“Society has become decadent and it’s had a devastating impact upon modern art… the real irony is that it’s being driven in that direction by those who are bent on systematically destroying our culture under the guise of doing precisely the opposite. And it’s that agenda that we oppose and wish to obstruct with our brand of counter-chaos, so-to-speak.” – James Doyle, Martyrs for Mayhem.
“Somewhere,” says Martyrs for Mayhem frontman, songwriter, and founder James Doyle, “there are writings from when I was in middle school in western Pennsylvania about how I was going to become an aerospace engineer, move to Southern California, form a self-funded rock band, and breakthrough to the mainstream.” Doyle has managed to accomplish each of those goals except the last, though he seems well on his way to checking off that box as well. “All I was missing at the time was the message.”
By 2016, while living in Pacific Beach, he had written a slew of hard rock alternative songs for a new-age grunge band that, at the time, existed only in his head. The band had a sound, an image, and a name. But after two years of performing relentlessly at open mics in the area, “they” still only had one member. Doyle himself had gained significant traction, attention, and connections in the local San Diego scene, captivating crowds with his energy and onstage presence while armed with merely an acoustic guitar and his distinct, grunge-laden playing style, vocals, and lyrics. But each attempt at forming musical partnerships failed, and it seemed he was consistently encountering the same disappointing obstacle: barely anyone could play his erratically complicated songs.
“I considered giving up several times,” he says. “I even thought about taking mannequins on stage to mock the idea that I couldn’t find anyone to play with. But, I pressed forward, continuing to write songs and improve my playing and singing, preparing for the day when my luck would turn around.”
In January of 2018, he began collaborating with Nathan Eazer, a highly proficient, jazz-oriented rock drummer who was uniquely capable of performing uniquely capable of performing Doyle’s song “Napalm”—a fast-paced, roaring, alt-punk-metal track that had become a fan- favorite from his acoustic sets. The two found each other online after Doyle shared his two-song demo that contained “Napalm” along with a softer, psychedelic-rock groover called “Petals.” Doyle wrote and recorded the demo himself in his apartment, meticulously programming extremely complex rock drums that immediately caught Eazer’s attention. When the two began practicing, Doyle was struck by Eazer’s ability to play the song to a level that not only matched, but exceeded the intensity of the programming—a feat that no other drummer he had worked with had been capable of accomplishing.
That spring, the two connected with bass guitarist Mitchell Fedie, a prolific songwriter and multi-instrumentalist new to the San Diego scene. “He immediately blew us away with his playing,” says Doyle. “It was really exciting when we first heard the songs I’d written over the last two years coming to life with an energy that even I hadn’t imagined.” When the three began playing live at the 710 Beach Club that same summer, audiences in Pacific Beach immediately reciprocated the energy.
“I knew right away we were doing something different, something special that music has been missing for some time now,” he continues, speaking of the rudely- aggressive, cyberpunk grunge-of-the-millennium the three were creating. “We had something exhilarating, something satisfyingly-electric without watering it down in one-dimension.”
They’d seemingly cracked the code of blending grunge, punk, and metal into a brilliant mix that is aggressively energetic, yet consumable and catchy at the same time. Their strength lies in their wide range of sounds that captivate listeners across multiple genres, weaving hypnotic spells of emotionally soothing psychedelia while still possessing the potential for visceral attitude on command.
The three chose the name “Martyrs for Mayhem”—a name Doyle believes encompasses their sound and his lyrics perfectly. “I think it speaks to the overall idea of what our music stands for, which is that our society has become decadent and it’s had a devastating impact upon modern art. And I think the real irony of it is that it’s being driven in that direction, not by those who truly have an interest in enriching our culture, but by those who are bent on systematically destroying it under the guise of doing precisely the opposite. And it’s that agenda that we oppose and wish to obstruct with our brand of counter-chaos, so-to-speak.”
As their repertoire grew, so did their fan base. After a full year of performing, the three headlined an electrifying set at the newly renovated Holding Company in Ocean Beach on Oct. 30th of this year. The show was dubbed “Mischief Night at the Holding Company” and the evening’s entertainment didn’t disappoint. San Diego bands Jam Packed and Cherry Road both delivered impassioned performances in spirited get-ups as the crowd steadily grew throughout the night, amusing themselves in a topsy-turvy costume contest that intensified the anticipation and rowdiness before MFM took the stage. As Martyrs’ set started rolling, their signature tracks “Hamfist,” “Killer Bees,” and “Sweet Nothings” had the full house in attendance jumping.
“That show was an incredible turning point for us,” Doyle says, reflecting on the night. It was their biggest, most-successful show to date and a punctuated vote of confidence from the local scene that created them. The trio closed their main set by burning a white-hot hole through “Napalm”—the track that started it all less than two years earlier—in what seemed like the culmination of a wild set of unbridled shared energy between band and crowd alike. As they tried to walk off, a curtain call like nothing the three had ever experienced pushed them to perform their encore, “Racket,” putting a final exclamation point on the night. The house lights came on, the feedback faded out. And as the crowd dispersed, it was clear MFM had earned new fans and respect in their scene they’d been eagerly seeking.
Martyrs for Mayhem have additional dates scheduled over the coming months and are looking to release an EP in the spring of 2020 as well as videos and a merchandise lineup. If their current trajectory is any indicator, they’ll likely be taking their music well outside of San Diego along the way. SDV recently caught up with frontman and founder James Doyle to learn more about the process of what the last year and a half have been like for the band.
What’s been the biggest struggle along the way?
JD: The biggest struggle has been the complexity of the songs I write. I grew up a fan of bands like Soundgarden and Smashing Pumpkins, who made unorthodox time signatures and song structure dynamics a big part of their songwriting. On top of that, Nathan and I insist on playing almost everything as fast as possible. It’s the only way to deliver a lot of our material properly and to really get a true energy released by the end of the track. So, I think we end up being challenged by the mere nature of our songs to have to rehearse probably a lot harder than we would like.
Add to that the fact that we’re three guys with almost militaristic perfectionist standards for ourselves and you have a recipe for a lot of stress.
What do you think Martyrs are mostly known for musically at this point?
JD: I think we’re mostly known for being extremely dynamic and for music that is, in a way, strangely schizophrenic. It ranges from this fast-tempo manic overdrive like “Napalm” to these dreamy, lullabies like “Cheapskate” and “Ricochet.” And, sometimes, we whip through that whole whimsical range of sounds all in one song.
What are you most proud of as a band?
JD: The connection we’ve made with fans along the way is what makes us most proud. People have come to us with specific songs that have stuck with them after our shows and have wanted to hear more and to know more about them. We have a song, “Dynamo,” that many people have told me they really connect with emotionally. And that’s something that I take very seriously because what that means is that they’re able to find comfort in our art. It has the ability to help them deal with something difficult in their personal lives that they may not have been able to—or even wanted to—put into words.
I think another thing that makes us proud is not allowing ourselves to do things the easy way. If there’s a difficult fill on drums or a tough solo to get right on guitar, we don’t shy away from it. We work it out until we’ve got it. The same goes for the songwriting, I’ll wait months to finish a song if even one line of lyrics isn’t right. And that’s really important to us because I think we all have the same goal and that is to make art that we’re proud of and we feel good about. We don’t want to create something or perform something we don’t feel is up to par just for the sake of putting it out there. And we’ll wait out that process as long as it takes—whether it’s debuting something live or going into the studio—until we really believe in what we have.
What do you feel sets you apart from other bands?
JD: I think what sets us apart is the overall message. I think listeners can easily relate to the same 21st-century feelings of loneliness and anxiety that they hear in our songs.
In this new techno-age nightmare-land we’re living in, more than ever, there’s this increasing need to cover up and pretend to be something else rather than reveal one’s own vulnerabilities and true self. And Martyrs gets right to the heart of that and dares to defy it. But to get to the real message, we take it even further. It’s not just that the world is screwed up and frightening. Everyone knows that. It’s that we hear you, we’re there for you, and you’re not alone. And I think that when listeners hear that message of compassion and hope from an otherwise dark, aggressive- sounding, nihilistic rock band, it surprises them but also somehow makes sense to them in this really twisted “good pain” sort of way.
What role has luck (good luck or bad luck) played in your path so far?
JD: Well, for one thing, if we’re playing a show in town, you can bet it’s going to rain that day! Seems to happen every time! (laughs) Honestly, though, you know, we’ve been really fortunate to have the opportunities to play and to meet so many amazing people and artists out there. Whether we’ve earned it and deserve it or not is really irrelevant. It’s still something to be thankful for and to acknowledge as something that’s a true privilege—just having that chance to try, really.
I mean, there’ve been moments when it seemed like things were just totally in the cards for us and times when it seemed like they just weren’t no matter what we did. I try not to dwell on that too much because I think it gets your focus off of the really important aspect of what you’re doing, which is this: Every night that you get to go out there, meet new people, shake some hands, and experience the art of others while sharing yours is a pretty good night.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.martyrsformayhem.com
- Email: martyrsformayhem@gmail.com
- Instagram: @martyrsformayhem
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/martyrsformayhem/
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