Motion City Soundtrack Interview

Written by Anna Gault

Interview
Motion City Soundtrack

For many bands the story often goes that they have been around and making albums for years but they are still almost unknown. This could be said for Minneapolis four-piece Motion City Soundtrack. For many bands the story often goes that they have been around and making albums for years but they are still almost unknown. This could be said for Minneapolis four-piece Motion City Soundtrack. The majority of members are now in their thirties but are still plugging away and making music. Lead singer Justin Pierre and guitarist Joshua Cain started the band 13 years ago and despite some line-up changes they are still going strong and have just released their fifth album. Instead of offering the traditional reasons of good music and strong wills, Pierre gives an alternative reason for the solidarity of Motion City Soundtrack, “I think it is Josh and I’s complete and total devotion to the hatred of one another” He is, of course, joking but a comment like this provides an insight into the real reason why this band has remained together, they don’t take things too seriously. “We don’t really know what else to do, not that we are even great at doing this [being musicians]”, Pierre elaborates. “But we enjoy doing this a lot more than we like to do anything else so that’s kind of why we started and why we continue.” MCS

Beginning in the late 90s, the band was born around the same time as the nu metal genre was coming to fruition with bands such as Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park and Papa Roach dominating the airwaves on both sides of the Atlantic. It seemed that unless you had a DJ within your band there was no hope for the small alternative rock band. For Motion City Soundtrack however, humble beginnings have meant loyal fans and the freedom to develop as a band and mould their sound. And like many other American bands of the rock music persuasion Motion City Soundtrack were more readily embraced in Europe than they were in their home land. “It was really strange because when we first started playing shows we were way more popular in the UK than in the U.S.” says Pierre. “And we always made a joke of how that’s what happened with the Pixies so maybe we’ll be like the Pixies. Unfortunately we don’t write as good songs as the Pixies.” As with most bands Motion City Soundtrack have played many support slots for larger bands than themselves. While this can be slightly demoralising depending on how long a band is subjected to this until they get their own headlining tour, it gets their name out there. And like many other slightly under the radar bands a combination of these types of tours and their own smaller shows have led to a life mainly about touring and playing live. Pierre claims to have no real preference when it comes to playing in the UK or in the States but when your world revolves around touring he admits there are some favourite stops. “I love playing in my home town [Minneapolis] but it kind of becomes like a dinner party where you’re running around making sure everyone is okay. But I also love playing Glasgow, in particular, because of the film theatre there. I got to see a Terry Gilliam film there that wasn’t even released in the U.S. and its like if I wasn’t in a band and wasn’t playing at the Garage, I never would have seen that movie.” So while touring has its down points there are certainly some perks to be enjoyed. Another one of those perks is meeting high profile bands who end up producing a few of your albums. Such is the case with Motion City Soundtrack who, after supporting Blink-182 on tour, were treated to bassist and singer Mark Hoppus producing their second album, Commit This to Memory and their most recent release, My Dinosaur Life. Pierre again offers an unorthodox response when asked how it felt to reunite with Hoppus after Commit This to Memory and subsequent tours. “It was like making out with an ex-girlfriend that you hadn’t seen in a long time but you still have feelings for,” he jokes but quickly switches to a more sincere answer. “I believe that Commit This to Memory was the first record that he ever produced and since then he has made a lot of records so he has changed a bit in his style.

“He’s still amazing but I think the difference is that the first time he wanted to get everything right so he was really particular about timing and everything to be perfect. But in this one although my voice was fixed here and there, I think we left in a lot more of the nastiness than compared to our last record [Even if it Kills Me].”

Despite having loyal fans for over a decade it can still be tricky for a band to change their music even slightly. There has to be enough of the old formula that captured fans initially but also something new to invigorate the sound and perhaps bring in new fans. An amendment to Motion City Soundtrack’s sound is inevitable in 13 years but does My Dinosaur Life have the components to satisfy everyone? “I don’t know!” Pierre laughs. “I feel like it rocks more like our earlier stuff but there are still some of the pop-ier elements from the last record. I think we just kind of mixed it up a little bit more.” My Dinosaur Life charted at number 15 on the Billboard rock chart recently so it appears that fans are more than satisfied. And with the release of a new album comes another tour and another chance to show off the energetic and frenzied stage presence they have become known for. Although on the wrong side of 30 and dogged by chronic back pain Pierre is determined to make their shows as lively as possible. “If you want a level of one to ten ‘rockitude’ I would say it’s been a level three for the past few years but I’m hoping that I can get that back up to a seven to ten.”

Here’s hoping because with a back catalogue of fourth solid albums, countless tours behind them and their songs featuring in TV show, Gossip Girl, Motion City Soundtrack are rightly receiving recognition after 13 years making music. Yet Pierre explains the formula for recognition rather more simply: “It’s all about timing and hopefully a little bit of talent, either that or we have been fooling everybody.”

http://www.motioncitysoundtrack.com

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