15 CENTS: MM CONFINE

 I first met Jesse Malinowski after my sophomore year in college, while I was working at Inner City Empire screen printing in Seattle.  Jesse was my manager there and between teaching me the craft, told me about the record company he had started.  I was new to the scene, but respected his hustle and vision and used that as momentum for The Incorporated.  Now, years later, I reached out to find out where MM Confine is now and what his ambitious plans are for the future. 

-        What is MM Confine/ the Common Sense Knights of Men?-     M.M.Confine is kind of hard for me to pin down. I am sure for anyone looking at it from the outside it is easy to say that it is a clothing company that simply has a video, and a zine or something you know. But for me each component is just as important as any other because they each add up to create the holistic picture. The most important parts of M.M.Confine are the ideals and philosophy that inspire it. That is the holistic picture. The video and zine give me a great way to disseminate the ideals and philosophy in a very pure, direct, conscious way. The clothing, bags, products and whatnot give me a way to manifest the ideals in a physical, more subconscious way.The Common Sense Knights of Men on the other hand is a very simple concept. It is a title for anyone who identifies with the ideals and philosophy of M.M.Confine, or maybe even a title for a person that identifies with the ideals that lead to M.M.Confine and not so much the exact executions that have brought M.M.Confine to light.

-        There is clearly a strong message behind your movement, what is the message and ultimate vision?-     You know I think the word “movement” has been broadened in recent history so let’s start with that. I don’t know that I would even call what I am doing or what I aspire to do a movement, but that might just be semantics. It is not a movement in the way that the Students for a Democratic Society organization was a movement, or the way that the Muslim Brotherhood is a movement now. What I am interested in would not be an organization at all, maybe something more similar to the Occupy movement, although I feign from saying that because the Occupy movement has certain connotations that I would prefer to not be associated with. Really my ideals are something that might run across many movements. Someone could call them self a Common Sense Knight of Man, and participate in any movement they want I guess. The way a Republican could be a member of the ACLU, or a Democrat could be part of the NRA if either felt so compelled.Now to address the actual message and vision behind what I am doing. I want to see an empowered, individualized, socially conscious, fair population. I want to see people discard the emotional and psychological chains that leaders have cast upon them. But I also want to see people who prefer the current system or any other system be given a place to live the best way they see fit. I don’t care to see any national, or global change. I want to see communities and individuals work how they see fit to achieve their own goals, whatever they might be as long as they impede no other man’s right to achieve his own goals, even if his goal is to achieve nothing.-     Who is the “minority” you hope to protect?-     The minority I want to see protected is the individual. Each person. True democracy is a tyranny like any other; it is simply the tyranny of the majority. Just like a true republic is a tyranny of the representative.-     What is Mind Melt Ent. and what is the connection to Confine?-     Mind Melt Ent. is the umbrella that M.M.Confine and Mind Melt Records sit under. It is a way for me to tie all of my projects together. -     What is your role in the group/ company?-     Well for the most part I am the entire company. I have friends helping at pretty much step of the way though. The company at this point is more so a pseudonym that I work under.-     What is the inspiration behind the label?  Who do you look up to?-     The inspiration for the record label is my friends and my experience playing, touring, and recording in bands. A lot of my friends have punk/hardcore/metal bands that I like and if I can help them bring their projects to an audience I am happy to do it.-     Who are the artists on Mind Melt?-     The current roster is: Fever Dreams, Of Feather and Bone, Putrid Brew, Snakes, Stress Relief, and Treacherouskin. In terms of punk/hardcore/metal these bands are all pretty diverse. So if you are into fast and/or angry music you should go to www.mindmeltrex.com and download everything available. All downloads are free.-     Military and propaganda clearly play a major role in your aesthetic, do you hope to use this imagery for a different purpose?-     The military aesthetic conveys a sense of seriousness, discipline and utility that I appreciate and relate to at my core, even if I don’t always practice those qualities, I try my best and strive to get better. I am attempting to use propaganda in a couple different ways at the same time. Obviously it is an effective medium to disseminate information, and ideals. But I am also playing the devils advocate a bit. I want to use propaganda in such a blunt way that it might help someone identify the subtler forms in which they might be indoctrinated by other interest groups.-     What does the Northwest mean to your movement?-     I think growing up in the Northwest played a huge role in forming my opinions and ideals. Regularly going out and cutting and collecting fire wood on the Olympic peninsula, taking hunting trips in the Okanogan Mountains, going to punk shows in Bremerton, and then hopping on the ferry to skate in Seattle gave me a broad perspective I think. I don’t know if there is any other region of the US where a kid could get all those experiences so easily and naturally without ever really feeling conflicted.-     What can people look forward to from Confine and Mind Melt?-     People can look forward to more high quality clothing, bags and accessories that are designed to be used as tools to achieve their goals and help them find fulfillment, and more records and propaganda packed with strong ideals that may not get exposed or discussed elsewhere.Check out Jeese and MM Confine HERE and @j_malinowski.