Listen to Friendly Fires vs Holy Ghost – “On Board”

MTT is big fans of the music that gets your feet movin’ and your body groovin, and for years, DFA and XL Recordings has been putting out consistently great dance tunes.  We’ve got a sneak peek of On Board for you off the split single from Friendly Fires and Holy Ghost!

The split single “started off as a drunken conversation at Corsica’s Calvi Rocks festival in July 2009. Friendly Fires had just played live, Holy Ghost had just finished DJing, and in the post-gig haze the decision was made by each band to cover one of the other’s songs.”  Have a listen!

Latest tracks by Girlie Action

‘Hold On / On Board’ will be available on the following formats:

12”:

A1. Friendly Fires – Hold On
A2. Friendly Fires – Hold On (Instrumental)
B1. Holy Ghost – On Board
B2. Holy Ghost – On Board (Instrumental)

Download:

1. Friendly Fires – Hold On
2. Friendly Fires – Hold On (Instrumental)
3. Holy Ghost – On Board
4. Holy Ghost – On Board (Instrumental)
5. Holy Ghost – On Board (Dub)

XL RECORDINGS / DFA SPLIT 12” AND DOWNLOAD RELEASED ON MARCH 8TH, 2010

Related articles:

• Friendly Fires @ Webster Hall in NYC – more pics (brooklynvegan.com)
• Video Hook-Up: Jónsi – “Go Do” (radioexile.com)
• YACHT: Evolution Through Mystery (chicagoist.com)
• A few more notes on the No Doubt Ska EP (theredradio.typepad.com)

Great Gym “Pump Up” & Cool Down Albums

Team Excelsior is fitness. King B and The Train firmly embrace the throwing around of iron as much as possible.  Maybe not as much as those d-bags from Jersey Shore, but we like to get it in.  It’s not all about the aesthetics, but the best residual benefit is the huge spike in energy.  Excelsior utilizes the energy in the quest for world domination.

When we hit the gym, the tunes have gotta be pumping through the earphones at all times.  My iPhone is filled with all kinds of music that fits the “pump up” or the “cool down” role.  (Sometimes I tweet the tracks with Twittelator as I’m at the gym)  Here are a few of the albums that get the blood pumping (or calm me down!):

Pump Up:

Pantera – Vulgar Display of Power

Sepultura – Chaos AD

The Suicide Machines – Definition By Destruction

Atreyu – The Curse

Cool Down:

Fujiya & Miyagi – Transparent Things

XX -XX

jj – n2

- Moe

Related articles:

• PANTERA to release Greatest Hits Collection & Full Catalog on Vinyl (metalinjection.net)
• Pantereissues (metalsucks.net)
• FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH Drummer: We Wanted To Make Our Version Of ‘Vulgar Display Of Power’ (roadrunnerrecords.com)

Moe Train’s Favorite Live Albums

Some people prefer studio recordings.  Some prefer live albums.  Should music be enjoyed as “studio perfect” artifacts or “the way music should be heard” in the live form?  Either way,  it’s a debate which will never be settled.  As for The Train?  Well, I enjoy a bit of everything.  I’m partial to studio recordings, though there are some rare live album gems which very accurately convey the feeling of a concert performance.

These three albums are a few standouts which are on heavy rotation in my sizable music selection:

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Live!

It’s no secret that Bob Marley is my favorite and most quintessential artist of all time, and what better soundtrack to the summer/festivals than the smooth skanking of Bob Marley & The Wailers…  Inspired yet “feel good” to the utmost, Live! is aural bliss.

Daft Punk – Alive 2007

For those lucky enough to see Daft Punk perform during 2007 (we saw them in Vegas and Chicago!), you know just how memorable Daft Punk’s live sets are.  Not only do the robots perform amazing dance music, but the sensory overload of the pyramid leaves you breathless.  Every time I crank up this album, I’m brought right back to the enormously undulating crowds of Vegoose (RIP) and Lollapalooza.  One word:  Amazing.

Manu Chao – Radio Bemba Sound System

Manu Chao is a performer that spans genres.  Punk, ska, reggae, salsa, and any other latin music style that you can imagine are worked into Manu’s manic live sets.  Contagiously positive energy emits from the stage during every Manu Chao performance, and Radio Bemba Sound System is one of the finest examples of live embodiment on an album.

Got any favorite live albums?  Share em with us!

- Moe

Related articles:

• Manu Chao – Baïonarena [Album] (hangout.altsounds.com)
• Daft Punk’s Fragile From Tron Legacy Leaks (beatcrave.com)
• Santana Supernatural Gets A Make-Over (undercover.com.au)
• 5 reviews of 20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection (Remastered) (Marley, Bob & Wailers) (rateitall.com)

Twittelator [8.7/10]

Twittelator – [8.7/10]

For those who feel that being connected to the world at all times (or most of the time) is a must, Twittelator is a very functional Twitter client that will fulfill your needs.  If you think that a function is necessary, then Twittelator probably has it covered.  Lists, video/photo posting, geotagging, and my most useful function (due to the fact that we run a music show/website), song tagging.  The main gripe that I have with this app is the tweets don’t always “refresh” when they should.  Besides that, Twittelator is a pretty seamless application.

One could purchase quite a few separate apps for many of the options packed into the Twittelator package, so if you need an all-encompassing Twitter app… Twittelator will be a very competent choice.

Festival Fever

Every year about this time, I get “Festival Fever.”  You know the feeling…  The weather’s shitty, you’ve been cooped up indoors for way too long, and all of the festival lineups are coming out.  You long for fun in the sun, and the amazing music which becomes the soundtrack of your life.

Well, that time is here, and The Train’s got the fever!  (No, it’s not a Swine Flu symptom.  I’ve gotten the shot, thank you.)  We’ve got about four months until The Tracks kicks it into super media mode, and does some more amazing interviews! (Check out the new interviews posted on the site)  King B and I love being out in the crowd and also back behind the scenes so we can bring you as many great and uncensored musician interviews as possible!

What do you do when you get the fever?  Do you start researching all of the bands that you’re going to see?  Listen to new music?  Check your tent to see if it still works?  Hit the gym, so you can physically make it through the grueling festival weekends?

Well, no matter what you do… You’d better get ready, because there’s not much time before FESTIVAL TIME!

- Moe

Related articles:

• Dan Deacon feeling better, played Purchase (pics), playing MtyMx & Bonnaroo, shares a name with a Philly cop (brooklynvegan.com)
• The Flu And Getting Lucky (plastic.com)

Train’s Thoughts on Unorthodox Festival Booking

What’s up everyone?  I’ve got summer festivals on my mind (and why shouldn’t I?  All the lineups are coming out!)  Anyway, I was on Twitter (@MoeTrainsTracks), discussing what people would think if festivals like Bonnaroo would do a booking that was totally out of character for the festival.  For example, I was watching the Olympics tonight and heard Andrea Bocelli‘s music used for ice dancing.  I thought, Andrea Bocelli would be an off the wall, yet amazing addition to Bonnaroo’s lineup this year.

Metallica seemed to be one of the biggest stretches for the perennial hippie/jamband and indie friendly festival, and their booking was met with very mixed reviews.  Personally, I was pumped to have Metallica on the farm, as I’m a big fan of their music.  Yeah, I definitely think that Lars was an absolute prick for what he did to Napster, but Metallica’s live performances are top notch.  Many of the Bonnaroo purists were upset that the balance of their universe would be thrown off it’s axis by such a notable metal act.  On the other hand, their presence brought a different “type” of festival goer which wouldn’t usually have made the trek to Manchester, TN.  When all was said and done, Metallica had blown the roof off of the farm, and made fans out of non-believers.

The same booking mentality would certainly apply to a talent like Andrea Bocelli.  Imagine Sunday night, when everyone is exhausted from four straight days of music and mania, and enter Andrea Bocelli on the main stage.  Surround him a laser show of Tool proportions, and give him the best backing band that Bonnaroo artists have to offer.  The result would be one of the biggest sensory overloads that the festival world has seen.

Everyone’s always wondering who the Superjam lineup will consist of, and it’s usually a nicely diversified group of musicians, but sometimes, the best things come from the most motley of crews (or Crue).  In the overloaded market of festivals (RIP Rothbury…for now), promoters need to continue pushing the envelope so they can continue to attract huge audiences.

What do you guys think?  Are music festivals doing enough to keep you coming back year after year?  What would be the most off the wall booking that you’d like to see at the festivals in the coming years?

- Moe

Related articles:

• Bonnaroo 2010 Lineup (stereogum.com)
• Jay-Z To Headline Bonnaroo (current.com)
• Metal at Non-metal Festivals (metalsucks.net)

Bonnaroo 2010 Lineup

The 2010 Bonnaroo Lineup (as of 2/10/2010)!

Dave Matthews Band • Kings of Leon • Stevie Wonder • Jay-Z • Tenacious D • Weezer • The Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs perform “Dark Side of the Moon” • The Dead Weather • Damian Marley & Nas • Phoenix • Norah Jones • Michael Franti & Spearhead • John Fogerty • Regina Spektor • Jimmy Cliff • LCD Soundsystem • The Avett Brothers • Thievery Corporation • Rise Against • Tori Amos • The National • Zac Brown Band • Les Claypool • John Prine • The Black Keys • Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers • Jeff Beck • Dropkick Murphys • She & Him • Against Me! • The Disco Biscuits • Daryl Hall & Chromeo • Jamey Johnson • Clutch • Bassnectar • Kid Cudi • Baaba Maal • Kris Kristofferson • Medeski Martin & Wood • The xx • GWAR • Dan Deacon Ensemble • Tinariwen • Wale • Deadmau5 • The Melvins • Gaslight Anthem • Miike Snow • The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band • Dr. Dog • They Might Be Giants • Punch Brothers • Isis • Blitzen Trapper • Blues Traveler • Miranda Lambert • Calexico • OK Go • Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue • Martin Sexton • Lotus • Baroness • Dave Rawlings Machine • Mayer Hawthorne and the County • Japandroids • Jay Electronica • Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros • Ingrid Michaelson • The Dodos • Manchester Orchestra • The Temper Trap • Cross Canadian Ragweed • Big Sam’s Funky Nation • Carolina Chocolate Drops • Needtobreathe • Tokyo Police Club • The Entrance Band • Local Natives • Brandi Carlile • Mumford & Sons • Rebelution • Diane Birch • Monte Montgomery • Julia Nunes • The Postelles • Lucero • Here We Go Magic • Hot Rize • Neon Indian • B.O.B

Minus the Bear

Jake from MTB talks with MTT about the evolution of their music, sleep walking through walls and more…

Minus the Bear Interview

Jake Snider (MTB), Monty Wiradilaga, Brian Kracyla

Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival

Moe (MTTracks): All right, we are sitting back here in some alley at Bonnaroo with Jake Snider, lead singer, guitar, from Minus the Bear…

Jake Snider (Minus the Bear): Howdy. Hello there.

Moe: Thanks for being here.

Jake: You bet. Thanks for having me.

M: Hell of a performance today man.

J: Thanks man, I appreciate it.

M: How’s the vibe of Bonnaroo compare to the other festivals you’ve played?

J: It’s definitely laid back. Everything runs pretty much perfectly, so its seems like seems like everyone’s just got it down. It’s just super easy, the crowd it just awesome, one of the best crowds I think of any festival that we’ve played.

M: Why do you think it’s one of the best vibes?

J: I don’t know. Maybe it’s the location, or maybe it’s just the history of the festival, the vibe that people expect from it. You know, kind of a more free-form situation probably.

M: You played a good bit of tracks from Planet Ice…

J: Yup.

M: I think that an album’s true test is how it translates live…

J: Yeah, that’s definitely a good record. Live is usually better, hopefully. That’s the idea at least.

M: With listening to your music, I get sort of a sense that you incorporate a bit of jamminess into it. It feels like you’re translating that live performance into your albums and vice versa. You’ve changed your writing style lately haven’t you?

J: The last record, Planet of Ice, is a little more broader sounding I think. A little bit more ambient. It’s just not a tight as the other ones. Yeah, I don’t know, there are songs that are really fun to play live. And I think that that’s what our goal was, to write a record full of songs that we really enjoy playing live…and don’t get sick of.

M: Well, before didn’t you have more regimented songs. Didn’t you cut it short because you thought it would go on too long, and with this record didn’t you change your writing process to let certain parts just flow? Let um go where they had to go…

J: Yeah, totally. We kinda just laid back on that stuff. We used to be really concise, and it is really a lot more fun live and especially to be able to explore things a little bit more.

M: So, do you like this process a little bit more than what you were doing before?

J: Yeah. It’s a lot more fun.

M: What made you go in this direction?

J: I don’t know. It just started coming out that way, I guess. We’ve been playing together for years and years and years, and a lot of the same songs. At that point in time we felt like we needed to try some new shit, you know, basically.

M: It seems to me that you live a bit vicariously through your music…

J: yeah…

M: First of all, I’m not gonna go into your funny song titles and all… (Laughs)

J: Okay, cool.

M: I know that you’re probably sick to death of hearing about it.

J: Yeah, totally.

M: What are the main topics that you think in your head that you like to live vicariously through?

J: A lot of the songs are about sex, and a lot of those are kind of fictionalized. So, I do kind of live vicariously through some of those songs. Mostly those songs. I guess most of the songs are about sex on some kind of level, or getting wasted. But all that stuff is just another way to imagine life I suppose.

M: I’ve heard you say that after every show there’s a disco. What are some of the craziest moments you’ve had being out on the road, being on tour, whatever?

J: Well, usually Florida’s pretty brutal for us. We have had some run-ins with the law in Orlando. One of us got a little too drunk one night and ended up getting arrested.

M: Oh yeah, what happened?

J: Oh, nothing. He went to jail for the night. We got him out. And then hauled ass to the next show. He had to pay a fine, or whatever.

M: A little rowdy?

J: Yeah, just a little rowdy.

M: Did you really have a site called Friction USA?

J: Yes.

M: What was the deal with it? Was it a Suicide Girls…

J: Yeah, it was similar to that. It started almost exactly the same time as Suicide Girls. Just did it for a couple of years. My wife, it was her idea basically.

M: And it just never materialized or what?

J: It was good, the music thing just started taking over. Once I got into the band, there was just no time.

M: Well, you’re from Seattle, how’s the Seattle scene THESE DAYS?

J: It’s always good. It’s an amazing town for music.

M: What are some of the big things going on in Seattle THESE DAYS?

J: These Worms Are Snakes is a great band. I can’t even think about it right now, I don’t know why, sorry.

M: Question, have you done any sleep walking through walls lately?

J: Nope, only when I was a kid.

M: What happened?!

J: Yeah, my parents were building a cabin, and the walls weren’t sheet-rock yet. My bedroom was right on the hallway for the stairs, so basically, you would walk through the wall and fall right down the stairs, into the bottom of the stairs…

M: Holy shit.

J: Like a full story. So I slept walked through the studs and fell.

M: What happened?

J: Got a concussion and broke my arm.

M: Jesus Christ, that’s a pretty big fall.

J: Pretty brutal, yeah.

M: You’re band has a pretty distinctive sound. A lot of it comes from Dave’s guitar taping techniques. What do you think sets your band apart from the others?

J: I don’t know. We are always trying to find parts that we find interesting and try not to right the same stuff over and over again. I don’t know, that’s a tough question. The combination of personalities, it’s pretty hard to come up with something different. I think it’s just kinda crazy.

M: You guy are definitely always evolving with changing the lineup. How’s the new cohesive unit working?

J: Better than ever.

M: So, what’s next for Minus the Bear?

J: Um, next is a summer where we’re gonna play a few shows. We just re-released our They Make Beer Commercials Like This EP on Suicide Squeeze. That’s also out on vinyl for the first time now. And we’re writing a record…

M: How’s that going?

J: Starting it off, just getting it started, you know…

M: With the new album are you evolving to a new level, or is it something with the same equation that you’re doing now?

J: I have no idea yet.

M: It just comes together.

J: Yeah.

M: Awesome. Thanks a lot for staying with us.

J: Yeah, I appreciate it man.

G. Love & Special Sauce

Philly meets Philly when The Tracks interviews G. Love backstage while in Chicago at Lollapalooza…

Philly Meets Philly – Interview with G. Love

Garrett “G. Love” Dutton and Monty “Moe” Wiradilaga
Friday, August 3, 2007
Lollapalooza – Chicago, Illinois

Moe’s Intro: When you think about Philadelphia, you think about a few things… Philly Cheesesteaks, the Eagles, the Flyers, the Phillies… And when you think about music from Philly, you think about G. Love.

Moe Train’s Tracks Podcast had the chance to sit down with G. Love backstage at Lollapalooza in Chicago, Illinois, where we talked about his music… the advent of the “hip-hop blues,” the Summer Haze Tour with Slightly Stoopid, G. Love & Special Sauce, and Ozomatli, and even a bit about Philly.

Make sure you check out the Summer Haze Tour when they hit your area! So here’s the Moe Train’s Tracks interview with G. Love at Lollapalooza…

Moe: G… What’s up, man? How ya doing? I’m Moe. Nice to meet you.

G. Love: Hey, how you doin’ man? Yeah, how ya doing man?

Moe: Philly meets Philly!

G: Woo! You from Philly?

Moe: Yeah man. Well… From the ‘burbs.

G: Right on.

Moe: Definitely been listening to your music for a long time…

G: Thanks.

Moe: It’s finally good to meet you. Got your new DVD out right? What, it was released this week right?

G: Yup, it just came out. It’s called A Year and A Night with G. Love and Special Sauce. It’s really cool. It’s definitely like an in depth look at the band on the run, you know, like a band on the grind. ‘Cause we’ve been grinding it out for like fourteen years so…

Moe: You’re always touring right?

G: Yeah. We do like 150 to 250 shows a year. And so that’s a lot of time in the bus, and as we did eight years in a van to start out, so definitely…

Moe: A bus is nice!

G: Yeah. A bus is great! I’ve definitely seen this whole country, man.

Moe: Yeah. I’m really noticing a progression in your music, but than again, recently it seems like you’re going almost back to your roots. Tell me about the beginning of G. Love and the “hip-hop blues.”

G: Okay. You know, I grew up listening to hip-hop, just like any other kid. You know, like, the Beastie Boys, and L.L. Cool J, Run DMC and you know like a whole lot of other stuff too. And I was like, grew up in Philly, which had a pretty strong hip-hop culture so… You know, we were getting into trouble and like writing graffiti, and break dancing, and skateboarding, and doing all this kinda like city stuff and, playin’ basketball. So that was like one side of me. And the other side of me was I had played acoustic guitar since I was like eight years old. I got really into the blues, the Delta Blues, when I was in high school. I was always kinda searching for something original, and when I found the Delta Blues that was like, no other kid in my high school was playing the Delta Blues. I had something that, you know, was making me stand out from the crowd, which I think is like really important you know. Now basically one night, I was a street musician, and I was just shuckin’ on the guitar, and I started rappin’ Eric B. and Rakim… Paid In Full…

Moe: Paid In Full!? (Laughs) There ya go!

G.: Yeah… (Laughs) And I was like, ‘Oh that was something.’ And then I wrote my first rhyme like that week and then I was like ‘Okay, you know, I can do this,’ and I felt like, you know, it was real. It was like a real expression for me. Also at the time, the early nineties, like that was kinda when hip-hop was like at it’s peak, you know, like the late eighties, early nineties, so that was what I was listening to.

Moe: Right. Well, you play a lot of improvised chords don’t you? Lots of blues chords, not the real standard chords…

G: I basically got a lot of my chords from… I would try to learn like a Lightning Hopkins record, or Muddy Waters, or Robert Johnson, or whoever blues, you know. There wasn’t like you could Google ‘Robert Johnson Tablature,’ when I was in high school, so you had to learn that shit off the record. (Laughs) Yo, you don’t know what tuning he’s in, so got to make up these weird chords to try to find the sound that he’s getting! So, I had all these weird chords so, I’d always make these chords and then I just be like ‘Oh that’s cool.’ Then I’d make a song with them ya know.

Moe: Well, you’re saying you’re always performing… Do you think the live performance is the way to hear your music?

G: Yeah, I mean, definitely. You know, we love playin’ live and that’s what it’s always been about for us, you know, and being in front of people and…

Moe: Your albums are recorded a lot live aren’t they?

G: Yeah, well, what we do, we record in the studio live, you know. You can get something different on a record than you can get live, it’s all about what you like to, you know like, certainly there’s nothing that beats… Oh, Slightly Stoopid’s just going on…

Moe: Yep.

G: Nothing beats, but you know like, but you know there’s also nothin’… To me, I’d rather listen to a record than a live recording.

Moe: Yeah.

G: Except my new live recording which comes with my DVD!

Moe: That’s right. (Laughs) Explain ‘Everything’s a hustle.’ I heard you say that one time, you said that ‘everything is a hustle.’ That’s definitely Philly-style, the streets… You used to play a lot on South Street didn’t you?

G: Yeah.

Moe: I remember that. I think I saw you actually a couple times, yeah.

G: Really!?

Moe: Yeah… Explain ‘Everything’s a hustle.’

G: You know, I mean, it might not be the most positive outlook on life, but I mean, you know, like I think people are in inheritably selfish you know. So, it’s like, you gotta hustle for everything you get. And you gotta realize that people most likely wanna get something outta you, so, you know, you gotta make sure you don’t get hustled. And everything’s a hustle, like whether it’s the music business, or your job, to get a job… It’s a hustle to practice your guitar and get good enough to play, but you gotta hustle to get that gig, man! You know, and then once you get on stage you gotta let it be about the music, but the music business is all about the hustle you know. And then everything’s a hustle but love. When it’s real love, you know, and neither party’s trying to get up on each other. It could be love for music, or love for a person, or whatever you know what I’m sayin’.

Moe: Right… Well that seems like the mentality of independent music these days.

G: Yep.

Moe: People… They’re taking back the power from the labels and doing their own thing… More so, I guess it’s a hustle to take back that power.

G: Yep.

Moe: The question is…Pat’s, Gino’s, Jim’s, or a big ol’ slice of Lorenzo’s pizza?

G: (Laughs)

Moe: (Laughs)

G: Jim’s and a slice of Lorenzo’s pizza.

Moe: Wiz or without? Or “witout?” (Side Note: There IS a proper way to order a Philly Cheesesteak.) Excuse me…

G: Well, no… I get provolone. Provolone, onions, hot peppers on the side, baby!

Moe: (Laughs) What the hell is going on with Philly sports these days?

G: (Whistles)

Moe: Are we ever gonna win something? Is McNabb gonna stay healthy?

G: I don’t know I just…

Moe: Ryan Howard gonna do something?

G: I don’t know. We’ll see what happens. But I just moved up to Boston ’cause my kids up there and they just got Kevin Garnett and I’m like… We just got rid of A.I.! (Allen Iverson) (Laughs)

Moe: My co-host said to say to you that he ‘loves your music but Charles Barkley doesn’t beat Larry Bird.’ (Laughs)

G: (Laughs) No, but we said that Charles Barkley dissed Larry Bird.

Moe: Oh, okay.

G: It’s basically like, well Dr. J and Charles Barkley are the, I mean Dr. J and Larry Bird had the fist fight. But I think at the time Charles Barkley dissed Larry Bird somehow on microphone… I don’t know… I don’t know what he did! (Laughs)

Moe: All right, one last thing. You always give love to Philly…

G: Yeah!

Moe: How’s Philly been treating you?

G: Well, you know, Philly’s like a hard-love. Philly has hard-love. They show kinda hard-love I think, but you know that’s where I was born and raised, and that’s where my studio is, and I still live there part-time, and Philly’s a great city. Philly shows its love, man! We sold-out two Electric Factory shows last year.

Moe: There ya go!

G: And this summer we’re doing the Festival Pier (In Philadelphia). So, I gotta say, it’s still one of our best cities to play, and you know, it always means a lot to come home.

Moe: We’ll be bringing a crew to the festival pier to see you guys.

G: Ok, cool!

Moe: And good luck on your tour.

G: Thanks!

Moe: We’ll see you then…

G: Cool… All right…

Moe: Thanks a lot… Appreciate it, man.

G: Cool, man, appreciate it.

O.A.R.

Chris from OAR talks to MTT about staying “independent” on a big label, Madison Square Garden and more at Bonnaroo.

Chris Culos (O.A.R.) Interview on Moe Train’s Tracks

Chris Culos, Monty Wiradilaga and Brian Kracyla

Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival

Manchester, TN

June 15, 2008

Moe: We’re back stage here with Chris of O.A.R. How’s it going man?

Chris: It’s going good man. We just got here, I’m really excited. We’ve got some gorgeous weather out here.

Moe: Oh, it’s beautiful out.

Chris: Yeah.

Moe: It’s the first day of your new tour, is today the first day?

Chris: We just started our new tour today. So excited about it… A big summer.

M: Supporting the new album that comes out next month.

C: It comes out July 15^th, yes, and actually our single is called Shattered. And we’re actually getting some radio play already, which is exciting. It officially goes to radio tomorrow and fans can get it online. They can get it starting June 16^th on iTunes and stuff like that, exciting.

M: How’s this album compare to your others?

C: It’s a little bit of everything. I think by calling it all-sides, it really is capturing the all encompassing thing of O.A.R. It’s got the rock, the lighter stuff, it’s got the reggae, it’s got a little bit of everything. I think the song writing is really strong. I’m really proud of all the guys in the band, our song writers… You can really see their growth. But also the musicianship side of stuff, we feel really comfortable in the studio. That was always the thing. I think our audience really gravitated to our live stuff, and they liked the studio stuff, but they didn’t think it compared to that energy. It’s was only natural. We’ve played a couple of hundred shows a year but only made a handful of CDs. It’s still a lot of time in the studio, but for us we’re still learning.

M: Is that why you guys have encouraged the taping of your live shows?

C: Absolutely. But not just that reason alone. We’re proud all our stuff that we do in studio but as far as our live shows, that’s our bread and butter. That really is what we do best, and where we feel the most comfortable. I think by encouraging taping of the shows it creates more of a community interaction, you know for people who wanna come out and see us multiple times. It keeps us on our toes to create new set lists, and change the arrangements, and jam-out, and have fun. It’s also fun for the audience because it gives them something to talk about. It’s not the same show every night, not the same version of the same song every night. It’s a lot of great things.

M: Talking about live shows, how’d it feel standing on the stage at Madison Square Garden, at a sold-out arena, at one of the most important influential venues in the whole world?

C: Yeah, it was pretty much the highlight of our career. I can’t lie. It’s just weird because when we started this band, god, we started it 12 years ago in my basement, you could never imagine, you could never think of playing Madison Square Garden. I mean, all the things you could dream about, that’s just ridiculous to think that. So, to be standing on stage, it was so surreal. To be honest, it’s the only time I’ve ever been nervous playing.

M: Really?

C: Yeah, we’re really comfortable with what we do. Every night we go on stage, we get really excited about before we go on, and walk on, and that’s just what we do best, we’re comfortable. Going on in Madison Square Garden man, it was a whole other thing. It was a whole other ballgame man, I can’t lie.

M: I saw that. You could see the vibe in the place, it was just awesome.

C: Yeah. But, as soon as we started, yeah, we felt comfortable again. But it was the only time I’ve been nervous.

M: So what was the most memorable part of that performance? Anything stand out in your mind?

C: You know… It flew by. Most of the shows, some nights take a little longer than others, but that night flew by. I remember it being a little more lit up inside, just because we were filming it for DVD. You could see people. We can always usually see the front row, a couple rows back, but now look at and actually get a gauge of just how many people were there, and it was freaky. No, it was cool, ‘cause you could look out, we had a lot of our family there. I could look out and see my parents, my grandparents, and aunts and uncles, and cousins, and friends, and all these people who traveled from all over the country to watch us in New York. That was the coolest part.

M: Yeah, it had to be amazing for sure. So, with the new album, I know that you’re with a major label now; you were with an independent label before. Are we go to be seeing the independent O.A.R.? Or are we going to see a new incarnation?

C: We’re always independent O.A.R., man! No, see, here’s our deal. We started as a basement band, you know, when we were in high school. We went to college to really try to make it. We went to the biggest school in the country at the time, Ohio State University, and we went for four years. Not everybody graduated, but a couple of us did.

M: You did right?

C: Yeah, I did. Woo-hoo!

M: Ha, there ya go.

C: Then we started the band and we’ve been touring full time for eight years. So we’ve been a band for 12 years and everything been a real slow growth, but it’s been growing upwards steadily since the beginning. It’s given us time to learn and make the best decisions and really pay attention to what’s going on around us. And I think we really us that to our advantage, because if something happened over night, I don’t know if we’d know exactly how to deal with it correctly, and not to say that most people don’t, but who knows. For us, we’re really happy that we got to surround ourselves with great people. Our manager Dave Roberge, our singer Mark’s older brother, he started an indy label for us when we were in college. It was really just something on paper so that we could get a distribution deal, so we could get our CDs in stores like Best Buy and stuff. It wasn’t even a real label. But he grew it into an actual full functioning label with a full staff, moved to New York City, opened up office space, pretty amazing. And from what this label, Everfine Records, was able to do, it raised us up enough profile to actually get major label attention. And we had sold enough CDs on our own that when we went in to talk to a major label; we did have a little bit of leverage. Not to say that it was all in our favor, but to be honest it was a business decision to go with a major label. We just wanted to get our music out to more people. And so when we signed with, it was Lava Records, which was under Atlantic Records, which has since folded, now we’re moved over to Atlantic Records, but it’s all the same thing. We did sort of a joint-deal Everfine Records and Atlantic, so that Everfine would always be a part of us. It’s synonymous with us, it was created by our manager for us, by us. Everything about it, the mentality, will stay there. And they’ll continue to oversee most of our live releases while the major label will put out our studio releases. Sorry for the long answer.

M: No, it’s cool. Because I know that the fans are always concerned when a band makes that leap. They’re not sure if they’re getting the same band that they grew up and loved, or something that’s manufactured.

C: Of course. I mean, we’ve seen it with our favorite bands too. If anything, it’s a stepping stone for us to be able to continue what we always done in the past. If we have to put out something that’s more geared towards pop-radio, somewhere where you see us on film or television soundtracks or stuff, it’s not to say we’re playing the game and selling out, it’s to say that we wanna do that stuff to be able to continue to do the rest of the O.A.R. stuff that we love.

M: Do you consider yourself frat-rock?

C: You know, the term kinda bothers me. I don’t exactly what it is. It gives you, it’s not that it bothers me…

M: Is frat-rock a stigma?

C: It’s just used in a negative connotation. It’s not like anyone says, ‘God, these are my favorite frat-rockers!’

M: (Laughs)

C: It’s always somebody writing an article about us who pawn it off as frat-rock, as if that’s a bad thing. I’m really proud of the fact that we are able to attract fans from diverse things, whether it’s a frat, whether it’s a sorority, whether it’s just regular college kids, whether it’s high school kids, you know, older adult, any walk of life I think it sort of reaches out. I guess it is a bit of a stigma. I don’t know, I mean at first it was jam-band, and that’s really cool because some of our favorite bands are jam-bands, but we don’t consider ourselves a jam-band at all. We just don’t do that. So, to get labeled a jam-band is just I think a little misleading. So, the frat-rock thing, I don’t know, it’s just used in a negative connotation. I don’t have a problem with it if someone was using it in a praising way. Whatever.

M: Does it bother you that your band’s music makes the beds rock in collegiate America all across the US?

C: Hell no, dude, that’s the point, c’mon.

M: We’ve got a lot of comments about that, ‘Dude, you’re interviewing those guys! We’ve had sex to that music all the time!’

C: Sweet!

M: Oh, congrats on being one of the top 100 most influential indie bands.

C: Oh, thanks, performing/song writer, what an honor, we are really excited.

M: There are a lot of big names on that list.

C: Honestly, I can’t put it into words, I was a little bit speechless. We’ve never really won any honors; we’ve never really won any awards. I think, in the past, people who know about O.A.R. know about O.A.R., and everyone else outside this world has sort of ignored us. It’s given us, I don’t want to say a chip on the shoulder, but it’s made us feel like we’re a little bit of the underdog, wanting to always prove ourselves. It doesn’t bother us but it makes us want to work that much harder. So to get some recognition like this, it’s really satisfying.

M: Another congratulations in order, you just got married.

C: Thank you, I’m actually about to get married.

M: Oh, I’m sorry, you’re about to get married.

C: In three weeks, it’s the countdown.

M: So what’s your thoughts?

C: Man, I’m really excited. I’m most excited to be sitting on the beach on the honeymoon.

M: Where ya going?

C: We’re going to Hawaii. And neither of us have ever been. Have you been?

M: Not yet, but this year. I think we’re going to a wedding. Apparently it’s supposed to be amazing.

C: Yeah, I can’t wait.

M: You still gonna be the same guy or what?

C: I’m gonna be the same guy, yeah.

M: What’s your most revolutionary moment of O.A.R.?

C: You know, again, I would have to say Madison Square Garden. It was pretty amazing. When we were in college, we played at a place called the Newport Music Hall. It was when we got to college and we said, ‘God, one day we’re really gonna tour, we’re really gonna do this for a career.’ And the biggest venue on campus was called the Newport Music Hall and we said, ‘One day we’re gonna play there.’ And we ended up playing there many times throughout college, and we sold it out almost every time. It was really satisfying the first time we saw our name on the marquee.

M: You guys always seem to show up with Dave Matthews. And I guess your ending the tour with them…

C: They’ve treated us well throughout the years. Honestly, we haven’t had a chance to work with that many large bands. We feel like we’ve always sort of gone out and toured on our own. They’ve been good to us, a lot of opportunities.

M: Pick up any pointers from Dave?

C: Yeah. That’s the best part of it. When I was a kid, they were probably my favorite band. I would watch them in concert all the time. So to be able to be backstage and watch a show is amazing, but really the coolest thing is to be able to be backstage and watch how they operate as a business. Most people don’t think of those things, but to see how they operate with the personnel that they hire, their road crew, the way that they handle the trucking and setting up of the equipment, and what kind of gear they use, and all that stuff. For us, that’s really the best part, I mean, we can sit there and learn from the best, you know. That’s the business model we would strive to be, if there was one.

M: Absolutely.

C: It’s an empire they’ve created.

M: Yeah, absolutely. So tomorrow, I guess you guys have your first live interactive on-line show, or concert, what’s going on with that?

C: Yeah, so it’s called Deep Rock Drive and we’re actually filming it at a studio in Vegas. There actually will be somewhat of a studio audience in there. It’s a really cool thing that we have never done before where we post a bunch of songs and people can vote on what songs, and the set list and what order they want it to be in, and people can type real-time questions into us. It’s a completely interactive show. Totally new, I’m really excited. I know they’ve done a couple shows but other artists, but it totally new for us and it’s relatively new technology that they can do all this stuff. I’m just really looking forward to it.

M: Cool. So at the end of your career, what do you hope to have accomplished?

C: Oh man, I don’t think that way. That’s a good question. Honestly, we feel like we’re just starting. If that’s another answer, I don’t even know. We just wanna be the biggest band we can be.

M: So what’s that mean?

C: I wouldn’t say awards or anything like that. I think that when I was a kid I would have loved to be on Saturday Night Live. I would love to be nominated for a Grammy, I don’t wanna win a Grammy, just maybe just one time be nominated for a Grammy. What about cover of Rolling Stone, that’s a classic you gotta go with as a band.

M: So you have your checklist.

C: Checklist, yeah. You know, seeing that platinum record up on the wall, which we feel very fortunate that we’ve gotten a couple of gold records. If you’re asking, I guess that kinda stuff, but I don’t really know. We just want to fucking play.

M: I got it, man. Thanks a lot for being with us, we appreciate it.

C: No problem, man.

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