If you haven't heard of these guys yet, you're missing out on a treat! I'm not going to tell you more about it... just do yourself a favor: read this interview, watch the video for "New Low" and go out and pick up a copy of "No Name, No Color".PRT: First of all, congratulations... "No Name No Color" is hands down one of the best albums I've heard all year. You've been working on these songs for close to four years . it made me wonder when and how you decide that a song is finished?
MCR: We usually write the song pretty quickly, over the course of a couple of hours sometimes. As soon as we’ve got the basic outline, even before we’ve really solidified all the details, we record it. We’re not necessarily sure if this is the last time we’re gonna record the song or not. Nine times of out of 10, we become attatched to the energy and spirit that results from recording a song when its freshly written, and just learn to live with the mistakes. Every once in a while we give a song some extra time to develop, play it live a few times, then record it once we feel its fully mature, but 90% of the time its done really fast with not much thought.
PRT: After several EPs ('Red EP", "Blue EP") there is now the first full-length, which is appropriately titled "No Name No Color". It seems almost like a statement, like you're saying you want to let the songs do the talking, not the other stuff that comes with it. Does that sound about right or am I completely missing the ball here?
MCR: That sounds so right, I think I will use your answer from here on out every time someone asks what the title means. We’re not really a conceptual band when it comes to making records, not yet anyway. We’re lazy, we hate naming things, commitment issues obviously. No Name No Color was a way to name the record without really naming it anything.
PRT: Having previously played in another band and having already been on a major label, did that help a lot in terms of knowing what you were going for with Middle Class Rut and how to go about it?
MCR: Yeah our history and our experiences prior to this band gave us something really valuable. It gave us a “what not to do” perspective so basically as long as we’re doing the exact opposite of everything we’ve done in the past, we’re fine.
PRT: Reason I'm asking is because I read somewhere that you immediately record everything you write yourselves. How come you started doing that?
MCR: We did the 300k record in our old band, spent almost a year on it, mostly with the singer doing vocals, and at the end of the process, were so burnt out on it that we basically fucking threw it in the trash and started over. The way we go about writing and recording songs now is almost like our own defense against ever making that same mistake again. For better or for worse, our songs should never sound overwritten or over produced because we literally don’t give them the oppurtunity to come out that way.
PRT: I'm guessing that way of working leads to a whole lot of songs that are already finished? If so, will those ever see the light of day as well you think?
MCR: We’ve got more songs than we know what to do with right now. That being said, not EVERY single one necessarily deserves to be released, but who knows. If we feel like people really want to hear some of the unreleased stuff we’ll have to find some way of getting it out there.
PRT: These days bands seem to get formed, signed and then dropped in no time without ever being given time to evolve. You on the other hand have already been playing together since your teens. Do you think that's one of your biggest strengths as a band?
MCR: Well yeah by now we’ve definitely figured things out. It also makes it hard for a band like us to get used to having to constantly come up with new and different ways of doing things. That’s definitely a struggle for us. We’re still holding on to the idea of the album, and we want to sell physical versions of the album, be it cd, vinyl, laserdisc, whatever. We’re finding it difficult to adjust to the new model.
PRT: You're a pretty eclectic band and the album shows a lot of different sides of Middle Class Rut. Is "No Name No Color" a way to introduce people to all those different sides of the band and then build from there? Or are there completely other sides of the MC Rut as well that you haven't even begun exploring?
MCR: We deliberately put together an eclectic mix of songs hopefully so people wont get too used to any one thing that we do. I like the idea of being able to flip things 180 degrees from one song to the next yet still sound like the same band, and I’m guessing we’ll continue to try and do that on records in the future. I can only hope theres things that we haven’t discovered yet, that’s what ininitally sparked this thing in the first place was getting together and writing music that we felt like we’d never heard before.
PRT: You still have a couple of shows to go in October but after that I was unable to find any immediate tours for you. Is there a lot more in the works? Maybe another European tour?
MCR: We’re doing a few radio things, then we’re doing 3 weeks with filter, followed by some stuff over in the UK. Idealy the next year is gonna take us all over the place includng Europe and Asia and Australia.
PRT: Any last words for our readers?
MCR: Come out to a show!
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