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Motion City Soundtrack
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By:
Ali Wolf
NBC 7/39 Web Intern
Pop-rock band, Motion City Soundtrack consists of Justin (vocals), Josh (guitar), Jesse (Synthesizer), Matt (Bass, Piano) and Tony (Drums). After releasing two popular albums, “I am the Movie,” and “Commit this to Memory,” (produced by Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus), the band is set out to release their third album, “Even if it Kills Me” on September 18th. The band is currently touring across the country, and to Japan.I got a chance to head over to SOMA to do an interview with Jesse before he hit the stage. Two interns and I showed up to the small venue to see a line that stretched all the way down the mini mall. First in this line of loyal fans was Gina Venegas, who revealed that she “drove down from Riverside” had been “waiting since 6:30a.m.” for the 6:30p.m. show. Venegas’ devotion to MCS is evident when she says, “I love the band because I really relate to the music. I just love how it’s upbeat yet intense. I also like going to shows at small venues, I think it’s a better experience.”Jesse, who plays the synthesizer for MCS, took a break from sound check to talk to me as we shared a seat on a cooler in a quite hallway in the venue.What’s Hot: How has the tour been going so far?
Jesse: The tour’s been really good, this is our 6th show, and we’ve been playing smaller rooms, almost a quarter of the size of what we would normally play, and doing a lot of songs that we usually don’t play. Trying to do something that’s really fun and intimate for our fans.What’s Hot: Okay, so you want to do smaller shows so your fans can be closer up, and have a more personal experience?
Jesse: Yeah, playing a show where people are close up and literally resting their arms on the stage is a lot different than a show where there’s a barrier and the fans are ten feet away, it’s a total different connection to the crowd.What’s Hot: So do you guys do anything special before you start the show?
Jesse: Um, not really, we’re pretty boring in all aspects, we just kind of change clothes and Justin warms up his voice, and Tony warms up on a practice pad, but there’s nothing too out of the ordinary.What’s Hot: What emotions do you feel right before you go on to perform?
Jesse: Usually we’re all pretty excited, you know, kind of psych each other up a little bit, tell everybody that we’re gunna have a good show.What’s Hot: Do you think it’s harder to play in a smaller venue with a smaller audience?
Jesse: Well the only real difference as far as being easier or harder to play is the size of the stage. Smaller stages are sometimes kind of hectic because you have nowhere to go, but we did years and years and years of tiny stages, so it’s not that different in the end I guess.What’s Hot: So tonight you’re going to be playing a lot of your older songs just because it’s a smaller venue, and you’ll probably be playing for a lot of loyal fans?
Jesse: Yeah, Yeah, we’ll play a lot of songs, a couple b-sides, and songs that we usually don’t play off out first record, and some crowd favorite that we don’t play very much off our second record. And then three new songs off the record that comes out in September, then how every many hits, or ones we have videos for.What’s Hot: So the album comes out in September, is it different at all? What can we expect?
Jesse: It’s not totally different, we had a little more time to work on it, and we worked with some awesome producers. We worked with Rick Ocasek who used to play in a band called The Cars- a legendary musician. And we worked with Adam Schlesinger From Fountains of Wayne, and Eli Janney from Girls Against Boys. Just having the time and the producers who have their head in the right space gave us the opportunity to do whatever we wanted. We branched out a little bit and pit some strings in some songs, piano, but overall, it’s a Motion City record, so there’s some happy lyrics, some depressing lyrics, there’s some fast songs and some slow songs. We just tried to do the same thing but expand it a little more and make it a little more interesting.What’s Hot: What’s your favorite song on the new album?
Jesse: I like the song called “Where I Belong,” Which is actually second or third from last on the record, but it’s got the typical Justin’s lyrics where they’re very quirky, but the song is upbeat, which is fun for us.What’s Hot: That’s what I find so interesting about you guys. In your new video for “A Broken Heart,” and the lyrics are very serious and relatable, but the video is very quirky.
Jesse: Yeah, we always try to have fun with what we do.What’s Hot: Do you guys write the songs based on thinks that happen in your lives?
Jesse: As far as lyrically, Justin does all of that. I believe he likes to say that its fifty percent fiction and fifty percent true. He would much rather write something with an interesting story and make half of it up, than write something that’s completely real and boring. But it’s all in his head; whatever he can think of is what ends up on there.What’s Hot: Who are you guys’ musical influences?
Jesse: Well, as a group, there’s Wheezer, Jaw Box, right now we’re working on covering a Teagan and Sara song, The Pixies, The Police. There’s a wide range, all of us listen to different music here and there, and I think that helps a little bit, to be somewhat diverse. I mean, in the end we’re just a pop band that plays rock and roll, so it’s not really that hard. In the end we just try and write stuff that’s fun, that people will like to listen too. We’re not trying to break any boundaries or anything.What’s Hot: A lot of fans talk about how much they to your music, and how much they love you guys. How does it feel to know that you have touched people that you don’t even know?
Jesse: It’s awesome. Kids will come up to you and tell you how a song helped them through a breakup, or how they relate to it in their lives. It’s cool because we were all those same kids, 14, 15, 18, going to shows to see Jimmy Eat World, or Wheezer, or whoever; we were those same kids. We felt the same way when we got to meet people that we used to see play, we felt the same way, so it’s very endearing to hear people say how they relate to the songs.What’s Hot: I read that you guys met in High School…
Jesse: Josh and Justin met in High School, yeah. They were both in two different bands and Josh had asked Justin if he wanted to start playing together, and that’s how it all started. I believe that was in ’97 or ’98, the incarnation of Motion City Soundtrack. They went through a bunch of Bass players and Drummers, and Keyboard players, then Tony, myself, and Matt joined in 2001, and did our first record.What’s Hot: How did you come up with the name Motion City Soundtrack?
Jesse: None of us really know actually. It was made up by Josh’s brother-- Not really sure what it means, but that’s how it ended up.What’s Hot: So are you hoping that with next album, you guys will start wanting to get bigger and perform for larger crowds?
Jesse: Well I think as we’ve grown as a band, we’ve always tried to come back and do smaller venues. When we recorded our DVD, in our hometown we could play for probably 2-3,000 people, and we did it at a 250-person plaza. We’d love to grow as a band, of course--we’re hoping to make a career out of it so we can pay our bills, but we try and do stuff that’s fun for our fans as often as we can.What’s Hot: Thank you and good luck tonight, I’m sure the show will be awesome!
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