Master Slash Slave brings in the crazy

These San Francisco natives will land in the Midwest just before Easter.

By Kristin Torres
March 18, 2008

Courtesy of Master Slash Slave

Matt Jones has strong opinions about Phoenix, Ariz.

“Not a fan,” he said with a laugh. “I am not a fan at all.”

After arriving there for a tour stop, Jones said he couldn’t find much to do other than hit up the desert town’s thrift stores in search of a cheap, but suave, suit.

The guy is really, really into suits.

“People tell me I look like Ron Burgundy,” he said, referring to Will Ferrell’s suited, mustached alter ego.

But Jones goes all out. He has the mustache to match, too — though perhaps more sinister in comparison with that of the fake anchor.

“I’ve got a Hitler mustache,” he said. “I’m blonde, though, so it isn’t too Hiltlery.”

Open-air talk of Hitler mustaches and a pronounced boredom in rocky, desert towns can only mean one thing when it just so happens that your band is also called Master Slash Slave: San Francisco is home sweet home. (Where else are you going to find a band called Master Slash Slave? Provo, Utah?)

It’s safe to say Jones misses home.

“I was born in San Francisco,” he said. “I grew up mostly there and I moved back to San Francisco when I was a real man.”

Jones is a true Bay Area son if there ever was one, working odd jobs back home in San Francisco at Anticon Records, helping out fellow northern California outfits like Why? find their footing.

But while the band name might evoke some very specific visions of latex, leather, whips and chains, the most sinister thing about the beats of Master Slash Slave is Jones’ mustache.

Don’t worry, Midwest, there’s nothing all that freaky about these guys.

Jones has spent the last three years of his life trying to get Master Slash Slave off the ground.

Recording a debut album was a first step.

But even when essentially just playing along with preprogrammed Casio keyboards, making a debut album isn’t so easy, especially without a drummer.

While the music is a synth-heavy, MIDI-controlled sound, you can’t efficiently bring the ruckus without thumping a pair of pagan skins.

But Jones has only had bad luck with drummers in the past.

“The first guy I started this band with got into some legal trouble,” he said. “Then I found another drummer after that. We did, like, the whole country in, like, three weeks, which is kind of a lot. He got burned out kind of quick.”

Now, though, he says he’s got someone who can handle the intense touring schedule (which includes stops at the infamous South by Southwest) and the band is ready to take off.

Master Slash Slave’s debut album, Scandal, is still in the works, but that hasn’t slowed the band’s tour schedule up one bit. It gives the band an excuse to travel, and Jones an excuse to play with stickers.

“I’ve got this map on the dashboard of my car, like an old RV map with all the state stickers on it,” he said. “Missouri is one I haven’t been to yet so I’m excited to add the new sticker to the map.”

And for the band that claims to “bring the crazy to the people” (but not the ‘leather and whips’ kind of crazy), Columbia can expect a spectacle.

“Saturday night, small town, day before Easter Sunday,” Jones said. “We’re gonna blow it out.”

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Master Slash Slave brings in the crazy

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