In December of last year, The Brokedowns issued their latest full-length, Life Is a Breeze. By any measure, the album is both aggressive and authentic, and witnesses the band continuing to refine their distinctive brand of gruff, unpredictable punk rock. We spoke with singer/guitarist/resident comedian Kris Megyery and talked about how the record sounds, what recording it was like and the meaning of some of its songs. We also discussed the band’s birthplace of Elgin, IL, their plans for the remainder of the year and more.

Bill – Given that your last full-length was released in the fall of 2010, what were some of the factors that led to this kind of break between albums?

Kris – Just the usual jive. We have like 500 kids. I had two kids between those albums and Eric, (guitarist/singer Eric Grossman) had two more. Mustafa, (drummer Mustafa Daka) was in Finland for a year trying to launch smoked salmon flavored blunt wraps. We put out three splits between those albums as well.

Bill – Compared to your last record, Species Bender, how would you describe the music on Life Is a Breeze?

Kris – I think the melodic songs are way more melodic and the abrasive songs are way more abrasive. Another way to phrase this would be to say that if Species Bender is Tokyo Drift, Life Is a Breeze is Furious 7. We live our lives a quarter mile at a time. Know what I mean?

Bill – Similar to your previous album, you guys recorded Life Is a Breeze with Joe Gac in Elgin. What was that experience like?

Kris – Awesome. Joe is a true loc. It was awesome watching him try to find creative yet functional ways to stack up all of his Meat Wave cash. He uses pallets of cash as furniture.

Bill – Bands don’t typically include 16 songs on a record these days. What transpired that led to your band writing so much material this time around?

Kris – We actually recorded 28. That is probably the main reason it took so long because we had a hard time figuring out what was garbage and what was tolerable garbage.

Bill – Besides having a great title, “Joliet, the Maui of the Midwest” talks about the West Coast being consumed by the ocean. What inspired this song?

Kris – Just a brutal Chicago winter. There is usually at least four months out of the year where all I can think about is not being cold and I think California has had the Pacific Ocean long enough. It’s time to bring it to the Midwest.

Bill – “Born on the Bayou Too” also has somewhat of a geographical premise in that it deals with leaving the Midwest. What were you trying to express in this song?

Kris – My wife shares the same seasonal misery I have every winter. One day she said, “Why are we poor here? We can go be poor anywhere.” And it cracked me up. So that’s basically it. We’re poor here; let’s go be poor in Milan.

Bill – Several songs on Life Is a Breeze address religion. What made you want to write about this topic?

Kris – I guess if we reference religion it is usually pretty vague, except for “The Gospel of Mustafa.” I actually desperately want to belong to the cult I am referencing in that song. I want hammocks instead of pews and for every hymn to be a stone groove. I was raised by lazy agnostics so I don’t really have an axe to grind. We didn’t go to church because of any kind of virtue or anything. It just involved getting up early and leaving the house which was frowned upon. That being said, I am the sole keeper of the one universal truth, the divine conduit of the celestial principle.

Bill – Would you say there’s a common theme with the lyrics on this album?

Kris – I think so. Mainly because most of the lyrics are from my dumb head, so there are definitely a lot of recurring topics. But each song is its own thing.

Bill – Tell me about the video that you made for “Cash for Gold.”

Kris – It was a blast. Jimmy from Sass Dragons was GG Allin and our friend Dan played Merle Allin. We shot the whole thing in a few hours, most of which on my phone. Ian Floetl did the opening Three Stooges sequence, which I think made it all come together.

Bill – For those who aren’t from or familiar with Elgin, what are some of the best things about your hometown’s music scene?

Kris – I feel a bit strange commenting because I am barely involved and much more of a spectator these days. The highs are great but the lows are really low. It’s not uncommon to go a year or so without any shows or spaces to do shows. This last year has been pretty great though. There are a few venues and a few bands trying to make fun things happen.

Bill – What were some of the highlights from the Red Scare 10^th anniversary show last fall?

Kris – I really couldn’t say because I was horribly ill. The other dudes raged like Vikings on meth. My highlight was probably sleeping in my car while the rest of the band loaded in.

Bill – What do you guys have planned as far as shows or tours for the rest of 2015?

Kris – We’re hopefully going to play a lot this summer and early fall. We also have a whole new album written, so that should be out by the time this new Star Wars movie is airing on network TV.