Today we’d like to introduce you to Joel Anger.
Hi Joel, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My name is Joel D. Anger and I am an aspiring musician from Cleveland, Ohio. I was born in 1988 in the Euclid-Green neighborhood on the northeast side of Cleveland and spent roughly the first twelve years of my life in the South Collinwood neighborhood (also on the east side). Times were tough during my childhood, but I always had my maternal grandparents and twin brother to keep me company. Music was a passion of my grandfather’s and one of his favorite things to do was to play the keyboard in his own strange way, writing original and eccentric compositions. Right before entering the seventh grade, I was fortunate enough to move to Solon, a rather affluent suburb of Cleveland, with my brother and my mother. I might have experienced a tremendous amount of culture shock as a result of migrating further southeast, and, unfortunately, I might’ve failed to take advantage of my educational opportunities, but I was introduced to something that would ultimately change my life: punk rock. Although there were only two punk rockers in my grade (one of whom would eventually move away), their impact on my young psyche was substantial enough to compel me to pick up a bass guitar. This was the beginning of my musical journey. I was a sophomore in high school by this time and, although I was getting into an extensive amount of trouble and constantly needed to be disciplined, my youthful mind was constantly absorbing musical influences. I listened to everything I could get my hands on. I enjoyed almost everything– from Chet Baker to video game music. When I finally completed high school I developed an extreme appreciation for all things post-punk, new wave, gothic, industrial, and synth pop. I delved into bands like The Cure, Joy Division, Depeche Mode, Talk Talk, The Smiths, New Order, The Sisters Of Mercy, Ministry, Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark, and many, many more. As a result of financial difficulties in my family, my mother, my brother, and I moved back to Collinwood in 2007–when I was just eighteen. All of my childhood friends had become estranged from me due to relocation, incarceration, or even death. The community I had once known and loved was devastated by drugs, and foreclosures and abandoned properties characterized the urban landscape. The scenery was truly depressing. It was at this point that I realized how bleak my situation was and began to seek music as a sanctuary. I could play bass or sing along to my favorite records in my lonely room and channel my sadness into something positive and something productive. My dead-end job and failed academic pursuits were perfect motivation to drive me to From 2010 to 2018, I even dabbled in acting, but, alas, such a narcissistic occupation left me feeling shallow and vain. To no avail, in 2014, I tried to play bass in a band with my brother on vocals and two friends on keyboard and drums, but that project imploded. Towards the end 2014, I put out an add on Craigslist and stated my intentions directly: I wanted to be in a band and sing lead vocals. That November, two new, irreplaceable friends would enter my life because of that ad. Rising from the ashes of the post-punk power trio known as Privacy//Policy, two multi-instrumentalists by the name of Rich Kundracik and John Alexander sought to form a new band with a new singer. I nervously auditioned for them, but somehow hit it out of the park in an instance of dumb luck. As a result of this collaboration, our band, Key To The Mint, has released four albums and seven music videos. We have played more than one hundred shows. Mind you, these have all been mostly self-produced efforts and have been released in and around the underground domain of music on an independent level. But, still, one must acknowledge the hard work and dedication it takes to create such an expansive catalog of music on basically no budget. Key To The Mint is a testament to hard work and friendship.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
If there would be one way not to describe my life, it would be the term ‘easy’. From the time I was born, I have dealt with incredible obstacles and impediments that have obstructed my path to success and interrupted the pursuit of my goals. My father was a paranoid schizophrenic who went unmedicated throughout his short life and also had a nasty habit of imbibing any substances, illegal and legal, that he could get his hands on. However, for some reason, his drug of choice was crack cocaine. This constant consumption of crack was punctuated by binge drinking, and, seemingly, enhanced the symptoms of his mental health problems. Among his many delusions was the idea that famous artists had written songs about him and subsequently owed him royalties. These artists included, but were not limited to Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, David Bowie, Billy Idol, Mick Jagger, Todd Rundgren, et cetera. My father never married my mother and never really functioned at a high enough level to be a true parent or authority figure. Instead, he came in and out of my life in episodes of extreme behavior and in instances of intense emotion. He would often come by and berate my mother and maternal grandparents. Or, he would verbally attack the staff of the school I was attending. He accused the Lutheran school I was enrolled in with my brother of being ‘the sixth tongue of the devil’—among other insults. My mother, brother, and I tried to escape from my dad by migrating from South Collinwood to Solon. Unfortunately, we could not be rid of his presence—no matter where we went. Less than two years after I moved back to Cleveland, my father was dead. He had succumbed to his addictions and suffered a heart attack induced by excessive cocaine usage and alcohol consumption. As toxic and hateful as my old man could be, I know he had a heart and loved me and my family. When he passed away, I was overwhelmed with many complicated feelings and couldn’t grieve properly for years. As a result of simply having inherited genes from my father, my twin brother and I are most certainly, of course, paranoid schizophrenics. Like my father, I went unmedicated for years. I was in and out of mental hospitals and psychiatric wards with great frequency from 2011 to 2021. Thankfully, I never struggled with drugs to the extent that my dad did, but the illness alone was enough to destroy many relationships and friendships. My brother and I have lost many friends and several girlfriends from being schizophrenics. My brother actually almost burned down our house because he was having a psychotic episode. The house was left unlivable. Making music has, quite possibly, saved my life. My band is my support system and they help me cope with the harshness of my life by giving me an outlet for emotional expression and creativity. Because of them, my life has a heightened sense of purpose and I am heavily medicated. As a result, I have not experienced any serious symptoms of schizophrenia in nearly four years. My life and the existence of the band I am in, Key To The Mint, are victories against the most unforgiving odds that have been bestowed upon me by the brutal nature of life. I am eternally thankful.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My band, Key To The Mint, is a very multifarious blend of new wave music, post-punk, synth pop, dark wave, gothic rock, and industrial rock. We combine the likes of Depeche Mode, The Psychedelic Furs, The Smiths, New Order, Joy Division, Talk Talk, and The Cure to form an American counterpart to these influences that has a quintessential identity of its own. Every member of this band is a multi-instrumentalist and composer of sorts and that makes this cohesive unit greater than the sum of its parts. The vocals range from monotonous, robotic croons to high-pitched falsetto screeches as I do everything in my power to utilize the modest two and a half octaves of range I possess. The synths span from pulsating rhythms and bouncing chords to ethereal melodies. The guitars stretch a range of genres that makes it seem like we have three players in the band. Last, but not least, the drum sounds are the heart and soul of our group; they go from danceable hi-hat patterns to crushing tribal beats on the toms to straight-up riffs that clock a song so well one might think a robot or computer wrote and performed the parts. We elegantly embody the anxiety and tension of modern times without being preachy, pretentious, or condescending to our audience.
What makes you happy?
To me, happiness is a gig well done. I get great joy out of recording vocals. I get absolute satisfaction out of being able to go to my practice and recording space. There, I can compose simple drum sequences and primitive keyboard parts to give to my bandmates so that they can write other parts or enhance what I’ve written. When a person who has seen my performance at a venue comes up to me and says, “I really enjoyed that,” I am awash with true ecstasy. There is nothing like being an artist and there is simply nothing like being the lead vocalist in Key To The Mint. My bandmates give me everything I need to exorcise the demons of mental illness. I am a man of average talent and intelligence, but with my band at my side, the sky is the limit.
Pricing:
- Our first album, Polynesian Dreams, is free for download on Bandcamp.
- Our second record, A Godless Line, is free for download on Bandcamp.
- Our third record, an EP called Another Charade, is available for purchase as a compact disc for eight dollars, or, inversely, for digital download of each song for a dollar per song.
- Our fourth record, an LP called Right, Wrong, Or Indifferent, is available for digital download at fourteen dollars (one dollar per song). It is also available via the purchase of the CD for ten dollars.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/key_to_the_mint/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Keytothemintband/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@keytothemintmusic93
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/rtul-records
Image Credits
Donn R. Nottage and Nottage Productions
