One of the new features at the 2013 Maryland Deathfest is the addition of a second stage at Baltimore Soundstage for punk and hardcore acts. One of the bands I consider a must-see at this stage is Baltimore’s Old Lines, who will perform on Friday, May 24.
Combining heavy with hardcore, Old Lines is able to strike that perfect balance that makes their music stand out from the pack. Add to this some crusty vocals, d-beat rhythms and political themes and you have band that sounds simultaneously classic and brand new.
Old Lines is Mitch Roemer, Jake Berry, Matt Taylor and Pat Martin. Pat and Matt thoughtfully answered my standard MDF questions.
What will be the official lineup for Maryland Deathfest?
Pat: The lineup will be the current version of Old Lines. Me, Matt, Mitch, and Jake. Nothing out of the ordinary over here, haha.
What do you consider to be one of your band’s most essential
recording?
Pat: Well, haha, we only have one record out, our LP that came out back in January. That’d be our only, and for sure most essential recording this far. It’s also streaming on our BandCamp page all the time, so if you wanna check it out, that’d be awesome. We only have a few copies left, so if you like it, don’t hesitate to mail order one!
How does your band feel about playing Maryland Deathfest?
Pat: We’re all pretty excited! Being a newer band, it’s really cool of those guys to ask us to be a part of such a rad weekend. Also, not a ton of local bands play it, so it’s a pretty special thing.
Matt: So stoked! MDF is something I look forward to every year, and I’m so excited we can be a part of it this time. Mega-thanks to Evan and Ryan for giving us the opportunity.
What other bands playing MDF do you hope to see perform?
Matt: Oh man, there are so many: Abigail, Carcass, Hellshock, Loss, Tragedy, Evoken, Pallbearer, Bolt Thrower, Benediction, Midnight, Pagan Altar, and of course… fucking Infest! It’s really cool to see more punk bands playing this year, and I think the idea of having a punk/hardcore stage is super rad. I’m also stoked that Ilsa is playing since they are our homies, and Rotten Sound is going to kill.
Pat: I’m pretty pumped on seeing a ton of the bands on our stage. Weekend Nachos, Ilsa, Citizens Arrest, Gehenna, DOC, Tragedy, and Infest, for sure. Infest was a band I thought I’d probably never see, so it’ll be pretty cool to see them for the first time. I’m gonna be the dude smashing everything when they play Sick-o, haha. Seeing Pig Destroyer, Integrity, and Midnight over on the main stages should be pretty cool too.
Will you be doing other shows as part of your stop at MDF or is
this appearance exclusive?
Pat: We’re only gonna be doing the Friday night of the fest, at this point. We kind of had a discussion about trying to do a short tour around it, but it wasn’t really feasible with everyone’s schedules. It’s entirely possible we might try to squeeze another show in right after it, but right now, it’s just the fest.
Will there be any unusual or special merchandize you will be
selling while at MDF?
Matt: No, not really. I think the special Pagan Altar patches they made are really cool though since they have “MDF 2013” on them. I don’t know, maybe we’ll have a new shirt design or patch or something. Of course we’ll have records too.
Pat: I’m not sure, we haven’t really discussed doing any special merch for the fest yet. We have beer koozies, that not a normal piece of merch, or maybe it is now, but whatever, haha. Gotta keep those beers chilly!
Is there anything else you want people to know about your band?
Pat: We’re trying to stay busy over the summer. Me and Mitch are about to start writing songs for whatever our next release/releases are gonna be. We probably aren’t gonna play a ton of shows around town, and focus on writing the new jams. As far as touring, we just got home from our first tour about a month ago, which was really awesome, and a ton of fun. I think we’re going to try to go out again in the fall? We’ve chatted with the Ilsa dudes about maybe doing some weekends, but that’s just been bar talk so far, haha.
Matt: Big thanks to Ryan and Evan for putting us on the show, and thanks so much to everyone for checking us out. See you soon!
