Hailing from Los Angeles California, State Line Syndicate is a three piece pop punk band formed in late 2013. Featuring Makeshift Mike(ex-Makeshift) on guitar/vocals, Joe E(ex-Danny Blitz and High School Logic) on bass/vocals and Mikey Virgin(Jersey Trash) on Drums, State Line Syndicate blends early Blink 182(Pre self titled album) and Weezer to create a rocking, high energy sound that makes fans want to sing along.
Accompanied with an exciting live stage show that will have the crowd engaged throughout, State Line Syndicate is a band that you will want to tell all your friends about. From the opening chord to the last ring out, State Line Syndicate is sure to be stuck in your head for weeks after the first listen.
Check out our interview with State Line Syndicate (below) and there song “The Truth“ (Above)
IR: Let’s get to know a little bit more about State Line Syndicate and how you guys grew up. So where do you consider hometown and what type of kid were you growing up?
MAKESHIFT MIKE: Southern California, we all did. I grew up in Riverside county. I was the quiet type, got bullied a lot in middle school and stopped caring about what people thought in high school.
JOE E: I grew up in Burbank, Ca (The Valley). I was the quiet type, very shy. I didn’t even know how to talk to a girl till my senior year in H.S.
MIKEY VIRGIN: Born in San Diego, grew up in San Fernando Valley though, so I’d consider Los Angeles to be my hometown. When I was younger I always wanted to be center of attention but around 12 or 13, I became a lot more of an outsider and kept to myself.
IR: How old were you guys when you developed an interest in music?
MIKEY VIRGIN: Music has been in the family all my life, but as far as actually playing music, probably around 8 or 9 is when I decided I wanted to perform for people.
MAKESHIFT MIKE: I have always loved music. I used to sing for my grandparents when I was 5 or 6 when they would take me places
JOE E: As a little kid I always wanted to play the drums and used Chopsticks and pans as my drum-kit. I think my parents got sick of hearing me bang on the pots and pans, so they eventually bought me an acoustic guitar.
IR: What was the first album you guys ever listened to? Can you remember back that far?
MAKESHIFT MIKE: From first to last song, it was “Hell Freezes Over” by The Eagles.
Mikey Virgin: My very first memory of a song was Lucy In The Sky Of Diamonds by The Beatles. Might have been 4 years old. Not too sure about full album, but Pyromania by Def Leppard and the first Zeppelin record comes to mind.
JOE E: KISS, The Gene Simmons solo album. There was a song called “Radioactive” I loved. I also loved the song “BIG BALLS” by AC/DC but I remember my parents having a problem with me listening to it at that time.
IR: When and how did you guys begin your journey in the world of music?
JOE E: In HS, I wanted to play in a band, and I asked the “cool kids” what was the easiest instrument to learn. They ALL said “bass” so I decided at that moment, I was going to be a bass player! Lol…
MIKEY VIRGIN: I grew up on a lot of Rock n Roll, and loved the sounds that I was hearing and knew I wanted to do the same, probably around 8 or 9 years old. Plus bands look cool on stage.
MAKESHIFT MIKE: I bought my first guitar December 26th, 2001. My friends were trying to convince me to get drums so we could start a band, but I had no where to keep/practice them so I opted to get a guitar instead.
IR: What influences shaped your musical styles?
MAKESHIFT MIKE: Blink 182, Alkaline Trio, Lagwagon, The Eagles and Phantom Planet when I first started writing my own stuff.
MIKEY VIRGIN: As far as this band goes, I’d say a lot of 90’s rock and pop punk. But we all have a diverse range of styles we like and listen to that we can throw in here and there.
As far as drummers, Gene Krupa, Joe Morello, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Josh Freese, Benny Greb, and Matt Kelly from Dropkick Murphys. And countless others.
JOE E: Early on, Hair metal like Motley Crue and Poison, Def Leppard. Later on, blink 182, OffSpring and Greenday.
IR: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard it before?
MIKEY VIRGIN: Kind of like Blink 182 and The Gaslight Anthem got in a car wreck with Rise Against and Weezer.
JOE E: Old Skool Ramones mixed with Blink 182 and Weezer.
MAKESHIFT MIKE: I usually just name the 5 biggest influences which are Blink 182, Alkaline Trio, Rise Against, Green Day and Weezer.
IR: Do you guys write as a group or have outside writers?
MAKESHIFT MIKE: I used to write by myself, but lately we will be jammin after we practice our setlist, something will sound cool and we will write around that. I usually write lyrics by myself though.
MIKEY VIRGIN: I don’t do any of the writing, but Mike or Joe E. will come up with an idea then we’ll jam it out and see if it works. Or Mike might have an acoustic song almost done and we electrify it and rock it up. When I joined the band almost all of the songs were acoustic demos, so that seems to work out nicely.
JOE E: MAKESHIFT writes most of the Concepts and ideas and we just kinda put our own spin on it. Or I will come up with a bass riff, and spin around that.
IR: What is your main goal at this point?
MIKEY VIRGIN: Play shows, tour/travel, meet new people.
MAKSHIFT MIKE: I want to tour. I don’t care if I’m making millions or not, I love traveling and I love playing music, so being on tour is exactly what I want to do right now.
JOE E: Finish our album get it out there to the masses, and to be able to tour and make enough money to do what we really love to do.
IR: Have you guyslearned any lessons so far and if so, what are they?
MAKESHIFT MIKE: Don’t get shitfaced before a show.
JOE E: Don’t worry about the things you cant control. If you cant control it, its not worth worrying about.
Mikey Virgin: Not too sure about that yet. I’ll get back to it.
IR: Are there any artists the band wishes to work with in the future?
MIKEY VIRGIN: The Gaslight Anthem and Broadway Calls come to mind right away. I just found out about a band called Iron Chic I really like, so them too. Oh and Katy Perry, Iggy Azalea, and Beyonce hahaha.
MAKESHIFT MIKE: Blink 182, the gaslight anthem and alkaline trio
JOE E: Greenday, Blink, and Foo Fighters!
IR: If you could create your dream tour, who would be a part of it?
JOE E: WARPED TOUR.
MAKESIFT MIKE: Just put me on Riot Fest and ill be good.
MIKEY VIRGIN: If I were to watch it, Screeching Weasel, Teenage Bottlerocket, and The Copyrights. Sigur Ros and Tool would be really cool too. If I were to play, Gaslight Anthem, Broadway Calls, and Flatfoot 56.
IR: Where can we find State Line Syndicate’s music?
MAKESHIFT MIKE: Online, you can find us on Bandcamp, Reverbnation and Soundcloud under State Line Syndicate. Offline, come out to a show and party with us!!
JOE E: We go into the studio in January to record our debut album, so look out for it on Itunes, Amazon etc around March of 2015.
MIKEY VIRGIN: Online, you can find us on Bandcamp, Reverbnation and Soundcloud under State Line Syndicate. Offline, come out to a show and party with us!!
IR: We ask all the artists we interview, what’s the best piece of advice someone’s ever given to you?
MAKESHIFT MIKE: No matter if you love it or hate it, be the best at what you do. Advice from my dad.
JOE E: Life is like baseball. Sometimes Life throws you curve-balls, Sometimes you will get hit by a pitch. But Stand your ground and wait for your pitch. Sometimes you get a pitch right down the middle of the plate. If you time it right, you can hit it out of the park.
