Weatherstar Interview with Cameron Walker-Wright

http://www.myspace.com/weatherstar
How has the tour been going? Any memorable events yet?
The tour has been amazing. It's a huge honor to be out with such amazing bands some of which I've been listening to for a long time. I've learned so much from all of the bands and It's been a perfect first tour for this project. Memorable events... pretty much anything to do with Ben from you me and everyone we know. And I think some one peed in some one's suit case at one point.
The name Weatherstar sounds so cool. How was the name developed exactly?
I've always been fascinated with the weather and how it can totally change your mood or emotional state. I reference the weather a lot in my lyrics and it's a theme I want to keep going with as the project moves forward and matures.
How did the project start exactly?
This project started simply as a creative outlet for myself. I wanted to create something that I could really call my own and was 100% proud of. I had been writing to months and months and eventually went into the studio with Greg Dunn - we picked the best of the bunch and tracked them out. I initially released the songs under my name as a solo project but as things moved forward I decided the songs had too much personality of their own to just be tagged under "Cameron Walker"... and I felt they had more of a "band" feel. I renamed the project Weatherstar.
This project started off as just a solo project with just Cameron, when/how did Billy make his way into the project?
I met Billy when I was playing in a band called Linden out in Wisconsin. He is and always has been the best and most creative drummer I've ever played with. As soon as things started moving forward he was my first phone call. He moved out and I couldn't be happier to have him on board. He is also a great songwriter and an overall talented dude to bounce ideas off of. We work really well together.
Tell me a little about the writing process behind the self-titled EP.Were these songs put together for the EP, or were they slowly collected and chosen over time?
Weather or Not I wrote when I was in high school and kind of just wanted a well recorded version of it out there. The rest of the songs were written for the project. I wrote over a period of about 2 months. My girlfriend co wrote some of the songs with me. I really like having other people around me to bounce ideas off of. I think its important to have another ear around to keep me in check. When I'm writing my biggest thing is making music that most people can relate to and find their own meaning in. Shaye is super good with that stuff.
Is a full length album in the works?
Totally. I'm sure when it will be released but I'm flying out to miami in a few weeks to start demoing! I'm really stoked on the direction of the new songs.. but I don't want to say too much... ya know how it is ;-)
You produce some great acoustic work(Weatherstar Acoustic EP), do you foresee another acoustic EP in the future?
Thank you! All of my songs kind of start off with just me and an acoustic guitar. I started off playing acoustic shows by myself so that's definitely something I want to keep going back to. It's refreshing. I feel like if a song is really good then it will still cut through when it's stripped down and acoustic just as well as it does when its all polished up and produced.
What do you think specifically sets you apart from other acts in this genre?
I try to keep things real. I'm all about good production and stuff like that but I try to stay away from getting too synth heavy. I'm really into organic sounds and a straight up pop rock n roll feel. I feel like it's easy to get lost in the whole electro pop scene. I'm totally into that stuff too but for this project I'm trying to keep it real.
Who are some of your biggest influences musically? Both past and present?
Blink 182 is a huge one for me. Saves the Day's "Stay What You Are" has been a huge influence. I'm also really into a lot of 90's rock bands like The Goo Goo Dolls and Third Eye Blind.
What about influences on live performance, or people you look up to as far as live performances go?
It's been a huge honor to watch The Graduate on this tour. They put on an incredible show and I've definitely learned a lot from there set. I've definitely learned a lot from watching Saves the Day live too. I've seen them a bunch of times and they really kill it.
Perfect day,driving in your car with the windows down, what are you listening to?
Blink 182 - Dude Ranch.... always.

This Century Interview with Joel and Ryan

Photo By Laura Means. To view these rest of the photos from the show, please visit http://tinyurl.com/themainethiscentury

This band hailing from Arizona can be seen on tour with The Maine currently, and with Hey Monday and Cartel this Fall. Go and check them out and definitely buy their summer sampler. Their sound is leans towards pop-rock. Their newest single off of their new album has them leaning more towards alt/indie rock with clean vocals with a very catchy rhythmic feel. I had a chance to speak briefly with Joel(leadvocals/guitar) and Ryan(drums), about their recently recorded album...

How has the tour been going so far?

Joel: The tour has been going amazing. I would say that a good majority of the shows have been sold out, if not close. Its just kind of like hanging out with friends,cause we know all of the dudes in the Maine and we know Austin Gibbs. We are all Arizona buddies, so it is probably the easiest tour that we have been on.
So the EP you guys are promoting is the "Hopeful Romantic Sampler." Are the songs from this EP a preview of what's to come on the full-length?
Joel: Yeah, we just mad a record from April to the beginning of July, and we knew that our record wasn't going to be out in time because we had a stuff that we needed to straighten out. So we wanted to give kids something to listen to and give them a sneak preview of what was coming, I guess. So we decided to hurry up and finish "Hopeful Romantic" and throw that one on, so that they could hear at least one song from the album. Then we did a "b-side," called "Young Love" and a fan favorite "No Way Out." Just kind of give them a little taste of what's to come.
When are you shooting for the new album to come out?
Joel: We are shooting for the end of this year, but we don't have an official release date yet. I will probably be November or December.
It this your first full-length?
Joel: Yeah, this is going to be our first full-length.
How did the writing and recording process pan out for you guys?
Joel: This experience was a little bit different,and it was a lot more collaborative. With Ep's we had done before, especially our first one, a lot of the songs were written by Sean and Ryan. It wasn't usually all of us together. It wasn't a full band collaboration. With this record, almost every song were all together in the room. Sean would start with a skeleton, or Alex would have an idea and then we would all have our input and would shape the song as we would go. Then we would demo the song in our producer's house, right after we were done writing them. It was a lot more fun, laid back. Our producer, Tim Pagnotta(Sugarcult), has done the whole recording thing before and he is just a really laid back kind of guy.\
Who were some of the big influences on this album for you guys? Anyone you were specifically listening to when you were writing/recording the album?
Joel: Yeah I would say we looked to bands like the strokes, a lot of Brit-pop bands for some of piano stuff. Ryan?
Ryan: The Killers, Phoneix, just a lot of bands that are way cooler than we are.
Joel: I guess any bands we jam with influence us in some way.
What about in the past?
Joel: We went through a couple of different stages.
Ryan: Yeah, we went through an Earth, Wind and Fire stage and we had an R&B stage.
Joel: Yeah, we had a funk EP where we were listening to too much Earth, Wind and Fire and it really bled through in the music. But its cool.
Ryan: It still sounded like us, just dressed a little different.
How important do you find social networking for an artist.
Ryan: Its a nessecity these days.
Joel: Yeah, especially with how much music has gone viral now and kids are really buying records.
Ryan: Its not like kids go to a show, not knowing who the artist is and discovering bands that way. Its all online.
Joel: I guess it has its ups and its downs. I guess one of the biggest ups is, we just played in Canada and we had a good group of kids singing along with our songs. When I was growing up, I like to buy the physical record. Just getting your hands on the artwork and kind of seeing what the artist saying and what they wanted you to envision when you listened to their music. Iw would say there are more ups than downs.
Perfect day, windows down in the car, what are you listening to?
Ryan: Peter Gabriel(laughs).
Joel: I would definitely say the Strokes.
Ryan: If it was a perfect day, I would probably be listening Empire of the Sun.
Joel: Yeah the Strokes is just nice feel good music.
What about on a terrbile day, windows up?
Joel: Slipknot(Laughs). Bright eyes
Ryan: Maybe Coldplay?
Joel: John Mayer, maybe?
What is next for you guys?
Joel: After this tour, we are hanging out then going out on a fall tour.
Ryan: Also, we are going to be releasing another song from the album. We are goiung to have a bunch of videos come out.
Joel: We'll have another secret song come out, too.
Ryan: Just trying to keep everyone pleased until the new record comes out!

The Maine Interview with Pat Kirch and Kennedy Brock

Photo By Laura Means. To view these rest of the photos from the show, please visit http://tinyurl.com/themainethiscentury

The Maine has been one of my favorite groups, ever since they covered Akon's "I Wanna Love You" on Punk Goes Crunk. When their first full length,Can't Stop, Won't Stop, was released it rarely even left my CD player the entire summer. I was especially impressed by their combination of catchy and clever lyrics, that had be humming all day. Their newest release, Black and White, provides the same catchy hooks, but is accompanied by a much more developed sound. I had the privilege of speaking to Kenned Brock (Guitar) and Pat Kirch (Drums) about their newest album, before their show in Atlanta...
How has the tour been going so far guys?
Kennedy: Its been amazing.
Pat: Its just been one surprise after another. The second we think that it can't get any better it does.
So the tour is called "An Evening with The Maine", how long is your set each night?
Kennedy: We play ninety minutes each night. Its crazy.
That's a pretty long set, is that tiring sometimes?
Pat: We thought that it would be a lot tougher than it actually ended up being.
Kennedy: It has been pretty easy. Maybe not easy, but fun!
So you have the new album out "Black and White", which has been getting great reviews and selling like crazy. How does it feel to put out such a well-received album?
Pat: Yeah, its insane that so many people have already gone out and supported it already.We are just really lucky.
Kennedy: We were very excited on the day that it came out. We were doing a lot of stuff, doing a lot of promotion and watching the iTunes charts.
Pat: It is awesome to see that hard work that we put in over the past few years, and are continuing to put in now, that it is paying off in little ways here and there.
Can you tell me little about the writing and recording process behind "Black and White," maybe how it differed from your previous album?

Kennedy: I think that the biggest difference, at least in the writing process, was that there was a lot more writing and preparation for this record. On the last one I think we were feeling out what we wanted to do, and finding a solid sound that we liked. I think on this one we had a lot more time to go with the sound that we wanted to be.
Pat: We had been on the road for a few years and kind of realized what worked live, and things that didn't. So I guess we are just older, and hopefully wiser in that aspect.
On this album, a great deal of songs on this album were co-writes. How was that experience?
Pat: John wrote some songs with some other people. Him and Jared would go with an idea and got kind of an outside ear on structure, and things like that. Then he would bring that back to us, and we would work it out as a band. Which is kind of how we wrote the last record too, with John coming up with an initial idea and then bringing it to us and we would work it out from there.
With all of the success you guys have had, how do you stay grounded?
Pat: I don't think it is anything we think about, or anything that happens, its just we are who we are. We are who we have always been, and we are just a bunch of friends out on the road playing every night. Now just more people come out and watch it, which does make it more fun.
Kennedy: We are just having a good time.
Pat:Nothing has really changed.
Any specific influences behind "Black and White"? Anything that you guys were listening to a lot of during the making of the record?
Pat: I would say number one was Tom Petty. We were listening to a lot of Tom Petty, even watching a documentary that's like three hours long, spanning his whole career. Just kind of seeing how someone who has been putting records out for thirty years and sustain it that long. That is the ultimate goal for us. Its never about right now, its about setting ourselves up for the future. I don't want to be back in school in five years. I want to be doing this same thing, but to like five times more people.
How important is social networking to you guys?
Kennedy: It was a big part of our success in the beginning, very crucial.
Pat: I think that it can be kind of an artistic thing, its all about how you present yourself. I think that is how people hear your music, and they incorporate other thing and visuals when your music is playing. Social sites can definitely attribute to that.
So I heard you guys will be tour in Australia?
Pat: Yeah, in February.
It this the first time touring overseas for you guys?
Kennedy: We have gone over to the U.K. and then we are going back to the U.K. soon. Then we are doing Indonesia and Hawaii. It is unreal.
Perfect day, windows down, what are you listening to in your car?
Pat: Third Eye Blind
Kennedy: What's that Tears for Fears song? "Everybody Wants to Rule The World."
This is just something that I have always wondered, being a big fan of you guys and the first album "Can't Stop, Won't Stop." So, girls do what they want, boys do what they can. What does that mean?
Pat: To me it means girls are going to do whatever they want, and boys have to do whatever they can to make it work.
Kennedy: I think that in general guys try to pay attention to how girls do things, instead of the other way around. I think that it is a way of life.
What is next for your guys after the tour?
Kennedy: Lots more touring!
Pat: We are going to go home for a couple of weeks and write some more music. We are going to shoot a new music video and then go back on the road. Just continue to write more music and play it for people.

Mozart Season Guitarist Benton Christensen

So how was the "No Bummer Summer Tour"? Any memorable moments?

Well, after going through two crappy vans and having to purchase a brand new one…the entire tour ended up being one big memorable moment for us. The boys in Lower Definition and Gwen Stacy are all such awesome people and every night we played with each other it was a constant barrage of trash talking and prank-playing, including nothing but non-stop laughing. I’d have to say though that the show in Dallas at Fat Daddy’s Sound Shack, or the show at The Vault in Temecula would have to be the most memorable days on tour. Both of the shows were absolutely insane and the crowds were the best we saw on the entire tour, which makes the shows stick out the most in my memory.

You recently signed with Equal Vision Records to release your latest E.P. "Nightmares", out July 20th. What specifically attracted the band to Equal Vision?

What doesn’t attract us to Equal Vision? The label has been at the forefront of the hardcore movement for longer than most of us have been listening to hardcore music. They are a label that has received respect and acknowledgement from countless people and have achieved this through nothing but hard work and diligence. They have a very select roster and being asked to be a part of that roster was the best thing that has ever happened to this band, and we are so thankful for the opportunity.

What type of musical direction were you guys trying to achieve with this record?

We’ve always wanted to write music that was heavy as hell, but not metal, and at the same time have our music be catchy, but not cheesy. We always want to push the boundaries of our genre, and this record was our first display of our range while also displaying our growth since our self released EP “Apotheosis”.

How were the tracks for "Nightmares" written? Any specific inspiration behind the songs?

The songs were all written collectively by everyone in the band, and were subject to everyone’s criticism and influence. If one of us doesn’t like a part, we change it, and do this over and over until we’re all happy with the final product. The lyrics are all written about things that we as a band, or Nate, has experienced firsthand. We also like to make our songs be about issues that relate to more than just us, because just like everyone else, we have our own views of the world, and wish to share them with everyone through our number one outlet: our music.

Who are some of your biggest musical influences?

We all have a very diverse background in music as far as what we listen to, but everyone in the band would agree that we pull a lot of influence from As Cities Burn (old and new), Underoath (old and new), Glassjaw, Norma Jean, Fear Before, Every Time I Die, The Refused, Circa Survive, and of course, Saves the Day. This isn’t the extent of our influence, but it’s a good portion of it.

Like many other bands, Mozart Season seems to have been through a ton the past several years (break-ups, line-up changes, etc.). How has this strengthened the group?

When you’re betrayed or let down by a band mate, you learn a pain that was never known before. It sucks, and it’s something nobody wants to deal with, but it happens. For us, after going through a hiatus, and more line-up changes than we’d care to admit, finding a line-up that had good chemistry and worked well together was the most rewarding thing we’ve experienced in years. After everything we all had to go through to make it to where we are now, it makes any little hiccup or bump in the road seem like nothing, and our bond together pulls us through anything as long as we work together and remember why we work so hard.

Full-length album in the works?

OF COURSE!!! We are so eager to release a full-length and talk about it constantly, as does any aspiring musician. We’ve been working for the past two years just to have the opportunity to do so, and first chance we get, we’ll be in the studio recording the full-length our fans have been demanding from us for years. We’ve have a pretty demanding tour schedule, but we make the most of our time off, and plan on having new songs ready to drop on everyone, sometime next year.

Where is the best place to acquire the new EP?

Our EP can be picked up at MerchNow.com, iTunes, Zune Marketplace, or from our hands personally at any of our shows!

Cash Cash Interview W/ Lead Vocalist Jean Paul Makhlouf

      Photo by Kimberly Klaer

I recently had the chance to see Cash Cash in concert where they proceeded to completely take over, and tear the place apart. The crowd was completely enamored by the presence of Jean Paul Makhlouf and the rest of Cash Cash's high energy performance. Their catchy pop-rock sound covered in perfectly crafted synth beats will have you singing/dancing in front of the mirror in no time.

How has the tour gone so far? Make any new friends yet? Apparently Cady Groves and Sam are getting married...

Tour is going really well! The shows have been amazing and we’ve been having a lot of fun. We saw a live alligator in Florida which was nuts! Caught a bunch of frogs and lizards as well…we’re kind of animal freaks! As for Sam and cady…you’ll have to read his twitter to get any info on his personal life haha my lips are sealed! @samcashcash
You guys are currently in the works of recording a new record right?
We’ve been recording a ton of new songs. We have our latest single coming to iTunes later in the fall called Red Cup (I Fly Solo) ft. Lacey Schwimmer & Spose. It’s a crazy fresh jam that I can’t wait for you all to hear! It’s a fresh hyped party anthem that will be played at every party! It’s a fun party anthem that college kids can relate to as well as anyone who likes to get crazy!!Then after that hits iTunes we’re going to set plans to finish an album.
How did you guys approach the writing/recording process for this album? How was it a different process from "Take It to the Floor"?
We’ve just been trying a lot of new stuff. We’ve been using a ton of new synth sounds and drum samples. The new stuff is super fun and energetic like the old stuff but it has a more mature sound! It’s like Take It To The Floor = our high school experience & the new stuff were working on = college ha ha and in college you party harder and also grow up and mature a lot. So it’s got the best of both worlds!
How did you guys choose to cover "Forever Young" (which is way better than Jay-Z's version by the way)?
We decided to cover Forever Young because it has such an awesome theme that everyone can relate to! Everyone wants to stay young at heart and we thought our listeners would agree. We put our own twist to it and rewrote a bunch of the lyrics and made it more 2010! It goes over really well live and gets everyone singing and dancing. Come out to a show and see for yourself!
How was playing in Brazil? How did that come about? Have you traveled internationally before?
We’ve played internationally before on the Cobra Starship tour in the UK. That was an amazing tour but Brazil was insane! It was our first time playing Brazil and it was just such an amazing trip. We played a show in Rio and a show in Sao Paulo. We also got to play the equivalent of like MTV trl in Brazil. It was awesome they did a full feature of us for an hour! The trip went over so well that there are already talks about bringing u back there in the future! :fingers:crossed:
How did the whole Sonic video game thing come about?
Our management just got randomly hit up by one of the music directors for Sega who was looking for musicians to collaborate on for the upcoming video game Sonic Colors. It turned out his daughter was a huge cash cash fan and told him to check us out! We’ve been huge sonic fans since we were little kids so we freaked out and were like yeah we’ll do it! Anyways, it all worked out really well and we’re planning on doing a lot more work with sega in the future!
Random one... Perfect day, driving in your car with the windows down, what are you listening to?
Katy Perry's "Waking Up In Vegas."
What is next for you guys?
We’re finishing up the Stuck On Repeat Tour and then we’re gonna head home to finish recording/writing new material and hopefully we’ll be back on the road as quickly as winter!

Cady Groves Interview

Photo by Kimberly Klaer

Last week I had the priviledge of speking with a rising pop-rock-indie-folk star, Cady Groves. Her latest EP, The Life Of a Pirate, gives us an eight track glimpse of a young songwriter with a fantastic voice and a knack for catchy hooks. She will soon be making her major label debut, and has been doing music for only about a year now! Check her music out at www.myspace.com/cadygroves and vote for her to be "best new indie artist" at http://www.musiqtone.com/.

Mousertime: Cliche question to start it off... How is the tour going so far?
Cady Groves: This tour is way different than my first tour. My first tour was Bamboozle, that was insane. I think I got spoiled because it was amazing, ridiculous. I became best friends with all of these bands that I was obsessed with as a kid.
Mousertime: Like Good Charlotte?
Cady Groves: They are like my best friends now. Benji and I text a lot. He is really inspiring. I don't know if a lot of people understand him when they first meet him, but he is like the coolest, deepest person that I have ever met. Everyone on the tour was amazing, I get all choked up when I think about it. But this tour is really cool because it feel like these are all my friends, that are kind of doing exactly what I am doing right now. So, it is cool to build with them and it is smaller and more intimate. Its really cool.
Mousertime: Your voice is so unique and I was trying to describe it to one of my friends and I came up with this: If Miranda Lambert and Christofer Drew(Never Shout Never) had a voice baby, it would sound like you.
Cady Groves: I always say if Taylor Swift, Hayley from Paramore, Miranda Lambert and Cristofer Drew had a less talented baby, that would be me. So maybe we should be friends now?
Mousertime: No way! Changing gears a little bit, how do you normally write a song? What is the process like for you?
Cady Groves: Up until now I would write songs without any instrument. Like in the van last night I wrote two songs, because we had a four hour drive, I was really bored and everone fell asleep.I write them melody and lyrics first. I have like a million songs in my head, melody wise. So when I go to writing sessions now with big producers, they are like "Do you have a melody?" and I will sing them an entire song just out of remembering it. They are like "How do you..what? OK." I didn't know that I wrote in a weird way, so now I am writing with guitars and stuff.
Mousertime: Are you getting into co-writing yet? Is it pretty much you?
Cady Groves: Yeah. What is cool about RCA is they gave me a lot of control over every little thing. I get to write all of my own lyrics, I get to do all sorts of stuff.
Mousertime: I was going to ask you about them actually. How long ago did you sing with RCA?
Cady Groves: Right, before Bamboozle. I signed my contract with them in my living room, the day before I left to go on tour. I was so excited and I don't know how it got out either. I was literally signing my signature, on the couch, by myself with my puppy and all these sites said "Cady Groves just inked with..." I was like "How do you? What..?" I still had the pen in my hand!
Mousertime: That's why you have to check the bushes. So what attracted you to them exactly?
Cady Groves: It was so apparent that I needed to sign with them. There were a lot of labels that were fighting over the project, which was really scary. I had just started music eight months ago and I all just came so fast. At first, I posted one song on Myspace and then it blew up. Then management started calling me and annoying me. I just didn't what to do, I was like "Ahhh", I didn't even know I could sing. I wanted someone else to sing my song and then they backed out, so I sang it and put it on MySpace.
Mousertime: So where did you get the idea to write a song and then just put it up?
Cady Groves: Something had to give. I didn't have anywhere to live for like five years and I was just in my car hanging out, delivering pizza in Vegas. I was like I just gotta do something cool. Also, I sing constantly. All the bands here and really anyone who meets me and is around me for half a day, is like "you sing constantly." I never really stop. I really like writing, and that was my thing. It all unfolded really randomly. When people ask me "describe in one what happened" and I'm like "Huh?"(laughs)
Mousertime: What about the inspiration your first EP, "A Month of Sundays"?
Cady Groves: I randomly wound up going to college for a year at this place called SouthWestern University and I met this guy Evan, who was like the funniest person I ever met. He happened to play guitar, so I was like "Dude, I Love writing lyrics and stuff." So he forced me to sing, and everyone in their house was like "you can sing, you have to do it!" So everyday after classes for four hours a night, we would make up stuff and it was so much fun. I never thought anything would come of it. Then I moved away, because I am crazy and I just left in the middle of the night. So I left and went to Vegas and lived there for a year and then one day I called up Evan and was like "Hey do you still live in Oklahoma" and he was like "Yeah!" So I moved back that night and we wrote the whole EP in one night. I then was like "Let's go record." He knew a guy and it just kind of happened.

Mousertime: What about on "The Life of A Pirate"...
Cady Groves: That was actually pre-meditated(Laughs). I actually tried on that one. I made sure that it was right. I can hear how I want my song to sound, before I even make it. I was just so frustrated, because we made it once and then we completely remade it, because it was not anything like I wanted it to sound. So then we did it right, took the time and I am really happy about it now. It was a long road for that one.
Mousertime: So you do a ton of collaborations...
Cady Groves: I know, what is up with that?
Mousertime: Do you have any coming up?
Cady Groves: I can't tell you, but it is a really big one. A really big one. Boom.
Mousertime: Maybe off mic...?
Cady Groves: Maybe(laughs).
Mousertime: How did the whole Breathe Electric re-mix EP come about?
Cady Groves: Well, we talk constantly and he is so cool. He just decided one day that he wanted to re-mix some of my songs. We decided that we were going to make this little side project. He re-mixed them in a couple of days and my label was like, "let's put it out." So they did, and I think it just shows how the music can be different...
Mousertime: You say that you write all of the time, do you have a count on about how many songs you have written?
Cady Groves: Oh my gosh. I was talking to my manager about this today and I think that I have upwards 500 songs on my laptop. That is from the time I started falling in love with music when I was seventeen.
Mousertime: So the whole "live performance" thing is new to you, so who are some people that you look up to in terms of stage presence?
Cady Groves: Well, on the Bamboozle Tour Alex from All Time Low and I hung out a bunch. He is like really good at controlling a crowd. Third Eye Blind, I sang two songs each night with them and he taught me so much. Benji and Joel taught me a lot everyday, even now. If you just follow them on twitter they are so positive. Nothing gets them down. You have to realize that it is your show, and I have realized that I have to have fun out their.
Mousertime: Perfect day, you are driving in your car with the windows down...What are you listening to?
Cady Groves: "Hazy" by Rosi Golan with William Fitzsimmons.
Mousertime: No way. I just saw them in concert and interview William Fitzsimmons!
Cady Groves: No you didn't. Do you tell him that I am in love with him?
Mousertime: I did not, but I will next time I see him.
Cady Groves: Did you see his beard? It is amazing!
Mousertime: It was actually touching me during the interview...(not really).
Cady Groves: (Laughs) Tell him that I want to marry him. If I come up in the conversation...
Mousertime: Most def. So what is next for you after the tour?
Cady Groves: After the tour, finally I get to finish my big RCA album, then comes radio. I am so excited! But it is a lot of work. Out of all of the songs I have, only three are going to be on the album. That's the way I see it in my head at least. It is going to be big, like sounding big. It is going to be organic.
Mousertime: How many songs are you shooting for?
Cady Groves: I want 13, but we will see...
Mousertime: How about 13 with 12 bonus tracks?
Cady Groves: If I could do a 40 song album, I would. But people typically don't want that.
Mousertime: Thank you so much!
Cady Groves: Thank you!

The Morning Of interview with Jessica and Justin

The Morning Of is a solid group hailing from New York that consists of Chris Petrosino(piano/guitar/vocals),Rob McCurdy (guitar/vocals), Justin Wiley (vocals/guitar), Jessica Leplon (vocals), Dan Celikoyar (drums/percussion), Ryan Jernigan (bass). The first time that I heard them I was truely impressed by their perfectly place harmonies and catchy hooks. TMO's first full lenght "The World As We Know It" was a tremendous success for the group, landing them high on the iTunes pop charts. Their second LP, "The Way I Fell In", show that the group has continued to grown both in their ability as sonwriters and talented musicians. The LP includes a well rounded selection of sounds ranging from the ballad-esque "Jennasea", to the catchy and upbeat "Waiting", slowing back down for "Heaven and Hell" which features guest vocals by Aaron Marsh(formerly of Copeland). I had the chance to speak breifly with the band's two lead vocalists, Justin Wiley and Jessica Leplon, about their newest release and opinions on some hot topics...

Mousertime: Hey guys, how has the tour been going so far?

Justin:Yeah it has been pretty good so far.Baltimore sol out, Philly sold out and Raliegh sold out, so three out of five is pretty good.
Mousertime: Your LP "The Way I Fell In" came out in May. What were some things that you did for this album, that were different from the writing and recording process of the firt full lenght?
Justin: When Jessica and I first joined the band, Chris, Abir and Rob had the "The World As We Know It" almost completely written without us. So, Jessica and I weren't really apart of the writing of that CD. We wrote a couple of songs with them that were on that CD, but the majority of it was them. For this new record, we had a lot more influence. Her, myself and Dan(our new drummer) were a lot bigger part of it. I guess that is why it sounds a lot different from our first CD.
Mousertime: How was it working with Jim Wirt?
Jessica: Jim Wirt is a musical genius, he really is. He is not from this planet, I don't think. He was always very motivational, and working with him was like a dream come true because of the people he has worked with like No Doubt, Incubus and Jack's Mannequin. It was really awesome working with him and especially going out to California for a month, seeing him everyday from morning to morning(laughs).
Mousertime: Were there any specific tracks on the album that you were specifically impressed with?
Justin: Yeah, Absolutely. I am very happy with how the whole record turned out, but there were certain songs that I liked better than others. I think is such a good producer, that you would have a specific vision for a song and then you go in and it ends up being something entirely different than what you pictured it, because the producer has his own vision. It comes out so much better than you could have imagined. I'd say a big song that was like that was "Jenesee", the first song on the CD. When I first thought of it I thought of something entirely different then what actually came out. That was one of Jim's "Babies". He loved that song so he made sure that it was the best it could be. I was also really happy of how the last song came out, "Heaven or Hell" with Aaron Marsh(Copeland lead vocalist). Before we went into the studio, the Aaron Marsh part wasn't even in there. It is like a completely different song with that part in there. So I would say those two songs, changed a lot and I was happy with how those two came out.
Mousertime: Being a band with that has two lead vocalists, how do you guys determine who sings what? Is it a trial and error process?
Justin: It is pretty much trial and error. Usually when one of us will write something, we will have a vision of one of us singing it. Even if it is Rob or Chris writes it, they will say"I envisioned Jess singing this, or I envision this part as you." Then will will try it and if it doesn't sound good, I will sing it. Or if I sing it and it doesn't sound good, Jess will sing it.
Mousertime: How would you say that you guys stay grounded?
Justin: It is easy to stay grounded in the music scene today, because none of us make money. We do it for the passion of playing the music that we created. It would be harder to to get "big-headed", because we have only achieved minimal success. Which is something that I am happy for, because most people don't even get that far. That is a question that you should ask someone in Coldplay, because The Morning Of is just a small band.
Jessica: We are an ant of a band, and they are a cockroach. Lizard.
Mousertime: How important is social media to a band like you guys?
Jessica: It is really important, especially if you are not on tour and you are not always seeing your fans, and you want to keep them in the loop of what is going on. "What are you guys doing? Are you still writing music for us? What are you doing?" So do need to keep them updated constantly because they do want to know what is going on with you, which is great!

Justin: As far a social networking goes, I think that it is extremely important, especially now-a-days with how big the Internet is. I also think that is a huge part of why music isn't as good as it used to be ten years ago. This is kind of arrogant to say, but kind of the allure of music was that these were the people that you wanted to be and you would strive to get there. Those were the people that you looked up to and you couldn't be in constant contact with them. That was one of the major appeals, you only got to see them once every few months. Now with Facebook and Twitter has made it to the point that kids know everything about you. From your favorite color, to the girl you date, to the way that you dress. That take away a lot of it. Those kids feel like they know everything about you, which takes away some of the appeal of it. They don't have as much of a drive to come out and see you at a show. They can go watch an entire set on YouTube and that was filmed on somebody's digital camera, so they might not go see them live. Internet websites, where you can go download our entire record for free. If you are fifteen, and your parents are hassling you, you are not going to ask them for money to go out and buy a CD if you can get it for free. I think these websites are important, especially these days. However, I do think that it is a major downfall of music, and a major part of why bands are breaking up. They don't even make enough money to support themselves because of Internet websites like that.

Mousertime: Perfect day, windows down in the car, what are listening to?

Justin: I feel like it is different for me everyday, depending on what mood I am in. A big album for me, when it is nice like that is "Gold" by Ryan Adams. That is a really nice weather album. Passion Pit "Manners" is a really fun record to put on, and you can always bust out the classics. Like the first Jack's Mannequin album,"Everything In Transit", is a really good record like that.

Jessica: I listen to a band Marina and the Diamonds, "the Family Jewel". I also listened to Led Zepplin, "1969" and I was listening to Ellie Golding. She is an excellent singer/songwriter.