What makes music special isn’t technical precision; it’s the fervor of the people behind it. That passion, messy and unfiltered, is what powers Mental Madness, the debut album from Canadian hardcore outfit Pig Pen, a band that are eclectic as they are electric. Released via Flatspot Records, Mental Madness isn’t just a collection of songs, it’s a wild burst of raw creativity from a group of longtime friends who happen to also be seasoned legends.
Pig Pen is a unique concoction of talent and chaos: Matty Matheson growls out vocals; Wade MacNeil and Daniel Romano crash on guitars; Ian Romano smashes into madness on drums, and Tommy Major anchors it all on bass. A supergroup? Sure. But above all, they’re a gang of friends who got bored during the pandemic and decided to throw caution and convention into the mud.
It’s obvious that you all share a really close friendship. It’s felt through the chemistry of this record. What was that initial spark that brought everyone together to form this super group we now know as Pig Pen?
Dan Romano: It was definitely Matty. Matty hit up Wade a million times, I think, to start a band. And then, finally, the time came under awkward circumstances of the pandemic. But Matty’s got such an insane schedule and that was kind of the open window, you know, for that situation. And I don’t even remember how we got invited. Wade, do you remember? (laughter) Did Matty ask us? Did you ask us?
Wade MacNeil: No, Matty asked you. And that’s what really brought me in, you know?
We’ve all been talking about this in various capacities, I think. I mean, I think Matty’s probably been saying to a lot of his musician friends over the years, “Let’s start a band.”
And yeah, and then, you know, we all kind of found ourselves—We all grew up in the same area. And then, during COVID, I ended up back in Niagara too. Matty moved back there a few years ago. And so we’re all back at home, like back where we grew up, where we first met each other. And with all this idle time, you know, during COVID we got together and, you know, definitely one of the highlights of the world being locked down was everything felt so strange at that time. So to be able to get into a room and make some music with your buddies was an incredible thing at that point. And, especially for us, it’s like, we’ve all been friends for so long. So to do something like this, at this point, is like, what a blast. I think Dan and I both probably thought it would never come out. And subsequent to that, we even played a show, so that was great.
Dan Romano: Yeah, we were feeling it.
What made you think that it would never come out? Just because of all the timing and all the scheduling issues going on?
Dan Romano: Yeah, that for sure. But also, just like, there was a long gap between the idea and the manifestation and then between the music being recorded and the vocals being recorded. So it was just kind of like a really fun thing to do and not like on the, at the forefront of anybody’s radar as far as like, urgency. So, it just kind of came together really naturally.
Wade MacNeil: I think it’s also like, it was a fun project that we just all did. It wasn’t made with a plan, like, “Let’s get together and write some tunes.” I’m really happy it’s where it’s at and that we’re doing more. We had such a good time playing the first show in Toronto. It’ll be nice to do some more. Also to have the record out so people really know what’s up when they come out to see the gig. ‘Cause we’ve only had, like, 15 seconds of music put online before the last show happened. So it’ll be nice for people to, you know, to know when they need to steal Matty’s mic.
Dan Romano: That’s right.
(Laughter) I love that. Those are the best kinds of projects that come about when there’s no pressure involved, and you all are just a bunch of friends coming together shooting the shit kind of thing.
Dan Romano: You’re right about that, sir.
The name Pig Pen, it paints such a vivid picture in my mind. I love it. It’s both memorable and clever as hell. What’s the story behind the name?
Dan Romano: That’s a Matty question. I assume … Well, maybe Wade, you probably know.
Wade MacNeil: What do you think?
Dan Romano: I’m assuming it’s Grateful Dead-related.
Wade MacNeil: Yeah, I always thought, you know, we’re named after Pig Pen from the Dead.
Dan Romano: From the Dead, yeah.
Wade MacNeil: But I don’t think any of us ever asked Matty.
Dan Romano: No.
Wade MacNeil: He was like, “Pig Pen?” We’re like, “Great.”
Dan Romano: Yeah. Perfect.
Wade MacNeil: Yeah. I mean, like, I would imagine it’s yeah, it’s Pig Pen from the Dead.
Bunch of sloppy brother bears together, right?
Dan Romano: 100%.
Each of you being seasoned contributors to Canada’s music scene, how’s that collective experience shaped the sound and creative direction of Mental Madness?
Wade MacNeil: I think it’s very different from everything we’re all working on normally. So playing tunes like this, with a focus of playing like pretty straight ahead, fast, like punk hardcore stuff is really different. It’s different for all of us. And it’s definitely where we all first met each other, going to those shows. I think our record catalogs have veered off in a lot of different directions. But that’s, like, the basis of what attracted us to music, and what our bands first sounded like when we got started, when we picked up guitars. And yeah, it’s a blast playing stuff that’s, like, so ripping.
Most definitely. You can hear that through the record too, and you’re all just having fun. That’s what’s the most important thing about when you’re creating a piece. You’ve all definitely got your different creative lives across various disciplines. How did you manage to kind of carve out that time and energy, not only to form Pig Pen as a band, but bring Mental Madness to life as a fully realized project? Was it just COVID or was there other times you all got together?
Dan Romano: Basically, after making the record, was mostly time allotted by the pandemic, we booked a show. Then we were like, “Well, I guess we got to like learn the songs and figure out how to do this thing.” That kicked it into gear. At some point we had a discussion about actually releasing it once it was done. It’s like, “Ok, we got this thing, it’s mastered, like what’s the plan?” Then once it started appearing like it was going to be a material reality, then the discussions began about like, “what are we actually gonna do?”
What about the writing process? It took place in a single day, which is an incredible feat. What kept that creative momentum alive and allowed you to generate a full LP’s worth of material so quickly?
Wade MacNeil: I think Dan and I make music like that. Bands made records like this for a really long time. Recording and writing has like kind of shifted away from that, maybe because of like technology or just the way people do things or the music industry or whatever. But for a long time, people made and wrote songs in the studio and recorded them instantly. Dan’s been on this kind of trip for quite a while now. Him and his brother Ian that play drums have a studio and have a pretty insane output of music consistently. I’ve made a handful of records with them, like my solo stuff, and we’ve done it in a similar way. So I think it made sense to do it like this. A lot of records don’t get made like this, but for us, it’s the way we want to do it. It’s the way we try and do it all the time.
That’s cool that you had the empowerment and the autonomy to take control over how you wanted to have the creative direction, how you wanted to take your time with it, because that was like, 2020, 2021 maybe when y’all were thinking about making this or when you were making it?
Dan Romano: Yeah.
Wade MacNeil: I mean, that is a huge part of it too, is, like, committing to it, you know, like, I think that’s a huge part of songwriting that people don’t, like, they can’t agree that it’s OK.
Dan Romano: Yeah.
Wade MacNeil: They don’t have the confidence to proceed or in their playing or whatever. There’s a lot of hindrances that … I don’t know; we’ve been playing guitar for a long time. I think the way we’ve written songs over the years has changed, the way we approach things. But it was made very intentionally. We take playing incredibly seriously, but we just let it all happen, and it all came together so quick.
Dan Romano: Its one of those things that you sort of, like, garner over time that you don’t necessarily think about, but then can sort of appreciate. There used to be pressure to make your first album good. Then there’s the sophomore record, which is even more pressure. Wade and I have been putting out music into the world for 20 plus years. So it’s kind of whatever, you know? It’s like you get to that place where like, “I know what I’m doing. I don’t need to think any more than that about it.”
Just picking up the instruments and just going at it, getting your buds together and creating something you’re proud of, forget everybody else.
Dan Romano: Yeah, yeah. I mean, we’ve been students long enough to know that, especially with this kind of music, overthinking can really be the enemy.
It really can. And that was a question I wanted to ask you about the recording process, ’cause you wrote the material, then you record it the next day.
Dan Romano: No. We wrote it as we recorded it, or we recorded it as we wrote it.
Oh my God. OK. So how did you manage to capture the music without falling into that trap of overthinking or second guessing the takes that you’re doing?
Dan Romano: Mostly just by not doing that.
That’s smart.
Dan Romano: Yeah.
[laughter]
‘Cause I know me, if I was in there, I’d be like, “Oh shit, I sound terrible there. I don’t like how that sounds.” So you guys never ran into that at all where you’re like, “No, we got to retake!”
Wade MacNeil: I remember there was one because we were really writing it on the spot. Dan would be like, “Here’s this idea. Let’s do this.” And then I’d be like, “OK, let’s do this in the back half of the song.” And there were times we didn’t even play it once before. Like, we discuss it, then we play it; that’s the take.
Dan Romano: Track it, yeah.
Wade MacNeil: I know with one of those, I really, like, lost it. And I was like, we should probably…”I fucked that one.” And then Dan was like, “You’re good, man. Like, just stop it.” And so there’s like one point where I was like, “Fuck, I fucked that one.” But I feel like, yeah, not being precious about it. That part that I’m talking about, it’s just sounds like me trying to find where the song is, sounds like a weird guitar solo.
Dan Romano: Every record that’s good has that stuff, you know. Every record I like, the bass is out of tune, and, like, guitar, there’s mistakes. That’s the beauty of it, right?
Totally. And that’s what makes it so punk and so hardcore. It’s like, it’s not this like master class in music. It’s more like, “Hey, we’re just coming together, little DIY project and take it at face value. Don’t think too deep into it,” which I think really benefited you all in this process.
Wade MacNeil: I think there’s a crazy thing too about where you get to the point of like, where I’m at, like, I don’t want to speak for Dan, but when you’ve made so much music, and you start thinking about how good music gets made, sometimes the end result isn’t by being good.
Dan Romano: Yeah.
Wade MacNeil: Like, you don’t make the best sounding record by making everything sound the best.
Dan Romano: No.
Wade MacNeil: You make like the most incredible; you make stuff sound good by, like, a lot of the decisions need to be intentionally angular or rough or wrong. I think as recording has and the technology has went in a different direction people lean into that, more and more stuff gets cleaner, stuff gets more in time. And you lose those happy accidents; you lose that magic of what makes stuff incredible. If you look at the music, the records that I care about the most, I think the records that Danny cares about the most, there’s tons of crazy stuff going on. It’s all those blemishes that make it what it is. So this is tons of blemishes.
Dan Romano: Oh, yeah.
(Laughter) I love that, though. You would never know listening to the record. I’ve been listening to it over and over again. What’s your guys’ favorite track to record? Maybe that’s a hard question to answer, but I’m curious.
Wade MacNeil: I actually like “Mental Mentality” the most. It’s got this super like Scandinavian part in the middle. When we were doing that, I was like, I’ve wanted to be in a band that sounds like this for a really long time. I’ve wanted to be in a band that sounds like this for like 20 years.
Dan Romano: Yeah.
Wade MacNeil: It’s like not easy to do. But we just like we had the right dudes together to do it. And yeah.
It’s like what you say in “Power Love Train”: “Positive energy!”
Dan Romano: 100%.
Wade MacNeil: A lot of that.
You got to have that, especially when you’re making a passion project like this. That’s what’s so beautiful about it. Mental Madness explores themes of mental health, the highs and lows of the human condition. What inspired you all to take such a candid and emotionally raw direction with the record?
Dan Romano: That was Matty’s MO. He just showed up with that. He had been writing with the album in mind before any sort of actual music materialized and basically showed up, showed us the lyrics, and was like, “This is what the vibe’s going to be.” So he really set the tone, arguably entirely. Wade, you did some writing too, but …
Wade MacNeil: No, I mean, I think that’s it, for sure.
The creation of the album sounds like it was relatively streamlined for the most part, y’all getting together, jamming out as brother bears. What were some of the most challenging aspects you all encountered during this process?
Dan Romano: I would say just time. Time was the only sort of complicated thing as far as getting things done. The execution of things was pretty seamless, effortless even.
Wade MacNeil: Yeah, I think that’s why it’s happening, is because doing it is so easy. The writing of songs, the being on the same page collaboratively for the art, for the live show, for everything we wanna do with it, everyone is 100% on the same page. That feels really easy, and that feels like I’m excited to go play in New York with my buddies.
Dan Romano: Totally.
Wade MacNeil: We’re excited. We’ve got some great shows coming up with a bunch of bands we really fucking love, and that’ll be amazing. But yeah, just the hindrance is time. Matty’s a super busy guy, juggling a lot of stuff. Dan is a full-time musician. We’re all full-time musicians with tour schedules, so it’s like, juggling, finding the time for Pig Pen is a little bit difficult, but it is something we are all really trying to make the time for ’cause we’re having a blast.
Definitely. It makes me wonder, too, because with every creative endeavor, you learn something about yourself. So what would you say out of you two, what did you discover about yourselves while working on the project?
Dan Romano: I think that I was more in tune with the idea that this kind of thing is actually second-nature to me, and is sort of like the root of, this sort of origin story of my particular, I guess, musical journey. It was just so evident how embedded that was for me when we started to go, and it was like, “Oh yeah, this is in there, and this is at the root of everything.” That’s kind of why it just felt so organic and natural. That’s hit me here and there, various projects or whatever, but it was very much at the fore for this project. It’s kind of rudimentary music, and that the way it manifested was very much organic, but in a way where I was kind of noticing.
Wade MacNeil: I think for me, it’s like another way of letting go of preconceived ideas of what I can do musically. Like, as a songwriter, you make up these rules for yourself in your head about what’s OK and what’s not. There’s been times in these songs, like in this record, and then when we got together to rehearse for the first show, we wrote like a ton of new songs too. In that batch of songs, I really didn’t think I’d ever be playing in a band that sounds like this. It’s like, so much stuff I really love, like, probably the stuff I love the most, you know?
It’s like, the beginning of, you know, Dan said musical journey, but this is what, like, music … Like, this is what made me wanna be in a band. Which is interesting ’cause it’s just the band that I ended up spending the most time playing and that I’m still playing in, was, like, a departure from this kind of music. So to be playing tunes like this and got together to write more songs and see where it can go in the future. It’s playing just like ragingly fast, like, bratty stuff. There was a really cool moment where we were jamming last time and working on some … I know it’s crazy to be talking about new tunes when I’m doing an interview about a record that’s not out yet. But yeah, I can’t believe I’m in a band that sounds like this. I’d say that it makes me, like, incredibly excited.
Would you say that that’s maybe one of your most rewarding aspects of doing this project, just being part of something that you didn’t think you’d ever come back to? Like you’re kind of coming back to your roots in a way?
Wade MacNeil: Yeah, for sure, man.
It’s funny that you’re talking about future records, ’cause one of my questions I had for you was, I don’t feel like Pig Pen are a one and done project, then. It better not be, you two. All right. It better not be, because this may be a premature question, but can we expect more from you all in the future? I mean, you kind of just answered that, but what’s that looking like? What’s next on the horizon for Pig Pen?
Dan Romano: Probably a couple 45s, maybe a 12-er.
Wade MacNeil: Ten-inch, who fucking knows?
Dan Romano: Fuck, might do a ten-inch.
Wade MacNeil: Yeah. Might do a ten-inch.
Dan Romano: Yeah.
Yeah, yeah. Hey, I’d cop it, man. I’d buy the hell out of it.
Dan Romano: Where are you gonna put it? On your shelf for ten-inches? It’s the worst.
Yeah, right?
Wade MacNeil: I don’t know. I take it back. We shouldn’t do one.
Dan Romano: No, we’ll do a 12-inch, 45.
Wade MacNeil: Yeah.
Make it a rare release. Make it super exclusive. What about a tour? You guys going on tour?
Dan Romano: I think it’s gonna be a pretty parsed-out, piecemeal kind of scenario.
Wade MacNeil: Like, we wanna play. You know, a bunch of our friends’ bands have hit us up about doing gigs, and we’re doing what we can when we can do it. Hopefully they’ll be like, “We’re heading to New York in a month.” We’re doing, like, a hometown record release pretty soon, playing Furnace Fest in Alabama later in the year, and then see what else we can get done. We’re going to do as much as we can.
Mental Madness is out today, and you can order it from Flatspot Records. Follow Pig Pen on Instagram for future updates.
All photos by Patrick Moore
