On Monday night, esteemed colleague and damn-near legend Mark Ryan celebrated his birthday at Motor City, one of our favorite watering holes. Fêted yesterday, we thought why not keep the party going by posting our now year-old interview with the man. Ryan, who grew up in New Jersey and spent a good chunk of his teenage years in the Lower East Side, sang for (in order) Death Before Dishonor, Supertouch, Steady Roosevelt and currently, Foreign Islands.
Mark, 15
What’s your favorite Bad Brains story?
I don’t know. Probably every single time I saw them in the early ’80s. Life-changing to say the least. We actually played with them in the mid-80s. Jimmy G. from Murphy’s Law hooked us up with the show — I still thank him. I fucking lost it [You lost it? — Ed.]. I was bouncing off the fucking walls. They were the one band i didn’t want to meet though, I was pretty intimidated, I mean how could you not be? But years later, Mackie and Chippy Love [who's this old boy? He sounds cool — Ed.] told me they were gassing me up at the show. I was rocking some crazy gear that show, I think. Georgetown Starter jacket, full Le Coq Sportif tracksuit, and probably Adidas Ewings or orange Spot Bilts or something.1
Do you know the porn star Mark Ryan?
Ha. Yeah, I bumped into him the other day, and he said he would come out of retirement for Sasha Grey.
Were you in BURN Crew?
Well, Chaka [Malik, of BURN] and I were always tight, and I rolled with them to every show. They were definitely my favorite band of that era. I had a BURN Crew shirt that I lost, that there was probably fewer than eight made. That would def. be eBay gold.
Tell us a little about “Supertouch and Other People,” the Supertouch documentary. Do you still talk to the filmmaker?
I haven’t seen Eric [Fennell, the director] in awhile nor seen the doc in quite awhile. It started out as a school project, then I think he decided to sell them. I think I heard he’s going to put it out on DVD, with some extra footage.
Are you a cat guy or a dog guy?
Both, of course.2 My hours are weird so I prefer to play the step-dad/godfather role with the dogs.
What percentage of the NYHC population in the ’80s was, do you think, from N.J.?
Tough to say. Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island, Staten Island, Jersey. They were all there with the Manhattan kids and semi-older transplants.
Can you give us an account of the Matt Dillon b33f in the ’80s?
There wasn’t any beef. I just remember he was at a show and I was talking to him and one of the bands made a comment like, “We don’t need any Hollywood/Quincy in here,” that’s just the way it was back then. People were overprotective because it was still like a baby. But that being said, he was super cool and was friends with a lot of punk kids and liked the music.
Who is your favorite band ever? Fave live band? Movie/recent fave?
Shit. Tough one. Either the Bad Brains, Buzzcocks or The Specials. Live, Spankrock is always insane. Santogold too. Les Savy Fav, The Hold Steady. Movies, that’s impossible to answer. “The Barbarian Invasions” is up there. “Cinema Paradiso” always gets me. Most [Pedro] Almodóvar movies, “She’s Gotta Have It.” Recent? “Children of Men.” I thought was really good.
Who are your favorite artists, painters, actors, sculptors, etc.?
New York graffiti legend REVS is pretty ill. Actors? Umm, I dunno. Edward Morton3 was pretty ill in “Primal Fear.”
How great is Kombucha, seriously? Got any health foods you are trying out?
Yeah, we used to get it at Prana in the early 90′s. Homemade, some dude would just bring it in. Chaka and I would drink that shit all day long, then it seemed to disappear for quite awhile, and I was really bummed. Glad it’s back. I’m waiting for something new to come out.
What was the hardest thing you did before the age of 18?
Like hit someone with a U-lock in a street fight hard, or algebra-test hard?4
Dispel any rumors about yourself.
I try not to think about shit like that.
What’s your view of New York these days, compared to pre-9/11, the ’90s and ’80s?5
Well I mean to me, New York in the early ’80s was amazing. I was glad I was around and part of the punk scene back then. Then the ’90s were pretty weird. Then the later ’80s, early-90s hip hop was nuts. Glad I’m still alive. Later ’90s got a little boring, and the last bunch of years I’ve been having a lot of fun and am surrounded by cool and creative people, so late ’00s, I ain’t mad at ya.
How did Supertouch and Bold get tight like you did?
I met them through the Youth of Today guys and we just wound up hanging a bunch, playing basketball, talking about hardcore, hip hop and sneakers.
When was the last time you watched a Knicks game?
When Mark Jackson and Patrick Ewing were on the team [Can't blame him — Ed.].
Can you clear things up a little bit about the unreleased Supertouch LP? We heard there was a full record done up without vocals. Is this true at all? Do you still bump any hardcore music yourself? What are you bumping in general?
Yeah we were recording it… Yeah, I mean I still listen to ’83 and earlier punk and hardcore. I like a lot of Studio One stuff. Dub. Old school hip hop always works its way into the mix.
Do you think Supertouch at its peak could have taken the Cro-Mags in a game of hoops?
Nah I was never really good, I just liked to play in Tompkins and lay shopping carts on their side so i could dunk.
Last normal job you worked, and how was it?
Aside from fake DJing with Mp3s and working in bars? I don’t know. Prana, it was a vegetarian food store where tons of band people from the ’80s and ’90s worked. Starting with John Joseph, and Vinny from Unsane. Norm from Texas is the Reason. Chaka. Sam McPheeters from Men’s Recovery Project. Alan Cage. [Ray] Cappo, Richie Underdog, think that’s just scratching the surface. It was crazy, but fun as fuck and it enabled us to be able to eat. I wish that place was still around.
CBGB Hardcore Matinee Kids, 1983 - Tony Dust, Mark Ryan, Big Rob, Gwen, & Jimmy Yu (Death Defore Dishonor, Judge)
How did Foreign Islands come to be, and what are your goals as a band?
Dean [Baltulonis] and I have been friends awhile. I remember playing a Supertouch show in Boston and Nathan [Elgin James] and him had a band that played with us [454 Big Block — see Morgado for full lineup information] and I was like, “I want to be in a band with that dude.”
How did the deal with Converse6 come about?
I’m not sure, they just asked us.
Any A-list celebs down with Foreign Islands?
[Deceased edgeman] Keith Haring, if he was still around I’m sure. Nah, I dunno. Josh Hartnett [star of "O"] came to check us out one time.
If you are known, and you meet a girl who doesn’t know you’re known, what is the best way to have her understand you are? Will she ever know?
The only thing most girls know me for is being a derelict.
Leave us with some words of wisdom…
Intern. Now that I’m older, it seems like everyone who did it is now doing what they want to do. At the time, I was like, “I ain’t working for free, yo.” I guess I couldn’t afford to do it either, I was just scraping by as it was but any way, intern if you’re able to.
- Yo, best style ever.
- Of course? Yeah?
- Not a typo, son.
- Nice going, Pete. Real nice.
- You know that "The '70s was smack, the '80s was crack, '90s grimey"? Right?
- I guess Mark was in a Converse ad, in which he levitated.
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