Transmission Entertainment : Archive : Transmit Socially

LR: What was the big difference or plan in this album than the last? What were you trying to get across that you maybe couldn’t on the last record?

Larry: We were able to stretch out and definitely get a more expansive sound. I think on the first record with the 3-piece we had limitations and it worked really well for that phase of the band. After we toured for that Gena and I were on one wavelength as far as moving her up front and adding new members in the band. The purpose was to make it more dynamic and showcase Gena’s vocals, and to also get some people in the band who challenged us and were really talented so we could push are sound.

We didn’t want to sit back and make the same record again, we wanted to take it to the next level. I think it’s a more exciting record and the live shows reflect that.

Gena: There was more room in the studio because on the last record we went into the studio and played it exactly how we had rehearsed and played it live.

Larry: The whole thing was done in two weeks.

LR: That’s really fast.

Gena: Yeah, this record we had learned and changed so much with me going up front, getting new members, a new manager, and Jason not being in the band. We didn’t finish a song until we were completely happy with every part of it. Steve Fisk came in to produce and really made it feel more open. He brought a lot of his own gear and had lots of great ideas. We actually wrote some parts to songs in the studio so perhaps you can pick up on some of the spontaneity.

LR: So you didn’t just get more members you got a whole new crew. Was the intention to “clean house” after getting new band members?

Gena: No, those things just happened.

Ryan: It was a long process and things just kept on changing. Emperor Norton went down and then things just kept changing.

LR: They became RYKO?

Gena: Well, it’s funny because RYKO and Emperor Norton were both courting us for the deal and then RYKO bought Emperor Norton and ended up claiming the purchase of Emperor’s mistake. So they were really inspired by our newfound outlook for the next record.

Larry and I were just so clear about getting another drummer. The style of having minimal drumming and vocals was part of the sound but really limited. We just had all these new things to work with. So it was just all about the sound needing to get there.

LR: So when you talk about limitations on the first album did you feel those even before you went into the studio?

Gena: We felt them but it wasn’t at all like a negative thing. We embraced the minimal drumming and bass organ as seminal parts to the sound. And we really liked and felt like we touched upon this thing that we were protective of. I ended up staying as the drummer temporarily to write songs. But when we decided to play I couldn’t really play drums.

As we went along and discovered this sound we were scared of it being altered so we stayed with it and made ourselves do it and just got the hang of it. And once we started writing the record we started to realize that we were going to end up writing the same record again if we didn’t make some changes. You can only get so much out of that limited set-up. Ryan and Sandra added so much to the style and they’re both so musical and capable with the positions they’re filling.

Ryan: I think of it this way, the first album is like a yellow-mustard color and the second is like a reddish-orange.

LR: What exactly do you mean by that?

Ryan: I have no idea…actually yellow has its purpose. The new record is stronger.

Sandra: It’s more mature in a way and I like that.

LR: So it’s more mature like the band is actually finding itself.

Gena: I really feel like musically we’re much stronger and more capable now. I feel like we can do anything we want. Before we would run into obstacles and I would think to myself I can’t really take this further because I was so limited as a drummer. Or because we would have this constant volume of an organ sound that really just didn’t have any humanity to it. But now with a bass guitar and this incredible drummer we’ve been so inspired and want each record to grow and have its own signature sound.

Larry: What we did was lay the groundwork for different avenues. Now we can write an acoustic type song with drums, guitar and vocals or write an electronic song and people will hear both and think yeah that sounds like Midnight Movies. We’re hoping that type of sound is showing that we’re not just a rock band or an electronic band.

Gena: We just have so many interests musically. Part of the reason we decided to get a drummer in the first place for me was because when we toured with Luna I observed the drummer Lee and he was so incredible and took every song and change as far as it could go. I was just like “that’s a real drummer right there, that’s what we need.” So I would talk to Larry and we were always on the same page about that. This one has more rock to it.

LR: I’ve noticed in the live shows it’s definitely more immediate, like right out of the gates.

Larry: Yeah, on the last record we would kind of go there sometimes, and then withdraw. There are a couple of songs on the new record that are just full-on the whole time.

LR: It sounds harder for sure but doesn’t sound too “hard,” does that make sense? It’s got a good level of aggression to it that wasn’t on the last album.
For Ryan and Sandra, what’s it been like touring since the album has been finished?

Sandra: It was my first tour, the Alexi Murdoch was physically demanding I thought. But it was really fun. The Alexi crowd is a little different but it was sold-out and the shows were good.

Larry: We also did a mini-tour with Serena-Maneesh and that was the first time our band started playing live with the new members. There were probably more people actually there to watch us. The Alexi tour was different and definitely a new challenge because the crowd is kind of different.

LR: Serena-Maneesh fans seem to me like your kind of crowd anyway.

Ryan: The Alexi tour came together really quick and was so compact. We were playing a lot of dates and we were also backing him up on stage. We’d have like six dates, a day off, then six more with another day off. So going through that cycle was pretty intense.

LR: When you’re playing back-to-back every night what do you do to relax and wind down?

Gena: Ryan and Sandra pick on each other, like brother and sister.

Sandra: I sleep a lot.

LR: Yeah, you got to rest up.

Sandra: We got to be on Alexi’s tour bus and sleep.

Gena: She would sleep until sound check the next day. It was cool to be driving and then wake up in another city. Although it seemed like we hadn’t left and you’d get off the bus in another big city.

Larry: We would just be on the bus in such an isolated place, watch DVDs, Nacho Libre….

Gena: Which is a classic.

Larry: Just watch a lot of movies. It’s an interesting way to travel to be on a bus instead of a van and have bunk beds.

Gena: All the windows are blacked out and you just end up in another town.

Larry: There’s something to be said for traveling in a van and really getting to experience the places you’re going to. You get to stop where and when you want to to see landmarks or buy souveniers.

Gena: Being on a bus you don’t have to drive, you can just crash and watch a movie. But when you get to a city you don’t have a car to go the places you want.

Ryan: Our driver was very cool. Walter.

Gena And our bus was called the “Black Pearl.”

LR: Sounds regal.

Gena: It was. Walter was the coolest guy ever, he’s from Austin. He was such a pirate.

Ryan: Yeah, I could do some impersonations….”GOD DAMN MOTHEFUCKER!” Driving down the road he’s always yelling at other cars….”GOD…FUCK!”

Gena: He would be screaming at every car. He had such a temper and then just turn around and be so polite.

LR: When you get back to L.A. what’s your favorite place to eat for under ten dollars?

Gena: Under ten dollars? My kitchen. I don’t know. Everything is so friggin’ expensive.

Sandra: I have some places; I’m kind of a foodie. El Atacor. Potato tacos---they're so bad for you but taste so good.
Ryan: There’s a place in Burbank called Lily’s Café. It’s this really tiny crack in the wall that can only fit a couple of people in it. It’s all really fresh, organic stuff and the lady there will only serve you what goes best with your food….she doesn’t serve yellow mustard, only the sweet mustard. It’s really good, but never open when you guys (Midnight Movies) are there.

Gena: I cannot think of a place that you can eat for under ten dollars. We like to go to House of Pies and diners but it’s always over ten dollars. I cook so much, and I love to cook.

LR: What’s the most bizarre, weird road story you’ve had?

Gena: Everyone always asks “bizarre,” how about “boring.”

LR: Let’s hear the most “boring.”

Ryan: Well pretty much it was the bus falling apart. That’s not good when you have a trailer and when you’re driving things are falling off like the side mirror. How do you park a huge bus without a side mirror?

Larry: The constant smell of the exhaust pipe. And the toilet’s septic tank was in the same cabin as the rest of the bus. There was a big flat screen TV in the back room that was always swinging and barely attached.

LR: Isn’t Walter in charge of that stuff?

Larry: We’d be sleeping and wake up in the middle of the night and Walter would be on the side of the freeway fixing the bus and the radiator. Then we found some random guy in the next town to fix the air conditioning. It was a constant battle between the bus and the band so it wouldn’t fall apart.

Sandra: The one thing that really stuck out in my mind was in Hoboken, NJ when three people passed out.

Larry: Yeah here was a lot of passing out.

Gena: There was this strong smell of gas leaking form somewhere. Nobody that worked there could tell and they thought it was the heat so they turned up the air conditioning. So we’re all up on stage in jackets and the lights re usually really hot.

When we were backing Alexi he uses all these vintage acoustic guitars and it kept going out of tune and he was so pissed. It was not a good night, but yeah three people passed out, and one girl was having convulsions on the floor. Where did other people pass out?

Larry: Alexi’s tour manager Angus would say this “always happens at Alexi’s shows people pass out for some reason.”

LR: Older ladies who are excited to see Alexi? Like that DVD "Depeche Mode: 101" where all the girls are falling over because they’re excited. That just doesn’t happen anymore.

Any last words?

Gena: Our record Lion the Girl comes out April 24th.

Larry: Thank you Little Radio.

Transmission Entertainment » Archive

Calendar

Features

The Signal

Reverse Reviews

Contests

Fun Fun Fun Fest

White Denim

Gorilla of the Month

Sights

Live Sessions

Music Videos

Interviews

Photos

Sounds

Songs

Live Sessions

Words

Daily

Interviews

Reviews

Select Date

Archive

Sat Mar 31 2007 · Posted in Songs on littleradio.com

Sat Mar 31 2007 · Posted in Songs on littleradio.com

Fri Mar 30 2007 · Posted in Songs on littleradio.com

Fri Mar 30 2007 · Posted in Songs on littleradio.com

Fri Mar 30 2007 · Posted in Songs on littleradio.com

Fri Mar 30 2007 · Posted in Songs on littleradio.com

Fri Mar 30 2007 · Posted in Songs on littleradio.com

Fri Mar 30 2007 · Posted in Songs on littleradio.com

Fri Mar 30 2007 · Posted in Songs on littleradio.com

Fri Mar 30 2007 · Posted in Songs on littleradio.com

Interview: MIDNIGHT MOVIES

Fri Mar 30 2007 · Posted in Interviews on littleradio.com

Thu Mar 29 2007 · Posted in Songs on littleradio.com

Page 1 of 8 · 1 2 3 > Last »

Everything Else