Interview: Cro-Mags’ Harley Flanagan – “In The Beginning”

Pioneering hardcore band The Cro-Mags release their first new album in 20 years today. The title? In The Beginning.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda tracked down founding member Harley Flanagan in New York City and got the lowdown on what the band has been up lo, these 20 years.

Click here to listen to the interview:

Or, read a transcription of the interview here:

M: Are you in New York City or whereabouts are you?

H: Yeah, we are in the city, I still live in Manhattan.

M: And how are things there today? We’ve been watching from afar what’s going on in the States.

H: It’s been pretty crazy but things are slowly starting to, not get back to normal exactly, but there’s more people on the streets today and the last few days than there have been. I think we’re in phase one now so there’s definitely a little bit more activity but it’s been really weird man, this is one of the busiest cities in the world and it’s been kind of like a ghost town you know?

M: Yup. Well, glad you’re staying safe and healthy hopefully.

H: Yeah man yeah.

M: Now the new album is coming out on Friday, so I thought we should talk about that. It’s called In The Beginning, which is an interesting title for a band that’s been around for as long as you guys so elaborate please.

H: Well, there is a number of reasons for that name and if you look at the album cover, the front cover is a picture of a building I used to live in in the eighties, actually the building that I wrote almost all the songs on The Age Of Quarrel, when I was living there and on the back cover there’s a recent picture of me looking at that location now. So it’s kind of reflecting on the origins of all of this and kind of looking at it in hindsight because there’s really a lot of, there’s been a lot of growth, there’s been a lot of change and at the same time, it’s still all really coming from the same source so there’s a lot of reasons for that name. It’s like I’m kind of paying tribute, paying homage to where it all started and at the same time, where am I now? What have I learned?

M: And I guess that kind of reflects on the whole U.S as a country as to what they’re going through at the moment. Do you see it that way?

H: You know, ironically yeah. Obviously we weren’t in the same state when I started writing the album but you know what, truths are truths and what was relevant then when I was writing it, as it turns out seems to be even more relevant now.

M: I know over the past few years you went through some legal battles and some working out some details with former members, do you feel like all that’s set aside now and you’re free to go forward?

H: I’m definitely free to go forward. It’s behind me.  I did everything I could to try to have everybody walk away from this happy, you know. I really did try to do everything I could but sometimes you just can’t go back and quite honestly, I’m really happy with the line-up of players that I have. I’m really happy with the new record and I’m not complaining. I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life as far as things going good for me. I mean, it’s been a hell of a long struggle and I’m just happy I landed on my feet man.

M: The guys you have in the band have been with you for awhile, they’re no spring chickens themselves.

H: No, I mean, all of these guys have played with Cro-Mags in one line up or another. Obviously Gabby played on a couple Cro-Mags albums and toured with us, started touring with me in the nineties and Rocky recorded with us on Revenge and I toured with him for a long time and my drummer, I’ve been with him now for almost twenty years so this is definitely a hundred per cent Cro-Mags in every way, shape or form. I mean, the lineup is in every way the Cro-Mag line up, you cannot even argue it.

M: And this is of course the first album of original material in about twenty years isn’t it?

H: Well it’s the first one as Cro-Mags. I did put out several releases in the interim but you know what? This is something that was long overdue man. I had to clean up the past in order to move forward. You have to handle your business. I mean, you cannot really move forward in life until you take care of what’s happening and I’m pumped man. We were supposed to be on tour right now but this whole covid thing threw everything off but I’m not wasting any time. In the last three months I’ve written like 65 or more pieces of music and I’ve been in the recording studio for the last three weeks now working on the next album.

M: Excellent.

H: Yeah, I’m not wasting any time.

M: And what’s that gonna sound like do you think, compared to the one that’s about to come out?

H: You know what? I feel like it’s really a continuation of this album. It could have been the second part of a double album. It’s more of the same as far as, you know, I’m keeping true to the style, keeping true to what people expect of Cro-Mags, but I’m also giving them things that they definitely are not expecting. I like to switch it up, you’ve gotta keep growing, expanding and gotta try to keep it interesting you know?

M: Right. I know one of the tracks on the new album features former Motorhead guy Phil Campbell. Maybe you can tell me a little bit about how that worked out.

H: I have been a Motorhead fan as long as, Christ, since their first album. I’ve met Motorhead when they did their first American tour, I became friends with Lemmy, Christ, I remember, it’s not exactly a beautiful memory but I mean I was like fifteen years old doing crystal meth with Lemmy and Philthy Animal Taylor at the Mud Club. Doing rails off the bar, I mean I’ve known them a long time. I remember that. That was when they first toured in the States and I remember asking Lemmy, I’d just started this band called the Cro-Mags and how could we get a chance to open up for you guys? And he was like, well you know, first you gotta get a record deal and put out an album and blah, blah, blah, this and that and just a few years later Cro-Mags was on tour with Motorhead and that’s how I met Phil Campbell and I’ve been friends with him ever since. So its just really cool. Really, really cool to have him on this album.

M: He’s really one of the few former Motorhead guys still with us these days. Lemmy and the rest of them are no longer.

H: Yeah, it’s like him and Mikkey Dee and that’s it you know?

M: Yup, so it’s good to keep it alive.

H: Man, it was an honour. It was truly an honour to have him on there.

M: So how’s it looking as far as live gigs for you guys? Is it anywhere in the future or is it still up in the air?

H: We actually have a ton of festivals booked for this summer, obviously they got cancelled but so far everything has been rescheduled for next year and we’ve been filling up all the in-between festivals with lots of club dates and stuff so we’re gonna make up for this year by touring a lot next year and the fact that I’m in the studio now working on the next album means that I will not have to take time off next year to write and record an album so it will already be done and that way we can just stay busy.

M: I guess the biggest concern from a music fan’s point of view, is worrying about bands like you or whoever that probably make most of their money playing out, cause we all know how much money is made selling records these days, and whether they’re gonna be able to continue.

H: Well you know what, I didn’t start playing music because I thought I was gonna get rich doing it, I do this because I love it you know what I mean? I think most musicians, until you actually become successful, we’re all struggling and we’re all working day jobs or you know, you do this because you love it and that’s the only reason you do it and that’s the only reason I’m still doing it.

M: Is there much of a hard core community where you are in New York?

H: I really don’t know. I mean, I’m not…I don’t really hang out, man. Scenes are for kids man, I don’t care. My friends are at my job, I hang out with my friends and my wife, my kids and I pretty much go to shows when I play them. It’s not like I spend my time going to concerts unless I’m on tour. I’ve been going to shows my whole life.

M: Yeah, I hear you. And besides, you had your night with Lemmy there when you what, fifteen or something it’s all gonna be downhill from there anyway.

H: And that’s such a long time man you know, there’s not a lot of surprises out there for me as far as rock ‘n’ roll goes. I still love it, I still love what I’m doing and I still love playing.

M: And have you been to New Zealand? Have you played down here?

H: Man, I have not and that is like one of my dreams. That’s a part of the world that I really want to see. So hopefully that will happen next year too. Anybody listening, if you guys could get me over there, hook a brother up, hook a brother up. I’m over here waiting.

M: We’ve got a pretty good scene here and it seems like you guys would just chew it up so I think it should happen.

H: Yeah, I mean, bro it would be a real, real joy to get a chance to come over and play my music for you people so hopefully we can make it happen next year.

Cro-Mags’ In The Beginning is released today!