Motion
City Soundtrack can definitely be considered the cream of the crop when it
comes to new wave pop punk bands. From their catchy electronic anthems to their
onstage presence, the band is never an act to miss in any event. During Warped
Tour 2006, Band of the Day interviewed Motion City Soundtrack drummer, Tony Thaxton, in the often imitated but never duplicated…
- by Mattias and Dave-Os -
1.
What was it like working with Mark Hoppus producing “Commit This to Memory”?
Were you nervous?
T: I think the only way we were a little nervous was because this was the first thing he had actually produced - but we felt pretty confident. We’ve been talking with him and he really wanted to get into producing. In getting to know him, we found out that he liked a lot of the same bands we did and we had really similar tastes. I would also say he has a great track record, so we thought that [Mark producing our album] could actually be a really cool thing. He was great to work with. He’s a good guy, he had great ideas, and we couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
2.
That leads us into this question: What was your take on the Blink 182 breakup?
T: I don’t know if I really have a “take” on it. It sucks, but I’m excited to hear this +44 stuff he’s been working on. He keeps telling me lots about it but I haven’t heard any of it yet.
3.
“The Future Freaks Me Out” was a big hit on your first record and it almost
didn’t even make the album. Where do you think you guys would be today if that
song didn’t come out?
T: Well, it wasn’t really a “hit”. It was sort of like the “non-hit hit” *laughs* because it got very little video play and like no radio play.
Dave-os:
It still got people to know about you.
T: Yeah, it definitely was the song that was our hit without actually being a hit. I don’t know though. It’s still kind of the song that people seem to identify us with. Yeah, I have no idea. It was one of the last songs written when we went in to record “I Am the Movie” for the initial recording session. It was actually the first song that was written once Jesse and I joined the band, so I guess that was a nice way to start the writing process.
4. How
did you end up on the “Sound of Superman”?
T: As
far as I know, we were just asked – simple as that. We were supposed to do an
exclusive song for it, so we wrote a song pretty quickly actually, recorded it
even faster, and got it out there.
Mattias:
Like a week or what?
T: I don’t know how long we spent to write it. It was just sort of there, and then all of a sudden time was getting close where we really had to finish it if it was going to happen. Sometimes when we’re down to the wire we tend to work better that way. I think Justin ended up writing all the lyrics in like a day or something too. But I think it came out pretty good for the most part; I’m happy with that song. We haven’t played it live yet and we’re not going to play it today. *laughs* It would be a disaster if we played it today. Seriously, we haven’t even practiced it since we recorded it. *laughs* We recorded it and that’s like the last we touched it. And yes, I did see the movie and I liked it. I thought it was good. I loved the Superman movies when I was a kid, so I was excited to see the new one.
Dave-os:
Did you like it more than the old ones?
T: Um,
I don’t know. I didn’t love it, but I liked it. The old ones are a big
part of my childhood, so it’s hard to replace those.
5.
Other than Superman, who would be your favorite superhero?
T: It’s a generic answer, but I’ve always been a Batman nerd.
Mattias:
No way, that’s like him too! [Points at Dave-os]
Dave-os:
*laughs*
T:
*laughs*
6.
You’ve toured in North America, Europe, and Japan. Where’s your favorite place
to tour?
T: Japan. It’s incredible there. I think that’s probably all of our answers. We’ve been there twice now and it’s just an amazing place. You can’t really explain it. You can try to explain it to people as much as you want, but until you really go there and experience it, you just don’t know.
Mattias:
Do they sing along to your music?
T: Yeah. It’s funny because you’ll see and hear singing along, and a lot of them do speak English, but maybe not great. Sometimes they might be making up their own words as far as I think, or sing what they think it is, but they try so it’s awesome.
7. Do
you have anything to say to the Vancouver band Motion Soundtrack?
T: Um…*laughs* Nothing to say to them. I don’t know. I think someone was doing research on them and we even both sort of started around the same time. So the main thing apparently is that it’s all a big coincidence, I guess.
8.
Figuratively speaking, what’s the best way to “get fucked up and die”?
T: By not doing either of those…*laughs* I don’t know how to answer that. *laughs*
Mattias:
What’s the easiest way?
T:
Just don’t do it. *laughs*
9.
What are some of your “favorite accidents”?
T: I don’t know…Penicillin maybe? I can give it the Bob Ross approach. He would always say “There are no mistakes; there are just happy accidents.” So I’d like to think of them more as happy accidents. *laughs* I don’t know what I’m saying. *laughs*
10.
Who would you like to see next on Band of the Day?
T: The Living End is kicking ass on this tour. So if you haven’t given them some love, you should because they’re fuckin’ awesome.
And
there you have Tony’s thoughts in all its glory. Kudos to Tony for the
interview and kudos to you for reading. Until the next time.
Stay
sober,
The BotD
Team