Featured Gallery Music Motion City Soundtrack’s Justin Pierre Survives Dustin Downing

August 12, 2011 - 11:02 am

Prior to interviewing Motion City Soundtrack’s Justin Pierre, we decided to put him through the Dustin Downing “School of Candid Photography. “Pierre was open minded enough to play along as we hoisted him onto the balcony of a 2-story abandoned building and had him borrow various reading material from the stash of a Sunset Strip homeless man. Although the dismount from the disheveled building was not pretty – picture Downing with Pierre on his shoulders in a manic frenzy of trying to avoid rusty nails and a wrong step on a cement staircase – the photos turned out rather stellar. We’re happy to say that Pierre survived, was able to grab some much needed hand sanitizer and arrive safely back at his hotel.

Kicking it by the pool at The Grafton hotel, Pierre told us about the band’s upcoming 4 Albums, 2 Nights, 7 Cities tour that they will officially kick off in Los Angeles on August 19th and 20th at the House of Blues. He also discussed doing the voice of a 12- year old boy in the animated series “Godkiller” and being called a “good weirdo” by Margot Kidder at Comic Con.

Read the full story

Featured Gallery Music Robots for a Cause: Analog Playset at Atticus

September 22, 2010 - 11:36 am

This past weekend, Atticus Clothing on Melrose and Motion City Soundtrack‘s Tony Thaxton hosted a benefit for the the Dear Jack Foundation, a cancer research fund started by Something Corporate/Jack’s Mannequin singer Andrew McMahon. Brilliantly conceived in the form of a custom robot toy show/auction, musicians and actors alike took the time to decorate their own miniature robot prototypes, and all for a great cause.

Read the full story

Gallery Music Motion City Soundtrack Deserves a Gold Star

May 12, 2010 - 11:10 am

Motion City Soundtrack stole the show Sunday with an over-the-top introduction to their boisterous set.  The event kicked off with M.C.S. marching through the crowd hitting bongos and hand drums while the Freedom High School drum line pounded from the stage in full regalia.  When the gypsy procession reached the stage, the chaps joined the 30 or so percussionists already on stage, & slammed into crowd favorite “Everything is Alright.”  At the first power chord, the pits started churning like your strawberry mango smoothie and they didn’t quit till the last note.

Read the full story

Featured Gallery Music Motion City Soundtrack : The Interview

February 18, 2010 - 11:09 am

Motion City Soundtrack’s road to success has been plagued with its share of mines. Throughout musical generations there’s always been a dozen overnight sensations for every workhorse band that claws its way up the industry ladder, and MCS never had it that easy. That’s not to say they’ve back-stabbed their way to a # 15 Billboard chart position; they’ve just had to haul a long-ass road to get to where they are — sporadic lineup changes, 11 years of moving around through different labels, different managers, and different incarnations didn’t exactly help. From an almost non-existent label to Epitaph, the Minnesotans have finally reached the big time with a Columbia Records contract. It’s all this hard work, along with the usual relentless promotion, excessive touring, and months and months of practice that’s earned them a coveted spot at the House of Blues in Anaheim (okay, Disneyland, but still). I recently met up with bassist Matt Taylor to discuss Christopher Cross, casinos, and cake, along with the usual band banter.

Read the full story

Music Motion City Soundtrack: My Dinosaur Life

January 28, 2010 - 12:18 pm

Motion City Soundtrack

Minneapolis quintet Motion City Soundtrack was formed from a lot of inspiration, a whole lot of perspiration, and some real persistence. From a rotating roster of musicians, to playing dilapidated venues and managing to nab producer/Blink-182 bassist Mark Hopper and Nirvana producer Andy Wallace to mix their latest, My Dinosaur Life, MCS has established themselves as a band with a workhorse mentality. And after nearly 13 years, it’s one that just paid off with a contract to Columbia Records. Getting there, however, seems to have been anything but easy.

Read the full story