PURE HEEL Group Chat-style Text Interview with Doughy Ramone, The Claw, The Mangler, Captain Annoying & The Boy (Irish Voodoo Records)
PURE HEEL makes feverish, brashly unfiltered, unadultured, unapologetic, unabashed Wrestling-inspired Punk/Hardcore music. Not unlike SPAZZ, Los Crudos, Ultramantis Black, The Ultimate Warriors, God's Hate, F*CKED UP, The Mountain Goats, Open Mike Eagle, Andy "The Butcher" Williams of Every Time I Die, Conway The Machine, Westside Gunn, Action Bronson, KŌYŌ, Fozzy, The Mighty Jabronis, Hulk Hogan, Cyndi Lauper, KUARANTINE, John Cena, The Miz, The Misfits, Smoke DZA, Mega Ran, Griff/Scorcese, Code Orange, Weezer, and Zoogz Rift before them, HEEL often take stylistic cues from the WWF/WWE. "Listen up, milkmaids. PURE HEEL is here to make your insurance rates go up, your property value go down, and your dreams crumble. I, The Captain have assembled the finest crew of mutant bruisers to dominate all oncomers, big or small..."
"Whether it is by the big-backed brawn of Doughy Ramone or the 190-proof demonic breath of The Mangler, all shall bow to our might. Step to The Claw and get your tires slashed. The Boy will beat you to death to the rhythm of your choice. Step aside and make room for the true Kings of The Ring, PURE motherf**king HEEL," Captain Annoying. The above smack-talking quote comes directly from PURE HEEL guitarist Jay Galvin AKA Captain Annoying. It stems from a lengthy three-hour full-band Group Chat text conversation I had with all five HEELS recently. Admittedly, it's a bit scatter-brained, as you might expect from a group of camera time-stealing HEELS; also, partly because my connection was a tad bit shotty and my text transmissions kept dropping out randomly. I've done the best I could to get everything make coherent sense and you can see that down below (sans witty .GIF's!) PURE HEEL's most recent self-titled digital/7-inch single is now available directly from Irish Voodoo Records, as well as REVHQ.
I. What are each of your various roles and nicknames within PURE HEEL?
Jesse Muscato: Rhythm guitar, The Claw.
The Mangler: I'm The Mangler. When I'm not mangling someone or something, I play bass.
Rob Ohlenschlager: I'm Rob, sometimes, called "The Boy," always the drummer.
Eric Borawski: Doughy Ramone. Vocals/merchandising.
The Witzard: Doughy has ALL THE AKA's! 🤣
Doughy Ramone: Jay Galvin - Captain Annoying / guitars, leads, and rhythms... Half my day is spent day dreaming [up] new monikers.
II. In addition to PURE HEEL, what other bands or projects have/do you fellas spend your time playing with?
The Claw: Ha Jay, you first.
The Mangler: Lewd Dewdz, Wreckage.
Doughy Ramone: PURE HEEL is [my] one and only true love. I cheat on them with P*ssing Match when the fancy tickles me; someone has to sell merch around here!
The Boy: Well, Jay & I are, also, in P*ssing Match, which Eric [Doughy Ramone] tries to be "the merch guy" for, but I, usually, have to fill in for him 'cause he's lurking around outside at gigs. I'm, also, in an Emo-ish band called Worse Things where I'm, actually, not the youngest one in the band, so it's weird.
The Mangler: Should I list all the bands I got kicked out of?
The Claw: Despair, Kid Gorgeous, Buried Alive, Wreckage, Ghosts of War, Heavy Hearted.
Doughy Ramone: (So, I figure Jay can fire off his answers after all of this.)
III. So, what's the real-deal "origin story" behind PURE HEEL's formation?
Doughy Ramone: (Typing) ha... Basically, what had happened was P*ssing Match had been playing a bunch of shows and I had been going on the road with them as their [merch] guy and selling their stuff and, basically, all-around managing the band. As Jay [Captain Annoying] put it, I was doing all of the work and had no glory of a band. He had about five songs of a demo that he was sitting on with him and Rob [The Boy] that he, eventually, came up to me with and asked me if I had wanted to try singing over the songs that, eventually, turned out to be our demo. It was just myself, Jay, and Rob for a few months playing those songs until we decided to get a little more serious with it. That is where I got a hold of [The] Mangler and asked him to, essentially, play bass with us. It was pretty stressful, honestly, because I have never sang on anything or been the frontman of a band before I had gone into this; completely not knowing what I was doing and that's why I think the demo sounds pretty neat because it's truly just a mix of me going in there and yelling my head off.
The Claw: I am not oh... oh... og... f***ck!
The Mangler: If memory serves, I, actually, asked to be in the band.
Doughy Ramone: Okay, so...
The Mangler: I begged.
The Claw: I weasels... weaseled.
Doughy Ramone: The band had been going for a couple of months and if memory serves me right, Joe [The Magler] is correct. He had asked me to be in the band, I think, we were hanging out and I had showed him some of the songs and told him how cool it was and how well it was going; I do remember saying, "Joe, if you want to be in the band, you have to play bass and you have to take it seriously or else it won't work." 🤣
The Mangler: Anything to get out of being on a band with Jesse (Wreckage.)
The Claw: Liar.
The Witz: Jesse, what does "I am not..." mean? 🤣
Doughy Ramone: Haha. "I'm not O.G." - [The] Claw.
The Claw: I am not original.
Doughy Ramone: He's not "on" lol.
The Boy: He pretty much nailed it; Jay [The Claw] & I got together and he showed me the stuff he'd be working on and we worked it out for a few weeks. Tracked the instruments in our space on an ancient Tascam that Jay had and, then, it sat for a while until Eric took the reins and, then, got Joey. Jesse came much later to be the little cherry on top.
Doughy Ramone: PURE [HEEL] had been going pretty strong for a couple years, I'd say, until Jesse had official joined the band as second guitar.
The Mangler: That's on account of me needing rides to practice and Jesse lived pretty close. 😉
IV. For those incredibly unaware, how exactly would you, PURE HEEL, pioneers, purveyors, and players of this penultimate Punk sub-genre define "Wrestle-core?" (Hopefully, all of those P-words make sense! 🤣)
The Claw: Joey, I've been carrying you around for [years].
Doughy Ramone: I must be the first to say Joey Voodoo [Fitzgerald] coined the term "Wrestlecore." I'll elaborate.
The Witz: We can try to loop Joey Voodoo in, too... or I can email him at a later date.
Doughy Ramone: Basically, PURE HEEL is wrestling-inspired. It stems from Jay & [I's] love of old wrestling and the heels that really defined an era of the 70's and 80's; we kinda landed in that sweet era and have been running with it. I will say this, let's not get too gimmicky with it, we are a Hardcore band that nods wrestling and loves and appreciates it, but I wouldn't say we define ourselves by it. But, hey, if we are gonna be the Champions in a Wrestlecore genre, all challengers welcome for that Belt.
V. Who's each of your all-time favorite wrestler and why?
The Mangler: And we DO have a Belt.
Doughy Ramone: This is the hardest question of the night, Matt.
The Claw: ["Rowdy" Roddy] Piper.
Doughy Ramone: If we are going based solely on a gimmick, my favorite wrestler would be [The] Sandman. If we are going on my favorite worker, it would be RVD420 [Rob Van Dam]. Growing up, I loved Chris Benoit, but we all know where that story goes and it bums me out.
The Witz: Yeah, that Benoit episode of Dark Side of The Ring was really sad and sobering. Anyone else?
The Boy: Probably, The Rock because I used to be obsessed with that eyebrow thing he would do when I was a kid.
The Mangler: Damn... I was a kid [the] last time I watched regularly. Jake The Snake, probably. Dude body slammed Andre [The Giant,] if memory serves [me right]. And I like any show with Wildlife [World Wide Fund for Nature/WWF].
The Claw: I think, I liked Piper when I was young because he always just [seemed] so unhinged and could come apart at any time; that's what I remember, anyway.
Doughy Ramone: I really loved that series as a whole. I binged watched them all.
The Witz: Hell yes, Dark Side of The Ring is extremely dope and I seriously can't wait for Season 3!
Doughy Ramone: That Owen Hart one was sad. I remember the night he died, I was watching the Sunday Night Heat before the Pay-Per-View.
VI. What are some of your favorite songs to cover? I recently saw your live cover of Nirvana's "Breed" within a 2019-20 hate5six video and I know you guys recorded a cover of Black Flag's "Damaged I" for split comp. Damaged By Dez. Do you have any immediate plans to release these digitally?
The Claw: I have never really been in bands that [do] covers. [HEEL] would really be the first. I love doing the Nirvana song; it's a lot of fun to play and that was a pretty significant time in my growing up. I love all the other covers we do, as well, but that one is just a blast to play and I've been trying to get a band to do it for 20 years.
The Witz: They were all great episodes! But I'd have to re-watch 'em to pick a true favorite.
The Claw: Plus, Jay let me play the lead part, so that's a lot of fun.
Doughy Ramone: I, personally, loved the cover of "Damaged" we did, Jay kinda pushed me to write my own lyrics to the song. I'm glad he did. Henry [Rollins] & Dez [Cadena] have their own versions, respectively, so we figured we would cut our own. Worked out pretty well. I was pretty "damaged," at that time, so the timing was perfect. What you hear is what you get. I don't see us playing it live, but who knows one day. I'd love to. I, also, really liked "Animal Boy." Anyone who says Ramones songs are "easy" can suck a lemon. I was f**king winded after that song. And to think they banged those out one after another probably faster than us. Hats off.
The Mangler: It's a toss up for me. "Highest Power" or "Breed." Nirvana has been, more or less, my favorite band since the first time I heard them. The super-fuzzy bass on "Breed" always stood out, so it's a lot of fun to play. [G.G. Allin's] "Highest Power" really gets a good response live and there's a lot of room for me to noodle around on bass.
Captain Annoying Listen up, milkmaids. PURE HEEL is here to make your insurance rates go up, your property value go down, and your dreams crumble. I, The Captain have assembled the finest crew of mutant bruisers to dominate all oncomers, big or small. Whether it is by the big-backed brawn of Doughy Ramone or the 190-proof demonic breath of The Mangler, all shall bow to our might. Step to The Claw and get your tires slashed. The Boy will beat you to death to the rhythm of your choice. Step aside and make room for the true kings of the ring, PURE motherf**king HEEL.
Doughy Ramone: I will say this, we don't get too attached to our covers. We play them and move on, always looking into the next cover. We did do a split with Maniacal Device out of Erie, PA that was all cover songs. If you can find it, I suggest grabbing a copy. It came out killer.
The Claw: Yes, and by "noodle" he means play a bunch of wrong notes.
The Mangler: Like anyone can hear me under your "amp of the week."
The Witz: A buddy of mine, Pat Society from Violent Society, got a copy of the split to Dez and, supposedly, he LOVED IT! (Attached 1)
The Claw: Mic drop, interview's over LOL.
Doughy Ramone: Ooooouuu, baby that promo was hot to trot. WooooOOoOooOoo.
The Boy: The G.G. Allin song is probably my favorite to cover live just 'cause it's such a skeezy Rock "N" Roll song that gets those Punkers hopping around.
The Witz: We can try to get him the other 7-inches and records, too, if you want.
Doughy Ramone: For sure, I'll try and send you some nicely packaged 7-inches this time 😫😳
The Witz: Which G.G. Allin song?
Doughy Ramone: "HIGHEST POWER." Hardcore all caps.
The Witz: All good, maybe, I can get his [Dez Cadena's] address from Pat. I'll email him after this sh*zz.
Doughy Ramone: Matt, you should touch on that Joe comment, "amp of the week." That's a deep dive into PURE madness. Unlike Captain Annoying, who's been playing the same amp for 30 years. Now, that's PURE FEEL.
The Claw: Whatevs, Doughy. You do realize up until this band, I always played drums? So...
The Witz: What's the "amp of the week," Jesse? Do tell!!?
The Claw: There is nothing to it. I was buying and flipping a ton of amps for a while.
The Witz: Same amp for 30 years, Jay? Damn, son.
Doughy Ramone: There was a time where every practice, [The] Claw was playing off a new rig.
The Claw: So, anything I would get I would always sell, if there was money to be made in it. I only had one that I totally regretted selling, which [Jay,] actually, kind of read me The Riot Act about and, then, I ended up getting another one and it will stay for a long time.
Doughy Ramone: It seemed as a band, we always laughed about it, "oh, sh*t, guess Jesse got a new amp." 🤣 "Don't scoop the mids, son" - [The] Mangler.
The Mangler: He, literally, joined the band with a $100 guitar and no amp.
The Boy: Well, just say Jesse's got an "open relationship" when it comes to gear.
VII. How did you guys initially link up with Irish Voodoo Records, who released your 2020 Solitary EP, TEST PRESSING 7-inch, and latest self-titled EP?
Doughy Ramone: The initial partnership with Irish Voodoo started when Joe V. from P*ssing Match had sent him some of our music to see if he was interested in it. Joe V. had already had a relationship with him from a previous band, so it kind of worked out in our favor/we, then, went on tour in California and we met him personally and everything just kind of clicked together for us.
The Witz: Nice, I interviewed Aaron Adkins & Joe Villella from P*ssing Match earlier this year for my site, too.
Doughy Ramone: Joey Voodoo has been nothing but awesome with us. He's down with our music and we're both equally excited about it. Our Solitary release was put together so neat. The flexi and the packaging were pretty unique, Doughy original poster and stickers, interview with the band. Super-D.I.Y. feel. Perfect for that HEEL feel.
The Witz: "Joe V." as in Joe Villella AND "Joe V." as in Joey "Voodoo" Fitzgerald, right, Doughy?
Doughy Ramone: Joey Voodoo and the test pressing was perfect, in my opinion. The cover was Punk as f**k and I'm lucky to have a copy of it. "Joe V." as in Joe Villella and "Joey" as [in] Voodoo, yes. Sorry.
The Witz: Hell yeah, that 'zine that came along with the Solitary EP was phenomenal, fellas! I'm envious! I've always wanted to do a 'zine like that! Anyone else? HEELS?
Doughy Ramone: That 'zine was killer. Jay slayed that layout.
The Claw: I think that about sums it up. We went out and played California, had a really good show, and I think he was just digging our vibe and that's a wrap.
The Boy: Eric pretty much nailed it, but, yeah... I was, actually, worried I wouldn't get one of the copies of the Solitary EP 'cause that thing came out super-cool. Joey was a super-chill guy when we met him in Cali.
The Witz: Yeah, that Solitary EP is a very dope total package and I'm stoked I got a copy!
VIII. Who designs all of the (excuse this awful pun!) HEEL-arious artwork shared across social media by both the band and Irish Voodoo Records?
Doughy Ramone: Well, I must say this is a team effort in the artwork. Jay & I are always putting together little things to post on the [Instagram]. Joey Voodoo has been killing it with the IG posts. I've been rolling laughing with how he's been promoting our record. And Doughy has been doing all of the insert art lately for the [Irish] Voodoo stuff.
The Witz: Definitely some of my personal favorites:
Doughy Ramone: All Galvin's. Guess I'm fired. Although, Eerie Eric is the hardest card of the bunch. Don't @ me.
IX. Damn, sorry... I like your stuff, too, Eerie Eric! Send me some of your HEEL promo stuff! So, how many of you are tattoo artists? And where can we see the rest of your art?
Doughy Ramone: Here's my personal faves lately:
X. And what do the rest of you fellas do for day jobs, if you don't mind sharing?
The Claw: Just a little Fun Fact here: thanks to that, "Dressy Jesse" is now my household nickname and I get called "Dressy Jesse, The Little Princess" when I'm in a bad mood by my wife.
The Boy: Yeah, I'm constantly impressed with the artwork Jay & Eric come up with. I'm visual arts illiterate, so I'll have to defer to them for anything art-related.
The Mangler: Eric & Jay tattoo, but, technically, I've tattooed Eric with a real machine, so I'm counting it.
Doughy Ramone: So, Jay & I are tattoo artists. We have most of our art presence on Instagram, if you wanna check it out, Doughy: @bfloeric, [Captain Annoying]: @teamgalvin.
The Claw: Joey, would you care to elaborate on our fancy day jobs?
Doughy Ramone: And now in a bad mood by PURE HEEL. Easy, Dressy.
The Mangler: What day jobs?! 😅
The Witz: "Dressy Jesse, The Little Princess" ...! 🤣
The Claw: No, not at all.
The Boy: I'm a customs broker at a large shipping company, just a desk jockey worker drone.
The Mangler: I was a barber until The Pandemic started.
Doughy Ramone: I'm tempted to change my Instagram handle to "Doughy Ramone" every day, but I have like a solid 10 years into @bfloeric. Any thoughts? ha.
The Claw: I was an a$$hole before all this craziness started... oh, wait.
The Mangler: Now, I'm a full-time bassist.
Doughy Ramone: Jesse sells PURE HEEL brand band equipment on The Internet...
The Mangler: ... which costs more than it brings in.
The Witz: I'm an administrative assistant for a local county government office.
The Claw: That is a [completely] false statement, [The] Mangler.
Doughy Ramone: You didn't join HEEL to make money, [The] Mangler. You joined to drank money.
The Witz: Eric: just go ahead and change your government name to "Doughy Ramone" already. 🤣
The Mangler: I meant playing bass.
Doughy Ramone: Sounds like you can help me with that, Matt 🤣🤣 You got the contacts.
The Mangler: Then, I'll change mine to "Eric Borawski" and sling ink on the side.
The Claw: I turned wrenches for a very long time, but now I have the official title of a government t*t-sucker, but that is all coming to a screeching halt, so I will be going back to work because I have a family to take care of. But I am working on a business plan to try to open up an indoor skate park/music venue.
The Mangler: And I plan to work there for minimum wage and free pizza.
The Claw: Bahahahaha.
Doughy Ramone: Matt just emailed me and said he was having phone issues...
The Claw: Oh, that's funny. He must have the same phone as I have.
The Boy: Ruh-roh. He just couldn't handle the PURE, unadulterated, unfiltered HEEL.
The Claw: Exactly, I took mine to RadioShack to get it fixed, but I couldn't seem to find one.
The Witz: Anything coming through? "Beans band equipment" 🤣 Nah, that's state... not county government, sorry. They're slowly coming through now.
The Boy: Oh, just got stuff.
The Mangler: Me, too.
Doughy Ramone: Seems to be going through now.
The Witz: OK, we may be back... sorry, guys. Let's continue!
The Boy: Did someone just take a chair to the cell tower by you?
The Claw: Carry on.
The Witz: Texts won't send...
XI. How did you go about selecting the various vibrant colorways for the actual PURE HEEL 7-inch vinyl itself?
Doughy Ramone: I remember there was a Group Message going between Joey Voodoo, myself, and Jay. We were talking about the idea of a 7-inch and, maybe, what colors we would want and I remember saying I really wanted purple. I had seen Joey had done other albums that had a tie dye kind of [look] and I was really into that, so I asked him if he could do something along those lines. He was sending us a couple of colors and we ended up on the pink/purple mix. I think they're awesome; that "Big League Chew" Pink is my favorite. I remember, specifically, the purple was called "Deep Purple" and it was only right we used that.
The Witz: Yeah, that tie dye looks sick, as do the hot pink and purple. I heard there will be some cover variants, too.
Doughy Ramone: F**kin' "Space Truckin!'"
The Mangler: Come on!
The Witz: Deep Purple rocks!
XII. 300 total: 100 pink, 100 purple, 100 splatter (available in limited bundles and at REVHQ,) 37 custom screened covers, 25 purple covers with purple vinyl, and 12 pink covers with pink vinyl, right?
Doughy Ramone: That's the word on the street, Matt. Joey & I were just talking about those screened covered. I'm excited to see them both. But, yes, 300 all together. I believe, there will, also, be bundles for all three.
The Witz: So, which one does The Iron Sheik cover with the purple flowers on it for with?
The Mangler: I'mma need all three.
The Claw: Wait, what... I thought it was 10,000? Way to bruise my ego on that one.
XIII. Also, Sidenote: is The Iron Sheik the unofficial/official PURE HEEL mascot?
The Mangler: Not sure if he's the "mascot" per se, but I'm more than certain he's a fan.
Doughy Ramone: Unofficial/official living, yes, but "Rowdy [Roddy" Piper] & [Jimmy] Snuka posthumously.
The Witz: So, he's, actually, aware of PURE HEEL, then?
The Mangler: Superfly! 🙌🏼
Doughy Ramone: "Mascot" may be doing Sheik a disservice. He's definitely a driving face of the brand.
The Mangler: Haha... I kid.
Doughy Ramone: I don't think he's aware of PURE HEEL, if he was, he may be breaking my back and making me humble. 💰
The Mangler: Between the five members, there's not one Jabroni among us. I bet he'd respect THE HEEL.
The Witz: No Jabronis over here!!!
XIV. What can you tell is about the accompanying PURE HEEL 7-inch album covers, packaging, and design/layout?
Doughy Ramone: I'm, personally, super-excited about that layout of the new 7-inch... Jay & I had kind of put together that 7-inch one morning in my kitchen. Beer Wülf of P*ssing Match did the drawing that's in the middle of it of The Sheik and MArk Miller had taken a picture of everything put together; we were kind of going for a certain feel and I think it's pretty well captured on the cover. As for the inside, you can expect a couple extra goodies, maybe, something new from the mind of Doughy Ramone, but I can't give out too much... gotta have some surprises. It'll be a fun picture to stare at. Lotta cool stuff kind sprinkled throughout the front cover. My advice: get stoned and kick back, listen, and look.
The Witz: Nice! But who's Beer Wülf? And I think I got some HEEL photographs from MArk X/R. Miller once.
XV: So, that Iron Sheik cover and all of the "extra goodies" come along with each variant?
The Mangler:
Doughy Ramone: Beerwülf is the second guitar player of P*ssing Match. He's played in a lot of cool bands around town. Absolute shredder of a guitar player.
The Mangler: And he warned me about the caffeine content of the beer of the same name.
The Witz: Aaron Ratajczak AKA Aaron #2?
The Mangler: Yes.
Doughy Ramone: Thee #2.
The Witz: I think, he was even in Every Time I Die, at one point.
Doughy Ramone: He does such cool art. Especially, figure drawings. He was happy to help us out when we asked him and we were happier to have his art on the cover.
The Mangler: He was on their first two releases.
The Witz: And The Bonesaw Romance with Scott Reynolds from ALL!
The Mangler: His playing and drawing are both superb.
Doughy Ramone: That "Whole Lotta Rosie" [AC/DC] cover is perfection.
The Claw: Alright, [The] Mangler, ETID fanboy.
The Mangler: More like Bleed for Me fanboy.
The Witz: I don't think I've seen much/any of BEERWÜLF's artwork... someone link me!
The Mangler: @monsterhands. I think... or some variation.
Doughy Ramone: Matt, you know Bleed for Me? That's, like, HEEL & Match members before The Boy was old enough to leave the house.
The Witz: This @monsterhands page?
Doughy Ramone:
The Witz: Can't say I do... who was in Bleed for Me? Educate me, fellas!
Doughy Ramone: That's him, yep.
The Mangler: Yeah... The Boy & I were both on the bottle back then. Different formula, [though].
Doughy Ramone: Jay & Joe Villella, for sure.
The Claw: Hey, now thought it was a PG-13 interview.
The Mangler: Jay sang.
The Claw: Rob, cover your eyes.
Doughy Ramone: Maybe, Wülf wasn't in that, but they were a cool Heavy Hardcore band with Jay on vocals.
The Boy: 🙈🙉
The Mangler: Wülf played guitar.
Doughy Ramone: 90's [to] early [two] thousands, if I put my stories together ha.
Captain Annoying:
Doughy Ramone: Look who it is.
The Boy: Saul Good, Man. Just vibing over here.
The Witz: The Boy 🤣 I guess, we're back... just got a sh*tload of messages all at once! Welcome, Captain Annoying. But, I'll definitely have to check out Bleed for Me! Also, to those of you involved, that one Bonesaw Romance LP is so great!
Doughy Ramone: Alright, where were we here?
The Witz: I have more questions... but I'm kinda afraid to send 'em here.
Doughy Ramone: Well, let's try one more and see if it works? If not, I'll finish them [via] email.
XVI. What are your feelings on Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's potential Presidential run in 2024?
The Mangler: I wrote him in on the last two ballots, so...
The Boy: If he lets HEEL play The Inauguration, in the event he wins, he's got my vote. And he's gotta do the eyebrow thing at The Swearing-In.
Doughy Ramone: The Rock will take his big right hand, slap the fat off your candy a$$, and give it back to you! Big Johnson 2024.
The Mangler: If I'm still alive, he's gonna smell some Rocks cookin' at The Inauguration, that's for sure.
Doughy Ramone: I hope he drops The People's Elbow on Putin. Drop mic on that, [The] Mangler.
The Mangler: I'm here for two things: to play bass, and to freebase... and I'm almost outta bass.
The Witz: I mean, The Rock wouldn't be any worse of a "President" than Kanye West 🤣 (Sent the rest of the questions via email, but... I guess, only use that IF this sh*ts out again.)
Doughy Ramone: At least that President would have a shoe endorsement. And if you know Doughy, you know that means everything.
XVII. How do you fellas feel about Mike "The Miz" Mizanin's recent winning of The WWE Championship, whilst pitted against Andrew McLean Galloway IV, better known as Drew McIntyre inside the ring?
The Mangler: Probably put out better shoes, too.
Doughy Ramone: I'm probably the only one who's even hip to what you're asking in this thread, honestly.
The Witz: Damn, shots fired, Doughy...
Doughy Ramone: I'm a Miz mark. I love seeing him front and center. Great heel, great worker, great on the mic. I think he's AWESOME.
The Witz: His show, Miz & Mrs. with his wife, Maryse, is phenomenal! My wife and I watch it regularly. Pretty wild how the fans kinda morphed him from a heel into a babyface!
Doughy Ramone: I can't say I've seen that, but I'm familiar with his work on Real World lol.
The Mangler: I'm not really caught up on current stuff. I worked as a catering runner for WWE for years, so I catch it once or twice a year. I've seen Miz cutting promos and in matches and the dude gets my attention every time.
The Witz: Yep, he started out as a cast member on The Real World.
Doughy Ramone: The fans will can do that to you. It's happened to a lot of great heels over time: Flair, Piper, Snuka. All heels that got over.
The Witz: The Rock, arguably.
Doughy Ramone: [The] Rock, "Stone Cold" [Steve Austin], even newer Rollins, [in my opinion].
The Witz: Henry?
Doughy Ramone: Seth Rollins AND Henry Rollins.
XVIII. What do the writing, recording, etc. processes behind your standard PURE HEEL song typically entail? Do you generally set out for them to be vaguely wrestling-themed?
Captain Annoying CLASSIFIED. Next.
The Witz: I can just send you all of the questions, via email, Jay.
Captain Annoying My crew seems to have it on lock, I am just here to supervise.
XIX. What's up next for either PURE HEEL or any of your various side-bands/non-musical interests?
The Mangler: As per our contract with HEEL Enterprises, we're not permitted to engage in music aside from PURE HEEL and/or P*ssing Match.
The Boy: The P*ssing Match.
Captain Annoying Defending The Belt forever.
Doughy Ramone: Hmm, well, what is there really even to do in this world right now? I know PURE HEEL practices regularly still waiting for the day to play again. Maybe, one day it'll warm up. Until then, I'm stuck inside.
The Mangler: The remaining Heartbreakers have asked me to fill the role of both [Tom] Petty & [Johnny] Thunders, but I'm bound by contract.
The Witz: I'd be totally stoked to attend a PURE HEEL show whenever it's safe, meet all of you Jabronis, and share some beers! 🍻
The Boy: I'm looking forward the P*ssing Match double-header that's coming out soon, too. Joey Voodoo backing The Tag Team Champs! 😎
The Witz: Wait... a P*ssing Match/PURE HEEL super-split!!?
Doughy Ramone: Be careful around The Mangler, he doesn't "share" beers that easily.
The Boy: Noooooo, I mean just the P*ssing Match double-7-inch, but that would be cool some day.
Doughy Ramone: Not exactly, a double-P*ssing Match press, no HEEL affiliations.
The Mangler: Whatever keeps me from having to lug around a bass rig (thanks, Joe V.!)
The Witz: I bet The Mangler just steals your beers... and your women, too!
Doughy Ramone: Imagine a PHxPM split, I'd be neck-deep in merch.
The Mangler: Just beers.
The Witz: Oh, yeah, Crossing Streams? I pre-ordered a copy of that, too.
Doughy Ramone: He Mangled himself a girlfriend like a chump.
The Mangler: That's a banger and a half. You're not far off, Dough.
The Claw: A g-friend or a boss?
The Mangler: Mmmm, company ink.
The Witz: Who am I kidding... I'm wifed up with a baby and lovin' it!
XX. What would you cite as some of your greatest sources of inspiration and influence behind your overall sound, style, vibe, aesthetic, Wrestle-core shtick, etc.?
Doughy Ramone:
The Mangler: Sid Vicious.
Captain Annoying:
The Witz: Nice! See, I never got into Black Flag's Family Man... I'm more so into Damaged, My War, Slip It In, The Process of Weeding Out, MinuteFlag, etc. Doughy. Charlie Manson with The Beach Boys... 😬
Doughy Ramone:
XXI. Name your favorite wrestling move, who executed it best, and why?
Doughy Ramone: Damn, that's tough.
The Witz: Jerry Garcia and... Doughy?
Doughy Ramone: Pigpen [Ron McKernan] of The Grateful Dead.
The Boy: The punishing moves I put on Eric in California. He was down for the count, I'll tell ya.
Doughy Ramone: How can you not love a Shawn Michael's Kick to The Face? Benoit's Flying Head? RVD's Frog Splash?
Doughy Ramone: Over the past few years, Brock's gimmick of Suplex City would get me hyped up, I loved it. I, also, loved how p*ssed it would make people; that's working a mark, bay-bay.
The Mangler: But for real: Tim [Commerford - Rage Against The Machine], Mike Dirnt [Green Day], Bootsy [Collins - Parliament-Funkadelic], Matt Freeman [Operation Ivy, Rancid], Lemmy [Kilmister - Motörhead], and Krist Novoselic [Nirvana].
The Mangler: Eric & Rob really did have some great "matches" on the road. Looking forward to more ASAP.
Doughy Ramone: I remember them differently, I believe, I still have The Gold.
XXII. And lastly, most importantly: Who is The Mangler?
Captain Annoying: [Greg] Ginn, [Greg] Hetson, [Tony] Iommi, [Frank] Zappa, [Vinnie] Stigma.
The Witz: Thanks, The Mangler & Captain Annoying! That should be the last question up above.
Doughy Ramone: [Henry] Rollins/Dez [Cadena]/Keith [Morris]/[Ron] Reyes.
The Mangler: I'll tell you this, Gene, there's a simple answer and it's easy, too. My name MEANS what is says! There's those that know and there's those that don't and for those that know, they had to find out. And believe me, friend, you DO. NOT. WANNA. FIND. OUT. You pick up what I'm puttin' down?
The Witz: Yessir, The Mangler is, indeed, here to mangle... 🤕 Also, there's nothing from Bleed for Me up on Spotify... I guess, I'll have to check Discogs instead.
Doughy Ramone: I'll see what I have in my collection for you.
The Witz: No need, man, but thanks! So, is that everything, fellas? Anyone have anything else to add? Thanks again for agreeing to do this, HEELS! I appreciate your patience and sorry for the recurring technological S.N.A.F.U.'s.
Doughy Ramone: All good. Thanks, man!
The Mangler:
The Witz: It was a pleasure, HEELS!
