Interview

Men, Women and Children vs. Mike Tyson...


This interview was conducted after the Men, Women and Children show at the Rock n Roll Hotel in Washington DC. The bulk of the interview is with TJ, but Chris and Nick both make appearances.


EP: Please state your name, your band name and what you do in the band.

TJ: TJ from Men, Women, and Children. I sing.

EP: I wanted to start with a question that a lot of new musicians could
benefit from, I think. And I wanted to start with this because when I saw you in Baltimore at the Ottobar last night, you said something that really struck a chord with me. Do you have any advice for new musicians/bands?

TJ: This is just something that I would advocate to anyone. If you are a new band, do not sign to a major label. You might as well go to Las Vegas with all the money that you have and put it on black. Either you're going to make it or you're not. You have to have something special, own it, take care of it and have people willing to work for you. Be honest and just give that to the people. Either they'll connect with it or they won't. It's that simple. I am not saying that bands should never sign to a major label, but if you're a brand new band and you get excited because you just got picked up by a major label --- those people own you. You are numbers on a piece of paper. They decide what happens to you, not you. And they could absolutely halt you from doing what you really want to do. I'm not talking against anyone. I'm just telling you how it is.

EP: So you would recommend new bands to go out and do it DIY, at least for a while?

TJ: Yes. A lot of your favorite bands did that, or you have bands that start
out on an indie label, like Nirvana with Sub-Pop.

EP: Which is a great record label.

TJ: Absolutely, and it still is. But absolutely, build it yourself because if you don't, you will not have anything to fall back on. And we're a young band. We've only been touring for a year and a half. We've learned a lot in the last
year and a half, but that's my advice. It's nothing crazy. I'm just being
honest. That isn't crazy, is it?

EP: It's definitely not crazy. That's one thing that really bugs me in the
music industry today, the lack of honesty. I wish there were more musicians,
such as yourself, who were honest. Why do you think the honesty in music, even in some of the bigger indie labels, is vacant?

TJ: There are a few reason, but the main reason is that you do not have to be talented to be in a huge band. All it takes is verse, chorus, verse, chorus,
bridge, chorus, throw in some auto-tune, and that's it. I won't deny that there are some good bands out there, but for the most part all you have to do is follow the foot-steps of any brainless idiot that's out there doing what any person in the world could do. There are more talented dudes sitting on the streets playing pots and pans. And I'm not talking about everybody, but I think mostly everyone can admit that this is the truth about what gets played on the radio.

EP: No. I totally agree. I think there is a segregation between bands who want to play music because they love playing and those who want to make money.

TJ: Yeah. If you're looking for something to take a piss to, just turn on the
radio. It's all in Best Buy, in the new releases.

(Laughing)

EP: Okay. Let's lighten things up a bit and talk about your headlining tour. How long is this tour going to last?

TJ: We're out to around May 3rd. I think we have one day off the whole time. And I'm already losing my voice.

EP: You honestly couldn't tell you were losing your voice tonight.

TJ: Thank you, man. I've got my boy, Chris, helping me out so that helps too.

EP: That's another thing about your band, everyone is an incredible musician, and when you come together it makes this mass of amazing music.

TJ: I know. It's a crazy idea. If you put a bunch of talented musicians in one
band, cool sounds usually transpire.

EP: It seems like the chemistry is definitely there. Did you grow up together?

TJ: The bass player is my brother. We have a natural bond to finish each other's sentences, musically. He's the best. He can do everything in one or two takes. But everybody in the band can shred. Everybody's got it. When you have a band with one dude who's really talented and everybody else are a bunch of brainless idiots. Those dudes could jump into a paper shredder and it would not matter.

EP: I know I was talking to you earlier about some of your influences. Who are some bands you would recommend checking out?

TJ: There are thousands, but The Talking Heads, Heatwave, David Bowie. Definitely David Bowie, he's done it all. I don't want to give them all away ---. Chris, you're more up with the new bands. Give me three new bands that are incredible.

(Chris the guitarist/back-up vocalist joins the interview)

CHRIS: Deerhoof, Battles ---.

EP: I just saw Battles a few weeks ago. I actually did the same thing as I did
the last two nights with your band. I saw them in Baltimore at the Ottobar and then DC at the Black Cat. They're incredible. Have you seen them perform?

CHRIS: Yes.

EP: They totally blew me away, just the fact that they could pull their sound off live. I think you should go on tour with Battles.

TJ: We would in a heartbeat. Those are the types of bands that we respect. There are a lot of bands that we respect. We've toured with some amazing bands, like Gang of Four. Definitely check them out.

EP: I remember you mentioned them during you set last night at the Ottobar.

TJ: Legends. Great guys, great band. They've extremely influential.

EP: You toured the US with them?

TJ: We did their reunion tour.

EP: Any possibility of doing more dates with them, maybe another reunion tour?

TJ: I would love to. I talked to Andy. He produces, and we might do some songs with him.

EP: Where are they from?

TJ: They're from the UK.

EP: I honestly haven't listened to them or heard much of them.

TJ: You should check them out.

EP: I definitely will.

TJ: There are a lot of great bands, like Cursive. I'll support those guys any day of the week.

CHRIS: Forward Russia.

TJ: Chris really likes Forward Russia for more reasons that one. Bands like them and Cursive are in it for the right reasons. And when I talk against bands, it's pretty much the bands that are the exact opposite of bands like these.

EP: There is definitely a separation.

TJ: There is a separation. But people need to start listening to better music, especially if they want to write music, because if you keep handing me your demo, it's going to keep sucking until you start listening to better music. Bands need to do their homework.

EP: Well, I hope you continue on this path, and I hope you don't change, at least not too much. You have that hunger that a lot of bands don't seem to have. It's obvious, just sitting here talking to you.

TJ: Well, I guess it comes from the realization that -- and I said this to you earlier -- it doesn't matter if you have a million dollars or four dollars, you're only going to be happy if you go after what you believe in. You just have to give it a shot, and go after it. Be original. What's the point of playing music otherwise?

EP: There really isn't a point otherwise. So back to Men, Women and Children, after this tour what are your upcoming plans? Do you have anything lined up for the summer?

TJ: We're going to write new songs. We're going to take everything we learned in the last year and apply that to the songs. Hopefully, we'll mess up some heads.

EP: When do you expect to have a new album?

TJ: I don't know. Albums are kind of dead anyways. By the time we go to make a new albums, they might not even exist.

EP: Mp3s.

TJ: Maybe. Maybe you'll release a song a month on your website.

EP: Kind of like the Johnny Cash days, with record singles, only in Mp3 form.

TJ: Yeah. Maybe you'll hear a new Men, Women and Children single in the next few months.

EP: Any oversea touring coming up?

TJ: No. We just did that like three times in a row. We love it over there though. We have a good time. We actually did a headlining tour over there before here. This is our first US headlining tour.

EP: And how's this new tour going so far? I mean, the two dates I've seen have been incredible.

TJ: We did Long Island. That's where we're from.

EP: Was that the first night?

TJ: Second night. We did Providence. Every show has been great. The crowds have been great. But it's nice to have a longer set. It's fun to see what we can do on our own.

EP: The one thing I noticed is that both shows I saw had extremely energetic crowds. I mean, it's seems like a good night when kids end up on stage at the close of the show.

TJ: That just happened to be the last two night.

EP: Oh. That doesn't normally happen?

TJ: It's always different. It would be boring if every show was exactly the same. I mean, I've seen bands who did the exact same thing every night, word for word, scripted. And I'm always like, what are you doing? That's not performing. They would be better off putting a video up. It needs to be different, at least for us. Maybe one night I'll jump into a vat of vasoline and slide into the audience.

(Laughing)

EP: Okay. So I'm going to shift gears a little. Who's the Punch Out fan?

TJ: Everyone.

EP: Because I kind of feel like you are the Little Mac of the major label market.

(Nick, the keyboard player/electronics joins the interview)

NICK: Dude, that is a great analogy.

EP: I honestly feel that way. I mean, there are a lot of bands who are Little Macs, but I feel like you could be the front-runners in helping honest music to become viable again, especially in the major label market.

NICK: We're on the street.

EP: And I think if people would open their eyes and look for it, they're going to find some great music. Regardless of whether you're on a major label, an indie label or DIY.

TJ: In the backyard, in the bathtub. It doesn't matter.

EP: Yeah. The internet lets us broadcast from anywhere.

TJ: We don't need anybody. We've got computer.

(Laughing)

EP: Okay. I'm going to wrap things up. Anything you want to add?

TJ: Yeah. Don't stay in school. Cardboard City. Be picky in everything you do because you're going to wake up one day, and you're going to be famous and you're going to be in a terrible band.

EP: Well, I hope you can keep this mentality because you guys are great. You've been a joy to talk to, hang out with and watch perform. Thank you for giving me an entirely different view of what a major label band can and should be.

TJ: Thank you.

NICK: Thanks.

CHRIS: Thank you.