MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK

Taking a break from his band's jam-packed touring schedule Motion City Soundtrack's bassist, Mark Taylor was kind enough to answer some of our e-mail questions!

You guys just finished Soundwave festival in Australia recently, how was that?

Soundwave was amazing. Our shows were fun as hell. The fans were insane. We got to play with some of our favorite bands - Sunny Day Real Estate, Jimmy Eat World, Faith No More, etc. And of course we got to have our beloved potato wedges with sweet chili and sour cream. <Droooooooool...>

For a band that has been making music and touring for more than a decade, you still seem appreciative of every show, every fan, every round of applause. How do you keep yourself from becoming complacent? 

We're super appreciative of the fact that we're still traveling the world and playing music for a living. At times we get tired and cranky, but at those times we've learned to stop, think, go have some alone time or talk to each other. At the end of the day, we're still playing for people, so life is good.

You meet someone who has never heard of Motion City Soundtrack and have three songs to convince them to love your band. What do you play?

I'd pick "Last Night", "Disappear", and "Everything Is Alright". They've all got a little something different going on.

Do you think the move to a major label has been everything you expected?

Yes. The transition has been smooth. We were scared moving to a major, but Columbia has gone out of their way to make us feel at home.

MCS is known for awesome and slightly quirky film clips. Do you come up with the concepts yourselves?

We've come up with most of the concepts ourselves with the exception of a couple where we've had directors submit treatments. Even then we'll add little bits to the director's existing idea.

The dance sequence in the 'Her Words Destroyed My Planet' clip is one of the most joyful moments in recent music videos. Who in the band has the best moves?

Hmmm.. Justin is the only one who has really displayed what he can do. We went through a phase where we made him dance on stage. So I have to vote for him since he had to endure that. There are a few videos on Youtube if you don't believe me.

Have you seen anyone recreating the choreography at shows yet?

I've not seen it myself, but I've heard about a few people (usually hanging near the bar - go figure) at a few shows doing the moves.

You guys have been heavily involved with twitter, even using it to get help organize a promotional tour. How successful has it been in connecting you with fans and do you have any upcoming plans similar?

Twitter is a great way to connect with people. I meet people at every show who say "I'm @SoANDSo on twitter. I said 'this and that'" and I'll remember and we'll chat, have a laugh, and live happily ever after. As of now, we don't have any plans for shows/tours announced solely on twitter.

You're about to hit the UK for a bunch of shows, what are you most looking forward to there? 

Well, since I'm a full-on forgetful bastard, I'm just getting to this interview now. We got home from the UK over a month ago. Before I left I was really looking forward to playing with Jenny Owen Youngs. It turns out that was a really great time. So, I'd like to give myself props for knowing that having her out on the tour would be really fun. Woot.

Is there a place you have toured to that you never expected to? Anywhere you're busting to go?

Years ago I never thought I'd play outside of the U.S. I want to play anywhere I've never been, especially South America and more of Asia.

And finally, Your latest release is called 'My Dinosaur Life'. So, if there was a prehistoric party, which dinosaur would put on a Motion City Soundtrack album and why?

I'd like to see a slightly intoxicated Brachiosaurus with its big long neck head-banging to our songs. That'd be awesome. And weird.

--Bella