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F5: If you could define Midtown's sound, what would it be. Rob:
Hmmm, it's always a tough question because I think our music is evolving
and that we have set down in one specific genre yet. We keep bringing
new songs to the table where one might be straight pop, one might be punk,
one might be emo, and then one might be a little hardcore. I guess you
could say we're kind of like a "mutt" breed right now. Check out the songs
on the website or the on the cd and tell me what you think we sound like
:) gabe: for me punk rock was always more than just about the music. it was the ideals and the community spirit. in fact that's what most drew me to punk rock. the message was what was most important. today it seems as if there is more emphasis on the music and less on the ideals. this is because in a lot of ways punk rock has becomes a means by which to express emotion. some people would say that this is a bad thing because it reduces punk to just another method of entertainment, similar to anything you can find in the mainstream. but i think that we can still perpetuate ideals even if the message isn't evident in the lyrics. that is exactly the purpose of our little letter on our cd. by writing that we are expressing two of our ideals: one
of these is that we think that the underground community should serve
as a forum where different ideals should be shared. a lot of people try
to not talk about political opinions and only want to have "fun." having
fun is cool and all, but in underground music, it should come hand in
hand with expressing ideals and taking on serious subjects. some kids
today just want to be entertained, and by doing so they fall blind to
the serious problems of the world. the first point serves two purposes
to two different audiences. to the new generation of kids in the scene,
it might be a wake up call (as punk was to me) to the fact that there
are more important things out there other than having fun. it also explains
that punk can and should serve as a vehicle for disseminating "revolutionary"
ideals. to the older crowd, it might suggest that although punk in many
ways has changed from what it was originally intended to be in that lyrics
aren't necessarily concerned with politics as much as they used to be,
bands still hold ideals, and they can spread them even though they are
not in the lyrics. this occurred to me because i once read an interview
with Dan Yemin from Lifetime where he said that he hates emo because it
has nothing to do with politics, and punk rock for him was all about politics.
i agreed with him that punk should deal with politics but i disagreed
about his assesment of emo. i always thought that emo kids were kids who
grew up on punk and hardcore, and STILL maintained ideals, but wanted
to express themselves emotionally through music. in fact that's what i
thought the dividing line was between emo and indie rock. the music might
have been similar, but in emo, politics were involved. The second purpose is to express on of our own ideals which is that through reason and through negating our indulgent impulses, we can realize that there is no moral principle that would allow us to abuse animals the way we do today. animal rights is something that is very important to all of us and that we spend a lot of time dealing with. anyway,
i'm sorry that i rambled on forever. the general purpose of the letter
was to explain that politics should be important in our scene, even if
they are not rampant in bands' lyrics. F5:How long is Midtown together, how did it form? Rob:
Tyler, Gabe, and I got together when we all came to Rutgers. Later we
were lucky enough to have our savior, Heath, join us. F5: Define New Jersey. Rob:
Cold, well, Hot, hmmm, Muggy, lots of people, ugh, would someone else
answer this? F5: How do you feel the state of the NJ "scene" is, and if you could change anything about it- what would it be? Rob:
Personally I think we are probably luckier than any other state because
almost everywhere else in America would die if they could get 200-300
kids at a DIY show and we see it every week-end. F5: Break dancing or slow dancing? If there was one girl/guy you could slow dance with- who would it be? Rob: Hey, Why can't the question be, "If there was one girl/guy you could BREAK dance with- who would it be?? (f5 note: good answer.)
gabe: unfortunately, that is too often true, but it is better than nothing. lots of times people do the right things for the wrong reasons. that says something about the person, but not about the action being done. vegetarianism is a great thing, and if people become vegetarians only because it is a fad, i can only hope that they become aware of the valid principles underlying that lifestyle, and take it upon themsleves to make it more than a fad . but for the most part, i give people more credit, and think that they become vegetarians because they agree with the ideals of vegetarianism. F5: Are you/the member vegetarians for health reasons or "the benefit of the human race" or both? Rob:
We're all vegetarians and for me it has nothing to do with Health. I chose
to become vegetarian because it is a moral value that I hold, it's just
tough for me to understand why we find it ok to eat chicken and cows,
but be dammed if someone would want to eat a dog or cat. It a very interesting
world we live in. F5: Midtown is playing with the Get Up Kids on May15th. I've read reviews mentioning comparisons between you guys and the Get Up Kids. How do you feel about the comparison and do you believe there is any validity to the statement, if so- what is it? Rob:
I haven't been able to understand that yet. I don't think we sound anything
like the get up kids, but it's quite flattering to hear people say that
anyway because they rock. F5: Your EP on Pinball records is well done. Sound quality is awesome, graphic design is good, and the product seems to have come out great. Describe Pinball records, what is it-who is it, and the entire making an EP experience. Rob:
Thanks *blush*, Pinball records, basically pinball records is Jay Pinball.
Jay puts out records, but more importantly, Jay is one of the raddest
people you'll ever get to meet. He's more than a record label because
he is a great friend. If anyone is ever at a show introduce yourself to
him because he's got to be one of the nicest people you'll ever meet,
oh yeah, if his site ever gets up, it at http://www.pinballrecords.com/
F5: Drive-thru records is your new label. Inform Faction5 what the plans are with Drive-thru for the full-length cd: when will it be out, how many songs, etc. --- I know they have one kick ass band, Cousin Oliver, on the label already. Do you plan on touring with any of their bands? Rob:
This summer we'll be touring out to Cali and while we're there we're going
to be recording our full length cd. It's probably impossible to give a
time estimate of when it will be out because any cd I've ever put out
in the past has been delayed a lot. Finally: In the next five years, where do you hope to see Midtown and if you want to give a final quote...say it now Rob:
In the next five years, if my dreams were to come true, I'd like to see
us able to go to any Hall or Club in America and have kids singing along
to the songs. That defintiely is where I would like to be.
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F5: In your lyric insert of your "The sacrifice
of life" EP, it mentions an ELbert Einstein quote:
" nothing will benefit the human health and increase
the chances of survival on earth as much as the evolution of a vegetarian
diet." I'm assuming this means atleast one of the members
of Midtown is a vegetarian- a roomate of mine just gave up two years of
vegetarianism- do you find that most individual efforts to be vegetarian
are appropriated through the scene's manifestation of vegetarianism, and
sometimes is only adopted as a fad- to grab a sense of belonging?