D: I don't want to ask you the same questions you already been answering in Moni's magazine so maybe we can do little throwback/oldschool thing because I love that shit, haha! When did you had your first ideas about founding the band Brodequin and was it from the beginning the Idea with the medieval times torture things?

Jamie: The idea came about right from the very beginning. I was a history student at the time and have been interested in history from a young age. To me there is nothing more brutal than the devices and methods from the Middle Ages. I say Middle Ages because its the most well known to the most people, although these activities were taking place before and certainly after that time period.

The Brazen Bull was well before that time, roughly 550 BC. Greeks and Romans had plenty of influence on the execution/torture industry if you want to call it that but are less known to most. The Middle Ages are definitely the most well documented and easily accessible from a record standpoint.

D: I loved to watch Videos of Chad playing drums live for Brodequin. He had a sick technic for playing the snare. Did you know what the fuck he was doing? Haha :D Are you still in contact with him and did you like the Pustulated material?

Jamie: Yeah man Chad had his own way of playing that’s for sure and he approached it differently than anyone I have ever played with. Haha yeah I knew what he was doing, we practiced so much in the early days we all knew what each other was doing and how we did it. Chad was an excellent drummer, but more than that he really understood percussion and the theory behind so much of it. The Pustulated material you mean? I am definitely familiar with that. No I haven’t talked to him in many years unfortunately, he’s a talented musician and I wish him the best.

D: When you started Unmatched Brutality Records, I think the sickest label around was "United Guttural". Did you want to overcome them and bring the sickest shit possible? Do you have some cool insights from the glory days of BDM? :)

Jamie: Rich had a great label with a great roster there is no doubt about that. I don’t think we ever wanted to overcome anyone we just wanted to be part of it and contribute what we could to the scene. We took some inspiration from all the labels during that time, it was like a friendly competition to see who could release the sickest stuff. What I remember from the early days the most was that everyone was cool with each other. We were in touch with each other because we all liked what the others were doing, it was inspiring.

It’s a little different now, social media has greatly impacted the scene ( and everything else ) for better or worse. It was pretty cool getting advanced copies of labels releases instead of a link to band camp haha.  I remember Mike and I went to Milwaukee Metalfest one year, there were so many amazing bands on the fest it was crazy. This was before Brodequin was formed or even thought of but there was one band that blew me away… Gorgasm, I was completely crushed by their performance. Stabwound Intercourse wasn’t even out yet or at least I couldn’t find it anywhere at the fest, they had a major influence on me and still do.

D: I know I ask this question a lot but I do it again. What would you say are the bands which brought you into Death Metal and pick up an instrument?

Jamie: Well before I got into death metal I started with a lot of familiar bands than many get into. Metallica, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, etc. Eventually I came across Cause of Death by Obituary and Altars of Madness by Mobid Angel. It was all over after that haha!

I was blown away by those releases and it caused me to dive in and find as much as I could, from then on I was constantly looking for faster, sicker bands. The early days of my discovery of death metal and the underground had a profound influence on what I wanted to do in regards to music. I was living in Pittsburgh PA at that time and there were several underground bands active in the area which helped expose me to even more. Bands like Bathym, Sathanas and Mythic come to mind from that time.

D:When you recorded the Cinerary EP and Liturgy album, did you had  the feeling in first place that these will become timeless classics of blasting brutal Death Metal? I think the Liturgy album back then was already a cult classic before its release just by the line-up! ;)

Jamie: Haha, no I didn’t think that they would be anything more than just really good releases. We all knew that we had some good music coming together, I think most bands know when they have some good stuff. It really was an opportunity to work with some of my friends and I thought it was a really cool thing to do.

Both of those bands have extremely limited performances as you know and I don’t think any of us saw those projects as being a very active projects from a live perspective. Those that saw either of those bands either at Ohio Deathfest ( Cinerary ) or Fuck the Commerce ( Liturgy ) really got lucky haha, I wish we would have done more because it was so much fun.

D: Do you have some cool stories you want to tell us about these two recordings? Alcohol debaucheries appreciated, haha! :D

Jamie: Hmmm, there are lots of stories! There is the time Mike almost hit me with a car at Fuck The Commerce.. there was a lot of mead involved on my part, Jon also went “missing” there for a while haha. Then while we were recording FESTIVAL OF DEATH we all went to a bar where a local cover band was playing and we went on stage and played some black sabbath songs. Mike played drums to a couple of songs and Chad played bass….at least thats how I remember it, but ya know how that can be!

When recording Liturgy we did an unannounced show at a bar in Milwaukee as a warm up for the recording haha!! with Cinerary I remember the studio being packed with people, Mike from Deeds was there, Derek from Suffocation was there as was lots of alcohol and eventually everyone was on the mic as you can hear on the last track.

D: With working again on your label, are you planning to do some reprints of your merchandise? I am asking because I want my Festival of Death hoody back which I ordered in 2004 and got stolen a year later at a show! "I AM STILL PISSED ABOU IT!!! :(

Jamie: I’m sure we will do some, we did “festival” shirts and hoodies are always possible. We have been focusing on new bands and new artwork for both Brodequin and Liturgy. I remember you telling me about the theft, that really sucks!    

D: Is there really a new Liturgy album coming? I heard and read a lot of rumours. If yes, can you tell us something about it?

Jamie: We are working on it, we have 9 songs that are written and we may end up with 10. Matti and I are getting together to go over lyrics and who’s doing vocals where and when etc. So far I have a lot of art together but nothing has been decided on in that area. We are all excited about it and think its some of the best we have done as Liturgy.

D: So last question, how is the new Brodequin album coming along? I know from your last interview that you are in the middle of writing process. Any updates or maybe we can expect some pre-sugar to check out? :P

Jamie: Progress has been slow with Brodequin due to our distance, it’s making it very difficult. To give you an idea of how it goes, Mike and I write a song then send the guitar tracks and a drum idea Mike programs to Jan. Once he learns it and makes any changes he feels necessary he then sends it back. Mike and I will make any adjustments and then resend it, the process then repeats itself until we have it completed. It’s not easy and it takes a lot of time. Most of the artwork has been completed, the album title has been chosen, it’s just a time issue now.