Meet Morat | Author/photographer/punk singer/rock journalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Morat and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Morat, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
That’s a great question. Obviously, it depends on what you’re trying to achieve. If you want to be an athlete, then at some point you might have to face the fact that you’re not going to make it, but for authors, artists, actors and such, there’s really no cut off. Just keep going! It can take years to get any recognition, but so long as you’re not expecting to get rich, or even make a living, there’s no reason to quit if you enjoy what you’re doing. Of course, it can be frustrating, sometimes depressing, but you just have to accept that. It took a few years for my first self-published book to break even, but now there’s a trickle of profit and it got optioned for TV. My latest book, Punk Snot Dead, did reasonably well at first and then suddenly took off and is selling really well. Just don’t be too harsh on yourself if it takes a long time to reach even the smallest of your goals.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
In some ways, the ride so far has been both really easy and insanely difficult. I’ve often just been in the right place at the right time, but like most other creative types, the main difficulty is money, especially during COVID. Pretty much all my work vanished for two years – it’s impossible to be a live music photographer, for instance, when there’s no live music. Being self-employed, my wife and I slipped through most of the cracks when it came to financial assistance and ended up hugely in debt. That said, the pause gave me time to write and since we last spoke, I’ve almost completed my fourth book – as yet untitled – and my band, Soldiers of Destruction, is now working on a second album. I’ve also recently taken a job as events coordinator at the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas, booking the tour guides and liaising with artists, so I guess all those years of avoiding responsibility and going to punk shows finally paid off.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Honestly, my friends wouldn’t want to do anything remotely sophisticated – and neither would I. Dive bars and gigs! In LA that would be the Burgundy Room on Cahuenga Blvd or maybe the Rainbow. In Vegas, it would be the Dive bar or the Double Down Saloon. Unfortunately, a lot of the good spots are closing or have been closed. I used to like the Key Club in West Hollywood and the House of Blues on Sunset, but those are long gone, which is a great shame. Occasionally one of my friends will come through town on their motorcycle – they seem to have a fetish for doing all of Route 66 – so we’ll ride out into the desert of something.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My wife, Masuimi, was the one who suggested that I concentrate on writing books, and she stuck by me while I spent countless hours locked away in front of a keyboard. I also owe a great debt to Lemmy from Motorhead, who was my best friend and mentor for many years. He was like a father figure in a lot of ways and always offered me good advice. Honestly, there are a lot of people who have helped along the way, whether it be offering encouragement or even feeding me when times were tough.

Website: morat666.com

Instagram: @morat666

Twitter: @morat666

Facebook: Morat.rocks

Other: sodpunk.com https://www.patreon.com/morat666

Image Credits
All pics by Morat except Soldiers of Destruction by Masuimi Max