Mark Allen of BloodPenny/Hyena Motorcade/Former Humans

  March 2014:

  When I was writing for my old classmate's website I got to interview several musicians, including the fabulous Mark Allen. Now that I'm with Gloomy Tuesday (wee!), I decided to check up with him and the other groups and see what they've been up to!
He always has a million things going on, but thankfully he made time for a chat with me. Check it out:

ANN: Hey Mark! I think the last time I spoke with you, Hyena Motorcade was about to open for Modern English. What’s going on with them, and with your other projects now? I have been hearing all kinds of stuff so I want to get it from the source.

MARK: Hmm... let's see....Hyena Motorcade... opened for Modern English at the Viper Room and then played with Bow Wow Wow (again) and Gene Loves Jezebel just a couple of weeks back. We are in the mode of trying to secure TV and movie soundtrack placements at the moment. I have been sending out CDs and band info to music supervisors at movie studios.I have also run into so many "stars" lately...I always have CDs with me, luckily....just ran into Blondie's guitarist at the Satellite...gave him a CD....ran into Kyle Gass (Tenacious D), gave him a CD...ran into Henry Rollins in a CVS parking lot......uhm, didn't give him a CD…

ANN: *giggles

MARK: That's where I am at with Hyena at the moment, but I am keeping an eye out for good shows to jump on the bill with. (They also just won Radioflag's Best Artist Award for the Western U.S!)

I considered slipping Hyena Motorcade in on the three open shows that I had booked for Former Humans, but, I just recently I'd started working with BloodPenny again, so I asked their bass player Stephen if we could move those pre-booked gigs over to BloodPenny...and he and the other guys said "Great!"

 So now we are playing some really cool shows together for the first time since 2011 and it's just been a wonderful experience. 


Hyena Motorcade, a band that singer Rick Kaley and I started in 2009 had been sitting on the sidelines, inactive for the most part, so we started writing again and decided to take another run at it. We had some initial success a year or so earlier with our debut single "Shadows," when it was included in a cable show's soundtrack in 2010, and we played some epic shows, but then we both got busy with other shit and it kind of went cold. 

  In 2011, I decided to leave BloodPenny (amicably I might add) and focus on Hyena Motorcade. We started writing again, and went back into the studio to work with Paul Roessler (Nina Hagen, 45 Grave, Germs, etc) at the boards to get our new CD out. We released it just this past June/July.  

 Back to BloodPenny...they had gone on hiatus and I knew the bass player wanted to play so I called him and said I would jump back on as guitarist if he wanted to play some shows...he said yes and now we are back at it. The two shows i had booked for Former Humans are now BloodPenny shows. I am really looking forward to playing with those guys again after not having played in that band since our CD Release party at Bar Sinister in May 2011.

   I have some long-term friends in BloodPenny who are like brothers to me. We get into it, but we never hold onto anything negative and we always keep moving forward and remain friends.....sheesh...I've known Stephen and Sean since 1987....so we will probably be friends till death...the first EP had the songs Motion, Spiral Staircase and Transparent Town...Rick Kaley, Hyena Motorcade vocalist was the original vocalist with BloodPenny and was on that CD, then he left in 2008 and he and I kept in touch, forming Hyena Motorcade together in 2009.

The second CD has Eric Schreeck (also sings with steampunk band Unextraordinary Gentlemen) on vocals the songs are: Secret Spell, Killing Time, Moto Fucko, and a live track of us playing Sisters of Mercy's Adrenochrome live at the Deathrock Dive Bar in Oakland, CA

     So, as of today, that's where I and the bands I am involved with are at......it's really a good place to be in...to be in more than one project which enables you to have options....for example, when Former Humans singer quit, I didn't have to give those show dates up, etc....

ANN: Aww that's so cool you guys are so close! And you always have somewhere to play!

I always need to be doing something musically or I go fucking batshit crazy! So I usually make sure to get a band started if one of my other ones looks like it's going to slow down...

FORMER HUMANS!

     Now that Former Humans is just recording in the foreseeable future (shame, too because it's such a great band) and Hyena Motorcade is not playing live, I am starting to put a new band together as I write this. Already have a great drummer on board.....need bass and singer and I am off and running with another band…should be soon.

ANN: Ohhh Weee! I'm excited!

MARK: There....that should give you something to write about...

ANN: Yes thank you so much!

MARK: You're the coolest ever, yanno that?

ANN: Nooo you are!!. I love hearing what you're up to. Craziness and such! 

MARK: My friend asked me where i get all my energy today....I said simply....VODKA!!

LISTEN:

Former Humans

Hyena Motorcade
BloodPenny

VIDEO

BloodPenny "Secret Spell" (from  BloodPenny's EP)


Heresy presents De-Tached and Bloodpenny - 3/8/14. Video by James Tiede 


Former Humans "Bolted Down"/"Heaven's Gate"



Hyena Motorcade "Shadows"