Jordan Posner / Interview Part II

So while Part I of this interview mainly focused on "Ill Blood" and how No Warning got to writing an album of such proportions, Part II mainly deals with the controversial follow up to that album, called "Suffer, Survive". I love it personally but I know there's a lot of haters out there too. I guess I can kind of see where they come from as well. Also Jordan tells a little more about his current band Millenial Reign, featuring Damian of Fucked Up fame on vocals along with fellow ex-No Warning members Ryan and Jesse. Good stuff.

"Suffer, Survive"... I hated it when I first heard it and loved it 3 days later. Do you think a lot of people responded to that record the same way I did?
Oh for sure. No denying it. We obviously knew people were gonna freak out, but all we wanted was for them to give it a chance. We told people to expect a big change in our sound.

How do you look back on that record now? Was it the only possible record you could write after "Ill Blood" or do you think certain things could or should have been different?
I'm proud of it. Not all of it. There's some songs/parts on it that make me shake my head, but there's also songs that I think are just as good as anything off "Ill Blood". I don't think it was the "only possible" record we could've made after "Ill Blood", it was what we were writing at that time in our lives. One thing I really didn't like was when we started to tune down for a few songs. I never wanted to be that band. I always prided ourselves on staying a heavy band while not having to use any drop tunings and shit, but we had to tune lower on some songs to meet Ben's vocal range. Ringworm once played Toronto and after they finished a song, Human Furnace said "Not bad for a band that don't tune down huh?", he was right. If a song like "Dirtier Than The Next" was in our usual tuning, I would've liked that song a lot more.












What were some of the bands that inspired the change in sound? I'd guess Motorhead definitely was one of them?
Yah you could say Motorhead was one. I don't know if that actually came out much in those songs, but cool that you hear it. We'd always jam Motorhead songs at practice. What made writing that album a lot of fun was the fact we all went back to a lot of influences that we listened to as kids, before hardcore and punk, and mixed that with our sound. Bands like Nirvana, Pantera, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica. There were no limits, which made it the album it is I guess.

Exactly how big was the role of the producer you worked with on that record? Who exactly was he and how did you hook up with him?
Matt Hyde. He has worked with everyone from Slayer, Strung Out, to No Doubt, Porno For Pyros and Cypress Hill. Him along with Slayer's guitar tech Dan Druff were easily 2 of the coolest dudes I've had the pleasure of meeting and working with. We just listened to countless Slayer stories. We first hooked up with Matt in 2002 in Toronto. He was producing our old managers band. A few of us were hanging at the studio one day, and he walks in and is like "You guys are a hardcore band? You like Hatebreed? I just produced their new album. Wanna hear it?". That day we heard "Perseverance" for the first time, and were going nuts.

After "Suffer, Survive" dropped you did an insane amount of touring with a lot of bands... From Hatebreed to Papa Roach to Snoop Dogg... Exactly how many tours did you do and who with? Was it always fun or sometimes just plain weird? Which one was your favourite tour?
We were on the road for about a year and half straight, so alot of it became a blur, but most of those tours were all fun as fuck. We did some shows with Sevendust and that was pretty weird. I had no idea why so many people were coming out to see Sevendust. They were fucking horrible. Their crew hated us.














How, when and why did No Warning break up?
The story behind it all was very weird and unexpected (for me). We were a band whose members seemed to grow as people, going their different paths, quicker than recognizing what we were building as a band itself. We started out as a bunch of 15-16 year old kids who loved hardcore. It was a hobby for us and we never expected to make what we made out of it. Whatever popularity we gained along the way, just inspired us to make better songs and be a better band. I'm not gonna bother to defend/prove myself and the rest of the band as to why we made the crazy choices we made so soon after we started to make a name for ourselves in the scene. We were still pretty young kids new to a lot of things, but we were confident enough with our talents as musicians to accept the opportunities that were presented to us. In the end, did it work out? We know the answer to that one, but you live and learn I guess. We had the time of our lives and got to do shit we never imagined was possible. Just like many good/shitty bands do, we broke up cuz of shitty "artistic/creative differences". The whole whirwind we had been on the past couple years came to a head, and fast. The No Warning wikipedia site was hilarious (whoever censored and changed it can DIE!!). No Warning played our last show on September 11th 2005 in Quebec City.

One thing No Warning never got to do is a European tour... Which fucking sucks. What's the deal, did you never get any offers, or why is it that it never happened?
That's still a mystery I guess. Haha. That's definitely one thing I regret, cuz I always hear nothing but good things about the shows over there. I guess it wasn't in the cards for us unfortunately. Maybe one day we'll do a Euro-tour, haha. But it would probably be with Mike "The Rat" Dolloff on vocals. Haha.













Machine Shop... What was that label all about? Who ran it? How did things work between them and No Warning? Did you get the impression they "got" what you were doing?
Haha, fuck, a lot can be said about them, but I'll try to limit it. It was a label owned by Linkin Park and we were the first band signed to them. The label was run by a bunch of characters who could've easily fit into the whole cliché of that world. We got along with people for the most part, but they certainly never "got" us or the background where we came from. They tried to though. We didn't really care and just did our thing. We liked that they didn't understand us. Haha. In reality, we just assumed that Linkin Park being the biggest band on earth, we'd be their proteges à la Eminem/50 cent. Hahha.
We used to joke, with us being their first band on the label, how their staff afforded to live, cuz our A&R guy made the biggest effort to never let us see his car, or give us a lift anywhere whenever we were out in L.A. I guess he wanted to give off the impression that he was this big shot label guy, but he really drove a shitbox or took the bus. Haha. He was waiting for No Warning to make it huge so he could finally buy a car. Nah, he was an alright dude and good company.

If you would have to play 3 No Warning songs as an introduction to a young and excited coreman that hasn't ever heard the band, what songs would you pick and why?
"Short Fuse", "Modern Eyes", and "My World" I guess? One from each album. Let him hear our "weird" shit later and decide. Haha.

How serious a band is Millenial Reign? Do you have a steady line up? How many shows has Millenial Reign played so far... How were those?
We're pretty much a side project. I wish we could do more, but we're all a little older now and it's tougher to do so... Damian is busy a lot with Fucked Up, and is married. Jesse and Ryan both work at a music shop, and Bart has a full time job. This is the line-up we've had so far, we've only played a couple shows, and they were fun. Considering we don't practice much, I'd say we were pretty tight, I have a good chemistry with Jesse and Ryan after playing with them for so long. As for out of town shows, it will probably be scab line-ups for now if it happens.

You have a 7" coming out around the dawn of the new apocalypse on 1917... How soon do you think that'll be? What else can you tell us about it?
It's the 2 demo songs re-recorded and 2 new ones. The demo songs sound wayyyyyyy better. It's still coming out, I promise. We've just had some setbacks regarding the artwork for the vinyl. Fuck, we recorded it last summer already. I was telling Riley that I don't care if the cover is a giant x'd up fist, as long as it comes out. Haha.

Top 5 NYHC records ever... Go wild!
In no order...

CRO-MAGS - "AGE OF QUARREL"
Obviously. No explanation needed.

MERAUDER - "MASTER KILLER"
Not only one of the best NYHC records, but one of my favourite albums ever!! Everything about this album is perfect... The songs, the riffs, the vocals, the production. With an album like this, they should've been huge. I once saw them in Buffalo in 2000, to like 60 people, they opened up with "Master Killer", like went right into it. It was magical. They also played "Downfall Of Christ", which they've left off their setlist the past couple times I've seen them.

MADBALL - "SET IT OFF"
Another example of a band not having to tune down and completely blow out most other heavy bands who do. This album was my bible, and I'm not religious at all. A lot of people called No Warning "Mini Madball" and that's cuz of this album. That, and us actually being miniture people compared to Madball.

BREAKDOWN - "BLACKLISTED/DEMO"
The perfect NYHC band to play someone who doesn't know what the hell NYHC is. I tell a lot of my friends who listen to hip hop about Breakdown, cuz since both NYHC and hip hop came around the same time in the 80's, a band like Breakdown incorporated the perfect vibe of hip hop into their sound. That NY groove. "Jail Of Depression", "Sick People", "Blacklisted"; all perfect examples.

KILLING TIME - "BRIGHTSIDE"
Same boat as Breakdown. This album has such good songs. I love the production on it. The vocals are untouchable. So angry. The riffs are very unique, I love how they have an 80's rock touch to them, while still being hard as shit.














Last of all, what have you been listening to lately? What are some of the bands and/or records you are excited about?
I listen to a lot of blues, soul, classic rock, Sabbath, Obituary, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Turbonegro, shit like that. I'm a little out of the loop on current hardcore bands, but I back Iron Age and Trapped Under Ice. Those dudes have something good going.

That's it... Thanks so much for your time. If you have any final words or shout outs you want to do... Go ahead!
Thanks to you Bjorn for the interview. It was fun. Thanks to anyone who No Warning made go off, and everyone who helped and supported us right from the start to the very end. PEACE.

www.myspace.com/themillenialreign
www.1917records.com