Is there a deeper meaning behind the album title 'Go'? We don't like to tell people meanings of things because sometimes that takes the fun out of the listening process. But, I think that there is a deeper meaning. If you really listen to the mood and lyrics of the album, you'll notice a lot of very human elements. This is our most human record in my opinion. I mean that on a playing, recording, and a lyrical level. What I mean by that is that our playing isn't perfect, the recording is more spontaneous and non-edited, and the lyrics deal heavily with life, death, love, loss, and other human level things. But all of these together feel really nice to me. It feels very real.
“We write what comes to us and Go is what showed up this time. The next record may be a whole different experience.” Can you give us the story behind the track "True Romance"? The idea for True Romance was born in the UK when Josh started strumming the main guitar part. I liked what I heard so i recorded it on my laptop and added a few sounds. I saved the file and basically forgot about it until the end of the Go recording session. We had worked on the song for weeks during our writing and recording session and couldn't get it to where we were happy with it. Usually at the end of sessions, Josh and I take inventory of all of the songs that we've recorded and panic and feel like we need another good song and sift through all of our demos and ideas. I found the original True Romance file hidden away on a hard drive and sent it to Josh the night before Tony, our drummer, had to leave town. We went into the studio the next morning and decided to have him track drums to a song he'd never played. It ended up being our first single. Lyrically, I believe the song is about "doing the nasty" - in a sweet way, of course.
From what we’ve heard so far, 'Go' seems more upbeat and positive than the Motion City Soundtrack fans are used to – is this what you were going for? We're not going for anything. We write what comes to us and Go is what showed up this time. The next record may be a whole different experience.
The band has also started its own record label, the Boombox Generation – how did this come about and what role has it played in the production and release of Go? The idea of starting a label came up last year when we had left Columbia and were contemplating the future. We decided that we wanted to start The Boombox Generation as an open-ended, anything-goes type of thing. We're still not sure what will be released or created on it, but we like knowing that we can release things that we like in the future.
You were on the bill for Slam Dunk Festival – how did that go? Do you guys enjoy playing in the UK? Yes, we've always enjoyed playing the UK. The crowds have always been energetic and passionate about what we do. Slam Dunk was no exception. Schedule-wise festivals can be chaotic, but we've learned to embrace the chaos and enjoy it to the fullest.