Interview by Jason Schreurs
Code Orange (a.k.a. Code Orange Kids) are the type of band who have always done things, and will always do things, their own way. At an average age of 21, the band members met when they were 14-15 and have been playing together ever since. One of the most uncompromising live bands around, they play trance-like, each member gazing past the audience, sometimes even turning their back on them, in order to confront their own personal demons. Despite their decidedly metal leanings, Code Orange are a hardcore band by nature. We recently talked to drummer Jami Morgan about first getting into underground music, growing up along the way and the message behind their second album, I Am King.
Do you remember how the band started in the very beginning?
We all met when in late middle school to early high school and we wanted to start a punk band. So we started and all got into different kinds of heavy music together, like hardcore and metal, and we’ve all been friends since we were 14 and we started the band when we were 15. Now we’re 21, so we’ve just done it all together and developed together.
What was the first punk band that you heard in middle school?
The first punk band I probably heard was Minor Threat, and that got me into straight edge. Then you go down the rabbit hole early ‘80s hardcore, then you get into the late ‘80s with Revelation Records stuff, and then you get into the ‘90s and bands like Disembodied and Buried Alive, that were more metallic. And I held onto that more than anything, bands like Earth Crisis and all of that Victory Records stuff. So those things clicked with me the most when it came to hardcore. But we love all of it.
Do you remember who the current bands were at the time? This would have been 2007 or 2008, right?
Hmm, it’s hard to remember. I’ve always been fascinated with older bands, until I started getting older and getting into the scene, and then you find out about the hardcore bands that are coming through and you’re playing with them. So then our peers and what’s currently going on becomes the most important thing.
When did you first start getting into death metal?
None of us really got into death metal until we were, like, 18. It was never a big deal for us, hearing bands like Bolt Thrower and Obituary. We take aspects from bands like that, but it’s not really what we pull from, necessarily. But, yeah, for riffs and things like that, death metal was definitely a big thing.
So tell me about this name change. Why did you decide to drop the word “Kids” from your name?
The name comes from what we were called in our circles growing up and going to shows in Pittsburgh. People would go, “Oh, it’s Code Orange Kids,” or, “Oh, it’s Code Orange.” It was all the same thing; there wasn’t really a difference between the two names. So the name change, it’s just about doing what you want when you want to do it, and not taking any shit from anyone, and not caring what anyone thinks about what you choose to do. And it was about, with this record, we’re going to do what we want, and if you’re down with it, get on. But if you’re not, get off.
Do you still consider yourselves kids?
Well, we never really did. I like the idea of being young, I like it now when I’m 21 and I liked it when I was 15, but I don’t know if I ever saw us as being kids. It was the name we came up with when we were really young, and then it became our group of friends and who we are.
What’s the story behind I Am King, lyrically?
I Am King is about embracing yourself to be better than you think you are, or other people see you as. And it’s about not taking any shit from anyone saying that you should be one way or another. It’s about seeing through and ridding yourself of other people around you who are impacting you negatively or holding you back from doing what you want to do. That’s where the song “Thinners of the Herd” comes from.
One of the interesting things about your live show is when you turn your back to the audience and go into this sort of internal trance. How did that first come about?
It started off being kids from Pittsburgh and going on tour, not knowing any bands, not knowing anyone, and it’s scary when we’re doing the kind of music we’re doing and being in front of people. So that’s how it started. Then it became a source of power, and not a “who gives a fuck about the audience,” because I very much do give a fuck about the audience, but more and more it’s become about us, and we stay internally focused and that’s the source of our energy. With this record, it’s about all of us. It’s about the band, but it’s about the people, too. We call them the Thinners of the Herd; so it’s about our people and you’ll see less of us doing that because we have 100 percent confidence now. Now none of us are really afraid of anything when it comes to performing, and that was definitely not the case when we started out. It was terrifying. If we do it now, it’s because we choose to do it, but there was definitely times before where we were just freaked out. [Laughs]
Do you think with your music being a mix of metal and hardcore, and with the kind of messages you are trying to get across, that you are misunderstood as a band?
I don’t think being understood is important to me, but there is part of everyone that wants people to get what you’re trying to put on the table. We’re going to just keep putting across what our mission is and hopefully people pick up on it. But whether they do or not, it still works for what I Am King is talking about, which is doing what we want.
Code Orange’s I Am King is out now on Deathwish Inc.
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