Interview With Mikey Nigro & Paul Kelly of Corrupted Ideals May 23rd 1999

NRA: What was the genesis of Corrupted Ideals? Was it always you and Mikey in the drivers seat?

Paul: It was always me and Mike right from the beginning. I was in a really bad punk band and me and Mike were pretty good friends. So the idea of playing with him was really good.

NRA: What was the deciding factor to brake with Corrupted Ideals?

Mikey: Paul and I were tired of trying to find a line up that was into what we were doing. It took the excitement out of playing when not everyone is involved.

Paul: Yeah pretty much, we started out as a hardcore band, which I wasn't into. Then on the second record we started playing the kind of music I was into, more of a rootsy punk rock. After that we wanted to start delving into the proto punk stuff, but everyone was into hardcore and we couldn't keep a line up.

NRA: On Anti-Generation there was a return to the 1977 punk sound. Corrupted Ideals were one of the first bands in the early 90's to do this which, as we know, became a trend in the later 90's with Swingin' Utters and Dropkick Murphy's etc. Did you talk about this change, or was it natural for you?

Mikey: It was really natural for us because Paul and I were always big UK Subs, not to brown nose or anything, fans and that whole genre of 77'style. On our first CD we were still trying to find our sound, it just took a
while for us to discover.The lyrics and the music from the second CD were more from the heart and came more natural to us.

Paul: I agree it was natural. The first and second wave of punk was what I listened to. They were my favorite bands. It's funny, it took us a while to win over our crowd with that music.

NRA: Bookend cameos of a Bouree by Robert De Visee appeared on Anti-Generation - what did you fans make of that?

Mikey: I didn't hear very much about it. I was very proud that I had learned a classical guitar piece and Paul thought it would be interesting to put on the CD to show some juxtaposition.

NRA: Similarly, what do the other classical musicians at Indiana University know about your dark past?

Mikey: When I show them pictures they have a good laugh. We have such a diverse background here that nobody's really too surprised over anything!!

NRA: I know changing between Classical and (Punk) rock can sometimes be difficult, I always was prone to move my thumb around to the top of the neck as if to bend a sting. My teacher (Catherleen Warner) would slap my leg. Did you ever suffer from anything like that when you first switched?

Mikey: Yes!! When barring (the basic punk rock barr of the 1st and 3rd fingers on the left hand) my hand would get cramped very badly. I think it was because I learned to hold the strings differently when playing
classical. The neck of my electric guitar was like a toothpick compared to the elephant trunk on my classical guitar, I guess it was kind of strange jumping back and forth.

NRA: Ever checked out the local Punk scene?

Mikey: Yes, there is a great band called "Suicide Note" and there demo is available somewhere. They are the former Failsafe if you ever have heard of them. 

NRA: No I haven't heard of them. What about your new band Paul, would you tell us a little about that?

Paul: Basically I kept going backwards.

NRA: For the record what's your new band called

Paul: The Neurotones. Our first CD is about to be released on Sonic Tone records it's called "My Baby Howls.

NRA: Talking about your baby howls - I know you lived with Andi Beltramo Snap-Her's lead singer for a long time - any band rivalry there?

Paul: No not at all, we're both very supportive of each other. We're still really good friends and talk to one another a couple of times a week.

NRA: Snap-Her's last record was a bit of a move towards proto punk sound too.

Paul: I liked the 2nd record a lot better than the first - more rhythm and beat. It's nice to see Andi showing off her influences more.

NRA: I liked Anthony, your last drummer, a lot. I thought he fit in very well and was not some anonymous guy at the back playing drums. He put out a record right after Corrupted Ideals broke up - do you think he wanted more creative input than was available in Corrupted Ideals?

Paul: Ummm yeah, Mike, had sort of branched out and was playing classical, I wanted to branch out and play more garage, rockabilly, R&B. I think Anthony, wanted to explore more a mix of older new wave and progressive pop.

NRA: Anything to add?

Mikey: Yes, I would like to thank Phil (who sadly passed away) from Naked Aggression and Nicky Garratt for influencing me in classical guitar. Both these people play classical guitar and are as
subversive as ever!!

Paul: It was fun while it lasted.