| | | |  | Since their formation in the summer of 2004, in what has now become one of Sydney's finest up and coming young rock-bands, The Mission In Motion have been leaving a trail of lasting impressions on listeners and supporters, all thanks to their earnest,...
more |
| Interview | Access All Areas.net.au: You guys have just released your second EP, a curse, a calling. How are things for Mission in Motion right now?
Brett (Mission In Motion): We’re doing really well. We’re about half way through our EP tour so we’re keeping busy and doing what we’re doing.
Access All Areas.net.au: For those who don’t know, how did The Mission in Motion form?
Brett (Mission In Motion): We’ve been friends for years, we played in bands together growing up so when the bands we were in disbanded and went their separate ways, the guitarist Chris and I got together and started writing songs and got the boys together from there.
Access All Areas.net.au: Where did the band name come from?
Brett (Mission In Motion): The band name was something Kenny, our guitarist thought up when we needed a band name. There’s not much too it, we thought it was something that sounded good with a message of what we wanted to do, and a bit of motivation for us too.
Access All Areas.net.au: How would you describe The Mission In Motion sound?
Brett (Mission In Motion): We’re a pop rock band with a bit of heaviness to it.
Access All Areas.net.au: Tell me about the recording process for your latest EP, a curse, a calling?
Brett (Mission In Motion): It was pretty intense. We spent about two weeks straight working our absolute arses off, we went nights without sleep, we slept on the couch in the studio, it was pretty crazy but I think all the hard work that went into it made the record feel that much more of an accomplishment because we worked so hard on it.
Access All Areas.net.au: You guys have day jobs as well, how hard is it trying to fit your music in around that?
Brett (Mission In Motion): It’s becoming more and more difficult as we tour more. Last year it was pretty easy because we were touring on weekends, now we’re touring constantly. We’re on a month on, month off, touring schedule at the moment so it’s getting harder and harder.
Access All Areas.net.au: What’s the difference between your latest EP and your debut, The Window?
Brett (Mission In Motion): The Window was when we just excited to be making a CD. We had the songs and we went in and did it really quickly. On this record, we wanted to spend more time focusing on writing the actual songs, and then recording we spent more time making the songs sound exactly how we wanted them to sound and getting all the parts right, and basically making it sounds the best that it could. This record had more preparation too, the last one we already had the songs and we just wanted to make a CD, but on the latest EP, we made a bigger effort..
Access All Areas.net.au: What sort of response have you had on your current tour?
Brett (Mission In Motion): It’s been really good. A lot of the kids at the shows know the new songs, so that’s really good for us. We’re having an absolute blast on tour at the moment.
Access All Areas.net.au: Do you prefer recording or touring?
Brett (Mission In Motion): They have their ups and downs. I always get stumped on this question because it changes week to week depending on when you catch me. Touring’s fun, I love playing live and getting to meet people and hang out. Touring probably more fun for me because when we’re recording, because I sing, it’s basically me sitting around for ten days doing nothing, and then having to cram all my singing into three days. I like playing as a group and hanging out with friends so touring is more up my alley at the moment.
Access All Areas.net.au: On that note, what’s the best gig you’ve ever played?
Brett (Mission In Motion): Our EP launch a couple of weeks ago at The Annandale, which was all our family and friends and everyone from our home town who really likes our band all together at once, it was a good night, we had so much fun. We had a big party together so that’s probably my favourite show.
Access All Areas.net.au: I was there, and I think I was standing behind Lachie’s mum because this woman was yelling ‘Yay Lachie’ constantly.
Brett (Mission In Motion): (Laughing) That’s hilarious, I didn’t even know she was there.
Access All Areas.net.au: Well, it was someone who knew Lachie anyway.
Brett (Mission In Motion): Was she blonde?
Access All Areas.net.au: Yes.
Brett (Mission In Motion): That’s our drummer’s (Lachlan) girlfriend’s mum.
Access All Areas.net.au: The Australian music scene’s really booming at the moment with many bands signing and releasing records with major labels, bands like Trial Kennedy, Avalon Drive and The Hot Lies, where do you see The Mission In Motion fitting into the mix, what makes you different?
Brett (Mission In Motion): Not much makes us different from those guys, we do take a lot of our cues from some of those bands like Trial Kennedy and Gyroscope because they’re bands that have done the hard yards and worked their arses off, they’re bands that we very much look up to in that regard. We don’t really think too much into being different, we just play music that we really like to play and I think that’s where the passion comes from. We are influenced by bands and I assume it comes out in our music. We work as hard as we possibly can so hopefully that’s what sets us apart from a lot of other bands that are up and coming at the moment.
Access All Areas.net.au: There seems to be an underlying theme on the new EP about trying to get noticed as a band. Obviously you guys work really hard, but have you had any particular obstacles that have come through in the music on your EP?
Brett (Mission In Motion): We’ve had countless obstacles as a band, and they’re the things that we write about because they’re the thing’s we’re most passionate about. Songs like ‘The Last Crusade’, which is one of the newer songs is a song about a horrible situation we had with someone we used to work with. On the last record ‘Anymore Gunplay Gets Answered’ was about a situation where we played with a band and they stole gear from us. We had a tour last year and within three days we got caught in the middle of a riot, guitars got stolen, our van got smashed into, we’re always running into trouble. I think these things make for good stories and they make for good music, we wrote about them because they’re the things that are most present in our minds.
Access All Areas.net.au: What does success mean to you?
Brett (Mission In Motion): The main thing we want to do is not have to work to support our band, and we can do this (the band) all the time, that’s success for us. We don’t want to be the biggest band in the world, we just want to have fun and do this as our jobs.
Access All Areas.net.au: What’s next for The Mission In Motion?
Brett (Mission In Motion): We’re finishing up our EP tour, then we’re got a couple of weeks off before we start our single tour in September. We shot a video for our single ‘We Take This To The Night’, so we’re rolling that out and we have a few more things lined up, so we’ll basically be touring for the rest of the year.
Access All Areas.net.au: Thanks for your time Brett.
Brett (Mission In Motion): Thank you for calling me, take care.
Interview by Alexandra Hartshorn |
| Biography | Since their formation in the summer of 2004, in what has now become one of Sydney's finest up and coming young rock-bands, The Mission In Motion have been leaving a trail of lasting impressions on listeners and supporters, all thanks to their earnest, energetic and honest musical content.
The Mission In Motion began to take form when Brett Islaub (vocals) and Chris Maguire (guitar/vocals) started writing music together in late 2004, but things really started to heat up for the band in the spring of 2005 as the duo recruited the remaining members; Andrew McNeil (bass), Kent Griffiths (guitar/vocals) and Lachlan Gray (drummer).
Early live shows in their hometown turned countless heads, relentless East Coast tours of Australia followed, as well as support slots alongside bands such as Aiden (USA) and Story Of The Year (USA) and as a result, the band rapidly amassed a much broader slew of dedicated fans and supporters.
In December 2006, The Mission In Motion entered the studio to record their debut EP, The Window with producers Shane Edwards and Dave Petravic, with Don Bartley (Silverchair, The Beatles, The Living End) lending his experienced ears to the mastering process. From the anthem that is title track The Window to the intense string-led closer Exhale You, the EP bursts with blazing guitars, propulsive rhythms and passionate vocals.
Buoyed by their early accomplishments, the members of The Mission In Motion were steadily focused on writing the next chapter of their musical quest, and after spending the last 12 months channelling their combined energies into creating a follow-up record that not only showcases a sound reflective of their continuing maturity, but also one that the band themselves can be proud of.
The resulting product A Curse, A Calling is their latest offering in which the band stepped back into the recording studio with long time friend and producer, Dave Petravic, they were more than prepared to put their collective bodies on the line.
"We put everything we had into this record. We went nights without sleep. We sacrificed work. We did everything in our power to make sure our attention was focused on making this EP as best we could. We are going to work as hard as we can to keep doing this,” says vocalist Brett Islaub with determination, highlighting the process, and just how crucial making music is to these 5 young men.
2008 is looking to be a huge year for The Mission In The Motion with the release of the highly anticipated EP A Curse, A Calling on June 21st through Taperjean/ Shock, and to coincide with the release the band will be on the road, now and what seems like forever. |
|
