Outspoken and outstanding, Brooklyn’s revolutionary rock quintet Outernational (Miles Solay, vocals; Leo Mintek, guitar/back vocals; Jesse Blum, trumpet/keyboards/etc.; Etienne Bowler, drums; Jesse Williams, bass/back vocals) have been communicating messages above music for more than four years. Leo Mintek kindly agreed to meet at the Off-Soho Suites’ lounge in New York, NY, despite a late night with The Slackers at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Mintek recounted the group’s history, discussed the current line-up, and articulated the band’s political, social, and cultural vision, “The group started in late 2003: Miles Solay is the singer and front man; he writes most of the lyrics; Jesse Williams plays bass and sings. They had a different guitar player for a few months, but I joined in the summer of 2004.” Mintek’s entry into the band had its own fortuitous twist, “When I joined in 2004, I was playing in a hip-hop band that was supposed to have a show with Outernational. Miles and I were playing phone tag…talking about the show, flyers…and one day he [Miles] asked me to come to one of their rehearsals and bring my guitar along. When I got there, I wondered where the other guitar player was, and they said not to worry about it. An hour later, I asked where the guitar player was again, and Miles said, ‘Well, we think you should be him…’”
Mintek detailed the present line-up, “It was the three of us with a different drummer and trumpet player. We did our thing for about three years, then big changes happened; we started writing our first record and got serious about song writing. In the process, two left the group, so we finished the record, just the three of us [Solay, Mintek, and Williams]…” Not too long after, the trio linked up with drummer Etienne Bowler, “ [my] high school band had opened for Outernational in 2005 at the Knitting Factory…I [Bowler] found out they were on the search for a new drummer and I auditioned and got the spot. Not too bad since they had auditioned over 100 drummers and had just recorded with Chad Smith”..., and with Jesse Blum, who Mintek describes as “a great multi-instrumentalist…plays trumpet, organ, keyboards harmonium, tin whistle, glockenspiel…the ‘orchestra of the group.’”
Blum notes that his fit with the band was a no-brainer, “I am the finest trumpet-keyboardist in all of Staten Island.”
Outernational's name, “a play on ‘international,’” represents the essence of the band’s political and social philosophy, “creating a world with no nations and no borders, getting rid of inequality internationally, and inspiring people to see the world as a larger community and encouraging them to stop thinking about just America, to start thinking like a citizen of the world and about humanity.” That strong statement may be a lot to swallow for a listener just looking for some good jams, but fret not, Outernational’s sound is out of this world. Outernational think outside the box musically. Musing on the band’s sound, guitarist Mintek reveals their roots, “We listened to music from all over the world and from other cultures, and tried to sneak it into rock and pop music to make a global sound.” The entire band agrees that, “Sometimes you just want to let the music speak for itself,” and Mintek adds that Outernational are self-proclaimed fans of Rage Against the Machine, Manu Chao, Fe La Cuti from Nigeria, Bob Marley (especially Peter Tosh), and Tom Morello, who produced Outernational’s upcoming record due in the spring. When speaking of their biggest inspiration, The Clash, Mintek lights up, “What I love about The Clash so much is that they managed this attitude: on one hand they acted like they [didn’t care] what people thought, but at the same time they cared so much about their art, fans, and society… I think it really drove them to the write songs that needed to be written and that matter. We take a lot of inspiration from them to write powerful rock anthems. They even changed their sound, alienating some fans, and stretching out in all types of directions. They were one of the first punk/rock bands to mess around with reggae, R ‘n’ B, gospel, soul, calypso, dub…on the Sandinista! from 1980, they played around with hip-hop. It’s really inspiring the way they saw no limit to their music. Anything they saw and liked, they tried to go with it, learn it, and study it, even when people criticized them, and with tension in the band...”
Combining genuine inspirations with this generation’s issues, changing times, and musical proficiency to match, Outernational have come to create a worldly style with a progressive message. Mintek believes, “Music has no borders and neither does humanity…People have a right to rebel…There’s a lot of bad sh*t in the world right now, and a lot of people feel comfortable because there is new president, but we want to send a warning that he’s not going to make things disappear; he’s there to make people feel better. We want to tell people they have a right to rebel against their country…Wars, financial crises…people can stand up and try to fight these things. We also want to create a cultural base for this message…say what needs to be said, and strike up radical artists and musicians to really make a scene and movement….the late 60’s have lots of parallels to right now, and I would love to see a social revolution link up people all over the world…”
Looking towards the future, front man Solay envisions Outernational’s impact, “There is a whole other way that humanity could be organized… we could bring into being a whole new world free of exploitation and war and all this madness.”
Recently, Outernational joined together to provide additional outtakes on the band and their outlook for the new year.
If your band weren’t Outernational, what would it be called?
Miles Solay: Future Rock
Leo Mintek: Heavy Metal Samba Line
Etienne Bowler: Tightanium
Jesse Williams: Farmageddon
Jesse Blum: The Backstreet Boys
What has been the best achievement in your career so far?
MS: Recording our first album, produced by our friend and co-conspirator Tom Morello, coming out on Warner Bros. records soon.
LM: Making this record, finishing our album Future Rock… We basically spent two years writing it, from when we started writing songs to when it was finished and mastered. We learned an incredible amount from [Tom] Morello and Jim Scott (engineer). Making this record let us come of age as a band with writing powerful songs. We lost a lot along the way; we probably wrote twenty-five songs that didn’t make the cut; two guys left, and we finished by ourselves. We can’t wait for the world to hear it! I think it may offend and shock some people, but that’s what needs to happen.
What would the perfect show be like? Where would it be and who would it be with?
LM: It would be several years in the future in Washington D.C. celebrating as a whole new sector of people taking control of the government for the common good. We’d be at the after party. Rage Against the Machine, some artists from around the world like Rachid Taha from Algeria and Femi Cuti from Nigeria would be there… that might be a good start.
If you could have someone substitute for you, who would it be?
LM: Let Tom Morello do it, although he’d have to sing a lot. But he could do it! He’s the “night watchman!” He’d probably learn all the songs twenty minutes before he went on stage!
What kinds of things are essential when you’re on the road touring or getting ready for a show? (For example, food, rituals, good luck charms, driving music, etc.)
LM: Always music in the car, good books, a newspaper called Revolution Newspaper. Other than that, we can manage.
ALL: Andres Landero mp3s, Revolution Newspaper, and Baby Wipes.
What is something we don’t know about you that we should?
LM: The first music I ever got into was Chuck Berry when I was 3! Another fun fact: I played in a reggae band one time. The highlight was being in the backing band for the Sister Nancy song called “Bam Bam.”
What’s the weirdest/scariest fan encounter you’ve had?
LM: Peoples steal our clothes sometimes. You take off your shirt or jacket and at the end of the show, it’s gone. Nothing too weird or scary, nothing too bad.
What’s the best rumor you’ve heard about yourself?
MS: It's rumored that we are performing at Warped Tour this year.
LM: We’ve been rumored to be anti-Semitic because we criticize the Israeli government, but several of the members of band have Jewish roots. We are an anti-racist and anti-sexist; we try to tackle these things.
What’s the best thing about being in Outernational?
LM: To be part of a five man team, like a bunch of brothers… putting our all into the band to fulfill a great need.
Outernational will be out and about during the next couple months with East coast dates in New York and Washington D.C., as they prepare for the release of their full length album Future Rock in the spring and their spot in this summer’s Warped Tour. Please go out of your space and into www.myspace.com/outernational or www.outernational.net to obtain information on tour updates, photos, music samples, and to follow this breakout band.
PHOTO Outernational: L-R: Leo Mintek (guitar/back vocals), Jesse Blum (trumpet/keyboards/etc.), Etienne Bowler (drums), Miles Solay (vocals), Jesse Williams (bass/back vocals)
