Marc
and Neil caught up with Josh and Tony from Motion
City Soundtrack for a few quick questions before
their set.
What
bands did you see yesterday at Slam Dunk North?
Josh :I didn't see a whole lot we kinda had a
busy day, got to watch a little bit of Say Anything,
caught bit of Taking Back Sunday.
Tony: Just a Little bit.
Josh :Yea that's kinda it. We had a lot of stuff
that we had to do, and it was like a hundred degree's
in the venue so after we finished it was like
"don't want to go back in there". I
think we'll probably watch more of those two bands
today as its outside.
What's
been the highlight of your last year?
Josh :You know most recently we just played Bamboozle
and we did two sets, as we did a later set. For
some reason that was one of my favourite sets
in a long time I don't know what it was about
it.
Tony:Yea I agree.
Do
you prefer your own headlining shows or festivals
like this?
Josh :It depends on the situation, a headlining
gig we know things are most likely to run smoothly
but a festival you get in front of so many people
you might not get in front of normally. It's a
fun show but technically wise it's kind of a mess.
Tony: Yea we have a history of technical problems
at festivals.
Josh :I wish we did not have that history.
Can you give us some examples?
Josh : It's mostly due to our monitor system and
hearing things, and it just being a mess. We just
have to grin and bear it. Like yesterday Justin's
voice, they crossed the in-ear monitor channels
and Justin's voice was in my ear the loudest it
possibly could be and I couldn't hear anything
else so I had to turn it way down, and then I
couldn't stay on because I couldn't hear anything.
So I mean it makes it really hard but hey life's
toughs but we try and make it so you don't know
out front. If you see me going like this *points
to ear and pulls a stupid face* then that's probably
what it is.
What's
the worst gig you've ever done?
Tony: The worst gig I think has to go to, a show
we played years ago in Bologna, with blink 182
and its the only show we've ever been boo'ed .
Josh: The finger was given to us a lot.
the best bit about it was that we've just played,
not in Bologna but in Italy a couple weeks ago
and I know Matt had someone come up to him and
say "I booed you here when you played with
blink, and I'm sorry, I like you guys now"
I like that he felt he had to apologize.
Tony: That's hilarious.
What's
the best gig experience you've ever had?
Josh: The best ever, we were on warped tour back
in 2000 umm
Tony: 2005
Josh: 2005 in Chicago, and we had to go on last
after Fall Out Boy and we though no one would
come watch us because that was outside and we
were back inside this building and we thought
it was going to be terrible, and it ended up being
one of the biggest shows we ever played. We were
last on and everyone came and watched it was huge
and everyone was singing along. It was quite early
for us, when stuff started happening and the entire
Warped tour was behind us watching us play, it
was just a great experience.
What's
your writing process?
Josh: It varies dramatically in all situations,
usually one of us or a couple of us have an idea
and we flush it out together on the internet or
when we get in a room together or in the studio.
If we have two measures of an idea we're like
let's make this into a song and we just like do
it.
You're
albums have changed a bit, My Dinosaur Life and
Go differ from your older albums, why is that?
Josh: I think it's just we would get really bored
if we just kept making the same record over and
over. At the same time I listen to it, there's
so many similarities, we're not that different,
but it's definitely...... we just kinda write
music and the best songs are what float to the
top and that's the record.
Tony: It's a natural progression you hope you
can make from record to record.
Josh: We never make a choice, we maybe in the
mood to write rockin songs and then we write rockin
songs, I have no idea why, the next record could
be totally different.
Tony: Yea we don't ever see we need to write a
song like this or that.
Josh: It just sort of comes out as it comes out.
Tony: Yea, we just try to make each song the best
we can and we look at each song and go with the
best ones for the record. Most of them we agree
upon then there's a few we fight about.
What
are your favourite songs that you've written?
Josh: Entire Carrier or on the new record?
On
the new record?
Josh: The song I think I'm going to enjoy playing
the most is "Box Elder" but the song
I think is most meaningful on the album is "Everyone
Is Going To Die".
Tony: I think "Box Elder" has become
my favourite over time, it's changed a few times
but now currently "Box Elder" is the
one I'm most excited about.
How
do you feel about Go being leaked?
Josh: It's gunna happen next week anyways because
it's going to be streamed everywhere, we did a
pretty good job of holding it back as long as
we could. It happens, I don't even know if it's
a bad thing. I just hope anybody who likes the
record will go out and buy it because it's the
only way we can keep doing this is if people support
it, but it's hard to change a culture right now.
How
do you unwind after a show?
Josh: I just hang out try to stop sweating before
taking a shower.
Tony: Yea you hope to get a shower, get clean,
just do whatever you want to do, have some beverages.
Josh: I'm usually really tired before we go on
and then it wakes me up, so its kinda the start
of my day. It's weird I know.
What
are your guilty pleasure tracks?
Josh: I kinda like that Goetia song a lot and
I don't know if that's a guilty pleasure because
its kinda cool, but everybody likes it so I kinda
feel like I shouldn't like it.
Where
do you enjoy touring the most?
Josh: I like experiencing new places a lot, its
changing. Everywhere we go I enjoy it a little
bit, anywhere people are there that want to see
us.
What's
the weirdest gift you've ever been given on tour?
Tony: We don't get that many weird ones they,re
usually really nice.
Josh: Someone spent a lot of time and made dummies
that looked exactly like us, which was really
cool I liked that, that was really rad. Last record
we got these really creative cakes that were pretty
crazy. I've got some art that I was given at home.
Nothing really weird though it's pretty awesome.
Wait there was that painting, we didn't get given
it but someone had done this painting where Jesse
was dead, they painted all of us but then they
made like a grave stone and one of us was dead.
Clearly
not the favourite member of the band.
Josh: Haha yea I guess, he said he didn't have
time to draw him
Tony: I like that solution.
Josh: Yea death.
Tony: Just draw a grave stone.
What
are you most looking forward to over the next
year?
Josh: We just looking forward to getting this
thing started up again, getting out there and
seeing what people think of the new songs.
Tony: As fun as it can be to play shows you just
play the same songs all the time so it's nice
to get a new batch of songs come in.
Josh: I feel like we've had a long stretch of
the of the same song so it's really exciting to
have a new set of songs.
Have
you got anything weird in your rider?
Josh: No, our rider is all health food and sparkling
water it's not weird at all. It's weird because
its health food.
You're
playing all four Slam Dunk Festivals which one
were you most excited for?
Josh: I'm quite excited for this one as it's outside
so it'll feel more festival than club show. we
haven't been to Cardiff for a long time, it's
all cool to be honest.
If
you could be a Zebra or a Giraffe which would
you rather be and why?
Josh: I don't think I could handle that neck so
I think I'd be a zebra
Tony: That's a good answer I don't think I can
disagree with that, like have you seen a giraffe
take a drink of water from a lake the way they
have to put their legs.
Josh: I mean they get their food right there which
is nice for them, but that neck is weird.
You
could get a good view at shows.
Josh: Yea at shows, but it would be weird playing
drums.
Tony: How many giraffes or zebra's have you seen
at shows though.
None
yet but you never know.
Josh: Truth.
Interview by Marc Rich