Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster
The date is January 16, 1935. After a twenty-year spree of organized crime, mayhem, and murder, Ma Barker lie slain from a shootout with authorities in a backwoods cabin just outside of Ocala, Florida. In her bloody hand she clenched her Tommy gun as she exhaled her last, a picture of perfect justice as one of the last organized crime bosses of the 20th Century. She and her four sons, who comprised the Barker-Karpis Gang, had purged a path of infamy throughout the South that would not soon be forgotten. And though many would have her story be silenced, some tales speak even louder from the grave.
Years passed. Decades came and went. Generations handed down the tale of Ma Barker and her sons as a warning to wrongdoers across the Southern United States. Eventually the story would reach an Ocala youth named Dallas Taylor (you may remember Dallas Taylor from his days fronting the now highly successful Florida quintet Underoath), who was both impacted and haunted by the tale throughout his childhood. So much so, in fact, that he was led to create his own crew of insurgents in the wake of Ma's legacy, 70 years later. You will come to know them as Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster.
"What has always struck me about the Ma Barker story is how much it symbolizes the idea of 'what goes around, comes around.' Divine justice is unavoidable. When I was a kid, I would see re-enactments of the Barker shooting in Ocala every year with my Grandpa, and it was as if Ma Barker and her sons were still screaming their story to anyone who would listen. Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster is made up of five dudes who play the role of the Barker sons, and in these songs we speak as though we were them, telling any who would listen that a life lived unjustly will meet divine justice on the other side. We also wanted to think of the most crazy backwoods theme possible for this band. Since Ma was backwoods, and we are backwoods, this is the way it had to be."
"This band is about a return to your roots. This is the South. This is about kids being trashy and realizing that being southern is cool in and of itself. You don't have to be 'scene' to be southern or to listen to this music. We want to get back to letting our background speak through heavy music that doesn't sound like the fifty thousand other bands that are doing it right now. If I hear one more band that sounds like Taking Back Sunday or The Used I am going to throw up."
"I am so fed up with people acting like cowards, and so tired of the many things I've lived for in the past," says Dallas. "I feel like it's time to get back to where I was when I was young. This band is proud of who we are as people, what we believe, and where we come from. I feel like so much of music today, especially those who come from a Christian background, spend so much time hiding who they really are, or being ashamed of their beliefs, trying to be 'scene' or to sell records. I want every kid to know I am not going to change who I really am to sell records. I mean, I absolutely hate shoving things down people's throats, but hiding who you are is just as bad." |
