Madina Lake

I recently had the chance to sit down with Matthew Leone from the band Madina Lake when they played here in Winnipeg. I usually always get kind of nervous when I am going to interview someone since you’re never sure what you’re going to get; but this one was one of the best ones to date. I have never met a more grounded down to earth guy than Matthew. He was very open to every type of question from his stint of fame on Fear Factor to being very candid on his relationship with his brother. Watch out for the new album, it’s going to kick you in the groin and laugh in your face.

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Dwayne: Lets get this rolling with your name and what you do in Madina Lake?

Matthew: My name is Matthew and I play bass in Madina Lake

Dwayne: Where did the bands name come from?

Matthew: When we were creating the band, say four years ago, we were in two different bands between the four of us. We were just kind of idealizing about the perfect band situation and that’s when we decided to make our own band and incorporate all the things that it embodied and one of them was to create this sort of mystical imaginary world that would serve as the backdrop to all the music and that would be like this place where we could convey this whole other town and story of what’s going on. We literally just thought of it out of the blue, Madina Lake and it serves as the name of the town we tell this whole story about.

Dwayne: The first album “From them to us” up to the new one coming out this spring “Attics to Eden;” How has the story advanced from the first record to the second ?

Matthew: The first story is kind of a social commentary about Americas obsession with celebrity, wealth and kind of narcissism and sort of shallow characteristic that is woven in and out of the fabric of America. The tales we told in that record is a lot of personal things that had happened to us, and how we evolved that in the second record is that it is more now on a not local level. There is more history and global happenings and occurrences. The first one was this very personal story about this town Madina Lake and this socialite Adalia and she gets kidnapped. So the second one is more about how that effected the town and global ramifications about this event that happened in this place.

Dwayne: So are you guys going to keep doing the same kind of thing like Coheed and Cambria where each album progress’s the story a little more?

Matthew: Yea, well we are doing it for three records. We decided in the beginning that we would unfold the story over three albums we have the ending in mind but we already knew what the ending would be before we started. So we basically allocated ourselves the first and second album to get to the conclusion after the 3rd record it will hopefully be wrapped up.

Dwayne: After that third record and looking onto the fourth record and others, do you think you guys will continue to follow that same kind of concept or maybe go towards a different kind of songwriting?

Matthew: It will be something entirely different. I think by the time at that point we will be ready to reinvent ourselves. I think that over 3 records in any bands career if you’re fortunate enough to get that many done, that’s quite a career already. I think if we get to that point we will be hungry for a change.

Dwayne: What was the biggest difference in recording your first album to the new one?

Matthew: The first one we were very young and green and we were enthusiastic and energetic and that’s reflected in the music and the songs we wrote for that record. For one, we recorded it in LA which is very laid back and slow and it was even slower then we wanted it to be. For this record having two and a half years of touring and life under your belt, it changes you and effects you. You see a lot more of the world and the musical community around the world. That definitely made a dramatic impact so when we went to make the second record we had a lot to say about what we saw and heard out there. So we had David Bendeth as our producer and he’s a very militant guy he was kind of beating us up left and right. We recorded in New Jersey which is kind of a blue collar, hands on, worker town. That, we think, resonates with us more because we are from Chicago. So that was a big difference. The west coast was kind of just laid back whereas the east coast was more to the grindstone type of work ethic.

Dwayne: What was it like working with David Bendeth as your producer?

Matthew: It was great. I can’t say enough good things about it. As a band we found that we were applying the most pressure and challenging ourselves the most and when you do that you can get a little complacent. With a guy like David, he came in swinging and made us play to the very edge of our abilities. Even broke us down, there was a psychological element where he would deconstruct the band and define your relationships. It was almost like going to a psychologist. (laughs) So he had us all in tears for the first 10 days and we hated him (laughs). Then we started putting ourselves back together and when we left we realized he left us as better musicians and put a nice gloss on the songs as well.

Dwayne: When you have a new release is there any added pressure or anxiety that leads up to release date?

Matthew: Yea for sure! I mean especially the sophomore record, it’s like a curse in most peoples eyes. We are not the type of band that wants to blow up and become rockstars or celebrities or anything like that. All we wanna do is keep doing it. So the anxiety is like if it’s a colossal failure and we loose our record deal. In terms of the cliché things like are you going to blow up or are you going to fail we don’t really care as long as we have a audience to play for – it doesn’t have to be arenas.

Dwayne: Speaking of celebrities. You and your brother are kinda of a minor celebrities. I found out that you two where on Fear Factor. So I went and actually looked up the episodes on youtube. You won 50,000 dollars on the TV show. How was that experience and do you think that was a huge factor in advancing the band forward?

Matthew: It was defiantly a help and a big convenience but at the same time we are resourceful people so we would have made it happen one way or another. When we did that show the band was just getting off the ground and we were just starting to write new material. We did it as a total joke, we did it to make fun of jocks. So we were gonna go get kicked off in the first round by some girls and we just thought it would be fun. It was basically a dare. So we had to do it. We kind of have a bazaar sense of humor with our friends. So we did it and we wound up winning. We had no idea the scope of it, we never thought for a second that it would have anything to do with our band at any point. We got that cheque though and handed it over to the studio in Madison where we made out demo so to deny that it didn’t help would be a lie for sure. It was absolutely a joke.

(As a added bonus, you can watch Matthew and his brother Nathan competing in Fear Factor here, here and here)

Dwayne: How was that whole experience being involved with a show like that? I don’t personally see myself liking anyone that would be on that show expect maybe Joe Rogan but even he looks like a dick.

Matthew: It was hilarious. It was about as cliché as you can imagine it being. It was pretty much bullshit from the word go. The stunts and all that crap was really hard to do and really annoying. It was just we didn’t want to be burdened with it, it was cold outside and all that stuff. I mean you have all the sort of contestants that were all models or wanna be actors trying to make it they think this is their shoe in which is like a laugh to us. You get there and everyone was just fake and bullshit. We were laughing about the fact that we were outcasts throughout the whole experience. So when we started winning the girls were starting to kiss our ass. (Laughs)

Dwayne: I saw that!!! You see these great big jocks with their stupid cowboy hats, these beautiful girls and then these two little rock and roll guys. 

Matthew: And you wanted to know how we got from point A to point B

Dwayne: Yea and I honestly just skipped through till I found the gross part and man that shit was sick. What was it like doing that part of the show?

Matthew: It was the grossest thing you could ever imagine. But it makes a good story to tell.

Dwayne: I recently ran across an edition of Rock Sound and you said that they new album “couldn’t be classified as emo or pop punk”. If you had to what would you classify it as?

Matthew: I guess I would say alternative rock because that term affords you a broader spectrum of sound. You know NIN was called alternative and so were Smashing Pumpkins so you can fit in this grander spectrum. We have electronics, we have harder elements, some that are pop and some deep haunting lyrics so I guess alternative rock would be the one genre that would encompass all those elements in our music.

Dwayne: Do you not like being pigeon holed into one genre of music? So I guess that’s why the term alternative rock comes into it?

Matthew: Yea definitely. We had the fortune of becoming fairly successful in the UK and with that comes a backlash just as quick that we weren’t prepared for. When you’re new and a lot of people are talking about you, people need to file things or label things so that they understand. So pop up and we have retarded haircuts and the single they went with was a little more emo or pop punk leaning. So it was like BAM new emo band and we were like WOAH. Unfortunately you are defined by your first single and on the first album we have a song called Stars and River People which is not even close to what emo or pop punk would be. So its kind of frustrating and I do feel that because we would like to be devoid of a genre if we could.

Dwayne: Going on tour leaving family, friends, meeting new people all the time what keeps you doing this day in day out?

Matthew: That’s a good question. There is a million sacrifices to make. It is very difficult. This is a total dream come true, playing music, writing music and just effecting people and the way we were effected listening to music as kids. We would go see our favorite bands going to those shows and being effected by it and then to think you can go around the world and do that to. When someone comes up to you and tells you that you’re their favorite band you relate that experience to what you were doing. That’s where all the gratification comes in.

Dwayne: That leads perfectly into my next question. Have you ever had anyone come up to you and say this song or that lyric totally changed my life?

Matthew: Yea. There is no feeling like it. Me and my brother lost our mother when we were 12 years old and there is kind of a ode to that feeling on the first record called “Morning Sadness” and its very deliberate as to what we were singing and a lot of people have those lyrics tattooed on them or people that have lost loved one have told us that, that song impacted their lives. That’s the number one goal that if you can connect with people and make them feel better about a situation that’s what music was for us growing up.

Dwayne: What are or were some of the bands that you listened/listen to, to shape your musical preferences?

Matthew: I think the first band that I listened to that blew my mind was At the Drive In. I saw them a long time ago in a tiny little place and no one was there. Definitely NIN, Smashing Pumpkins, even the Flaming Lips. Now I’ve really been loving Explosions in the Sky, and lets see TV on the Radio – this sort of indie rock band. Armor for Sleep their new record is really good and Anberlin. I always enjoyed them but until we started touring with them I never realized how amazing of a band they are.

Dwayne: Growing up what were you and your brother like? Were you competitive, did you get along, always at odds?

Matthew: We have always gotten along very well. We have always done everything together really from birth. We were soccer players so I guess there was this competitive edge but it was all in the subconscious. We would never compete for attention. We were always trouble makers, outcasts. We never really fit in but we were never really kept out. We were the dudes that were cool with everyone. Its kind of what our band is now.

Dwayne: Usually when you start a band you start it with bunch of friends. One of the guys in your band is your brother. Is it more difficult being in a band with your brother?

Matthew: Its way better and easier. Anyone in a band will tell you that being in a band is like being married but not getting to bang the dudes. Thankfully. So you’re living together and everyone has their different personalities and your living on top of each other in a van. If you’re having your brother in a band you already know how to work with that person. So it already takes away like 25% of the potential hazards.

Dwayne: 2009 just a month old, what are you looking forward to for the rest of 2009?

Matthew: For one we are very eager to get the record out. It’s a big departure from our first record to the second record. I’m really excited we have this thing and no one else has heard it and we know it’s really different. So I’m very excited to get that out and do all the touring and stuff. For example, we get to go all these really big festivals we get to go to Australia and do soundwave which NIN are headlining that.

Dwayne: What is coming up next after this tour with Anberlin?

Matthew: We go right to LA for one day to shoot a video for our first single “Never take us Alive” then after that we do our press tour in US, UK, Europe, Japan and then we doing the Australian tour.

Dwayne: Any famous last words?

Matthew: Just anyone reading this thank you for taking the time and lending us your ears and if we’re not your jam, we wish you the best of luck in your musical pursuits.