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| MT-TV |
In the short time they've been together as a unit, MT-TV, a
nine-piece, all-girl band that recently transplanted to the United
States after touring Europe, has established themselves as something
different. Talented musicians with influences and styles as
diverse as classical composers and arena rock, they have created a
show and a sound that has been called everything from "art in
motion" and a "must-see cultural event."
Performing their first American shows in August 2005 and currently based mostly in the
southeast, MT-TV has played all types of venues and clubs, including
blues, goth, rock and punk, showing that their style can play to a
myriad of audiences while establishing something none of them have
quite heard before.
And while the novelty of nine beautiful women playing their own
instruments might be enough to get the band a first look, it's their
talent, both as performers and as songwriters, that will allow their
careers to develop along with their following.
Chorus and Verse interviewed Krow, the band's lead singer,
motivational force and primary songwriter about MT-TV's introduction
to the American music scene, as well as their plans for recording
and touring. But first, we get an introduction to the band and
the story of how they came together.
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| Krow |
Your band is relatively new. Can you start off with the story of how the members
of the band know each other and how you all came together to create MT-TV?
Let me start by introducing all of the girls.
We have six ladies that make up the main band, and they are: Krow -
lead singer, Fuse - bass, Jo - drums, Nikki - keyboards, Alex - lead
guitar, Brooke - rhythm guitar. We then have "The
Stereotypes," our backing vocalists, and they are: Adrienne, Kali
and Bunny.
We've pretty much known each other for many years. Fellow
female musicians in today's music industry are few and far between
so it wasn't that difficult to find each other. A friendly
female face often stands out in a sea of long-haired male musicians.
I had decided to go with the material I'd written, so the first
decision was: do I have a male or female band? Well, I've worked
with so many men and there have always been so many problems so it
came about that an all-female rock group was being formed. Another
factor was that this band wasn't dealing with "cover version music".
This band was going to be committed to "original music" only and for
that I needed minimum ego input so that we could concentrate on the
songs alone and not where the lead guitarist or drummer - in guy
bands they seem the worst - needed to express themselves, usually
over the whole song and killing the whole song. Does this
sound familiar to any other band?
What are some of your previous music
projects and performance backgrounds? How do you feel that having so
many diverse influences coming together in a group like MT-TV
affects how you sound and the type of music you perform?
It's true that influences are diverse in the band but I feel that
this has only aided the songwriting process. In one sense we have
more "materials" to work with. When getting the band together, in
the advert I didn't have to specify "band to sound like Nirvana or
Nickleback". I wanted this to be a totally free environment to
create. I didn't want to close the doors before I knew what was
behind them.
As it is, Jo and Fuse listen a lot to Rush, King Crimson, Jaco
Pastorius & Jonas Hellborg. My main background is Aerosmith, Tom
Jones, Shirley Bassey and the Rolling Stones. Nikki is classically
trained and so listens to a lot of classical - Mozart, Philip Glass.
She also likes a spot of Pink Floyd. Brooke is a Bon Jovi freak and
Alex has always hated what we call "traditional music". She's more
into Diamanda Galas & Kate Bush. All in all, when this is put into
the pot and stirred you get the "MT-TV" sound.
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| MT-TV has been called "art in motion" |
Where does the band consider its hometown
to be and where were some of your first local gigs? Are there
certain venues now where you feel especially at home and love the
crowds at?
We're all British except one girl, Kali, who is one of our
backing vocalists. She is from Holland. The band considers London as
its hometown as we lived and toured there for five years before
coming over to the U.S.A. I guess we see Dothan, Alabama as our
hometown. We have most of our friends based there and we've been
holed up in a studio for the best part of three months writing new
material.
I guess Pensacola Beach and Panama City are our favorite stomping
grounds at the moment. Not only are the crowds very responsive but
we also get to kick back on the beach when we are finished.
A lot of bands have a problem becoming a
tight cohesive unit with three or four members, never mind nine.
What are the challenges in making so many players work together as a
unit? Are there certain band members who act as band leaders and
arrangers during your live shows to make sure that everyone stays on
the same page?
As far as working together as a unit, I can't actually say there
are any challenges. To begin with no one has a drug or drink problem
in the band so unlike 99.9% of most bands those are two areas that
we don't have to deal with. MT-TV doesn't find itself having to
forfeit valuable songwriting time and creativity just to deal with
snot and puke. You might think it's sad, but we're actually in it to
make the best music we can. Don't get me wrong, live life to the
fullest and when we play we play hard and fast but we're always in
control!
If anyone knows exactly where we are down to what bar and beat,
that be Fuse, the bass player. She's a numbers freak and that sure
comes in handy sometimes! As to keeping it together in a live show,
we took a tip from all the great artists that have been before us.
It's called practice and lots of it!
Let’s talk about your creative process. Who
usually comes up with the ideas for music and lyrics and how are
they presented and developed by the entire band? Does everyone
generally work on their own parts individually, or are people open
to creative input from other band members?
When MT-TV births a song it usually starts off as a strange
feeling in the back of my head. I can feel the song "bubbling" and
I'll generally try and mentally "look the other way" so that I can
give the song time and space to take form.
Anything from three days to a week later I'll twiddle on the
guitar, throw different chords around until it best resonates with
what I'm feeling. The tune will then be born and I generally sing
"mumbo jumbo" for the next few days until I get the full meaning of
the song. It's at this point I'll write the words to it.
I'll then take it to Finn and we'll play around with it to see
what kind of direction we want to take it, soft, rock, etc. Once
we've got the direction that's where the real magic comes together.
We'll take it to the rest of the band and it's generally Jo (drums)
and Fuse (bass) that will give a solid skeleton to hang all of the
other musical parts on.
All band members present their own musical parts but we do often
take on board suggestions from one another. To be honest with you,
it is the only sane way to work. To make sure we're on the right
track we'll often record the writing process, listen to it, discuss
it, change it, record it again, etc.
If you're trying to make the best music you can, you need to hear
the song as it evolves, hear what it's trying to say and not get in
the way with too many "ideas"!
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| MT-TV on stage |
Your stage show has been called “art in
motion.” How important are theatrics and choreography to your
performance and how much time does the band spend developing your
stage presence?
We've developed the show to illustrate what we're singing about.
It's important to give the whole picture. I hate paying good money
to see a band and coming away totally bored off my head because they
literally stood on the same spot for two hours. Move your ass dude!
I've paid for you to entertain me and if you're not going to do that
then get off of my stage and let me show you how it's done!
Is it difficult at times to balance putting
the focus musicianship verses how you look on stage and wanting to
put on a “show” for fans?
The problem is most musicians and artists have become complacent.
Most aren't in it to weave the magic and feed from a moving art
form. They're more interested in the free beers that the venue
gives them. We're in it for the bigger picture and I guess that's
why our fan base is getting larger.
You performed your first shows in the
United States in August 2005, and are currently touring the southern
U.S. as we’re doing this interview. How do you enjoy your time in
the States and what are some of the differences in breaking your
band and becoming successful in the European music industry and in
the U.S.?
We love the U.S.A. The main up thing for us is the weather.
We don't have to freeze our tits off unloading the gear in the
afternoon. Yes, it is that cold in England. The pace is a lot
slower over here and I've noticed that our songwriting sessions have
changed because of it. We tend to kick back a lot more.
We've found the [American] crowds to be really receptive to what
we're doing and they certainly enjoy themselves more when they go
out. In the U.K., the crowds are really fickle and blow hot and cold
and can go cynical on you in a heartbeat. But I think that's
mainly been due to the recent decimation of the independent radio
stations. There's no one out there providing a frame of reference
for the public. It's the same here - more so - but, ironically, I
believe that the U.S.A. is the last place that an independent band
like us actually has a chance of getting anywhere.
Commercialization is total here so people don't know how they're
"supposed" to react. They react pretty well!
What are your plans regarding recording and
releasing an album? Can you give us any idea of when you’ll be in
the studio and when a CD will be available for fans to get their
hands on?
We have been writing new material for a new album. However,
trying to get it recorded is an absolute nightmare. Touring is to
blame! The live shows aren't such a problem, it's the long distances
that you travel in the U.S.A. We can easily spend three days
sitting on a bus when we're actually dying to be in the studio.
It'll happen, though. We have many fans waiting for the next
CD. And I'm getting a backlog of songs. By the time we're through
we'll have have written enough for three albums.
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| MT-TV |
It seems that many bands and musicians are
able to have success in Europe or the United States, but often have
trouble doing so in both. Why do you think that a lot of artists
become more famous in one market than another and do you think that
MT-TV has potential for success on both sides of the Atlantic?
I think that many bands become more famous in one market than the
other because of the basic differences in music tastes. For example,
in the U.S.A. you have country music, a whole music genre that
really doesn't sell enough in the U.K. So the music companies don't
sign or promote these acts.
Another factor is that the music industry has become more
money-grabbing. They'll promote and saturate a territory until
everyone is gagging on the new artist and the artist will be dropped
as a "loss" to the company. Sick business, but that's the one we're in.
I do believe that MT-TV has potential for both sides of the
Atlantic. We just need a company that still believes in
old-fashioned values and that will see MT-TV as a long-term
investment not a short-term loss. Anything can happen with
time and money!
What are your long-term plans for the band,
and how far do you think the band can go? Do you plan to work
simultaneously on promoting the band in Europe and the United States
and how much traveling do you expect to do in the year ahead?
Long term we're aiming to do the whole of the States.
That's really long term! I believe that MT-TV will go all the
way to the top. All that requires is a large fan base. We do
aim to go back to Scandinavia at the beginning of next year.
We'll need our mittens for that one! Snow! Snow! Snow!
[ Website: www.mt-tv.com ]
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