements in that pop song” or listen to anything I was uncomfortable with before, it took me a minute. Now I’m like, “I can’t believe that I didn’t listen to every single style on the face of the planet.” There is so much great music out there and so many good ideas out there. You can listen to any style of music, be it country, be it dance music, pop song, whatever, but if it has good ideas then it’s good music. I really don’t have any boundaries.

On your Podcast Hi My Name Is Mark, do you get an opportunity to play all different genre of music?

The thing that’s difficult about the Podcast is we don’t really generate money from the Podcast itself. To play songs on it, you have to get publishing clearance. A lot of the stuff that we would like to play, like if we were to try and play a Frank Sinatra song on it, obviously the publishing company would want to get paid for the publishing royalty on that. So the bands that we want to play, we have to like talk to their managers, talk to the publishing companies and get waivers on it. So we’re trying to figure out if we can get sponsored by a company that will allow us to pay the artists that we’re actually playing on the Podcast. Then we can be like a radio station and play anything we want and make sure that the artists are getting paid as well.

Do you have any particular favorite moment of your days in blink?

There are so many. blink was such a great opportunity. I loved every second that I was in that band. Everything. Every moment of it. Every moment of +44. All of it is such a blessing. It’s so fun and I would be hard-pressed to pick one favorite moment out of any of it. Right now is my favorite moment.

Does it bother you that When Your Heart Stops Beating was leaked on the internet?

Yeah, it definitely does. But there’s no way that you can stop it. The whole downloading thing and the file-sharing thing, there’s really no stopping it. Obviously there’s nothing that you can do about it and so you just have to accept it. I trust that people know in their hearts when they’re sharing songs with people and when they’re stealing music, and there’s definitely a difference.

For the future of +44, do you see this as enduring as long as blink-182 did?

Yeah, definitely. That’s what we’re planning. We’re planning on releasing this record, touring as much as we can, then going back into the studio and recording the next record. We’re all dedicated to it. It’s our main priority in all of our lives. It’s something that we love and want to continue doing for a long time.