MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK

Credit: Steve Schirra

Motion City Soundtrack is an up and coming rock band from Minneapolis whose sophomore release, Commit This to Memory, has garnered solid reviews from magazines like Cleveland-based Alternative Press magazine.

In between wrapping up their sold-out United Kingdom tour and heading back stateside for a tour with Fall Out Boy, I spoke with drummer Tony Thaxton via e-mail to see what it’s like to be on the inside looking out.

Matthew Carroll: You are wrapping up your U.K. tour. Describe England in three words or less.

Tony Thaxton: “Ice-deprived, chips-n-beans (I’m counting that as one word).”

MC: How do you guys prepare for a show? Do you have a routine you go through?

TT: “We don’t really have a routine. I warm up on a practice pad for a while, Justin goes through some vocal warm-ups. Other than that, we just act like idiots that only we find funny.”

MC: Do you have any superstitions about playing live (i.e. Would you keep wearing the same underwear every night just because you think you sound better while you are wearing them)?

TT: “I always play with at least $356 cash in my right pocket.”

MC: Name one good thing and one bad thing about playing shows in the Midwest.

TT: “The Midwest is great for us. Probably the most fun shows for us, because we have played there the most, and built an audience ourselves. At the same time, we have played there so much, we are a little more deprived in other areas of the country. Sometimes maybe we play the Midwest too much.”

MC: Do you secretly wish that Fall Out Boy’s tour bus would crash causing broken bones and the promotion of Motion City Soundtrack to tour headliner?

TT: “No, because then the shows would be a lot smaller and we wouldn’t gain any new fans.”

MC: But seriously, how has touring with Fall Out Boy been going?

TT: “I could answer this question if I had a time machine. Unfortunately, I can’t generate 1.21 gigowatts of electricity myself. The tour starts tonight, we’re looking forward to it.”

MC: Describe the average Motion City Soundtrack fan.

TT: “They are all 5’6″, blue-eyed and named Barry. It’s impossible to describe. I personally know people who like us ranging from 6-year-olds to 60-year-olds. And they’re not ALL family, either.”

MC: It seems like every band has a MySpace profile nowadays. What is the appeal?

TT: ” MySpace has taken over the Internet, and a lot of peoples lives for that matter. It’s a great way to promote. Everyone’s on that thing. Aren’t they?”

MC: If your music really was a soundtrack to a movie, what kind of movie would it be?

TT: “A dramedy with corny jokes that not everyone got.”

MC: True or False: Seeing Motion City Soundtrack perform live is better than eating your way out of the creamy center of a 200-square-foot Hostess cupcake.

TT: That’s a trick question.

Contact ALL correspondent Matthew Carroll at [email protected].