By Austin Carbone, Contributor

Meet Muddle

The political fervor of the punk youth stands out in the Queen City. This is where Muddle finds themselves. From the basements and backlots of this rust belt town comes their newest single Protect and Serve, a striking commentary on the police brutality experienced by Black and Brown Americans.

“I’ve never seen a band with this much energy before,” says Cameryn Handel, UB Arts Management MA, after attending Muddle’s first large-scale performance during the Music is Art: Battle of the Bands in 2018. The group has come a long way since then, currently finding themselves in a 2021 fusion scene of goths, crusts, grungers and punks, or what they like to call, “Gunk.”

Amassing a fanbase of lyric chanting crowds and declaring “LOUD” as their main goal, Muddle’s first album Crackhead Behavior released in 2019 with bombastic drums, screaming vocals, and catchy guitar riffs. Ethan Childs (drums) and Jeffrey Colson (guitar) were Muddle’s founding members, with Maggie De Witt (vocals) joining only five days before their first gig in 2017 and current bassist Isiah Druelinger joining in early 2020. Protect and Serve comes from their currently unnamed, unreleased sophomore LP.

What kind of sound can we expect from this forthcoming album?

Maggie: Definitely different. It’s reminiscent of Crackhead Behavior but a lot of it is new stuff we've never done before, so it's kind of exciting. 

Jeff: The sound has definitely changed. Isiah's vibes as the new bassist has given us a more badass sound. We've all written stuff for it, so it's a combination of what we’ve been exploring both as a band and as individuals.

As a self-described “Gunk” band, could you elaborate on the title? Who came up with it? What does it mean to you?

Maggie: It's just a combination of any G genre. Goth, grunge, because we don't really know what to define ourselves as. Then adding punk, because that's kind of the basis, so that’s Gunk. I texted it to Ethan one day and he thought it was sick, so it stuck as our bio.

Jeff: I think people are dropping titles and just being like, this is my band, you got a band, we all got bands.

The lyrical chants in your songs have really provoked crowds to scream back the lyrics and get the energy going. What were some of your favorite moments that stand out?

Ethan: One that I remember really well was at Grindhaus, the last show we played that was actually normal. It took me off guard because at that time as a drummer I was following off the lyrics, so I was like, “What is happening?”

Maggie: There've been times where I've had my microphone taken out of my hand and I love it. I'm like, “Yes! You guys take control,” as long as I get it back.

How has your covid experience been as a band? Any speculations you have about the scene opening up for 2021? If it's going to happen, or how things may change going into the future?

Ethan: I think we all hope that we can play normal shows at some point, but band-wise it definitely sucks. I noticed a lot of bands stopped playing because of it, but I'm happy we stuck together.

Jeff: Focusing solely on writing music instead of performing music is a whole different ballpark. You're more worried about what you're writing rather than your performance. And that's always tough because you never know how people are gonna react to your new material, but I think I have the fullest confidence that this is a great piece of music. Other than that, everyone get vaccinated, and let's get this ball rolling.

How has it been developing as a band now having access to better studios, connections, and support? Moving beyond the bedroom and onto the next tier.

Maggie: It's nice. But both recording situations have their perks. Sometimes it's hard to record with someone you haven't recorded with before, not knowing what their personality is like, because you're with them for a whole day, you know? But when it's just in your room with your bandmates, it's kinda more goofy, but that sometimes leads to stuff not getting done, or it doesn't sound as good. Both have their ups and downs, but I like both. I have fun either way. 

Jeff: I’d say this is the album. We've got the bedroom EP, we got the basement album, this is gonna be the studio album. I think we're all trying to move towards self-recording, maybe even moving into recording other people's music under a label. But those are all future endeavors. We're grateful for all the resources and opportunities we have. It's good stuff.

Given the ethos of your new single Protect and Serve, how do you feel about your connection to Buffalo and its political sphere? As well as the perspective inside of the music scene?

Jeff: I think from playing in the scene for so long we’ve really gotten to know what it's all about, and what the music's about. Before Muddle ever made any sort of “political statement” we weren't the only band here to do so, you see a lot of bands still doing it. When it's something that you agree with, something you want to be heard, then it encourages you to be more open about what you believe when you're writing music. I think it’s good, I think that everyone in the scene really has this same kind of idea and beliefs and we're all just comfortable talking about it. 

Maggie: It's kind of nice to be like, “Guys, doesn't this suck?” and everyone's like, “F*ck yeah, let's talk about it.”

What artists have you admired over the years? What have you been listening to lately? 

Jeff: I've been listening to 90% of my music at work, so it's nothing exciting. 

Isiah: Zeppelin, Sabbath. Classic rock stuff, old soul stuff. Also Nirvana. It’s been raining so In Utero is kind of the vibe.

Maggie: I kind of feel that about Nevermind.

Isiah: When it’s raining? Really?!

Maggie: Just because I went to Washington once while I was listening to it and I noticed it was raining then. But recently I’ve been listening to just weird sh*t. Going on artist’s radio for Machine Girl and listening to whatever comes up. A lot of songs that don't have lyrics, and a lot of soundtracks.

Any local bands you want to shout out?

Isiah: Shoutout to Gunther’s Radio!

Maggie: HA- *nepotism*

Ethan: I like Circular Logic, but I don’t know if they’re a band anymore. I listen to Petechia sometimes. I liked Coma Ghost a lot but they don't have any music out so I kind of just have their concerts in my head. Those would be my top three favorite locals. There's a lot more though.

Jeff: I just miss seeing it all live, seeing bands for the first time, learning their names and then seeing them progress with you.

Maggie: I miss free CDs.

Ethan: I miss jumping around and pushing people, just having fun.

Isiah: Just make sure no one gets hurt.

There used to be a huge 90s metal scene in Buffalo, have you ever looked into that history? Being part of this city’s scene and, “carrying the torch,” does it feel distinctive to be from Buffalo or do you see yourselves as just another band out here?

Ethan: I've heard somewhat about the old scene in the 90s, apparently there used to be a lot more places to play around Buffalo. Someone told me that they saw Black Flag here once in an old church. Why don’t people do that anymore? I feel like back then there was a lot more access to playing shows.

Jeff: Honestly I think it's good, our location. I think we could have been a band from worse places, more difficult places. There's a lot of people who still make music out here, and I think that's because of the old scene.

Isiah: What makes this place good is that it's in New York where everything is, but it's off to the side a little. So it still has its own underground, unique feel.

What are the most wholesome parts of being in a band? What are the most tricky parts?

Ethan: For wholesome, definitely the friendship, trust, and enjoyment of being with each other because it's like, I'm in a band, but I'm also with my best pals. I'd say the hardest part is just scheduling stuff sometimes.

Jeff: Being in a band is fun, but you know, we've been hyping up an album. Obviously it just doesn't come out of thin air. There's a lot of hard work, but at the same time it's work that you love.

Any final remarks for the fans/send your appreciation to?

Ethan: I’d just say shout out to anyone who listens. It means a lot.

Maggie: All 94 of you in the month of April! Thank you. And anyone who shares our stuff, that's just very sweet and I would like them to know that I appreciate it very much. To be flipping through stories on Instagram and to suddenly see your own stuff because you didn't get the notification, that's so sweet. They were listening to this, like it's music?! It's just really great. I don't know. It makes me happy.

Do you check your streaming stats? How do you feel about being a band in the attention economy?

Maggie: It hurts me. I hate looking at that type of sh*t. It taints it a little, I want to be like I don’t care but I check anyway and it sucks.

Jeff: The ideology of punk, right, is that what we're doing it for is not personal gain. It's for the benefit of all. And I totally understand that. It's just, you know, you check because you can and I don’t think there's anything wrong with keeping up with who's listening and trying to build your reach. And that's the thing about today is that it's pretty much the way to do it. The music industry has changed so much and that's the only way. Or at least that's how it feels. Talking about 90s bands here in Buffalo, in the 90s we'd be taking a completely different approach. Not from a live standpoint, we'd probably still be playing the same places, but from a promotional standpoint it’d be a lot different. That's the part where it's like, okay, does business belong in music once you start seeing it as a business? I think at the end of the day we're just playing music because it's what we love to do. If it’s successful it's great to see, but it's also not the primary goal.

Maggie: As long as we have one fan, just one real fan, I'm like, “This is cool.”

Muddle’s upcoming album is set to release 3rd Quarter 2021. 

They are interested in touring WNY/NY with local bands. Contact via: muddlebuffalo@gmail.com

Follow @officialmuddle on Instagram and TikTok

Stream Muddle on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, and other streaming platforms.

Visit the official website at muddleband.com