Alter The Press! - Albums Of 2009: (4-3)
4) The Motorcycle Industry - 'The Only Friends Worth Having'
Alter The Press: How was 2009 for you?
John Langan (vocals/guitar): Great. We played with some really good bands and had a lot of fun recording.
Mike Weiss (guitar): It was good. I talked to a bunch of girls this year, which is pretty cool.
Ryan Barnes (drums): I graduated school, went on tour for the first time, got some new tattoos, saw a bunch of new cities, and got an X-Box. 2009 was good. Life's ill.
ATP: Describe how it was recording the new EP compared to Electric Education?
John: This time we recorded in an abandoned textile mill in Massachusetts instead of in a studio in California but then I went to California anyway and re-recorded some of the vocals. So kind of the same I guess. Also, Ryan played drums this time, which was sweet.
Mike: Recording the EP was way different than recording Electric Education. When we recorded EE we all went out to CA, where John lived at the time, and were all in the studio together throughout the whole process. When we went to record the EP we wanted to get it done quickly cause we had a tour coming up and we also didn't have much money to spend on it, so the recording was a lot more, fragmented I guess. We recorded the instruments over three days at Studio ID, which is in the crazy-ass abandoned mill in MA, and then John recorded the vocals in CA a few weeks later at Popsmear Studios in CA, where we recorded EE.
ATP: The band has definitely gone for a more poppier direction then EE. What made you want to go in this new direction?
John: I started to listening to The Get Up Kids more. We also started playing shows without acoustic guitars and with just electric ones, so when it came to putting the songs together it just happened naturally.
ATP: The EP is being released through Audubon Records, how did you hook up with them?
Mike: They hit us up on www.myspace.com, it's a website that's used for networking in the music industry and stuff.
Ryan: John approached us about how he was looking to start a label and it just kind of fell into place from there. We're excited to work with someone who genuinely cares about our music.
ATP: What is your favorite track off the EP?
John: "Possessed".
Mike: "Paul Newman and a Ride Home..." is my favorite track to play live, cause people sing along sometimes, which is mindblowing and pretty much the coolest thing ever. My favorite one to listen to is probably "Possessed." The bridge to that song is one of my favorite things in any TMI song, and overall "Possessed" sounds the most TMI-ish to me, which is cool.
Ryan: "Paul Newman and a Ride Home". Those harmonies, man.
ATP: What are the plans for 2010 for The Motorcycle Industry?
John: Summer tour 2k10. More Merch. Being on the soundtrack to Avatar.
Mike: We're gonna break up.
Ryan: Moving to Iowa to start a self-sustainable commune.
ATP: What releases are you looking forward to in 2010?
John: Crime in Stereo. The new Cassino record just came out, so I'll probably just listen to that all 2010.
Mike: Does Gaslight Anthem have a new record coming out? That would be awesome. Definitely Crime In Stereo. Maybe Defeater will have a new album? How cool would it be if Lifetime released a new record?! The self-titled from a few years ago is so good. Either way, as long as Blink releases a new record I'll be happy, that's really all I want in the world.
Ryan: Crime In Stereo, The National, Go Rydell, None More Black (if it's happening).
3) Manchester Orchestra - 'Mean Everything To Nothing'
Alter The Press: How was 2009 for you?
Alter The Press: How was 2009 for you?
John Langan (vocals/guitar): Great. We played with some really good bands and had a lot of fun recording.
Mike Weiss (guitar): It was good. I talked to a bunch of girls this year, which is pretty cool.
Ryan Barnes (drums): I graduated school, went on tour for the first time, got some new tattoos, saw a bunch of new cities, and got an X-Box. 2009 was good. Life's ill.
ATP: Describe how it was recording the new EP compared to Electric Education?
John: This time we recorded in an abandoned textile mill in Massachusetts instead of in a studio in California but then I went to California anyway and re-recorded some of the vocals. So kind of the same I guess. Also, Ryan played drums this time, which was sweet.
Mike: Recording the EP was way different than recording Electric Education. When we recorded EE we all went out to CA, where John lived at the time, and were all in the studio together throughout the whole process. When we went to record the EP we wanted to get it done quickly cause we had a tour coming up and we also didn't have much money to spend on it, so the recording was a lot more, fragmented I guess. We recorded the instruments over three days at Studio ID, which is in the crazy-ass abandoned mill in MA, and then John recorded the vocals in CA a few weeks later at Popsmear Studios in CA, where we recorded EE.
ATP: The band has definitely gone for a more poppier direction then EE. What made you want to go in this new direction?
John: I started to listening to The Get Up Kids more. We also started playing shows without acoustic guitars and with just electric ones, so when it came to putting the songs together it just happened naturally.
ATP: The EP is being released through Audubon Records, how did you hook up with them?
Mike: They hit us up on www.myspace.com, it's a website that's used for networking in the music industry and stuff.
Ryan: John approached us about how he was looking to start a label and it just kind of fell into place from there. We're excited to work with someone who genuinely cares about our music.
ATP: What is your favorite track off the EP?
John: "Possessed".
Mike: "Paul Newman and a Ride Home..." is my favorite track to play live, cause people sing along sometimes, which is mindblowing and pretty much the coolest thing ever. My favorite one to listen to is probably "Possessed." The bridge to that song is one of my favorite things in any TMI song, and overall "Possessed" sounds the most TMI-ish to me, which is cool.
Ryan: "Paul Newman and a Ride Home". Those harmonies, man.
ATP: What are the plans for 2010 for The Motorcycle Industry?
John: Summer tour 2k10. More Merch. Being on the soundtrack to Avatar.
Mike: We're gonna break up.
Ryan: Moving to Iowa to start a self-sustainable commune.
ATP: What releases are you looking forward to in 2010?
John: Crime in Stereo. The new Cassino record just came out, so I'll probably just listen to that all 2010.
Mike: Does Gaslight Anthem have a new record coming out? That would be awesome. Definitely Crime In Stereo. Maybe Defeater will have a new album? How cool would it be if Lifetime released a new record?! The self-titled from a few years ago is so good. Either way, as long as Blink releases a new record I'll be happy, that's really all I want in the world.
Ryan: Crime In Stereo, The National, Go Rydell, None More Black (if it's happening).
3) Manchester Orchestra - 'Mean Everything To Nothing'Alter The Press: How was 2009 for you?
Jeremiah Edmond (drums): Long and exhausting; a lot more happened than we anticipated. We didn’t really expect the record to do as well as it’s done so far, we expected it to be the same amount as work as it used to be, like all of us being out on the road. We have had a lot of new exposure, new fans and the progress we made after this record was way more than we expected.
ATP: The album made it to 37, ‘I’ve Got Friends’ number 8 and ‘Shake It Out’ number 38 on the Billboard Chart. How does it feel to have received such commercial success?
JE: It’s amazing. We planned to push this album as far as we could, and we knew we were going to try to do this, so it wasn’t completely unexpected, but we really didn’t think it would go necessarily that far, that quickly. It took a lot of time to get there. The credit for the radio goes to the team of people at radio promotions, behind the scenes, trying to get it played and getting it out there. We have an incredible team that we’re close friends with; they really made that happen.
All of the fans actually bought the record, we would have people coming up to the merch booth saying they downloaded the album but then they will buy the CD and the vinyl also; that sort of thing is really helpful and really encouraging. We are ecstatic how the year has gone, how the album did and how it was received. We made an album we were going to be proud of and weren’t exactly sure how people were going to feel about it, like whether they would love it or hate it.
ATP: The video for ‘Shake It Out’ was just released. Who came up with the concept for the ‘Over The Top’ movie parody?
JE: The idea was actually from the director, Issac Rennes. He had this idea which never worked out for any of the bands that he worked with, and when we first asked directors to write for it, one of our ideas was to make something like a movie trailer, like an extended over the top movie trailer. When he heard that, he said he had the perfect concept which he had been holding onto forever. Issac did a great job, way more than any of us expected with that sort of budget and time frame. It was shot quickly and he just nailed it.
The video was shot in two days, in the middle of a tour, so we had to cram it in. It was two long days of shooting, and mostly Andy being ridiculous and running around. We got to dress up in ridiculous outfits and be in the background whilst Andy had to run up and down a hill and do all these work out scenes for like six hours; he was exhausted. He had to also keep arm wrestling this guy, which made his arm seriously sore, he had to change the way he played guitar for the next week.
ATP: ‘I Can Feel A Hot One’ (Gossip Girl), ‘Mean Everything To Nothing (One Tree Hill) and ‘The Only One’ (90210). How did the songs get picked up by these huge TV shows?
JE: We actually just got another one for ‘Friday Night Lights,’ which we watched today; they used ‘Shake It Out’ for a small scene. I’m not sure how they all came about, but I know Gossip Girl and 90210 have the same music supervisor, who picks up the music for those shows. She is a fan of the band and has been really cool about putting stuff in scenes, where she feels like it fits. We are actually fans of all those shows, I think the only show we don’t regularly watch is 90210, none of us watch it really. You make music partially to affect people’s moods and that’s what it’s doing in these shows. It’s cool that your music is being used to set up the mood for a scene and can draw the viewer in. We actually love Gossip Girl; all of us, except for Jay, watch it regularly and have seen every episode.
ATP: What has been the best tour of 2009?
JE: Personally, my most enjoyable tour was probably coming to the UK with Kevin Devine and then we continued onto Australia for a few days. It was a short run but they take really good care of us over there; that was my most enjoyable, that, and the recent run with Brand New. It was great to meet up with old friends again.
ATP: What’s planned next?
JE: Much needed time off. Next year, we get a little break at the beginning of the year then, we’re putting together a tour in the spring, like a full US run. It’s still being spoken about. There will be some headlining/co-headlining dates and we’ll at least take out O’Brother with us. We are planning to get Biffy Clyro, but it’s still being worked out.
ATP: Have you been working on any new material?
JE: We are always working on new stuff, to an extent. We are going to put out Robert’s (McDowell - guitars) Gobotron in January/February, we are going to work on Chris' (Freeman - keyboards/vocals)solo stuff and, when we are in the studio, work on whatever we have time for. There are no plans for any release dates except for Gobotron. Hopefully, this summer, we may start working on a new record or demoing stuff, writing songs. There’s stuff demoed but none of them are finished. We will start going through that process in the summer.
ATP: When are you coming back to the UK?
JE: No set date for that. I think everything is up in the air at the moment. I think the priority is to be home with the family, heal and start piecing together next year. I’m sure we’ll be back not before too long. No idea when. I’d be shocked if we didn’t come back next year.
ATP: What releases are you looking forward to in 2010?
JE: I can’t even think what is scheduled to be coming out in 2010. I don’t know, all the Favorite Gentleman artists are working on new stuff but there was a lot that came out this year. I can’t think of anything though.
ATP: The album made it to 37, ‘I’ve Got Friends’ number 8 and ‘Shake It Out’ number 38 on the Billboard Chart. How does it feel to have received such commercial success?
JE: It’s amazing. We planned to push this album as far as we could, and we knew we were going to try to do this, so it wasn’t completely unexpected, but we really didn’t think it would go necessarily that far, that quickly. It took a lot of time to get there. The credit for the radio goes to the team of people at radio promotions, behind the scenes, trying to get it played and getting it out there. We have an incredible team that we’re close friends with; they really made that happen.
All of the fans actually bought the record, we would have people coming up to the merch booth saying they downloaded the album but then they will buy the CD and the vinyl also; that sort of thing is really helpful and really encouraging. We are ecstatic how the year has gone, how the album did and how it was received. We made an album we were going to be proud of and weren’t exactly sure how people were going to feel about it, like whether they would love it or hate it.
ATP: The video for ‘Shake It Out’ was just released. Who came up with the concept for the ‘Over The Top’ movie parody?
JE: The idea was actually from the director, Issac Rennes. He had this idea which never worked out for any of the bands that he worked with, and when we first asked directors to write for it, one of our ideas was to make something like a movie trailer, like an extended over the top movie trailer. When he heard that, he said he had the perfect concept which he had been holding onto forever. Issac did a great job, way more than any of us expected with that sort of budget and time frame. It was shot quickly and he just nailed it.
The video was shot in two days, in the middle of a tour, so we had to cram it in. It was two long days of shooting, and mostly Andy being ridiculous and running around. We got to dress up in ridiculous outfits and be in the background whilst Andy had to run up and down a hill and do all these work out scenes for like six hours; he was exhausted. He had to also keep arm wrestling this guy, which made his arm seriously sore, he had to change the way he played guitar for the next week.
ATP: ‘I Can Feel A Hot One’ (Gossip Girl), ‘Mean Everything To Nothing (One Tree Hill) and ‘The Only One’ (90210). How did the songs get picked up by these huge TV shows?
JE: We actually just got another one for ‘Friday Night Lights,’ which we watched today; they used ‘Shake It Out’ for a small scene. I’m not sure how they all came about, but I know Gossip Girl and 90210 have the same music supervisor, who picks up the music for those shows. She is a fan of the band and has been really cool about putting stuff in scenes, where she feels like it fits. We are actually fans of all those shows, I think the only show we don’t regularly watch is 90210, none of us watch it really. You make music partially to affect people’s moods and that’s what it’s doing in these shows. It’s cool that your music is being used to set up the mood for a scene and can draw the viewer in. We actually love Gossip Girl; all of us, except for Jay, watch it regularly and have seen every episode.
ATP: What has been the best tour of 2009?
JE: Personally, my most enjoyable tour was probably coming to the UK with Kevin Devine and then we continued onto Australia for a few days. It was a short run but they take really good care of us over there; that was my most enjoyable, that, and the recent run with Brand New. It was great to meet up with old friends again.
ATP: What’s planned next?
JE: Much needed time off. Next year, we get a little break at the beginning of the year then, we’re putting together a tour in the spring, like a full US run. It’s still being spoken about. There will be some headlining/co-headlining dates and we’ll at least take out O’Brother with us. We are planning to get Biffy Clyro, but it’s still being worked out.
ATP: Have you been working on any new material?
JE: We are always working on new stuff, to an extent. We are going to put out Robert’s (McDowell - guitars) Gobotron in January/February, we are going to work on Chris' (Freeman - keyboards/vocals)solo stuff and, when we are in the studio, work on whatever we have time for. There are no plans for any release dates except for Gobotron. Hopefully, this summer, we may start working on a new record or demoing stuff, writing songs. There’s stuff demoed but none of them are finished. We will start going through that process in the summer.
ATP: When are you coming back to the UK?
JE: No set date for that. I think everything is up in the air at the moment. I think the priority is to be home with the family, heal and start piecing together next year. I’m sure we’ll be back not before too long. No idea when. I’d be shocked if we didn’t come back next year.
ATP: What releases are you looking forward to in 2010?
JE: I can’t even think what is scheduled to be coming out in 2010. I don’t know, all the Favorite Gentleman artists are working on new stuff but there was a lot that came out this year. I can’t think of anything though.
