Originally published in AMP issue #2

Hailing from the Baltimore, Maryland area, The Mishaps are a young and ambitious trio of punk ‘n rollers with a throwback sound and a gritty, blue-collar style. Their debut CDEP, Get Away Volume, was released late in the summer of 2002 on Scissor Records, and has been followed by months of touring the East Coast. Frontman Neal Page recently took some time between shows bring AMP up to speed on their history, as well as their most recent endeavors.

So, Neal, who makes up The Mishaps, and what is your history together?
Well, in the band you have Johnny Bungalow on bass, John Fatur on drums, and myself on guitar and vocals. Our history together…well, that is a very long story, but to break it down, I had played in a band with Fatur before, and Fatur was once in a band with Bungalow. Essentially, we had all played together vicariously before the band was even formed. Fatur and I decided to start this band, and naturally he mentioned Bungalow to me for a bass player. I couldn’t turn him down so we invited him to practice one day, and in a half of an afternoon we had finished most of what would eventually become our debut release.

The Mishaps’ sound has been compared to bands ranging from classic punkers like Dead Kennedys to the contemporary rockabilly band the Living End. How exactly do you describe yourself to those who haven’t experienced The Mishaps?
We were once called in a review “The heralds of the blues-punk revolution.” I don’t know what that means…I think we are a hybrid of ‘77 punk and just about any album from 1970 to 1985. But that’s how it goes you learn from what you hear.

Now, do you write most of the lyrics and music?
I write the lyrics, but as far as the music goes we all contribute, and believe me, once we start working on a song anything can happen. For example, the beginning of the third track on our album, “Out of Control,” came from me screwing up a different intro we had to the song. All of a sudden, Fatur threw his sticks at me. At first, I thought he was mad at the mess up, but then he said, “Don’t move… play that again! That’s how we’ll start the song!”

Lyrically, your songs have a nice balance of personal storytelling and politics. Is it your intention to keep the missives varied to avoid being pigeonholed, or is lyric writing more impromptu and spur-of-the-moment?
I think they come from both of the avenues you suggest. The lyrics in “Mr. Wellington” were a message that I had wanted to say for a very long time. As for “Jenny,” that was written on the spot while I was to talking to the girl the song is based on.

Please tell me about your debut album, Get Away Volume. What was the recording process like, and who released it?
Well, it was released on Scissor Records. As for the recording process itself, we tracked it and mastered it as Inner Ear Studios. Don Zientara recorded the album. He records Fugazi, Jets To Brazil, and other past punk bands like Minor Threat and Bad Brains. It was really great to work with him. This was the first time we had been in a real studio. To be honest, we are still trying to get over that whole experience. I mean, when you get to work with the man behind some of the bands in your own collection…It was the hardest we have ever worked. It was the most challenging thing I have ever done.

How did you become involved with a brand-new label like Scissor Records? Have there been both challenges and rewards to working with an upstart rather than an established label?
There are challenges and benefits to working with anyone. I will tell you that these guys are very accommodating to most of our needs. It’s a very punk label and that suits our beliefs and our work ethic. As for how we got involved with them, that’s a really long story, and all I’m going to say is you never know just who is going to be at your shows…so make ’em count!

What has been your best experience thus far in the short history of The Mishaps?
Other than recording…hmm, I think playing our first show in Ludlow, Vermont. We didn’t expect a crowd. I mean, no one had heard of us up there, you know? So we get up there and kids are swinging off of chains hanging from the ceiling into three pits. We played that place so hard we knocked out the power and the kids still stayed in the pit while I shouted out lyrics until the power came back on.

What are the short- and long-term plans and goals of the band?
To give all we have and go as far we can.