This piece is coming to you just weeks before the Total Resistance Tour kicks off - a 7 week, coast-to-coast US tour in which Mike Rosswog is pulling double duty, drumming for both of the headlining bands, Today Is The Day and Complete Failure.

Supporting the tour in various cities is a rotating lineup of bands, including: At All Cost (Century Media), Fuck The Facts (Relapse), Lair Of The Minotaur (Southern Lord), Mouth Of The Architect (Translation Loss), Psyopus (Metal Blade), Rwake (Relapse), S.W.W.A.A.T.S. (Nuclear Blast) and Thine Eyes Bleed (The End).

I’m a huge supporter of this tour, so of course, I using this platform and this opportunity to get as many of you as possible out to the shows (dates and relevant websites listed below).

So here’s what Mike had to say to my little game of 20 questions --

1. Who is Mike Rosswog?

I like to think that I am a hard worker. I’m a workaholic. I’m self-employed. Doing things that make me happy while making a living. This is the ultimate way of life. I am a lucky guy. Lucky to even be alive. I make things happen, often to the disdain of others. I have an insatiable desire to accomplish as much as possible with the time I have here on earth.

2. Talk about Complete Failure. www.myspace.com/comfail

Complete Failure is punk rock that sounds like extreme metal. Complete Failure is the musical soundtrack to a life of physical, emotional, financial struggle. Complete Failure means many things to many people. To me, the words Complete Failure represent living through tough experiences or situations and always learning from your mistakes... becoming a bigger, better, stronger person. Fall hard, but always get back up and fight even harder for what you believe in. Failure is a catalyst for growth as a human being. It’s extremely personal. I hope that someday it can become a banner flown by pissed off, disenfranchised, hard working people everywhere.

3. Today Is The Day, from Kiss The Pig to now. Different, better, worse, personal experiences? www.todayistheday.org

I’m a complete different person. I’ve grown up a lot since then. I’ll never forget the experience. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. I think that I’ve definitely improved as a drummer... no question. I wasn’t playing for too long when that opportunity came around. I’ve been practicing hard for almost 5 years since then.

4. Derek Roddy = Bad Mother Fucker. Are you intimidated to follow his parts at all?

Surprisingly, Axis of Eden is the easiest TITD record for me to play along to. I’m more worried about Brann Dailor. In The Eyes Of God is the most intense TITD material as far as drumming goes.

5. Recording at Austin Enterprise.

The new studio is in a great location, 5 minutes from the Nashville International Airport... and literally in Steve’s back yard. We had an amazing time recording “Perversions of Guilt”. Steve worked his ass off and we came up with a really raw and violent sounding record.

6. Playing drums in general.

I started playing drums because I was a guitar player who couldn’t find the right guy to jam with. I have always been fascinated with drumming and drum gear... I used to stare at Modern Drummer magazine for hours. It’s something that has come very naturally to me... so I guess it was meant to be.

7. Influences.

I’m usually “negatively influenced” by other bands. I really hate this whole trend of being sarcastic or tongue in cheek comedy hour. It drives me to want to create something completely ugly and wrong... fueled by pure negative energy. Grind Core isn’t funny to me. I feel like the genre has been hijacked. But we didn’t invent this kind of music... so I’ll name my top 3 drumming influences as Pete Sandoval (Morbid Angel), Tomas Haake (Meshuggah), and Danny Carey (Tool). My favorite vocalist is Phil Anselmo (Down, Superjoint Ritual, Pantera). Favorite band is definitely Tool. I’m also into a ton of indie type stuff such as Interpol, Muse etc.

8. What's currently on your iPod (or Zune or Juke or whatever)?

I have an older 4GB iPod... i use it with in-ear monitors / headphones to practice ComFail and TITD songs... and to jam with Tori Amos.

9. Photography. www.flickr.com/photos/rosswog

Something else I’m completely enamored with. I love the technology, I love the artistic expression, I love the memories that are captured. I’m a gear head... a Canon guy. I could spend a 40 hour week deciding what lens to purchase. My idea of going on vacation was B+H Photo Video in New York City. That was awesome. I bought my 580EX II flash there. I’ve been shooting local shows for my friends’ bands and the photos have been turning out great. You can check out my stuff at http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosswog. I’ll be shooting tons of photos on the road as well to document our trip. The sad thing is that sometimes I go a month without getting to take any photos. I’d like to change that... I’d like to start making some supplemental income from it.

10. Web design.

My other creative outlet. I’m lucky enough to have analytical skills as well as intuitive. What that means in the real world is that I can write code and design the user experience as well. My consulting business is built around web development. E-Commerce, Digital Media, Online Marketing etc. I’ve taken on an important role working with SuperNova Records to supercharge their web site operation. I have web design clients from here to Sydney, Australia... I’ll be doing this (and loving it) for the rest of my life.

11. Mac or PC? Why?

Mac. I have a pretty sick setup at my home office. From a design standpoint, it’s a no brainer. Apple has the best designed products of the market. I love the look and feel of raw aluminum. I just made the switch from PC to Apple last year, so I’m still getting used to shortcuts and other ergonomic changes... but I’ll never buy a Windows machine again.

12. Would 16 year old you like current you and vice versa?

16 year old Mike was a metal nerd. I had a respectable Emperor T-Shirt collection. I had long hair and wore black pants and a black t-shirt every day. I spent a lot of time at school sleeping in class... except A. P. Computer Programming and gym. I spent a lot of time at home playing sweep arpeggios on my black B. C. Rich Warlock. I don’t really care for him that much. I think 16 year old Mike was on the right track though... hence 25 year old Mike.

13. Who would play you in a movie?

I’d probably just have a cameo in the movie as the guy in the black suit and sunglasses who is making everyone’s life miserable. I’m not really interesting enough to have a movie made about me... I guess that’s why I’m the drummer... way to the back of the stage. Make a movie about Jesus Christ, or Charles Manson... and have our singer Joe Mack play him. That would be good.

14. How do you think you'll handle drumming for two intense sets a night for the Total Resistance tour?

It’s going to be a lot of hard work. But, I’m training and practicing like an athlete. I’ve gotta get the diet dialed in and absolutely no drinking or partying. In a way this is my chance to “prove to the world” what I’m made of. But to be honest I can’t think of too many things better than playing drums as a full time job for a couple of hours a day.

15. Best/favorite/most vivid memory from a live show of yours.

Both are at Hellfest 2004 I played with TITD. Playing “Pinnacle” with Chris Debari. Playing “Temple of the Morning Star” and seeing tons of kids climbing onto the stage and screaming along with Steve.

16. When you're not rockin', designin', photoin', you...

Spend time with my woman, Sarah. She’s the most important person in my world. She supports me 100% and I couldn’t ask for a better person to spend my life with.

17. The 2008 election.

I am / was a Ron Paul supporter. To be honest I was really disappointed in the results he was getting, especially in New Hampshire... which is supposed to be a Libertarian haven. I was disappointed in the way they ran the campaign. Pennsylvania has pretty much no influence on the Republican nomination because our primary is so late in the season, so I’ve gone back to living in apathy. I think Barack Obama is probably the best out of the 3 frontrunners right now. I like some of Hillary’s message, but I don’t trust her one bit. John McCain I see as the old white guy who’s completely out of touch with the real world and what the people of this country want. None of them have a clue when it comes to the financial future of our country. 100 years in Iraq? We’re going bankrupt trying to run our “empire”. Free Healthcare for everyone? Where is the money going to come from? I think they’re making a lot of empty promises. America’s in big trouble and we desperately need the reality check that Dr. Paul is attempting to give. Mark my words, in the future you will see a lot more people speaking the way he has on the campaign trail. Taking his ideas and running with them.

18. Advice for other drummers?

Practice playing songs, not solos.

19. Who's got the 10 1/2?

Haha, You almost got me there. Thanks to Google. Actually, I love Black Flag but never really got into them in a big way. Same goes for all of the great California punk bands.

20. Anything you'd like to add?

Thanks for spreading the word.

-end-

Thanks again, Mike, and good luck on the tour.  I can’t wait ‘til it gets here.
Until then…
SM

www.myspace.com/comfail
www.todayistheday.org
www.supernovarecords.net
www.flickr.com/photos/rosswog

TODAY IS THE DAY
US Spring Tour:

w/ Mouth Of The Architect, Psyopus, Complete Failure:
March 14 Nashville, TN @ The Muse
March 15 Richmond, VA @ The Canal Club
March 16 Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar
March 17 New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
March 18 Philadelphia, PA @ North Star
March 19, Pittsburgh, PA @ 31st Street Pub
March 20 Albany, NY @ Valentine's
March 21 Boston, MA @ The Church
March 22 Nashua, NH @ American Legion Hall

w/ Thine Eyes Bleed, Fuck The Facts, Complete Failure:
March 23 Montreal, QC @ Catacombes
March 24 Ottawa, ON @ Mavericks
March 25 Hamilton, ON @ The Underground
March 26 Toronto, ON @ The Reverb

w/ Mouth Of The Architect, Psyopus, Complete Failure:
March 27 Rochester, NY @ The Bug Jar

w/ Mouth Of The Architect, Lair Of The Minotaur, Complete Failure:
March 28 Warren, MI @ The Ritz
March 29 Columbus, OH @ Ravari Room
March 30 Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's Pirate's Cove
March 31 Indianapolis, IN @ Melody Inn
April 1 Chicago, IL @ The Note
April 3 Columbia, MO @ Mojo's
April 4 Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
April 5 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
April 6 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews

w/ At All Cost, Complete Failure:
April 7 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
April 8 Ogden, UT @ Kamikaze's
April 9 Billings, MT @ Lost World
April 10 Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
April 11 Vancouver, BC @ The Balmoral
April 12 Portland, OR @ Ash Street Saloon
April 14 Reno, NV @ Club Underground
April 15 Sacramento, CA @ Blue Lamp
April 16 San Jose, CA @ The Blank Club
April 17 San Francisco, CA @ Annie's Social Club
April 19 San Marcos, CA @ Jumping Turtle
April 20 Hollywood, CA @ Knitting Factory (MURDERFEST)
April 21 Tempe, AZ @ The Stray Cat
April 24 Austin, TX @ Red 7
April 25 Dallas, TX @ Red Blood Club
April 26 Houston, TX @ Walter's On Washington (w/ Kill The Client)
April 27 Corpus Christi, TX @ The Compound (w/ Kill The Client)

w/ Complete Failure:
April 28 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon

w/ Rwake, S.W.W.A.A.T.S., Complete Failure:
April 29 Orlando, FL @ The Haven
April 30 Tampa, FL @ The Brass Mug
May 2 Spartanburg, SC @ Ground Zero
May 3 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade