Boardwalk Tattoos + Painted Rocks: An Interview with Frank Iero

Back in the age of burning playlists on CDs to give to your paramour, I received one from my first girlfriend. I had no idea what power it would go on to carry. As it stands, I am a huge metal fan – predominantly sludge and doom metal, but really what I love is something that is angry, wild, and has a compelling narrative. On this CD from my first girlfriend was a dearth of bands previously unheard to me, but would go on to feed this love of metal – The Used, Paramore, and My Chemical Romance. All three bands would go on to have an unrelenting impact, but the wailing guitars, heavy riffs, and lyricism of My Chemical Romance’s Thank You For the Venom had me begging my girlfriend to burn a copy of the full album – like, I dare you to find a teenager who wouldn’t attach immediately to the narrative of a vengeance-fueled gunslinger collecting souls to resurrect his long lost lover.

I kept up with the trajectory and projects of the members of this band whose narrative structures I had become so enchanted with. The rage and fury and power of Frank Iero’s Leathermouth, despite their singular album, hit me full force. Now, with his new powerful project LS Dunes, Frank Iero was gracious enough to sit down with me and talk about a shared love – Meow Wolf, music, and the impact of art.

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What is Meow Wolf to you personally? How would you describe Meow Wolf to a friend?

Personally when I first think of Meow Wolf, I remember my very first visit, which was to the Santa Fe location while on tour back in maybe 2017? I had heard rumblings of what Meow Wolf was and what it was like: a David Lynch Theme park, Willy Wonka’s fever dream, a high school science fair acid trip, but all those accounts were finished with the added addendum of, “Nothing I’m telling you can do it any justice, you really have to experience it for yourself.” And no truer words have ever been spoken. 

Upon visiting for the very first time, I just walked around with my mind blown and my mouth agape, muttering to myself, “I can’t wait to bring Jamia (my wife) and the kids here!!” I was finally able to make that dream a reality in 2022 and 2023 when we got to visit the Las Vegas and Denver locations together, and it’s now a family favorite destination.

Upon experiencing 3 locations now, I think Meow Wolf is so much more than the descriptions I had originally heard. Yes, it is a trippy interactive art installation, but it’s so much more than that, too. It can be a “choose your own adventure”, ever-evolving experience and the most freedom I’ve ever felt while exploring the world of art, all while still being fun and nonconformist, without all the stuffy elitism.

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How has art (be it media, fashion, or visual) influenced your life and your passions?

Art in all forms has been my entire world for as long as I can remember. When I was a young child, the only two things I ever wanted to do was be in a band and write songs or make monster movies. These days, sometimes I get to do both, and that is an absolute dream come true. I think painting and drawing came into my life later on, probably around high school going into college. The desire to express my internalized feelings in a visual or audible form has always been there for me. It’s hard to explain why, I often tell people it’s like breathing. You don’t know why or how you do it, you just do, because you need to in order to survive.

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What was the last piece of art that really inspired you?

I think the latest museum shown piece that really dropped me on my face was States’ Rights by Anne Herrero. But if I’m really being honest, I think I get more consistent inspiration from the things that I see on a daily basis, things that are maybe not necessarily thought of as proper “art” or would ever get shown in a museum… but maybe they should be? I didn’t fully appreciate Jackson Pollock until I turned 40.

I love shipping truck logos and cab airbrushing, old faded boardwalk-style tattoos, a rad tree (I try and find at least one or two favorites every day), the local anonymous lady that paints on rocks and leaves them down by the lake for kids to find and trade. This all might sound super pretentious, but it’s the truth. I’m inspired all the time by the things I just find around me. 

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What pieces of music (individual songs, albums, bands) do you find yourself returning to?

I believe something imprints on us in our teenage years that constantly makes us all go back and listen to the stuff we were rocking in high school. Whether that is truly the best music ever made or it’s just a comfort blanket of sorts is yet to be seen, but I think, collectively, we all do it. So for me it’s always the Beatles, Nirvana, the Breeders, Wu-tang, Black Flag, Minor Threat, Danzig and The Misfits… these are staples and are forever in my rotation. But I do make a point of actively looking for and discovering new music. New bands and records that are not necessarily new, but that are new to me. I’m always on the hunt for something different that pushes the boundaries and stretches the creative muscle. But if we are trying to be specific I can give you a detailed list…

Nirvana’s In Utero to me, is a perfect album in its power, in its mistakes, and in its time and place. Steve Albini’s production on that record is truly what made me want to record albums. The amount of space he and the band created is unmatched and makes me feel all of the things I want to feel when I put a record on. Also the guts it took to make a record like this one after putting out Nevermind never ceases to amaze and inspire me.

Tom Petty’s Wildflowers is the cleanest sounding record I have ever heard in my entire life. You can not only hear every instrument clear as day, but every string, every finger, every breath. It’s remarkable. And it sounds like this on every single stereo known to man! Whenever I get a master back after making a new record, I will always A/B it to Wildflowers, hoping and praying one day we get close.

And lastly, I’ll say anything and everything Danzig. From the Misfits to Samhain to the solo Danzig stuff, I dig it all. I even love his Elvis covers record. Being from New Jersey, Glen has always been a sort of folk hero to the people of my generation. He’s up there with Springsteen and Bon Jovi, and I’ve been a fan of his creations for as long as I can remember.