Cheap Sex started out as a five-piece, with bassist Derek, guitarists Jordan and John, and drummer Gabe, all of whom played on the debut album. However, Jordan only played on half of ‘War’ before leaving to join anthemic-punks Madcap and was subsequently replaced by Chris, who played on the tracks that were left. Things were looking good: the band were set to embark on their first nationwide tour in early-summer 2003 when the unexpected occurred. The band, sans Mike (he was to take a plane and meet the guys in New York), drove out in their van from California to the East Coast and while there, they were in an accident two days prior to their first date, which just so happened to be at NYC’s famed CBGB’s. Happening to have been present at the show, my cronies and I had no clue of what had transpired until we learned from NY Rel-X bassist Adi of the dire news… But the punks came together and Mike is grateful for everyone’s help: Adi set up a raffle at the show, Scotland’s The Threats did benefit shows in the U.K., and The Skeptix and labelmates Lower Class Brats donated money. “We were thrilled with the support we got from the fans and the other bands,” attests the vocalist.
John’s injuries were unbelievably bad. It’s a miracle he lived. During his recovery, Chris took over lead guitar duties and more line-up changes ensued. John, amazingly, is back, and joining him now are (obviously) Mike, bassist Chance, Gabe, and after January, when Chris leaves the band to go to school, Phil will take over. And hopefully then things will be solid line-up-wise.
The whole brush with death led to a great song on ‘Breakdown’ – “Lucky to Be Alive”, penned by Mike, who writes all the lyrics. The frontman confirms that his good friend being so close to death changed his perspective on life greatly, for sure. Waxing philosophical, he says, “Sometimes unfortunately, it takes something like that to realize what’s really important, which is your friends, which is life. Everything else kinda takes a backseat when something like that happens, and it’s unfortunate that sometimes that’s what it takes and I think that’s really what that song’s about.”
Much of the record (like ‘War’), however, centers on more socio-political subject matter. Cheap Sex, despite what some people may think upon first glimpse, are a thinking-person’s band. Mike, not afraid to deem his crew a political band (“absolutely. One hundred percent,” he reiterates) is an intelligent, well-informed man who has a knack for conveying what he observes in the world, politically, socially, environmentally, et al – WITHOUT preaching – to all those smart enough to listen. “I think the world’s in a complete disaster state right now. I don’t think there’s a need to preach. I think anyone that cannot see how bad the state of affairs the world is in right now is living in dreamland,” he explains. And Mike’s not reluctant to write about ANYTHING. New songs like “Water Runs Dry”, “Raped by the FCC”, “False Pride”, and the Discharge-esque “Worst Nightmare”, are perfect examples of the band’s political prowess, just as “Dick Cheney”, “Consume and Consume”, “Smash Your Symbols”, and of course the title track (to name a few!), were on ‘Launch Off to War’.
The importance of expressing his views goes hand-in-hand with what Mike believes to be the primary message behind Cheap Sex - that “being a punk should never be an excuse to be stupid. It’s not an excuse to be lazy, it’s not an excuse to be a waste,” but rather is a means by which “to better yourself,” he explains. “[Punks are] better than the rest of society…they should be able to see what’s going on. They know what’s going on and sitting around being lazy, complaining, and not doing anything to better your life to me is a waste and I actually look down on that…I would hope my lyrics can inspire other people to also feel that way because I do think we’re better.”
Unfortunately, however, the vocalist comes to terms with reality, saying that nowadays all too often it seems as if there’s a tendency “to not care” and that bands are unwilling to come out and say, “We’re a political band.” He feels his band’s in the minority - that many streetpunk bands around are still singing “about beer cans, hairdos, and boots.” Nonetheless, for all their relevance, Cheap Sex do have a penchant for humor that peeks out here and there, as evidenced on ‘Headed for a Breakdown’, which features a couple not-so-serious numbers…
In the end, just know that Mike and Cheap Sex “really do care about the world around us and that we really do care about our fans, we care about the scene.” And they’re staying true to their sound and what they believe: “Throughout the past few years, we’ve seen bands kind of either change their style or do things they wouldn’t have done a few years ago to make a greater name for themselves,” boldly concedes the frontman, “and I think Cheap Sex basically is a very grassroots punk rock band that’s main concern is the message, the music, and keeping the scene alive.” For these guys, “nothing else matters except this music…and that’s what comes first.”