Bitter Truth is
an up and coming hardcore band from Grand Rapids that’s been making some noise
the last couple of years. My long-time friends Nate and Jacob recently brought
them to my attention after recording/releasing their new EP "Reality Check" via their studio/label
Smog Moon Recordings.
I’ve been
chatting with their singer Mnasse Tekle for the last couple of weeks about his
upbringing, the band, and what’s been popping off in the 616 lately.
Read on.
I always like
to learn a little bit about people's backgrounds so talk a little bit about
your family and your childhood. Are
you a Grand Rapids native? What sort of presence did art and music have in your
household when you were coming up as a kid?
Well
my parents are from a small country in Africa called Eritrea. I myself was born
in Dallas, Texas, but I was raised here in GR most my life.
Music
and Art has always in some form or another been a part of my life whether it be
Eritrean music, which was played in my house all the time when I was a kid, or
hip-hop and rap. Then not too long after that I fell in love with punk and hardcore,
and that changed things up a bit, haha.
So how did your
folks wind up making their way to the U.S. from Eritrea?
To be honest I'm not exactly sure on
the details on how they got here, but they were pretty much getting away from
the intense war going on between my country Eritrea and Ethiopia for our
independence.
Do you still have family there....have you been back to visit at all over the years?
Do you still have family there....have you been back to visit at all over the years?
We still have some family out there, but unfortunately I've
never met them nor have I ever been out there myself. One day for sure. Better
late than never I guess.
What sort of hip-hop stuff did you get into as a kid and how did you eventually gravitate towards punk and hardcore?
When it comes to hip-hop and rap, man, haha I can go all day
with this dude, but I'll keep it short.
I listened to all sorts of hip-hop and rap from every region for
sure, but I definitely drifted more towards East Coast hip-hop than anything.
From Mobb Deep, Nas, Biggie, Fugees, to one of my all-time favorite groups from
the Midwest, Bone Thugs N Harmony. But Tupac will always be my all-time
favorite. I still listen to it all. That will never change.
I think it happened sometime during middle school though. Some
of my friends from school would introduce me to different bands here and there,
and I'm pretty sure that triggered it. I started digging into different styles
and bands and finally I came across punk/hardcore and everything related to it.
After that, it all started coming together.
I went to college in Grand Rapids and lived there from 1996
to 2002, and I was always struck by how segregated the city was along racial
and economic lines. What was it like for you growing up in GR in terms of your
school experience and just living in the city more generally?
Well I can say this city has changed/cleaned up a lot since I was a kid. We didn't have much growing up, but we made the best outta what we had. GR low key wasn't the greatest back in the day. Lots of gangs and drugs in the streets and schools. Wasn't pretty.
As for the segregation here, I mean it really wasn't that
different than anywhere else. Growing up you knew there were places where you'd
stand out just for having a darker complexion than others. Not saying things
have changed much since, but growing up it was a little worse then.
What commonalities did you see between hip-hop and hardcore and what were some of the first hc bands that resonated with you, either live or recorded?
To me hip-hop/rap and hardcore have a lot of similarities. Both
have lyrics/stories that are totally similar and relatable. I think that was
one of the main things that drew me to hardcore.
First hardcore band I ever saw live was Remembering Never, and
that show totally changed things for me, haha. After that, I started coming
across bands like Bitter End, Terror, Down To Nothing, No Warning, and honestly
the list goes on.
Talk about the
formation of Bitter Truth. How did you guys meet up and decide to start jamming
together?
It all started with Jonny (guitar) and I just jamming out by
ourselves in his basement. Then after a few times of just us jamming out on our
own we decided to try and see if our friend Xzavier wanted to play drums. Then
our friend referred us to our friend Sam who was our first bass player.
After a
while of us jamming we started taking things seriously and then Bitter Truth
came to be. Our line-up has changed a few times since then, but throughout all
changes and obstacles we’ve gone through the band has grown and matured.
What has
the writing process been like in the band up to this point, both musically and
lyrically?
The writing process with us is actually pretty smooth but also
interesting for the most part. We all know what we want, but we do fight
sometimes on where we want some songs to go. But that’s normal for us. If we
didn’t fight like we do I feel like this band would be awkward to be in and it
wouldn’t last, haha.
For me the lyrics are always based on things I’ve either gone
through personally or just a situation or person that just needs to be called
out. Hints the name. Jonny and l actually put a lot of work and thought into
what we write lyrically. We want to make sure it comes out strong and clear,
but also makes a very big impact on the the situation it relates to.
I know
you guys tracked the most recent e.p. with my old friend Nate at Smog
Moon. How did you guys hook up and what was the recording process like?
We were in the process of trying to figure out where we would go
to record, and then my friend Jacob Weston hit me up about us recording a song
for a benefit compilation CD with Smog Moon Recordings.
We ended up doing it
and had a dope-ass time recording with Nate. After that we felt like we found
our spot to record the new EP. We definitely put a lot of work into it and had our
good friend Brett come out to do a guest spot which was pretty cool. Overall
it was an awesome time recording the EP with Nate, and we’ll for sure be
working with him again.
What's the
current state of hardcore and punk in Grand Rapids right now? What bands and
venues should people have their eyes and ears on?
Right now GR
seems to be producing tons of new bands. We got our brothers in Prison Suicide
and Worst Self. My boys in Detain are making a big impact in hardcore right
now. We also have bands like Death Rate, Justice Decays, Roundhouse, Life Loss,
and a lot of others out there.
Lately people have been booking shows at their houses, which has
been pretty fucking dope, but we also have the Wealthy Street Theater which is also a great venue to play at, and this bar called 745 too.
What's next for you guys in terms of writing, recording, and touring?
We’re currently writing new stuff. We’ll see in the future what
touring will look like, but for right now we’ll just play as much as we
can.
Us releasing this new EP was just the beginning.
Final thoughts?
Final thoughts?
BT has way more to put out, and we definitely are excited to see
how far we can take it.
