Midnight Riot – Lovely is the Moment

Check out the new song from Midnight Riot – Lovely is the Moment

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Exclusive Interview

Tell us about where you are from and how you got to this position today.
We started out, and are still for now, a “high school band.” But there was a certain drive and passion from the start and with a will to put all of our efforts into the band, we felt and knew that we were going to make ourselves more than a high school “garage” band. Our first performance was the Stony Point homecoming in October 2009. The energy was amazing and we knew this is what we wanted, and we only strived for more since then. By the summer of 2010, we were performing at several venues in downtown Austin, TX, getting acquainted with the live music scene. We joined almost every legitimate battle of the bands we could find, and win or lose; it grew us into what we are today. It was that same summer that we wrote most of the material on our first EP that was released later in November 2010. We had EP release parties and continued gigging and just having fun doing it. But then we decided to join the MY BAND ROCKS FOX 2011 contest, the same contest we hade made to the semi finals the previous year. Eventually after performing on FOX7’s Good Day Austin, battling it out against (now our friends) Dead Swagger, we were declared the winners. And the journey began. BMI LIVE Express Rocks featured us on their SXSW stage, the same stage Neon Trees would perform on a few hours later. The experience was incredible, and working with BMI Marketing Executive, Mark Barron, truly gave us some crucial insight into the music business and opened our eyes to some new opportunities and aspects of networking. But it didn’t stop there. Next on the list of “prizes” was recording a track with Producer, and current U2 sound engineer, CJ Eiriksson, in Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studios just a bit a away from Austin. We recorded the featured track “Lovely is the Moment” in about a 13 hour day, were completely stoked, and we get excited every time we hear it.

What are you currently working on and what can we expect to see?
To our older fans, “Lovely is the Moment” is one of our “pop” tracks. But we took some advice that CJ Eiriksson shared with us during production, and plan to incorporate that same precision and musicality in all of our songs, along with more contemporary influences. We’re currently reviving some older tracks to truly turn them into what we consider “Midnight Riot.” So, basically, we’re just trying to find OUR sound. Granted, we’re still not 100% sure what exactly that is, but that’s the beauty of it: it will come naturally, and doesn’t need a definition. Music that comes organically within the band gives everyone an emotional attachment to a certain aspect of what they’re portraying in that certain song. We’re currently working on a song called “More Than Meets the Eye.” Expect to see some tasteful melodies and more guitar-driven riffs in our upcoming work for sure.

Tell us about one of the hardest challenges you had to face in the industry?
Starting out, gigs were a problem. And not getting the actual gig itself, since Austin venues are always looking for bands, but it was getting people there to hear us that truly humbled us. Sure, we could get a few friends and family to come, with a few of their friends or colleagues, but sometimes, we found ourselves having a “band practice” show. (Which isn’t always bad, given you get to experiment with the venue…) But, I guess being in the suburb 30 minutes away from Austin, and being in high school, you can only ask for so much from people.

What was one of the biggest set backs in your career and how did you bounce back?
When we entered the MY BAND ROCKS FOX contest for the first time in 2010, we had our heads up and just thought we were the stuff. But with the elimination at the semi-final round, we found ourselves puzzled to why we didn’t make it, let alone win. (Funny looking back now to how bad we were compared to now…) But with that loss, came a responsibility to take a step back, humble ourselves, and rediscover what truly made us happy and motivated to be in the band.

What are some things artists need to be careful of?
In our case, we made sure our name wasn’t copyright protected before we ever used “Midnight Riot.” We registered the band name, bought the domain, and signed-up all the social networking and media sites with our name. But not all bands take this very seriously. If you are planning on making your current band name, or artist name, your career trademark, you have to make sure you won’t run into trouble in the long run. So, do your homework!

Another aspect of this “business” we call art is the “bubble.” You have to stay critical of yourself and take criticism responsibly and openly. Otherwise, you’re not trying to get anywhere.

What suggestions do you have for other artists like yourself?
Considering how much music is really out there, and how many bands are “competing” against you for anything like venues, sales, or even Facebook likes, every starting band has to have the drive and the want to succeed. We play alternative, rock, pop, indie and some punk. So do a billion other bands throughout the world. But you can always put your foot one step further than other bands by putting yourself out there and by utilizing every opportunity you get to spread your music and vision. Take criticism, otherwise, you won’t improve to the outside world. One really good source of information that sums up a ton of good topics and has been a great resource for the band is The Indie Band Survival Guide by Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan.

What are the best ways to sell your products as an artist?
For us, as teenagers, it was finding the marketing niche within our fanbase, which included T-shirts, CDs, logo’d guitar picks, bracelets, etc, and figuring out how to get people interested. Offer free downloads on a website to a song. Hand out some free merchandise during a show. Always plug in your CD and merch. It gets people interested. Promote everything, everywhere by word of mouth, free hand-outs or with flyers. You may be able to carry the music, but you have to extend your hand out to your fans and let them take home a piece of you. It signifies their role in your career.

What is one of your favorite ways to promote yourself and your music?
Our featured track “Lovely is the Moment” is available for a FREE download on our website, MidnightRiot.com, exclusively for people who sign-up on our mailing-list. This allows everyone to see what we’re all about, for free, and do what they want with it. But it also gives us the opportunity to follow up on that hype with newsletters and gig updates, to hopefully gain a new fan, either by listening or by showing up at a venue we’re at one night. With this free song, our name will hopefully reach a wider spectrum. We don’t necessarily want to be an Austin exclusive band. We dream about touring and recording an LP, and just being able to live off this passion and emotional outlet that we call music.

Where can people visit you?
You can check out Midnight Riot on our website, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, and our blog on Tumblr. You can find all these links on MidnightRiot.com! Be sure to sign-up on the mailing list for the FREE download and await its official release on iTunes and other digital distributors this summer. Thanks for checking us out!

Midnight Riot
http://www.MidnightRiot.com