Motion City Soundtrack Interview

Interviewed By: Mike Kantor
Band Member: Justin Pierre (guitar/lead vocals)
Location: On The Phone

Mike: Mind if I put you on speaker phone?

Justin: yeah no problem, just don’t expect me to be funny, I’m not witty like other musicians.

Mike: In the last 7 months since the CD release, how has your opinion of the new album changed?

Justin: wow, it’s been 7 months? Dang, wow. Ok I’m sorry I didn’t pay attention to anything you said after 7 months, what was the question again?

Mike: Haha how has your and the fans opinion about the new album changed?

Justin: As far as the music? I don’t know, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say there is a few more people that listen to us, because of the record. I can’t be for sure about that. We’ve had some nice tours I mean Warped Tour was rad, and Nintendo Fusion Tour was also very rad.

Mike: How was the Nintendo Fusion Tour different from any of your other tours?

Justin: It wasn’t much different from other tours I mean, we have known those other bands like Starting Line and Fall Out Boy since we were wee lads, so hanging out with old friends for the most part. Although we didn’t really get to hang out because everyone was so busy with different things going on. We did befriend Boys Night Out, which I hadn’t really listen to much before but those cats are crazy.

Mike: What was the most moment from that tour?

Justin: I think, well ok, I forget who but one of the guys from Starting Line knew Chris Kirkpatrick from Nsync. He invited them to his birthday party and he invited us as well, I guess he likes us. And so we got to meet him and that was a lot of fun and some of the Boys Night Out kids came as well, and that was a lot of fun. So it was all of us rollin’ around in Hummer limos and everybody just got completely destroyed on free liquor. At the end of the night was the best moment and I hope I’m saying his name right but Shawn they call him Butcher or Buchard from Boys Night Out he was trying to explain to us about how the vagina was invented in 1984. He was very serious and it was probably my favorite story.

Mike: Did you notice anything different about the Minneapolis show at the Myth on that tour?

Justin: The fact that it was in existence, I had no idea it was even around. Its brand new and they had little things that came out and sprayed the crowd with mist like aliens.

Mike: Is 1st ave. still your dream venue?

Justin: Yeah it has been, I mean I love that place, its kinda where I grew up watching bands at 1st Avenue and 7th Street entry.

Mike: What were your most memorable shows at 1st Avenue and 7th Street Entry?

Justin: My favorite show in the entry was seeing Sunny Day Realistate open for Velocity Girl. I can’t remember what it was but I had never heard them before but I went to the Velocity Girl show and I got there early, there was this other band opening and it happened to be Sunny Day Realistate, I remember seeing their first Diary, the cover of that record and thinking oh that might be cool. Then I found out later that that was the band whose crazy cover I liked. I liked what I heard acoustic and I went to see Velocity Girl and they opened and that was amazing I had never heard anything like that before. I was actually so hungry that I decided to leave after one Velocity Girl song and I felt kinda bad about that because I originally went to see them. But Sunny Day just blew my mind at that moment and that switched gears. As far as 1st Avenue, I think my favorite show was Jaw Box, it was after their last record came out, they were playing and I think he came out and encored to Tori Amos’ Cornflake Girl I think the drummer broke his kick drum, or his snare and he stopped playing and walked off stage. So it was like this weird guitar and singing acapella thing. It was a really cool ending.

Mike: How did you decide to do this show in the bands home city?

Justin: Each of the bands we really wanted weren’t available. Haha no, The Cardinal Sin is hands down my favorite band in Minneapolis. I usually don’t have a lot to do with what bands go where, each of us are involved in a different thing, you know some of us are more into t-shirt design or some are more into the music videos, I was in charge of the local bands. There is another band from England that Josh is actually producing a couple of songs for them. They are called The Maple State; they are actually the 1st opening band I believe. And The Hush sound is just an amazing compliment to all of us, they’re also opening.

Mike: Is there any other bands that you want to tour with in the future?

Justin: There is a whole list of bands we would love to play with, I heard The Rentals are getting back together; I would do anything to play with them. I’m trying to think. ALL THE BANDS I LIKE ARE DEAD. Minus The Bear, I’d Love to play with them.

Mike: How about Small Towns Burn a Little Slower?

Justin: Eh, nah. Haha just kidding, we have played some shows with them; I think we owe them a tour; I had to cancel some shows because I had a shitty voice. Those guys are doing well; yeah they are all nice, sons of bitches. haha

Mike: Is There One Band You Cannot Stop Listening to?

Justin: Actually I have this friend from Stillwater, Oklahoma. I met him through The Rejects, and his name is Nathan Lankford, and he is just this rad dude that I don’t know where he gets his information but he always knows at least 12 bands that no ones ever heard of. He makes a list of top 10 records he can’t stop listening to at the moment, this was like a month ago and one of them was a band called Accoville River, which I have never heard of but apparently they have a bunch of records out and anyone who is a fan of the Good Life would really dig it. The record is called Black Sheep Boys. I’ve been obsessed with them. I have been downloading a lot…. I have been purchasing a lot of albums from iTunes, I got this double disk collection of Cat Stevens Songs and it’s amazing how many songs I remember just from growing up, listening with my mom. I’m a big fan of Cat Stevens and The Carpenters and stuff like that. I kinda go all over, I’m out, I’m up and down, I’m over here then I’m over there. Haha

Mike: Do you still have old friends that come to shows when you are in the Cities?

Justin: Nope, no friends, absolutely not. I have enemies, a few of them. I’ve had an enema. No friends. Actually at the Myth, one of the guys who was a short lived guitar player in our band, when it was just Josh and I together. We used to be really good friends, he was a guitar tech for one of the other bands and it was really cool to catch up because I hadn’t talked to him in a couple years. Time off really lets us reconnect with people that when you are touring all the time, you don’t have a chance to keep it touch.

Mike: Any future tour plans?

Justin: I know we are doing a headlining tour. I don’t know exactly where how when or who’s coming with but I know we are headlining a tour and I think it starts in February or March or something. They split it up so that half of the bands are on one side of the tour and the other half are on the other but I don’t want to screw it up as to which bands go where, that would be bad, It’s announced on the website soon, so that’s exciting.

Mike: That’s all I got for you, thank you

Justin: Oh alright well I hope I didn’t suck too much.

Mike: No no, thanks I’ll see you at the show.

Justin: Ok cool see ya