Interview — Motion City Soundtrack

Skratch Magazine

There’s something about Motion City Soundtrack that has a way of bringing out the unstable side in all of us. When the Minnesota natives arrived on the rock scene with their 2003 debut album, I AM THE MOVIE, they were crooning about how the future freaks them out and relishing in accidents. Fast forward four years to the release of their third album, EVEN IF IT KILLS ME, due out September 18.

The City boys are still anxious, but only this anxiety is fleshed out more with more introspective and honest lyrics to capture their current states of mind. In this recent interview, lead singer Justin Pierre took time out to discuss life, music and hair.

Motion City Soundtrack is Justin Pierre (vocals, guitar), Joshua Cain (guitar, backing vocals), Jesse Johnson (synthesizer), Matthew Taylor ( Bass, Piano), and Tony Thaxton (percussion, drums).

SKRATCH: You guys have been extremely busy as of late. Finishing up and getting ready to release EVEN IF IT KILLS ME , preparing for a European tour, and then hitting the road to grace the MTVu tour. Hasn't this been a tad overwhelming for you all?
JUSTIN: I think we've always been "workhorses" for the most part. So as far as being busy is concerned, we don't really know any different. Overwhelming, on the one hand…truth is I tend to find myself overwhelmed on a daily basis, but I'm also grateful for the fact that people still seem to be interested in what we're doing. It's just mind blowing, really. I enjoy the nervousness and anticipation that surrounds any new experience. So bring it on.

SKRATCH: Your first song off of EIIKM is "This Is For Real," which is a melodic and cathartic sort of anthem. Why was it selected as the first single? Any video treatments planned?
JUSTIN: If memory serves... much to the chagrin of almost everybody that works with us, we decided that this would be the song. There is something very early '90s about it. It's both quite sluggish and over the top ridiculous at the same time. The lyrics are ugly and simple. The music is frumpy. Let's face it, this song is a rabid dog that we want to unleash in the neighborhood of the world to infect all the children and make them go mad. We just finished shooting a video in L.A., with Jay Martin directing. I can tell you this: it involves bowling and wigs.

SKRATCH: Some of the songs off of EIIKM have been leaked on youtube in the form of crappy cameraphone recordings. Is it frustrating when that happens to you, as a band?
JUSTIN: Hell no. It's flattering that people would actually use whatever amount of limited space they have on their phones to fill with our crappy music while braving the ever popular pit of mosh. Not only that, but then to take the time to upload it onto the internet? That's dedication to the art of cell phone videography. These people have heart.

SKRATCH: A lot of bands nowadays have the mentality that it's all about filling stadiums, having the largest number of fans possible in order to consider your act successful.
After the success of "Commit This To Memory," did that mentality somehow incorporate itself into the morale of the band?
JUSTIN: I don't think so. We just finished a tour playing smaller clubs than we have in the past and it was a hell of a lot more fun and intimate. Some of us were kicking around the idea that if people are still interested in us in the future, we should play 2 or 3 nights in a smaller venue in the same city instead of 1 night in a larger venue. There is also the possibility that people will stop listening to us altogether, at which time we will start playing casinos.

SKRATCH: I read somewhere on your Web site that someone referred to you as "the most influential rock band in the history of the world." Do you think the hairstyles of Motion City Soundtrack helped to solidify his opinion?
JUSTIN: Absolutely. I think it was James Joyce that said, "a man is defined by the cultivation of his crop." We live by that principle.

SKRATCH: What do you guys do when you're not writing, recording, releasing, or performing music?
JUSTIN: We build snowmen.

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