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Motion City Soundtrack’s story is an absolutely heartening tale of sticking to one’s guns in the face of trends, fashion and bandwagons. Their brand of punky pop-rock (or poppy punk-rock, delete as applicable) was never going to set the charts alight and make them the biggest band in the world but it did make them an absolutely adored cult band, and that suits them like nothing else they could be. Like many other bands, the genesis of Motion City Soundtrack began with two other local bands disbanding.
They were Joshua Cain’s Saddest Girl Story and Justin Pierre’s Slide Coaster, and soon after those bands feel through, Cain got in touch with Pierre with the intention of forming a new band together. The band were originally a quartet formed with Cain on the lead guitar and Pierre on lead vocals but their rhythm section didn’t last until the end of the year, this wasn’t the only reason that the nascent Motion City Soundtrack couldn’t play shows, however.
Weirdly enough for a city with a rock and roll pedigree to put most of the world’s countries to shame, there were barely any venues for a new band to perform in. So Cain and Pierre knew that in order to spread the word about their band they’d have to tour and tour hard. Fortunately, they found a rhythm section willing to tour with them and nicked the name Motion City Soundtrack off a name Justin’s brother was using for one of his musical projects. By 1998 they’d played their first show, and big things were still to come.
Their first recorded release came in the form of a seven inch released in 1999, but the band were still in a sort of flux, without a truly fixed line-up to their name. It wasn’t until three years later that Pierre and Cain found Jesse Johnson and Matthew Taylor, who to this day play as their keyboardist and bassist respectively, and Tony Thaxton, who was their drummer until 2013. By the time they’d joined they already had two E.P’s to their name, and were hard at work self-releasing their debut album “I Am The Movie”.
Awesomely enough, the original release of the album had the album housed in a floppy disk case with the CD inside, which the band members assembled by hand. However, it was the album itself and its stunning quality that got the band signed to legendary punk label Epitaph. Not, unfortunately, the novel way it was packaged. With the proper release of “I Am The Movie”, Motion City Soundtrack finally had some genuine buzz behind them, and they capitalised on that with the release of “The Future Freaks Me Out”, their debut single and concert closer to this very day.
Since then the band has become one of the most beloved cult acts in American rock, with two albums produced by Blink 182 legend Mark Hoppus and record sales in their home country of around half a million. They still tour as heavily as they’ve ever done and in their nearly twenty years together, it means that their live shows are some of the best in modern rock. Truly they’re a band that can reaffirm your faith in rock, honest-to-God good music and the power of a devoted fanbase. Highly recommended.
I’ve seen these guys 10 or 12 times. I know people who've seen them 40 times. And I’m sure if you Google hard enough, you can find some lovable psycho who’s nearing their centennial show. Why? It actually goes beyond the music here.
But first, an intro: Motion City Soundtrack, or MCS for lazy asses like me, is a quintet of scruffy optimists from Minneapolis. Justin Pierre (the one who looks like he enjoys frenching electrical outlets) is our chatty and quirky lead singer. He and Josh (Guitarist Extraordinaire) started the band over a decade ago. Jesse (Lord of the Moog), Matt (Bass Profundo), and newbie Claudio (Skins Slapper) (That Sounds Weird) (Drummer Guy) round out the group. There used to be a Tony (Post-Calculus-Level Math Rock Drummer), but he retired last year.
Together they create hyperkinetic music that sounds like a mix of lightening, sugar, and something heavy, like vicodin or lead. That is, it’ll get you pumpin’ your fist, but later you’ll realize the lyrics were about a nasty break-up or something. But that’s part of the charm! Check out Capital H, Time Turned Fragile, Broken Heart, or Disappear for a taste test.
Their live shows include a healthy mix of their entire discography. Get FRONT and CENTER, and fun will be guaranteed whether you just heard “Everything is Alright” 5 minutes ago, or you’re a veteran who came to reminisce about that time you accidentally crowd-surfing into the singer’s mike. Once you’re settled, interact with the band and the people around you! The guys seem to like hearing from the crowd. Sometimes singing along is literally required. (I’m looking at you, The Future Freaks Me Out.) And the crowd that this band attracts is full of Quality People. You’re likely to leave with a friend. :)
After, put some extra effort into say hi, because these are some of the nicest guys around and they will always try to meet & greet. Matt in particular is extra kind to nervous-nellies like me <3 . Please note that Justin might not *say* anything to you, because dude has a powerful voice that he needs to preserve for their next 572 shows. He’ll usually express his pleasure at meeting you/need for coffee through hand gestures.
Other Stray Observations:
1) Record in-between-song banter. You will never regret this, since it is never not amazing.
2) Once upon a time, Jesse used to do a handstand on his keyboards at certain times. But no longer, Frodo. Equipment’s getting expensive and he’s getting older.
3) Air-drumming, singing along, and rocking out are all encouraged. But don’t crowd-surf around Justin. That mike thing actually happened to him and he’s a bit paranoid about it.
I’d need a novel to detail all the awesome things that happened for me through this band. But to sum up: A great group of musicians with good personalities attract good people who become great friends. That’s why I happily look forward to my 13th and 35th and 350th show. Please do not miss these guys if they ever come by.
CarrotAndStar
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