Interview:
I think the fact that there are no rules in this band really dictates the sonic changes throughout the record.
Godzillionaire are a brilliant rock band from Lawrence, Kansas whose vivid and varied music blends a whole range of sounds into a heavy but dreamy hard rocking groove. The bands’ last album Diminishing Returns and its predecessor Negative Balance (which has just been reissued on vinyl) are fantastic records which show what an exciting band Godzillionaire are. Gavin Brown got to delve into both those albums with vocalist Mark Hennessy and bassist Mike Dye as well as getting insight into the world of Godzillionaire, a band making waves despite setbacks with Mark’s health which was also discussed along with memories of his previous band, the vastly underrated grunge rockers Paw. So check out and enter the world of Godzillionaire, you won’t be disappointed!
E&D: Have you been pleased with with how your most recent album, the brilliant, Diminishing Patterns, has been received since its release?
Mike: Yeah, it’s been incredible. We’re just a small band from Kansas, man, so any sort of accolades we get is pretty overwhelming. Charting as high as we did in the Doom charts was pretty incredible!
Mark: I thought I was going to be dead by now so that record is dark and heavy, and the reception to it was great.
E&D: The album is absolutely huge sounding, what were the biggest influences on the sound of the record?
Mark: I can say it, because he won’t say it for himself, but Mike is an amazing musician, and Ben and Cody are amazing musicians. These guys do things with their harmonies that makes it really easy for a singer, you know. We’re inspired by everything, and I think the one thing we agreed was we didn’t want to be insincere in our music. We didn’t want to be ironic.
Mike: I think the fact that there are no rules in this band really dictates the sonic changes throughout the record. Both that one and really all of the records we’ve ever done, they reflect the growth. There are no rules, so the influences are vast because of it.
E&D: Is that how you’ve always worked in the band, having no rules? The album goes from heavy to fu it either was and there are electronic flourishes as well.
Mike: When we were doing the first record, everything outside of ‘Absolute Zero’ was stuff we’d been working on for a very long time prior to recording it. I think once that song happened, then we wrote the next EP, it was just basically at that point, we were like, well, we could just be a normal, average stone rock band, but when we’re making songs like this that inspire great performances out of all of us, and Mark’s lyrical content, the rules got thrown out of the window pretty fast after that, and we just never looked back.
Mark: Yeah, and it was funny to find an audience. Thank you internet! It’s cool to have the confidence to play whatever you want to play in this day and age, and know that a couple people are going to listen to it. I don’t know where that came from. I think it’s a remnant of garage rock or something, ‘Absolute Zero’ still blows my mind, people around the world have heard that, they know that about your song, it’s such a blessing man and we’ve gotten more aware of that. It’s not like we’re more careful now about how we touch people’s lives, but we definitely feel responsibility to be great gentlemen with each other and with the world, you know, like there’s such acidry going on now l, and it just tiresome. We owe ourselves a better demand of each other and we do that because I want to be a better singer and a better person because of these guys.
E&D: Mark, your vocals sounds so powerful and soulful on the album. Do you feel it’s one of your strongest vocal performances to date?
Mark: Yeah, I’m lucky to be alive, and part of the result is they cut me open. I was split open down the middle and I had to learn how to sing again, and I was scared. I had to learn how to deal with the medications that they wanted, all the stuff they wanted to put me on and it made me think of my life as a person and a dad. I’m not gonna get up there and be something I’m not, but I do make really good rock and roll with my buddies, and we are serious about it. So I think there’s a little cache with that, there’s a little gravitas that comes from us taking our job seriously, and wanting to do it well.
E&D: Mike, do you have a special bond with Cody on drums when it comes to your playing and the groove you get together?
Mike: Oh, most definitely! We’ve been talking about the power of things you can’t see, kind of telepathic mindset, and when the four of us are in a room together, we’re speaking a language we can’t really identify, but is very fluent between the four of us. We like to call it out a hole we go into when we start writing and jamming out songs. Most of the songs we have, always start in the jam room, and then they’re built upon recording them piece by piece. We went in as a unit with a vague idea of how we were going to craft most of these songs. The end result is, I can say, without a doubt, for me and Cody, improvisational in terms of feeling the song out with where Mark was vocally, it’s uncanny. I’ve never really experienced it with any other group of musicians I’ve ever played with. To be honest with you, a lot of the bands I was in before were more rigid. Here’s the song, we can elaborate on it somewhat, but for the most part, this is what we’re doing. Whereas in this band, as I said before, there are no rules. So the songs evolve continuously until we decide to record them and put them out in the world. Even after that, we’ve been playing a lot of these songs differently over the years and continuously honing them and finding the voice that we were looking for in the music. So sonically, it’s ever evolving, and Cody is a huge part of that. He’s the missing link for this band to become what it is today, and without him, it would be really hard to make the kind of music we make.
Mark: Somebody called Cody’s drumming, narrative. I always thought that was a good description of his drumming.
E&D: Ben’s guitar playing is amazing as well. The guitar solo in ‘Spin Up Spin Down’ in particular blew me away the first time I heard it. Were you in awe when that was recorded?
Mark: It’s not infrequent that I miss my place in the song because I’m listening, and these guys are going nuts, and it’s hard not to let some parts be longer, because I’m listening, to the bassline come in on ‘64 Palms’ from Negative Bounds .Ben, he’s gotten to the place where he does that effortlessly, that sort of weird, Zen guitar show that we were raised on, 70s album orientated rock music.
Mike: That solo in particular, I think he recorded it at home, but most of Diminishing Returns, like I said, we instrumentally went to the studio and recorded it with our friend Paul. A lot of the vocals, a lot of the guitar overdubs and some synth work, me and Ben mostly did outside of the studio in our own rehearsal space. I think he really just dialled himself into the ether to pull that solo out and thank God for it, because it is incredible! When he does it live, I can’t express the joy that occurs when it happens. He will still expand upon it in a live setting and it’s mind blowing!
Mark: He keeps going for it!
E&D: Your album Negative Balance has recently been reissued on vinyl, do you look back on that album with good memories?
Mike: Oh, most definitely. The funny thing about it is when we when we first started talking to Todd Severin of Ripple for Diminishing Returns, we kind of showed up with, hey, we’d be interested in getting this album out on vinyl, and as the added sweetener, we definitely want to re-release this last record, and he immediately was on board on the the the idea of us having a new record anyway, and then the thought of re- releasing Negative Balance,I think, probably sealed it.
E&D: Have you got plans for a brand new album?
Mike: Well, Dave from Luna Sol spilled the beans so we were initially envisioning doing a seven inch split, but now it’s turned into a full album split. it’ll be about four to six songs from each band. I won’t dive too far into some of the surprises we have for it. We’re going to have a lot of fun with some of the songs, and I don’t really know how they could get any more wildly different from what we do normally, but some of the songs are going to be some things that are not expected from this band and that part is exciting, the other record will be another full length Godzillionaire record, which, again, will have some more different things going on in it. I don’t think we’ll be doing any of the, crazier, dark wave-ish type stuff we did, like ‘Unsustainable’ on Diminishing Returns , but in terms of getting heavier and softer, we will be expanding that sonic territory with this record, for sure.
E&D: Have you got a timeframe for the new releases?
Mike: At this point it’s going to be when it happens. We’ve been working on it pretty tirelessly for months. But, a lot of that’s with Mark’s health and how he’s doing, and then also just life. We’re all busy doing other things. Dave is definitely busy all the time. I think he just got done playing with John Garcia at Mojave fest, and I know they’ve got some dates going on later this year for Hermano as well. So, tying our two bands together to get it done and then just doing our own record, I’m hoping, best case scenario, one of those records releases in the fall, and the other one releases at the beginning of 27 that really depends, but hopefully it’s all earlier than that, but like I said, we’ve been working non stop. We’ve got two songs completely done for the Luna Sol project, and then we’ve got six songs in the holster that are mostly recorded already for the Godzillionaire record. So, yeah, we’re getting after it!
E&D: Will that be on on Ripple as well?
Mike: Yes, that is the plan. Todd’s definitely on board.
E&D: What live shows have you got planned for the rest of the year?
Mike: We’ve been working in the background on getting some booking help, but the idea is to be playing a lot more than we have before and some places we haven’t been. And then also, if we can figure it out, we’ll try to go outside of the US as well. Travelling in this climate is pretty insane at the moment. It’s probably an understatement, and I don’t know if it’s going to get any better, but we’re trying. We haven’t been playing a lot of shows, obviously, due to Mark’s situation and not being sure if we could commit, but he’s ready to do it. I’m ready to do it. The guy’s are ready to do it.
Mark: We have thought about doing something online. We have people around the world that would tune in. I like the idea of doing a concert for those people, specifically online, meet people where they’re at.
E&D: What have been some of the most memorable live shows that you’ve played so far?
Mike: I could tell you without a doubt, one of our best and highly just, memorised shows was playing in a basement in Manhattan, Kansas, at a venue called the Church Of Swole, and it was unreal. We had people crowd surfing in a basement that could fit maybe at best 30 people. It was an amazing time. We’ve played some other pretty cool shows. Our first show is pretty high up there for me too, because we played one of the biggest venues in Lawrence. It was for our friend Thad, who sadly passed a couple years ago. But it was a pretty incredible show. I really, really enjoyed it. We’ve opened for the Velveteers a few times, they are incredible and we’ve gotten to play some shows with them when they were unknown and we’ve played with them since when they’ve exploded,
Mark: The other family band, Pink Fuzz is also super awesome to play with. That show in Manhattan that we did with them was definitely up there for me.
Mike: We’ve had some killer shows, usually in smaller venues. I feel like we thrive in the small, intimate spaces, for sure.
Mark: We are temperature tested to, I think, below 16 degrees Fahrenheit!
Mike: The house party?! Oh, man, that was brutal!
Mark: That was pretty memorable. Solidarity with you guys, because you had to have them off and I put them back on.
Mike: It was so cold.
Mark: Yeah, I was definitely powered by Jameson that evening!
E&D: Mark, you have been very very open talking about your health issues and your scars adorn the cover of Diminishing Returns. How is your health at the moment?
Mark: I’m scheduled to get another ablation done, which is what you get when they burn off metastases from the liver. Everybody, if you haven’t had your prostate checked, get it done. You can’t get it too early nowadays with our diets. That’s my quick public service announcement. I had colorectal cancer, and the doctor said it looked like I’d had it for 10 years and I was diagnosed at 52. They my oncologist told me I had two years to live, three years ago, three and a half now, I feel good. I have to go have this surgery done again, and that’s disheartening because it hurts. But here I am. You know, we are in, I don’t know if you noticed this, Mr. Brown, but I’m semi proud of it. We are in a Complaint Free Zone! I’m lucky to be a dad. I’m lucky to be a husband. I’m lucky to be talking to you about music. How fortunate is that in this crazy day and age, you know? So I’m really looking, all in all, I’m looking pretty good.
E&D: Going back, do you look back at your time in Paw with fondness and what were some of the highlights of being in the band?
Mark: Oh god man, there was this one tour bus that had a little space underneath it that I fit in back there. After we played the Reading Festival, before Neil Young playing with Pearl Jam, but after White Zombie.
Mike: That is an incredible situation to be in!
Mark: I came out with angel wings on! The thing about my time with Paw, honestly, is that it’s coloured by what were clashes in the band. We were young men, and we were probably too young to spend a year in a closed space smelling each other’s farts, playing the same 45 minutes worth of music. But we butted heads, and Grant and Pete were brothers. I mean are brothers. I say were because the last time, to my knowledge, that Grant and Pete spoke, it was acrimonious, and it was in a Paw practice space two decades ago. I reached out to Grant recently, because, for whatever reason, a friend of mine talked me into playing a show Mark and friends, not Paw, and I reached out to him, and his response was curt and dismissive, and it was the type of thing that kept me from trying in the first place. So my pride and joy at having that record be an education for me, have that record be long standing enough to have some gravity going forward, I feel very fortunate for those things. I also am kind of mad at Grant for fucking up what was a good situation but God bless him. God bless all those guys. I’m friends with Pete, who’s awesome. I reached out to Charles Bryan, the fastest man in the world not too long ago. I don’t pay enough attention to social media to know If he fronted me back! I got to go around the world because of that band, and that was cool and I wish nothing but good on them and their endeavours. It was a lot to put on a young man, and it was a lot to put on four young men. If we had been a little bit more successful, I’d be dead for sure.
E&D: What do you both want to still achieve with Godzillionaire and making such vital and eclectic music today?
Mark: I attribute that to Cody and to Mike and to Ben and myself trying to keep up with real good company.
Mike: I was explaining this to someone recently that I think the pinnacle that we wanted to achieve in this band we achieved right before we released Negative Balance, which is the ability to be a self sustaining recording band that owns its own masters.
Mark: And plays reasonable hard rock and roll made in America!
Mike: Right at this point, even though we don’t have the ability to tour or don’t have the ability to do lots of travelling gigs. We have still achieved the ability to write. record and release music without going out of our own pocket, which is an insane thing to say as a band in 2026 and I couldn’t be more proud of it, and I t’s only because of all of our fans around the world that have made that possible, buying our records, buying the digital downloads, buying our merch.
Mark: Playing it for their friends.
Mike: I couldn’t be more grateful to be able to continue to do that, making two more records and just having fun with it has been an amazing thing. I’m happy to keep doing it for as long as we can.
