Interview with Municipal Waste lead singer Tony Foresta

The Thrash metal giants, Municipal Waste, have had quite a year. They released their latest disc Massive Aggressive and embarked on a tour that took them through Europe and The United States. For the last five weeks they have been touring the States with Brutal Truth and Cauldron. On December 11th the tour made its final stop in the band’s hometown of Richmond, VA. I had the opportunity to sit down with lead singer Tony Foresta before the show and talk about the bands newest CD and their constant touring.

This show is kind of like a homecoming of sorts for you guys right?
Tony: Yeah, big time. We have been out for five weeks and we have been talking about this show since the first day of the tour.

How did the tour go?
Tony: It was amazing. The last twelve shows were just completely insane, they were just crazy. Out of five weeks of shows there were only two or three that were not off the wall. This was a really good tour.

Tonight is the last night of the tour correct?
Tony: This is it. Then January 11th we are back over in Europe.

You guys spend a lot of time over there?
Tony: Yeah we have been over there five or six times this year. We would tour for like a weekend then we would come back and do two weeks and then we would go back for a few more weeks.

You went to Europe for a weekend?
Tony: Yeah we went to Norway for a weekend once this year.

How much did that screw up your system?
Tony: My brains were completely scrambled. It was all a blur.

Are you looking forward to being done now?
Tony: Yeah it has been a great year and this tour was definitely the highlight of the year for me. We just really wanted to get back to the States and play.

You guys playing a mix of old and new on the tour?
Tony: Everything. We even play stuff off of our first 7 inch release. We play stuff that is all across the board and not just songs from our new album. We are playing about four new songs on this tour. We are also playing some really old stuff that we have not played in years and people are singing along to it. So that is really cool.

What songs do you get the best response to?
Tony: The ones that we have videos for like “Sadistic Magician.”

What kind of preparation goes into your live show?
Tony: I just try and warm up and loosen up a little bit. It used to be just getting drunk as fast as possible but now we can’t do that. We used to play for only twenty minutes but now we play for about an hour and you cannot really get drunk before the show so we just save it for afterwards. I just try and warm up and loosen up a little bit.

All that passion you play with must be difficult on you physically. How do prepare for the physical demands of a tour?
Tony: Well if you look around and notice some of us are limping and we have busted lips. We are all pretty haggard right now. I try to drink as much water as possible and I try not to shake hands with people if possible. I am not a germaphobe or anything but, it is that time of year. We had a scare on this tour, we were hanging out partying with the Mastodon guys in New Orleans when a friend who had been on our bus two days earlier called to tell us he had the swine flu. Ryan had spent the entire day with the guy and he had just started getting sick. It was a big scare and we took him right to the hospital. Everyone was really worried about the swine flu. But thankfully, he did not have it. I think the swine flu is bullshit by the way.

What have been the best countries to play so far?
Tony: This year playing Portugal was pretty cool. I guess the places that are the best to play are the ones that we have never been to and they just freak out when we play.

Is there anywhere that you have not been that you would like to get to?
Tony: Japan… we have never done Japan and this year we are going. That is the big joke in the band because when I first started I kept telling Ryan that when I join the band I will have us playing in Japan in one year and now it has been almost nine years and we are finally going over there.

What has been the overall reaction to your new CD Massive Aggressive?
Tony: People are really into it, I was surprised by how much.

Are you fairly satisfied with the outcome?
Tony: I am very satisfied with the CD. I had been listening to it since about March, it was sort of an obsession and I needed to take a break from it. I have not listened to it in a month. I can’t wait to go back and listen to it again now.

What was the writing process like for this disc?
Tony: Everyone kind of contributes as far as the writing goes. For this record we actually demo’d the songs before we went into the studio. We had vocal tracks written and it was easier. When we really buckled down the CD was about three months worth of writing.

What is the toughest lesson you have learned on stage or in the studio?
Tony: In the studio the answer is definitely don’t drink. One of the first recordings I have I was so nervous I figured I would just get a bottle of Vodka and it would make me loosen up and go real big on the performance. Turns out I was wrong and I was completely embarrassed, we couldn’t use the recording and we wasted money.

I know you said you would be in Japan and Europe again this year but how much of roadwork do you have planned?
Tony: We will be doing short runs in different countries all over the world. We don’t plan on doing another long tour like this one we are finishing now.

In one hundred years from now what will the music history books say about Municipal Waste?
Tony: They Ruled!