Midtown (Rob Hitt) interview
From supersonicmag.com
November 13th, 2001 via email
Where did the name "Midtown" come from?
We wanted a name that was pretty much ambiguous so you wouldn't be able to hear the band name and all of the sudden be able to classify who we are. Ya know, ska bands for example, say, Skaskank Redemption, right there, without a doubt you know what kind of band you're dealing with. We're nothing near ska, but still we wanted the music to speak more than the band name. Gabe was in NYC in 1998 and looked up and "voila", saw "Midtown" and then brought the name to us and we knew it was what we wanted.
How has the band changed, since it began in 1998?
It's funny you ask that because just the other night we watched one of our first practices from my basement in December of 1998. We saw ourselves making the same dumb jokes and acting pretty much the same as we do today. As much as we would have hoped we'd be more mature when we got older we haven't seen it yet...
Musically I think we've mainly become better songwriters. Hopefully on the new album the songs will be a bit more cohesive and rock a bit more.
I think it's really great to see more than one person in the band singing lead vocals. Aside from that, what else makes Midtown a unique band?
I don't think that it's just that they switch singing lead vocals, but the fact that everyone sings different parts of the songs going back and forth. In addition to just singing alone everyone contributes in three part harmonies so in essence the three lead vocals act like one at times. It helps a lot to have 3 different vocalist because it keeps the songs from being stale since everyone draws from different influences.
I read on your site that you guys are "four college kids." What was your major in college, and did you ever finish?
Oh man, I had a totally nerdy major in college. It's called Management Science and Information Systems. Total nerd shit. It's basically setting up networks for businesses and building them databases they can use.... So yeah, is anyone board yet? It was actually kind of cool but we're not gonna go there... Did I ever finish? Ummmm.... no, I was actually about 14 credits short, I'll go back one day but who knows when that'll be.
"Save the World, Lose the Girl" is an awesome cd. How do you plan on topping that with your next album?
We're almost done recording right now, I just hope that everyone likes the songs a lot more. I know we're all super stoked on it so it will be fun once it finally gets released. Our only guess right now would be early 2002.
Which do you prefer? Touring or recording?
I like them both a lot. Touring is probably more fun but recording is an amazing experience to hear a song from it's first stages until it's finally finished. Kinda like having a baby... Well, I've never had one, but ya know, I'm sure it would be similar.
How do you think you have changed since joining Midtown?
Didn't you kinda ask that question already?
Do people treat you differently now?
Nah, not really. They no were still poor mofos so they're smart enough not to ask want anything from us.
Do you have a favorite band to tour with?
See below but yeah, there's another band too. There is this band from Germany called The Donots, they're so amazing. There website is http://www.donots.de/ They're on this label in Germany that hasn't licensed their album anywhere out of their country so nobody has had a chance to hear of them. They're sooooooo good!
I see that a few of you love The Movielife. ME TOO! Are they close friends of yours?
Totally, if I grew up with those guys they would have been like my best friends growing up. If anyone ever meets them they'll know what I'm talking about.
What is the most frustrating thing about the music industry?
Being poor and being taken advantage of. There are some absolutely amazing people in the industry that would blow you away but on the opposite side there are the people that pretend to be nice to you just to get something from you. It's pretty much life, ya know, there are always good and bad people.
What can we look for from Midtown in the upcoming year?
THE NEW ALBUM. Seriously, we're really excited for it to come out. Please go to our website and sign up on our mailing list. http://www.midtownrock.com/ We'll keep everyone up to date with what's going on with the album and when it will be released.
Alright...time to get some dirt on your band members...
Who is the messiest?
The messiest... we're fairly clean but our van is a mess, it's so dirty on the inside, there's always old magazines and garbage everywhere.
Who gets picked on the most?
Yours Truly. So you better be nice to me when you see me at shows!
By who?
Everyone has their fair share.
Which memeber is the most neurotic?
Damn, we're all neurotic in our own different way. We're very interesting people.
Does Heath get sick of hearing that he looks like Dave Grohl?
Heath looks like Dave Grohl?
Which member gets stuck doing most of the dirty work?
What do you consider dirty work? I know a cat took a shit in Heath's shoe once and he had to clean it out of there so yeah, in that case Heath.
Gabe does a lot of the paper work stuff , I do a lot of online stuff, and Tyler looks works really hard on his hair, we all pitch in a bit.
What's the funniest prank that you've played on someone in the band?
A friend of mine filled in for me on drums for a tour and let's just say a bowl of his cereal and a hot dog were involved.
Which member do you think the girls go crazy for?
Me of course, come on, like they'd go for anyone else in the band, jeez, like you even had to even ask.
How do you decide who drives?
We switch off in shifts. We usually each drive as long as we can and then the next person in the shift drives. Sometimes Heath likes to drive so of course we're not gonna say "NO."
Do you guys get along well?
Absolutely, I think a lot of the reason we don't have a lot of problems is because before we started touring we all lived in a house in New Brunswick when we were still in college. That helps you learn a lot of the things a person does and how to deal with them.
Were you friends before the band began?
Totally, that was one of the main reasons we formed the band. When we were in our old bands we always played local shows together so we knew each other pretty well.
Finally, can you describe each band member in one word...including yourself.
(TWO WORDS)
Heath: Louie Anderson
Tyler: Keith Hernandez or Bush
Gabe: Fernando Valenzuela
ME: Brad Pitt, DUH!
Thank you so much for the interview. Is there anything else that you'd like to add?
Yeah! Check out our website http://www.midtownrock.com/ and please if you have time check out http://www.veganoutreach.org
