Matchbook Romance
According to you guys, what makes Matchbook Romance a stand-out band in the wake of a flourishing, and often repetitive, punk/emo scene?
I think that as a band, we are really able to discover who we are musically. A lot of bands out there aren’t too sincere about their sound, but the way we approach our writing we try to put ourselves out there and I think the fans truly understand that.
And what can we expect for Matchbook Romance’s next album?
Actually, we’re just finishing recording our new album today. We’ve been working on it for about six weeks. It’s called Voices and it’ll be out on February 14, 2006 – Valentine’s Day. It’s kind of a glimpse of the past year and a half for us, almost biographically. We’ve changed a lot as people and musicians, and I think Voices is a mature step for us and is a bit more dynamic – the lows are super low and the highs are super high. And Andy, our singer, is great at writing songs about being in someone else’s shoes and feeling what they feel in a certain situation, so we feel that it’s something that the fans can relate to also.
Are there any major outside influences that have overly affected MBR’s style or your development as musicians?
Well, we all have our own favourites. But whenever we all agree on a band, they’ve got to be fucking wicked! Classic groups like Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Refused, or Led Zeppelin. We wanted to take in new ways of listening to music, and by studying great bands like this it helps us make the new album what it is.
Many bands cite the Warped Tour as a great chance to become fully engulfed in North America’s punk scene and see it as an almost necessary step on the path to fame. Did playing Warped work out this way for MBR?
We’ve played three consecutive summers on the Warped Tour and yes, it was a big break that was given to us by Kevin Lyman, head of Epitaph Records. During our first year we had a great time but it was also a lot of work! Nothing was better than playing cities we’ve never visited before and hearing people in the audience sing along. Two years later, I guess the payoff for us has been a move up to the main stage and a bigger fan base.
What caused the band to change its name from The Getaway to MBR?
Well, after we went to California to meet Brett Gurewitz [of Epitaph Records], he told us that there was already a Canadian band called The Getaway, and that we’d probably be sued if we ever released anything major with that particular band name. Matchbook Romance was just something that kind of stuck out on a list we had. Brett liked it, it has kind of a romantic twist, and I think it suits our music pretty well.
In the band’s biography, it’s mentioned that the internet has played a big role in MBR’s success. Does that mean you guys see music piracy or file-sharing as more of a benefit to artists than a threat?
It’s true – our success wouldn’t be what it is without downloads. It’s just one of those things that’s going to happen…I mean, maybe one day we won’t even have CDs. I think programs like iTunes are great too. People can go and download an entire album for $10 or something. Anyways, file-sharing is cool with us, but if you really appreciate an album you should pay respects to it.
I understand MBR is on the road quite a bit. How do you guys like to spend any downtime you might get?
Well, I love spending time with my family and friends. But the band in general… we’re all nature freaks and love to be outdoors fishing or doing whatever. We all write music too and like to do some independent stuff. Andrew is working on a side-project right now, and Ryan, our bassist, wants to start a studio someday. I wouldn’t mind being a studio drummer maybe.
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