Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Few, the Proud, the Rocking

Metal singer/guitarist Josh McArdle and two other Marine corporals formed Hatchet Wound in Iraq. Now at Camp Pendleton, they practice in a 10' by 10' barracks; they started in McArdle's, moved to the drummer's (Hunter Schmaus), and now play in the bassist's room (Matt Brothers).

"The manager of the barracks flips out because we have so much [equipment]," says McArdle. "They say, 'You need to get that shit out of your room.' All we do is just move it three rooms down."

McArdle says that upon reaching the rank of E-4 (which all three have), the Marines will pay extra to allow for a larger, off-base residence.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"If you have a lot of household goods that overwhelm the barracks, they will help you out. If you have couches and shit, you can get it, but if you have $20,000 in band equipment, you have to stay in your jail cell."

The three leatherneck rockers pass out their eight-song CD to other Marines, civilian bands, and at off-base music venues.

"If I meet another band and I give them a demo, it's, like, 'Yeah, these guys are fucking jarheads, fuck these clowns. They aren't real musicians.'...

"Being in the Marine Corps is like being in a completely different society. You're in Southern California, but there are walls around the base that isolate you from everything else.... But being in the Marine Corps definitely gave us the drive to play and reach perfection."

The men intend to continue playing music in California when their four years are up next year.

"The music scene out here is completely different," says McArdle, who is from Asheville, North Carolina. "It's more competitive than it is back home. We don't even have a Guitar Center."

McArdle says each bandmember got tattoos on their arms before March 31, beating the ban on new body ink below the elbow.

"They would rather enforce a tattoo policy than make sure we have hot water or heat and air conditioning in our rooms. I think it's bullshit. They say they want to preserve Marine tradition when it is the tradition for Marines to have tattoos."

Hatchet Wound plays Saturday at Pier View Pub in Oceanside (formerly Bub's Whiskey Dive).

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Domestic disturbance at the home of Mayor Gloria and partner

Home Sweet Homeless?
Next Article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents

Metal singer/guitarist Josh McArdle and two other Marine corporals formed Hatchet Wound in Iraq. Now at Camp Pendleton, they practice in a 10' by 10' barracks; they started in McArdle's, moved to the drummer's (Hunter Schmaus), and now play in the bassist's room (Matt Brothers).

"The manager of the barracks flips out because we have so much [equipment]," says McArdle. "They say, 'You need to get that shit out of your room.' All we do is just move it three rooms down."

McArdle says that upon reaching the rank of E-4 (which all three have), the Marines will pay extra to allow for a larger, off-base residence.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"If you have a lot of household goods that overwhelm the barracks, they will help you out. If you have couches and shit, you can get it, but if you have $20,000 in band equipment, you have to stay in your jail cell."

The three leatherneck rockers pass out their eight-song CD to other Marines, civilian bands, and at off-base music venues.

"If I meet another band and I give them a demo, it's, like, 'Yeah, these guys are fucking jarheads, fuck these clowns. They aren't real musicians.'...

"Being in the Marine Corps is like being in a completely different society. You're in Southern California, but there are walls around the base that isolate you from everything else.... But being in the Marine Corps definitely gave us the drive to play and reach perfection."

The men intend to continue playing music in California when their four years are up next year.

"The music scene out here is completely different," says McArdle, who is from Asheville, North Carolina. "It's more competitive than it is back home. We don't even have a Guitar Center."

McArdle says each bandmember got tattoos on their arms before March 31, beating the ban on new body ink below the elbow.

"They would rather enforce a tattoo policy than make sure we have hot water or heat and air conditioning in our rooms. I think it's bullshit. They say they want to preserve Marine tradition when it is the tradition for Marines to have tattoos."

Hatchet Wound plays Saturday at Pier View Pub in Oceanside (formerly Bub's Whiskey Dive).

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Change is constant in our fisheries

Yellowfin still biting well
Next Article

Todd Gloria gets cash from McDonald's franchise owners

Phil's BBQ owner for Larry Turner
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader