Punk Globe: Hi Guys, Since we at Punk Globe last heard from you guys (which i think was around the time of DEGENERATION), How have you been and what's been going on in Mongrel world?

Adam: Hey Punk Globe! Are we talking the band or the wrestling clique for Degeneration? Things here are going really well. This past year has seen a lot of changes in the band as we parted ways in the Spring of 2010 with our singer we'd had for the prior 5 years and drummer we'd had for 2+ years due to mounting tensions within the band that just hit their breaking points. At that time we were about to put out a new album which we then shelved in order to re-do the tunes with whomever the new lineup would be. In May 2010 we got our new drummer Dave Kazukiewicz thanks to a fan's recommendation, and briefly had another male singer, Scott Campbell (ex-Graveyard BBQ) join up but due to personal life issues he parted ways with us soon after, at which point our friend Jessica Sierra stepped up to fill in with us in July and then in August came on board as our new full time singer. We hit the studio in September 2010 and by the end of the month had released the 6 song EP "The New Breed of Old School" on which we re-recorded 6 tracks off our old full length CD "Fear, Lies, & Propaganda" as a way to re-introduce the band with our new line up and now a female singer after 7 years of being a male fronted band. The fan response and reviews for it were great so we hit the studio again in October to start work on what would be the "Declamation" EP and it's companion piece, our upcoming full-length album "Reclamation"....beyond that our long term bassist stepped down in February (on good terms) and we've been trying to find the right person to fill his spot. We were named the 2011 Best Punk Band by Pulse Magazine, were the 2nd best Unsigned Band for the month of May in an AMP Magazine poll, opened for Sepultura, and have a gig coming up in October with the Misfits so it's definitely been a hectic but good year.

Punk Globe: Do you think having a female front the band has changed how your lyrics are written, or will it be more of the same no matter who writes / sings them?

Adam: Our old singer didn't write much for lyrics while he was with us so like 98% of the songs til now have been my writing so it hasn't changed anything through the upcoming new album since this was material we wrote before Jess joined the band. I think having a female singer performing some of the lyrics I've written (especially for some of the stuff on the upcoming full length) perhaps changes the interpretation versus having them delivered by a male singer just due to subject matter or choice of phrases but I think they're positive changes really. I think they hit home even more as a result. Going forward I think you will see some more writing other than mine since we now have a singer who writes lyrics as well which is a welcomed change. I'm sure that even with someone else contributing more towards the song writing it's not all of a sudden going to be sensitive love songs or dance pop party anthems. It'll still be MONGREL in the end result I assure you.

Punk Globe: You've played with some pretty fine bands on the road lately.....Any good tour stories or even bad ones?

Adam: Well we got to play a cool show in NYC with alternative models, blood wrestling, body painting, girls in zombie make up modeling clothes, etc which was definitely a fun one not too long ago. Nothing too crazy has happened lately, though we did get complimented on our cover of "Dig Up Her Bones" by Dr Chud (ex-Misfits) so that was really cool.

Punk Globe: Whats next for Mongrel?

Adam: Right now we're exploring options for the best plan in terms of distribution or a new label for our upcoming new full length album. We're working with Thom Hazaert at Corporate Punishment Management on that; we've got a track from the new album coming out on a compilation being put out by Femme Metal Records this fall and another one on a sampler being promoted by Society Syndicate in July so there's some cool stuff in the works, and then of course playing with the Misfits again in October will definitely be a blast !

Punk Globe: Where can people check out the EP, your other work, and buy the product?

Adam: Both the "Declamation" and "The New Breed of Old School" EP's are available on itunes, amazon, and your major digital online places downloads. For people who still enjoy actual CD's (like myself) you can pick them up at http://mongrel.bandcamp.com or on our main website - http://www.mongrelband.com

Punk Globe: Thanks for taking the time out to do this, Punk Globe wishes you well, and Here's to the next release!

Adam: Thank you for asking me to do the interview and for all the support over there at Punk Globe over the years!! Here's to many more years of Punk Globe as well!