1.
Please introduce The Medium Mood and give a bit of background
info.
The Medium Mood are a three piece (power trio?) based out of Truro,
Nova Scotia. We used to be called Safety Scissors when we started
out in the summer of 2005 (we also had 4 members at that time...).
We released an 8 song EP under that moniker. It's called Fugitives.
A few months after we started we received threats of legal action
from this guy (myspace.com/safetyscissorsmusic) and changed our
name to the Medium Mood. We started writing a second record and
began recording it in August, 2006. Our first bass player Tim
left for the starry heights of Montreal after that session, never
to return. Andrew moved to bass, leaving Adam on drums and me
(Chad) as the sole guitarist. We just released our second record
which is called New Alarm and finished our first tour in support
of it.
2. What do you get out of being in the band? What makes you put
your heart and soul into it, and go off on tour for what your
average person in the world would see as little return?
We're a really self-motivated band (most of the time, anyways!).
Every time we reach a goal, we push a bit further the next time.
I personally enjoy the two 'parts' of the band equally, although
they are rewarding in really different ways. Part A is the creative
part of the band - writing and recording. I thoroughly enjoy the
process of making a complete record, which I feel has gone a little
to the wayside these days. We recorded Fugitives entirely on our
own, and did a lot of work to New Alarm by ourselves as well.
I'm a bit of a geek for guitar sounds and recording, so I really
enjoy that. Part B is the performing end of things which is really
visceral and rewarding in an immediate way. I don't think I could
have one without the other.
As
I mentioned earlier, we just finished our first tour and we really
enjoyed it, so we're all in tour mode at the moment. We left with
no expectations at all, so every success seemed pretty impressive.
3.
What were the original goals of the band?
At first, our goal was to play as loudly as possible and to put
out a record. We've evolved to the point where loudness coincides
with well-written songs in a harmonious and/or dissonant way.
4.
What do you try to communicate through your music?
We try to keep things as interesting as possible. We're pretty
collaborative when we write the music for our songs. I don't think
anyone in our band has ever brought a 'finished' song to rehearsal,
so the original intent of the basic riffs can sometimes change
a lot. For instance: we have a song on our new record called All
The Names that started out as a pretty straightforward up-tempo
song with a lengthy My Bloody Valentine noise jam in the middle
of it. A week before we went in for the final New Alarm session,
we completely overhauled the song into a stripped down atmospheric
track. We can be good foils for each other musically. In terms
of lyrics, there is a bit of a dichotomy. Andrew and I split the
writing pretty much down the middle. There isn't really an agenda
like you might find in a band like Rage Against the Machine. I
usually write my lyrics by combining ideas from books I've read
with personal experiences, language, semiotics, etc. Andrew's
lyrics are usually darker, but I don't want to put words in his
internet mouth...so in summation, we try to put a lot of thought/effort
into our songs and if nothing else, I hope that is communicated
live or on the record. Geeks writing about geeky stuff in a geeky
way.
5.How
has the DIY ethic influenced the band, and how it goes about doing
its business (putting out records, booking tours, etc)
We would not exist without it. It was born out of necessity and
is a necessary part of our rock outfit.
6.
The upcoming record: What can we expect from it? Where can we
get info?
It's out now, though we haven't officially released it yet. We've
got a good idea for our Halifax cd release that's quietly being
worked on. It will probably happen in September. You can expect
a bigger sound that is far more developed than Fugitives. 12 songs.
Awesome artwork. Band portaits by lookidrewyou! ( www.myspace.com/lookidrewyou).
Info at www.noyesrecords.com.
7. Any interesting road stories from your recent tour with A History
Of?
It was pretty tame. In Toronto, the venue was located between
a missionary and a whore house. Some people were getting arrested
with prostitutes as we were loading out. We met Kevin McDonald
in Montreal. We played to 3 people in Sackville, so we did a short
cover of Iron Man in the middle of one of our poppier numbers.
8.
What is your ideal show situation? (venue, crowd, other bands,
etc)
We live for close quarters. As long as the crowd stands close
to us, we're happy.
9.
What does the future hold for the Medium Mood?
There is talk of a 7". We are planning a tour in March. I'd
like to see us move away from the moody, sombre vibe into something
more quirky. Alternate tunings FTW!
10.
The end of civilization will be caused by:
Touring indie bands.
11.
How can people get in touch with you?
themediummood@noyesrecords.com noyesrecords.com, myspace.com/themediummood
- We love getting messages via the internet!
12.
Final words?
The last time I saw a concert in PEI, it was Great Big Sea playing
in celebration of the Confederation Bridge being finished. I hope
our show is as at least as awesome as that!
