Interview with guitarist Rachel Rosen, and producer/director Derek Morse | By Matt Wilson
Most hardcore bands tour relentlessly for a couple years before burning out and breaking up with nothing to show for it except a couple releases, a mountain of debt, and a closet full of band tees. Indecision was an exception to the hardcore stereotype, with a career spanning seven years and a collection of releases reaching the double digits. You may have never heard of them, but they are one of your favorite bands’ favorite bands.
Between playing in Most Precious Blood and manning her Etsy store, Caninus custom dog apparel, guitarist Rachel Rosen has been working with her boyfriend of 11 years, producer and director Derek Morse, on releasing their documentary “Indecision: What It Once Meant.”
Rosen and Morse started MorseCode Recordings in 2010 with one mission in mind: release “What It Once Meant” on DVD. “It was very helpful to have Rachel to bounce ideas off of or fact check on a daily basis, as well as to kind of oversee what I was working on before the rest of the band saw it,” says Morse of the documentary’s creation. The label has since released a handful of records along the way, and the documentary is now in the final stages of manufacturing.
Before cell phones, Wi-Fi, and GPS guidance were commonplace, the bands who toured were those willing to do all of the legwork themselves—and it was a lot of legwork. “We had all handwritten directions and [a] book of maps, no cell phones, no email… It definitely was an adventure, and when you got lost, you had to rely on the kindness of strangers and gas station employees to help you get to where you needed to be,” says Rosen. “Today, it’s almost impossible to be out of contact with people. You can easily get to a show using your phone, and you don’t have to entertain each other in the van for hours on end, because most people just end up looking at their phones the whole time—except hopefully whoever is driving!”
Besides years of relentless touring, Indecision gained exposure through their thought provoking lyrics. The band’s most notable line, “For those I love, I will sacrifice,” remains a popular tattoo choice among the hardcore music community today. The lyrics have since taken on a life of their own. Rosen explains, “It all started with a photo of [U.S. soldier] Kyle Hockenberry taken after an IED exploded by him. It was a picture of him in the helicopter with the ‘For Those I Love’ tattoo on his side. It won some photography awards and was all over the Internet. When we saw it, [guitarist] Justin [Brannan] managed to get in contact with Kyle and eventually met him in person. Kyle had never heard of the band, though, and wasn’t into hardcore, so it’s definitely a bit of a mystery as to how it ended up tattooed on him. I guess it can have a very special meaning for military personnel willing to risk their lives the way they do.”
Purchase What It Once Meant here.
To keep up with the label’s progress, follow MorseCode on Instagram @morsecode_recordings and “Like” them on Facebook: facebook.com/theMorseCodeRecordings
To support service people like Hockenberry, check out the Tunnel To Towers Foundation at tunnel2towers.org, or to pick up a “For Those I Love” shirt, go to forkyle.merchnow.com.
