Hi Erik, thanks for taking some time to talk to Über Röck. Congratulations on producing such a great record with The Rockford Mules last year. 

Thank you very much! We are very proud of the songs we wrote and we are very grateful we have an engineer and producer in Jeff Halland who has done all of our records from the start of this band. He is a blessing to us, to be so dialled into our spirit and grit.

Now, The Rockford Mules are a band that many of Über Röck's readers this side of the pond may not be too familiar with; give us some history behind the band. 

We formed in January of 2005. We knew of each other from previous bands that ruled our scenes back in the mid '90s respectively. I have been playing with Ryan, the lap steel player, ever since our first band back in 1989. He moved to Seattle for a handful of years in 2000, but the second he moved back, I had some songs and we could not resist getting together and starting something up again. 

When I first heard 'Ma They Broke Me' I could hear a lot of differing influences. Hailing from Minnesota you come from a city that has produced many great American alternative bands such as The Replacements, Hüsker Dü and Soul Asylum. How would you describe The Rockford Mules' sound to those who haven't heard you yet?

Grinding, earthy, mud swampy, Seventies riffing, grooving and heavy. Blue collar, salt of the earth, calloused knuckled, cold winter surviving.

The UK is somewhat of an unconquered territory for you so far. How are things going for you Stateside?  

Treading thru a constant sea of musical bullshit. We have sold more songs and albums overseas with you than we have ever sold in our own country. Our focus has fully turned towards how we can get to you not just once but continue to come over there.

So, plans to head over here to the UK?

In our hearts, always. It is all we have been thinking and talking about this last year. Realistically, Ryan needs to get his fricken passport. He is the reason we are not huge in the UK. He has been lazy about getting his passport.

You are in the final stages of a solo record, so I believe. What is the motivation behind going solo, and what kind of sound can we expect compared with The Rockford Mules?
 
I have always played loud music, and I have always counter-acted it with mellow singer/songwriter stuff, out of a need to try and keep even. Before this band, I had put out three singer/songwriter style records. This band was put together initially to satisfy a need for a full force rock throw down. It accomplished more than I could have ever dreamed on the song writing level. My motivation behind a new solo record was nothing new. The Rockford Mules put out three albums over a seven year span, I put a few of my mellow songs on each album, but it somehow felt high time to put another personal broken down full length out. What kind of sound can you expect? Expect the opposite of a Mule record. Although, the engineer and producer of my new solo record is also the doctor in charge of each Mule release.

Will you be preparing a solo tour to accompany the release? 

No. Perhaps around town, but no grand scale tour at this point.

When will it be available and where will our readers be able to pick up a copy?

March 10th. You can get if off of cdbaby.com, come to the release show or get it off of iTunes.

Are the Mules still rocking while you're working on this? And are there any plans for another Mules record?

The Mules are always rocking and we are in the middle of recording an EP with our new drummer Rocky. He stepped in and replaced our former drummer after he quit unexpectedly and suddenly back in May of 2011. Rocky learned eight songs in two days and fifteen songs in a week. We missed all but one show in the summer of 2011, this band's greatest year. Rocky is our proof that we were not supposed to be done yet.

Who have you enjoyed touring with so far, and who would you guys love to tour with in the future? 

Unfortunately we have toured with no one. We have played with Fu Manchu, Shooter Jennings, Lucero, Violent Femmes, Soul Asylum and the Burden Brothers. We would love to tour with the Drive-by Truckers or really anyone else who could take us on the road and allow us to pay our personal bills. Beggars will not be choosers.

Seeing as your music seems to embody a wide range of influences we'd like you to take the Über Röck random music test, where if we were to do the random first five tracks on your iPod/iPhone/ MP3 player right now what would come up? And no skipping straight to Motörhead to look cool! 

Waylon Jennings - 'Lonesome, On'ry and Mean'
The Black Crowes - 'Horsehead'
The Band - 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down'
Merle Haggard - 'Mama Tried'
R.L. Burnside with Jon Spencer

And finally, we like to take our guests right back to the deepest recesses of their minds, and play with those dark fears they have been trying desperately to hide. Would you be so kind as to share with us your gig from hell experience? Every musician has had one! 

We booked one of our first two night out of towner shows at a metal bar, Hairy Mary's in Des Moines, Iowa. There were about a hundred folks in there but they felt obligated to stay cool and not clap for us when our songs were done. Little kids, so hardcore, that absolutely could not get caught clapping for some band other than the one they came to see. So sad, misguided youth, gig from hell.

[Photo kudos to Serah Sauser]