Interview with Mock Order
Rezine: Who is in the band and what are your instruments? Cody: Mock Order is just a 2-piece band. I write the music and record all of the instruments and my friend Hannah in Ireland writes most of the lyrics and does the vocals. Hannah also does our artwork.
Rezine: How did it all start? Cody: A few years ago, I really started to get into d-beat, so I figured I'd try doing a d-beat recording project. I started writing a couple of of songs by myself. Then one day I was chatting with my friend Hannah and I casually mentioned this new project I had in mind, and I suggested she could record the vocals for it, if she wanted. She was interested. The lyrics and her vocals turned out really well.
Rezine: What is the meaning of the name of the band? Cody: The name Mock Order can be open to some different interpretations. One on hand, “Mock” can refer to making fun of something, and “Order” can refer to people in positions of authority in our society. So, in that sense, the name means to challenge authority. On another hand, “Mock” can refer to something being fake, and “Order” could refer to the natural order of the planet we live on. It refers how the industrial capitalist world we live in is so far removed from the natural world. It can also be a reference to the many domineering forces that oppress people and limit their potential.
Rezine: What inspires your music? Cody: Musically, Discharge is obviously an influence. But other than that, I feel like there's not too many specific influences. The songs are just simple d-beat-influenced hardcore punk songs with political lyrics. The songs are definitely a bit catchier and a bit more optimistic than d-beat bands usually are.
Rezine: What are the topics of your songs? Cody: I would think of Mock Order as an anarchist band. The lyrics touch on topics like human rights, animal rights and environmental rights. We're both vegan and Hannah is also involved in animal rights activism in Dublin.
Rezine: How does it work to have one member in Canada and one in Ireland? Cody: For recording stuff, it's not too hard. I just write songs on my own, send them to Hannah, and she tells me which ones she likes. After that, I record them on my own. Hannah then writes the lyrics and sends them to me, and then we discuss them. Hannah then records vocals with a friend and sends them to me.
Rezine: Do you have a favourite song and why? Cody: So far, we only have 8 original songs. If I had to pick a favourite song, it would probably be Disarm. Musically, the song is different from most of the other songs. But I think the song and the lyrics are very powerful, as they're about the very real issue of nuclear disasters that have happened and will presumably continue to happen in the future.
Rezine: Any new songs coming out soon? Cody: We recently recorded a couple of new songs for a split EP with a band called Diatribe from California. A cassette version of the split will be available very soon and a vinyl version will come out later. Diatribe are great. People should check out their Aftermath album. I saw them live in San Diego last year, and it was almost unreal how good they were.
Rezine: What's coming up with the band?
Cody: We're going to do our first ever tours in eastern Canada and Ireland/Northern Ireland in April. Hannah is going to visit Canada for the first half of April, so I've recruited a couple of friends to play guitar and bass, and we'll do a 5 day tour from Toronto to Halifax. Later in April, I'll be going to Ireland and we'll play a couple of shows there also, with some friends that Hannah recruited for the band. We've never played live before, so it should be fun. Our first EP is being re-released by Imminent Destruction Records from England for the tours. Later on in the summer, I think we'll start recording more songs and release another EP, or a couple of split EP's. Maybe if the Canada and Ireland tours go well, perhaps we'll do some more small tours in the future.