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CANCER BATS: Chaos tastes like beard-bro sandwiches. [Read more]

ANGELS AND AIRWAVES: Tom DeLonge believes Modlife is the future of music. He might be right. [Read more]

ILAN RUBIN (THE NEW REGIME): The new Nine Inch Nails drummer is planning a coup of his own [Read more]

MARK HOPPUS: Musician, podcaster, producer, non-believer in unicorns ("They break my heart.") [Read more]

JUSTIN SANE & CHRIS #2, ANTI-FLAG: Still fighting the power. Justin talks more about UK move [Read more]

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Thursday, October 25, 2007

Band interview: with Metro Station

[Photo credit: Davey Wilson]

METRO STATION are:
Mason Musso (Vocals/Guitar)
Trace Cyrus (Guitar/Vocals)
Blake Healy (Synthesizer/Beats)
Anthony Improgo (Drums)

As is often the case in the band's native Hollywood, Metro Station owes its formation to a handful of well-placed connections. Co-frontman Cyrus is the stepson of country star Billy Ray Cyrus, and his half sister, Miley Cyrus, plays the title character on Disney's Hannah Montana. Similarly, Musso's younger brother plays the role of Oliver Oken in Hannah Montana, and the two older-sibling musicians met at the urging of their respective mothers. After adding keyboardist Blake Healy to the lineup, the trio recorded the teenage anthem "Seventeen Forever", and were surprised by its sudden chart success at myspace The band's internet presence attracted the attention of percussionist Anthony Improgo, who took note of the band's mix of 80s-styled electro and pop. Improgo soon joined Metro Station as the band's drummer, and the quartet set off to play shows in the LA area. However, it was myspace that would (again) prove to be their biggest asset, as an intern at Red Ink discovered the band while perusing the website's music listings. A record deal with Red Ink followed in late 2006 - the very same year as Metro Station's formation - and the band headed to New York City to record its first full-length album, released on 18 September 2007, featuring some production help from Motion City Soundtrack members. We caught up with keyboardist Blake Healy to discuss their music, influences and how this band practically owes its career to myspace. To start off on a lighter note though...

Hey Blake, tell us the last good joke you heard.

The last joke I heard was terribly inappropriate, so I'll tell you my favourite joke of all time. It's pretty old but it's actually relevant to our band:

Q: What do you call a drummer without a girlfriend?
A: Homeless.

Were you guys playing in any bands before Metro Station? What would you be doing now if you weren't in Metro Station?

Anthony and I were both playing in bands before Trace and Mason stole us for themselves. Metro Station is Trace and Mason's first band. If we hadn't started Metro Station, I have a feeling that Ant and I would be working in offices in front of a computer all day, and Trace and Mason would still be working at the mall.

No kidding. Do you remember your first meeting?

When I first met Trace and Mason I remember thinking that Trace had really tight pants and crazy style and that Mason had an amazing voice. We tried working on a song together, but it took a few more tries of us getting together to actually finish anything. We all had such different personalities that I really didn't think it would work at first! The first time Anthony met us we were performing with a drum machine, so who knows what he must have been thinking. Drummers don't always respond well to drum machines.

Josh & Justin from Motion City Soundtrack produced a couple of tracks on your debut album. How did that happen and how's the experience working with them?

We met because we were working with somebody that they were working with. I'm glad we got to work with them so early on because they've had so much experience with the music business and touring, and they ended up being our mentors in a way. They were very laid back as producers, and our opinions on what we were doing really mattered to them. They were able to take our songs from demos to real, full sounding songs.

Tell us more about "Kelsey". Was it written about a particular girl or from collective experiences?

Mason wrote that about a girl named Chelsea. The second time that Trace, Mason, and I got together to write, Trace played me this song called "Chelsea" on the drive to Mason's. I loved it, but Trace said Mason wouldn't record it as a Metro Station song because it was too personal for him. We had to beg Mason to let us record it, and he agreed on the condition that we change the name to Kelsey.

Then there's "Seventeen Forever". Seriously - how awesome was being seventeen for you?

I have a feeling that Trace and Mason's experience of being seventeen was quite different from mine. When I was seventeen I was living in a small town, wondering what I was going to have to do to get out of there. It was exciting but also pretty scary to have no idea what I should be doing next. Metro Station started getting a lot of attention when Trace and Mason were seventeen and living in Los Angeles, and I can't imagine how exciting it must have been to have something like this going on at that age.

Which band/songwriter do you admire most growing up and how much do they influence your music on this record?

It's funny, when I was really young I used to love Phil Collins. I hadn't listened to his music in years until recently when we finished our album. I realized how much of an influence he's had on me subconsciously as far as songwriting and producing. In some ways, I think I'm drawn to certain sounds and melodies because they're what I grew up with. Everyone in the band loves Blink182. There's something about how simple and catchy their songs are that makes them great. That's probably the biggest influence collectively in the band.

"Bands today wouldn't get noticed without a MySpace account." Agree or not?

I can't imagine how it would've been for us without myspace. We reached so many people so fast when we started putting our songs up. "Word of mouth" isn't as important as "Word of text" nowadays.

You guys are going on tour with some of the best bands today: Motion City Soundtrack, Mae and Anberlin - how exciting is that for you?

It's unbelievable actually. I really think we're the luckiest band in the world to get opportunities like this.

Okay last one - if there was a Metro Station dance contest, which one of you will win?

We'd be nice enough to let Anthony win. We spend every night dancing at shows while he's stuck behind the drums working hard. He deserves to be in the spotlight. [IM]

Metro Station's self titled debut album is in stores now, with 10 tracks full of youthful electro-pop goodness. Shake it like you're seventeen forever.

Check them out:
http://myspace.com/metrostation
http://www.metrostationmusic.com

Labels: Interview, Metro Station