One of the first interview I did for Perro Maldito. 11 years later and Iron Lung are still going strong and proved to be one of the best when it comes to deliver brutal powerviolence! Conducted via email with guitarist Jon Kortland sometimes around '01/'02. Originally featured in PM#1.
Perro: Ok, start
with the classic brief hystory of your band.Jon: Jensen and I
started playing together in a band called Kralizec. It was basically
Iron Lung but with a singer. All the songs were about Dune. I think
we started doing Iron Lung about two years ago.
Perro: Why have you decided to call it Iron Lung? Do you have any respiratory problem?Jon: No respitory problems. We both have an interest in medical technology. The Iron Lung is just this really cryptic, unusual machine. Jensen came up with the name and I agreed that it was a good name.
Perro:How would you describe your sound to the uninitiated? Into the Slap a Ham website you have been described as a mix of Crossed Out, Discordance Axis and Melt Banana, which I think is the best way to give an idea of your unique sound. Do you agree? If your answer is positive, what do you think to have in common with the aforementioned bands?Jon: I think that is a pretty good description of what we sound like. We both love those bands and I'm sure we are both influenced by them musically. The song structures owe a lot to Crossed Out. The way Jensen sings is also comparable. We don't have a bass, so that's an obvious similarity with Discordance Axis. I think that their experimental approach to grindcore is inspiring. Melt Banana is probably my favorite band of the last ten years. If you want to talk about experimental...Anyway, it is a huge compliment to be compared to those bands, but there is no way we could ever approach their groundbreaking status.
Perro: Why have you decided to call it Iron Lung? Do you have any respiratory problem?Jon: No respitory problems. We both have an interest in medical technology. The Iron Lung is just this really cryptic, unusual machine. Jensen came up with the name and I agreed that it was a good name.
Perro:How would you describe your sound to the uninitiated? Into the Slap a Ham website you have been described as a mix of Crossed Out, Discordance Axis and Melt Banana, which I think is the best way to give an idea of your unique sound. Do you agree? If your answer is positive, what do you think to have in common with the aforementioned bands?Jon: I think that is a pretty good description of what we sound like. We both love those bands and I'm sure we are both influenced by them musically. The song structures owe a lot to Crossed Out. The way Jensen sings is also comparable. We don't have a bass, so that's an obvious similarity with Discordance Axis. I think that their experimental approach to grindcore is inspiring. Melt Banana is probably my favorite band of the last ten years. If you want to talk about experimental...Anyway, it is a huge compliment to be compared to those bands, but there is no way we could ever approach their groundbreaking status.
Perro: It's not a
secret that you are also in Gob. Do you think this help in anyway to
spread the Iron Lung verb?
Jon: Oh absolutely not. I would say if anything it would be a hindrance.
Perro: You are a duo without bass guitar. Is it your own decision or is due to a lack of good bass player in your zone? What are the advantage of being only a two pieces band?Jon: We made that decision. There are plenty of great bass players out there. We just wanted to simplify everything. It's amazing to see the difference one more person in a band can make. I would say there are so many advantages to being a two-piece. Shit man, we tour in a station wagon.
Perro: Binge a duo without bass is not too uncommon for bands outta USA. Why do you think there are so many bands in this way? Can a heavy guitar sound replace a bass?Jon: I think a lot of people are just seeing how easy it is to be in a two person band. I don't know if a guitar can replace a bass. I am a huge fan of the low end. I love the way bass sounds. I do think that it is possible to get a full, heavy sound out of a guitar though.
Perro: I know the upcoming split 7" with Lana Dagales became a split 12". What can we expect from your side?
Jon: I was doing a 7" for Lana Dagales and Greg was doing a 7" for Iron Lung. It just made sense to combine our efforts. We had talked of doing a split for a long time and we took the opportunity. I think it will probably be done in April. The masters have been sent off and I am finishing up the artwork now.
Perro: You have just finished a long tour in the states. How was it? Best/worst gigs?Jon: We just got back. There were some totally outrageous shows. My favorites were Seattle, WA; Austin, TX; Haltom City, TX; Athens, GA; Columbia, SC; New York, NY; Columbus, OH; and Denver, CO. That is not to say that there were many other shows that really kicked ass. Those are the ones that really stand out in my memory. The shows in the bay area were totally amazing too. That is one of our favorite areas to play. We always seem to have a great time there. I want to keep my tour memories positive, so I'll just not mention the bad ones.
Perro: Do you have any funny tour story for us?Jon: There are way too many funny tour stories. I can't really narrow one down that would even make sense. Most of it revolves around these little inside jokes we have. I'm sorry.
Perro: Any plan to cross the ocean and come here in europe to do some gigs in the future?Jon: There are no solid plans right now, but I know we would both love to do that. We have a split 5" with Quattro Stagioni from Germany in the works right now. Maybe we could tour together.
Jon: Oh absolutely not. I would say if anything it would be a hindrance.
Perro: You are a duo without bass guitar. Is it your own decision or is due to a lack of good bass player in your zone? What are the advantage of being only a two pieces band?Jon: We made that decision. There are plenty of great bass players out there. We just wanted to simplify everything. It's amazing to see the difference one more person in a band can make. I would say there are so many advantages to being a two-piece. Shit man, we tour in a station wagon.
Perro: Binge a duo without bass is not too uncommon for bands outta USA. Why do you think there are so many bands in this way? Can a heavy guitar sound replace a bass?Jon: I think a lot of people are just seeing how easy it is to be in a two person band. I don't know if a guitar can replace a bass. I am a huge fan of the low end. I love the way bass sounds. I do think that it is possible to get a full, heavy sound out of a guitar though.
Perro: I know the upcoming split 7" with Lana Dagales became a split 12". What can we expect from your side?
Jon: I was doing a 7" for Lana Dagales and Greg was doing a 7" for Iron Lung. It just made sense to combine our efforts. We had talked of doing a split for a long time and we took the opportunity. I think it will probably be done in April. The masters have been sent off and I am finishing up the artwork now.
Perro: You have just finished a long tour in the states. How was it? Best/worst gigs?Jon: We just got back. There were some totally outrageous shows. My favorites were Seattle, WA; Austin, TX; Haltom City, TX; Athens, GA; Columbia, SC; New York, NY; Columbus, OH; and Denver, CO. That is not to say that there were many other shows that really kicked ass. Those are the ones that really stand out in my memory. The shows in the bay area were totally amazing too. That is one of our favorite areas to play. We always seem to have a great time there. I want to keep my tour memories positive, so I'll just not mention the bad ones.
Perro: Do you have any funny tour story for us?Jon: There are way too many funny tour stories. I can't really narrow one down that would even make sense. Most of it revolves around these little inside jokes we have. I'm sorry.
Perro: Any plan to cross the ocean and come here in europe to do some gigs in the future?Jon: There are no solid plans right now, but I know we would both love to do that. We have a split 5" with Quattro Stagioni from Germany in the works right now. Maybe we could tour together.
Jon: We will be touring
again after the full length comes out. Our 7" on 625 came out
before we left, so we were supporting that release. We love to tour.
We have toured 3 times in the last 8 months, so I'm sure it will be
no problem to get out on the road again when the record comes
out.
Perro: Talking about the album, when will you record it? Please, give us some dectailed info about it.Jon: We are going to go into the studio in late April/May. We are still in the process of writing it. We are going to have some guests on it doing noise. There has been some talk about doing an enhanced CD with some video on it also, but I don't really know all the details right now. We are still formulating our plan of attack.
Perro: What do your parents think about Iron Lung and all your activity connected with the hc underground?Jon: I'm sure they would rather have me be an accountant or a doctor or something, but I think they have grown to accept who I am. I mean I'm 31 years old. This isn't some kind of phase I am going through that I will be "growing" out of. I don't think they really understand what I am doing, but they are somewhat supportive.
Perro: What could we expect from your label Satan's Pimp in the future?
Jon: Satan's Pimp is dead. I am starting a new label called Cryptological Research. The first release is the Lana Dagales/Iron Lung split 12". I am working on that with Boredom Noise. Next will be a Society of Friends discography and a StretchHeads (Scotland) discography that I am working on with Enturruption Records.
Perro: Ok, tell us your plans for the future with your various activity and conlcude as you prefer.Our upcoming release are: Lana Dagales/Iron Lung split 12", Iron Lung live tape, BG/Iron Lung split 7, Quatro Stagioni/Iron Lung split 5", Goat Shanty/Iron Lung split 7", Iron Lung full length, Iron Lung "Cover Songs" 7" and a few other things in the works, comps., etc. Thanks for doing this interview. We appreciate your support.
Perro: Talking about the album, when will you record it? Please, give us some dectailed info about it.Jon: We are going to go into the studio in late April/May. We are still in the process of writing it. We are going to have some guests on it doing noise. There has been some talk about doing an enhanced CD with some video on it also, but I don't really know all the details right now. We are still formulating our plan of attack.
Perro: What do your parents think about Iron Lung and all your activity connected with the hc underground?Jon: I'm sure they would rather have me be an accountant or a doctor or something, but I think they have grown to accept who I am. I mean I'm 31 years old. This isn't some kind of phase I am going through that I will be "growing" out of. I don't think they really understand what I am doing, but they are somewhat supportive.
Perro: What could we expect from your label Satan's Pimp in the future?
Jon: Satan's Pimp is dead. I am starting a new label called Cryptological Research. The first release is the Lana Dagales/Iron Lung split 12". I am working on that with Boredom Noise. Next will be a Society of Friends discography and a StretchHeads (Scotland) discography that I am working on with Enturruption Records.
Perro: Ok, tell us your plans for the future with your various activity and conlcude as you prefer.Our upcoming release are: Lana Dagales/Iron Lung split 12", Iron Lung live tape, BG/Iron Lung split 7, Quatro Stagioni/Iron Lung split 5", Goat Shanty/Iron Lung split 7", Iron Lung full length, Iron Lung "Cover Songs" 7" and a few other things in the works, comps., etc. Thanks for doing this interview. We appreciate your support.
